DOCSLIB.ORG

People Power the Recent Soviet Elections Marked a Decisive Moment in the Process of Reform

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
People Power the Recent Soviet Elections Marked a Decisive Moment in the Process of Reform People Power The recent Soviet elections marked a decisive moment in the process of reform. It is no longer a revolution simply from above. The people are now the actors. Monty Johnstone reports Boris Yeltsin: Keeping a cool head at the centre of controversy ith this spring's elections be subject to the people's support or in the USSR perestroika rejection, depending on whether or not has entered a new stage. it succeeds in bringing about the impro- For the first time since vements in their lives to which it is WGorbachev in 1985 launched the drive to committed. An increasingly active restructure Soviet society, the people public opinion is concerned to ensure have made an independent entry into that the power of the people, long pro- the political arena. They have sought to claimed in the constitution, becomes a speed up the sluggish pace of promised reality. changes by voting against Communist All this makes a reversal of pere- Party and state officials identified with stroika by conservative forces much conservative policies and bureaucratic more difficult. At the same time it in- practices. The unexpected defeat of 34 troduces new and unpredictable ele- out of 157 regional party secretaries ments into a situation where the tradi- represents a vote of no confidence in tional hegemony of the Communist Par- important sections of the party apparat. ty, whose ranks are now deeply divided, It would be wrong to see this as essen- is badly dented, although no counter- tially a vote against the party itself, hegemonic force has emerged seriously since most of those who beat them are to challenge it. themselves members of the party, Over the past three years or so an which comprises 87.6% of those elected independent civil society has been (as against 71.5% in 1984). However, it developing in the Soviet Union. Its main is a warning to the party that its leader- expression has been through the creat- ship of Soviet society can no longer be ive intelligentsia, in the media and the taken for granted. Increasingly it will arts, and through a mushrooming of 30 MARXISM TODAY MAY 1989 'informal associations', particularly meeting of the party there on April 4, as and local Soviets. On Gorbachev's pro- among young people. A major worry 'a serious political lesson'. Among the posal, last summer's party conference has been the inadequate degree to casualties was the city secretary, decided that the first secretaries of par- which it has extended to the bulk of the Anatoly Gerasimov, who received only ty organisations should stand for their traditional working class, among whom 15% of the votes against 74% for a local Soviets in order that they could go the contrast between promise and per- 28-year old Communist engineer. on to be chosen as their chairpersons. formance over decades has fostered Widespread satisfaction has been ex- Now there must be some doubt as to alienation and political apathy. pressed at the defeat in Volgograd of whether electors will actually elect The elections mark an important the well-known representative of the many of these first secretaries to these change in this respect. Attending elec- conservative trend in the Russian liter- Soviets. Such a prospect must already tion meetings in working-class districts ary establishment, Yuri Bondarev, by be leading quite a few party organisa- of Moscow, I was struck by the many the second secretary of the local Young tions to consider changing their secre- 'It is a hundreds who would pack into their Communist League. taries and finding ways of radically warning to local community centre ('Palace of Cul- mong the all-too-few improving their public work. the party ture') from seven till sometimes past women elected - only that its 11pm for no-holds-barred discussions 17.1% of the total-pride of All eyes will be on the 2,210 members of with their candidates on all aspects of place should probably go the Congress of People's Deputies when leadership of Soviet society. Indeed the level of ques- Ato journalist Alia Yaroshinskaya, they gather in Moscow later this month. Soviet tions and debate, not to speak of the elected with 90% of the votes in the It will, I believe, very soon become society can attendance, was considerably higher Ukrainian city of Zhitomir, where the apparent how differently things are go- than most election meetings that I have officials she had criticised had tried to ing to shape up there compared with the no longer be attended in this country. Nonetheless, stop her standing. In the Baltic days of the former Supreme Soviets, taken for the fact that only 18.6% of those elected republics (Estonia, Latvia and Lithua- which met only four or five days a year granted' are workers shows that much more nia) representatives of the national and served as rubber stamps. The needs to be done to make the official fronts championing autonomy for their newly-elected Congress will first have description of the working class as the republics within the USSR won most of the job of choosing a president with leading force in Soviet society a reality. the seats. Although a number of promi- considerable executive powers. All the orking-class support for nent party and government leaders indications are that Gorbachev will be and involvement in Boris were defeated, the Communist first elected unopposed, although some of Yeltsin's election cam- secretaries in all three republics were the new deputies have expressed dis- paign was particularly elected because they had played a part agreement with one man combining the Wstrong. In a two-cornered fight for the in