RT Documentary

Musicians and singers of Donbass join the militia to fight against neo-Nazism in Ukraine. 'The scariest sound is the one that a shell makes, of course. That kind of whistling,' says Victor Petenko, DPR forces private. He used to be a musician and played the drums in the Donetsk philharmonic. On 23 February 2022, he was conscripted for military service to the Ukraine special operation in the DPR forces ranks. His squad consisted only of musicians. Their commander decided to give them codenames according to the instruments they played. “We had ‘Violin’, ‘Double bass’, all sorts of codenames. He said to me, ‘You will be the ‘Drummer,’" recalls Victor. Even those who weren’t drafted joined the DPR forces as volunteers. Francois Maud d'Émé was a vocalist in the Donetsk philharmonic. He could not be conscripted into the militia because of his French citizenship. But Francois decided his duty was to protect his new home, Donetsk, and enlist. Their colleagues continue to give concerts to brighten up the routine of civilians and wounded soldiers in hospitals. Even during the heaviest shelling, they continue to play on stage. So how do these performers fit in their new roles?

RT Documentary’s Voodoo, Money, and Sex Slaves explores the heinous practice of human trafficking, as young girls in Nigeria are lured to Europe with promises of jobs and a bright future but end up becoming sex slaves. The situation is aggravated because of the voodoo oath that binds them. Something they deem even stronger than a contract. The girls say breaking the oath and leaving would kill them. The problem was discovered when Dutch police realised girls coming to Europe from Africa were disappearing from refugee reception centres. About 140 girls vanished without a trace. Soon they came across a criminal organisation responsible for trafficking the girls from Nigeria into Europe and then spreading them out over the continent. There was also a front organisation in Nigeria, which worked as a travel agency. They were in charge of bringing the girls to the plane. Once they were on the plane, the girls surrendered their passports to the criminals. When they arrived in the Netherlands, they didn’t have any papers and asked for asylum. What happened to the girls, how this business functioned and what part voodoo oaths played in this scenario — watch in our film.

The Giant Panda has long been famous as a symbol of conservation and wildlife protection. China is now the only country where pandas still live in the wild. The government has worked hard to prevent its national pride, this adorable bamboo eating bear, from becoming extinct. It has put extensive resources into restoring the pandas’ forest habitat and reintroducing rescued animals to the wild. The panda breeding centre in Chengdu employs highly qualified Chinese and international specialists. The pandas live safely here and are provided with conditions conducive to successful procreation and cubs are taken care of to ensure they survive. Captive breeding programs are essential if the giant panda population is to be sustained, birth rates in the wild are dangerously low. 1963 saw the first ever panda cub to be born in captivity. Now, up to 25 cubs are born each year at the Chengdu Centre. Panda researchers and carers seek to develop the best diet for their charges, protect them from parasites and raise cubs rejected by their mothers. They also give Sex Ed classes and arrange romantic dates for panda couples. They even claim to speak panda! All that hard work eventually bore fruit. In September 2016, the Giant Panda was taken off the endangered species list; a significant achievement for the conservationists who have spent over half a century saving the black and white wonder. It also offers hope to all animal specialists who are working hard to conserve other critically endangered animals. However, pandas are not completely out of the woods yet; they still have to be able to breed in the woods without being killed by poachers or losing their food to deforestation.

The town of Serekaniye in Syria is the last major town bordering the “Islamic State”. The mainly Kurdish local population is determined to fight the murderous ISIS and prevent them from entering their town. The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) were formed after the Syrian Army's attempts to combat the jihadist threat failed. Among its fighters are young women, who chose to defend themselves and their families from the belligerent invaders. RTD visits a YPJ female training camp to learn about these courageous young women and to see how they train to face the enemy. Controlling vast areas of land in Syria and Iraq, and overseeing over 6 million people, ISIS is the single largest and most dangerous terrorist organization in the Middle East. After the Syrian Army failed to protect its citizens against the threat, the people were left with no one to defend them. In 2012, the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) stepped up to the cause. Within these civilian armed forces is the YPJ, an all-women military unit. The women who join YPJ are varied. Coming from the typically poorer regions and families in the areas, girls as young as 16 join the group in order to fight for their country. Either with or without the permission of their families, some girls travel from as far away as neighboring Turkey in order to become YPJ fighters. There is only one barring requirement for new inductees, that they be unmarried. The reasons for these women to enlist in YPJ vary. Some are simply fighting for their country, while others are more idealistic. Such sentiments as equal rights, religious freedom, and a call for democracy can be heard throughout the make-shift training camp for new recruits. YPJ volunteers explain that ISIS fears them, as in that organization, death by a woman is said to send a militant straight to hell. So these women and girls leave their families and villages to fight for their land and their freedom.

