At the end of November, Russia held the ceremony for a new film award, The Diamond Butterfly, conceived as a domestic answer to the Oscars. Its chief inspirer and organizer was Nikita Mikhalkov, who said from the stage that the goal was to unite countries and cultures that respect their past and value the traditions given to them.
The evening’s tone was reinforced by officials: Vladimir Medinsky and Maria Zakharova presented awards to filmmakers from countries ranging from Kyrgyzstan to Venezuela. The author links this episode to Mikhalkov’s current role as a figure connecting culture, state ideology, and foreign-policy messaging.
By his 80th birthday, the director had become one of the most visible and controversial figures in Russian culture. He began as an actor during the Khrushchev Thaw and rose to fame after I Step Through Moscow. He later established himself as the director of At Home Among Strangers, An Unfinished Piece for Mechanical Piano, Dark Eyes, Urga, and Burnt by the Sun, works that brought him major international honors, including an Oscar and prizes at Cannes.
The article argues that in the 2000s Mikhalkov became more than a director, turning into the head of an entire system. He led the Union of Cinematographers, ran the Moscow International Film Festival, sat on the board of trustees of the Film Fund, and controlled his own company, TRITE, which became a major film producer.
Special attention is given to the crisis of his later period. Burnt by the Sun 2, released in 2010, was rejected almost unanimously by critics and audiences and failed to recoup even half of its $40 million budget. After that, the author writes, Mikhalkov appeared to move ever farther from artistic exploration toward ideological statements and toward an image of Russia as a myth replacing reality.