Russian court bans Oscar-winning ‘Mr. Nobody Against Putin’

A Russian court banned the distribution of “Mr. Nobody Against Putin,” which won Best Documentary at the Academy Awards on March 15, citing extremism.rferl
The film documents how a school in the Chelyabinsk region was transformed by pro-war propaganda after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, based on secretly filmed footage.bbc
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said he had not watched the film; Russia’s human rights council has asked the Academy and UNESCO to investigate its production.themoscowtimes

Russia Bans Oscar-Winning Documentary “Mr. Nobody Against Putin”

A court in the Russian city of Chelyabinsk has banned the distribution of “Mr. Nobody Against Putin,” the documentary that won Best Documentary Feature at the 98th Academy Awards on March 15, ordering its removal from three online video platforms. The ruling, reported on March 26 by the exiled Russian news outlet Mediazona, marks the first formal judicial action to restrict access to the film inside Russia.rferl

Prosecutors Call Film “Extremism”

The Central District Court upheld a request from state prosecutors to remove the documentary from VK Video, Yandex.kz, and Motion Video “in the interests of an indefinite number of persons,” according to The Moscow Times. Prosecutors argued the film conveys a “negative attitude toward the special military operation and the current government” — using the Kremlin’s mandated euphemism for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.bbc

Officials also claimed the documentary displays extremist and terrorist symbols, including the white-blue-white flag associated with anti-war protesters and the Freedom of Russia Legion, which Russia’s Supreme Court has banned. Prosecutors further alleged that co-director Pavel Talankin filmed schoolchildren without obtaining parental consent.themoscowtimes

Inside the Film

The documentary, co-directed by Talankin and American filmmaker David Borenstein, is built on two years of footage Talankin secretly gathered while working as a videographer at a school in Karabash, a small mining town in the Chelyabinsk region. The film captures how the school was transformed after the 2022 invasion — with pro-war propaganda lessons, militarized youth organizations, and the recruitment of graduating students to fight in Ukraine.rottentomatoes

Talankin fled Russia in 2024 with the hard drives containing the footage. The film premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where it won a Special Jury Award, and went on to win the BAFTA for Best Documentary before its Oscar triumph.rferl

Kremlin’s Muted Response

The Kremlin has avoided directly addressing the film’s content. “I did not watch this film,” spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Earlier in March, Russia’s Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights appealed to the Academy and UNESCO to investigate the documentary’s use of footage of minors. The ban comes as the third Oscar in four years has gone to a film critical of Moscow, following “Navalny” in 2023 and “20 Days in Mariupol” in 2024.brandiconimage