Barbie takes Siberia! Russian theater manager, 21, reveals THOUSANDS have flocked to his remote rooftop cinema to watch pirate copy – after it wasn’t released due to Ukraine war

• Vladimir Tikhonenko, 21, is airing pirated Barbie movie at his cinema in Tyumen
• He has also organized rooftop ‘Barbieland’ parties featuring DJs, yoga sessions
• Barbie wasn’t released in Russia by Hollywood over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

A Russian theatre manager has been screening a pirated copy of Barbie for thousands of fans – despite it not being released there due to the Ukraine war.

Vladimir Tikhonenko, 21, has been airing a rip-off version of the Hollywood blockbuster on two screens in Tyumen, Siberia, over the last month.

He has also organized rooftop ‘Barbieland’ parties featuring DJs, yoga sessions and lectures on ‘Barbie philosophy’.

Tikhonenko airs the film at great personal risk as the Russian state frequently censors Western media and would likely deem his actions subversive.

Barbie, as well as Oppenheimer, were not released in Russia by Hollywood production companies in protest at Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Vladimir Tikhonenko, 21, has been airing a rip-off version of the Hollywood blockbuster on two screens in Tyumen, Siberia, over the last month

But Tikhonenko told DailyMail.com how he was among those still screening the film, with him showing over 70 audiences over the last few weeks.

He said: ‘Primary versions are all over the Internet now and we have all of them. There was no good enough copy of Barbie when it was released in July.’

Tikhonenko removed adverts from the finest version he could find among all the poor-quality copies pirated from movies theaters outside of Russia.

The copy he screened also featured Russian dubbing, hinting it might have come from a Russian-speaking region.

Russians have been able to watch Western movies despite major producers – such as Warner Brothers, Disney and Paramount – pulling out of the country due to the war.

He has also organized rooftop ‘Barbieland’ parties featuring DJs, yoga sessions and lectures on ‘Barbie philosophy’

Cinemas in Russia sold tickets for little-known Russian documentaries and screenings for entirely different films. It meant they got around copyright laws and Russian laws that require distribution certificates from the government

Most copies flowed in from Kazakhstan, among other Russian-speaking markets.

Cinemas in Russia sold tickets for little-known Russian documentaries and screenings for entirely different films.

It meant they got around copyright laws and Russian laws that require distribution certificates from the government, the Financial Times reported.

Tikhonenko said he was not worried about censorship or copyright issues. His cinemas were small-scale and only screened movies on the rooftop in summer.

‘The government has not paid attention to us, hopefully and fortunately,’ he said.

He also threw the biggest event of the year in his area called ‘Barbieland’ last week. It featured a DJ, yoga, a lecture on ‘Barbie philosophy’ and a screening of the film.

Enthusiastic Barbie fans donned various shades of pink as they savored pizza and beer while watching the smash hit.

He also threw the biggest event of the year in his area called ‘Barbieland’ last week. It featured a DJ, yoga, a lecture on ‘Barbie philosophy’ and a screening of the film

Russian film critic Ilya Dolenko slammed the ‘Barbie’ screening in Tyumen for ‘sh***y’ dubbing and pop-up gambling ads, Moscow Times reported

Tikhonenko added: ‘Everyone was having fun, dancing and taking pictures. The atmosphere was great and exciting.’

Russian film critic Ilya Dolenko slammed the ‘Barbie’ screening in Tyumen for ‘sh***y’ dubbing and pop-up gambling ads, the Moscow Times reported.

But Tikhonenko hit back, saying: ‘It’s false because this movie critic is from Moscow.

‘He wasn’t at our first screening and every person who attended our events can prove that.’

But he’s come under fire from some, with critics slamming him for the terrible quality of his copies, while others attacked him for airing the movie at all

Meanwhile Russian lawmaker Maria Butina, who has been convicted and jailed in the US for acting as an unregistered foreign agent, called for a ban on Barbie.

‘What do we see in the film? Gays. Trans people. Women who have taken over the world.

‘Nothing about the union between men and women, nothing about love,’ she said on the Russian Duma TV channel.

Tikhonenko said he was aware of the critics, but said: ‘What can we do when living in such a reality? We just want to have fun and see the movie.’

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