It is a folly to judge a book by its cover and, by the same logic, to dismiss a two-part documentary based on its title. Still, Living Next Door to Putin seems particularly egregious, evoking a wacky sitcom akin to the notoriously shortlived 1990 comedy Heil Honey I’m Home!, in which a Jewish couple find themselves living next door to Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun.
Instead of being a highly problematic farce, Living Next Door to Putin is an insightful, delicately handled portrait of eastern Europe’s anxieties and the ramifications of existing on the potential frontline of Vladimir Putin’s westward expansion. While Ukraine is engulfed in warfare not seen in Europe since the second world war, the journalist Katya Adler spends this two‑parter looking at the practical and existential impact this has on Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Norway.
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