Russian court alleges film promotes ‘negative attitudes’ about the Russian government and the war in Ukraine
A Russian court banned the Oscar-winning documentary Mr Nobody Against Putin from several streaming platforms on Thursday, alleging it promoted “negative attitudes” about the Russian government and the war in Ukraine.
The film documents pro-war propaganda lessons delivered at a school in Russia’s Chelyabinsk region, using two years of footage secretly filmed and smuggled out of the country by the school’s videographer, Pavel Talankin.
It includes footage of Russian schoolchildren absorbing lectures on the need to “denazify” Ukraine and speeches by war veterans, taking part in grenade-throwing competitions and lessons on how to handle guns.
Russia’s Kremlin-appointed human rights council complained about the film last week, saying that “images of minors were used without obtaining the consent of their parents” and that it would appeal to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which runs the Oscars, to launch an investigation.
