Scottish writer and director Armando Iannucci's acclaimed movie about the death of Joseph Stalin has been banned in Russia by the country's Culture Minister.

The satirical film, starring Steve Buscemi and Jason Isaac, came under-fire for making "a mockery" of Russian history and for poking fun at the demise of the former Soviet leader who caused the deaths of millions of his own people.

Russian politicians and other public figures blasted The Death of Stalin as "disgusting" while saying the film made out that the "country is horrible, people are idiots and our rulers are fools."

Russia's Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky pulled the film's licence after a severe backlash from public figures

The movie about the aftermath of former Soviet leader Josef Stalin's death was due to be released in Russia on Thursday.

But Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky says the screenings would now be banned.

He said: "Many elderly people, and not only them, will see it as an insulting derision of the Soviet past, of the country that defeated Nazism, of the Soviet army and ordinary people, and, what is the most appalling, even of the victims of Stalinism."

Scottish writer-director Armando Iannucci is still hopeful the black comedy will get a release in some cinemas

The distribution certificate for the film was withdrawn but Iannucci, known for creating The Thick Of It, said he is still hopeful the black comedy will get a release in some cinemas.

Iannucci said: "All the Russians we've shown the film to so far, including Russian press, have said how much they enjoyed and appreciated the film.

"They say two things: it's funny, but it's true. I'm still confident we can get it in cinemas."

The film, which was released in the UK in October, centres on the power struggle following the dictator's death in 1953.

People walk past a poster of the movie "The Death of Stalin" at a cinema in Moscow

In the dark but satirical film, Lannucci focuses on the back-stabbing and in-fighting of Stalin's closest allies as they vie for power.

But Russian ministers had been urged by politicians and other public figures to ban the Scot's work after dubbing the movie an "abomination."

In a letter addressed to the Culture Ministry, they said: "This is a vicious and absolutely inappropriate 'comedy' that smears the memory of our people who defeated Nazism.

"The release of the film on the eve of celebrations marking the 75th anniversary of the battle of Stalingrad spits in the face of all those who died there."

Communist politician Elena Drapeko denounced the film as a "provocation, an attempt to convince us that our country is horrible, people are idiots and our rulers are fools".

Vladislav Kononov, the executive director of the Russian Military-Historical Society, called the movie "disgusting".

Joseph Stalin is still admired by many in Russia for defeating the Nazi's despite his horrific crimes

"It's an abomination and filth," Mr Kononov told state-funded RT television.

"All the characters are portrayed as idiots. They could have been tyrants, but they weren't idiots. It's how the West sees our people."

Many in Russia still admire Stalin despite the dictator's regime murdering millions of its own people.

Stalin led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953 and is credited with holding the country together to defeat the Nazi's and making Russia a nuclear superpower.

But his policies also caused mass starvation while the secret police terrorised the nation with people living in fear of being denounced as an anti-Communist which would see them executed or sent to the notorious gulags in Siberia and other remote areas of the Soviet Union where many were worked to death in labour camps.

President Vladimir Putin, a former KGB officer, has taken a cautious stance on Stalin's role in Russia's history, denouncing his crimes but also emphasising Soviet-era achievements.