Huge congratulations to Pavel Talankin and everyone behind “Mr. Nobody against Putin” on the Oscar nomination. I’m especially proud that one of my foundations helped support the film’s production.

What makes this feel so significant is that the documentary doesn’t just describe a system, it lets you watch it working from the inside, in real time, at a very human scale. It’s a sobering reminder of how quickly institutions can be repurposed, how fear and pressure change behavior, and how propaganda can become so routine that people stop noticing it.