How are you, dear child?’
he went on,
putting his arm affectionately
round Hatta’s neck.
Hatta looked round
and nodded,
and went on with
his bread-and-butter.
‘Were you happy in prison,
dear child?’ said Haigha.
Hatta looked round
once more,
and this time a tear or two
trickled down his cheek:
but not a word
would he say.
He had never been.
Outside ‘Mordor’.
Before he went into exile.
In summer 2024.
Leaving his home.
In the Ural mountains.
For his own safety.
For his own safety.
After he quietly.
Stood up to.
‘The One’’s war machine.
‘The One’’s war machine.
‘Four thousand two hundred and seven,
that’s the exact number,’
the King said,
referring to his book.
‘I couldn’t send all the horses,
you know, because
two of them are wanted
in the game.
In less than two years.
He transformed from.
An events coordinator.
And videographer.
At a primary school.
In Karabash.
One of the most polluted.
Places on earth.
An events coordinator.
And videographer.
To an Oscar winner.
To an Oscar winner.
And I haven’t sent
the two Messengers, either.
They’re both gone
to the town.
Just look along the road,
and tell me
if you can see
either of them.’
Before his win.
The director was taking in.
His newfound fame.
And grabbed selfies.
With Hollywood’s finest.
Including two of.
This year’s best.
Actor contenders.
“They are just normal people.
Like the rest of us.”
He told you.
When you met.
‘I see nobody on the road,’
said Alice.
‘I only wish I had such eyes,’
the King remarked in a fretful tone.
‘To be able to see Nobody!
And at that distance too!
Why, it’s as much as I can do
to see real people, by this light!’
But he is far from normal;
an unlikely hero whose film.
Mr Nobody.
Against ‘the One’.
Made with the Copenhagen-based.
American director.
Won best documentary at.
The Bafta Film Awards in February.
All this was lost on Alice,
who was still looking intently
along the road,
shading her eyes with one hand.
‘I see somebody now!’
she exclaimed at last.
‘But he’s coming very slowly
– and what curious attitudes he goes into!’
He didn’t know.
When you chatted that he also.
Would come away with the Oscar.
For best documentary.
The self-styled.
Mr Nobody has become.
A Mr Somebody.
In Hollywood.
(For the Messenger kept
skipping up and down,
and wriggling like an eel,
as he came along,
with his great hands
spread out like fans
on each side.)
‘Not at all,’ said the King.
You met on.
His 35th birthday.
He turned up to your interview.
With shiny pink balloons.
– a ‘3’ and a ‘5’ –
That he said.
He had bought himself.
That morning.
Before Sunday.
His most pressing.
Oscar-related concern.
Was about the statuette.
‘He’s an Anglo-Saxon Messenger
– and those are Anglo-Saxon attitudes.
He only does them
when he’s happy.
His name is Haigha.’
(He pronounced it
so as to rhyme with ‘mayor’.)
‘I love my love with an H,’
“How much does it weigh?”
He asked.
“This question interests.
Me a lot.”
“Because in all the shops.
They sell plastic Chinese fakes.
And they weigh nothing.
So I’m curious.”
“How much it weighs.”
The answer.
If you’re interested.
Is 3.86kg.
Alice couldn’t help beginning,
‘because he is Happy.
I hate him with an H,
because he is Hideous.
I fed him with – with – with
Ham-sandwiches and Hay.
His name is Haigha,
and he lives –’
But it’s typical.
Of his sardonic humour.
Everything said with.
A straight face.
Comedy is also front.
And centre of the film.
Despite its serious.
Subject matter.
‘He lives on the Hill,’
the King remarked simply,
without the least idea that
he was joining in the game,
while Alice was still hesitating
for the name of a town
beginning with H.
‘The other Messenger’s called Hatta.
“He obviously has used.
Humour as a way of.
Coping with what was.
Happening around him.”
His American director told you.
“And of course.
Humour has always been.
A huge part of living.”
“Under the daily realities.
Of authoritarianism.
Soviet jokes are.
Some of the best jokes.”
“It’s just how.
People cope.”
“It’s just how.
People cope.”
I must have two, you know
– to come and go.
One to come, and one to go.’
One to come, and one to go.’
the King repeated impatiently.
‘I must have two
– to fetch and carry.
One to fetch, and one to carry.’
His role at the school was.
To film student music videos.
Performances and.
Graduation ceremonies.
But the war brought.
Diktats from the Kremlin.
Introducing more patriotism.
Militarisation and duty.
Introducing more patriotism.
Militarisation and duty.
He was instructed.
To film and.
Send proof.
To the authorities.
That the school was.
Obeying the new curriculum.
Through the Looking-Glass
And what Alice found there
The chessmen were walking about
Two and two!
Through the Looking-Glass
And what Alice found there
White Pawn to play
And win in eleven moves
He realised it made him.
“A kind of monitor.
Of the teachers.
To make them understand.”
“‘Look, I’m here.
