Cinema of Russia


The cinema of Russia began in the Russian Empire, widely developed in the Soviet Union and in the years following its dissolution, the Russian film industry would remain internationally recognized. In the 21st century, Russian cinema has become popular internationally with hits such as House of Fools, Night Watch and Brother. The Moscow International Film Festival began in Moscow in 1935. The Nika Award is the main annual national film award in Russia.

Cinema of the Russian Empire

The first films seen in the Russian Empire were brought in by the Lumière brothers, who exhibited films in Moscow and St. Petersburg in May 1896. That same month, Lumière cameraman Camille Cerf made the first film in Russia, recording the coronation of Nicholas II at the Kremlin.
Aleksandr Drankov produced the first Russian narrative film Stenka Razin, based on events told in a popular folk song and directed by Vladimir Romashkov. Ladislas Starevich made the first Russian animated film in 1910 – Lucanus Cervus. Among the notable Russian filmmakers of the era were Aleksandr Khanzhonkov and Ivan Mozzhukhin, who made Defence of Sevastopol in 1912. Yakov Protazanov made Departure of a Grand Old Man, a biographical film about Lev Tolstoy.
During World War I, imports dropped drastically, and Russian filmmakers turned out anti-German, nationalistic films. In 1916, 499 films were made in Russia, more than three times the number of just three years earlier.
The Russian Revolution brought more change, with a number of films with anti-Tsarist themes. The last significant film of the era, made in 1917, Father Sergius would become the first new film release of the Soviet era.

Cinema of the Soviet Union

Early Soviet cinema (1917-1953)

Although Russian was the dominant language in films during the Soviet era, the cinema of the Soviet Union encompassed films of the Armenian SSR, Georgian SSR, Ukrainian SSR, and, to a lesser degree, Lithuanian SSR, Belorussian SSR and Moldavian SSR. For much of the Soviet Union's history, with notable exceptions in the 1920s and the late 1980s, film content was heavily circumscribed and subject to censorship and bureaucratic state control.
The development of the soviet film industry was highly innovative and linked with the Constructivist art movement. In 1922-3, Kino-Fot became the first Soviet cinema magazine and reflected the constructivist views of its editor, Aleksei Gan.
As with much Soviet art during the 1920s, films addressed major social and political events of the time. Probably the single most important film of this period was Sergei Eisenstein's The Battleship Potemkin, not only because of its depiction of events leading up to the 1905 Revolution, but also because of innovative cinematic techniques, such as the use of jump-cuts to achieve political ends. Other notable films of the period include Vsevolod Pudovkin's Mother and Dziga Vertov's Man with a Movie Camera.
However, with the consolidation of Stalinist power in the Soviet Union, and the emergence of Socialist realism as state policy, which carried over from painting and sculpture into filmmaking, Soviet film became subject to almost total state control.
Popular films released in the 1930s include the musicals Circus, Jolly Fellows and Volga-Volga starring leading actress of the time Lyubov Orlova.
In the 1930s and the 1940s Eisenstein directed two historical epics – Aleksandr Nevsky and Ivan the Terrible.
Immediately after the end of the Second World War, the Soviet color films such as The Stone Flower, Ballad of Siberia, and Cossacks of the Kuban were released. Soviet films achieved significant critical success from the 1950s onwards partly as a result, similar to the cinema of other Eastern Bloc countries, for reflecting the tension between independent creativity and state-directed outcomes.

Late Soviet cinema (1953-1991)

