A district court in the Russian city of Chelyabinsk has banned distribution of the Oscar-winning film Mr. Nobody Against Putin throughout Russia, according to a report by the independent outlet Mediazona, citing its correspondent in the courtroom.
Prosecutors had asked the court to ban the film “in the interests of an indefinite circle of persons.” They sought to restrict access to it at three web addresses: VK Video, Yandex.kz, and Motion Video.
According to the prosecution, “the content of the film is shaped through overall militarization,” and it expresses a “negative attitude toward the special military operation and the current authorities.” Prosecutors added that a white-blue-white flag shown in the film amounted to “propaganda of extremism and terrorism,” as the flag is considered a symbol of the Freedom of Russia Legion.
Separately, prosecutors noted that the film shows the faces of minors without permission from their parents. Last week, Russia’s Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights sent appeals to the organizers of the Academy Awards and to UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany complaining about the use of footage of Russian schoolchildren in the documentary without the consent of their parents or legal guardians.
The documentary Mr. Nobody Against Putin was directed by Pavel Talankin and David Borenstein. At the center of the story is Talankin himself, a schoolteacher and videographer from the town of Karabash in Russia’s Chelyabinsk Region. Prior to the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Talankin already worked as the school’s videographer. After the start of the invasion, he continued to film life inside the school, documenting the growing ideological push in the Russian educational system as mandatory “patriotic” lessons were introduced, signs of militarization appeared, and the state ramped up pressure on students and teachers.
In 2024, Talankin fled Russia, taking the footage with him. With Borenstein’s help, it was turned into a documentary film. Mr. Nobody Against Putin premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in the United States in 2025, where it received a Special Jury Award. The film also won a BAFTA. This marks the third time in recent years that a film critical of the Russian government has won the award, following Navalny in 2023 and 20 Days in Mariupol in 2024.
In March, the film won the Oscar for best documentary feature.
