Russia-Trump: Who's who in the drama to end all dramas?

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin
It's more gripping than any box set we can get our hands on right now.
The investigations into Russian interference in the US election, and whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Kremlin, continue to deliver daily developments and drama worthy of anything seen in House of Cards.
There are several ongoing investigations into the Trump campaign's ties with Russia, and reports of imminent arrests.
Here is your viewer's guide to the main characters in the first three seasons of the only political drama that matters.
(Note: links to the key players do not work in the BBC News app)

Season One - The Election

This is the season in which Donald Trump, the reality TV star, takes centre stage in his own political drama by launching a presidential campaign. He's supported by his family and gets the attention of the Russians. The season ends with a cliffhanger - could Trump the outsider actually win?!
It's been a while since all of this happened, so let's remind you of the key players in this season.
Donald Trump - The boss
Who is he? Donald Trump, the billionaire candidate (who by Season Three is the 45th president of the United States). If you really need a refresher, here's his life story.
Key plot line As Donald Trump was busy traversing the country canvassing for votes, US intelligence officials said Russia hacked into the emails of his Democratic rivals.
The question is why? Was the Kremlin trying to alter the outcome of the election, and what did Trump and his campaign know?
What, if anything, did Donald Trump do to try to cover things up in the ongoing Russia investigation?
Paul Manafort - The manager
Who is heHe was Trump's campaign chairman before being forced to quit over his ties to Russian oligarchs and Ukraine.
Key plot line Paul Manafort spent more than a decade as a political consultant in Ukraine. He resigned from the campaign in August 2016, after he was accused of having links to pro-Russian groups there. He also sat in on a crucial meeting with a Russian lawyer who may have been trying to feed the Trump team classified information (more on that later).
We'll meet him again in Season Three, when the FBI raids his house as part of its investigations.
Donald Trump Jr - The boss' boy
Who is he? The president's eldest child. The Trump who we know did meet the Russians - the big question is why.
Key plot line The role of Donald Trump Jr in this unfolding saga all comes down to a meeting he had with a Russian lawyer, which was set up by a music publicist (the full details of which come out in Season Three). If it sounds random, then in many ways it is.
In June 2016, the publicist, Rob Goldstone, offered him a meeting with lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya promising Trump Jr dirt on Hillary Clinton. "This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr Trump," Goldstone wrote. "I love it" Trump Jr replied, and so he invited the pair to Trump Tower, where they met Trump staff Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort
This meeting is the key to much of our plot line because it raises several key questions. Did this amount to the campaign colluding with a foreign government? Why did he agree to the meeting? Don Jr says the meeting was about Russian adoption policy, and Veselnitskaya says she's not an agent of the Russian government. But it's the scene investigators will be playing over and over again as they try to work out if there was any impropriety.

Season Two - The Transition

Donald Trump confounds his critics by winning the presidency. But the transition is as gripping as the season before it as Trump picks his cabinet, introducing key characters to the mix. The season ends with Trump taking the oath of office on a cold January morning - but there are more twists to come.
Michael Flynn - The General
Who is he? The granite-faced former general who later became the shortest-serving member of Donald Trump's cabinet. He was forced to resign after not being honest about his contact with a Russian official - what did he know and who did he tell?
Key plot line Michael Flynn was appointed national security adviser just days after the election, against the advice of then-President Obama, who warned Trump not to hire him. Flynn's starring role came in December 2016, when he spoke to the Russian ambassador, Sergei Kislyak.
The Washington Post and New York Times said the men discussed Russian sanctions, and that Flynn later lied to the Vice President Mike Pence about the conversation (Kislyak said the men discussed only "simple things").
The FBI is now investigating Flynn. And here's where the president comes in - the agency is also looking at whether Trump tried to get it to back off this inquiry.
Sergei Kislyak - the ambassador
Who is he? Many roads in this drama lead back to Sergei Kislyak, the jolly and charismatic figure, who up until July 2017 was the Russian ambassador to Washington.
Key plot line Kislyak's role in this drama is unclear - but he makes several appearances as the man many of our cast have had meetings with. The key questions for investigators are - why were they drawn to him, and what was said? The Russian ambassador spoke to both Flynn and Sessions - meetings which both Trump officials didn't initially acknowledge took place.
Anything else we should know? Well, Russia fiercely fought back against claims on CNN that Kislyak was a "top spy and recruiter of spies".
Jeff Sessions - America's top lawyer
Who is he? Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III hovered in the background during Season One, when he was an Alabama senator and a trusted Trump adviser, but we really got to know him during Season Two, when he became Trump's nominee for attorney general.
Key plot line Sessions is one of a number of Trump's team to meet the Russian ambassador, Sergei Kislyak▼ and there are question marks over the nature of those meetings.
Since the FBI investigation focused on the Trump campaign, Sessions stood down from the inquiry. That decision led to plenty of tension, with Trump taking potshot after potshot at Sessions on Twitter.
Sessions has said any suggestion he colluded with Russia is "an appalling and detestable lie".

Season Three - The Presidency

This is where the drama really picked up and all the plot lines came together. A lot of the background characters we saw in Season One came back with a vengeance and the infighting got nasty - and, don't look now, but the police are circling.
Natalia Veselnitskaya - The go-between
Who is she? A Russian lawyer who has fought against US restrictions on Russia, with a fearsome reputation and a propensity for drama. But is she a Kremlin stooge? She says no.
Key plot line Hers is a small but crucial role - she's the one who Trump JrKushner and Manafort met in June 2016, the details of which were disclosed a year later once Trump became president. She says the meeting was to discuss adoptions - but those who helped set it up said she was offering dirt on the Democrats and Hillary Clinton's campaign. That meeting would never have happened without...
The Agalarovs - the pop star and his dad
Who are they? Emin Agalarov is Azerbaijan's biggest pop star, of course. Have you not heard Love is a Deadly Game? Emin helped bring Donald Trump's Miss Universe competition to Russia and the two are close enough to send each other birthday messages. His dad, Aras, is a billionaire who mixes in the highest circles of influence in Moscow.
Key plot line Emin is the man who set the wheels in motion on that Trump Jrmeeting. An email sent to Trump Jr suggests Emin was offering information on the Democrats (Emin says he didn't). The email also says Aras Agalarov had apparently met the "crown prosecutor" of Russia - a role that weirdly doesn't exist - and got information on Hillary Clinton. Are you keeping up?

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