Oscar-winning Russian director blasts West’s ‘tsunami of hypocrisy’

Nikita Mikhalkov published an open letter after being included on EU’s sanction list

The West should heed Russia’s rejection of its “devastating” hypocrisy while there is still time, Oscar-winning director Nikita Mikhalkov warned on Monday, in an open letter addressed to the members of the European Council.

His message came after the EU placed him on its sanctions list for supporting Russia's ongoing military operation in Ukraine, for backing the 2014 referendum in Crimea and for sharing Moscow’s allegations of US-funded bioweapons labs in Ukraine. The EU blacklist, introduced last month along with its ninth sanctions package, included the names of another 140 people and 49 legal entities.

Mikhalkov, 77, is one of Russia’s most prominent directors and holds an Oscar and two Golden Lions from the Venice film festival, among other awards. Since 2011 he has hosted his own self-funded show called “Besogon” (DemonKicker), in which he shares his personal thoughts on a number of cultural and religious issues, and answers questions from viewers.

In his letter, Mikhalkov stressed that he was only a Russian artist and not a politician or government official. According to the director, member of the EU Council who “consider themselves [part of] a civilized, democratic society” have now essentially sanctioned a person for expressing his personal opinion in his own country using his own language, addressing his own people on a show that he personally finances. 

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According to the director, it shows that the facts he has spoken about have struck a nerve with the EU, which, he says, has blinded its people by propaganda commissioned by Washington.

“I want to express my gratitude to you for recognizing my activities, because otherwise I cannot explain your fear of the truth, which sooner or later will result in an international tribunal from those countries and peoples who today are waiting for our victory, but have neither the strength nor the opportunity to express it openly,” the director wrote. 

He concluded by warning that, soon, hundreds of millions of ordinary people in “civilized Europe” who have been “lulled by a comfortable life under the American nuclear umbrella” will awake from their haze and issue their leaders a resounding “No.” He added that this was already being done by Russia and its president Vladimir Putin, who Mikhalkov says is the only world leader today standing in the way of the West’s “devastating tsunami of hypocrisy.”