working for these national demands. posts of Communist Party general seat covering the whole of Moscow, the The Latvian party leader defeated a secretary and head of state. Before party's former secretary in the capital candidate from an organisation cam- leaving Moscow I was told that Yeltsin received over 5m votes - nearly 90% of paigning for the republic's secession was under pressure from some of his the total. Although lacking a worked-out from the USSR. supporters to stand against Gorbachev. economic programme, Yeltsin rallied Run-offs held in 64 territorial consti- While he clearly has the right to do so, it enthusiastic support as 'the candidate tuences on April 9 led to the return of is most probable that he will recognise of the people', taking a stand against a other progressive and independent- the inadvisability of such a step. The privileged apparatus. Meetings and minded candidates. Notable among success of perestroika will demand co- demonstrations supporting him culmi- them is the marxist historian and poli- operation on major issues between Gor- nated in an eve-of-poll open-air rally, tical theorist Roy Medvedev, whose bachev and the popular forces that Yelt- permitted by the authorities, bringing writings are at last being allowed to sin represents against the main danger together crowds variously estimated at appear in his own country; Vilem Tol- which comes from still well-entrenched between 10,000 and 35,000.I found it a pezhnikov, elected in Riga, who was bureaucratic forces. highly-impressive demonstration of arrested in 1968 when he opposed the he Congress itself is due to working people independently and Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia; hold only one regular session spontaneously voicing their grievances and Wello Pakhlo, the leader of the a year. It will have the task of against bureaucratic 'mafias', as their Estonian Greens. electing 542 of its members to posters described them. The dramatic development of an inde- Ta much smaller Supreme Soviet, which They were demanding social justice pendent public opinion is also reflected will serve as a parliamentary body sitt- and an improvement in their often- in the need to hold new elections on May ing for six to eight months every year. miserable material conditions, to which 14 in 199 territorial constituencies - Gorbachev is in favour of rotation, whe- they felt they were entitled more than 12% of the total. In these only one or two reby every member of the Congress 70 years after the October Revolution. candidates stood on March 26 and none will spend a period in the Supreme So- Moves against Yeltsin for allegedly received more than 50% of the votes as viet - but this is not specified in the overstepping the bounds as a member required for election. Many of these constitution. The question of who the of the Communist Party's central com- electoral districts were among the 25% Congress will elect at its first meeting mittee only galvanised support for him where only one candidate was standing. will be very important. Controversy against what was seen to be a witch Most prominent among quite a number will no doubt centre around whether hunt, and served to contribute to his of party leaders whose attempts to se- representatives of particular trends, landslide victory. 'Why', asked Pravda cure election by excluding other can- such as Yeltsin, will be among them. on April 1, but without essaying a reply, didates backfired was Leningrad re- Yeltsin intends to form a parliamentary 'did a party committee's reluctance to gional secretary Yuri Solovyov, a can- group of like-minded deputies to cam- see elected a candidate who enjoyed no didate member of the party's top polit- paign for radical perestroika demands. sympathy from the party apparat pro- buro. A majority of voters prevented The 80-90 deputies supporting the na- voke powerful popular support (as in their election by crossing their names tional fronts of the Baltic republics may the case of Boris Yeltsin)?' off the ballot paper.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Party Conference Did Not Help Gorbachov
    Click here for Full Issue of EIR Volume 15, Number 29, July 22, 1988 whelming majority of speeches at the conference were a catalogue of statements demanding that measures be taken to stop the worst food and consumer goods shortages in dec­ ades, to tum around the collapse in living and health stan­ dards, and to establish rigid autarchy (including "food self­ Party Conference did sufficiency," i.e., to eliminate large-scale food imports from the West) as soon as possible. not help Gorbachov The intersection of this crisis with the political faction fight was highlighted by the fact that Ligachov, in his capac­ ity as head of the Central Committee Secretariat, was con­ by Konstantin George firmed to be in overall charge of economic policy. Three days after the conference, on July 4, the Politburo Contrary to most Western media, the Soviet Party Confer­ convened for an emergency discussion on the economic cri­ ence which began in Moscow on June 28 marked a stinging sis. That meeting produced an announcement that a Central defeat for Mikhail Gorbachov. The conference certified the Committee Plenum to deal with the economic crisis would removal of the general secretary from exercising any real be held "at the end of July," with a bare three weeks' notice. power, by passing a resolution on establishing a "new" pres­ Several commissions were announced, each consisting of idency, under which Gorbachov will be kicked upstairs into leading members of the Politburo and Central Committee that new post. The conference also marked a resounding Secretariat, to draft measures to deal with the economic mess, victory for the hardline, Russian chauvinist party majority, for submission to the plenum.
