Russians at War: examining the propaganda disguised as truth at international film festivals

At the Venice Film Festival, a film titled “Russians at War” by Russian director Anastasia Trofimova, who has a Western education and previously made films for the propaganda holding RT (Russia Today), was shown. And there’s a lot wrong with that.

Trofimova says she spent seven months in the combat zone in Ukraine with a Russian Armed Forces battalion, working “without authorization.”

“For me, the biggest shock was seeing how simple they [Russian soldiers] are. Absolutely ordinary guys with families, a sense of humor, and their own understanding of what’s happening in this war,” the director told journalists before the premiere.

She added that these people might not understand the reasons for the war, but they went to fight because they lost someone, and it’s now a “matter of revenge.”

Reuters notes that the film shows only brief glimpses of real battles and does not provide any understanding of the destruction Russia is causing in Ukraine.

At the press conference, Trofimova was asked whether it is ethical to humanize Russian soldiers in the context of all the war crimes committed. She called it a “strange question,” suggesting that everyone should be humanized because it is a great tragedy for “our region.”

Additionally, she “did not see any signs of war crimes” while living with the Russian unit. Trofimova also urged not to “think in black-and-white stereotypes,” as this will lead to the continuation of the war, which is “the path politicians take,” while “ordinary people” should not do so.

Ukrainian producer Daria Bassel watched Trofimova’s film in Venice and wrote the following review:

“This film might make you believe it is anti-war and questions the current regime in Russia. However, what I saw is a vivid example of purely Russian propaganda.”

Here are the key points from Daria Bassel’s observations:

• The Russian director only became aware of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and makes no mention of its beginning in 2014.
• Trofimova claims that her country has not participated in wars for many years and that she only read about wars in books, despite Russia having invaded at least Transnistria, Abkhazia, Chechnya, Georgia, and Syria over the past 30 years.
• The film features a Ukrainian fighting on the side of Russia, claiming that there is a civil war in Ukraine and that Ukraine bombed its own eastern regions. Another character conveys the classic Russian narrative about Ukrainian Nazis.
• The heroes of the film are poor, ordinary Russians who fight only for money, do not understand the purpose of the war, cry for the dead, and are generally manipulated by politicians.

Soon, “Russians at War” will be shown at the Toronto International Film Festival. On the festival’s website, it is advertised as an “engaging documentary” that reveals the truth about the war that is not visible in Russian media.

However, the truth is that stories about “innocent ordinary Russians” lull the world once again and make people forget whose hands are driving Russia’s war of annihilation.

We hope that the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine and MFA of Ukraine will engage in this struggle.

Illustration: a still from the film “Russians at War”

Institute of Mass Information

Ukraine Front Lines

Tags: movie propaganda Russia russia ukraine war Ukraine