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RUSSIA HAS BANNED the latest Hollywood movie, starring Tom Hardy and Gary Oldman, that goes on general release in Ireland today.
The culture minister said it insulted the nation by describing it as “a sort of Mordor.”
“Child 44,” directed by Daniel Espinosa, is a mystery thriller featuring a Soviet policeman investigating a series of grisly child murders in 1953.
The ministry said it made a joint decision with the film’s Russian distributor not to release it after hearing complaints concerning “distortion of historic facts and wilful interpretation of events … as well as images and characters of Soviet citizens.”
The ministry and the distributor, Central Partnership, decided that it would be “inadmissible” to release the movie in Russia in the run-up to celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany, the ministry’s statement said.
Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky said the movie cast the Soviet Union as “a sort of Mordor, populated by physically and morally defective sub-humans, a bloodbath on screen involving Orcs and vampires.”
He was alluding to the land of evil in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.
“That is how our country is shown, the country that has just won a great war, become a global leader and was close to launching the first human into space,” Medinsky said in a statement.
He added that the Russians should stop adopting “wild clichés” of its history used in the West and feel proud of themselves as “successors of the great and unique Russian civilisation.”
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We’ve enjoyed the oh so accurate depiction of ireland by Hollywood to sure
I think they shoudl show it. The average Russian surely wouldn’t be takn in by the film. On the other hand, given the way that USA and EU are currently working to undermine Russia you can see why they aren’t going to faciltiate this programme by showing the film
If the UK put out films next year about Ireland that distort historical fact I wonder how happy everybody here would be?
Not wanting to drag the same old same old into it, but the media here won’t even give a fair hearing to anti Govt protests. So, we’re in no position to criticse Russia and its culture/media policies
Your comment is debatable. I’m in no way a supporter of the Catholic Church or Irish priests but you could argue that father Ted pitted the Irish and indeed the Irish Catholic Church as simple, rural and backward with your stereotypical drunk in father jack. Fr. dougal was literally a dope and I remember reading how O’Hanlon can’t break away from the Dougal skit. For some people Fr.Ted did not go down well as one can imagine. Even more distasteful are the plans for channel 4 to make a comedy sketch on the famine (genocide). I’m not sure if that is to still go ahead as there was a lot of resentment when that idea was first proposed but there has been plans to do so. You can imagine how unhistorical the portrayal of such an event would be
How many millions was it that Stalin’s lackeys murdered in Russia? Was it 50 or 70m! Is this the great Russian civilisation the guy in the article is referring to?
Fair point but banning something only gives it a degree of infamy. Just look at the absolutely shocking Seth Rogan movie about North Korea. Awful movie altogether but watched largely because to th hype.
True. They would have done better to release it and let the critics savage it as they have done elsewhere.Ok maybe not savage it but its hardly getting Oscar nods.
In Russia, crappy film watches you!
Russia bans a movie because it makes them look like some sort of totalitarian regime that would ban movies.
My head hurts.
Only films presenting Russia is a good light are allowed over there.
You’re talking about the same country which shut down access to declassified Cold War archives after books like Berlin: The Downfall revealed the sheer level of human rights abuses by Soviet troops during the Second World War. Russia really is a country which struggles to accept the darker parts of its history and culture.
“The Downfall revealed the sheer level of human rights abuses by Soviet troops during the Second World War”. The soviet people won world war 2 pretty much single handedly. At the time the free world was very thankful to the sacrifices made by the Soviet people to liberate a continent.
“History knows no greater display of courage than that shown by the people of the Soviet Union. – Henry L. Stimson, Secretary of War”.
“We and our allies owe and acknowledge an ever-lasting debt of gratitude to the armies and people of the Soviet Union. – Frank Knox, secretary of the Navy”.
“The gallantry and aggressive fighting spirit of the Russian soldiers command the American army’s admiration. – George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff, U.S. Army”
“The world must know what happened, and never forget. – General Eisenhower, while visiting nazi death camps, 1945″ (The death camps the red army liberated, saving the Jewish people from extinction.
