History in contemporary Russian cinema, patriotic dreams, complicated memories

Abstract

The politics of memory is a highly significant part of contemporary Russian politics. Reinterpreting history is a critical duty of the recent Russian administration to overcome the identity crisis that has emerged after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Historical films emerged as an appropriate option for the leadership to construct a new societal memory by conveying patriotic messages with the help of creating myths. A patriotic filmmaking project has been initiated for this purpose. This dissertation aims to discuss the content of some notable contemporary Russian historical films by using historical film analysis. Analyzing historical films has been a common topic in historiography. The methodology that is used in the dissertation will be evaluated in the first part. Latterly, the history of Russian cinema concerning the industrial dynamics and the basis of historical films will be discussed. In the following chapters, a selected filmography will be analyzed concerning their portrayal of Russian history. In conclusion, the notable setbacks and entanglements of the patriotic filmmaking project will be presented.