Russia labels Cannes-winning director Andrey Zvyagintsev a ‘foreign agent’

Acclaimed Russian film director who won 2026 Grand Prix award at Cannes, ⁠has been critical of the war in Ukraine.

Director Andrey Zvyagintsev, won the Grand Prix award for the film, Minotaur, at the Cannes Film Festival in France this year [File: Gonzalo Fuentes]

The winner of a prestigious Cannes Film Festival award has been declared a foreign agent by Russian authorities for his criticism of Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

Acclaimed Russian film director ⁠Andrey Zvyagintsev was designated a “foreign agent” by the Kremlin on Friday, according to state news agency ⁠TASS.

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Zvyagintsev won the 2026 Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival for, Minotaur, a film depicting a Russian businessman who is forced to ‌decide which of his employees should be mobilised to go and fight in Ukraine.

“Millions of people on both sides of the front line dream of only one thing: for the massacres to stop,” Zvyagintsev said in his acceptance speech, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin was the ⁠only person capable of ending the ⁠war.

Moscow has kept casualty numbers from the fighting in Ukraine heavily restricted and has not provided timely or complete public updates, but estimates of Russian soldiers killed in the four-year war range from anywhere from 200,000 to half a million.

Russia’s Ministry of Justice on Friday accused Zvyagintsev of disseminating “false information about decisions taken by the public authorities of the Russian Federation and the policies they pursue”.

“He interacted with foreign agents and resides outside the Russian Federation,” it said.

The 62-year-old director, who has lived outside Russia since the COVID pandemic, ⁠is known for a series of other films including, The Return, The Banishment, and, Leviathan, a bleak ⁠portrayal of life in rural Russia.

People listed ⁠as foreign agents are subjected to onerous bureaucratic requirements and restrictions on their income in Russia.

They are barred from holding public office and forced to register their activities with the authorities.

They also have to add warnings on everything they publish, including ‌on social media, that the content was produced by a foreign agent.

The label adds connotations of espionage to numerous people, including public figures, whom it deems ⁠to be engaging in anti-Russian activity with support from abroad.

Previously, writer Boris Akunin and rock musician Boris Grebenshchikov have been labelled as foreign agents by Moscow.

这位曾获得2026年戛纳电影节评审团大奖的俄罗斯著名电影导演，一直对乌克兰战争持批评态度。

导演安德烈·兹维亚金采夫凭借电影《弥诺陶洛斯》荣获今年法国戛纳电影节评审团大奖。[图片：冈萨洛·富恩特斯]

因批评莫斯科在乌克兰的战争，一位获得戛纳电影节大奖的影片被俄罗斯当局宣布为外国代理人。

据俄罗斯国家通讯社塔斯社报道，俄罗斯著名电影导演安德烈·兹维亚金采夫于周五被克里姆林宫认定为“外国代理人”。

名单1/3：一名英国男子被控协助俄罗斯军事间谍进行破坏阴谋

澳大利亚指控一名男子向俄罗斯传递乌克兰军事情报（共3项指控，此为第2项）

乌克兰总统泽连斯基计划每天用“1000架无人机”打击俄罗斯（共3项计划，此为第3项）。

兹维亚金采夫凭借电影《弥诺陶洛斯》荣获 2026 年戛纳电影节大奖，该片讲述了一位俄罗斯商人被迫决定应该动员哪些员工去乌克兰参战的故事。

兹维亚金采夫在获奖感言中说：“前线双方数百万民众只有一个梦想：那就是停止屠杀。”他还补充说，俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京是唯一能够结束这场战争的人。

莫斯科对乌克兰战争的伤亡人数严格限制，没有提供及时或完整的公开更新，但据估计，在这场持续四年的战争中丧生的俄罗斯士兵人数在 20 万到 50 万之间。

俄罗斯司法部周五指责兹维亚金采夫散布“有关俄罗斯联邦公共当局所作决定及其所奉行政策的虚假信息”。

声明称：“他与外国特工有联系，并且居住在俄罗斯联邦境外。”

这位 62 岁的导演自 COVID-19 疫情爆发以来一直居住在俄罗斯境外，他曾执导过一系列电影，包括《归来》、《放逐》和《利维坦》，后者是对俄罗斯农村生活的阴郁描绘。

在俄罗斯，被列为外国代理人的人员将受到繁重的官僚程序要求和收入限制。

他们被禁止担任公职，并被迫向当局登记其活动。

他们还必须在所有发布的内容（包括社交媒体上的内容）上添加警告，说明这些内容是由外国代理人制作的。

该标签给许多人，包括公众人物，贴上了间谍的标签，认为他们正在国外的支持下从事反俄活动。

此前，作家鲍里斯·阿库宁和摇滚音乐家鲍里斯·格列宾希科夫曾被莫斯科贴上“外国代理人”的标签。