Let’s Eat at Home! (Едим дома!) is a Russian culinary TV show. Led by Yulia Vysotskaya (Юлия Высоцкая), it is “a culinary documentary show from the life of a young woman”: Vysotskaya finds herself in various situations in which food is required (e.g. her child invites a bunch of guests over; a friend stops by […]
Star Factory (Фабрика Звёзд) is a Russian music-competition TV show in which teams compete to become the new hit act in Russian pop music. The show has created such stars as Fabrika, Korni, and Polina Gagarina. It aired from 2002 to 2007 in Russia, with a triumphant return for one season in 2011. There are also […]
Zlydni (Злидні) is a Ukrainian short animated film from 2005. The title translates to “poverty,” though actually it refers to a mythological Slavic creature that is thought to bring misery and poverty into the home where it settles. In Ukrainian and Belorusian mythology, zlydni are demonic creatures who settle in homes—they usually live behind the stove—or sit […]
The #9 Tram Went By (Йшов трамвай дев’ятий номер) is a Ukrainian short animated film. It is notable for the fact that its voiceover is in neither Ukrainian nor Russian but in Surzhuk, a dialect somewhere in the middle of the two languages commonly spoken in various regions of Ukraine. The film, about 10 minutes long, […]
Outbreak of Fire (UgunsGrēks) is a Latvian TV show that has been airing since 2009. It’s the spinoff or follow-up to another popular Latvian TV series, Neprāta cena, which can be translated as “the cost of frenzy” or “the price of insanity.” That one aired from 2002 to 2006. Conflagration is currently considered one of the most popular […]
Aija Andrejeva is a popular contemporary Latvian singer. Also known by her stage name, Aisha, she is mostly a pop singer, and most of her music is in Latvian. According to her website, “Aija has been called a little bomb—her energy, cheerfulness and lightness of spirit on the stage hypnotizes and literally takes everybody’s breath […]
Laikykites Ten (Hold On There) is a Lithuanian comedic talk show that began in 2016. It’s also something of an experiment in Lithuanian television-making: it exists only on YouTube and is crowdfunded through Patreon, where it has more than 4,800 patrons. Despite its unorthodox production, it’s becoming quite popular. It airs on the YouTube channel […]
Alina Orlova (real name Alina Orlovskaja, Алина Орловская) is a Lithuanian singer-songwriter in the folk genre. Her unusual, ethereal voice and rich instrumentation backed up by piano have led to her well-deserved popularity in Lithuania. She sings in Lithuanian, Russian (her heritage is part Polish, part Russian), and English. She’s also sometimes considered a daina singer—daina is […]
November (the word is the same in Estonian and English) is an Estonian art film that was released in February 2017. Mystical, strange, and beautiful, it may represent a new direction in Estonian filmmaking, an industry that has often been dominated by films about Estonia’s many occupations. November is based on the novel Rehepapp by contemporary Estonian […]
Trad.Attack! is one of Estonia’s most popular contemporary bands. Blending folk, rock, and traditional Estonian melodies, they’ve toured the world, expanding the reach of Estonian music. According to their website, “Trad.Attack! has really turned the Estonian music scene upside down by bringing traditional music to the big stages, building a modern world around its archaic […]
I’m Ivan, You’re Abraham (Я — Іван, ты — Абрам) is a 1993 French–Belarusian film. It is in Belarusian, Polish, and Yiddish. The film was Belarus’s 1994 submission to the Academy Awards for consideration for Best Foreign Language Film (and one of only two films independent Belarus has ever submitted). The film takes place in […]
Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus is a 2014 documentary about the Belarusian Free Theatre, an underground theater and political opposition group in Belarus. It was produced by HBO but is partly in Belarusian. The theater has been operating since 2005. It uses art as a means of resistance, putting on plays that highlight the […]
