From the first decade of the 20th century to the middle of the 1920s, cinema in Russia exposed how politics and the modern medium were inseparably intertwined. As works that were produced during a period of great turmoil and uncertainty, films revealed more than a unilateral relationship. Cinema was used in Russia in the late-Imperial and early Soviet eras as an active tool of entertainment, propaganda, art, education, and intellectual discussion. Studying its intersectional nature illuminates areas obscured by purely political or artistic perspectives, which tell either opposite or mutually emboldening tales. This thesis argues on behalf of both that during the Russian Civil War, the story of Russian cinema evolved from one of a rising film industry and dying government to one of bitter survival and upward development shared by the country’s new leadership and persevering cinema culture. In continually producing movies despite unprecedented hardships, Russia’s early film pioneers not only amplified and proliferated the socio-political thoughts of their day, but also had a starring role in their creation.
","abstract_html":"<p>From the first decade of the 20<sup>th</sup> century to the middle of the 1920s, cinema in Russia exposed how politics and the modern medium were inseparably intertwined. As works that were produced during a period of great turmoil and uncertainty, films revealed more than a unilateral relationship. Cinema was used in Russia in the late-Imperial and early Soviet eras as an active tool of entertainment, propaganda, art, education, and intellectual discussion. Studying its intersectional nature illuminates areas obscured by purely political or artistic perspectives, which tell either opposite or mutually emboldening tales. This thesis argues on behalf of both that during the Russian Civil War, the story of Russian cinema evolved from one of a rising film industry and dying government to one of bitter survival and upward development shared by the country’s new leadership and persevering cinema culture. In continually producing movies despite unprecedented hardships, Russia’s early film pioneers not only amplified and proliferated the socio-political thoughts of their day, but also had a starring role in their creation.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Ludwig, Katerina"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"War and Society","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Jeffrey Koerber","Dr. Mateo Jarquin","Dr. Wendy Salmond"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2024,"date_issued":"2024-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2024-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:38:37Z","subjects":["cinema","film","Russia","Russian Revolution","Russian Civil War","Soviet Union","Cultural History","European History","Other Film and Media Studies"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/war_and_society_theses/39","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Jeffrey Koerber","Dr. Mateo Jarquin","Dr. Wendy Salmond"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Ludwig, Katerina"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2024-12-20T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["War and Society"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["cinema","film","Russia","Russian Revolution","Russian Civil War","Soviet Union","Cultural History","European History","Other Film and Media Studies"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/war_and_society_theses/39"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["From the first decade of the 20th century to the middle of the 1920s, cinema in Russia exposed how politics and the modern medium were inseparably intertwined. As works that were produced during a period of great turmoil and uncertainty, films revealed more than a unilateral relationship. Cinema was used in Russia in the late-Imperial and early Soviet eras as an active tool of entertainment, propaganda, art, education, and intellectual discussion. Studying its intersectional nature illuminates areas obscured by purely political or artistic perspectives, which tell either opposite or mutually emboldening tales. This thesis argues on behalf of both that during the Russian Civil War, the story of Russian cinema evolved from one of a rising film industry and dying government to one of bitter survival and upward development shared by the country’s new leadership and persevering cinema culture. In continually producing movies despite unprecedented hardships, Russia’s early film pioneers not only amplified and proliferated the socio-political thoughts of their day, but also had a starring role in their creation.
"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Ludwig, Katerina. \"‘Samoye Vazhnoye’: Behind the Scenes of Russian Cinema, 1908–1924.\" Master's thesis, Chapman University, 2024. https://doi.org/10.36837/chapman.000577"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["‘Samoye Vazhnoye’: Behind the Scenes of Russian Cinema, 1908–1924"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Jeffrey Koerber","Dr. Mateo Jarquin","Dr. Wendy Salmond"],"dc:creator":["Ludwig, Katerina"],"dc:date.available":["2024-12-20T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["From the first decade of the 20th century to the middle of the 1920s, cinema in Russia exposed how politics and the modern medium were inseparably intertwined. As works that were produced during a period of great turmoil and uncertainty, films revealed more than a unilateral relationship. Cinema was used in Russia in the late-Imperial and early Soviet eras as an active tool of entertainment, propaganda, art, education, and intellectual discussion. Studying its intersectional nature illuminates areas obscured by purely political or artistic perspectives, which tell either opposite or mutually emboldening tales. This thesis argues on behalf of both that during the Russian Civil War, the story of Russian cinema evolved from one of a rising film industry and dying government to one of bitter survival and upward development shared by the country’s new leadership and persevering cinema culture. In continually producing movies despite unprecedented hardships, Russia’s early film pioneers not only amplified and proliferated the socio-political thoughts of their day, but also had a starring role in their creation.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/war_and_society_theses/39"],"dc:source":["Ludwig, Katerina. \"‘Samoye Vazhnoye’: Behind the Scenes of Russian Cinema, 1908–1924.\" Master's thesis, Chapman University, 2024. https://doi.org/10.36837/chapman.000577"],"dc:subject":["cinema","film","Russia","Russian Revolution","Russian Civil War","Soviet Union","Cultural History","European History","Other Film and Media Studies"],"dc:title":["‘Samoye Vazhnoye’: Behind the Scenes of Russian Cinema, 1908–1924"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["War and Society"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:38:37Z"}