Key facts
- Filmmaker Pavel Talankin documented a Russian school's efforts to justify the war in Ukraine.
- The documentary 'Mr. Nobody Against Putin' was based on footage recorded by Talankin at the school.
- Talankin fled Russia in 2024 and was designated a foreign agent.
- His former teacher, Nina Zabugornova, described his actions as a betrayal on Russian state TV.
- Zabugornova expressed personal responsibility for Talankin's perceived disloyalty.
Pavel Talankin, the filmmaker behind the Oscar-winning documentary 'Mr. Nobody Against Putin,' has been called a traitor by his former teacher, Nina Zabugornova. The documentary, based on two years of footage Talankin recorded at a school where he was employed in Russia's Chelyabinsk region, depicts how teachers justified the war in Ukraine to students through history lessons and patriotic activities.
Talankin, who fled Russia in 2024, stated his intention was to show the world how Russian schoolchildren were being indoctrinated and to preserve a record of how an entire generation became aggressive. The film was banned by Russian authorities.
In an interview with Russian state TV program Vesti, Zabugornova, who described herself as Talankin's first teacher in his hometown of Karabash, expressed her dismay. She questioned if turning his back on his homeland constituted betrayal and evil. Zabugornova also took some personal responsibility, suggesting she might have overlooked something during Talankin's upbringing.
In March, Russia officially designated Talankin as a foreign agent, a label that imposes stringent bureaucratic requirements on individuals.