The Ministry of Culture explained the withdrawal of “Aita” from distribution due to the negative reaction of viewers

Minister of Culture Olga Lyubimova said that the decision to revoke the distribution certificate of the film “Aita” by Yakut director Stepan Burnashev was made due to the negative reaction of viewers after its appearance on online platforms. According to the minister, after this the Ministry of Culture received “hundreds of requests” from viewers.

Olga Lyubimova claims that the film caused a “very mixed reaction,” since Russian society is “sensitive to any mention of ethnic hatred,” which is “a constant controversial topic.”

“The film, which received a distribution certificate, participated in festivals and was presented in Russian cinemas, caused a very sharp negative reaction on social networks when it appeared on online platforms. Hundreds of appeals were sent from people who saw this film a little differently,” Olga Lyubimova said at the government hour in the State Duma (quote from TASS).

The Minister of Culture reported that representatives of the ministry met with the director of “Aity” Stepan Burnashev. She also added that the Ministry of Culture will continue to “work and try to make such topics more tactful.”

In September, Vedomosti drew attention to the fact that the film “Aita” had disappeared from Russian video services. After this Roskomnadzor reported, that the film was removed because department experts found in it information that “contradicts the principles of the unity of the peoples of Russia.” Exactly a week later the Ministry of Culture recalled license of a Yakut film.

Head of the Russian Presidential Council for Interethnic Relations Alexander Dyukov named the film “Aita” is “an exemplary nationalist cinema”, as well as “an ode to the strong-willed Yakut government, which alone can cope with the strong-willed Yakuts.” In his opinion, Yakutia is an “ethnocratic republic” in which “a quiet ethnic cleansing has already occurred.”

The film “Aita” is the 13th film by Stepan Burnashev. It received a distribution certificate in February 2023, and already in the summer it became the highest-grossing Yakut film, collecting 26.4 million rubles at the box office.

In support of the film “Aita” wrote an open letter from 70 film critics and film scholars. Among them are the director and chief editor of “Seance” Lyubov Arkus, Psychologies columnist Victoria Belopolskaya, film critic Anton Dolin (recognized as a foreign agent), chief editor of “The Art of Cinema” Nikita Kartsev, associate professor of the Department of Drama and Film Studies of St. Petersburg State Institute of Cinematography and Theater Nikita Smirnov. The head of Yakutia, Aisen Nikolaev, and the Yakut parliament spoke in support of “Aita,” calling for an expert assessment of the fact of the film’s ban.

“Aita” is a psychological thriller, which takes place in a small Yakut village. In the story, the daughter of a hunting inspector named Aita tries to commit suicide. After a suicide attempt, her mother finds a note in her pocket that says “Afonya, I hate you.” Afoney is the name of the Russian policeman – the day before he gave Aita a ride home. Aita’s father believes the policeman is to blame for the incident and gathers his fellow hunters for a “trial.” However, at the end of the film it turns out that the note was about a Yakut schoolboy from a neighboring village. Stepan Burnashev said that in this film he sought to show “what the disunity of peoples can lead to.”

Read more about the film in the material “Roskomnadzor looked at Aita.”

Anastasia Larina