In the late 1950s and early 1960s Soviet film-makers were given a less constricted environment, and while censorship remained, films emerged which began to be recognised outside the Soviet bloc such as Ballad of a Soldier which won the 1961 BAFTA Award for Best Film and the 1958 Palme d'Or winning The Cranes Are Flying. The Height is considered to be one of the best films of the 1950s. Yet, some important films did not receive a wide release; The Story of Asya Klyachina, Commissar, Brief Encounters.
The most critically acclaimed Russian director of the 1960s and 1970s was Andrei Tarkovsky, who directed the groundbreaking art-house films Ivan's Childhood, Andrei Rublev, Solaris, Mirror and Stalker.
Most popular Soviet movies of the era were comedies such as Carnival Night, The Irony of Fate, Kidnapping, Caucasian Style, Operation Y and Shurik's Other Adventures, The Twelve Chairs, Walking the Streets of Moscow, Gentlemen of Fortune.
"Osterns", the Soviet Union's own take on the Western genre, became also popular. Examples of the Ostern include White Sun of the Desert, The Headless Horseman, Armed and Dangerous, A Man from the Boulevard des Capucines.
's romantic comedies and satires were among the most popular late Soviet films
A respective amount of World War II dramas made in the 1970s and the 1980s were acclaimed internationally, some of which are Liberation, The Dawns Here Are Quiet, They Fought for Their Country, The Ascent and Come and See.
In the 1980s acclaimed Russian director Andrei Konchalovsky was the first filmmaker to find success in Hollywood. In America he directed Maria's Lovers, Runaway Train and Tango & Cash.
With the onset of Perestroika and Glasnost in the mid-1980s, Soviet films emerged which began to address formerly censored topics, such as drug addiction, The Needle, and sexuality and alienation in Soviet society, Little Vera.
Several Soviet films have received Oscars; War and Peace, Dersu Uzala, Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears.
Some of the popular actors of the Soviet period were Innokenty Smoktunovsky, Oleg Yankovsky, Andrei Mironov, Nikita Mikhalkov, Vladimir Vysotsky, Vasily Lanovoy, Tatiana Samoilova, Margarita Terekhova, Barbara Brylska, Yelena Koreneva.

New Russian cinema

1990s

Russian cinema of the 90s acquired new features and themes. Many films of that time dealt with Stalinism.
The Chekist directed by Aleksandr Rogozhkin was a drama set in the period of Red Terror and told the story of a Cheka leader who gradually becomes unhinged. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival.
The drama Burnt by the Sun by Nikita Mikhalkov is set in a small countryside community in the time when Stalinism starts to disrupt their idyllic retreat and alter their characters and fates. The film received an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and the Grand Prix du Jury at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival.
In the context of the Russian World War II history Pavel Chukhrai filmed The Thief, a movie about a mother who becomes romantically involved with a criminal who impersonates an officer. The film was awarded with 6 national prizes Nika, got a special prize in Venice and became the Oscar nominee.
One of the first commercially successful post-Soviet films was the crime drama Brother directed by Aleksei Balabanov. It was screened as part of the Un Certain Regard section at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival.
Valery Todorovsky's The Country of the Deaf, a comedy film based on the screenplay by Renata Litvinova parodied Russia of the 90s. It described the journey of two female friends caught in the fight of two clans - the deaf and the hearing. It was entered in the 48th Berlin International Film Festival.
In 1997 Aleksandr Sokurov had his international breakthrough with the arthouse drama Mother and Son. It won the Special Silver St. George at the 20th Moscow International Film Festival in 1997.
1998 film Khrustalyov, My Car! directed by Aleksei German described the last days of Stalinist Russia. It was entered in the 1998 Cannes Film Festival.
Internationally co-produced film East/West starring Sandrine Bonnaire and Catherine Deneuve told the story of an emigre family living in Stalinist USSR.
The satiric melodrama of Dmitry Meskhiev, Women's Property describes a love affair between a young student and an older actress who is incurably ill. Her death leads the protagonist to face bitter loneliness. The film featured actor Konstantin Khabensky in an early lead role.
Cult crime comedy 8 ½ $ starring Ivan Okhlobystin and Fyodor Bondarchuk was a satiric take on 1990s Russia. It told the story of a television advertisement director who becomes romantically involved with a gangster's girlfriend.

2000s

's The Return, a Golden Lion award recipient, shows two brothers' test of life when their father suddenly returns that reaches a deep almost-mystic pitch.
The Russian Ark by Alexander Sokurov, was filmed in a single 96-minute shot in the Russian Hermitage Museum is a dream-like narration that tells about Classic Russian culture sailing in the Ark.
The Night Watch was one of the first blockbusters made after the collapse of the Soviet film industry, it was a 2004 supernatural thriller directed by Timur Bekmambetov starring Konstantin Khabensky based on the eponymous book by Sergei Lukyanenko. It was followed by the sequel Day Watch.
The serialised novels by Boris Akunin set in pre-Revolutionary Russia evolve around fictional Erast Fandorin adventures in three popular movies: The Azazel, The Turkish Gambit and The State Counsellor.
Life of the Orthodox Monastery and their Christian miracles are described in the film The Island by Pavel Lungin. The film was screened out of the competition at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival and received the Golden Eagle and Nika awards.
One of Russia's all-time biggest box-office hits was Timur Bekmambetov's romantic-comedy The Irony of Fate 2, directed in 2007 as a sequel to the 1976 film.
2008 musical film Stilyagi, Hipsters directed by Valery Todorovsky about the youth lifestyle in the 1950s Soviet Union was a success at the box office. It received the Golden Eagle and Nika awards for best picture.

