Two Very Different Views Of Russia In 2 NYC Premiering Films
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Two Films About Russia, Two Very Different Realities
(Nina Vishneva)
Editor’s note: Staten Islander has reviewed two excellent Ukrainian animated films from a state sponsored studio that started before the war. They are Mavka: The Forest Song and The Stolen Princess. Viewers who love Frozen 1&2 will likely do a double take when the princess is introduced in The Stolen Princess. They are both set in provincial Ukraine, with basic technology (cottages, fireplaces, kings and wealthy landowners, etc), and both are excellent and highly recommended films. They can both be viewed on Daily Motion, with The Stolen Princess also available on Amazon Prime. For a powerful and poignant story about the first months of the Ukraine invasion, readers will enjoy Checkpoint Zoo, the real true social media documented public rescue of every animal that remained alive at the zoo on the very border between Russia and Ukraine. 20 or so people risked their lives for 700- something days – for the love of animals.
Two films about Russia are premiering in New York City right now: ‘Mr. Nobody Against Putin’, a documentary made in opposition to the Kremlin, and ‘Cheburashka 2’, a state-aligned blockbuster released inside Russia. Together, they offer sharply different visions of the same country.
Never has Lenin’s oft-quoted phrase – that cinema is “the most important of the arts” – felt more relevant.
‘Mr. Nobody Against Putin’ (an Oscar-nominated doc) is about personal choice. Its protagonist is no hero in the usual sense – just an ordinary school activities coordinator documenting daily life in a provincial Russian high school after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Slowly, almost imperceptibly, Putin’s propaganda machine seeps into schoolwork, teachers’ lounge conversations, and even the looks people exchange on the street.
It’s a film about one person who eventually decides to stand against a system built on fear. For American viewers, it may recall documentaries like ‘Navalny’ or ‘Collective’ – stories where resistance looks quiet, almost invisible, until the cost of silence becomes impossible to ignore.
And then – literally in the neighboring theater – ‘Cheburashka 2’.
For context: Cheburashka is a Soviet-era children’s character, often compared to Winnie-the-Pooh or Paddington. The first live-action Cheburashka, released in 2023, became the highest-grossing Russian film in history – just months after the invasion of Ukraine. Cheburashka 2 continues the franchise – a family-friendly blockbuster built on nostalgia, comfort, and emotional insulation.
There is no 2022. No war against Ukraine. No violence. No responsibility. The state is invisible but benevolent; conflict never reaches the screen; sentiment replaces moral choice.
Not overt propaganda. But something arguably more effective – a way to normalize silence. An ideal cultural comfort blanket. A soft cultural passport for the regime.
Which makes its screening in New York hard to ignore. Kent Theater presents itself as nostalgic, cozy, outside the corporate mainstream. An alternative — but to what, exactly, and at what ethical cost?
Showing Cheburashka today is not about nostalgia. Russian cinema is no longer a neutral category – especially in a city full of Ukrainian refugees and Russian political exiles.
In one theater, there’s fragile hope that the future can still be different — as long as even one “nobody” is willing to say no.
In the other, cinema so sweet it dulls memory and conscience.
While Mr. Nobody goes against Putin,
Mr. Cheburashka works for him – quietly, and very effectively.
Then again, there’s ‘Melania’, a White House–produced film.
So maybe this, too, is part of the picture.
A reminder that state-adjacent storytelling is hardly unique to Russia.
Banner Image: Posters for Mr. Nobody Against Putin and Cheburashka 2. Image Credit – Kino Lorber and Central Partnership
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Nina Vishneva
Nina Vishneva is an award-winning New York-based journalist, producer, and cultural commentator with over two decades of international reporting experience. Her work spans presidential campaigns, UN summits, civil rights movements, and cultural revolutions, with a focus on how politics, identity, and memory intersect. She has reported for outlets including Voice of America (VOA) — covering everything from breaking news to in-depth stories that bridge global events and personal narratives. Her work has been recognized with an International Emmy for coverage of 9/11. Fluent in Russian and English, Nina brings a global, cross-cultural perspective to every story — whether she's reporting from the streets or behind the scenes.
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