[citation needed] His 2012 film White Tiger was selected as the Russian entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards, but it did not make the final shortlist.

[9] In April 2000, Shakhnazarov signed a letter supporting the policy of the recently elected Russian President Vladimir Putin in Chechnya.

Since January 2012, Shakhnazarov has been a member of the "People's Headquarters" for the city of Moscow of Russian presidential candidate Vladimir Putin.

[13][21] On 15 January 2020, Shakhnazarov was included in the working group for preparing proposals to amend the Constitution of Russia.

"[23] On 10 March 2022, during a broadcast on Russia-1, Shakhnazarov[26] called for an end to the invasion of Ukraine, saying that the situation was at risk of becoming "an absolute humanitarian disaster", and that there is no realistic possibility for the Russian forces to seize Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities.