New Left Review I/221, January-February 1997

Ludmila Bulavka

Nikita Mikhalkov and Burnt by the Sun: A Monarchist Film-Maker Confronts Humane Socialism

Despite the deep hostility of present-day Russian film-makers to the concept of socialism, a considerable number of films about the Soviet past have been made in Russia during the past decade. For the most part, the directors of these films have sought to outdo one another in depicting the agonies of Soviet history. But while the horrors have been shown in abundance, there has been little effort in post-Soviet cinematography to present a genuine critique of Stalinism. The aggressive and usually undiscriminating abuse hurled at the record of the Soviet period has served variously to strengthen social nihilism and cynicism, and to reinforce a wave of neo-Stalinist sentiment.

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