Putin's adviser Medinsky: Russia's state-funded films are garbage

Russian President Putin's adviser and former culture minister Vladimir Medinsky has sharply criticized the country's film industry, saying that quality control for state-funded films is insufficient. Medinsky gave an interview to the magazine Expert, arguing that poor films should be remade.

Russian President Putin's adviser and former acting culture minister Vladimir Medinsky has called for strengthening quality control of state-funded films, acknowledging that Russia's film industry faces a serious problem. In an interview with the magazine Expert, Medinsky noted that too many films made with state money fail to meet basic quality standards.

According to Medinsky, poorly made state-funded films should not simply be accepted, but filmmakers should be forced to remake them. "You dumped it in the trash bin — do it again," he is quoted as saying in the magazine. This is a harsh assessment from a man who has shaped Russian cultural policy for years.

Medinsky is known for his strong positions in shaping Russia's cultural sphere — he served as culture minister from 2012 to 2020 and is currently an adviser in the President's administration. His statements about the film industry show that even within the Kremlin's inner circle, it is acknowledged that state funding does not automatically guarantee quality.

In recent years, following Western sanctions and the departure of international film companies, Russia's film industry has increasingly relied on state funding. As a result, the question of quality control has become particularly acute — state money is spent on films that audiences do not want to watch.