Gennady Makhnenko, the leader of a neo-Nazi totalitarian cult in Severodonetsk, referred to himself as a pastor. However, his activities can barely be seen as religious. He trained orphaned children to become soldiers for the Ukrainian army. Archive footage and revealed documents show that the cult leader's efforts to turn children into cold-blooded killers were not only known, but actively supported by foreign religious organisations. Today, in many liberated territories in Donbass, you can find hastily abandoned documents indicating the transfer of thousands of dollars to Ukrainian cults from the United States, Europe, and Canada. The peculiar Ukrainian "religion" emerged as a result of a secret CIA project called "Prolog", immediately after the end of World War II. At that time, U.S. intelligence agencies aimed to foment separatist and nationalist sentiments in Soviet Ukraine. What are the current goals of the cult leaders and their sponsors?

The film Stolen Brides, Stolen Lives is a follow-up to the 2013 RT Documentary, which examined the phenomenon of girl abduction in Kyrgyzstan. The Ala kachuu, or “grab and run” custom has young men abducting girls and marrying them against their will. The traditional lifestyle in Kyrgyzstan makes the fight for equality and human rights for girls more complicated. Until recently, the penalty for kidnapping was less than for stealing cattle. However, human rights advocates managed to establish a ten-year sentence for kidnappers. Still, even when formal justice is served, the girls have to endure a lot of humiliation with their families, their social circle and even the authorities. Commonly the police don’t take reports of Ala kachuu seriously; they laugh and joke about it. They know their negligence will not be punished. Religious elders don’t condone the kidnapping. However, a mullah often makes a house call and weds the couple without asking the girl’s consent. According to the Kyrgyz Ministry of the Interior, domestic violence has increased 62% during the COVID lockdown. The Ministry cites over 8,000 cases a year. But human rights advocates claim the numbers are significantly higher — tens of thousands of cases. The best way to reduce these numbers is to educate both young men and women about their rights and that everyone is equal before the law.

The last victims of Argentina’s military dictatorship knew nothing of their true identities. One day though, their worlds turned upside down when they learned a terrible truth. Everything they knew, their families, their names, was all part of a monstrous and cruel conspiracy. It was only through the tireless efforts of their natural grandmothers, who searched for decades, that these children had their real identities returned to them. The natural parents were among the “disappeared”, former activists against the military Junta. Now, aware of the web of deception that surrounded their early years, they have to learn to live as their true selves, and with their past.

In spite of individual successes, 21st century African Americans still feel held down by failing schools, drugs, crime, incarceration, unemployment, decaying housing and broken families. Some, like barber Shariff Griffin, continue to believe the American Dream is within reach if they try hard enough. Others suspect they are being held back by a system rigged against them. RTD heads for the seat of American power, Washington D.C. and the nearby Black majority cities of Baltimore and Richmond, Virginia. There, African Americans give their very different perspectives on who, or what is at the root of the oppression they face. For documentary filmmaker Pearl Jr., “It's a white world!” The journalist agrees with Black Lives Matter activists who blame systemic racism and White supremacy. She points the finger at tokenism, which allows a limited number of Black people to rise while Whites remain in control. Still, not everyone sees things in black and white. Activist Imam Abdul Alim Musa claims the whole American order is rotten and is hurting White America too. Coming from the opposite end of the political spectrum, Dr Steve Parson, a Trump-supporting pastor from Virginia, has his take on the root of all the evil afflicting African Americans. He argues that “racism exists – but racism really does not matter”. So, will Black America ever get within reach of the American Dream, or was it only ever an illusion?

As a child, Aisha Bakari Gombi used to hunt with her father searching for big game in forests in the northeast of Nigeria. Now animals no longer roam there, and Aisha chases a different prey – Islamist insurgents from Boko Haram, one of the world’s deadliest armed groups that has ravaged her country for nearly a decade. Aisha leads a vigilante group that helps government forces fight Boko Haram militants in the Adamawa state. Hunters say they can't stand aside while mass kidnappings, rapes, and killings still happen, despite Boko Haram being contained in a few pockets in the countryside. The Adamawa hunters use homemade weapons, secret potions believed to protect them from bullets, and their knowledge of the mountains and forests help track down the terrorists.

