Mosfilm studio handed over tanks and infantry fighting vehicles to the Russian army

Left to right: Karen Shakhnazarov and Vladimir Putin/Photo by Vyacheslav PROKOFYEV/POOL/AFP

Mosfilm has transferred tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and tractors to the Russian army, said the film studio's general director, director Karen Shakhnazarov – during a meeting with Vladimir Putin.

“We provided charitable assistance in the amount of eight million this year, including for the needs of the SVO. By the way, in 2023 we transferred to the Armed Forces 28 T-55 tanks, eight PT-76 tanks, six infantry fighting vehicles and eight tractors, which we stored at the military-technical base. I found out that there were needs, contacted the Ministry of Defense – and these vehicles were taken away,” – Shakhnazarov is quoted by the official website of the Russian president, Radio Liberty reports.

In response, Putin said that he was proud of Mosfilm.

Director Karen Shakhnazarov, who shot the lyrical comedies We Are from Jazz, Winter Evening in Gagra, and Courier, which were popular in the Soviet Union, has headed the Mosfilm film concern almost since Putin came to power – in 1998. Since 2012, Shakhnazarov has been Putin's confidant. In 2014, the director supported the annexation of Crimea, and in 2020, amendments to the Constitution allowed Putin to “zero out” terms of his presidency.

Now Shakhnazarov is one of the most ardent supporters of aggression against Ukraine. On the air of the state television channel “Russia-1”, the director threatened opponents of the war with “concentration camps” and “sterilization”.

Prepared by: Sergey Daga