Marking the Russian Cinema Day: history documentaries presented in the Presidential Library

August 27, 2019 our country marks the Russian Cinema Day. The Presidential Library pays special attention to this popularly beloved art form. It not only formed an extensive electronic collection “Marking the Year of Russian Cinema”, but also added it with new materials on this topic, and produced its own films on the history of Russia.

The collection is free available on the portal and includes over 600 depository items: official documents, studies, a variety of visual materials (posters, postcards and etc.) that reveal various aspects of the development of national cinema from the beginning of the 20th century, as well as representing individual films and actors of Russian and Soviet cinema.

In particular, the book of Vladimir Gottwald "Cinema ("animated photography")" (1909) tells of the first steps of Russian cinema. The author describes in detail a new phenomenon for those years - starting with the principle of action of “moving pictures”, fixing them on tape, photo developing; tells about the distant prospects for the development of cinema. Great illustration for the major work of Gottwald are silent short films of the early twentieth century. They are based on the works of M. Yu. Lermontov “Boyar Orsha” (1909), “Vadim” (1910) and “Bella” (1913), the satirical film “Down with the German Yoke” (1914) and the patriotic story “Glory to us, death to enemies” (1914). The films are provided for the Presidential Library by the State Film Fund of Russia. Thanks to cooperation with the Russian Institute of Art History, electronic copies of more than 100 posters and film bills from the beginning of the 20th century are available on the Presidential Library’s portal. Among them is a film poster of “Tale of Dear Love” by Pyotr Chardynin, where the first national film star Vera Kholodnaya played the main role.  

In addition, the poster of one of the most significant films of the Soviet Union “Battleship Potemkin” is freely available on the Presidential Library’s portal. This is a story about a riot of sailors, which grew into an armed uprising. The film was prepared marking the 20th anniversary of the first Russian revolution.

Over the decade of its establishment, the Presidential Library has also become one of the most equipped documentary production sites. There is a tradition of creating cycles of films on a specific topic. For example, films dedicated to Novgorod history and its magnificent cathedrals and monasteries were released: “Novgorod. 1150 years in the history of the Russian state”; cycle of four films “Russian Icon in the Collection of the Novgorod Museum-Reserve”; The Golden Pantry of Veliky Novgorod in two parts; cycles "Saved Frescoes of the Church of the Assumption on the Volotov Field" in two parts "Saved Frescoes of the Savior on Kovalev"; Graffiti cycle: “Graffiti of St. Sophia Cathedral in Veliky Novgorod”, “Graffiti of St. George Cathedral of St. George's Monastery”, “Graffiti of the Church of the Savior on Nereditsa”, “Graffiti inscriptions and drawings in the temples of Veliky Novgorod”.  

A documentary trilogy about Staraya Ladoga was also created, which consists of the documentary films “Capital City”, “Saved Frescoes of Staraya Ladoga. XII century churches”, “Saved Frescoes of Staraya Ladoga. Church of St. George".

The public was impressed with a film series "Russian Fleet off the coast of America". They are about the little-known expedition of the Russian fleet, which contributed to the victory of the North over the South in the US Civil War. It is planned to release the third film in a row from this cycle.  

Video “Children of the besieged Leningrad. Interview with Ninel Viktorovna Krasnolutskaya” added the cycle of thoughtless stories about the siege times. Her most difficult days are described by the writer "Daniil Granin" in the documentary film of the Presidential Library.

The Presidential Chronicle project, which is being implemented in collaboration with the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation, continues to be implemented. Within the framework of the project, the films “Symbols of the Presidential Power”, “Personal Library of the President of the Russian Federation”, “I Appeal to President”, “Archive of the President of the Russian Federation” were prepared. In production - the film "The Moscow Kremlin - the residence of the President of the Russian Federation".

The above-mentioned films are available on the Presidential Library’s portal in the "Audiovisual Materials" section. In addition, documentaries are regularly broadcasted on the library’s portal in the “Live broadcasts” section, including live broadcasts programs.

Today the Presidential Library’s portal provides access to films about the writer Daniil Granin and Russian avant-garde artists, about the restoration of frescoes and Military Chamber, which will house the only Museum of the First World War in Russia. The film “Saved Frescoes of the Church of the Savior on Nereditsa” of the Presidential Library was presented in Moscow at the XI Radiant Angel Charity Film Festival and was highly praised by Patriarch Kirill, who blessed his appearance on the wide screen. In Veliky Novgorod, there was held a presentation of a collection of films by the Presidential Library dedicated to the salvation of frescoes and icons on the formation of the statehood of Russia, which is developing around Novgorod. The Cinema House, within the framework of the international film festival World of Knowledge, annually arranges special screenings of films by the Presidential Library made this year.

The practice of presenting films of our own production at meetings of the Presidential Library’s cinema clubs has developed. Thus, for example, a documentary trilogy about Staraya Ladoga was presented, as well as the film “Graffiti of St. George Cathedral of the St. George Monastery” from a 4-series cycle about graffiti in the temples of Veliky Novgorod, the film “Borderland”, the film “Saved Frescoes of the Christ’s Transfiguration Cathedral of the Mirozhsky Monastery” .

The films are broadcasted on board the aircraft of the Aeroflot airlines, Sapsan trains, branded trains, on the portal of the Ministry of Culture of Russia «Культура.РФ» and etc.