page_title: Nikita Mikhalkov
section_title: Political views
hierarchical_section_title: Nikita Mikhalkov / Personal life / Political views
caption_attribution_description: Русский: В. В. Путин посетил съемочную площадку фильма Никиты Михалкова «Утомленные солнцем-2» в поселке Шушары English: Vladimir Putin visited the survey ground of the Nikita Mikhalkov's film Burnt by the Sun-2 in Shushary village
context_page_description: Nikita Sergeyevich Mikhalkov is a Russian filmmaker, actor, and head of the Russian Cinematographers' Union. Mikhalkov is a three-time laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation and is a Full Cavalier of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland".
  Nikita Mikhalkov won the Golden Lion of the Venice Film Festival and was nominated for the Academy Award in the category Best Foreign Language Film for the film Close to Eden. He won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and the Grand Prix of the Cannes Film Festival for the film Burnt by the Sun. Mikhalkov received the "Special Lion" of the Venice Film Festival for his contribution to the cinematography and nominated for the Oscar in the category "Best Foreign Language Film" for the film 12.
context_section_description: Mikhalkov is actively involved in Russian politics. He is known for his at times Russian nationalist and Slavophile views.
  In October 2006, Mikhalkov visited Serbia, giving moral support to Serbia's sovereignty over Kosovo.
  In 2008, he visited Serbia to support Tomislav Nikolić who was running as the ultra-nationalist candidate for the Serb presidency at the time. Mikhalkov took part in a meeting of "Nomocanon", a Serb youth organization which denies war crimes committed by Serbs in the 1992–99 Yugoslav wars. In a speech given to the organization, Mikhalkov spoke about a "war against Orthodoxy" wherein he cited Orthodox Christianity as "the main force which opposes cultural and intellectual McDonald's". In response to his statement, a journalist asked Mikhalkov: "Which is better, McDonald's or Stalinism?" Mikhalkov answered: "That depends on the person". Mikhalkov has described himself as a monarchist.
  Mikhalkov has been a strong supporter of Russian president Vladimir Putin. In October 2007, Mikhalkov, who produced a television program for Putin's 55th birthday, co-signed an open letter asking Putin not to step down after the expiry of his term in office.
  Mikhalkov's vertical of power-style leadership of the Cinematographers' Union has been criticized by many prominent Russian filmmakers and critics as autocratic, and encouraged many members to leave and form a rival union in April 2010.
  Since 2015 Mikhalkov is banned from entering  Ukraine because of his support for the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea. Despite his support for the annexation of Crimea he also called for the release of imprisoned Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov.
caption: Mikhalkov with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on the set of the movie Burnt by the Sun 2 in Leningrad Oblast on 13 May 2008
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