New Year's Fairy Tales Criticized by State Duma Deputies

The New Year holidays of 2026 in Russian cinemas followed a predictable and seemingly triumphant script. A trio of family blockbusters — «Cheburashka 2», «Buratino», and «Prostokvashino» — collectively grossed over 9 billion rubles (approximately $120 million at current rates). Cinemas were packed, tickets sold out in advance, and the news spoke of a «victory for domestic cinema» and «the return of audiences to theaters.»

The picture looked impeccable — until State Duma deputies returned from their holidays. A meeting of the State Duma Committee on Culture became a turning point. The tone of discussion turned unexpectedly harsh: deputies began criticizing precisely those films that had just been presented as flagships of cultural policy. Accusations were made of shoddy work, derivativeness, «corruption of children»s minds,« parasitism on Soviet heritage, and using »well-known names« for guaranteed box office returns.

However, in conditions where main competitors have been removed from distribution, even an openly weak film becomes a box office hit. This is not about an artistic victory, but about a well-built administrative machine. And the deputies know this perfectly well. By the way, a new bill is currently being discussed in the State Duma that expands the powers of the Ministry of Culture in determining priorities for state support. And then, perhaps, Russian viewers will be delighted with something other than endless fairy tales. MSK1.RU spoke with experts about this.

A Matter of Taste

People«s Artist of Russia, director Andrey Zhitinkin views the situation reconcilably: »Actually, the right of the founder — in this case, the Ministry of Culture — is indeed to set priorities and release films. Deputies are concerned about what remains in viewers« minds, but this is an eternal question. Business often does not coincide with taste preferences. Legally, this is not formalized in any way: the emotional attitude of deputies cannot be the basis for decisions. Some like it, some don»t — as in the acting world. Society must have tolerance.«

Will They Ban Everything?

A much harsher opinion was expressed by film critic and film scholar Alexander Shpagin. In his opinion, «if cultural policy in the country is controlled by deputies, they will ban everything.»

According to Shpagin, it is precisely the family remakes, which suddenly (and completely unmotivatedly) came under fire in the State Duma, that have become the main unifying trend: «These films create family values, connect the past and present. Young people watch »Cheburashka« and become interested in the past. Finally, we have found a form of cinema. Thanks to such films, cinemas are opening, families and elderly people are going there again. Now going to the cinema has become prestigious.»

Naturally, a key question arises: can box office be considered the main criterion? According to calculations by «Kinopoisk», the current «New Year»s blockbuster battle« turned out to be the most record-breaking in history. Over the New Year holidays, more than 19 million tickets were sold (the previous record was in 2019 — less than 16 million tickets).

However, one of the reasons for the record was a sharp increase in ticket prices: now they cost 534 rubles (approximately $7 at current rates) (last year it was 480 rubles, or about $6, meaning the price increase far outpaced official inflation).

And based on the results of last year, the record-breakers included, as always, mainly film fairy tales (the very ones that deputies rebelled against): «The Wizard of the Emerald City», «Gorynych», «Alice in Wonderland». But among them was also the patriotic film «August» about the Great Patriotic War (it grossed almost 1.6 billion rubles, or approximately $21 million at current rates) — precisely such films, apparently, deputies are asking to promote.

«August» is a remarkable film, complex and ambiguous, with pauses, not brisk, but rather suspenseful, like a thriller,« says Alexander Shpagin. He reminds that culture always balances between the dictate of taste and the dictate of the market, but it never becomes fully manageable: »Sometimes the viewer is an ally, and sometimes a terrible opponent. A huge amount of outright garbage collected giant box office in the 2010s. That is, we practically almost jumped into Bollywood. But in the case of «Cheburashka», everything came together: artistry, correctness, and viewer success. Everyone is satisfied, everyone is happy. And deputies want to ban this?! Banning this today means destroying the last mass form that really works. And what do they want to allow?! Personally, I don«t understand.»

According to Shpagin, the desire of deputies to control cinema is understandable, because it is «the most important of the arts,» the most mass, the most pop, and the most effective, and not only entertaining, like pop songs, but also giving pictures of life, accordingly, creating social narratives, art.«

— How many attempts have there been to create cinemas for Russian films and not allow American films there. All cinemas for Russian films within two months turned into cinemas for American films. As with cinemas for documentary films supported by the state, they all closed anyway. If people don«t want to watch something, they won»t watch it!