Why Is Russia Boycotting The Academy Awards?

The Russia-Ukraine war has been going on for six months now. There have been heavy casualties in Ukraine after Russian troops bombed several of its cities. The invasion and its resulting war have caused Europe’s largest refugee crisis since the second world war.

However, slowly Ukraine has been able to regroup and perform counter-attacks on Russian troops. This has led the Russian government to hire convicted criminals and civilians for war. Amidst all this, they have also decided to boycott the Academy Awards. Let’s find out why.

Russia Boycotts Academy Awards

Since Russia invaded Ukraine under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, the country has been facing sanctions and condemnation from all corners of the world.

Now, the country has decided to counter these by boycotting next year’s Academy Awards. According to a Variety report, they will not be sending an official Oscar candidate for the upcoming international feature film race.

The news was announced by the Russian film academy on September 27. Several members of Russia’s Oscar committee, including its president Pavel Tchoukhraï, have resigned to stand by the decision.

This is the first instance that the country has boycotted popular film awards since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s.

Why Are They Boycotting Oscars?

Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year to “demilitarize” and “denazify” the country, they have been facing a lot of economic sanctions from different countries, including the US.

The decision of the Russian film academy to boycott the Oscars reflects the rising tensions between the U.S. and Russia. The US has been supplying sophisticated weapons to help Ukraine win the war.

Kremlin recently threatened to cut ties with America and accused their administration of having a direct role in the war. Nikita Mikhalkov, a filmmaker and a staunch supporter of Putin said “it didn’t make sense” to select a film that will be represented in a country that “currently denies its existence.”

Karen Shakhnazarov, a Russian filmmaker supported the decision. “Sending a film to the U.S. would be like sending a film to Germany during the Second World War to get the prize of the Third Reich,” he said.