Called "Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War," the series, like many such offerings on Netflix, is lengthy – 10 episodes mostly of an hour or more each – and keeps company with other similar documentaries, even on the rather scantily-stocked version of the streaming channel as made available in Estonia.

Series director Brian Knappenberger spoke to "Ringvaade," and explained the series' rationale.

"I think that the war in Ukraine continues to be a real concern and a very critical kind of turning point for where we are and in the future," he said.

"About two months into it is when Putin invaded Ukraine: I had already made a film in Kyiv a long time ago, about the Orange Revolution, so we were glued to the screen, we were watching like everybody was, the tanks going into Kyiv; it was a really dramatic moment. We understood that this was history playing out," Knappenberger continued.

"But the history that we were telling about the Cold War was laying the groundwork for the tensions now; that these tensions come from the Cold War. That what is happening in Ukraine now is really a reflection of Cold War tensions."

As for Prime Minister Kallas' participation in the show, Knappenberger said: "We were very honored to get her interview and I thought her interview was really spectacular and wonderful."

"I think her perspective helps a lot. She talks very movingly about her family, what they went through under Soviet rule and occupation of Estonia," he continued.

In the documentary, Kallas said: "We are a small country. We can only give military aid as much as we can give. But when Ukrainians decided that they were going to defend their country, we have to do everything for them to let them defend their home."

"We saw the history repeating itself. The same playbook we saw during our occupation. The same sufferings that our people we through, our grandmothers and grandfathers, we saw the same happening in Ukraine," she went on.

Knappenberger told "Ringvaade" that: "The story of Estonia right now is really critical; I think a lot of people in Estonia are really wondering what happens if Putin is successful in Ukraine, where does he go next, and so this is a real and very important issue."

Historian Andrei Hvostov also saw the Netflix series and gave his frank opinion on it to "Ringvaade," which could roughly be summarized as of it being fairly standard fare for the streaming channel.

"Actually, I often don't like things like that," Hvostov said.

"The hundred-odd interviews that get done, but then Klappenberger doesn't let each person talk for very long. So there's 30 seconds of talking heads, but since there's a 'risk' that a viewer can 'die' of boredom, they quickly cut to images where everything is exploding, missiles letting fly, soldiers marching – there's something happening on the screen all the time. Honestly, it gets a bit tiring."

On the other hand, there were some redeeming qualities to the series too, he said.

"The pathos of this documentary is to show the entire panning out of the Cold War era; mutual influences and what all this did to someone like Putin, who grew up in that era and ultimately takes his worldview from there."

"In this sense, the filmmakers can be commended for making it quite convincing, for that reason alone I recommend watching it," Hvostov summed up.

As for the prime minister, Hvostov said: "She talks about her family story, which is very moving. But I have to tell the Estonian viewer that the main people who provide real information are people like Condoleezza Rice or Robert Gates, such high-caliber American or German politicians."

"Representatives of small countries just provide historical background, moving family stories, which should give some human dimensions to the matter," Hvostov noted.

"From this series, I found out that the leaders of the superpowers were indeed already sitting in nuclear bunkers and actually waiting," Hvostov said, noting that in 1983, the greatest tensions were caused by two events: The Americans placed medium-range nuclear missiles in West Germany that summer, and a South Korean passenger plane being shot down over the [Russian] Far East in the fall, killing 269 innocent people.

The series also aids us in understanding why many Western nations have been so hesitant in supporting Ukraine and dare not overly provoke Putin, Hvostov said. "If you have watched through the 10 hours, then you will get to understand how major the fear has been in the Western world from the second half of the 20th century to the present day, of the Russian nuclear weapon, an absolutely wild fear."

Hvostov candidly noted how this differed from the Estonian view of Russia today, and the shortcomings even of that viewpoint.

"In Estonia, this is not fully understood, because our strategic thinking extends to Pskov (around 50 kilometers from the Estonia-Russia border – ed.). To put it a bit figuratively, if its fur stands on end and it meows, then it's a cat, while if it dreams of the dissolution of Russia and forgets about the Russian nuclear arsenal, then it's an Estonian security analyst," he quipped.

The full "Ringvaade" segment with the Knappenberger interview in English in the first half, is below.

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