centre of Russia. This event coincided with the development of film. From the silent era, Russian cinematography was considered the forefront of discoveries in cinematic art. Works of such directors as Sergei Eisenstein, Dziga Vertov, and Lev Kuleshov became subjects of book-length research. From early on, the capital has been an important subject in cinema. Films tended to stress the main attitude that ruled at that time: Moscow was perceived as a place where people from all over the country came to obtain careers and education, friendship and love. In such motion pictures as Jolly (Grigori Alexandrov, 1934), Moscow was depicted as a spacious, festive Fellows city full of opportunities for everyone. of 1935, with its imperial architecture, Stalin’s reconstruction plan strengthened this attitude. During 1930s-1950s the role of Moscow was emphasized, as the city played a dominant part of geopolitics. People linked their hopes Stalin’s with the idea of Moscow becoming the future capital of the world. In the of this period, life in the city was shown as more appealing than “construction films” life in the country. During the Thaw (mid 1950s mid 1960s) the attention finally – shifted to the private life, as opposed to the political (I Marlen Hutsiyev, am Twenty, 1965). In contemporary drama of this time, the downsides of Moscow were shown. Soviet Union cinema was still strictly controlled by the government, but directors found ways to express themselves and depict reality as it was with the help of the comedy genre (Beware Eldar Ryazanov, 1966). In the 1990s Russian of the Car, cinema became renowned for its negativity. The city was often depicted as a source of evil as opposed to the pure life in the village. This pessimistic attitude in film characterised the general climate in post-soviet Russia. The sudden transformation to the market economy and the seeming availability of Western culture was juxtaposed to poverty and internal conflicts, which brought a general feeling of despair and moral disorientation to film. 1.4 Russian Film Industry Today In the 1990s the Russian film industry experienced a crisis. New conditions of the free market forced it to compete with Western cinema. On the other hand, the new economic and political situation brought civil liberties: political censorship was abolished and the government no longer imposed its ideology on filmmakers, at least
centre of Russia. This event coincided with the development of film. From the silent era, Russian cinematography was considered the forefront of discoveries in cinematic art. Works of such directors as Sergei Eisenstein, Dziga Vertov, and Lev Kuleshov became subjects of book-length research. From early on, the capital has been an important subject in cinema. Films tended to stress the main attitude that ruled at that time: Moscow was perceived as a place where people from all over the country came to obtain careers and education, friendship and love. In such motion pictures as Jolly Fellows (Grigori Alexandrov, 1934), Moscow was depicted as a spacious, festive city full of opportunities for everyone. Stalin’s reconstruction plan of 1935, with its imperial architecture, strengthened this attitude. During 1930s-1950s the role of Moscow was emphasized, as the city played a dominant part of Stalin’s geopolitics. People linked their hopes with the idea of Moscow becoming the future capital of the world. In the “construction films” of this period, life in the city was shown as more appealing than life in the country. During the Thaw (mid 1950s – mid 1960s) the attention finally shifted to the private life, as opposed to the political (I am Twenty, Marlen Hutsiyev, 1965). In contemporary drama of this time, the downsides of Moscow were shown. Soviet Union cinema was still strictly controlled by the government, but directors found ways to express themselves and depict reality as it was with the help of the comedy genre (Beware of the Car, Eldar Ryazanov, 1966). In the 1990s Russian cinema became renowned for its negativity. The city was often depicted as a source of evil as opposed to the pure life in the village. This pessimistic attitude in film characterised the general climate in post-soviet Russia. The sudden transformation to the market economy and the seeming availability of Western culture was juxtaposed to poverty and internal conflicts, which brought a general feeling of despair and moral disorientation to film. 1.4 Russian Film Industry Today In the 1990s the Russian film industry experienced a crisis. New conditions of the free market forced it to compete with Western cinema. On the other hand, the new economic and political situation brought civil liberties: political censorship was abolished and the government no longer imposed its ideology on filmmakers, at least
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