Russian director Zvyagintsev urges Putin to end Ukraine war in new message
The Story
Russian film director Andrey Zvyagintsev sent a direct message to President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, urging him to end the war in Ukraine, according to a report by The Guardian. This follows a previous appeal at the Cannes film festival awards ceremony on Saturday, where Zvyagintsev won the Grand Prix for his new film “Minotaur.” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov rejected the idea of passing on the anti-war message, stating the director did not “have the right” to appeal to peace.
Key Facts
- Zvyagintsev sent a message to Putin’s press secretary through official channels on Tuesday, calling the war “senseless” and warning of “nothing good on the horizon if we don’t stop.”
- At the Cannes awards on Saturday, Zvyagintsev appealed to Putin to “stop this butchery” and acknowledged Putin was unlikely to watch the livestream personally.
- When asked about the appeal, Peskov said on Monday he would not pass it on and doubted anyone else would, adding that Zvyagintsev had not condemned “massacre in the Donbas.”
- Zvyagintsev responded on Tuesday that neither he nor “a hundred million Russian citizens” had a voice because Putin had “never heard their voices.”
- Zvyagintsev’s Cannes speech also received criticism from Ukraine, with commentators saying it continued the “appeal to the tsar” tradition.
- “Minotaur” is Zvyagintsev’s first film since a life-threatening Covid-19 infection and subsequent exile in France; it is an adaptation of Claude Chabrol’s 1969 film set in a fictional Russian city.
Conflicting Reports
No conflicting reports identified in the source article.
Still Unclear
No open questions identified in the source article.
Misconceptions
No widespread misconceptions addressed in the source article.
Key Figures
- Andrey Zvyagintsev, Russian film director
- Vladimir Putin, Russian president
- Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson
Sources
- The Guardian — Primary Source (single-source story)
