New Broadway play tackles rise of Putin

The intersection of billionaires and politics is the topic of a new play, “Patriots,” by Peter Morgan, the writer of “The Crown.” Like that Netflix series, the play is based on real characters. “Patriots” is not about the US; it’s about Russia in the 1990s, when an oligarch backs a little-known deputy mayor named Vladimir Putin in national politics and gets more than he bargained for. Jeff Lunden reports from New York.

Are you with The World?

The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.

When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.