Documentaries About Russia
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- DirectorMikhail KalatozovStory of distant mountainous region in Georgia that depicts folklore, lifestyle and daily routines of Svani people, focuses on the scarcity of salt in Svaneti region. Rich with documentary value, the movie also served for Soviet propaganda.
- StarsLev TolstoyIt is almost like meeting the renowned Russian author to see this film, we get such a splendid view of him as he leaves his fine estate, find ourselves within touch of him almost, and near enough to watch his every motion as he bids his secretary good-bye before getting on the train. The view of the surrounding country and the peasant folk who each and every one get a kind look from the author, are also most interesting.
- DirectorSergey Debizhev100 years of 'revolution' in Russia. 100 years of catastrophe, the consequences of which Russia and the whole world are experiencing to this day. The four empires have disappeared from the map of the world, the channel of history has changed ... Without an objective and balanced assessment of these events, it is impossible to understand today's conflict world order. The picture tells about the causes of the February and October revolutions: the First World War, external and internal conspiracies, which led to the collapse of the monarchy and the entire world order ... The film answers some crucial questions and poses new ones: what kind of future do we want to build, how do we see it, in what historical experience do we seek it? The picture is based on real events, authentic documents, memories and conclusions of the participants in the events .
- 1954–199730mApproved6.7 (64)TV EpisodeDirectorCharles BartonStarsGrant WilliamsRex HillLeon AskinThe story of young Tchaikovsky through the premiere of his "Sleeping Beauty" ballet.
- DirectorTchavdar GeorgievAmanda PopeStarsEdward AsnerSally FieldBen KingsleyRisking being denounced as an 'enemy of the people,' Igor Savitsky rescues 40,000 forbidden fellow artists' works and creates in a far desert of Soviet Uzbekistan a museum now worth millions.
- DirectorMichelle MétivierStarsLeslie CarrollGuy O'SullivanVirginia RoundingShe is famous for having sex with her horse. Now, that may be pure legend, but Catherine the Great did have an outsized libido. She was also smart, ambitious, and a masterful politician. Welcome to the Secret Life of Catherine the Great.
- DirectorYanai ArfiA famous places of pilgrimage is the Russian Orthodox Convent of the Ascension is located in Israel, in the village of A-Tur near a tall tower on Mount Olives next to the old city of Jerusalem. According to Orthodox tradition, this is the holy place where Jesus ascended to heaven 40 days after his resurrection.
- StarsValery GergievAnna NetrebkoEvgeniy NikitinBeautifully crafted, informative documentary series, exploring the musical history of Russia in a five-part series. Beginning with its origins in ancient chants and folk music, stretching through to radical contemporary composers like Schnittke and Gubaidulina. Maestro Valery Gergiev, the reknown Conductor and Artistic Director of the Kirov Mariinski, presents excerpts from the orchestral and vocal legacy of composers such as Mussorgsky, Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Prokofiev and Shostakovich with the Stars, Chorus and Orchestra of The Kirov Marriinski Theatre Ballet and Opera Companies. Part 1: Folk Singer"THE LITTLE BIRCH TREE" is filmed largely in the remote countryside this is an evocation of Russia's rural heart. Part 2: Russian Priest "HOLY MOTHER RUSSIA", how has faith and religion influenced music in this pagan and Christian country? Part 3: "DEVILS", What has been the effect of Russia's cycles of tyranny and violence on its musical heritage? Part 4: Dancer "ONCE UPON A TIME", a look at an archetypal form of Russian culture, the fairy-tale. Part 5: Camel and Rider "LOOKING EAST, LOOKING WEST", the cultural and musical impact of Russia's relationship with her neighbours.
- DirectorMarc TileyStarsAmy BarnesGlynis StewartBranwen SummersLast Russian emperor ('czar') Nicholas and his five kids (weakling heir and four girls) were revered by the simpleton Russian people like saints, until the Great War turned out disastrous and the imperial commander in chief was blamed for national misery. The Menshevik revolution brought peace by capitulation to the German empire and a quiet revolution, the dynasty being 'bannished' to a luxury palace. But Lenin's Bolsheviks seize power and ordered the 'tyrant' imprisoned to desolate, hostile Ekaterinaburg, guarded by a zealot captain. The czar's cousin, the British king, had to abandon an exile hospitality offer due to the czar's German wife, and a spy found a rescue impossible. The family was taken to a woodland meadow and shot. Burning the corpses proved arduous, so two kids were separated, giving rise to the hope they survived, but modern DNA evidence identified all.
