"Mr. Nobody Against Putin" Wins Oscar; Meet the Russian Teacher Who Confronts State Propaganda

Following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the Russian government issued extensive directives to schools, mandating specific pro-war lesson plans, videos, and curricula. Teachers were forced to indoctrinate children with messages supporting the war and demonizing Ukraine, often at the expense of actual academic subjects.

Pasha Tankin describes how 'directives from the government came into the school with requirements of what lessons to teach' (05:41) and 'sheav and sheav of paper with photos and lesson plans and videos and very complete instructions and curriculums of what the teachers were supposed to do and say about the war' (07:59). David Borenstein notes that 'so much of the lesson time was taken up by these propaganda lessons, the kids didn't have enough time to actually learn the curriculum' (09:04).

Pasha Tankin's act of secretly filming and sharing footage of the propaganda machine became increasingly dangerous. Initially, he hoped to stay in Russia, but new 'foreign agent' and 'treason' laws criminalized his collaboration with foreign filmmakers, making him liable for potentially life-long imprisonment if caught.

David Borenstein explains that 'within the first year of working on this project together, there was a foreign agent law that completely criminalized the way we worked together. And then even more concerningly, there was this treason law that basically completely criminalized everything he's saying inside the film' (10:23). He adds, 'if Pasha were to get caught filming and sending the footage to me, he could end up in prison for a very, very long time, potentially for the rest of his life' (10:41).

The film explores the profound personal and ethical questions faced by individuals like Tankin: whether one 'Mr. Nobody' can truly make a difference against an oppressive regime, and if the sacrifice of leaving one's life and students behind is worth the potential impact of exposing the truth.

Borenstein discusses the 'conversations and discussions' around Pasha leaving Russia, asking 'Is this the right thing to do? Would showing the world this footage make big enough of a difference? Can one person, one Mr. Nobody really go up against someone like Putin or a regime as big and oppressive as Russia?' (11:24).