Documentary Filmmaker Risks Life to Expose Russian School Propaganda

In the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, an unlikely hero emerged from within the Russian educational system. Pasha Talankin, a school videographer at Karabash Elementary, found himself in a moral dilemma when authorities ordered schools across Russia to implement a new “patriotic curriculum” designed to indoctrinate young students.

Talankin, tasked with recording these propaganda sessions to prove the school’s compliance with government directives, made a bold decision. Instead of simply documenting these sessions for authorities, he began meticulously recording everything—creating what would become powerful evidence of the systematic indoctrination happening in Russian classrooms.

“When the teacher had to say Ukraine had taken the path of neo-Nazism and neo-fascism, and we must ‘liberate’ it, at that moment I understood that I had no moral right to delete this material,” Talankin explained, “because it is part of the evidence of what’s happening in Russian schools today.”

This footage eventually formed the basis for “Mr. Nobody Against Putin,” an Oscar-nominated documentary that provides a rare glimpse into Russia’s state-controlled educational system. The film, co-directed by American filmmaker David Borenstein, chronicles Talankin’s two-year journey recording the propaganda machinery at work.

“I don’t think Pasha even knew, none of us knew, that this film would ever come to anything when we were making it,” Borenstein said in an interview at CBS News’ London office ahead of this weekend’s Academy Awards.

What Talankin captured was disturbing. His footage shows pro-war student assemblies, members of Putin’s paramilitary Wagner Group providing weapons training to schoolchildren, and the devastating moment when some of his students received draft notices to fight in Ukraine.

Throughout this period, Talankin performed small acts of rebellion, such as playing “The Star-Spangled Banner” instead of the Russian national anthem on the school’s PA system—actions that could have resulted in severe punishment, including life imprisonment.

“Being a propagandist at this school is like walking a tightrope,” Talankin says in the film, describing the constant tension between performing his job and maintaining his moral compass.

The risks were enormous. “In Russia you never know. No one will call you; no one will knock on your door. They just watch, and then suddenly break the door down, throw you on the floor, and the floor is the last thing you see in your apartment. That’s it; you don’t exist anymore,” Talankin explained, describing the reality faced by those who challenge the Russian state.

Eventually, the danger became too great. Talankin booked a fake holiday to Turkey and fled the country. Now living in exile, he has become a public critic of the Putin regime, though he acknowledges he feels only “80 percent safe” from potential retaliation.

The film has received critical acclaim in the West, recently winning Best Documentary at the BAFTA Awards. Meanwhile, the Kremlin claims to have been “too busy” to watch it. Talankin’s mother, who appears in the film as a librarian, told The New York Times she is proud of her son’s work.

Talankin remains deeply concerned about the students he left behind. “This is a very important document because it shows what Russian society will be like in a few years,” he said. “Putin may no longer exist, but society will be evil, because propaganda entered schools and was taught to children.”

Beyond its political implications, Borenstein sees the film as a universal story about moral choice. “It’s also, to me, a story about resistance. Everybody faces a moral choice wherever you are, and this is a story also about what you do when there is a government around you tearing down everything that you have built up.”

Through his courage and determination, Talankin transformed from an anonymous school employee into a powerful voice against authoritarianism. As the film’s title suggests, he is “Mr. Nobody” no more.