2010s

In 2010 the comedy anthology film Yolki produced by Timur Bekmambetov was released. It spawned five sequels and one spin-off.
How I Ended This Summer by Alexei Popogrebski a film shot in remote Chukotka won Berlin's Film Festival Golden Bear in 2010.
The same year arthouse film Silent Souls by Aleksey Fedorchenko won the Golden Osella at the Venice Film Festival for best cinematography.
One of the most successful movies made with Hollywood actors was the 2011 comedy Lucky Trouble where Milla Jovovich plays the female lead.
In recent years the most important Russian filmmaker to enter Hollywood is Timur Bekmambetov, a producer and director of blockbuster films. In the United States he directed ' and Ben-Hur.
War epic Stalingrad directed by Fyodor Bondarchuk in 2013 set new box-office records in Russia and abroad.
In 2014, Andrey Zvyagintsev's Leviathan was entered in the 2014 Cannes Film Festival and nominated for best foreign picture at the 87th Academy Awards. It won the Golden Globe for best foreign language film.
Andrei Konchalovsky received the Silver Lion for best director at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival for his black and white Holocaust drama Paradise in 2016. He previously received the Silver Lion for The Postman's White Nights in 2014.
Disaster film Flight Crew, directed by Nikolay Lebedev with actor Danila Kozlovsky was a big success at the box-office in 2016.
The 2017 sports drama Going Vertical by Anton Megerdichev is the most profitable film of the 2010s period.
Starting from 2003 Russia's animation industry began to manufacture films which are profitable domestically and abroad. Some of the pictures are The Snow Queen 1, ', ', Masha and the Bear, Kikoriki, Dobrynya Nikitich and Zmey Gorynych.
In the recent years many Russian films have gotten wide releases in China, and there has been an increased number of planned Russo-Chinese co-productions. A few of the films produced by Russia and China are Viy, ' starring Jackie Chan and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Quackerz.
The most popular actors of the 2000s-2010s period are Konstantin Khabensky, Danila Kozlovsky, Aleksei Serebryakov, Kseniya Rappoport, Fyodor Bondarchuk, Elizaveta Boyarskaya, Sergey Bezrukov, Yevgeny Mironov and Ivan Okhlobystin.

Russian film production

There are around 400 private production companies. They do not have their own facilities for creating films that is why they rent out spaces and equipment from their qualified partners. There are 35 film studios that are the major service for renting space. The studios have 107 shooting pavilions. There are 23 private companies on the Russian market that rent their equipment of all kinds to the production teams.

Leading production companies on the market

The list is composed by the Cinema Foundation of Russia. It allows companies get governmental financial support. In 2017 the number of market leaders was increased up to 10 companies.
According to Kinopoisk.ru, highest-grossing Russian films, as of early 2020, are the following.
Note: This list does not include earlier Soviet films, which are listed separately on the list of highest-grossing films in the Soviet Union.
RankTitleGrossYearGenreDetailsDirector
1Сталинград

Stalingrad		$68,075,5732013WarA World War II film about Battle of StalingradFyodor Bondarchuk
2Ирония судьбы. Продолжение

Irony of Fate: The Sequel		$55,639,1142007Romantic comedyA Christmas film, the sequel to a 1976 film of the same nameTimur Bekmambetov
3Движение Вверх

Going Vertical		$53,876,7642017Sports dramaAbout 1972 Olympic Men's Basketball FinalAnton Megerdichev
4Холоп

Serf		$47,500,0002019ComedyKlim Shipenko
5Вий

Viy		$39,539,4162014Fantasy, HorrorBased on a story of the same name by Nikolai Gogol, inspired by Slavic mythologyOleg Stepchenko
6Дневной дозор

Day Watch		$38,862,7172006FantasyBased on urban fantasy book series Dozory by Sergey LukyanenkoTimur Bekmambetov
7Адмиралъ

Admiral		$38,135,8782008Biography, HistoryAbout Russian Civil War monarchist leader, Admiral Alexander KolchakJanik Fayziyev
8Ёлки 3

Yolki 3		$38,067,4272013ComedyA Christmas filmOlga Kharina
9Ночной дозор

Night Watch		$33,951,0152004FantasyBased on urban fantasy book series Dozory by Sergey LukyanenkoTimur Bekmambetov
10Три богатыря на дальних берегах

