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Just days after the Russian blockbuster “The Master and Margarita” surged to the top of the domestic box office, Kremlin cronies, pro-war propagandists and an army of online trolls have waged a campaign to discredit the film and its director, Michael Lockshin, a U.S. citizen who was raised in the Soviet Union and has been outspoken in his opposition to the war in Ukraine.

A source close to the film, who asked not to be named out of fear of potential repercussions, tells Variety that the movie’s staggering success and pointed critique of authoritarian rule has struck a nerve in right-wing circles at a time when Russian President Vladimir Putin has cracked down on any form of dissent.

“The propagandists are both envious and also hateful that a movie with an anti-censorship, anti-totalitarian, anti-war message is getting so much popularity, that they have doubled down,” the source said.

Russian general Andrey Gurulev has called upon Vladimir Putin to drop nuclear weapons on Ukraine following the country’s strike on Russian territory.

Following 11 weeks of fighting for its summer offensive, Ukraine has regained control of the village of Robotyne, a small sign of progress in the grueling war effort. Gurulev suggested that the use of nuclear warfare would be “perfect,” since Ukrainians are now “bunched up” in the area.

The sentiment was echoed by Russian television propagandist Vladimir Solovyov, who claimed that using such weapons would “save so many lives of [Russian] fighters, and solve all problems.”

The dangerous effects of launching a nuclear attack on Ukraine stretch beyond Eastern Europe. The plausible intervention of NATO nations could spark World War III.

Though Gurulev and Solovyov both mentioned the potential damage that the weapons could have on their own country, they believe that the “knowledgeable scientists” in Russia would work...

A disturbing clip of a Kremlin propagandist was uploaded to Twitter last week. Vladimir Solovyov, nicknamed “Putin’s Voice” for his unflinching support of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s actions, threatened a viewer on his show Full Contact.

A viewer Rozumovsky sent a question trying to discredit the tv show host. “Maybe it’s time to stop presenting lies as the truth? Stop deceiving people. Rational thinking people no longer believe any of this.”

In Memoriam 2022: 100 Great Celebrities Who Died This Year!

Solovyov responded to the question, as well as the rest of the message, with intimidation. “You know what, Victor? If you are in Russia, we are going to find you,” the host said while adding, “We will find out everything about you. You won’t know a moment’s peace.”

Meanwhile in Russia: top propagandist Vladimir Solovyov shows off the improvised knee pads made by the mobilized...

Accept no substitutes! Aleksandr Ptushko’s fairy-tale folk hero saga is the real deal in medieval spectacle. When the nation calls, warriors rise from the steppes to defend against invaders, even if they have to defy royal authority. The first Soviet film in anamorphic scope and stereophonic sound, Ilya Muromets is an eye-opening series of fantastic characters and storybook episodes, loaded with Ptushko’s amazingly beautiful special effects and jaw-dropping scenes with entire armies filling the scene. The capper is one hell of a fierce dragon — the fire breathing, three-headed Zmey Gorynych!

Ilya Muromets

Blu-ray

Deaf Crocodile / Seagull

1956 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 91 83 min. / Street Date May, 2022 / The Sword and the Dragon, The Epic Hero and the Beast / Available from Vinegar Syndrome / 34.98 & 39.98

Starring: Boris Andreyev, Shukur Burkhanov, Andrei Abrikosov, Natalya Medvedeva, Ninel Myshkova, Sergey Martinson, Georgi Dyomin, Aleksandr Shvorin, Nikolai Gladkov, Vladimir Solovyov.

Cinematography: Fyodor Provorov, Yuli Kun

Production Designer: Yevgeni Kumankov...

Malmkrog

2019 has come and gone, but we’ve yet to see the latest project from Cristi Puiu, which was reportedly completed sometime ago (with a lengthy running time upwards of three hours). Malmkrog, which according to the film’s producer Anca Puiu, is filmed mostly in French. Puiu’s latest is inspired by and freely adapted from philosopher Vladimir Solovyov’s book War, Progress and the End of History: Three Conversations, Including a Short Story of the Anti-Christ. This is the same work which informed his 2013 project Three Exercises of Interpretation, which was a filmed workshop where Puiu did exactly as the title indicates.…...