Russia's Justice Ministry on Friday declared Pavel Talankin, the teacher and main protagonist of the Oscar-winning documentary 'Mr Nobody Against Putin,' a 'foreign agent.' Talankin fled Russia in 2024, smuggling out footage he recorded over two years at a school in the Chelyabinsk region, which was used in the film co-directed with U.S. filmmaker David Borenstein. The documentary exposes pro-war propaganda in Russian schools.

A Russian court banned the documentary from several streaming platforms on Thursday, alleging it promotes 'negative attitudes' about the Russian government and the war in Ukraine. The Justice Ministry statement, without naming the film, claimed that Talankin had 'disseminated inaccurate information' about Russia's leadership and 'spoken out against the special military operation in Ukraine,' Moscow's official term for the war.

Individuals listed as foreign agents in Russia face onerous bureaucratic requirements and income restrictions, and must label their social media posts and publications accordingly. In his acceptance speech at the Oscars ceremony on March 15, 2026, Talankin stated, 'For four years, we look at the sky for shooting stars to make a very important wish, but there are countries where instead of shooting stars, they have shooting bombs and shooting drones.' He called for an end to all wars 'in the name of our future and our children.'

The documentary has sparked controversy even among Russians who oppose Putin and the war, with some criticizing Talankin for filming colleagues and children without consent for his clandestine project. Talankin defended the film as a historical record showing how 'an entire generation became angry and aggressive.' Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said after the Oscars that he had not seen the film and therefore could not comment on it.

Source: www.aljazeera.com