Three Knights at the Distant Shores		$31,505,8762012Animation, FantasyAn interpretation of medieval Russian folkloreKostantin Feoktistov

11Самый лучший фильм

The Best Movie		$30,496,6952008ComedySpoofing famous Russian films and TV seriesKirill Kuzin
12Легенда №17

Legend № 17		$29,523,2372013Biography, Sport dramaAbout Soviet hockey player, Valery KharlamovNikolai Lebedev
13Обитаемый остров

The Inhabited Island		$27,908,7632009Science fictionBased on a dystopian book by Strugatsky brothersFyodor Bondarchuk
14Высоцкий. Спасибо, что живой

Vysotsky. Thank You For Being Alive		$27,544,9052011Biography, DramaAbout Soviet singer Vladimir VysotskyPyotr Buslov
15Ёлки 2

Yolki 2		$26,231,5252011ComedyA Christmas filmDmitry Kiselyov,

Alexander Kott and others
16Викинг

Viking		$25,646,7392016HistoryAbout Vladimir the GreatAndrei Kravchuk
179 рота

The 9th Company		$25,555,8092005WarAbout Soviet–Afghan WarFyodor Bondarchuk
18Последний Богатырь

The Last Warrior		$24,965,3622017Comic fantasyAn interpretation of medieval Russian folkloreDmitry Dyachenko
19Иван Царевич и серый волк

Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf		$24,830,4972011Animation, FantasyAn interpretation of medieval Russian folkloreVladimir Toropchin

20Экипаж

Flight Crew		$23,305,5712016disaster film
Nikolai Lebedev
21Ёлки

Yolki		$22,772,0192010ComedyA Christmas filmTimur Bekmambetov,

Dmitry Kiselyov and others
22Наша Russia: Яйца судьбы

Our Russia. The Balls of Fate		$22,213,2872010ComedyBased on a TV show of the same nameGleb Orlov
23Чёрная молния

Black Lightning		$21,500,0002009SuperheroTimur Bekmambetov
24Волкодав

Wolfhound		$21,015,1542006FantasyBased on a medieval high fantasy book by Maria SemenovaNikolai Lebedev
25Иван Царевич и Серый волк 2

Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf 2		$20,962,9882013FantasyAn interpretation of medieval Russian folkloreVladimir Toropchin
26Три богатыря. Ход конём

:ru:Три богатыря. Ход конём|Three heroes. Horse Course		$19,390,1362015Animation, FantasyAn interpretation of medieval Russian folkloreKonstantin Feoktistov

27Три богатыря и Шамаханская царица

Three Knights and the Queen of Shamakha		$19,010,5852010Animation, FantasyAn interpretation of medieval Russian folkloreSergey Glezin

28Турецкий гамбит

The Turkish Gambit		$18,500,0002005History, SpyBased on a book by Boris Akunin, about espionage at 19th-century Russo-Turkish warJanik Fayziyev
29Притяжение

Attraction		$18,400,0002017Science fictionFeodor Bondarchuk
30О чём ещё говорят мужчины

What Men Still Talk About		$17,808,6832011ComedyStarring comic group Quartet I, a sequel to What Men Talk AboutDmitry Dyachenko

Most expensive Russian films

Below, is a list of the 12 most high-budget Russian films in the history of hire. The figures given in the January 13, 2018.
#TitleYearBudget, $
1201949,168,000
2Burnt By The Sun 2: Exodus And Citadel201045,000,000
3The Inhabited Island200836,000,000
4The Barber of Siberia199835,000,000
5Stalingrad201330,000,000
6Viy201426,000,000
7Matilda201725,000,000
8Sunstroke201424,000,000
9Admiral200820,000,000
10August Eighth201219,000,000
11Mongol200718,000,000

Film distribution

There are 600 companies that release films all around Russia that includes 105 chain cinema theatres and 495 independent theatres. Chain companies consist of 29 federal, 19 regional and 57 local theatres. According to Neva Research, as of 1 July 2016 there were 1,227 cinemas with 4,067 screens in Russia. Ten major cinema companies hold 346 theatres with 1,772 screens, which corresponds to 43.6 % of the whole amount.
In 2015 all the cinemas were finally digitalized. In the beginning of 2016 Russia has 33 theatres with 4D technology, 80 theatres with premium sound system, 43 theatres with 3D IMAX effect.

Awards