The Most Important Art

Cinema was officially the USSR's 'most important art' because Lenin had said it could be. But Russians loved movies for a decade before the Bolsheviks seized power and created poignant masterpieces which were swept aside when the Soviet avant-garde became international ambassadors for the new regime. These would be rediscovered in the 1980s, as a new generation of Soviet filmmakers spearheaded Gorbachev's reforms, giving early warning of the dramatic changes ahead. Ian Christie witnessed Soviet cinema's final decade first-hand, befriending some of its leading figures and exploring its complex history in the writings collected here. Russian cinema remains as important to the world as Russian music, literature and art, irrespective of who occupies the Kremlin. This collection reveals some of its greatest achievements, many long hidden by censorship and prejudice.