Russia’s Youth Under Putin: The Systematic Indoctrination Campaign

Russia’s Oscar-Winning Documentary Exposes Putin’s War Propaganda Machine

Children no older than 12 march in military formation down a school hallway, goose-stepping with disturbing precision. Elsewhere, a teacher instructs bewildered students that anyone who dislikes their country’s actions should simply leave. During a military drill, a young boy aims a rifle directly at the camera. The anguished screams of a mother at her son’s funeral provide a haunting soundtrack to a black screen—filming the actual funeral would have been too dangerous.

These powerful scenes come from “Mr. Nobody Against Putin,” the 90-minute documentary that claimed the Oscar for Best Documentary at this year’s Academy Awards. The film’s creation carries an ironic twist: 35-year-old Pavel “Pasha” Talankin, formerly a teacher and videographer at a school in Karabash, a small mining town in Russia’s Ural Mountains, shot most of the footage under a Ministry of Education directive to document patriotic education following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Instead of producing propaganda, Talankin established contact with American filmmaker David Borenstein via the internet and smuggled out the footage during a supposed vacation to Turkey—a trip from which he never returned to Russia. The resulting collaboration between Borenstein and Talankin offers a rare, unfiltered view into how Russian society is being militarized from childhood.

In his conservative hometown, Talankin had been something of an outsider—even his mother, the school librarian, considered him eccentric. His school office served as a sanctuary for nonconformist students seeking refuge from an increasingly militarized environment. After the war began, the school’s schedule quickly filled with military activities: marching practice, shooting drills, and even grenade-throwing competitions.

One particularly disturbing sequence shows mercenaries from the notorious Wagner Group visiting the school to speak with children about their combat experiences in Ukraine and pose for photos. The event’s decorations featured the Wagner logo—a white skull on a black-and-red background reminiscent of Nazi aesthetics.

The documentary follows several personal stories, including that of Ivan, a recent graduate close to Talankin who was conscripted and sent to Ukraine. Another student, Masha, worries about her drafted brother who called home “bawling” about the casualties in his unit. By the film’s end, we learn Masha’s brother had deserted, only to be captured, returned to the frontlines, and killed. In one poignant observation, Talankin watches students march in a Victory Day parade carrying photos of fallen soldiers and notes that the implicit message to children is, “Maybe one day you’ll be a dead soldier, too.”

The documentary’s international success has sparked predictable backlash within Russia. While state media largely ignored its achievements—which included a BAFTA award for Best Documentary last month—various attempts to smear Talankin emerged. Russia’s presidential “human rights” council criticized the film for featuring children without parental consent, though several students who appeared in the documentary have anonymously expressed their approval.

Putin ally and Oscar-winning filmmaker Nikita Mikhalkov absurdly claimed that Talankin “forced” students to engage in patriotic displays for “propaganda” purposes. The tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets went further, labeling Talankin a “stalker” and insinuating pedophilia—tactics reminiscent of Soviet-era character assassination.

The film also faced criticism from Ukrainian supporters who felt it continued a Western pattern of elevating Russian voices over Ukrainian ones. Some critics, including American journalist Chris Sampson, who has spent years in Ukraine, suggest Talankin represents a “Good Russian” narrative that allows Western liberals to view the conflict as “Putin’s war” rather than acknowledging the broader nationalistic tendencies within Russian society.

However, “Mr. Nobody Against Putin” actually refutes this simplification. While Talankin identifies Putin as the war’s architect, the documentary clearly shows how propaganda exploits existing cultural currents. The character of history teacher Pavel Abdulmanov exemplifies this reality—shown confidently telling students that European sanctions would leave Europe starving, and later naming several Stalin collaborators as historical figures he most admires. Abdulmanov’s subsequent award as the town’s “favorite teacher” raises disturbing questions about the values being normalized in Russian education.

During their Oscar acceptance speech, neither Talankin nor Borenstein mentioned Ukraine specifically—Talankin spoke generally about stopping “all wars,” while Borenstein drew parallels to losing one’s country through “little acts of complicity.” This omission drew criticism, though it doesn’t diminish either Talankin’s extraordinary courage or the documentary’s powerful indictment of Russia’s war propaganda machine.

“Mr. Nobody Against Putin” serves as both a compelling exposé of Putin’s Ukraine war and a warning that Russia’s problems extend beyond one leader. As Talankin observes while watching young men continue to enlist despite mounting casualties, “The kids have been taught well”—suggesting that even Putin’s eventual departure would leave behind a deeply militarized society primed for further conflict.