Copenhagen-based American director David Borenstein and Russian co-director Pavel “Pasha” Talankin’s Oscar-winning documentary Mr. Nobody Against Putin offers an up-close and personal look at indoctrination.
As the film begins, Talankin serves as events coordinator and videographer at a K-12 school in Karabash, a small Russian mining town. It’s one of the most polluted in the world due to its copper smelting plant, but Talankin likes the place and the people. He attended the school, which also employs his mother, the librarian, but his fond feelings will soon change.
In 2022, President Putin directs schools like Karabash #1 to adopt a new pro-war, anti-Ukrainian curriculum, and, as instructed, Talankin films teachers reading scripted statements to their classes, in addition to students singing state-sanctioned songs. He’s disgusted but follows the rules and uploads the videos to a “mysterious government database.”
With no one with whom to share his frustrations, not even his fatalistic mother, Talankin puts his thoughts down on video. Then he finally quits, explaining in a direct address, “I love my job, but I don’t want to be a pawn of the regime.” Propaganda spreads nationwide as pockets of resistance grow. Through Instagram, Borenstein encourages Talankin to share his first-hand experience, so he rescinds his resignation and returns to the school, this time as an undercover documentarian.
Talankin records a right-wing history teacher telling students, “If you live in our country and don’t love it, then you’re a parasite.” (The same grim-faced teacher hopes they find him “fun.”) The students, meanwhile, look distinctly uncomfortable, not least when the draft comes for the young men of Karabash. As Putin demands greater school indoctrination, teachers find themselves busier than ever, even as grades start to plummet due to the extra work on everybody’s part.
Talankin rebels in small ways, which could not only get him fired but land him in prison for 25 years under treason laws, so it isn’t surprising that his situation becomes precarious. All the while, Wagner Group mercenaries encourage students to think that guns and grenades are cool, even as Russia experiences significant casualties, including conscripted Karabash soldiers.
As the film ends, Talankin prepares to leave the only home he has ever known. In the process, he smuggles out the footage he collected between 2022 and 2024. The film he constructed with David Borenstein in Denmark and the Czech Republic now lives on as a procedural about the steps it takes to militarize a populace: start with the kids, hammer the message home, and punish anyone who steps out of line. Though Talankin made a successful escape, it’s unlikely he will ever be able to return.
The film’s message may be disturbing, but seen through the eyes of a teacher who genuinely cared about his students and felt powerless to do more for them, Mr. Nobody Against Putin proves engaging and easy to follow, making it an excellent bet for adults and students alike, especially anyone interested in 21st-century Russian history and the Russo-Ukrainian War.
How can Mr. Nobody Against Putin be used to teach about propaganda and media literacy?
Mr. Nobody Against Putin offers students a first-hand look at how propaganda can enter everyday institutions and become part of ordinary life. Talankin’s footage captures teachers reading scripted statements, students singing state-sanctioned songs, and schools adopting a curriculum designed to support the war, giving viewers concrete examples of how political messaging can be introduced to young audiences.
Is Mr. Nobody Against Putin a good documentary for teaching Russian history and the Russo-Ukrainian War?
For high school and college courses covering 21st-century Russian history or the Russo-Ukrainian War, Mr. Nobody Against Putin provides an unusually personal perspective on how the conflict affects people far removed from the battlefield. Rather than concentrating primarily on military strategy or international politics, the documentary follows the changes taking place inside one school and one community between 2022 and 2024.
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