Director Nikita Mikhalkov, who received the Hero of Labor star from the hands of President Vladimir Putin on Russia Day, spoke after the ceremony about the ongoing events.
As the master of Russian cinema noted in the program “Moscow. Kremlin. Putin”, for two decades Russia has been crawling back from the brink. But now it has reached the point where a new Russia will either be born or not.
“There is nowhere to retreat,” Mikhalkov stated, adding that what they now want to do with Russia has been happening for centuries.
When the conversation turned to cultural figures who, after the start of the special operation, decided to leave the country, Mikhalkov assessed their act harshly, noting that he regards such people as enemies.
“This is not the intelligentsia, these are enemies,” the director said, explaining that, in his opinion, the intelligentsia should always be with the people.