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The Amanpour Hour
Interview With Cuba's Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio; Interview With "The Secret Agent" Actor Wagner Moura; Interview With "The Secret Agent" Director And Writer Kleber Mendonca Filho; African Men Say They Were Duped Into Fighting for Russia; Interview With "Mr. Nobody Against Putin" Co-Director David Boreinstein; Singing For A Spot At The Olympics; Australian Boy's Perilous Swim To Save His Family. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired February 07, 2026 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:00:57]
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to THE AMANPOUR HOUR. Here's where we're headed this week.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, it's a failed nation now, and they're not getting any money from Venezuela.
GOLODRYGA: As Washington piles pressure onto Cuba and its already struggling economy, is regime change on the cards? My exclusive interview with Cuba's deputy minister of foreign affairs from Havana.
And --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You really think you should be here?
GOLODRYGA: "The Secret Agent", the Oscar darling that's triggering conversations about corruption, dictatorships and how we stop them. I speak with its star Wagner Moura and its director.
Also --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You need to escape or you die. There's only two ways.
GOLODRYGA: A shocking report revealing how African recruits to Russia's army are being fast tracked to the front lines.
Then the Oscar-nominated documentary showing how propaganda is grooming Russia's next generation for war and the school teacher trying to expose it in "Mr. Nobody against Putin".
Plus the 25th Winter Olympic games kick off in Italy. From Christiane's archive, the high stakes talent show that picked opening ceremony performers for the 1988 Calgary Games.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm very nervous. I'm trying to keep my head straight.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Welcome to the program, everyone. I'm Bianna Golodryga in New York, sitting in for Christiane.
Cuba has just days of oil left at current levels of demand, according to "The Financial Times". The U.S. ramping up its more than 60-year- old trade embargo on the nation, blocking oil deliveries from Venezuela, pressuring Mexico to cancel shipments and threatening new tariffs on any country that sells oil to Havana.
The Trump administration is choking off the Cuban economy one gas tank at a time. Because oil doesn't just drive Cuba's transportation infrastructure, it also powers an electricity system on the brink of total collapse, leaving Cubans struggling with blackouts.
But could talks with Washington give Cuba an off ramp? President Trump thinks it can. So what does Havana have to say?
In a rare interview this week, I spoke with Carlos Fernandez de Cossio, Cuba's deputy foreign minister, and its top diplomat for U.S. Affairs.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: To be clear, is your government currently working or currently looking at a proposal or demand actually, from the United States?
CARLOS FERNANDEZ DE COSSIO, CUBAN DEPUTY MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: The U.S. government knows that Cuba is ready and has been ready for a long time to have a meaningful dialogue with the U.S. government to deal with our bilateral issues.
At the moment, we've had some exchanges of messages, but we cannot say we have set a bilateral dialogue at this moment.
GOLODRYGA: Are these communications, to quote the president, "at the highest level"?
FERNANDEZ DE COSSIO: Most things in Cuba dealing with the United States are linked to the highest level. It's a large issue for us, so there's no decision, no action taken that doesn't involve the high level of government in Cuba.
GOLODRYGA: So, here you are saying that Cuba is open to meaningful dialogue. It seems like a complete 180 from what your president was saying just last week, noting that measures taken by Washington are, quote, "criminal and genocidal in nature".
Now, you're ready to talk. What has changed? Is the pressure from the United States working?
FERNANDEZ DE COSSIO: The statement from our president, it was on January the 9th, I believe, he was calling the actions taken by the United States as they are. And he also said very clearly that Cuba is ready to have a serious and responsible dialogue with the United States that is respectful of international law and, of course, respectful of our national prerogatives and sovereign prerogatives. There's no change in what he said.
[11:04:50]
GOLODRYGA: The president of the United States, as well as the secretary here Marco Rubio, have said that their goal -- Marco Rubio has said this explicitly -- would be regime change at some point. How do you respond to that demand?
FERNANDEZ DE COSSIO: Well, the first thing to remember is that on the measure announced on January 29th, they claim that Cuba is an emergency to the U.S. because we pose a threat to the United States.
