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Russian Culture Ministry warns cinemas that screen The Death of Stalin will face inquiries

The daily Vedomosti said in a report that the Pioneer movie house in Moscow had had a show of the banned film earlier on Thursday

MOSCOW, January 25. /TASS/. Russian Culture Ministry will hold inquiries into the reports that some movie houses have run 'The Death of Stalin', a British-French film directed by Armando Iannucci, the distribution certificate of which has been revoked, the ministry's press service said on Thursday.

The daily Vedomosti said in a report that the Pioneer movie house in Moscow had had a show of the banned film earlier on Thursday. The Culture Ministry banned the film on January 23.

"After verifying the mass media reports and getting confirmations that the film was screened, indeed, we’ll institute a case citing an administrative offense," the press service said.

The ministry made a general reminder to the movie houses regarding their responsibility for running films without distribution licenses.

"The ministry reminds of Article 5.1 of the Federal Law on State Support for the Film Industry in the Russian Federation, which says that the public presentation of a film without a distribution license or in violations of the terms spelt out in the license brings up liability as specified by legislation," the press release said.

‘The Death of Stalin’ is a satirical film that dwells on power struggle in the Soviet Union immediately after Joseph Stalin’s death in March 1953. Prior to its scheduled first show in Moscow, Russian film industry figures, State Duma deputies, members of the Russian Society of History, and members of the Culture Ministry’s Public Board attended a presentation, after which they asked the ministry to revoke the license provisionally.

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