translation: is obvious that we were no threat here in tomsk. but the authorities are constantly afraid of revolution or losing control. they wa nt to revolution or losing control. they want to control everything, but that is impossible. and they don't trust anyone. back home, viktor and his wife showed me how other media have been tamed. when there were protests against closing tv2, tomsk says state—run channels ignore them. translation: that is you how free they are. if there is an order not to show something, they won't. most disturbing for this couple is how quickly the new reality has been accepted. here in the frozen heart of siberia, it feels an extremely long way from europe in every sense. but politically speaking, tomsk was a relatively liberal city in russian terms for many years. but all of that has been changing. on the streets, though, nobody seemed too bothered by that. —— seems. translation: tv2 has a right to exist, of course, but i am a supporter of vladimir putin. i will vote for him. translation: i am for vladimir putin

undeterred, xenia still runs navalny‘s office here in tomsk. she was eight when vladimir putin came to power. now 26, she thinks it is well past time for a change. so her team are helping train monitors for the election. xenia calls it a fake vote in any case, and as president putin's last term brought war and sanctions, she is worried what the next might hold. translation: i want russia to continue as part of western civilisation, and not closed off behind a wall. yes, we want to be seen as equals. we want to protect our interests, but we don't want to be seen as north korea. we don't want to be isolated. that seems to be the direction the country is heading in, though. we travelled north to st petersburg to investigate claims that russia's information war is now targeting the west, too. from here, the kremlin has been accused of using the internet to manipulate opinion at home and abroad. and this building has become notorious as russia's troll factory. it's mostly empty now — the sign says it is up for rent. but an criminal indictment in t

translation: it's obvious we were no threat here in tomsk. but the authorities are constantly afraid. afraid of revolution or losing control, they want to control everything, but that's impossible. and they don't trust anyone. now russia's information war has moved onto the internet, so we travel to one of the key battle grounds. from st petersburg, the kremlin‘s been accused of using the internet to manipulate opinion notjust at home but abroad. this place has become notorious as russia's troll factory. it's mostly empty now, up for rent, but a criminal indictment in the united states claims staff here were deployed as an online army to sow discord, and influence voters in america. ludmilla shows me the blog of one of the fake characters she helped to create. she leaked information from inside the troll factory that exposed how it worked. her focus was russian language content, and she tells me the trolls operated in shifts, ordered to produce up to 80 posts on social media every single day. translation: it's a huge machine. i'd see thousa

translation: it's obvious we were no threat here in tomsk. but the authorities are constantly afraid. afraid of revolution or losing control, they want to control everything, but that's impossible. and they don't trust anyone. now russia's information war has moved onto the internet, so we travel to one of the key battle grounds. from st petersburg, the kremlin's been accused of using the internet to manipulative opinion notjust at home but abroad. this place has become notorious as russia's troll factory. it's mostly empty now, up for rent, but a criminal indictment in the united states claims staff here were deployed as an online army to sow discord and influence voters in america. ludmila shows me the blog of one of the fake characters she helped to create. she leaked information from inside the troll factory that exposed how it worked. her focus was russian language content, and she tells me the trolls operated in shifts, ordered to produce up to 80 posts on social media every single day. translation: it's a huge machine. i'd see thousand