Russian Authorities Ban Oscar-Winning Documentary 'Mr Nobody Against Putin'

Thu Mar 26 2026 18:40:52 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

The BBC documentary, which critiques Russian war propaganda in schools, has been banned by a court in Chelyabinsk for supposedly promoting extremism.

A Russian court has prohibited the streaming of the Oscar-winning documentary 'Mr Nobody Against Putin', criticizing its portrayal of the Kremlin's indoctrination efforts in schools amid the Ukraine war. The film, based on real footage and experiences of a Kremlin-resisting educator, was accused of undermining state propaganda and expressing anti-government sentiment.

A court in Russia has banned the documentary Mr Nobody Against Putin from three streaming platforms on the grounds that it propagates extremism and terrorism.

The BBC documentary, which won an Oscar earlier this month, documents the ramping up of war propaganda in a Russian school following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

It is based on footage collected by Pavel Talankin, a school events coordinator who later fled Russia.

Prosecutors argued that the documentary expressed a negative attitude towards the [war in Ukraine] and the current government, according to Russian media.

The deputy prosecutor also said the film featured the flag of a terrorist organisation, referring to the white-blue-white flag which has been used by anti-war protesters.

The ruling was issued by a court in the city of Chelyabinsk, not far from the town of Karabash, where Talankin's school is located. It will require the film to be removed from three online video platforms.

Earlier in March, a Russian governmental human rights body condemned the documentary for using footage of children collected without their parents' consent and said it would appeal to the Academy that awards the Oscars to launch an investigation.

Mr Nobody Against Putin 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.

The documentary also features stories of Talankin's former students joining the army and dying in Ukraine, as well as his own acts of resistance.

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, he concluded.

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 in long prison sentences.

The documentary, which is a Danish-Czech production, won the Oscar for the Best Documentary Feature and Bafta award for Best Documentary earlier in 2026.

The Kremlin has sidestepped questions about the documentary in the wake of the Oscar win.

I did not watch this film, Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

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.

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