Russian cinemas are using an old tactic from their Soviet past: pirated films to survive.

With the outbreak of war in Ukraine, the big names of Hollywood stopped supporting Russia, withdrawing their films and services from the country. Companies such as Paramount, Disney and Warner Bros. have decided to leave the territory, pushes Russian cinemas to find an alternative: piracy.

This is not the first time Russia has used this tactic. In Soviet times, the only way to watch Western films was the pirated version. Of course, at this time things worked a little differently. Whereas in the past, pirated films have appeared in the form of smuggled videocassettes; Russians today have much simpler methods through the Internet.

Because of the situation, many cinemas in Russia refused to close. Instead of, decided to solve the film shortage using this tactic. While some more adventurous people have chosen to show films in entire theaters, others seem to have been looking for more discreet methods. Among the latter we find the possibility of renting premises for watching films.

Counted from The newspaper “New York Times“One group, for example, rented several screens in a Yekaterinburg cinema and used social media to invite people to buy tickets to watch. Batman“.

What does the Russian government think about it?

According to the aforementioned media, it appears that the government has taken no action against these illegal forecasts. However, these underground theaters will face an uncertain future and more now that the sanctions against the country are coming to the end of their first two months.

Viewers can also watch ‘Batman‘ in the city of Ivanovo, located about five hours from Moscow, in at least one room. In Makhachkala, the capital of the Dagestan region in the Caucasus, a film screening “don’t look up‘; and in Chita, a city near the Mongolian border, parents can take their children to seeNetwork‘, an animated film by Disney and Pixar.

The newspaper “New York Times

Before the start of the war with Ukraine, American films made up 70% content in Russia. However, this time around, theaters are seeing an impressive drop in ticket sales; reaching half in the month of March compared to the same period last year.

What will happen to Russian cinemas?

According to the Russian Association of Cinema Owners, at the beginning of 2022. In total, there were 2161 cinemas in Russia.. However, by April 18, 36% of these stores were already closed.

However, the country does not seem to be giving up. The association commented that they are relaunching several Russian classics on the big screen. In addition, also we work with manufacturers in India, South Koreaand other overseas regions to fill the gap left by the United States in the area.

Even those cinemas that secretly work they are all aloneExplain The newspaper “New York Times.

Artem Komoliatov, 31, a video game producer from Moscow, noticed the change when he and his wife went to the movies on Friday a few weeks ago…

The scene they discovered upon arriving at the theater was strange, Komolyatov said. “Besides us, there were three other people there,” he said. “We went at 8 pm on the weekend. The theater is usually full.”

The newspaper “New York Times

What about services streaming

According to the above source, Russian households that prefer to consume content from streaming also suffered. Apart from the blockade the region is facing due to major services like Netflix, the Russian government does not seem willing to contribute either.

Of course we all know this with a VPN you can avoid regional barriers services. Unfortunately for the Russian public, this is not an option. From the beginning of the war until the end of March, the Kremlin has already blocked up to 20 different VPN services.

Fortunately for some, other options still exist. The Windscribe VPN service, for example, shows several servers listed for Russia. This company responsible for providing discount codes and tips residents of the country, as well as residents and companies located in Ukraine

However, not everything is pink. The company commented WIRED which Russian customers face payment problems; and the fact is that services such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, Visa and Mastercard have left the region.