Stalin was still a genocidal maniac
“Stalin was still a genocidal maniac”
Stalin was officially condemned by the Soviets after his death in 1953.
A process they called “destalinisation” was implemented.
“The reforms consisted of changing or removing key institutions that helped Stalin hold power: the cult of personality that surrounded him, the Stalinist political system and the Gulag labour-camp system, all of which had been created and dominated by him…”
Stalin was responsible for the deaths of millions of Russians.
Russians defeated the Nazis and liberated the continent of Europe in spite of him.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De-Stalinization
John I don’t dispute the Russians took on the main burden of fighting German land forces and suffered enormous casualties, but to say they won it pretty much single handedly is an exaggeration. The US and Britain played a vital role, plus a smaller contribution from other and WW2 wasn’t just about defeating the Nazis. The Japanese had to be defeated too.
Jurgen one thing is for sure, at the time west and the Soviets were united against a common enemy. I find it incredibly sad and a deep insult to the Russian people that our leaders choose to use the victory day celebrations to insult the memory of the countless millions of Russians who died liberating Europe from the Nazis.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/15/moscow-defiant-victory-day-parade-european-kim-jong-un-9-may-russia-ukraine
Russia paid a high price during WW2 that is true. However that price was all the higher due to the Stalinist purges before the war leading to bad strategy and high losses. Also the fact that Soviet tactics did not pay too much heed to losses of what was for the a plentiful resource, namely people. Furthermore to assert that it was the Soviets that defeated the Nazis is simply a historical fallacy. Firstly without the support in materiel from the Allies the Soviet froces would have been hard pushed. Secondly due to the fact that the Nazis had to fight on two fronts made them less effective on both leading to their eventual downfall not to mention the contribution of US and British airpower. One should also take into consideration the fact that the Nazis ally Japan was kept busy by US and Allied forces thus removing a threat of a possible second front to the Nazi regime. None of this is to detract from the contribution made by the Russian people or the losses they suffered but rather to try to put them in a proper historical perspective.
“The soviet people won world war 2 pretty much single handedly”
That could not be further from the truth John. The Soviet Union was in such a desperate state during the war that the Red Army was dependent on the West for critical supplies. Soviet industry was so focused on gun, ammunition and tank production (which never met needed capacity, even at the height of output nearly 2 million soldiers didn’t even have rifles and those who did were lucky if they had more than 10 rounds per soldier) that critical supplies and logistical vehicles were mostly sourced from the US. If it wasn’t for the West, the Soviet army would have lacked the logistical capability needed to fight the German army effectively and simply ground to a halt.
Even General Zhuikov admitted that the Soviet Union only barely won the war and came within a mere 20km of defeat.
Your quotes don’t address the cold hard facts that hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians were murdered, assaulted, raped or driven from their homes by Soviet soldiers. I would advise that you read Berlin: The Downfall as the vast majority of accounts of widespread human rights abuses come from the Soviet army’s own records.
The biggest human rights abuse in that war was using nuclear weapons indiscriminately on innocent Japanese women and children. This was performed by a government whose own homeland was never invaded or under threat, the bombing of a few planes in the middle of the pacific notwithstanding. To lecture the Russians about human rights abuses in WW2 while saying nothing about that is utter hypocrisy. Who suffered more please tell me, the women of Berlin after it’s fall or the women of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
How is living in Russia, John?
btw Jurgen, I respect you as a staunch defender of Israel.
Can you guess which was the first country to recognise the state of Israel? It was not the US but the Soviet Union. It was also the Soviet union which liberated the Jewish people from the Nazi death camps. It is not a stretch to suggest that without the Russian people’s efforts in WW2 there no alone would be no Israel today but there wouldn’t be a Jewish person remaining on this continent.
