Mr Nobody Against Putin: Filming the System From Inside a Russian School

At the 2026 Academy Awards, one of the most discussed moments of the evening did not come from a Hollywood production, but from a documentary filmed far from any red carpet. Mr Nobody Against Putin, awarded the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, tells the story of a school videographer from a small Russian town who was asked to record loyalty, and instead documented what Putin’s regime wanted to keep hidden.

The film is built on footage recorded inside an ordinary Russian school after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when new state instructions began to reshape the education system. Schools received detailed directives on how lessons should be conducted, what language teachers were expected to use, and how patriotic messaging had to be integrated into everyday teaching.

Pavel Talankin, responsible for filming school activities and sending reports to authorities, was expected to provide visual proof that these rules were being followed.

Lessons prepared according to official guidelines, rehearsed ceremonies, conversations between teachers and administrators, instructions delivered from above — the material revealed how political control entered classrooms step by step, through procedure rather than force. The footage, later shared with filmmaker David Borenstein through encrypted communication, became the foundation of the documentary Mr Nobody Against Putin, released in March 2025.

After the film was completed, Talankin began receiving messages from teachers across the country. Some wrote to thank him. Others said they had left their jobs, unwilling to continue working under the new requirements. According to the film, thousands of educators resigned during that period rather than take part in what they saw as the transformation of education into a tool of state propaganda.

Before the documentary’s release, Talankin left Russia, understanding that the material he had recorded could put him at risk. After authorities learned about the film, security officers reportedly gathered school administrators and instructed them not to comment, not to speak publicly, and not to contact him.

At the Oscars ceremony, Talankin and director David Borenstein were among the few winners who used the stage to make a political statement. Holding the award, Talankin addressed the audience with a brief appeal:

“In the name of our future, in the name of all of our children, please stop. Stop the war.”

The documentary shows that the Kremlin’s propaganda system operates not only through television and official speeches, but also through schools, where directives, approved language, and constant reporting turn education into part of the political structure. Talankin’s footage exposes the system from the inside, showing how ideology is built into routine and presented as normal.

When this begins at school level, the consequences are long-term. Children raised in a controlled informational environment grow up without alternative points of reference, accepting the state’s version of reality as the only one. The real danger is not only propaganda in the present, but the future shaped by a generation educated to see that system as natural — and who will eventually be the ones making decisions inside it.