During the production of the film Burnt by the Sun, director Nikita Mikhalkov decided to pull a prank that would be remembered by everyone on the set. In a recollection shared by Oksana Khalikova, a curator at the Kstovo Cinema Museum within the Pushkin Central Library, the director staged a playful ruse involving the official’s cottage. What followed became a notable anecdote about on-set behavior and the way a joke can ripple through a project. Khalikova recounted that the large official residence used for filming underwent dramatic changes: it was repainted, redesigned, and its courtyard enlarged to serve the cinematic vision. Once filming wrapped, another official expressed interest in acquiring the cottage. Mikhalkov seized the moment for a joke among his colleagues and told them that the cottage would be burned as part of the script. The official then hurried to involve the city’s leadership, suggesting they should petition the governor to prevent such a dramatic turn, underscoring the line between fiction and reality that often blurs on a busy set.
The director’s playful tactic continued as the governor joined in the exchange, mirroring the on-screen stakes with a real-world wink. He told the official that the cottage would indeed be burned, aligning with what Mikhalkov had proposed as a theatrical device. An expert from the Kstovo Museum explained that the scene was carefully staged with fireworks and other pyrotechnics to simulate a controlled blaze, a method chosen to convey the drama of the moment while keeping everyone safe. The anecdote highlights how a creative team negotiates permissions, safety concerns, and the expectations of officials when a project blends cinema with public space.
Beyond the cottage episode, the director has occasionally stirred conversations about national memory and public institutions. In a separate exchange, Mikhalkov urged the closure of the Yeltsin Center over a cartoon that depicted Russia’s history in a controversial light. He asserted that the initial experiences many visitors have at museums are shaped by such exhibitions, noting that a certain portrayal of public figures can provoke strong reactions. Mikhalkov also reflected on the 1990s, suggesting that that decade was not the sole period of significance in Russia’s recent past. The remarks contributed to ongoing dialogue about how media, culture, and history intersect in the national consciousness and how public figures influence those conversations, both on and off the screen, shaping how audiences remember and interpret the past.