Armando Iannucci's The Death Of Stalin is beginning to cause a controversy in Russia.
As reported previously, the Russian cultural ministry pulled the certificate for the film after bowing to pressure from members of the Communist Party - the second-largest political party in the country - after they claimed it was a "form of psychological pressure," and disrespected the memories of those who fought against the Nazis in World War II - particularly General Zhukov, played by Jason Isaacs.
However, one cinema - the Pioner - stood in defiance of the ban and opted to screen the film and was subsequently raided by Russian police. According to THR's report, police missed the first screening of the film at 11.50AM on Friday, and were quoted by news agency TASS that they could face a severe fine for screening the movie.
Here's footage from the police raid caught by AFP.
Russian police raid a Moscow cinema after it screens British comedy "Death of Stalin" in defiance of an official ban pic.twitter.com/1fy0lvUbzB
— AFP news agency (@AFP) January 27, 2018
According to the Guardian's report, the Pioner were initially planning to screen the film again, however a later announcement confirmed that all future screenings of the film have been scrapped. Many of the screenings for The Death Of Stalin had sold out, owing to interest in the film.
In case you missed it, here's the trailer and our five-star review.