17 minutes, 2015
Réalisation : Ksenia BOLCHAKOVA (Russie)
Production : France 24 (France)

The Russian offensive in Syria adds to a war that grinds the country for nearly five years. How is the situation of the population?
The reporter for France 24, Ksenia Bolchakova, was able to visit the cities controlled by the regim, accompanied by an assigned translator. The eyes and ears of the regime. It is in these special conditions Ksenia Bolchakova has travelled in the country of Bashar al-Assad. She has been able to visit the western areas remained under his control. In fact, she has never heard any criticism of the Syrian government or the President. Bashar al-Assad, in these parts. His portraits are everywhere. On storefronts, buildings, billboards, balconies, car windshield, strollers …
From south to north, along the Mediterranean Sea, support for the dictatorship seems flawless. As for those who might think differently – those who are not dead – they hide and be silent.
The France 24 journalist had the chance to visit several cities in the Syria that Bashar gained : Damascus Latakia to Homs Qardakha. Here is his travelogue.

Ksenia Bolchakova was born in Moscow. Journalist for 10 years, she made her beginning at BFMTV before leaving in 2010 to Russia where and until last September it covers news about this country and its close neighbors (Ukraine, Belarus, Central Asia …). France 24 correspondent, Europe 1 and TSR also regularly collaborates with TF1, France Télévisions and various production companies for filming documentaries and reportages. Since his return to Paris in the fall of 2015, she made only stories as his “Roadmap in Syria of Bashar al-Assad” (France24) and turns to shows such as “Envoyé Spécial” and “Pièces à convictions” . It is licensed in Philosophy and a Master of Journalism from the Sciences-Po Paris School of Journalism.