Mr Nobody Against Putin was shot over a period of two years by Pavel "Pasha" Talankin, the videographer and events coordinator at Karabash Primary School #1.[6] Talankin began seriously documenting his activities after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, when the government began requiring schools to hold regular "patriotic displays" and use a state-written curriculum to justify the invasion to students.[6] At the same time, the government instituted a requirement to upload footage of these displays to a state-run portal to prove compliance, allowing Talankin cover to film meetings, lessons, and visitors to the school without attracting suspicion.[7] He initially planned to resign in order to avoid supporting the Russian government, however, after getting in contact with director David Borenstein, he withdrew his resignation to keep gathering footage.[7]
Talankin secretly fled Russia during the summer of 2024, aided by his producers and Borenstein who worked to get him asylum in Europe, following evidence of police surveillance at his home, which appears in the film.[8]
Release
It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2025. Beginning in March 2025, it has been screened at numerous film festivals around the world. Kino Lorber acquired North American rights in January 2026, setting a release date for January 22 in select theaters and streaming on the Kino Film Collection.[9]
Critical reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 36 critics' reviews are positive.The website's consensus reads: "Chronicling one whistleblower's uphill struggle with clear-eyed insight, Mr. Nobody Against Putin is a powerful documentary that vividly illustrates the resilience of everyday people against institutional forces."[10]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 78 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[11]
IndieWire published a positive review, giving the film a grade of "A-" and praising the documentary for its undercover footage of life inside Russia.[6]The Guardian was similarly positive and praised Talankin for his bravery in capturing footage.[12]The Daily Beast and Variety also published positive reviews.[7][13]The A.V. Club was more critical, noting that the film's focus on a single school made it feel limited in scope and that several narrative threads were dropped as the film continued.[14]
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