Vladimir Putin once had police raid a cinema showing a film for breaching a very specific law.
Putin has never been a leader to be far away from headlines, shown most recently by his ongoing public spat with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Sources close to the Kremlin have confirmed that Putin will proceed in his war with Ukraine as planned despite clear threats from Trump.
Trump criticised Putin for refusing to agree with a ceasefire, with Trump reported to have privately asked Volodymyr Zelenskyy if Ukraine had the capabilities to strike Moscow.
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Putin has served as the President of Russia since 2012 and once controversially shut down screenings of a film called a ‘masterpiece.’
The movie was The Death of Stalin, an Armando Iannucci Dark Comedy about the Russian response to the death of Joseph Stalin.
Starring Steve Buscemi, Jason Isaacs, Jeffrey Tambor, and Andrea Riseborough, it tells a comical version of the real-life struggle for power that followed Stalin’s sudden demise in 1953.
It is not the only film to have led police to raid cinemas for daring to show it, with one UK cinema raided for showing a controversial horror.
With a score of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, however, is arguably the most widely acclaimed movie to have forced a police raid, with Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian giving it a five-star review.
Bradshaw said in their review: “The Death Of Stalin is superbly cast, and acted with icy and ruthless force by an A-list lineup.
“There are no weak links. Each has a plum role; each squeezes every gorgeous horrible drop.”
Ty Burr of the Boston Globe also gave the film a perfect four out of four star review, saying: “Vladimir Putin's Ministry of Culture ministry has banned The Death of Stalin from being shown in Russia. There can be no greater praise.”
The film was indeed banned by Putin, a last-minute decision taken after senior officials at the Kremlin were shown a private screening of the film.
An advisory committee set up to address concerns with the film had suggested that it be postponed in its release to avoid clashing with the 75th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Stalingrad.
This led Pavel Pozhigailo, a member of the committee, to suggest the film insulted the country’s ‘historic symbols: the Soviet anthem, orders and medals.’
A cinema in Moscow was raided by police for trying to breach the ban and screen the film, something the Kremlin had warned could lead to massive fines and even permanent closures if any cinemas contravened the ban.
Leonid Parfyonov, a Russian Journalist and Filmmaker, spoke to the AFP News Agency about the incident, saying: “I am worried as a citizen, that someone is going to decide what I should watch or not.
“I lived in the Soviet Union for too long to now know what it is.”
Death of Stalin is available to rent and buy on the Apple TV+ store.
Topics: Russia, Vladimir Putin, Film
Michael Slavin