Russia Bans Oscar-Winning Documentary, Labels Director Foreign Agent

A Russian court has banned the Oscar-winning documentary "Mr. Nobody Against Putin" from distribution on several streaming platforms, just days after Russia's Justice Ministry designated its co-director and protagonist, Pavel Talankin, as a foreign agent. The actions, announced on Thursday and Friday respectively, target a film that exposes pro-war propaganda in Russian schools and has drawn international acclaim for its unflinching portrayal of the country's education system amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

The documentary, co-directed by Talankin and American filmmaker David Borenstein, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2025, where it received a Special Jury Award. It went on to win the BAFTA for best documentary in February 2026 and the Academy Award for best documentary on March 15, 2026. The film draws on two years of secretly recorded footage that Talankin captured while working as a videographer at a school in the Chelyabinsk region of west-central Russia. Employed from around 2022, Talankin documented classroom lessons promoting the Kremlin's narrative on the Ukraine war, including lectures on "denazifying" Ukraine, speeches by veterans, and...