Guiding stars: The comet-like rise of the war film in putin’s Russia: Recent world war II films and historical memories

Abstract

Nikolai Lebedev’s 2002 film Star (Zvezda) became the first in an explosion of Russian films set during World War II. Between 2002 and 2006, sixteen films and eight television serials have revised the existing cinematic narratives about the war. This article investigates these films as ‘theatres of memory’, sites where narratives are disturbed and where memory is negotiated between film-maker and audience. By focusing upon the production behind these films, the plots they contain, and their domestic reception, this article argues that the revival of World War II films in contemporary Russia serves as a crucial mediator for how history is remembered after the collapse of communism. The Great Patriotic War, as World War II is commonly called in Russia, continues to be an important source of national pride, but the narratives about this conflict have expanded in extraordinary ways through the films produced since Star hit cinemas. © 2007 Intellect Ltd.