Inside Russia’s Propaganda Machine: A Teacher’s Covert Documentary

A documentary that offers a rare glimpse into how Russia’s state propaganda machine operates at the local level has been making waves on the international film circuit. “Mr. Nobody Against Putin,” directed by David Borenstein in collaboration with Russian teacher Pavel “Pasha” Talankin, recently won both the Special Jury Prize at Sundance and the Audience Award at the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival.

The film documents the transformation of a small-town Russian school into an instrument of state propaganda following the invasion of Ukraine. Shot largely by Talankin himself in Karabash, an industrial town in the Ural Mountains, it provides an insider’s perspective on how patriotic instruction, surveillance, and militarized rituals have come to define education in Putin’s Russia.

The documentary began with an unexpected connection. “What happened was that there was an ad posted on Instagram by a Russian web content company looking for stories about how the ‘special military operation’ was affecting people’s work,” explains Borenstein. “They were looking for upbeat, patriotic stories, but Pasha saw that casting call and sent in an angry letter instead.”

That risky message eventually reached Borenstein, leading to a clandestine collaboration that would span years. Despite never meeting in person until after Talankin fled Russia, the two developed a working system: Talankin would film his daily life and upload footage to an encrypted server, while Borenstein edited and provided guidance remotely.

“Every morning, I’d wake up to new footage on the server,” Borenstein recalls. “Sometimes it was completely wild, like a short rap video he made with his students. Other times, it was footage of propaganda classes or Wagner soldiers teaching at school.”

The collaboration faced extraordinary challenges. Security concerns prevented Borenstein from sharing edits with Talankin while he remained in Russia. Talankin later admitted he was only “50% convinced the whole thing was legitimate” until he finally met Borenstein after leaving Russia.

The filming process became increasingly dangerous as Russia’s political climate deteriorated following the invasion of Ukraine. “At first, we thought: we’ll just make the film, no problem. Then came the updated Foreign Agent Law, which made it illegal for him to collaborate with a foreigner,” Borenstein explains. “Then came the new treason law, which criminalized almost everything about the project.”

The documentary captures a teacher’s moral struggle as he’s pressured to deliver propaganda to his students. “He’s someone who ends up sacrificing his entire life to follow his ideals, and you get to witness that transformation on camera,” says Borenstein.

Filming in such a context raised significant ethical challenges, particularly regarding the students who appear in the film. “That was a big concern,” Borenstein acknowledges. “No one under the age of 18 actually speaks in the film. If students are shown, they appear in group settings, not as individual talking subjects.”

The BBC’s editorial policy team, who supported the project through their Storyville division, went through the film “frame by frame” to ensure no one would be endangered by their inclusion. “They removed anything that could be interpreted as support for Pasha’s position,” Borenstein notes.

The original title, “Putin’s Classroom,” was changed late in production to “Mr. Nobody Against Putin” – a shift that Borenstein believes helped make the film more approachable to wider audiences.

Since its release, the film has drawn attention not just for its content but for what it reveals about modern Russia. Despite Talankin having left Russia before the film’s premiere, its impact continues to ripple through his former community. “Everyone in Karabash has seen the film,” Borenstein reveals, though he notes they’ve accessed it “illegally” given Russian restrictions.

The documentary arrives at a time when understanding Russia’s internal dynamics feels more urgent than ever. “We’ve all seen what Russia is doing in Ukraine,” Borenstein says. “But understanding what’s happening inside Russia is a huge challenge. There’s still so much we don’t know.”

Through one teacher’s hidden camera and personal journey, “Mr. Nobody Against Putin” offers viewers that rare inside perspective – showing how ideology is manufactured and disseminated at the grassroots level in a country that increasingly defines itself through opposition to the West.