In the latest salvo in a broader culture war, Russia’s culture minister, Vladimir Medinsky, has banned the release in Russia of “Child 44,” a Cold War thriller starring Tom Hardy as a policeman investigating a series of child murders in 1953, for “distorting historical facts,” Variety reported.
Mr. Medinsky, a historian known for his revisionist bent and his insistence on celebrating the past triumphs of the Russian army, was incensed by the way the film portrayed Russia as “a sort of Mordor” and said the film should not be shown in Russia, it was reported. “This is how our country — the same one that was victorious in the Great War, became a world leader and put the first man in space — is being portrayed,” the culture minister wrote in a statement.
The ministry and the film’s distributor said it would not be appropriate to release the film ahead of May 9 celebrations of the 70th anniversary of Russia’s victory over Nazi Germany. “It is time to finally form our own idea about ourselves as the heirs of a great, unique Russian civilization,” Mr. Medinsky reportedly wrote. “Without that, they will crush us.”