A court in Chelyabinsk has ordered an Oscar-winning documentary to be taken down from three online video services, saying the film promotes extremism and terrorism.
The documentary, a Danish–Czech production that picked up both an Oscar and a BAFTA in 2026, chronicles how a Russian school became a site of pro-war indoctrination after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The footage was shot by Pavel Talankin, a school events organiser who later left Russia.
Prosecutors said the film expressed opposition to the war and to the current authorities and pointed to the use of the white-blue-white anti-war flag as further grounds for the ban.
The ruling affects uploads on three unnamed streaming platforms and was issued by the regional court near Karabash, where some of the filmed events took place.
Earlier this year a Russian government human rights body criticised the movie for including images of children reportedly filmed without parental permission and said it planned to ask the Academy for an inquiry.
The film depicts classroom sessions that echo Kremlin messaging — from calls to “denazify” Ukraine to visits by veterans and practical lessons on mines and weapons.
It also follows former pupils who later joined the military and were killed, alongside Talankin’s efforts to resist the campaign inside the school.
Talankin used his Oscars acceptance to draw attention to the human cost of the conflict and to urge an end to the fighting.
His speech emphasised the danger facing children in wartime and called for peace.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion, the state has tightened restrictions on dissent, and public criticism of the war can lead to lengthy prison terms.
Kremlin spokespeople have largely sidestepped questions about the film; the presidential press secretary said he had not seen it, while President Putin recently complained that foreign movies were taking screen time from domestic productions.
The court order is the latest example of increased pressure on media and artists in Russia as authorities clamp down on material viewed as hostile to the state or the war effort.
