The Dissident

Smitten with a Jewish woman, a gentile asks his Jewish pal to advise him on how to act like a member of the community.

While investigating the furtive world of illegal doping in sports, director Bryan Fogel connects with renegade Russian scientist Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov—a pillar of his country’s “anti-doping” program. Over dozens of Skype calls, urine samples, and badly administered hormone injections, Fogel and Rodchenkov grow closer despite shocking allegations that place Rodchenkov at the center of Russia’s state-sponsored Olympic doping program.

Fogel’s follow-up provides a hair-raising mixture of Kafkaesque nightmare and Le Carré-type suspense as, over the course of three years, Rodchenkov is a nomad refugee, continuously moving residences, protected by his heardbut-never-seen security detail. Why? Vladimir Putin has publicly stated his determination to kill Rodchenkov. Fogel’s astonishing story includes Rodchenkov’s daring attempts to counter Putin’s charges, and his painful efforts to obtain U.S. citizenship.