Witness: The New Greatness Case: Russian Teenagers on Trial

The New Greatness Case offers remarkable access to a group of young Russians entrapped by the secret service, resulting in unjust trials and prison sentences - echoing the intensified crackdown on dissent and free expression in Russia we see on the news every day. As we are witnessing the intensified crackdown on dissent and free expression in Russia, The New Greatness Case brings you into the life of young Russians caught in the crossfire. Anya was an ordinary teenager, discussing Russian politics and social issues on the internet with a group of friends, when a secret agent joined their chat group and rented them a meeting space - pushing them towards direct physical action. Police storm their homes to arrest and jail the teens, accusing them of plotting to overthrow the government and fabricating charges of extremism. Three years later, Anya's mother, continuing her desperate fight to prove her daughter's innocence, has transformed from a loyal follower of Vladimir Putin to a hunger-strike enacting political activist. With hidden camera footage, and an intimate relationship with the protagonists, director Anna Shishova shows the complete repression of present-day Russia, and how young, free-thinking people, are seen as a threat to the government.