Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has demanded the film and TV work of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as that of Ukraine-born producer Alexander Rodnyansky (Leviathan), be “removed from the cultural agenda of the Russian Federation.”
Russian investigative news site The Insider reported that Shoigu sent a letter to Russian Minister of Culture Olga Lyubimova requesting the two men’s work be banned in Russia. The report on The Insider‘s website included what the outlet says was a copy of the letter sent to them by a “source close to the Ministry of Culture.”
A photo of the letter is below. The Hollywood Reporter received this copy from a Russian film source, but cannot confirm its authenticity.
Letter Sergey Shiougu
Courtesy Photo
According to a translation, provided by the Russian film source, the letter reads, in part, that “as part of a special operation, the Ministry of Defense is taking measures to shape a positive public opinion of Russian citizens in support of the country leaders and the actions of the Russian armed forces. At the same time, in the cultural sector of the Russian media space, films and TV programs with the participation of V.A. Zelensky continue to be shown, as do the creative projects of a major Ukrainian media manager, A.E. Rodnyansky. Popularization of these persons in the current conditions does not contribute to the implementation of decisions taken by the country leaders and the Russian Ministry of Defence. Taking into account the above, I ask you to work through an issue about the exclusion of V.A. Zelensky and A.E. Rodnyansky from the cultural agenda of the Russian Federation.”
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter via text message, Rodnyansky said he was aware of the letter. He said it was “interesting that a Russian minister responsible for running the war in Ukraine took the time to single out me and Volodymyr Zelensky and write an actual letter to the Minister of Culture. Formally, this will have no effect on my projects. There is no way I would ever take money from [the] Russian state after February 24 (the date of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine).”
Rodnyansky is Russia’s most acclaimed and successful film producer, with credits that include Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Oscar-nominated Leviathan (2014) and Loveless (2017), and Kantemir Balagov’s Beanpole (2019).
Rodnyansky said the Russian culture minister has already “canceled” all of his future projects, including “the next films by Andrey Zvyagintsev, Kantemir Bagalov, Kira Kovalenko” and several television projects. “This is quite an experience,” Rodnyansky noted, wryly.
Rodnyansky is one of the founders of the Ukrainian TV channel 1 + 1, which has frequently worked with Zelensky’s production company Kvartal 95 Studio. Before being elected President of Ukraine, Zelensky was a popular actor and comedian. In a case of life imitating art, in his hit TV series Servant of the People he played an ordinary guy who gets elected president of Ukraine.
Netflix in the U.S. recently resumed streaming of Servant of the People, which originally streamed on Netflix from 2017 to 2021, in response to what the company said was public demand.
Before entering politics, Zelensky, who speaks fluent Russia, was also a hugely popular comedian in Russia. A boycott from the culture ministry would mean all of Zelensky’s work would be banned in Russia, as would any projects involving Rodnyansky.