<
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/mar/02/teacher-putin-primary-school-propoganda-mr-nobody-against-putin-pavel-talankin>
"In order to watch the Oscar-nominated documentary in which many of them have
starring roles, pupils at Karabash School No 1 have had to source bootlegged
copies, viewing the film in private, on their phones or their laptops.
Last week’s Bafta best documentary win for
Mr Nobody Against Putin has been
studiously ignored by Russian state media, and the prize the film won at
Sundance last year was also met with silence. Staff at the school and
government officials in the Kremlin seem united in their desire to pretend that
they know nothing about the film.
But Pavel Talankin, school teacher, co-director and hero of the documentary, is
hopeful that the film’s inclusion at the Oscars later this month will make more
Russians aware of its existence.
His footage shows his colleagues grappling with the rollout of a new
government-mandated, patriotic education programme designed to mould primary
schoolchildren into Putin enthusiasts and supporters of the war against
Ukraine. The documentary reveals Russia’s potent propaganda machine in action.
“I hope it will help these children in the future to understand that they were
the victims of all this,” Talankin says. “This film is primarily aimed at
Russians, showing them what is happening inside their schools now.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
