Russia bans the political satire movie 'The Death of Stalin'
The Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation withdrew the distribution certificate for the film "The Death of Stalin" by British director Armando Iannucci.
The film had already received a distribution certificate and Volga Films was planning to screen it in Russia. When the movie was shown for the second time, the Ministry of Culture decided to stop it from being screened further.
Earlier, lawyers of the Ministry of Culture sent a letter to the Russian Minister of Culture, Vladimir Medinsky, with a request to withdraw the distribution certificate of the movie. "The movie ‘The Death of Stalin’ is aimed at inciting hatred and enmity, humiliating the dignity of the Russian (Soviet) person, and propagandizing the inferiority of a person on the basis of his social and national identity, and these are signs of extremism," the TASS news agency quotes the letter as saying.
The authors of the appeal believe that Marshal Georgy Zhukov is represented in the film as "simply a militant clown" although in fact he was an "outstanding commander" and a "talented strategist." It was noted that the release of the film in theaters in Russia would be postponed so that it would not coincide with the anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad.
The movie is based off a French comic book of the same name by Fabien Nouri and Thierry Robin that was published by the Dargaud Publishing House in 2011. It is a 120-page black and white comic book with a rating of 16+, dedicated to the events of March 2, 1953 and to what was allegedly happening in the Kremlin during the two days after the death of Joseph Stalin.
The main roles in the film were played by Steve Buscemi, James Isaacs, Jeffrey Tambor and others. The movie was partially filmed in Kyiv. It will be shown in Ukrainian movie theaters starting on January 25.