A court in the Russian city of Chelyabinsk has ordered the removal of the documentary film 'Mr Nobody Against Putin' from three online video platforms. The ruling states that the film "propagates extremism and terrorism."

The BBC-produced documentary, which won an Oscar earlier this month, documents the ramping up of war propaganda in Russian schools following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The film is based on footage collected by school events coordinator Pavel Talankin, who later fled Russia.

Prosecutors argued that the documentary expressed a "negative attitude towards the [war in Ukraine] and the current government." The deputy prosecutor also claimed the film featured the flag of a "terrorist organization," referring to the white-blue-white flag used by anti-war protesters.

Earlier in March, a Russian governmental human rights body condemned the film for using footage of children without parental consent and said it would appeal to the Academy that awards the Oscars to launch an investigation. The film charts the Kremlin-mandated indoctrination of Russian schoolchildren, including lectures on the need to "denazify" Ukraine, speeches by war veterans, and lessons on how to spot mines and handle guns.

In his Oscars acceptance speech, Talankin said: "For four years we have looked at the sky for shooting stars to make a very important wish... But there are countries where, instead of shooting stars, bombs fall from the sky and drones fly. For the sake of our future, and for the sake of all our children, let's end all wars."

Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin has ramped up its repression of dissenting voices. Any public sign of opposition to the war can incur long prison sentences. The documentary, a Danish-Czech production, won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature and the Bafta award for Best Documentary earlier in 2026.

The Kremlin has sidestepped questions about the documentary in the wake of the Oscar win. Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: "I did not watch this film." During a meeting with representatives of the culture council on Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin said that Russian cinemas were showing "stupid and unnecessary" foreign films while Russian producers were not receiving enough support.

Source: www.bbc.com