Khodorkovsky, a new film about the jailed oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky, is apparently facing difficulties in finding cinemas willing to show it in Moscow.

On a post on the Khodorkovsky & Lebedev Communications Center's Facebook wall, the people behind the film write:

The Russian distributors of the “Khodorkovsky” documentary believe that Moscow City Officials have intervened to stop the premiere of the film taking place on the 2nd of December, in advance of the December 4th Duma elections. Seven cinemas across Moscow which were due to show the film have now abandoned the screenings, despite having previously agreed to show the film. Publicly the cinemas are citing “financial constraints”; however the distributors understand that some of the cinemas received a call from the Moscow Cultural Affairs Committee instructing them to cancel the screening. Only a single cinema on the outskirts of the city is still planning on showing the film.

That the film is about Mikhail Khodorkovsky, one of Vladimir Putin's fiercest critics, could well be its downfall. Khodorkosvky was once one of Russia's richest men until he was imprisoned for alleged fraud during his time as leader as Yukos. In his closing statement in last year's trial, Khordorkovsky famously said, "I am ashamed of what Russia has become", and he recently gave an interview where he predicted there would be a revolution in Russia.

The Khodorkovsky film has successfully shown in other countries, including Germany and America. It is directed by German Cyril Tuschi. This isn't the first time the film has been hit with problems however — just days before its premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year, the film's print was reported stolen.

Here's the trailer for the film: