tonight, we're on the ground in russia. >> this is quite a show of force. >> when president vladimir putin has an iron grip on power. >> this is a risky thing you're about to go too. >> yeah, it's russia. >> dan harris in the streets with young people daring to stand up to the kremlin. >> is he trying to start a fight? >> yes. >> and the biker gang with a reputation for violence riding in to defend their president. plus, the alleged russian troll factory exposed. i'm from abc news in the united states. [ bleep ]. >> accused of raging a propaganda war in the u.s. >> and we travel into siberia. brutal, beautiful, where the

effects of putin's regime may be as unforgiving as the landscape. >> it's dangerous for us to speak with you. >> ten days across a country where nothing is as it seems. this special edition of nightline, putin's power, a journey inside russia will be right back.

this is a special edition of

nightline. putin's power, a journey inside russia. >> when you see all these police, is it scary for you? >> in some ways, yes. >> on a saturday night in st. petersburg, russia, this graduate student is taking on one of the most feared men on the planet. >> is that a dangerous thing to do? >> he's nervous, but resolute as he joins a protest against president vladimir putin. because putin is accuses of silencing his critics through violence, and this protest is happening on his birthday in his hometown. things are about to escalate. in russia, vladimir putin is power personified. power that he has projected all over the world. including by meddling in

america's election. >> hacking attacks. >> new questions about russian interference. >> i have nothing to do with russia. >> what is it really like on the ground in russia? >> just arrived in russia? >> how does putin maintain his iron grip. >> this is the kgp. >> anyone can walk up to the red square? >> that's the kremlin? >> yeah. >> the thing in front of it is lennon's mausoleum. >> as a kid, i would see videos from here and i would have nightmares. my parents had to send me to a shrink, now i'm here. not far from here, a reminder of where we are. an anti-putin activist murdered within site of the kremlin. he rose from a mid level spy to russia's unquestioned ruler for

17 years and now has a nearly 90% approval rating fueled by flamboyant photo opens and the brutal crushing of his opponents. >> already we have a problem, one of the people we were planning to spend the most time with, he got arrested. this is what democracy in russia looks like. >> putin's mange political opponent in a courtroom facing jail again. >> police are yelling at the journalists, the defendant is taking instagram videos. >> my story about you being here, have nice footage of me being arrested. >> you think they'll let you out or are they going to send you away? >> he has reason to be paranoid. he's been called the man vladimir putin fears most. he leads anti-putin rallies

across the country. where he's been publicly beaten and even once nearly blinded when a green substance was sprayed in his face. eventually the judge enters and delivers the verdict, guilty for violating a law on organizing public meetings. >> do you speak yes. >> you do? >> he's going to jail for 20 days? >> he cannot attend a large anti-putin protest he had been planning just days from now. but he swiftly announces on facebook, the protest will proceed anyway, and will, in fact, go nationwide, at which point the gover quickly begins. >> we woke up to the news that the government carried out raids overnight. >> this is an opposition leader face down on the floor, a

heavily armed police officer restraining him. all videotaped by state run media and posted on the internet. tonya works for the same group as the man who got arrested. their group is called open russia, and their offices got raided. >> you think this is because of the protests on saturday? >> yes. >> as we round the corner, i am stopped short by what's ahead. armed, masked officers. >> can i show the door, is that okay? >> you can try to, but be careful. >> i'm going to open it, you can see where they broke through the door here. >> you seem very relaxed for somebody whose offices are being searched -- >> no, no, no, no. i am here because i love my country and i thing that we have to do something.

it's not possible to live under this pressure. the country is in danger. >> st. petersburg, home of the tsars and birth place of putin. the day of national protest has arrived and the potential for conflict is real. it all begins with a show of force from one of vladimir putin's most unusual allies, an ultranationalist, anti-western, anti-gay and allegedly violent biker gang called the night wolves. the group is led by a man known as the surgeon. alexander zoldostano. he's a personal friend of the president. >> how did this motorcycle club develop such a strong relationship with the leader of

this country? >> funding of this group is not part of a propaganda effort? >> propaganda -- >> despite his denials, the gang does get funding from the kremlin they're not just some show piece. during russia's invasion of ukraine. this gang was accused of taking part. >> the u.s. government has sanctioned you and your group accusing you of committing criminal acts in ukraine, is there any truth to that? [ speaking russian ] >> if the protesters show up anywhere near here tonight, what will happen? [ speaking russian ] >> the opposition protesters could not be more different.

>> i'm dan. nice to meet you. we visit with a 23-year-old graduate student named alexander. >> this is where you live? >> yeah. >> how many people live here? >> four people. >> are you excited for this tonight's event? >> yes, and i hope it's safe. >> have you been arrested before? >> no. >> he and his roommate represent the young voter. slick videos document the alleged corruption of putin and his inner circle. this is a risky thing you're about to go do. >> yeah, it's russia. >> alexander's nerves are starting to show. the police have promised to act partially. >> when you see all these police, is it scary for you? >> in some way, yes.

there's two options, you get arrested or not. if you're fast enough. >> things are starting to ramp up just ahead, we move in to see what's beyond the roadblocks. >> i don't know if you want to stay with us. >> we will wait here. >> scared me. >> we're seeing another group of police here. these are the riot police with the batons and the masks? this is quite a show of force. >> this group of protesters here are completely surrounded by riot police. looks like they're getting ready to do something. they're yelling this is an unauthorized march, driving people to the corners. are you okay? >> yeah. [ speaking russian ]

>> when the police aren't wading into the crowd, we're told they're sending in instigators to stir up trouble. they're trying to start a fight? >> yes. >> here we go. >> this kind of thing in america, nobody bats an eye. people protest the government all the time. they have for years. here, it is a radical act. as things wind down we catch back up with alexander. >> it was pretty tough at times. >> as always in russia. >> how much impact due think you're having? >> there's a mall right over here, people are continuing to shop. restaurants all around, people are just living their life all around you. >> yes. we can make this stand all together. only all together.

>> a brave idealistic stance, you can't help but wonder if it's futile here. coming up, what happens when we try to get inside an alleged troll factory, where they manufacture fake news. and we travel to siberia, where these families could be paying a very high price for the putin presidency. my 30-year marriage... ...my 3-month old business... plus...what if this happened again? i was given warfarin in the hospital, but wondered, was this the best treatment for me? so i made a point to talk to my doctor. he told me about eliquis. eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots and reduces the risk of them happening again. not only does eliquis treat dvt and pe blood clots. eliquis also had significantly less major bleeding than the standard treatment. eliquis had both... ...and that turned around my thinking. don't stop eliquis unless your doctor tells you to. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding.

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find out for ourselves. what's allegedly happening here, the manufacturer of fake news. this is a so-called troll factory. >> i'm from abc news in the united states -- [ bleep ] we barely make it past the front door. >> we'll leave. this is the epicenter of russia's propaganda war. something they clearly do not want us to see. inside we're told dozens of internet trolls are endeavoring to exploit america's divisions. these are just some of the thousands of ads they posted online during the 2016 presidential campaign, which reached more than 150 million americans on facebook alone. we didn't make it inside. >> where are we? >> we're now on our way to meet someone who says she did. >> she lives way out. >> she's a journalist who went undercover in 2015, working at

the factory for about $700 a month. she and some other ex-trolls shot these undercover videos inside the building, showing tight security and rows of trolls typing away. >> what was your job when you were working there? her job would involve inventing fictional characters and posting under their names on topics carefully selected by their bosses. the u.s. would always be at the top of the list. another self-described former troll talked to a liberal russian tv station about being directed to target american audiences by adopting multiple online personalities. such as a white person from kentucky or an african-american from new york city. for speaking out, she and her family have faced threats, but she says she remains dedicated to her mission, shutting that

factory down. far from the mystery of the troll factory, and the grandeur of st. petersburg, an entirely different world. siberia, home to some of this country's poorest people. here in the city, we're about to see one of the darkest manifestations of the putin presidency. the grim reality of perhaps the worst aids crisis in the developed world. aids testing taking place in the shadows, including for this mother with her children by her side. this man vitaly is also getting tested. like many people here, he's a drug addict, heroin has helped fuel russia's aids epidemic.

>> are you nervous? >> after 15 minutes, he gets his results. >> it shows positive. >> positive. >> i can only imagine how scary that is. >> as the news sinks in, he can no longer speak. and the woman who came with her children, also positive. the aids epidemic is growing at a frightening speed, left unchecked for too long. critics say, because putin who has wrapped himself in the aura of the orthodox church has resisted addressing these issues. >> this is a clinic for mothers and children who are infected by the hiv virus. >> this mother is hiv positive, she doesn't know yet whether her son daniel also has the virus. some people have criticized the government for making the epidemic worse by not being willing to talk about sex education. from your point of view, is the

government doing enough? this 17-year-old says he only recently started to understand his disease. >> who do you blame for this? in part do you blame vladimir put putin? marina runs the center. >> how are you doing, buddy. >> she says it's a rare safe haven from rampant discrimination. >> what's your name? >> anton. >> how old are you? >> she says putin's government has damaged efforts to address this crisis. while they do promote monogamy as a fix, they've rejected proven approaches such as needle exchanges and free condoms as western practices.

meanwhile, people continue to die. marina shows us the center's aids quilt. >> we don't have enough time to finish. >> the lack of education means many people here refuse to take life saving medications. marina says she's dealt with years of what she calls government harassment. >> when you call me, i thought is it dangerous for us to speak with you? >> the kremlin has gone so far as to classify her and others like her as foreign agents. in other words, spies. after ten days in russia, standing here with these families caught up in a lethal health crisis, i'm struck by the horrifying irony. in a country where putin weaponizes lies to crush his enemies and even to create mischief in american politics, in this atmosphere of deliberate

falsehoods, it is these people who are punished, simply for pointing out a painful truth. this special edition of nightline is brought to you by swifer. anif you've got a lifee. you gotta swiffer the unpredictability of a flaree may weigh on your mind. thinking about what to avoid, where to go, and how to work around your uc. that's how i thought it had to be.

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we want to thank you for watching this special edition of "nightline." i want to thank the amazing team that worked so hard on tonight's reporting. as always, we are online 24/7 on our nightline facebook page. thank you again for watching and good night.

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