    [Show full text]
  • Public Demonstrations and the Rule of Law in the Age of Glasnost and Perestroika Ralph Ruebner
    American University International Law Review Volume 5 | Issue 1 Article 2 1989 Public Demonstrations and the Rule of Law in the Age of Glasnost and Perestroika Ralph Ruebner Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/auilr Part of the International Law Commons Recommended Citation Ruebner, Ralph. "Public Demonstrations and the Rule of Law in the Age of Glasnost and Perestroika." American University International Law Review 5, no. 1 (1989): 13-71. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Washington College of Law Journals & Law Reviews at Digital Commons @ American University Washington College of Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in American University International Law Review by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ American University Washington College of Law. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ARTICLE PUBLIC DEMONSTRATIONS AND THE RULE OF LAW IN THE AGE OF GLASNOST AND PERESTROIKA Ralph Ruebner* INTRODUCTION It goes without saying that in a democratic society persons who share common interests and goals, whether of political, cultural, ethnic, reli- gious, social, fraternal, benevolent, or any other nature, have the right to form interest groups, engage in private and public assembly, and express themselves publicly on important issues of the day. One com- monly recognized mode of expression is that of a public demonstration. It is equally clear that in a democratic society, the role of the govern- ment is to respect the right of group association and public expression, not to prohibit or frustrate it; there is little room for governmental in- terference with this basic right.
    [Show full text]
  • The Politics of Soviet Literature Since Brezhnev
    Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies Volume 5 Article 2 1-1-1987 The Politics of Soviet Literature Since Brezhnev Bradley D. Woodworth Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/sigma Recommended Citation Woodworth, Bradley D. (1987) "The Politics of Soviet Literature Since Brezhnev," Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies: Vol. 5 , Article 2. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/sigma/vol5/iss1/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. THE POLITICS OF SOVIET LITERATURE SINCE BREZHNEV Throughout the history of the Soviet Union, liter­ atUl'e and the a.·ts have played a significant role in the formation of Soviet citizens' perceptions of their na­ tion, their heritage, their leaders, and the world outside Soviet borders. Both Soviet and pre-revolu­ tionary Russian political leaders have felt an over­ whelming need to control dissent against their regimes. Because literature and freedom of speech have been vigilantly monitored, and often directly controlled, the written word in Russia has a significance and an im­ mediacy which writing in the West has never acquired. Since the early 1930s, when the Communist Party re­ placed the previously existing and relatively indepen­ dent writers' organizations VSP (All-Russian Union of Writel's), RAPP (Russian Association of Proletarian Writers) and Left Front with its own Union of Soviet Write.·s, official writing and publication of Soviet liter­ ature have been in the secure grip of the Party.
    [Show full text]
  • Forging the Enemy in Soviet Fiction and Press
    Forging the Enemy in Soviet Fiction and Press 1945-1982 Raphaelle Auclert Supervisors: Prof. Evgeny Dobrenko and Prof. Craig Brandist University of Sheffield 1 Table of Contents Introduction 4 First Part: The Stalin Era. The Enemy with a Cloak and a Dagger Chapter 1. The Cold War Begins: Historical and Cultural Background 27 1.1. A Fragile Grand Alliance 28 1.2. The Bipolar Brinkmanship: First Round 29 1.3. The Soviet ‘Peace Offensive’ 37 1.4. Postwar ‘Politerature’ and the ‘Manufacture of the Enemy’ 42 Chapter 2. Case Studies: The Enemy Outside: I. Ehrenburg and N. Shpanov 51 Chapter 3. Case Studies: The Enemy Inside the Communist Movement: 89 D. Eriomin and O. Maltsev Second Part: Khrushchev Era. The Ideological Enemy Chapter 4. The Making of the Thaw Enemy on the Cold War Stage 119 4.1. “Peaceful Coexistence” or the Vanishing of the Outside Enemy 119 4.2. Case Study: The Enemy Within: V. Kochetov 126 Chapter 5. Khrushchev’s Apocrypha 130 Chapter 6. The literary ‘Morality Police’ 148 Third Part: Brezhnev Era: Confronting an Invisible Enemy Chapter 7. The Brezhnev Doctrine 157 Chapter 8. Case Study: Enemy at Heart. Y. Bondarev’s The Shore 169 Chapter 9. Case Study: Becoming Your Enemy: Y. Bondarev’s The Choice 181 Conclusion 193 Bibliography 199 2 Forging the Enemy in Soviet Fiction and Press, 1945-1982 Abstract My dissertation offers a new approach to the study of Soviet official prose in the context of Soviet politics and of the Cold War. The Cold War was an ideological contest between two blocs: capitalist and communist.