Cuba poses no threat to the United States. It is not aggressive against the United States. It's not hostile. It doesn't harbor terrorism nor sponsors terrorism. There are no foreign military bases in Cuba contrary to what is alleged, with the exception of the one existing in Guantanamo, the U.S. base.
Cuba has no trafficking drugs or illegal drugs that would harm the United States, nor there's organizing crime in Cuba, nor organized crime uses Cuba as a platform against the United States. So, the allegations that they used are not truthful.
Now, the Secretary of State has said that he wants regime change, and it's been his policy and the policy of many anti-Cuban politicians in the United States for a long time.
I don't know what the reasoning today of the government is when they speak of talking with Cuba because, of course, our plan and our idea and our objectives would never be to change the government that we have in Cuba, nor the system or economic or political system that we have in Cuba.
GOLODRYGA: So, what are you going to do to stop the United States if that is their ultimate goal?
FERNANDEZ DE COSSIO: They are attempting to choke Cuba economically, as they have been trying to do for the past over six decades, I would say.
At this moment, they are threatening countries with tariffs to harm them if they -- in use of their national prerogatives, they export fuel to Cuba.
That would pose a great harm to Cuba. It is the aim to cause as much harm as possible to the people of Cuba.
We have to, to some extent, take a look at our plans, how we use a great quote of austerity, stoicism, sacrifice, and try to overcome reality with the possibility of having very little -- a lot of limitations, I would say, in the possibility of importing fuel.
GOLODRYGA: What is the red line that Cuba will not cross to get more oil flowing into the country?
FERNANDEZ DE COSSIO: I think it would be similar to the ones that the U.S. has. We're not ready to discuss our constitutional system, as we suppose the U.S. is not ready to discuss their constitutional system, their political system, their economic reality.
And as a sovereign nation, we have the same beliefs as the U.S. But there are many other issues that we can discuss that can be useful for both countries and that could help even the countries in the region in several areas, the ones I raised, but also in science, also in health, also in education.
But also, Cuba is in a process of economic transformation that has had many difficulties precisely because of the pressures and the economic warfare coming from the United States.
I'm sure that if we sit down and if the U.S. were ready to ease the very illegitimate pressure it puts on Cuba, we could evolve in a way so that Americans could travel to Cuba, which today is prohibited by their government, could do business in Cuba, which today is prohibited by their government, could visit Cuba, could do tourism in Cuba, which today is prohibited by their government.
GOLODRYGA: The humanitarian question that's been raised in the fallout of completely choking off the country from gas reserves, et cetera, and oil and President Trump responded by saying that he thinks he can work a deal out. That is similar language that we heard from President Trump prior to his seizing of Nicolas Maduro and now putting his number two, Delcy Rodriguez, in place and in power.
So, what is to stop or prevent that same type of chain of events from happening in Cuba? How do you know that the United States is not currently working or speaking with somebody in your government to take out your leadership and put them in place?
FERNANDEZ DE COSSIO: They've been trying to do that for a long time, to speak of Cubans of different types. The Cuban government is united, united behind its president, and it's got the support of the majority of the population.
So, they could try to do that. I cannot doubt if they try to do it. They've been attempting to do it in Cuba and in many parts of the world. Again, it's also something very illegitimate.
But as I said at the beginning, we are ready to sit down with the U.S. and have a meaningful, serious, and responsible dialogue. And let's look at our differences, the real differences.
[11:09:44]
FERNANDEZ DE COSSIO: What are the issues of Cuba that bother Americans? What are the issues of Cuba that truly might be thought of causing harm to the majority of American citizens, to harm their standard of living, their security, their peaceful, their neighborhoods? What really -- what real issues do harm them? And what issues can be there that can allow the U.S. to work with
Cuba, to do business in Cuba that can be profitable, to work with Cuba together for peace and tranquility in our region? What stops them from doing that? I think that would be a very broad agenda between the two countries.
GOLODRYGA: Carlos Fernandez de Cossio, thank you. Thank you so much for joining us.
FERNANDEZ DE COSSIO: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: And you can watch our full conversation online at amanpour.com.
