The Vice Speaker of the State Duma asked the Prosecutor General's Office and the Ministry of Culture to check the film from Artdocfest about the war in Ukraine

Deputy Speaker of the State Duma Pyotr Tolstoy said that he asked the Prosecutor General's Office and the Ministry of Culture to check "for compliance with the legislation of the Russian Federation" the film "War for Peace" by Ukrainian director Yevgeny Titarenko, which is included in one of the programs of the Artdocfest festival.

The verification is due to the fact that in 2014-2015 Titarenko was a volunteer in the Ukrainian battalion "Hospitallers" ( medical battalion. - approx. "Medusa" ), which was part of the "Right Sector" banned in Russia. Tolstoy believes that the film may contain "public calls for extremism and terrorism," TASS writes, citing his press service.

The vice speaker considers unacceptable "the screening of a film in the network of Russian cinemas in which Russia is presented as an aggressor country, and not a guarantor of the implementation of the Minsk agreements, and ATO fighters in the south-east of Ukraine are heroes and benefactors," the agency reports.

Artdocfest President Vitaly Mansky noted in a commentary to Meduza that no one had seen War for Peace in Russia, so claims against the film “look strange.” According to Mansky, the picture is a direct report from the war without off-screen text and comments. “People killing people is what this film is all about. Point,” said the president of the festival.

Mansky added that if, as a result of the inspection, the film is recognized as extremist, the organizers of the festival will remove it from the screening.

Mansky also said that in the last 24 hours he faced “a stream of dirt, threats and absolutely unfounded accusations <…> from an absolutely marginal public.” Against this background, Tolstoy's statement, according to Mansky, looks "rather restrained."

Speaking about Tolstoy's request, the president of Artdocfest remarked: "It is strange that the vice-speaker of a state of 145 million is checking one film that is planned to be shown in a hall with 145 seats in Moscow."

• Yevgeny Titarenko's film "War for Peace" is included in one of the out-of-competition programs of "Artdocfest" - "After the Union.doc", which will show films made in the countries of the former USSR. The synopsis called the film "a story about ordinary people who volunteered to protect the integrity of their country."
• Titarenko said in an interview that he first went to the Donbass “as a documentary journalist,” but after meeting the head of the Hospitallers, Yana Zinkevich, he decided to join this unit. As part of the Hospitallers, he said, he was involved in filming and medical care.
• The Russian media drew attention to the film's participation in the festival on November 20. The TV channel Zvezda, in particular, wrote that the film "reveals the image of Russia as an 'aggressor country'". Agency "Regnum" announced that because of the film, it is terminating its partnership with "Artdocfest".
• Artdocfest is the largest Russian documentary film festival. In 2017, it will be held from 6 to 12 December. Meduza tells about the films that will be shown at the festival.