Film director Alexander Sokurov speaks for Alexei Navalny's supporters and calls Chechnya a non-Russian sector

By taking part in the protest actions, Russian young people demonstrate their civil position, and the authorities should not suppress, but listen to it. This was stated by film director Alexander Sokurov at the "Nika" awarding ceremony. In his speech, he also called Chechnya "not very relevant to our country."

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 26, many cities of Russia, including its southern regions, hosted actions of supporters of the oppositionist Alexei Navalny. Protesters demanded to investigate facts of corruption in the upper echelons of Russian power. The actions of Navalny’s supporters turned into mass detentions also in Sochi, Rostov-on-Don and Makhachkala.

On March 28, at the Moscow Mossovet Theatre, Alexander Sokurov was granted the "Nika" cinematic award named after Eldar Ryazanov, the RIA "Novosti" reports.

At the "Nika" awarding ceremony, Alexander Sokurov has delivered a speech in which he urged the audience not to "start a civil war among schoolchildren and students," but "to listen to them."

"I want to appeal to our MPs... Let's adopt a law prohibiting arresting and in general touching women and girls who participate in public actions... If you saw what happened on Sunday, then you saw a lot of victims, when they grabbed young women and schoolgirls and dragged them somewhere. It was done in a rude manner. It was violence. But these people should be understood," said the film director as quoted by the "Meduza".

Alexander Sokurov has also noted that some of his films are banned for demonstration, in particular, in Chechnya. "A month ago, I received a document from the Ministry of Culture. It announces that the Ministry of Culture joins the decision not to demonstrate, for example, the 'Russian Ark' in the Russian Federation... I have already been called and told that some of my other films will also likely be banned. Well, I am aware that they are not allowed to be demonstrated in Chechnya. However, Chechnya is a special sector that is not very relevant to our country," the "Meduza" quotes Alexander Sokurov as saying.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.