Slavic

Russian film critic Maya Turovskaya writes in Tarkovsky: Cinema as Poetry that when she attended a special screening of Andrey Tarkovsky’s first film, Ivan’s Childhood, at a meeting of the Union of Cinematographers of the USSR, the prevailing opinion amongst the audience was that of awe mixed with confusion. This feeling of mystification, of seeing […]

The history of soccer in Poland begins when the county didn’t technically exist – having been partitioned by larger powers. Like the rest of the country, Polish soccer eventually united after Poland was reassembled after WWI. Soccer was again set back in WWII when the Nazis banned the Poles from organizing games, fearing that fed […]

Glasnost’ (Гласность), a political and social policy spearheaded by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev (Михаил Горбачёв) in the USSR in the late 1980s, described an increased ability of Soviet citizens to openly discuss problems in their country. Glasnost’ affected nearly all aspects of society, including filmmaking. Filmmakers of the late Soviet period used their newfound freedom […]

Żywiołak, initially formed in Warsaw in 2005, is a Polish folk rock band steeped in mythos. Its name references the Elemental, a magical being said to harness the power of nature in the form of air, fire, water, or earth. Their lyrics sing of epic battles (in Wojownik, or Warrior) and explore the traditions of […]

The twentieth century was a dynamic period for Soviet composers who often had to work around censorship to create their great contributions to world music. Under the USSR, artists were expected to produce works that glorified the Communist Revolution and the new lives of the new Soviet masses, often while criticizing the capitalistic West. Soviet […]

The Hunter (2011; Охотник), directed by Bakur Bakuradze, is a film of few words. Starring Mikhail Barskovich, Tatyana Shapolova, and Gera Avdochenok, the film employs lesser-known actors in the creation of this deeply moving picture. The film was critically well received and was nominated for the UN Certain Regard Award at the 2011 Cannes Film […]

Leviathan (2014; Левиафан) is a powerful film that lives up to its theological title. The film stars well-known actors who participated in director Andrey Zviaginstev’s other pictures, namely Aleksey Serebryakov, Elena Lyadova, and Roman Madyanov. Zviaginstev is known for his landscape-heavy film style in which the sublime seems to play its own character. This can […]

The Bremen Town Musicians (Бременские музыканты) is one of the first animated rock operas released in the USSR. It has since become popular among all generations, first in the Soviet Union and later gained reputation internationally. One of the film’s main draws was its unforgettable soundtrack and style, which drew from the latest global fashions […]