Vladimir Epifantsev is a Russian theater, film, and television actor, theater and film director, TV presenter, and music video director. Best known for his roles as "Bratishka" in the cult film The Green Elephant, Vavilen Tatarsky in Generation P, Anatoly Gerasimov in the TV series Beetles, Andrey Shamanov in Flint, as well as roles in TV series such as Chernobyl: Zone of Exclusion 2, Polar, Year of Culture, Cursed Days, and Two Hills. Born on September 8, 1971, in Moscow.
In 2016, he starred alongside Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the comedy film 8 Best Dates, playing the role of firefighter Ilya.
In 2017, the actor was entered into the database of the Myrotvorets website for filming the movie Viking in occupied Crimea.
In 2020, in an interview with Avrora Radio, Epifantsev spoke extremely harshly about the Russian state system:
We have criminal code articles for everything! Articles for mushrooms! You can't have mushrooms, everything good is forbidden here! The only thing allowed here is killing people on command. We live in a fascist military state.
Vladimir Epifantsev's Position After February 24, 2022
On the day of the full-scale invasion, February 24, 2022, the actor posted a message on his social media in which he expressed skepticism toward the purported reasons for the war:
The one whose truth you observe is right. I observe nobody's truth. I'm just watching and waiting to see where all this leads... I don't see reasons why people wage wars in this world. For me, none of that is a reason. All of this is kindergarten. An infantile ego-state. I see no reason or cause to wage war.
Later, this post was removed, and the actor uploaded a video in which he explained his "position of silence."
Accusations of Discrediting Russia
In 2023, the actor once again found himself at the center of controversy after recording a video wearing a police uniform and declaring:
I am far from being a patriot. I do not consider myself a Russian. All these words are mere labels. I simply live — I don't live in a particular place, not in Russia, I just live. This identification of oneself as «where I live» is inherently absurd in itself!
Following these statements, pro-government activists filed a complaint with the police; however, the investigation yielded no legal consequences.
In 2025, new accusations rained down upon the actor. Vitaly Borodin, head of the Federal Project on Security and Anti-Corruption, called for the removal of the TV series Call Sign "Alpha" from streaming platforms due to Epifantsev's involvement, labeling him a representative of the "fifth column" who "promotes non-traditional values" and should be sent to the "SMO" combat zone. However, the series producer Andrey Arkhipov defended the actor, stating that he had never spoken against Russia or the "SMO" and that all online accusations were "edited fabrications." Epifantsev himself noted that he does not read news about complaints filed against him.
Role in a "Comedy" About the War in Ukraine
Despite his occasional critical remarks, in 2025 the actor took part in filming the controversial comedy series The Other Side of the Coin, promoted as a "comedy series about volunteers" heading to fight in the war in Ukraine. The script for this "comedy" was penned by an active "SMO" combatant, Nikolay Sidorov.
Video from Occupied Crimea
In April 2026, Vladimir Epifantsev posted a video response on Instagram explaining what "being Russian" means to him while staying in the city of Sudak in occupied Crimea.
До последнего думал, что он как минимум отмолчится, что тоже не хорошо, но хотя бы понятно