Straight ahead for us, a movie about dictatorship and memory that you won't soon forget. The acclaimed star and director of Oscar favorite, "The Secret Agent", join me.
And later in the program, a shocking report on how Russia is recruiting Africans to fight on the front lines against Ukraine. We hear from some of the men themselves.
[11:10:52]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: Welcome back to the program.
Now, a timely exploration of corruption, autocracy and how we remember it in one of the most acclaimed films of the year. Oscar favorite, "The Secret Agent" is a visually stunning, superbly acted thriller set in the late 1970s Brazil under military dictatorship. Greed, graft, secrecy and violence all against the backdrop of Carnival.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This is the person.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I want -- in his mouth.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Yours is the case I want most to solve.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): You're telling me hitmen are out to get me?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Star Wagner Moura won the Golden Globe for best actor and is nominated for an Oscar, while Kleber Mendonca Filho won best director at Cannes. They joined me from New York.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) GOLODRYGA: Wagner, Kleber -- thank you so much for joining us. What an incredible film. What a powerful film. I understand why it's getting such global praise. So, congratulations to the both of you.
WAGNER MOURA, ACTOR, "THE SECRET AGENT": Thank you very much.
GOLODRYGA: Wagner, your character, Armando, one of them, he also plays Marcelo, and that's his assumed identity. He is a man on the run. He is a man trying to save his son and start a new life. He's also an academic.
Tell us about his character.
MOURA: It's interesting. We kind of experienced that feeling again in Brazil, like when Bolsonaro was the president, which is when they -- the first thing that they do is to attack universities, you know, academics, scholars, journalists, and artists.
You know, and we both, as very vocal artists against that particular government, suffered lots of consequences of what we were saying, and especially what we were doing with the things that we do.
This kind of things make me -- always make me think of like how we have to -- we cannot take democracy for granted.
KLEBER MENDONCA FILHO, DIRECTOR AND WRITER, "THE SECRET AGENT": And I'd just like to point something out. I think that once the democratic system breaks down, any normal, honest citizen in a society may begin to feel like a secret agent, just because the things you stand for and the things you think and say, and you could be an academic or a journalist or an artist, that will immediately put you in the position of being under persecution.
So, I think a lot of the idea for "The Secret Agent" and the title, "The Secret Agent", came from the notion of society breaking down and you having to deal with a situation where the values are upside down.
MOURA: Yes, the majority of the victims of dictatorships are not freedom fighters, are not people that are trying to overthrow a government or regular people.
GOLODRYGA: You've said before that you think it was the amnesty law that actually brought Bolsonaro to office.
MOURA: Yes.
GOLODRYGA: Explain the dichotomy there, because unlike a military dictatorship, and as you even acknowledged, he was democratically- elected.
MOURA: Yes, but it's a matter of memory, I think, you know, like if we don't have our history told correctly or if we forget, if we have things like the amnesty law. The amnesty law was a law that we have in '79 in Brazil that basically forgave all the torturers and killers and people that did very despicable things to civilians in Brazil. If we have things like that, and if we make people believe that
attempting against democracy or attempting against human rights are -- is something that's ok, then we have a memory problem, you know.
And we had that in Brazil for -- you know, for decades, for centuries, I would say. The history -- our history is based on many beautiful things, but also, it's based on like Brazil was the last country in the western world to abolish slavery.
[11:19:48]
MOURA: So we live with many contradictions in that country. So, I really believe that Bolsonaro wouldn't have been elected if it wasn't because of the amnesty law, as right now we are finally getting even with our memory when we sent Bolsonaro to jail and we sent military, for the first time in Brazil, we sent people that -- military people that attempted against democracy to jail.
So, I truly believe that the new generations of Brazilians are going to grow up with a different sense of understanding of what -- of our history and of our memory.
GOLODRYGA: You mentioned memory. Memory plays a key theme in this film and you go back and forth between the 1970s and then more present day.
Talk about the role of memory here in that genre. Why it's so important for you to give it voice.
FILHO: Well, I'm fascinated by the idea that cinema is memory, each film will be put away in the CinemaTech and will become a piece of archive. The conversation we're having right now will hopefully become part of an archive to be seen in the future and I think that's one of the basic premises in the film.