On 14 May 1947, the Soviet ambassador Andrei Gromyko announced:
“As we know, the aspirations of a considerable part of the Jewish people are linked with the problem of Palestine and of its future administration. This fact scarcely requires proof…. During the last war, the Jewish people underwent exceptional sorrow and suffering….
The United Nations cannot and must not regard this situation with indifference, since this would be incompatible with the high principles proclaimed in its Charter….
The fact that no Western European State has been able to ensure the defence of the elementary rights of the Jewish people and to safeguard it against the violence of the fascist executioners explains the aspirations of the Jews to establish their own State. It would be unjust not to take this into consideration and to deny the right of the Jewish people to realize this aspiration.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union_and_the_Arab%E2%80%93Israeli_conflict
“The biggest human rights abuse in that war was using nuclear weapons”
Are you seriously going to claim that? The war which produced the extermination of 6 million innocent Jews as well as other minorities and the nuclear bombing of Japan is in your opinion the worst human rights abuse of the war?
You have one seriously warped mind.
The Secret Back Story to Russia and Ukraine that Americans Never Learned In School with emphases on “ Unnecessary” : Beginning with Truman’s first day in office, his receptiveness to the views of hard-line anti-Communists, his denial of Roosevelt’s understanding with Stalin, the provocative and unnecessary dropping of the atomic bombs, his spreading a network of military bases around the world, Churchill’s speech at Fulton, Truman’s call for fighting Communism in greece, the division and remilitarization of Germany, the continued testing of bigger and bigger atomic and hydrogen bombs which he used to threaten the Soviet Union, Truman’s deliberate exaggerations of the Communist threat both overseas and at home and his persecution and silencing of those who challenged these distortions. In all these matters, with few exceptions, the United states, after successfully liberating Western Europe, was now signaling fear and aggression ….
Jason I was referring to the allied side. You see for someone like me the crimes of Naziism are self evident and do not require explanation. Though it seems I’m gettting out of touch as a recent UN reolution “combating the glorification of Naziism” was voted down by the US, Ukraine and Canada.
http://www.un.org/en/ga/third/69/docs/voting_sheets/L56.Rev1.pdf
I wonder what Canadian and US veterans who survived Normandy landings would make of that?
The U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey group, assigned by President Truman to study the air attacks on Japan, produced a report in July of 1946 that concluded (52-56):
Based on a detailed investigation of all the facts and supported by the testimony of the surviving Japanese leaders involved, it is the Survey’s opinion that certainly prior to 31 December 1945 and in all probability prior to 1 November 1945, Japan would have surrendered even if the atomic bombs had not been dropped, even if Russia had not entered the war, and even if no invasion had been planned or contemplated.
General (and later president) Dwight Eisenhower – then Supreme Commander of all Allied Forces, and the officer who created most of America’s WWII military plans for Europe and Japan – said:
The Japanese were ready to surrender and it wasn’t necessary to hit them with that awful thing.
Newsweek, 11/11/63, Ike on Ike
@ Jason :; The figure 6 million is highly contested, but it is forbidden by law in many countries to dispute this. You can be imprisoned for many years for even doubting this.
@Pat O’Dwer The figure of 6 million is not “highly contested” you are talking rubbish. There is no law in any country that does not allow open debate on any subject as long as the evidence that is brought forward is factual. BTW the figure is 12 million not 6 people just concentrate on the larges group who were of a certain faith however they never even mention the other victims who perished.
@John Deegan – Thanks for your version of ww2 history! Did you get that out of your little red book.
I support the criticism of the film but censorship is not okay.
Now that’s a nanny state right there.
I recommend the book.
Is it about Andrei Chikatilo?
It’s supposedly loosely based on that monster.. You should read the book, it’s fantastic
Thanks, I’ll check it out.
Fair enough.
…is it bad that this comparison makes me want to see the movie more?
The Orcs AND Vampires comment made me want to watch it more and visit russia
Russia is a great country go and visit there ,you will see a different Russia than the one portrayed in western media .