- DirectorDimitri DevyatkinStarsAlexis Guy ObolenskyNikola TeslaNikola Tesla and Alexis Guy Obolensky are two American Geniuses. Tesla was born in 1856 in Croatia, one of the greatest inventors of all time; Obolensky was born in Chicago in 1929, a brilliant inventor and visionary. Both dreamed of creating a way to bring free energy to humankind - not requiring any fuel.
- DirectorJoris IvensLewis MilestoneStarsAverell HarrimanJoseph StalinWalter HustonUsing footage taken by Soviet battlefront cameramen, this penetrating documentary about Russian life during World War II is narrated by Walter Huston and features the likes of Joseph Stalin and Marshal Timoshenko. Producers Lewis Milestone, Joris Ivens, and George L. George assembled the film in the U.S., though the advent of the Cold War kept it from being shown for years.
- DirectorOlly LambertStarsBrian CoxOlegar FedoroLarissa KouznetsovaThe Life and Death of Grigori Efimovich Rasputin.
- DirectorPyotr ChardyninVasili GoncharovStarsSofya GoslavskayaPavel KnorrVasili StepanovA significant part of the 1912 production "A Life for the Tsar" was used in this film.
- DirectorBrian McGinnStarsVladimir MukhinRussian chef who searches old history books for authentic Russian food to recreate into modern recipes. Very fierce and ambitious chef who wants to be the best in the world.
- DirectorKim EvansStarsPauline BlackJohn le CarréFred Schepisi
- StarsTim CopeFor young Australian adventurer Tim Cope, this was the journey of a lifetime - travelling 10,000 kms alone on horseback across the Eurasian steppe through Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine and Hungary. From the former Mongol capital Karakorum to the Danube, Tim retraced the path of the first nomads and followed the route taken by legendary Genghis Khan as he forged his great empire. Over three and a half gruelling years, and guided by an old Kazakh wisdom - "to understand the wolf, you must put on the skin of a wolf and look through its eyes" - Tim lived just as the ancient nomads did. The extreme challenges gave Tim empathy and insight into the nomadic way of life, and as a young man growing up, the journey became a personal rite of passage. At the end of his journey, Tim arrived on the Danube having achieved the first crossing of the steppe in modern times.
- StarsLeonard NimoyAnna AndersonTatiana BotkinaDid Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov survive the murder of her Royal Russian family by the Soviet Union and escape to the West?
- DirectorJulia BobkovaStarsMarina BrusnikinaYuriy ButusovLev DodinAn in-depth investigation into the working process of Konstantin Stanislavski, who managed to maintain his inner freedom and true artistry within the harsh boundaries of the Soviet system, all thanks to the power of his prodigious talent.
- DirectorJonathan HalperinShaul SchwarzStarsMark KellyScott KellyBarack ObamaAstronaut Scott Kelly's record-breaking year in space from launch to landing.
- DirectorTony CashStarsMikhail BaryshnikovShirley MacLaineAntoinette SibleyA documentary about renowned ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov.
- DirectorRobert KennerStarsJeremy IronsVasya AgayevAlexander DerevenkoExplores the reign of Nicholas II, Russia's last Tsar.
- DirectorHerman AxelbankStarsMax EastmanGrand Duchess AnastasiaGrand Duchess MariaA narrative of the Russian Revolution.
- StarsPeter GravesGrigory RasputinTsar Nicholas IIExamine the sensational legend and amazing truth of the monk whose pervasive influence over the Russian royal family helped bring about the October Revolution.
- DirectorMike WoolfStarsSergey BrinMike FinckeRenita FinckeThe story of legendary computer game developer Richard Garriott's spaceflight in October 2008.
- DirectorClare DugganThe first Western journalists to film in Russia's secret city in the Ural mountains: a walled city which was so secret it had no name and featured on no maps. It also harbored a huge secret: in the 1950's whilst developing Russia's hydrogen bomb an explosion larger than Chernobyl took place and an area the size of the UK was evacuated in 3 days. This exclusion zone has been studied by Russian scientists for decades. The film makers accompany truck drivers to dump radioactive waste in the most radioactive lake in the world, lake Karachai, where the waste from the explosion was buried. The film uncovers what happened during the explosion and what the consequences are for the people and wildlife today.