The story we're living now is our own story in the present time but there might be someone listening in the future and the story of Wagner's character in the film is in fact just a fragment in the future which helps you understand, you know, the country and how society evolves.
But there was a lot of discussion around "The Secret Agent", you know, in many countries and in Brazil and here in the U.S. about being a film about memory. But it's, in my mind, it's really a film about amnesia. And many countries and many societies, in fact, they want to forget because it's not comfortable or it's not political to remember.
So, I really believe that one of the stronger aspects of the film is really about amnesia without giving anything away from the plot, but towards the end, I think that's a very strong point that the film makes.
GOLODRYGA: Oh, for sure.
MOURA: I just saw -- I just saw Donald Trump saying that he -- that America should move on with the Epstein thing, you know. We should move on. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think it's really time for the country to get on to something else, you know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOURA: No, I don't think America should move on. I think America should check that out, you know, and go deep on what that means and the people that are involved in that.
The moving on thing of it all, that's what caused our -- the amnesia in Brazil.
FILHO: Once again --
MOURA: Let's move on. Let's forget about it. Let's just -- you know, let's start over. Let's have a fresh start --
GOLODRYGA: Keep it in the past.
MOURA: -- right now, yes.
GOLODRYGA: Final question to you, Brazil does seem to be having its moment right now. And it's interesting that this film comes a year after "I'm Still Here".
Oscar --
FILHO: Beautiful film.
GOLODRYGA: -- winning film there. Why do you think the world -- and it's also set during the same time period. Why do you think the world has turned its eye to Brazil now and really begun to try to understand that era in the country?
FILHO: Well, it's quite a -- it's really wonderful that in two years we have two strong films. And these are Brazilian films which come from a very particular period of repression.
In my case, I have talked to Walter Salas (ph) about this, but in -- my take is that we react to whatever is happening.
I think -- I think in fact this is a very strong moment to make films, to write, to be a journalist, you know. Not only in the West but also in Brazil, in Europe because there is something happening and I think it's a strong moment for us to do something.
GOLODRYGA: Thank you both of you. This was great.
FILHO: Thank you for having us.
GOLODRYGA: Truly appreciate it.
FILHO: It was great.
GOLODRYGA: Thank you.
MOURA: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: After a break, as Russia becomes increasingly desperate to feed its war machine, African recruits say they're finding themselves on the front lines after just weeks of training.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I asked my Russian partner for first aid, but he turned hostile.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[11:24:24]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: Welcome back.
This week, the second round of trilateral peace talks began with Russia, Ukraine and American negotiators in the United Arab Emirates. These come as Ukraine's energy infrastructure is bombarded by Moscow in the midst of a bitter winter, and Russia faces a mounting human cost as well.
According to a recent report, Russia has suffered some 1.2 million casualties, about double the amount the Ukrainian military has sustained.
The Kremlin is taking desperate measures to supply its forces and is recruiting men from abroad.
In this report, Larry Madowo speaks to some men from Africa who say they got far more than they bargained for.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is your name?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Francis.
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This disturbing video appears to show an African recruit in the Russian army with a land mine strapped to his chest. He is being ordered to storm Ukrainian positions on the front lines.
[11:29:45]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (EXPLETIVE DELETED). You are a piece of coal. (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
MADOWO: A Russian speaker hurls racist insults to the man saying he is being used as a can opener to breach an enemy bunker. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't see it. It is too traumatizing. Francis, my -- is my son.
MADOWO: CNN traced the man's mother to Kenya. She hasn't been able to reach her son since October 2025, but she recently received another video of him from an unknown Kenyan number.
FRANCIS NDARUA, RUSSIAN RECRUIT: Be careful you guys, because, people are being taken there and you end up being taken to the military, and you are taken in front-line battle. And there are -- there is true killings.
MADOWO: Francis is a trained electrical engineer who was promised a civilian job in Russia. But his family says he was forced into the Russian army and to the front lines in Ukraine.
MADOWO: How long was the training?
ANNE NJERI NDARUA, MOTHER OF FRANCIS NDARUA: Three weeks.