    [Show full text]
  • EXTENSIONS of REMARKS 9095 EXTENSIONS of REMARKS CONGRESSMAN BEN CARDIN: Chuckle." "It's Kind of a Paradox; He's Not Some People," Said Representative James A
    May 1, 1990 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS 9095 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS CONGRESSMAN BEN CARDIN: chuckle." "It's kind of a paradox; he's not some people," said Representative James A. GREAT ADDITION TO THE the typical politician." Hayes, D-La., a former colleague on the WAYS AND MEANS COMMIT- But Representative Steny H. Hoyer, D­ Public Works Committee. Md.-5th, who served as Senate president in In December, Mr. Cardin finally realized TEE Annapolis shortly before Mr. Cardin ran the his dream of a seat on the Ways and Means House, sees in his close friend an astute pol­ Committee, one of the Hill's most powerful HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK itician, who combines intellect and hard panels, with a policy reach that extends to work with an "intuitive feel for what moti­ Social Security and health care, trade and OF CALIFORNIA vates people." taxes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES The man who once "ran the state," in the He came out swinging early. In a heated Tuesday, May 1, 1990 words of a Maryland legislator, settles into a exchange with Richard G. Darman, director chair in his office above North Baltimore's of the Office of Management and Budget, Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, Congressman East Belvedere Avenue. Short and husky, Mr. Cardin sharply questioned the Bush ad­ BEN CARDIN's recent appointment to the Ways with wispy gray hair and a wide smile, he is ministration's plans to cut the capital gains and Means Committee has also been a gain as approachable as the comer grocer. tax. for the Health Subcommittee, because of the "I try to be myself.
    [Show full text]
  • Opinions of Film Critics and Viewers
    Alexander Fedorov 100 most popular Soviet television movies and TV series: opinions of film critics and viewers Moscow, 2021 Fedorov A.V. 100 most popular Soviet television movies and TV series: opinions of film critics and viewers. Moscow: "Information for all", 2021. 144 p. What does the list of the hundred most popular Soviet television films and TV series look like? How did the press and viewers evaluate and rate these films? In this monograph, for the first time, an attempt is made to give a panorama of the hundred most popular Soviet television films and serials in the mirror of the opinions of film critics, film critics and viewers. The monograph is intended for high school teachers, students, graduate students, researchers, film critics, film experts, journalists, as well as for a circle of readers who are interested in the problems of cinema, film criticism and film sociology. Reviewer: Professor M.P. Thselyh. © Alexander Fedorov, 2021. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ………………………………….................................................................................... 4 100 most popular Soviet television movies and TV series: opinions of film critics and viewers ……………………………........................................................................................... 5 Interview on the release of the book "One Thousand and One Highest Grossing Soviet Movie: Opinions of Film Critics and Viewers"…………………………………………………………….. 119 List of "100 most popular Soviet television films and TV series.......................................... 125 About
    [Show full text]
  • The Demobilization of Red Army Veterans in Leningrad and the Leningrad Region 1944-1950 Dale, Robert
    Re-adjusting to life after war: the demobilization of Red Army veterans in Leningrad and the Leningrad region 1944-1950 Dale, Robert The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without the prior written consent of the author For additional information about this publication click this link. https://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/jspui/handle/123456789/703 Information about this research object was correct at the time of download; we occasionally make corrections to records, please therefore check the published record when citing. For more information contact [email protected] 1 Re-Adjusting to Life After War: The Demobilization of Red Army Veterans in Leningrad and The Leningrad Region 1944-1950 Robert Dale Thesis presented for Ph.D examination at Queen Mary, University of London September 2010 2 Declaration of authorship I declare that the work presented in this thesis is my own and all references are cited accordingly. ............................................................................................................................................. (Robert Dale) 3 Abstract This dissertation explores the demobilization of veterans of the Great Patriotic War in Leningrad and the surrounding countryside between 1944 and 1950. This was a period of immense social and economic change, as late Stalinist society struggled with the aftermath of total war. Demobilization is examined here as the processes by which veterans returned home and readapted to peace. Throughout the twentieth century European and North American societies have faced difficulties reabsorbing veterans. In contrast Soviet propaganda heralded demobilisation as a success. Veterans were presented as exemplary citizens and beneficiaries of state support and upwards social mobility.