- DirectorCharles E. StuartStarsNorman BrokenshireAmerican engineer Charles Stuart travels through Soviet Russia, showing not just the political but the everyday life of the country.
- StarsOliver StoneVladimir PutinSergei ChudinovAcademy Award-winning film-maker Oliver Stone interviews Russian president Vladimir Putin about divisive issues related to U.S.-Russia relations.
- DirectorTheodore HolcombKira MuratovaStarsHarrison SalisburyThe first uncensored documentary about the Soviet Union ever made by an outsider. The film takes viewers to 12 of the 15 states of the former USSR.
- DirectorJessica KellyStarsMarcel TherouxKrishnan Guru-MurthyThe Russian Orthodox Church is at the forefront of a new movement combining religion and nationalism and has forged close ties with President Putin. But is it also responsible for a wave of intolerance?
- DirectorAndrei ZagdanskyStarsVagrich BakhchanyanInna KapinosAleksey ZubkovThe film is a collage, an essay and a documentary in tribute to an avant-garde artist and writer Vagrich Bakhchanyan. Viewers are immersed in the absurd and bitterly funny universe of the artist, as scholars and friends reflect on his life, enigma and the mystique of his connection with Kazimir Malevich's famous "Black Square" - an inception point of Russian avant-garde.
- DirectorRoman KarmenZ. FeldmanStarsC. HenkinsJ. AdamovSophie DesmaretsThe Soviet Union's version of Cinerama where the cameras tour parts of Moscow and show buildings, streets and people. Followed by forests, fields, rivers, a visit by a jet plane to the Ukraine, and an oil town on the Caspian Sea. And farming in Siberia, an agricultural exhibition, the Carpathia Mountains, a ride down a river on a raft, a tour by air of the Causasus, a car trip, a festival and a costume ball.
- DirectorBoris DolinRoman KarmenVasily KatanyanStarsBing CrosbyFollowing an introduction by Bing Crosby, the Cinerama screen widens for scenes of landscapes, cities, peoples, and entertainments of the Soviet Union. Highlights include the historic buildings and churches of Moscow, as the Kremlin; its subway and streets, a spring carnival, the seaside resorts on the Black Sea, a trip down the Voga River, skiers, a troika racing along a snow-covered road, a helicopter view of the North Pole, an Antarctic whale hunt, the capture of a wild boar in the Moyun-Kum of Central Asia, a race by reindeer-drawn sleds, divers in the Sea of Okhotsk, battling an octopus, the capture of antelopes, rafting logs down the Tisza River, and the development of new towns in Siberia. Other scenes include a visit to the Moscow Circus, where the renowned clown Oleg Popov performs, the dancing of the Moiseyev and Piatnitsky companies, and excerpts from the repertoire of the Bolshoi Theater Ballet.
- StarsYuri Gagarin
- DirectorLana MoscowHow life is different in America for Russian and Ukrainian women.
- DirectorEdvins SnoreStarsJon StricklandVladimir BukovskyVladimir LeninThe Soviet Story offers an alternative history of an Allied power, which helped the Nazis to fight Jews and which slaughtered its own people on an industrial scale.
- StarsBob AtchisonMariana FioreJoseph T. FuhrmannExperience the final days of the Romanov dynasty and penetrate the web of intrigue surrounding the murder of the royal family.
- DirectorBill HaysStarsGayle HunnicuttCharles KayBarry FosterThe young Tsarevich Nicholas of Russia finds the idea of succeeding his father an absolute nightmare and spends most of his time trying to forget the matter by amusing himself with his friends and his mistress, the prima ballerina Mathilde Kschessinska. As the reaches the age of 26, his parents decide that he must marry and the Tsarevich reluctantly agrees to the idea only on condition that he can marry the German princess Alexandra of Hesse. Despite his parents' strong disapproval of Alexandra, Nicholas proceeds to propose to her at the wedding of her brother Ernest in Coburg. Meanwhile, in another part of Russia, Nadezhda Krupskaya meets Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, a man who would later become better known as Lenin, for the very first time.
- DirectorVitaly SuminStarsTony GeraceMeet Torey Gerace, vlogger for VM Productions, as he follows the ongoing production adventures of 'Dostoyevsky Reimagined: The Making of Notes from The New World.' Find out about this fascinating project and the trials and tribulations behind bringing Fyodor Dostoyevsky's classic 'Notes From Underground' to cinematic life.
