Overview
- A district court in Chelyabinsk has barred distribution of the documentary “Mr. Nobody vs. Putin” across Russia on extremism and terrorism grounds.
- Prosecutors said the film aimed to show a negative view of the authorities and the “special military operation,” and they called shots of a white‑blue‑white flag terrorist propaganda because Russia lists the symbol as extremist.
- The documentary draws on footage shot by school staffer Pavel Talankin in Karabash School No. 1, showing state-scripted patriotic classes known as Conversations About Important Things.
- The film premiered at Sundance and later won an Oscar, which prompted Russia’s presidential human rights council to ask the Academy and UNESCO to review whether minors’ rights were respected.
- Independent reporting cited alongside the ruling describes children in many schools making items for soldiers and notes FSB figures on thousands of youths prosecuted in recent years, underscoring the film’s focus on youth and militarization.