Ukraine: Why the cartoon Masyanya was banned in Russia

 

Masyanya, the mischievous and witty heroine of an animated series online, is widely popular among Russian speakers. More than a million people are subscribed to the cartoon's YouTube channel. However, the latest episode devoted to the war in Ukraine has brought both praise and threats. Soon after the episode was published, Russian authorities banned it and asked the cartoon’s creator, Oleg Kuvaev, to remove it from his website because it "discredits the Russian Federation's armed forces". The BBC has spoken to Oleg Kuvaev, who emigrated from Russia to Israel years ago and says "there is no way to laugh about the war".

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Powerful new animation for anti-war book speaks volumes about the present day

▼ Japanese with English subtitles

Even though it was written 12 years ago, What Happens Before War still serves as a cautionary tale, and this brand new short film is helping to take it to a whole new generation.

Back in 2004, a group called Ribbon Project put out a wonderful book promoting Japan’s anti-war stance. Through 70 years of peace, most of the people of Japan have grown up never having to experience the horrors of war. At the time, there were some vocal members of the government who wanted to make some changes to the constitution in order to allow Japan to better defend itself. What Happens Before Warwas a response to those proposed changes which warned people of the kinds of things that could happen before Japan became engaged in an actual conflict.

The book has now been animated by a group called NOddIN, which formed after the Great East Japan Earthquake back in 2011. The group felt that this book still has a very important message and hopes that this new accompanying animation will bring the book to a wider audience.