I’ve got a camera.
I’m filming.
So you will say everything.’”
“‘So you will say everything.
You are supposed to say.
You will speak.
As instructed.’”
“‘You will use.
The material provided.
By the government.’”
By the government.’”
‘For instance, now,’
‘there’s the King’s Messenger.
He’s in prison now.
Being punished;
And the trial doesn’t even
begin till next Wednesday:
and of course
the crime comes last of all.’
He rebelled.
At great risk to himself.
Deciding to become.
A filmmaking whistleblower.
He began to send.
His footage to.
His director through.
Encrypted servers.
A decision made.
In an instant.
In an instant.
But with longterm consequences.
Through the Looking-Glass
And what Alice found there
The chessmen were walking about
Two and two!
Through the Looking-Glass
And what Alice found there
White Pawn to play
And win in eleven moves
“In those seconds.
I was driven by rage.”
He recalled.
“I didn’t care really.”
“I thought.
Let anyone do it.
Let anyone show this film.
Let anyone edit it.”
“The main thing is.
That it exists.
To show what is happening.”
To show what is happening.”
‘For instance, now,’
‘there’s the King’s Messenger.
He’s in prison now.
Being punished;
And the trial doesn’t even
begin till next Wednesday:
and of course
the crime comes last of all.’
His director added:
“We thought it was.
So important for the world.
To see that.”
“‘The One’ obviously.
Has no intention.
Of stopping with.
Just Ukraine…”
“He’s telling.
The children of ‘Mordor’.
every single day.”
every single day.”
“That you need to.
Prepare for a future.
Of warfare.
And Empire.”
Through the Looking-Glass
And what Alice found there
The chessmen were walking about
Two and two!
Through the Looking-Glass
And what Alice found there
White Pawn to play
And win in eleven moves
He recorded Wagner.
Mercenary group soldiers.
In school.
Showing the children.
How to spot mines.
And handle guns.
How to spot mines.
And handle guns.
– and teachers lecturing.
Their students.
About the “denazification”.
Of Ukraine.
‘For instance, now,’
‘there’s the King’s Messenger.
He’s in prison now.
Being punished;
And the trial doesn’t even
begin till next Wednesday:
and of course
the crime comes last of all.’
We hear the stories.
Of former students.
Dying on the battlefield.
Dying on the battlefield.
And a mother sobbing.
At her son’s graveside.
It was too dangerous.
For him to film the funeral.
But he recorded.
Her harrowing audio instead.
We also see his own.
Acts of resistance.
Through the Looking-Glass
And what Alice found there
The chessmen were walking about
Two and two!
Through the Looking-Glass
And what Alice found there
White Pawn to play
And win in eleven moves
He’s a true prankster.
Who changed.
The pro-war Z symbols.
On the school windows.
Into X’s.
And took down.
The school’s ‘orcs’ flag.
While blasting out.
The US National Anthem.
At this moment
the Messenger arrived:
he was far too much
out of breath to say a word,
and could only wave
his hands about,
and make the most fearful
faces at the poor King.
He stood up.
To the regime.
But he refuses to accept.
That he is brave.
“No,” he told you.
“It’s just normal”.
“No,” he told you.
“It’s just normal”.
‘This young lady loves you
with an H,’
the King said,
introducing Alice
in the hope of turning off
the Messenger’s attention
from himself
– but it was no use –
His director disagrees.
“I would describe him as.
Someone that is very brave.
Someone that feels emotions.”
“Someone that feels emotions.
Very, very strongly.
Someone that is really, really.
Concerned about truth.”
“And someone who really.
Really, really loves.
His birthday.”
His birthday.”
the Anglo-Saxon attitudes
only got more extraordinary
every moment, while the great eyes
rolled wildly from side to side.
‘You alarm me!’
said the King.
‘I feel faint
– Give me a ham sandwich!’
For the filmmakers.
Outside ‘Mordor’.
Protecting him.
And the people.
In the film.
From reprisals.
Was uppermost.
In their minds.
“We had a long list.
Of security protocols.”
His director explained.
“And we were hearing.”
“From people who.
Really gave us.
A dire assessment of.
The risks in ‘Mordor’.”
On which the Messenger,
to Alice’s great amusement,
opened a bag
that hung round his neck,
and handed a sandwich
to the King,
who devoured it greedily.
‘Another sandwich!’
“We were reading.
News articles.
About school teachers.
About people in ‘Mordor’.”
“Who had gotten.
Sentenced to huge.
Prison sentences.”
Prison sentences.”
“Not for working.
With foreigners.
Not for making.
An undercover film.”
“Simply for desecrating.
The ‘orcs’ flag.
Which is one little small thing.
He did in the film.”
“We were scared.
He wasn’t scared.”
“We were scared.
He wasn’t scared.”
said the King.
‘There’s nothing but hay left now,’
the Messenger said,
peeping into the bag.
‘Hay, then,’ the King
murmured in a faint whisper.
Alice was glad to see that
it revived him a good deal.
In the end.
When he spots.
A police car.
Outside his apartment.
And there are concerns.
His life may be at risk.
He realizes.
It’s time to flee.
‘There’s nothing like eating hay
when you’re faint,’
he remarked to her,
as he munched away.
‘I should think throwing
cold water over you would be better,’
Alice suggested:
‘- or some sal-volatile.’
In the film.
We hear a producer.
Tell him in speaking.
‘Orcs’-language:
“Before you cross the border.
You must delete.
Our secure messaging app.
You need to be very careful.”
“About how you take your footage.
Past border control.
Just be calm.
You have a return ticket.”
“They’ll think.
You are returning.
In seven days.
Just believe in yourself.”
“Just believe in yourself.
I think what you’ve done.
Is going to make.
A big impact.”
‘I didn’t say
there was nothing better,’
the King replied.
‘I said there was nothing like it.’
Which Alice did not
venture to deny.
‘Who did you pass on the road?’
the King went on,
He left his motherland.
– and his mother –
And now lives.
In Europe.
He believes it won’t be forever.
“When the regime has fallen.
I am planning to return.
And be useful.”
holding out his hand
to the Messenger
for some more hay.
‘Nobody,’ said the Messenger.
‘Quite right,’ said the King:
‘this young lady saw him too.
So of course Nobody
walks slower than you.’
For now, he is.
Focused on ensuring.
The film is seen.
As widely as possible.
He knows people.
In Karabash have watched it.
He knows people.
In Karabash have watched it.
‘I do my best,’
the Messenger said in a sulky tone.
‘I’m sure nobody walks
much faster than I do!’
‘He can’t do that,’
said the King.
‘or else he’d have been
here first.
When it premiered at.
The Sundance Film Festival.
Last year.
His director says.
Someone recorded it.
Digitally and then.
Shared it.
Around the town.
However, now
you’ve got your breath,
you may tell us
what’s happened in the town.’
‘I’ll whisper it,’
said the Messenger,
putting his hands to his mouth
in the shape of a trumpet,
As they were making the film.
He says nearly.
200,000 teachers left.
200,000 teachers left.
Their jobs rather than.
Be part of a system.
Be part of a system.
That is indoctrinating children.
and stooping so as to
get close to the King’s ear.
Alice was sorry for this,
as she wanted to hear the news too.
However, instead of whispering,
he simply shouted
at the top of his voice
‘They’re at it again!’
He hopes.
Mr Nobody.
Against ‘the One’.
Will show ‘orcs’.
“Who think similarly.
To me that.
They are not alone”.
They are not alone”.
‘Do you call that a whisper?’
cried the poor King,
jumping up and
shaking himself.
‘If you do such a thing again,
I’ll have you buttered!
It went through and through
my head like an earthquake!’
On the day you met.
As you strolled.
Along Santa Monica pier.
In the sunshine.
The spectre of war still.
Loomed over him.
He shared the news.
He had learnt a few hours before.
‘It would have to be
a very tiny earthquake!’
thought Alice.
‘Who are at it again?’
she ventured to ask.
‘Why, the Lion and the Unicorn,
of course,’ said the King.
‘Fighting for the crown?’
“Today I found out.
One of my students died.”
A nineteen-year-old was.
Killed in Ukraine.
“I know him.
He is a kind guy and.
He would never have gone.
Without the propaganda.”
‘Fighting for the crown?’
‘Yes, to be sure,’ said the King:
‘and the best of the joke is,
that it’s my crown all the while!
Let’s run and see them.’
And they trotted off,
Alice repeating to herself, as she ran,
the words of the old song:
It’s a sombre end.
To your time together.
But if Mr Nobody.
Against ‘the One’.
But if Mr Nobody.
Against ‘the One’.
Does win the Oscar.
Does win the Oscar.
His acceptance speech.
Will be written by.
His former students.
They’re already working on it.
“If we win.
It’s going to be their speech.”
“If we win.
It’s going to be their speech.”
They placed themselves
close to where Hatta,
the other Messenger,
was standing watching the fight,
with a cup of tea
in one hand and
a piece of bread-and-butter
in the other.
‘He’s only just out of prison,
and he hadn’t finished
his tea when he was sent in,’
Haigha whispered to Alice:
‘and they only give them
oyster-shells in there
– so you see he’s very
hungry and thirsty.
*Because I read “From Mr Nobody to Oscar winner: How one man took on Putin” by Katie Razzall on 16 Mar 2026, and also “Why are Ukrainians calling Russians ‘orcs’?” by James FitzGerald on 30 Apr 2022, on the BBC news.
So, I wrote this poem, including a story of Pavel Talankin, and a story of David Borenstein, led by ‘THROUGH the LOOKING-GLASS’ written by Lewis Carroll, you know.
Please read the original story on the BBC news:
Mr Nobody Against Putin: How Pavel Talankin went from Russian school videographer to Oscar winner
