Pavel Talankin, the Russian filmmaker behind the Oscar-winning documentary Mr. Nobody Against Putin, has been called a “traitor” by his former teacher. Nina Zabugornova, who taught Talankin as a child in the Chelyabinsk region, criticised his decision to leave Russia and make a documentary exposing how a Russian school promoted support for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

The film is based on two years of footage secretly recorded by Talankin while working at a school in the Chelyabinsk region. It documents changes at the school following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, including history lessons and newly introduced patriotic activities that promoted pro-war messaging. Talankin fled Russia in 2024 and has said he wanted to show the world how children were being influenced by state propaganda.

Russia has banned the documentary and designated Talankin as a “foreign agent” in March. Speaking on Russian state television, Zabugornova said she had hoped to watch the film but viewed Talankin’s actions as a betrayal of his homeland. She also blamed herself, saying she wondered whether she had failed to provide him with the lessons that might have prevented what she described as his “betrayal.”

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