The Death of Stalin — the new film by famed Scottish satirist Armando Iannucci — has been barred from playing in Russia.
The decision to block the film in the country came following a screening by senior government officials in Russia on Monday (January 22), the BBC reports. Apparently, the Russian viewers complained that the film by Iannucci — best known helping create the likes of Alan Partridge, Veep and The Thick of It — contained "ideological warfare" and "extremism."
Yelena Drapeko from parliament's Russian culture committee told the RBK news agency that she had "never seen anything so disgusting in my life."
The film was to open in Russia on Thursday (January 25), but now all screenings have been cancelled after its distribution certificate was withdrawn. At this point, it's unclear if the film will be shown in Russia at all in the future, the BBC reports.
"A decision on whether it will be shown will be made later," the ministry said in a statement.
Directed by Iannucci, the film stars Steve Buscemi and Jeffrey Tambor and is a satire of the power struggle in Russia after the death of infamous dictator Joseph Stalin in 1953. As such, the film portrays many real historical figures.
The movie opened previously in the UK back in October. It also premiered at TIFF last year, and you can read Exclaim!'s glowing review of the film here.
Helping fuel the fires of controversy, next month marks the anniversary of 1943's Battle of Stalingrad — one of the largest military battles in history and one led by Marshal Georgy Zhukov, who is featured in The Death of Stalin.
The decision to block the film in the country came following a screening by senior government officials in Russia on Monday (January 22), the BBC reports. Apparently, the Russian viewers complained that the film by Iannucci — best known helping create the likes of Alan Partridge, Veep and The Thick of It — contained "ideological warfare" and "extremism."
Yelena Drapeko from parliament's Russian culture committee told the RBK news agency that she had "never seen anything so disgusting in my life."
The film was to open in Russia on Thursday (January 25), but now all screenings have been cancelled after its distribution certificate was withdrawn. At this point, it's unclear if the film will be shown in Russia at all in the future, the BBC reports.
"A decision on whether it will be shown will be made later," the ministry said in a statement.
Directed by Iannucci, the film stars Steve Buscemi and Jeffrey Tambor and is a satire of the power struggle in Russia after the death of infamous dictator Joseph Stalin in 1953. As such, the film portrays many real historical figures.
The movie opened previously in the UK back in October. It also premiered at TIFF last year, and you can read Exclaim!'s glowing review of the film here.
Helping fuel the fires of controversy, next month marks the anniversary of 1943's Battle of Stalingrad — one of the largest military battles in history and one led by Marshal Georgy Zhukov, who is featured in The Death of Stalin.