In Soviet-era flashback, Russia theatres turn to pirate screenings

Since the invasion of Ukraine, Hollywood’s biggest studios have stopped releasing movies in Russia, and Netflix has ceased service there.

But recently, some of the companies’ films have started appearing in Russian movie theatres — illegally. The screenings are reminiscent of the Soviet era when the only way to see most Western films was to get access to a pirated version. Whereas those movies made their way to Russians in the form of smuggled VHS tapes, today, cinemas in the country have a simpler, faster method: the internet. Numerous websites offer bootleg copies of movies that take minutes to download.