Art productions should not offend the feelings of believers, the majority of Russians think. This is not the case of ‘Matilda’: only 17% of respondents would ban its exhibition. 

MOSCOW, October 25, 2017. The Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the findings of a study devoted to the Russian awareness of the ‘Matilda’ film and actions of Natalia Poklonskaya, a State Duma deputy.

The ‘Matilda’ film directed by A. Uchitel became popular in Russia long before its release: 58% of Russians were aware of the film during the survey. Thirty-three percent told about their plans to see this film; those who were interested were mainly older respondents (42% among those aged 60 and over), residents of Moscow and St Petersburg (39%) and million cities (42%). More than one-third (37%) who want to see this film say that they get attracted by its scandalous image. Less important reasons are respondents’ interest in films in general (26%) and genre of historical movies (14%).

The position of State Duma deputy Natalia Poklonskaya (to ban the film exhibition as it offends the feelings of believers) is not supported by the public:  only 17% support her; 48% oppose; a further 35% fail to give an answer. But a proposal to take away her mandate is regarded to be excessive (22% support it; 48% oppose it; 30% fail to answer). Every second respondent (53%) considers that the government should find and punish the radical activists who committed illegal acts against the filmmakers.

Most of Russians (56% in 2017) still share the stance that art productions must not offend the feelings of believers. Obviously, the ‘Matilda’ film is no associated with that in the public consciousness.

The Medialogia Company carried out an analysis of the mentions of Natalia Poklonskaya and the ‘Matilda’ film in the Russian mass media since January 1, 2017. N. Poklonskaya was manly mentioned in the context of the film discussions (44,600 of mentions out of 67,900). The mentions’ high was in September (18,400 mentions). The media told about N. Poklonskaya’s response to criticism from Vladimir Medinsky, Russian minister of culture, who was indignant about the situation. Cinema chains reported pressure related to the public exhibition. Natalia Poklonskaya said that it was deputy’s demand to detain Aleksandr Kalinin, the head of the ‘Christian State’.

The VCIOM-Sputnik Russian nationwide survey was conducted on October 18-19, 2017. The survey involved 1,200 Russians aged 18 and over, and was carried out using stratified dual-frame random sample based on a complete list of landline and mobile phone numbers operating in Russia. The data were weighted for the probability of selection and reflect social and demographic characteristics. The margin of error at a 95% confidence level does not exceed 3.5%. In addition to sampling error, minor changes in question wording and different circumstances arising during the fieldwork can introduce bias into the survey.

The 2015 data are based on household surveys.

The Russian media publications were monitored and analyzed by the Medialogia Company using the company’s media database involving about 42,500 sources such as television, radio, newspapers, news agencies, and online media. Period of study: January - October 2017.

Note: Using materials from the site www.wciom.ru or wciom.com, as well as distributed by VCIOM, the reference to the source (or hyperlink for the electronic media) is obligatory! The use of the Medialogia system content, fully or partially, must be accompanied by the reference to the Medialogia Company.