When human activity causes bear cubs to be separated from, or abandoned by their mothers, they have no chance of surviving unless people intervene. Russia's Orphan Bear Rescue Centre has been established to save and nurture orphaned bear cubs. The centre is a part of a larger organisation – the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) that rescues and protects animals worldwide. The OBRC was started as an experiment by a couple of biologists, Valentin and Svetlana Pazhetnov, in the mid-nineties and has developed into an internationally-recognised centre that is now run by three generations of the Pazhetnov family. In the years that the centre has existed, its specialists have developed and perfected a method that allows cubs to stay wild. Even though they are raised by people, the techniques employed at the centre mean bears do not become domesticated or comfortable around humans. At first, bear cubs require around the clock care, and it’s very important that the centre specialists avoid bonding with them. As soon as baby bears are old enough, they are transferred to a large natural enclosure where they are able to learn about the forest in a safe environment. They develop and acquire new skills in the same way that bears mature in the wild. Cubs socialise with each other and explore their surroundings, while their human carers take a step back, becoming as inconspicuous as possible. The process of preparing a cub to be released back into the wild is a gradual one, and the time it takes varies from bear to bear. To date, over 200 bears have been rehabilitated and returned to the wild by the Rescue center. The centre is now considered a world leader in bear rehabilitation, and its successful techniques are being adopted by bear rehabilitation projects around the world.

In the Special Military Operation area, Evgeny Yashchenko was the commander of the demining crew within the joint International Mine Action Centre unit. When Evgeny's unit arrived in Donbass, they discovered thousands of anti-personnel mines scattered across parks, streets, and roads. 'It's a bustling city. There's transport, people walking about, or at work. Sappers are on duty, collecting and destroying mines in the city centre, by the Donbass Arena. We had to work everywhere,' recalls Evgeny. Modern mines are extremely dangerous as they can be disguised as harmless objects or buried underground. That's why the bomb squad specialists do not only work with a mine detector, but also with trained dogs. Watch the documentary to discover more about this dangerous, yet life-saving profession.

Denis Chernyakov is a fourth-generation military officer. His great-grandfather served in both the Winter and the Second World Wars, his grandfather was a fighter pilot, and his father fought in Afghanistan. Upholding this legacy, Denis got the rank of a Lieutenant-Colonel and has earned two awards during the Special Military Operation. He spoke about the ways he successfully accomplished the commander's tasks and overcame fear in the most challenging front-line moments. In a new episode of 'Here and Now,' Denis sheds light on his military career choice and the critical factors that enable the success of a mission in high-risk zones.

The Cobalt Hell documentary takes the viewer deep into the mine shafts in Congo, where people extract cobalt ore by hand, a very exhausting and health-damaging trade. Cobalt is used to make lithium-ion batteries for smartphones and laptops. Cobalt will also purportedly help transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Unfortunately, though cobalt mining is the livelihood for these people, most will probably never enjoy using the fruits of their labour. Moreover, many don't even know what it's for. Men spend days extracting the cobalt ore from the pits while women and children wash and sort it. The money they earn is only enough to keep them fed and sheltered. Young Congolese men agree to this backbreaking job hoping to earn enough money for university. This way, they will have a slight chance of leaving this life and helping their families. On the other hand, women who raise their children alone agree to work on cobalt processing though it might ruin their health. What's more, the idea of closing the cobalt deposit site gives them shivers because they see no other way of earning a living. Find out more about the dark side of technological progress in the film.

What empowers control over the world's financial flows? Until recently, it seemed unlikely that some countries would move away from the dollar. However, the U.S. national debt continues to grow, as budget deficits are forcing more and more borrowing. Anna Chapman, along with American, British, and French financial experts, investigates how the U.S. government has accumulated its colossal national debt and at whose expense it maintains its financial stability. "Americans, you know, the economic, political elite, they don't ever believe they have to repay that debt," notes Mark Sleboda, a political analyst. Watch the documentary to gain insights into the workings of the Federal Reserve System and learn about the nations opting to sustain their economies without the US currency.

