portraying the 2014 Ukrainian revolution as a CIA plot. He also rejects the claim that former Ukrainian president (who was overthrown as a result of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution) Viktor Yanukovych was responsible for the killing of protesters as claimed by the succeeding Ukrainian government. Stone said Yanukovych was the legitimate president who was forced to leave Ukraine by "well-armed, neo-Nazi radicals". He said that in "the tragic aftermath of this coup, the West has maintained the dominant narrative of 'Russia in Crimea' whereas the true narrative is 'USA in Ukraine'". The University of Toronto's Stephen Velychenko, the author of several books on Ukrainian history, and James Kirchick of The Daily Beast criticized Stone's comments and plans for a film (Ukraine on Fire, 2016). After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Stone said that "Russia was wrong to invade." However, he continued to put the blame for the conflict on the U.S. and NATO, emphasizing his fear of a potential nuclear war and accusing the U.S. of seeking to dominate the world. In a June 2017 interview with The Nation to promote his documentary on Vladimir Putin, Stone rejected the narrative of the United States' intelligence agencies that Russia sought to influence the 2016 presidential election. Stone accused the CIA, FBI, and NSA of cooking the intelligence. He said: "The influence on the election from the Russians to me is absurd to the naked eye. Israel has far more influence on American elections through AIPAC. Saudi Arabia has influence through money... Sheldon Adelson and the Koch brothers have much more influence on American elections... And the prime minister of Israel comes to our country and addresses Congress to criticize the president's policy in Iran at the time—that's pretty outrageous." Russia passed a law in 2013 banning "gay propaganda" to minors. In a 2019 interview with Putin, Stone said of the law that "it seems like maybe that's a sensible law". Stone later said he's not anti-gay/LGBTQ. In 2020, Putin further restricted LGBT rights in Russia by issuing a ban on "gay propaganda" for adults as well. Stone voluntarily took the Russian Sputnik V vaccine for the COVID-19 virus. He also said it was "madness" that their vaccine was being ignored, and further added, "Russia's been one of the most advanced countries, if not the most advanced country." Filmography Film Television Documentary films Other credits Awards and nominations Academy Awards Best