You mean it isn’t???? Go ask a Ukrainian!
Yeah he has a fair point.
The Cold War never ended.
People in Russia today are very angry that their role in defeating the Nazis ,losing over 23 million souls is been rewritten in historical accounts and films.
It is of extreme importance for the USA to discredit and demonize Russia at the present moment because they are paranoid concerning the until now successfully repressed scientifically based investigation into the real reason for one of the truly biggest lies in the history of mankind.
Each of these videos last about 90 min. but as they illustrate the best possible evidence produced so far. by real American patriots who really care about their country , they are worth looking at when you have time.
Family members of the dead who have not received any evidence or proof on the governments explanation and over 2,000 of the TOP Sky scraper architects and engineers including scientists who say that the governments explanations is not scientifically possible and deserves an independent investigation. It is of course not forthcoming.
http://therundownlive.com/world-trade-center-building-7-911-conspiracy-dummies-educate/ Why is this investigation been prohibited at every level ?
Overwhelming EVIDENCE that 9/11 WAS a False Flag Operation Murdering over 1 to 2 million people and displacing over 4 million more under false pretences.….Who Did It & Why ?
http://asheepnomore.net/2015/04/06/overwhelming-evidence-that-911-was-a-false-flag-operation-who-did-it-why-video/
If and when the truth will be revealed concerning this extreme criminal act , nothing short of a revolution is to be expected in the US.
Frank ?
Not near enough numbers to be frank.
ot Frank. Only a truth seeker. Nothing more. Nothing less. Any objections ?? I speak only about, and concerning scientifically proven facts , and not about numerical theories . Have you watched both films ? or are you contended with SUN and BBC reports ? Unaware of the here presented FACTS how can anybody claim to be an a truly objective analyst ? After looking at both films I plead with you to counter these numerous facts and present a list of your objections.
If on the other hand you are missing Frank and you are seeking occult messages, please watch short (7 Minute) speech by the head of IMF Christine Lagarde
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYmViPTndxw
Is it another one sort of “inglorious bas**rds” where they wilfully misrepresent facts of history? Can’t stand that nonsense.
But you wouldn’t be looking to Hollywood for facts anyway would you? Not part of its remit
Inglorious basterds is a tremendous film (in my opinion).
I don’t believe it was issued in the ‘Documentary’ category.
Inglorious is pure fantasy by those who run Hollywood if you know what I mean by that.
I think I know where you’re going with this – are you talking about the Jews running Hollywood?
You should be braver about expressing your opinions more explicitly.
I simply watched it as a highly entertaining well made yarn in the fictional category. It didn’t make me dislike Nazi ideology any more than I already did.
Don’t want to risk having it deleted so have to read between lines. Don’t get me wrong it was an enjoyable film but I just don’t like when they take historical stories that are factual and reimagine them.
Yes, its important to be able to be anti-semitic on the sly.
I can only see Kermit the frog dressed as Clementine his Russian double when reading that last sentence in this article.
Any Russian who wants to see this film can easily do so online or by pirated DVD. It’s just greedy box office won’t profit by distorting historical facts
“close to launching the first human into space” . . . erh so you never did then. Say’s everything we may need to know about political perceptions! Minister you should hire a PR guy, ‘oh you were back the as well’.
??
They did launch the first human into space (Yuri Gagarin).
He’s referring to the period during when the movie is set – after the war and before Comrade Gagarin boldly went where no man had gone before.
Russia should learn that banning something only gives it publicity. I’ve not heard of this film until now.
Being Russian myself I find all these comments fascinating. Please continue :-)
“[D]istortion of historic facts and wilful interpretation of events” – and that in a work of FICTION, how shocking! Of course it is banned in Russia. We have a history of banning everything and anything from Solzhenitsyn to Jesus Christ Superstar. Medinsky is absolutely right there, we are true successors of the great USSR. Of course, this doesn’t apply to wilful interpretation of Americans in Soviet art.
have your say