The cinema of the Soviet Union includes films produced by the
constituent republics of the Soviet Union reflecting elements of their
pre-Soviet culture, language and history, albeit they were all
regulated by the central government in Moscow. Most prolific in their
republican films, after the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist
Republic, were Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine, and, to a lesser
degree, Lithuania, Belarus and Moldavia. At the same time, the
nation's film industry, which was fully nationalized throughout most
of the country's history, was guided by philosophies and laws
propounded by the monopoly Soviet Communist Party which introduced a
new view on the cinema, socialist realism, which was different from
the one before or after the existence of the Soviet Union.Upon the
establishment of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
(RSFSR) on November 7, 1917 (although the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics did not officially come into existence until December 30,
1922), what had formerly been the Russian Empire began quickly to come
under the domination of a Soviet reorganization of all its
institutions. From the outset, the leaders of this new state held that
film would be the most ideal propaganda tool for the Soviet Union
because of its widespread popularity among the established citizenry
of the new land. Vladimir Lenin viewed film as the most important
medium for educating the masses in the ways, means and successes of
communism. As a consequence Lenin issued the "Directives on the Film
Business" on 17 January 1922, which instructed the People's
Commissariat for Education to systemise the film business, registering
and numbering all films shown in the Russian Soviet Federative
Socialist Republic, extracting rent from all privately owned cinemas
and subject them to censorship. Joseph Stalin later also regarded
cinema as of the prime importance.However, between World War I and the
Russian Revolution, the Russian film industry and the infrastructure
needed to support it (e.g., electrical power) had deteriorated to the
point of unworkability. The majority of cinemas had been in the
corridor between Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and most were out of
commission. Additionally, many of the performers, producers, directors
and other artists of pre-Soviet Russia had fled the country or were
moving ahead of Red Army forces as they pushed further and further
south into what remained of the Russian Empire. Furthermore, the new
government did not have the funds to spare for an extensive reworking
of the system of filmmaking. Thus, they initially opted for project
approval and censorship guidelines while leaving what remained of the
industry in private hands. As this amounted mostly to cinema houses,
the first Soviet films consisted of recycled films of the Russian
Empire and its imports, to the extent that these were not determined
to be offensive to the new Soviet ideology. Ironically, the first new
film released in Soviet Russia did not exactly fit this mold: this was
Father Sergius, a religious film completed during the last weeks of
the Russian Empire but not yet exhibited. It appeared on Soviet
screens in 1918.Beyond this, the government was principally able to
fund only short, educational films, the most famous of which were the
agitki â€" propaganda films intended to "agitate", or energize and
enthuse, the masses to participate fully in approved Soviet
activities, and deal effectively with those who remained in opposition
to the new order. These short (often one small reel) films were often
simple visual aids and accompaniments to live lectures and speeches,
and were carried from city to city, town to town, village to village
(along with the lecturers) to educate the entire countryside, even
reaching areas where film had not been previously seen.
constituent republics of the Soviet Union reflecting elements of their
pre-Soviet culture, language and history, albeit they were all
regulated by the central government in Moscow. Most prolific in their
republican films, after the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist
Republic, were Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine, and, to a lesser
degree, Lithuania, Belarus and Moldavia. At the same time, the
nation's film industry, which was fully nationalized throughout most
of the country's history, was guided by philosophies and laws
propounded by the monopoly Soviet Communist Party which introduced a
new view on the cinema, socialist realism, which was different from
the one before or after the existence of the Soviet Union.Upon the
establishment of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
(RSFSR) on November 7, 1917 (although the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics did not officially come into existence until December 30,
1922), what had formerly been the Russian Empire began quickly to come
under the domination of a Soviet reorganization of all its
institutions. From the outset, the leaders of this new state held that
film would be the most ideal propaganda tool for the Soviet Union
because of its widespread popularity among the established citizenry
of the new land. Vladimir Lenin viewed film as the most important
medium for educating the masses in the ways, means and successes of
communism. As a consequence Lenin issued the "Directives on the Film
Business" on 17 January 1922, which instructed the People's
Commissariat for Education to systemise the film business, registering
and numbering all films shown in the Russian Soviet Federative
Socialist Republic, extracting rent from all privately owned cinemas
and subject them to censorship. Joseph Stalin later also regarded
cinema as of the prime importance.However, between World War I and the
Russian Revolution, the Russian film industry and the infrastructure
needed to support it (e.g., electrical power) had deteriorated to the
point of unworkability. The majority of cinemas had been in the
corridor between Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and most were out of
commission. Additionally, many of the performers, producers, directors
and other artists of pre-Soviet Russia had fled the country or were
moving ahead of Red Army forces as they pushed further and further
south into what remained of the Russian Empire. Furthermore, the new
government did not have the funds to spare for an extensive reworking
of the system of filmmaking. Thus, they initially opted for project
approval and censorship guidelines while leaving what remained of the
industry in private hands. As this amounted mostly to cinema houses,
the first Soviet films consisted of recycled films of the Russian
Empire and its imports, to the extent that these were not determined
to be offensive to the new Soviet ideology. Ironically, the first new
film released in Soviet Russia did not exactly fit this mold: this was
Father Sergius, a religious film completed during the last weeks of
the Russian Empire but not yet exhibited. It appeared on Soviet
screens in 1918.Beyond this, the government was principally able to
fund only short, educational films, the most famous of which were the
agitki â€" propaganda films intended to "agitate", or energize and
enthuse, the masses to participate fully in approved Soviet
activities, and deal effectively with those who remained in opposition
to the new order. These short (often one small reel) films were often
simple visual aids and accompaniments to live lectures and speeches,
and were carried from city to city, town to town, village to village
(along with the lecturers) to educate the entire countryside, even
reaching areas where film had not been previously seen.
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