May 21, 2021Don’t Leave Them AloneThe war veterans deserve our care and love. — ∘ Kalatozov’s The Cranes Are Flying (1957) ∘ Pandemic and Veterans in Russia ∘ Pandemic and Veterans in Los Angeles, California (USA) ∘ Soldiers Angels in Vancouver (WA) and Portland (OR) Kalatozov’s The Cranes Are Flying (1957) The Cranes Are Flying was a visual love song dedicated to all young couples whose connection with nature and…Russian8 min readRussian8 min read
May 16, 2021Putin’s Palace (2021). Watch Your Back.Understandably, it is a luxury of sorts for us simple mortals to watch a newly released Russian documentary film about Mr. Putin’s palace, but we find time. To date, it’s been watched 116,702,430 times by those on both sides of the aisle. The disparity between poverty and wealth has been…Putins Palace3 min readPutins Palace3 min read
May 3, 2021Remembering Forgotten Ancestors: Armenian Genocide RecognizedSarkis Hovsepi Parajaniants (a.k.a. Sergei Parajanov, 1924–1990) was an eccentric Armenian film director, born and raised in the USSR. He was imprisoned more than one time for his work but it did not change or stop him. Parajanov’s contribution to the world of Russian cinema was significant only for those…Parajanov4 min readParajanov4 min read
Apr 23, 2021Do Not Cross “The Red Line,” or else…Putin will show you Mother of KuzkaShortly after the Caribbean crisis (The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962), Stanley Kubrick made his much-loved black comedy masterpiece, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964). The film was inspired by the book Red Alert (1958), by Peter George. Both the book and the…Putins Union Address3 min readPutins Union Address3 min read
Apr 4, 2021Russian Icons & FilmUnderstanding Russian people and their ways of living could help to decipher the true meaning of some, if not all Russian films. There are a few things that are representative of all things Russian (in the context of Christian faith) and Russian Icons are certainly one of them. The word…Russian Icons5 min readRussian Icons5 min read
Feb 2, 2021About Russian CinemaThis is a definite digression from the actual art of the phi phenomena (the visual illusion at its best) to some almost random (mostly subjective) reflections and insights on specific examples of the Russian cinema (certain individual films and the making of them) in a non-chronological order. Our understanding of…Russian Cinema2 min readRussian Cinema2 min read
