| Pavel Muntyan | |
| Birth Date: | 11 June 1978 |
| Birth Place: | Moscow, USSR |
| Nationality: |  |
| Occupation: | Animation producer, screenwriter, animator, public figure, futurist |
| Years Active: | 2003–present |
| Known For: | Co-founder of Toonbox, creator of Mr. Freeman |
| Website: | https://toonbox.studio |
Pavel Muntyan[1] (born June 11, 1978, in Moscow, USSR) is an animation producer, screenwriter, public figure, and futurologist. He is the co-founder of the Toonbox Animation Studio[2] and the creator of the idea behind Mr. Freeman. He is also the co-founder and evangelist of the Virtual State of Freeland and the MFCoin cryptocurrency.
Pavel Muntyan was born on June 11, 1978, in Moscow. He graduated from a school specializing in English and entered the International University in Moscow in 1995, majoring in administrative management and municipal management, graduating in 1999. From 1999 to 2002, he completed a postgraduate program at the Humanities Institute, specializing in psychology. His dissertation was titled "Methods of influencing people through computer games and the Internet." Muntyan authored several articles on computer addiction, including "The Impact of the Internet on Human Development as a Psychological Problem" and "A Type of Computer Addiction: Dependency on Computer Games."
From 1998 to 2000, he worked at the Moscow City Government in the Committee for Public and Interregional Relations. In 2000–2001, he headed the LoonArt studio.
Since 2003, he has been the author and head of the Russian internet project "KOMS.ru," dedicated to alternative and conceptual animation, and the family animation portal "Multikov.net."
In 2008, together with artist Vladimir Ponomarev, he founded the animation studio Toonbox.[3] He is the creator and screenwriter of the series Mr. Freeman.
On October 27, 2018, he became one of the first recipients of the passport of the Virtual State of Freeland.
In 2018, he was awarded the title of one of the "20 Most Successful People in Cyprus," taking first place in the "Public Figure" category.
Since the start of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Muntyan has opposed the invasion. On March 1, 2022, he launched a fund to support Ukraine, raising $725,000 for protective gear, food, and workshops for sewing bulletproof vests and plate carriers. His fund's activities were detailed on his Telegram channel.
On April 14, 2023, Muntyan was included in the Russian Ministry of Justice's list of foreign agents.[4]
On October 17, 2023, a criminal case was initiated against Muntyan under Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for "fake news" about the army. He was later declared wanted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation.
On December 19, 2023, an administrative case was initiated against Muntyan for discrediting the Russian army. On December 26, 2023, he was declared wanted by the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. On February 26, 2024, the Khoroshevsky District Court of Moscow arrested Muntyan in absentia for spreading fake news about the Russian Armed Forces.[5]
In 2003, Muntyan developed and launched the subcultural project KOMS.ru, an association of artists and animators showcasing new wave flash animation. The project included intellectual animations in styles such as gothic, urbanism, avant-garde, and neo-psychedelia, as well as philosophical horror animations.
In 2005, the KOMS.ru project won the "Golden Site" award in the "Flash Design and Animation" category. Jury members included Alexey Exler, Oleg Kuvaev, and others.
Since 2007, Muntyan has been the ideological leader and owner of the portal Multikov.net, one of the oldest internet resources dedicated to flash animation. The portal's history includes projects like "Masyanya" (by Oleg Kuvaev) and "Blue Sparrow."
In 2008, Muntyan, together with director Vladimir Ponomarev, created the animation studio Toonbox to work on the first Russian animated series "The Real Adventures of Belka and Strelka."
Muntyan represented the conceptual animation project KOMS.ru at the XXX Moscow International Film Festival in 2008.
In 2008, he published an open letter about animation, which received wide resonance in the animation community and beyond.
In 2010, Muntyan, together with Vladimir Ponomarev, launched classic animation courses at Toonbox studio.
In February 2011, Muntyan participated in a press conference "Russian Animation in Anticipation of Systematic State Policy" at RIA Novosti, proposing new forms of state funding for animation.
In 2012, Muntyan publicly acknowledged his involvement in the Mr. Freeman.
In 2014, he relocated his Toonbox animation studio to Cyprus, an event covered by Bloomberg.
In 2017, Toonbox studio contributed an animation insert for the Disney film "The Last Knight", where Muntyan served as line producer.
In 2018, Muntyan gave a TEDx talk in Minsk on "The State of the Future - The Virtual State" while presenting a new episode of Mr. Freeman.
In 2018, he spoke at Hi-Tech Nation in Minsk on "Decentralization in Society and Business: Future or Utopia?" and introduced the "Theory of Colored People" and the virtual state Freeland.
In 2018, he presented "The Future Of The Media Entertainment" at Future Is Today in Limassol, Cyprus.
In 2019, Muntyan lectured on "Futurology of Everything" at CG Event in Kyiv.
Since 2019, he has been running an educational blog "Different Tellys," covering various aspects of futurology, social science, art, and media.