UK MPs Push to Ban Masha and the Bear Over Soviet Imagery
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- 50+ cross-party UK MPs, led by Lib Dem's Tom Gordon, wrote to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy demanding urgent government action over the cartoon's availability on Netflix and ITV's ITVX platform.
- The MPs cite episodes where Masha wears a Soviet tank-crew hat and what appears to be an NKVD border guard's cap — imagery also used on Animaccord's English-language X account with the caption "A real army girl with a butterfly net!"
- Netflix recently acquired two new seasons of the show and extended its licensing agreement across more than 100 countries, while the series is also available on ITV's digital platform ITVX.
- Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation called the cartoon "an instrument of Russian soft power," and Estonia's Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said it embeds "pro-Kremlin and militaristic messaging in children's entertainment."
- The episode "Recipe for Disaster" has been viewed more than 4.6 billion times on YouTube, making it one of the platform's most-watched videos ever.
- Animaccord, the Russian studio headquartered in Cyprus that produces the show, "categorically rejected" the propaganda claims, stating it has never received state funding and the series "contains no political messaging."
- The Department for Culture, Media and Sport declined to comment, with Whitehall sources saying it is up to broadcasters as long as content stays within Ofcom rules; ITV also declined to comment and Netflix did not respond.
Why it matters: With 50+ MPs from six parties united against the show, the political pressure on the culture secretary and streaming platforms is now substantial and cross-party. But with the department punting to Ofcom and individual broadcasters, the practical lever likely sits with Netflix and ITV's own content decisions rather than any imminent regulatory ban.
