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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Pjotr Sauer

Kremlin’s propaganda film about Ukraine war plays to empty cinemas

Young men stand at ticket machines in a brightly lit cinema lobby, with action posters on the wall
A cinema in Moscow showing a film about the conflict in Ukraine. Photograph: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP

Alexei wasn’t sure if he had entered the right cinema auditorium as he put down the popcorn and plunged into his chair. The room was dark and quiet, with only three other audience members scattered across the large Moscow theatre that could fit more than 100 people.

It was a Friday evening and Alexei had come to see The Witness, Russia’s first feature-length film about its invasion of Ukraine that premiered across the country on 17 August.

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