    [Show full text]
  • Zakladatel Brněnské Literárněvědné Slavistiky Frank Wollman (1888-1969)
    Russian Literature and Its Historical Background Russian literature was developing in the country which was under ceaseless pressure of Eastern raiders. For centuries, Russia actually acted as a European barrier – the fact the Europeans were not always aware of, and, on the contrary, the fact made the Russians to believe in their messianic role and right to the world leadership. Face to face with the outer danger and due to internal arrangement, which was given by important historical events which were moving Russia away from the rest of Europe (the East-West Schism or the Mongol invasion), in Russia the individual was suppressed (Karel Havlíček Borovský mentions in his Pictures from Russia, 1843-1846, that the price of a Russian peasant, a serf, is much lower than the price paid for an English thoroughbred), while collectiveness and group spirit (sobornosť) is accented. In this historical context, literature had a number of further functions and partly substituted for the non-existing or weakly manifesting philosophy and science. Literature also served as a convenient tool to express political views: behind the curtain of a sentimental book of travels Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow (1790) by Alexander Radishchev a severe political attack on the autocratic system of government is hidden; also the literature of the Decembrists (members of illegal groups and later also the participants in the crushed uprising of the 14th of December [December = dyekabr, in Russian] – 1825). In the liberal atmosphere of the 1850s and the 1860s, literature was often seen as more or less direct reflection of political movements.1 The Russian Empire gradually started to present itself as a typical multinational and multicultural country with a changeable attitude of the majority ethnic group towards other nations and their freedom and also as a target country of a number of foreign families and individuals (under Peter I and also before the Germans, later on the Dutch and the English, after the revolution the French, and continuously also the Poles, etc.).
    [Show full text]
  • Dalere-Adjustingtolife2011.Pdf (2.209Mb)
    1 Re-Adjusting to Life After War: The Demobilization of Red Army Veterans in Leningrad and The Leningrad Region 1944-1950 Robert Dale Thesis presented for Ph.D examination at Queen Mary, University of London September 2010 2 Declaration of authorship I declare that the work presented in this thesis is my own and all references are cited accordingly. ............................................................................................................................................. (Robert Dale) 3 Abstract This dissertation explores the demobilization of veterans of the Great Patriotic War in Leningrad and the surrounding countryside between 1944 and 1950. This was a period of immense social and economic change, as late Stalinist society struggled with the aftermath of total war. Demobilization is examined here as the processes by which veterans returned home and readapted to peace. Throughout the twentieth century European and North American societies have faced difficulties reabsorbing veterans. In contrast Soviet propaganda heralded demobilisation as a success. Veterans were presented as exemplary citizens and beneficiaries of state support and upwards social mobility. Based on archival research, published sources and oral history interviews, this thesis peels back the multiple layers of propaganda woven around demobilization to reveal a compelling tale of war‟s aftermath. It examines how veterans readjusted to a civilian life after exposure to mass death and extreme violence, and the challenges faced in returning to a society devastated and traumatized by war. Veterans expected certain privileges in exchange for wartime service. Entitlement, however, rarely manifested itself in practical advantage. Veterans were not protected from the post-war scramble for jobs and housing. The failure to meet post-war expectations generated enormous resentment.
