(CNN) Elton John has hit out at Russian film distributors for editing out gay sex scenes from his biopic "Rocketman," adding that it was a "sad reflection of the divided world we still live in."

The local film distributor, Central Partnership company, cut the scenes to "comply with Russian legislation ," it told state news agency TASS.

According to high-profile Russian film critic Anton Dolin, who has seen both the edited and unedited versions, "all scenes of kisses, sex and oral sex between men were cut out."

"Only five minutes were removed from the film, but this is very noticeable," said Dolin on his Facebook page, adding that they were a "fundamental five minutes, very important for artistic design."

John and the filmmakers said in a statement that they rejected "in the strongest possible terms the decision to pander to local laws and censor Rocketman for the Russian market."

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