As evidenced in David Borenstein’s shattering, but darkly comedic documentary Mr. Nobody Against Putin, all politics are local; no matter the country, no matter the community. Unfolding in a Russian town so small that no one there would dare to openly oppose Vladimir Putin’s ongoing “military operations” against Ukraine, Mr. Nobody Against Putin follows the increasingly surreal life and profession of someone growing increasingly ill at ease with the direction of their country. Jaw dropping and eye opening in equal amounts, Mr. Nobody Against Putin looks at how the Russian government has framed their ongoing military campaign and spun it into misplaced jingoism.
Pavel “Pasha” Talankin is a primary school event coordinator, videographer, and teacher in the town of Karabash, located in the Ural Mountains. Pasha grew up in this town – once labeled as the most polluted place on Earth by UNESCO because of its copper smelting operations – and went to the school where he now works. His mother is still the school’s librarian. He’s generally well liked by the students, who often come by his office to simply hang out and chat. Once a booster for his community who insisted things weren’t as dire as social media made them out to be, Pasha’s job took a sharp turn in 2022, not long after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Instead of documenting everyday life and student activities at the school, Pasha is asked to film a new form of curriculum that requires kids to recite patriotic songs and speeches. Lessons start becoming heavily scripted, and eventually Talankin has to start filming pro-war rallies that go hand in hand with lessons, all of them taking a sharp turn from the patriotic and into the openly militaristic. All of these lessons are content for a government database meant to please a single person and their most ardent followers, not for the purposes of teaching anything useful.
At the outset, there’s a ridiculous quality to the kinds of things Talankin has to film that are humorous to behold, but as it progresses, Mr. Nobody Against Putin becomes upsetting and stomach churning, especially when Borenstein’s subject starts witnessing many current and past students aging into military service. Talankin loves his job, and tries his best to silently and peacefully protest the direction of the school (something that puts him in sharp contrast to a KGB worshiping history teacher who loves the new curriculum). But in a community as small as Karabash, one has to choose their words and views carefully. If he were to go public with the footage he has been capturing in school, Pasha could face up to life imprisonment in a hard labour camp for his actions. Any and all acts of subversion are perceived by the government as treasonous and dealt with accordingly.
In a lot of ways, Borenstein’s job is done for him. Mr. Nobody Against Putin is largely Pasha’s film, and the teacher’s passions, frustrations, and fears are deeply personal. It’s up to Borenstein to help get this teacher and their footage out of Russia, but the perspective is completely that of the subject. Talankin doesn’t have to do any sort of special embedding to uncover what’s going on in schools all over Russia. He simply has to do the job he was hired to perform in the first place. Talankin wants to share their work in painstaking detail because he believes that showing love for one’s country and community requires a citizen to admit there are problems, not showing blind loyalty. It’s brave and dangerous for someone like this to go public in such a way, but also uniquely cathartic to process Talankin’s methodology. “The war abroad starts at home,” indeed.
Mr. Nobody Against Putin screens at Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema on Saturday, July 26, 2025 at 7:00 pm and Sunday, July 27 at 12:00 pm.