As president of Peru in the 1990s, Alberto Fujimori introduced a programme to provide Peruvians with free vasectomies and tubal ligations as part of a comprehensive social development policy. Billed as a strategy to fight poverty and empower women, the surgical contraception was purportedly offered on a strictly voluntary basis. However, thousands of Peruvian women tell a very different story. From 1993-1999, more than 300,000 men and women were sterilised in Peru. Most were indigenous peasants from the poorest villages. Now, many women are coming forward with horror stories, describing how they were abducted and forcibly sterilized or awoke after giving birth to learn their baby was dead and their tubes had been tied. A great number still suffer from severe physical side effects caused by these procedures to this day. Fujimori’s defenders say the numbers given for forced sterilisations are grossly exaggerated. However, investigators have now uncovered documents showing Peru’s Public Health Ministry set sterilisation quotas and doctors were remunerated for meeting them.Where ever the truth lies, one thing can’t be denied: the pain the forcibly sterilised women feel to this day is very real.

This is the most dangerous quarter in Guatemala City, Central America’s biggest capital. It is known as Zone 3 or Basurero, meaning “dump”. It’s home to an enormous landfill site, known locally as “The Mine”. The huge pit, into which tons of rubbish are dumped every day, has its own graveyard where tombs seem about to collapse at any moment.

A non-governmental organisation based in Tanzania, APOPO (Anti-Personnel Landmines Removal Product Development), breeds African giant pouched rats and trains them to detect explosives. The rodents are then sent to sniff out landmines in places like Vietnam, Laos, Angola and Cambodia. The rats’ sharp sense of smell, intelligence and ability to learn fast make them perfect candidates for the task. They are indispensable helpers for landmine-disposal experts. Their work means mine-free land can be restored and lives saved. The rodents, nicknamed HeroRATs for their heroism, are social animals, which helps them to get used to working with humans. Their large cheek pouches (hence the name “pouched rats”) give them a hamster-like appearance and cuteness. They are good at following commands and memorising what is expected of them. One of these HeroRATs is Isaac, who an RTD film crew met when he was a baby. Together with his siblings, he undergoes training in APOPO, learning all the ins and outs of explosives detection. When he’s ready for missions, he’s sent to Cambodia, where they suffer more landmine accidents a year than any other country. Millions of dormant landmines pose a threat to citizens and tourists alike, and have a bad effect on development and economic growth. Now, Isaac is there to sort it out!

Nashinavayan is a special school for deaf people in Afghanistan. It has 26 students, consisting of both boys and girls. Some have to travel a long way to get there, but they are determined to get an education and have a better life for themselves and their country. Nashinavayan school students can’t speak or hear, but they don't see themselves as disabled. In fact, they try to lead lives as full as possible. In every lesson, the students think of ways to end poverty and make Afghanistan a successful and prosperous country. The school doesn’t have a building. Classes are held in the Ghor Province Martyrs and Disabled Affairs Department. One of the students, Mohammad Amin, loves photography. “In my spare time, I take my camera and wander around historical sites and places of interest. That's where I take photos,” he says. Abdul Hadi Dendost is great with numbers and dreams of one day becoming an engineer. For now, he works as a carpenter, making cribs, chests and cabinets. Mahtab is 16 years old, and she wants to be a doctor. “I think I'm a capable woman who could be a surgeon,” she says. Mahtab is also fond of drawing and, through her art, she wants to communicate to the world community the problems her country is facing. She is very capable and talented, and, according to her teacher Noor Ahmad, she has a great future ahead of her. Noor Ahmad has worked in regular schools before, but it is here that he finds the teaching particularly rewarding. How do these courageous and talented young people survive and where do they find inspiration for their art?

Three Israeli peace activists from very different backgrounds talk of their efforts, and what led them to become champions for reconciliation with the Palestinians. Tami Cohen was born in Israel and has always felt the Israeli takeover of the West Bank and Gaza was illegal. She is one of the leading lights in a group that monitors the crossing points used by Palestinians who work in Israel. Tami has a hard time dealing with the long lines and disrespect shown to the Palestinians. Rami Elhanan was a soldier and fought in three wars as part of the Israeli army. His life changed when his daughter was killed in a suicide bombing. Since the incident in 1994, he’s actively been working with other bereaved families to bring peace between Israelis and Arabs. As part of an outreach program, he and Palestinian colleagues give lectures in Israeli and Palestinian high schools explaining their position, and their outlook for peace in the country. Adam Keller was born in Israel into a radical family of socialists. His mother and father were activists, and he took on the family tradition. When young he was one of the leading lights in the peace movement, sometimes attending two demonstrations a day. Nowadays, as he’s grown older, he takes more of a back seat approach as an organiser rather than a participant in peace protests. All three have a vision for Israel where the two sides live together. However, they each are adamant that for lasting peace in the region there also needs to be reconciliation. Without reconciliation, any peace agreement will only ever be a ceasefire, and even the slightest infraction could be enough to spark another round of deadly violence.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the percentage of medical waste has increased by 40% worldwide, according to the WHO. If a person changes their face mask every two hours as recommended, it will come out to almost 1,500 masks per year. And that's just for one person. Every day the same amount of hazardous medical waste comes from clinics and hospitals. This waste is highly infectious and should be incinerated. However, more and more often it is illegally dumped in rivers, fields, or simply thrown into roadside dumpsters. Omar sorts waste at a landfill in Bangladesh. He used to have another job but that money wasn't enough to feed his family. Omar has always risked catching a disease as he spent days rummaging through mounds of garbage. Now he has to deal with highly infectious COVID-related waste. Is there any way to make Omar's job safer?

