Cinema, Memory, and the Russian State: Representation of the Past in Contemporary Russian Film

The collapse of the Soviet Union brought about massive changes throughout Russia, leaving its economy and film industry devasted. Furthermore, the end of the Soviet Union meant the end of Soviet identity and its sites of memory. A new Russian identity emerged that has discarded some and modified other sites of memory. The sites of memory examined in this Independent Study include the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, Medieval Russia, the Russian Civil War, and the Second World War. The regrowth of the Russian film industry since 2000 has renewed focus on sites of memory. These sites of memory in film have changed through state patronage of the film industry after the fall of the USSR. This system of patronage works through the financing of films, which involve government funds, support from partially state-owned television channels, and artists friendly to the Russian government. These historical films promote a quasi-official remembrance of the past that emphasizes Russian greatness, Russian Orthodoxy, anti-western sentiments, and strong leadership in these sites of memory