Mr. Nobody Against Putin is a 2025 documentary film directed by David Borenstein & Pavel Talankin. The film follows a Russian teacher, who “secretly documents his small town school’s transformation into a war recruitment center during the Ukraine invasion, revealing the ethical dilemmas educators face amid propaganda and militarization” (IMDb 2026). Mr. Nobody has won multiple awards, including an Oscar for “Best Documentary Feature”.
Dr Olga Smirnova was appointed as Tampere University’s Professor of Practice in Journalism for the academic year 2026–2027. Smirnova is a senior journalist who has been a BBC producer and reporter, working in TV, radio, podcasts and long-form documentaries. She conducted research on Russian disinformation at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the Oxford University.
Nelli Piattoeva is a Professor of Sociology of Education at the Faculty of Education and Culture and the Director of the TRANSIT Research Centre. Her research has focused, among other topics, on the impact of Cold War ideologies and stereotypes on knowledge production concerning education and childhood in former socialist countries. Her doctoral dissertation was a pioneering study of the transformation of Russia’s citizenship education agenda into patriotic and military-oriented training since the mid-2000s.
Read more: Nelli Piattoeva | Tampereen yliopisto
The event is organized in collaboration between the TRANSIT Research Centre and the International Relations discipline at Tampere University.
Event information:
The event is free, and the seats are available on a “first-come, first-served” basis.
Date and time: 6 October 2026, 15:00–17:30
Location: Tampere University, Main Building, Lecture Hall D11
Schedule:
15:00 Opening words
15:15 Screening of ”Mr. Nobody Against Putin” with English subtitles (90 minutes)
16:50 End of film + short break (10 minutes)
17:00 Discussion with Professor of Practice Olga Smirnova and Professor Nelli Piattoeva + audience questions/comments (30 minutes)
17:30 End of event
Rights to screen the film have been acquired from Danmarks Radio.
The film is also available on Yle Areena with Finnish subtitles under the title “Yksin Putinia vastaan”. If you have already seen the documentary, you are warmly welcome to join the discussion part of the event.