    [Show full text]
  • Eastern Mediterranean Region on Fire
    Click here for Full Issue of EIR Volume 15, Number 29, July 22, 1988 the heels of the June celebrations of the Millennium of the Russian Church,marked a new high point in the rising tide of Russian nationalism. Crucial passages of Ligachov's speech dealing with this Eastern Mediterranean matter were never reported in the West, even though they could be read in the pages of Pravda. Using the language of region on fire Stalin, Ligachov denouncedthe liberals,such as ousted Mos­ cow party chief Boris Yeltsin,for giving aid "to the enemy by Thieny Lalevee abroad," denounced the glasnost campaign in the Soviet me­ dia for portraying only the negative features of the Stalin era, telling the delegates that in the1930s and 1940s "what heroic The July 11 terrorist bloodbath aboard the Greek City of things our people did,despite the cult of personality." Most Poros cruiser, which killed nine and left dozens badly significant of all, Ligachov announced his endorsement of wounded,is a very serious warning that not only Greece,but the conference speech given by Yuri Bondarev,head of the the entire Eastern Mediterranean region,has been targeted Russian Republic Writers Union,and an ultra-chauvinist. for immediate destabilization. Bondarev's speech,reprinted in Pravda, was a harangue The atrocity followed a June 18 assassination attempt against the glasnost euphoria in the Soviet press, which is against Turkish Prime Minister Turgut Ozal,and the June 28 "demolishing,destroying, and tearing down into latrineholes assassination of the local representative of the U.S.Defense everything that lived before,the past,our national things that Intelligence Agency,Capt.
    [Show full text]
  • Appendix 1: Editorial Structures and Policy-Making of the Soviet 'Thick
    Appendix 1: Editorial Structures and Policy-Making of the Soviet ‘Thick’ Journal Inside the ‘thick’ journal Approximately 30 people were directly involved with the journal in the monthly production of Nash sovremennik (1981–91). These were divided among two bodies with overlapping membership, the editorial board (redaktsionnaya kollegiya, or redkollegiya) and the editorial office (redaktsiya). The editorial office The editorial office, which carried out the day-to-day work of preparing each issue of Nash sovremennik, consisted of the editor in chief, the deputy chief editors, the responsible secretary, the heads of department (usually four in number – of prose, poetry, criticism and publitsistika) and the regular staff mem- bers (literaturnye sotrudniki), one or two in each department. In addition, there was a staff member to deal with readers’ letters, a technical editor, one or two proofreaders, a typist and a secretary. When the workload of the journal became especially onerous, ‘ad hoc readers’ from outside the journal could be called upon to help with the work of the editorial office. The chief editor Executive power within the journal was concentrated in the hands of the chief editor. The chief editorship was a nomenklatura post to which appointment was made by the Central Committee. If the chief editor came from outside Moscow, he would be granted a propiska (Moscow living permit) and an apartment. The RSFSR Writers’ Union played an advisory and consultative role in making this appoint- ment. The chief editor was held responsible by higher instances for the content of each issue of the journal: final decisions on publication policy were always for- mally his.
    [Show full text]
  • BOOK ADAPTATIONS the Adventures of Sherlock
    BOOK ADAPTATIONS The adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson (1979-1986) This collection includes some of the most popular cases, like "The Sign of Four", "His Last Bow" and "The Hound of the Baskervilles". The saga of Sherlock Holmes is immensely popular in Russia, and also recognized abroad, so much so that Queen Elizabeth II considers Vasily Livanov's portrayal of the title character to be the best of non-English speaking actors. Livanov was appointed to the Order of the British Empire for his work on Sherlock Holmes. Anna Karenina (1967) Based on the novel by Leo Tolstoy. This is the most lavishly recreated, faithful adaptation of Tolstoy's psychological masterpiece that deconstructs family ties and moral codes of pre-revolutionary Russia. Boris Godunov (1987) Based on the novel in verse by Alexander Pushkin. This quintessential Russian opera (filmed at the Bolshoi theater for television) brings to the stage one of the most curious episodes in the history of 16th century Russia. The Brothers Karamazov (2009) Based on the novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Fyodor Karamazov and his three sons have always had a complicated relationship, marred by passion, greed and hot tempers. When the father is found dead in his home, each son in under investigation, with an equally strong motive for such a hideous crime. The Conqueror (2009) Based on the novel "Taras Bulba" by Nikolai Gogol. In the midst of a brutal war Taras Bulba learns that his farm has been destroyed, his eldest son captured and his wife murdered. Seeking vengeance, the fierce warrior sets off on an epic mission for retribution.
    [Show full text]