Washington Post - 11.20.2006

Washington Post

Why Russia Banned "Borat"

By Masha Lipman 

MOSCOW -- Earlier this month the Russian government agency in charge of movie distribution ruled that Russian people could not see "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan". The agency's reason: "Borat" offended ethnic feelings.

Though the agency has denied "banning" the movie, claiming instead it made a mere "recommendation" not to distribute, in today's Russia political loyalty is imperative. A recommendation from "above" means an order for businesses. This might be "Just to stay on the safe side."

Less than two decades ago, the Soviet Communist rulers ran all artistic productions through the censors. They decided what books the people of the USSR were allowed to read, what movies they could watch and what music they could listen to. More precisely, what was not officially available was automatically illegal. As the Soviet system began to melt away, censorship was formally outlawed (with a separate law banning the distribution of pornography). This "negative recommendation" against distributing "Borat" is the first time the post-Communist Russian authorities have banned a piece of creative expression, or art. 

Russian liberals cringe. This is another alarming signal that the practices of the Soviet police state are making a creepy comeback. On the other hand, there is no question that "Borat" insults the Kazakhs. 

To say that the movie is politically incorrect is an understatement: The film, made by the British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, tells the story of a fictitious journalist from Kazakhstan traveling around the USA (which Cohen mocks as well, though this doesn't concern the Russian government). Cohen portrays the Kazakhs as a nation of savages, ignorant of the basic standards of Western civilization. 

Those in favor of the ban point out that ethnic tensions in Russia are already a major problem. Russia has a serious problem of ethnic intolerance. The rate of ethnic and racial violence is dangerously high. And the government argues that "Borat" may incite xenophobic sentiments.

This is sheer hypocrisy. In recent weeks the Russian government, from the president down, has opted for populist calls that play to xenophobic sentiments. Officials commonly called to protect "the indigenous population of Russia" from "non-locals". 

There is little doubt that this language is commonly interpreted as an endorsement of hostility toward people with darker skin and non-Slavic features, regardless of whether they are Russian nationals from the Caucasus, or migrant workers from the former Soviet republics of Central Asia, China, Afghanistan, or elsewhere. The head of the Russian Migration Service said point blank that "settlements such as China towns" are "unacceptable" for Russia. Such language encourages the ugly, xenophobic sentiments that the ban of "Borat" is intended to contain.

Regardless, the government ban will surely work against itself, raising Russian's interest in the movie. And the ban, or "negative recommendation," by the state distribution agency won't be an obstacle to those seeking to see the infamous film. Piracy is thriving in Russia, and illegally manufactured copies of any movie, "Borat" included, are easily available on the Russian market.

Masha Lipman, editor of the Carnegie Moscow Center's Pro et Contra journal, writes a monthly column for The Post.