Undercover Teacher Exposes Putin's School Indoctrination in Award-Winning Documentary
Pavel Talankin, a school teacher from Russia, has risked everything to expose a government-mandated patriotic education programme designed to mould primary schoolchildren into supporters of Vladimir Putin and the war against Ukraine. His undercover documentary, Mr Nobody Against Putin, recently won a Bafta for best documentary and is tipped for an Oscar, but it has forced him into exile, unable to return home.
Secret Filming Reveals Propaganda in Classrooms
Talankin spent two-and-a-half years covertly documenting the indoctrination drive at Karabash School No 1 in the Urals, where he worked as an events coordinator. He filmed children being taught about "denazification" and "demilitarisation" as part of the war effort, with grenade-throwing contests replacing PE classes and visits from Wagner paramilitary groups instructing on mine identification. The footage, uploaded to a government website to meet quotas, was secretly sent to US director David Borenstein for editing.
The documentary shows how initially bored pupils gradually absorb the propaganda, with teachers reading state scripts and children marching in unison through school corridors. At home, they watch TV shows where soldiers discuss killing Ukrainians "out of love" for Russian children. Talankin, 34, explains from London, "The state spends a lot of money on it; they wouldn't bother if it didn't work."
Impact on Education and Community Backlash
The patriotic classes have negatively affected academic performance, leading to an emergency staff meeting where grades dropped sharply. The head teacher admitted she would be sacked if she stopped the programme, a scene Talankin calls the film's most important. Despite Russian state media ignoring the Bafta win, bootlegged copies of the documentary have spread in Karabash like samizdat literature, with some parents expressing gratitude while others threatened violence.
When local officials discovered the film's circulation, FSB agents warned school staff to deny Talankin and the documentary's existence. "They said this person did not exist and does not exist and this film did not exist and does not exist," Talankin recounts. He hopes the Oscar nomination will raise awareness in Russia, helping children realize they were victims of propaganda.
Personal Sacrifice and Exile
Facing updated anti-treason laws that could mean life imprisonment, Talankin fled Russia after the 2024 school graduation, telling his mother and colleagues he was going on holiday to Turkey. He packed recordings in his suitcase, secured political asylum in Europe, and knows he cannot return. "It's better to talk about problems than be silent about them," he asserts, believing the sacrifice was necessary to highlight how totalitarianism infiltrates institutions.
In his Bafta speech, Borenstein praised Talankin's bravery, noting he kept filming despite police surveillance and threats. "Courage is found in unlikely places. We need more Mr Nobodies," he said. The film aims to show Russians the reality inside their schools and the creation of a pro-Putin generation, with long-term implications for loyalty and politics in the country.