MADOWO: They had only three weeks of military training?
A. NDARUA: Only three weeks of military training.
MADOWO: Had he ever been in the police or in the army in Kenya?
A. NDARUA: No, no, no.
MADOWO: Do you know where Francis is?
A. NDARUA: I don't know where he is. I was told he is in Ukraine, but I don't know specifically whether he is there or not.
MADOWO: Francis is among a growing number of African men currently fighting for Russia, though exact figures are unknown.
Some Africans in the Russian army glamorize their life on social media, encouraging their countrymen to join.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For those of you in Africa, in Nigeria, that want to come and join the Russian army, it's very, very easy and very good. No stress.
MADOWO: This Ghanaian man posts dance videos and brags about how much money he makes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My salary can feed your father, can feed your mother, can feed your family for like two years, three years, my salary.
MADOWO: Where are you now? Can you say where you are?
CNN spoke to a dozen African fighters currently on the front lines in Ukraine. They described being forced into a deadly war, racism from Russian commanders, and unpaid salaries. Many say they were made to sign military contracts in Russian without lawyers or translation. Nearly all told CNN they were desperate to escape but felt trapped.
Patrick Kwoba is one of the lucky few. He has made it back to Nairobi after escaping the Russian military. He is still carrying shrapnel in his body from a Ukrainian drone ambush.
PATRICK KWOBA, KENYAN INJURED IN UKRAINE (through translator): It hit me down here, but my food backpack saved my life. I didn't get burnt in my back because of my armor vest, but it tore my pants and burnt my buttocks and legs.
MADOWO: Patrick is a carpenter who says he was only given basic military training.
KWOBA (through translator): I asked my Russian partner for first aid, but he turned hostile.
MADOWO: So after you've been hit by a drone --
KWOBA: Yes.
MADOWO: -- and the grenade --
KWOBA: Yes.
MADOWO: -- you asked for help from your partner?
KWOBA: Yes.
MADOWO: And he sent you away?
KWOBA: Yes, he wanted to kill me. I have to run, my brother.
MADOWO: Patrick fled to the Kenyan Embassy in Moscow while on leave to recover from his injury.
MADOWO: So the only way to leave is to escape?
KWOBA: You need to escape, or you die. There's only two ways.
MADOWO: CNN has seen adverts, messages and recruitment documents aimed at foreign fighters. They offer Africans sign-on bonuses of $13,000, salaries up to $3,500 a month and Russian citizenship after a year.
CHARLES NJOKI, ESCAPED FROM RUSSIAN MILITARY: They are lying to people. The money that they tell people they are paying, that is not true.
MADOWO: Desperate for work and with a baby on the way, photographer Charles Njoki signed up to the Russian army hoping to avoid active combat. He believed his skills as a drone operator would keep him at a safe distance.
Instead, Charles says he was pushed onto the front lines and was wounded by a Ukrainian drone. He says a rescue team refused to come, forcing him to drink his own urine to survive.
MADOWO: You feel that the Africans were being sent to the front deliberately?
NJOKI: Yes.
MADOWO: So you didn't get the money?
NJOKI: Yes.
MADOWO: You didn't get the citizenship?
NJOKI: Yes. And I'm here suffering. I have an issue at my spine right now. There's a mortar (ph). I need to go and be removed.
MADOWO: Russian recruitment networks in Africa have gone underground after recent crackdowns. But despite growing suspicion from locals, recruits are still signing up.
Larry Madowo, CNN, Nairobi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: The Russian government has openly acknowledged recruiting foreign fighters, including Africans, to serve in its army to fight in Ukraine, and has publicized cases in which some were granted Russian citizenship after their service.
However, Russia's defense ministry and foreign ministry did not respond to CNN's request for comment on allegations that some African recruits were misled or coerced into fighting.
And ahead for us, just how deep does the Kremlin's propaganda machine go? We hear about one teacher who caught on camera the government's attempts to influence the minds of Russia's youngest.
[11:34:50]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID BORENSTEIN, CO-DIRECTOR, "MR. NOBODY AGAINST PUTIN": He never wavered. He shot undercover, and at the end, he had to flee Russia in order to get this footage out and put the film out into the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: Welcome back to the program.
