The head of the Union of Cinematographers of Russia, director Nikita Mikhalkov, asked for a reprieve from mobilization for filmmakers. He sent a corresponding letter to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.
TASS also reports that the Association of Animated Films of Russia appealed to the Moscow City Hall and the Ministry of Defense with a request to exclude animation industry specialists from the call for mobilization.
In the appeal, Mikhalkov stated that he would not respond to "stupidity or a malicious desire to insult or humiliate" in connection with the publication of the letter:
“I am not asking for anyone to be released from the army, I am only talking about the fact that the filming processes, launched mainly with state money, if they really have artistic and moral value, be completed and come to the audience. It is for this period that I ask for a delay for those without whom these projects cannot be completed. All other conjectures that will inevitably arise from my "friends", let them remain on their conscience. A smart and sensible person will understand, but evil fools exist in order to make the smart and kind more visible.
He recalled the filmmakers who worked on films "helping the soldiers fight and the people survive all the hardships" during the Great Patriotic War. According to the director, most of his fellow filmmakers are ready to "help the country in every possible way at this difficult moment."
At the same time, in March, Mikhalkov stated in the issue of Besogon that Russia must defend itself and that the country had no other choice but to start a war. This is how he justified the Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to him, Ukraine, the United States, and Europe “began to prepare this war in 1991,” and Russian intelligence received “irrefutable evidence” about the impending invasion of Ukrainian troops into the Donbass:
“It was a difficult decision to make. There were two ways out: either we will defend ourselves, or we will not be at all.
Earlier, Mikhalkov spoke in the program "Besogon" about the "feat" of the Russian Konstantin Tulinov, who died in the war in Ukraine. Later it turned out that Tulinov was a member of the “active” in the Kresty pre-trial detention center and participated in the torture of those arrested. Fontanka and Gulagu.net wrote about this. At the age of 16, Tulinov received his first suspended sentence, followed by "robbery, drugs and a few walkers," as Mikhalkov himself spoke about in the issue. In the spring of 2022, the Russian decided to go to the front, where he died by blowing himself up with a grenade when three “nationalists” approached him, his colleague said.
Military experts interviewed by The Insider argue that there will be no changes at the front due to Russian mobilization, there will simply be "more corpses." Retired SBU Major General Viktor Yagun and military expert Sergei Grabsky agreed that now Ukraine will have reason to demand new sanctions against Russia. Mobilization will also be a huge problem for the Russian economy, as the country will have to provide hundreds of thousands of troops.