This director’s film, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in May, tells the story of a Russian provincial businessman who, as his marriage falls apart, is forced to choose which employees to send to fight in Ukraine, and also depicts life in wartime Russia.
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On Friday, the Russian Ministry of Justice accused A. Zvyagintsev of “spreading false information about decisions made by the authorities of the Russian Federation and their policies.”
“He communicated with foreign agents and lives outside the Russian Federation,” the ministry said in a statement.
The 62-year-old director, born in Siberia, lives in France.
A. Zvyagintsev has not yet commented on this news.
At the end of May, when receiving the Grand Festival Prize, A. Zvyagintsev addressed Russian President Vladimir Putin, stating that he is the only person who can end the war, and condemned the Kremlin’s large-scale offensive against Ukraine.
“Millions of people on both sides of the contact line dream of only one thing: that the killings stop,” he said then, addressing V. Putin.
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“You are the only person who can stop this meat grinder, Mr. President of Russia. Stop these killings now,” the filmmaker added.
The “foreign agent” label, which the Russian authorities stick on Kremlin and its war in Ukraine critics, essentially prohibits a person from holding public office and forces them to register their activities with the authorities.
Since 2022, when Russia began its offensive in Ukraine, Moscow has initiated legal proceedings against thousands of critics of this invasion.
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