As we've seen, the situation in Russia's military is dire and so the Kremlin's propaganda wheels keep on spinning, even working to influence the minds of children.
[11:39:53]
GOLODRYGA: A new Oscar-nominated documentary is revealing what's happening behind the closed doors of a school. One small town Russian teacher recorded what he saw and secretly got the footage out while fleeing the country.
Co-director David Borenstein joined me from Miami.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: David, I have to tell you, I was blown away by this film.
And Pasha, wow, what a brave individual. You know, heroes come in all shapes, forms, sizes, backgrounds, personalities. And he definitely proves to be one here.
He calls himself a nobody. He's not an activist. He works at a school in the same city, in town where he grew up, the same school where he attended. He's a teacher trying to do his job.
But in terms of resistance, just talk about what his work, what his determination to get this video made says about him.
BORENSTEIN: Well, he was committed to showing the world what was happening in his school.
He's the kind of teacher at that school that I think a lot of us all know. He's the kind of guy that a lot of the students would hang out in his office. And that's because he made them feel comfortable. Kids that didn't fit in were often hanging out in his office.
I had a teacher like this.
And when I first saw footage from Pasha's classroom, I immediately saw what kind of person he is. But throughout the next few years of changes that came as a result of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, his school was basically turned into a recruitment center for the military.
And he just followed it all the way through. He never wavered. He shot undercover. And at the end, he had to flee Russia in order to get this footage out and put the film out into the world.
GOLODRYGA: There are clips in this film, not only is it stunning how quickly everything changed once the war began, but the recruitment effort itself, including members from the notorious Wagner mercenary group. Let's play a clip from that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): As a teacher, I feel more and more useless. It's now time for the mercenaries to teach.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Don't film too much here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Wagner mercenaries, to be precise.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Wagner.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This mine is called a petal. It's being thrown out from airplanes. If it's a field or open space, you would never see it. It's very hard to see it in bushes or anywhere else.
If you this mine, walk around it. If you ever see it anywhere, never come close to it or touch it. There is liquid inside that blows up instantly. It will take your whole leg off in a second.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BORENSTEIN: It's heartbreaking. It's heartbreaking as a teacher to see your kids go through this and to be treated as expendable.
I think there's one more thing that footage like this tells us. If you look at the propaganda classes that are being taught in schools right now in Russia, you'll see that Putin has absolutely no intention of stopping with Ukraine.
One of the common themes in every single one of these lessons that you see is the preparation and the creation of a new generation of kids and future soldiers who are committed to empire and war.
GOLODRYGA: And you really have two ends of the spectrum. On one extreme, you have someone like Pasha, who not only is just disgusted by this, but speaks out against it and is recording it.
And on the other extreme is a teacher who really feels that he's supportive. That teacher, who is super awkward and it's obvious not well-liked by the students, not nearly as much as Pasha is, is then awarded Teacher of the Year and given a free apartment.
My real focus are those teachers who are somewhere in the middle, who may be more aligned with Pasha, but are too fearful to speak out. Let's play a clip of that one teacher who won the apartment and Teacher of the Year first.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The next point is the economy. The economic component of hybrid warfare. These are the sanctions against our country.
You already know that (INAUDIBLE), not Russia is suffering the most from sanctions now without energy that is, without gas, oil and so on.
[11:44:41]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In France, to fill the tank with petrol you need more than 150 euros. So, the French will soon be like musketeers, riding horses and rest of Europe, too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Your reaction to him? And then my earlier question about those teachers who fall somewhere in the middle.
BORENSTEIN: Right, yes. So many of the teachers just -- you know, they're literally reading from a script and you can see that they're doing it very half-heartedly.
I think that you're right to say there are a variety of reactions. You have Pasha, who gave up so much to show the world what was happening. You have Pavel Abdulmanov, who we just saw, who performs the propaganda with gusto.
But the vast majority just go along with it half-heartedly. It is a pretty interesting and potent example of the banality of evil. They're going along with it, but they don't believe in it.