Why does Washington encourage Kiev to escalate ongoing hostilities? The American political elite's ties to the military-industrial complex, driven by profits from armaments, may provide insight into this question. As they pursue their interests in fuelling conflicts like Iraq, Afghanistan, and now Ukraine, it becomes clear that billions are at stake. 'After World War II, America became the only power in the world that enriched itself due to this war. The same, of course, goes for the war in Ukraine,' states Alexander Domrin, Doctor of Juridical Science at the University of Pennsylvania. American military experts and European journalists join Anna Chapman's investigation to uncover the truth behind the defence corporations' involvement in this bloody business and present evidence that the conflict in Ukraine is "a new business project" aimed at increasing profits for the U.S. military-industrial complex.

For more than seventy years, daily life for Palestinian Arabs has been about the struggle to take back their land, and their destiny, from Israel. Even though the 1948 United Nations plan for the partition of Palestine did give them their own state, they have never been fully independent. While some countries do recognise Palestine's Statehood, many do not. Currently, it has non-member "observer status" at the UN; implicit recognition of a kind, but it falls far short of full sovereignty.

The Akhal-Teke, the closest descendant of wild horses, is the world's most expensive and popular breed. They are characterised by remarkable speed, endurance and rapid recovery. Orazguly Babalyev, an honoured horse breeder from Turkmenistan, comes from a family deeply involved with racehorses for generations. "My father at one time - back in the Soviet era - in 1956, took a trip to England, where he presented the Queen with an Akhal-Teke horse called 'Melegush.' I also travel to different countries, on behalf of the Esteemed Arkadag, taking along with me Turkmen racehorses as a gift," says Orazguly. His family follows the old belief that such a horse is the wings of a Turkmen, and they treat the Akhal-Teke as members of their families. In this new documentary, discover how these precious horses are bred and why genetic tests are performed on each newborn. Learn more about how they are trained to become race winners, capable of covering a distance of 100 metres in just 4 seconds.

As a candidate in the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump promised to build a wall between the US and Mexico to stem illegal immigration. The idea immediately sparked a sharp reaction, with his supporters cheering him on, and his opponents denouncing him as racist. The fierce debate has thrown a spotlight on America’s southern border, which separates not only two countries, but often families as well. Related: Kosovo migrants look for a better life in Europe In The Mexican Wall, you’ll meet a number of people that have found themselves on opposite sides of this divide, both geographically and ideologically. On the American side, follow a group of ex-military and police volunteers called Arizona Border Recon as they patrol the desert in an attempt close off narco-traffic, while another group nearby known as Border Angels leaves water and food to ease the way of illegal crossers. Related: The couples battling UK visa laws to save their families On the other side, you’ll see how those deported back to Mexico after decades living in the US must adjust to a new reality in a crime-ridden country where they know no one. Not even US military veterans are exempt from this fate if they are caught driving drunk or bounce a check. Most painful for those affected, however, is knowing that their children are growing up and parents growing old while they are stuck on the opposite side of the border with no role in their lives. Watch this new RT Docs film to see how “The Wall” has come to symbolize the widening political and ideological divisions within the US and the plight of those affected by the new president’s harsher immigration policies.

Losing your job, your wife and going into bankruptcy during lockdown is probably the worst-case scenario. For many stressed-out Europeans, a brothel was the place to leave behind the sad reality. However, in Germany, the Netherlands, and other parts of the EU prostitutes were among the first victims of the outbreak. Lonely Europeans had no place to go for paid tenderness. In Germany, the oldest profession was legalised more than a decade ago and has suffered the worst downfall in recent history. Many women’s rights advocates insist the crisis only revealed the wide-scale poverty and lack of social support that’s been known for a long time.