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Powerful Broadway Play Examines Jewish Oligarch Who Backed Putin, Regretted It
In one telling scene in the Broadway show Patriots, Jewish actor Michael Stuhlbarg, who plays oligarch Boris Berezovsky, thinks Vladimir Putin would be a good choice to be the next Russian leader because he is a “nobody” who once drove a taxi. In addition, when he offered Putin a bribe in the form of a Mercedes, Putin refused.
So how do we explain that Putin later demanded the oligarchs pay him extravagant sums of money? We know, of course, that people change once they are given power, and there is no certain way to know how anyone will react.
Stuhlbarg should win the Tony Award for Best Actor for his incredible performance. We even see him as a child studying math with his Jewish teacher, played with great flare by Jewish actor Ronald Guttman. The professor warns him not to go away from academia, but Berezovsky doesn’t listen; in one scene, they wish each other a “Shana Tova” marking the Jewish New Year.
Stuhlbarg is fantastic as a man who thinks he is in control, even after surviving an assassination attempt. There is also the fascinating relationship between another Jewish oligarch, Roman Abramovich, played by an excellent Luke Thallon, who has some care for Berezovsky, but realizes his bread is better buttered by being loyal to Putin.
As the notorious Russian leader, the first few moments we see Will Keen play Putin are off-putting, because he has a strong British accent. Still, he looks a bit like Putin and his body language is so strong that halfway into the show, you believe his performance.
I asked a Russian audience member what she thought of this, and she said: “we prefer no accent to a bad accent.”
In seeing Putin as dangerous, Berezovsky eventually instructs the anchor at his television station to blast Putin, but as a result, he has to flee to England. The situation becomes more tenuous when his chief ally, Alexander Litvinenko, played by Alex Hurt, is killed by a strange poison.
Stuhlbarg’s performance is astoundingly good, depicting the complex contradictions of a man that could have the wisdom to become greatly affluent, but also could underestimate Putin and assume he would only do as the oligarchs wanted.
Putin was in the KGB and might have played Berezovsky, but either way, it’s fascinating to realize that we never know how a few decisions will alter the world and make someone a leader of a country. The play shows an often-drunk Boris Yeltsin (Paul Kynman) saying goodbye in a TV address as he leaves office, and the reigns are handed to Putin.
Stuhlbarg and Keen are a dynamic duo, and Stuhlbarg’s scenes with Thallon are also compelling, showing the financial battle between Berezovsky and Abramovich. A British court ruled against Berezovsky, who sued Abramovich, and some say he may have committed suicide in depression while others believe he was murdered.
Written by Peter Morgan and directed by Rupert Goold, there is a chilling effect while watching the show, even though we know what will happen.
The second half is more intense than the first, and it is an interesting journey in which Berezovsky starts at the top and ends up at the bottom. Should he be blamed for ushering Putin in and recommending him to Yeltsin? Should he be praised for fighting against Putin when he saw who he became? It’s hard to say. But the play does well to show that people work under certain beliefs, and it takes a lot for them to do an about face.
The play runs a few more weeks until June 23, and I highly recommend it. It is a cautionary tale about the nature of ambition and sacrifice. Without Berezovsky, would Putin have risen to power? Possibly not but again, things are hard to know. Could there have been an even worse leader if someone else was selected? It seems hard to imagine with the Russia invasion of Ukraine and fears of a nuclear war, but things can often be worse than we know.
The author is a writer based in New York.
The post Powerful Broadway Play Examines Jewish Oligarch Who Backed Putin, Regretted It first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.