And I think that actually is a nice and important characterization of the Russian system overall.
GOLODRYGA: Well, please give Pasha our best. Again, this was an incredible and it's such an important documentary to make.
Congratulations again on this very important film and the nomination for an Oscar.
BORENSTEIN: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Up next, it's kickoff time for the Winter Olympics. We go back to the 1988 Calgary Games, when Christiane met some of the performers vying to sing at the opening ceremonies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've always dreamed about going to the Olympics.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[11:46:18]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: Welcome back.
Skiing, skating, snowboarding and more. After a four-year wait, it is time for the Winter Olympics. Nearly 3,000 athletes from all over the world have descended on northern Italy to compete and inspire in these global games that began more than a century ago.
But the athletes aren't the only ones gearing up for the big days. All the performers are as well. It's their hard work that goes into those epic opening and closing ceremonies.
Back in 1988, Christiane met a few of those vying to win spots as singers to kick off the Winter Games in Calgary.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: The Olympic opening ceremony is always a big deal for the performers. It is perhaps even more important than the competition it heralds. This is the music they'll sing to during the grand finale opening day,
sponsored by the Coca-Cola Company. The search for singers began last fall. Six finalists were picked from 4,000 high school entrants across the United States. A live audition before the press and a panel of judges would determine the two winners.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've always dreamed about going to the Olympics. I think I could represent the United States pretty well.
(MUSIC)
AMANPOUR: From baritone to tenor, they gave the performances of their lives.
(MUSIC)
AMANPOUR: Waiting to find out, was almost as bad as waiting to go on.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm very nervous. I'm trying to keep my head straight. But I'm going to try to just make music. And then if they like it, that's good.
(MUSIC)
AMANPOUR: In the end, Jennifer was the female winner. What made the difference?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe expression. I think I had more contact with the audience.
AMANPOUR: For the male winner, 17-year-old John McVeigh, winning wasn't everything.
JOHN MCVEIGH, PERFORMER AT THE 1988 CALGARY WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES: It was almost disappointing to not know that all six of us couldn't be there. It's ok though, we got -- we got a chance to do this.
AMANPOUR: It's not just American singers who are headed for Calgary. The Olympic chorus will be made up of members from five continents and 30 countries, from Argentina to the USSR to China.
Competitions like this one have been going on all over the world to choose the 58 other Olympic singers who'll perform February 13th. But why pick high schoolers for the honor?
FRANK KING, CHAIRMAN 1988 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES: This is a wonderful idea. It's completely consistent with the Olympic ideals of excellence and youth.
(MUSIC)
AMANPOUR: Christiane Amanpour, CNN -- New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: What a great archive story. Got to love 80s hair, right? Well, when we come back, the 13-year-old boy who made an extraordinary
race to save his mother, brother and sister lost at sea. That's next.
[11:54:06]
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GOLODRYGA: And finally, an inspiring and almost unbelievable story this week that's captured the world's attention.
In Australia, 13-year-old Austin Appelbee has become a national hero after mounting a daring rescue when he, his mother and his younger siblings were swept off the country's western coast while kayaking.
Austin swam for two and a half miles through dark seas, high waves and strong winds to make it to shore, even ditching his life jacket at one point because it was slowing him down.
He then sprinted another mile just to get to a phone, where he raised the alarm, saving his mother, his 12-year-old brother and his 8-year- old sister, who had drifted close to nine miles off the coast by the time they were found.
Here's what he told CNN affiliate, the Seven Network, about his rescue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AUSTIN APPELBEE, 13-YEAR-OLD: I was fighting rough seas because I thought I saw something in the water, and I was really scared. I was just thinking, I was just thinking in my head, like thinking I was going to make it through.
[11:59:47]
APPELBEE: But I was also thinking about, like, all my friends at school and friends at my Christian youth. And yes, I just said, all right, not today, not today, not today. I have to keep on going.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Just extraordinary courage. Bravo, Austin.
Well, that's all the time we have. Don't forget, you can find all of our shows online as podcasts on CNN.com/audio and on all other major platforms.
I'm Bianna Golodryga in New York, thanks so much for watching.
