September 23, 2025

No Open Relationship Movies


No Open Relationship Movies
Movie theater. Fernando de Souza, Wikimedia Commons.

On September 17, it was revealed that the Russian Ministry of Culture delayed the distribution license for U.S. actress Dakota John's latest movie, Splitsville, making it impossible to show the rom-com in movie theaters in the country. The permit was withheld likely due to the film's discussion of open relationships.

Splitsville (Нескромные, "Indiscreet" in Russia), centers on a wife, Ashley, who asks her husband, Carey, for a divorce. In despair, Carey runs to Julie and Paul to figure out how to save his marriage, only to find out that having an open relationship keeps his friends' marriage afloat. Carey and Ashley open their relationship, an experiment that soon spirals out of control. The movie premiered on May 19 at the Cannes Film Festival.

The American film was scheduled for release in Russia on September 25. The movie's main cast, Dakota Johnson, Adria Arjona, Kyle Marvin, and Michael Angelo Corvino, gave interviews to the Russian press in preparation for the movie's premiere in the country. However, the licensing for the screening was never issued.

Independent film distributor Arna Media president Nadezhda Motina said, "I think it is a refusal [of the Ministry of Culture]. We don't understand the reasons. I personally saw the film and there is nothing problematic in it." Motina pointed out that similar films are being released in Russia. The film distributor added, "The state will lose R20 million rubles ($239,536) in direct taxes from us on this film alone."

After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it faced a boycott from Hollywood's major studios. For the past three years, Russian cinemas have had to get creative on how to show American films. These tactics have included renting their screening rooms to third-party companies that project the movies. However, American films appear to be attempting a return to Russia, and the move has not been welcomed by the Russian government.

In April, the Ministry of Culture denied licensing for Guy Ritchie's World War II-themed movie The Ministry of Ungentlemenly Warfare, starring Henry Cavill. And in July, the Duma passed a bill refusing screening permits to films that "discredit traditional values." That law will officially come into effect in March 2026.

You Might Also Like

FSB's New Treason Trap
  • September 16, 2025

FSB's New Treason Trap

Russia has opened over 100 "light treason" cases in under two years, many born from FSB operations.
Murderer Released or No?
  • September 18, 2025

Murderer Released or No?

Conflicting accounts emerge whether a notorious convicted murder has been released.
Economy in Crisis?
  • September 13, 2025

Economy in Crisis?

A recent report summarized the potentially perilous state of the Russian economy.
A Civic Duty?
  • September 14, 2025

A Civic Duty?

A local Russian leader opened a new kindergarten by calling on citizens to be fruitful and multiply.
Marriage War Scams Grow
  • September 03, 2025

Marriage War Scams Grow

Russian lawmakers push for tougher rules amid reports of women marrying deployed soldiers to collect benefits.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

How Russia Got That Way
September 20, 2025

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.

Marooned in Moscow
May 01, 2011

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.

The Little Humpbacked Horse
November 03, 2014

The Little Humpbacked Horse

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.

The Samovar Murders
November 01, 2019

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.

Bears in the Caviar
May 01, 2015

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.

Moscow and Muscovites
November 26, 2013

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955