Russian actor who starred in propaganda films lands Oscar nomination

Russian actor Yura Borisov, who has previously starred in Russian propaganda films and illegally visited Russian-occupied Crimea, has received an Academy Award nomination for his role in the film "Anora."

Borisov is nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category, the U.S. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Jan. 23.

Borisov is the first Russian actor to land an Oscar nomination in nearly five decades. This recognition of a Russian actor who has never spoken out against Russia's aggression comes as Moscow continues to wage a brutal war against Ukraine, which has already killed tens of thousands of people, including at least 12,300 civilians.

Directed by U.S. filmmaker Sean Baker, "Anora" is a modern-day reimagining of the Cinderella story set in Brighton Beach's Russian community. It follows a young sex worker from Brooklyn who impulsively marries the son of a Russian oligarch.

The film has also been nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress at the 97th Academy Awards. The Oscars ceremony will be held on March 2 this year.

Borisov is an acclaimed Russian actor who has starred in a number of Russian films promoting state propaganda, such as "AK-47," which was partially filmed in occupied Crimea.

Russia invaded and illegally annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014. Entering Crimea from Russian territory is illegal.

Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion eight years later, Borisov hasn't publicly spoken out against his country's war of aggression.

The decision has once again sparked a debate over the glorification of Russian culture and cooperation with Russians while Moscow is committing war crimes in Ukraine.

Earlier in September, the Toronto International Film Festival sparked outrage for screening "Russians at War," a documentary by a Russian-Canadian filmmaker that whitewashes Russian soldiers participating in the invasion of Ukraine.

At this year's Oscars, the Ukrainian documentary "Porcelain War" is nominated for Best Documentary Feature.

Directed by Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev, the film tells the story of three Kharkiv artists who joined the Ukrainian army while continuing to create porcelain figurines as an act of cultural resistance during Russia's full-scale invasion.

Russia’s looting of history is a theft of who we are

I first visited the looted museums of Kherson, a city in southern Ukraine, in May 2024. At the time, my team at the Kyiv Independent’s War Crimes Investigations Unit and I were beginning an investigation into the illegal export of artifacts from Kherson to occupied Crimea by Russian forces

The Kyiv IndependentYevheniia Motorevska