- DirectorJan CornellDon MischerStarsMikhail BaryshnikovThe Bethune BalletDom DeLuiseThe famed dancer encounters various characters in a busy day at work on a movie studio lot.
- StarsVladimir LeninMaxim LitvinovMohammad Reza PahlaviNewsreel footage documents world history and politics from Russia in 1914 to the German invasion in 1941. The Russian Revolution led to the ascent of power by Vladimir Lenin, who promised a Communist utopia. Instead, the Russians were given massive upheavals in society and economy and in 1922, 114 revolutionaries were put on trial for crimes against the Soviet government. Lenin's death in January, 1924, led to a funeral attended by thousands and the takeover by Joseph Stalin. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established diplomatic relations with the Soviets. German footage and newsreels chronicle the German invasion of Russia, from the Battle of Leningrad to the destruction of Kharkov to the Battle of Rostov on 22 November 1941. Further footage reveals the disaster of Lidice in occupied Czechoslovakia and the siege of Sevastopol in the Crimea. When the Russians finally drive the Germans out of Rostov, Iran becomes a focal point. With the assistance of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, British and U.S. ships can deliver supplies to the troops fighting the Nazis. Germany declares war on the United States in December 1941, Lend-Lease shipments travel directly to Russia through Vladivostok and Murmansk. Soviet ambassador Maxim Litvanoff, U.S. Vice President Henry A. Wallace, Lend-Lease administrator Edward Stettinius, T. V. Soong of China, and British ambassador Lord Halifax are seen sampling dehydrated foods to celebrate the anniversary of Lend-Lease. Time after time, the Russians defend a city then flee it, leaving the Germans to find everything destroyed, no loot left behind. The siege of Stalingrad is a horror, but the Russians finally drive away the Germans in February, 1943. This documentary makes plain in a way that succeeding reportage and history lessons did not, that the Russians suffered the bulk of the war and that the Allies could not have won without them.
- DirectorFrançois JacobStarsAnna BaranovaAleksandr KharitonovLev NettoAn intimate portrayal of the closed-off Russian city of Norilsk through the eyes of its youth, mine workers and truth seekers.
- DirectorIan DenyerStarsAnna AndersonMichael CoblePeter Coyote
- A series of documentaries exploring life in the Soviet Union during the glasnost era of the late 1980s.
- DirectorStéphane BenhamouStarsErnest BeauxCoco ChanelPaul WertheimerChanel's No. 5 perfume is a legend. With it, Coco Chanel reinvented perfume just as she revolutionized fashion, by injecting modernity, audacity and freedom. However, the No. 5 story is also one of a war between Miss Chanel and her partners, French businessmen and brothers, Paul Wertheimer and Pierre Wertheimer.
- DirectorAliona van der HorstStarsHarry de WitBoris RyzhyAn investigation into why one of Russia's most promising young poets killed himself at the age of 29.
- DirectorMark AndersonStarsRalph FiennesAlex KingstonLinda KenyonIn the center of film are fates of Nikolay II and his wife Aleksandra Fedorovna, whose sincere love to each other and tragic result of life cause deep sympathy.
- DirectorRyan MillerStarsAnthony BourdainZamir GottaTravis LeakeIn the shadow of Red Square, in the dining room of the historic and luxurious Metropol Hotel, Tony and Zamir sample the famous beluga caviar and catch up on their friendship.
- DirectorPetr HorkyStarsBo Inge AnderssonAlexandr KolesnikovPetr LinhartSwedish manager Bo Inge Andersson comes to the Russian city Toyatti to save the struggling automaker factory. He is asked for a revolution, but what he doesn't know is that nothing should change.
- DirectorGabe PolskyStarsViacheslav FetisovVladislav TretiakScotty BowmanThe story of the Soviet Union's famed Red Army hockey team through the eyes of its players.
- StarsRichard DillaneSteve NicolsonRavil IsyanovThe BBC's Space Race is a documentary/drama chronicling the major events and characters in the American/Soviet space race, leading up to the first moon landing. The series concentrates on Sergei Korolev, the Soviet chief rocket designer, and Wernher von Braun, his American counterpart, as their rivalry intensifies and the pressure to be the first builds.
- StarsEdward HerrmannMichelle MarykRonnie FarerThe history of the Russian Tsars.
- DirectorAlex ChittyStarsBen AndersonAndreas Bakke FossJason LeopoldIn Moscow, VICE co-founder Shane Smith's in depth interview with controversial NSA whistle blower Edward Snowden serves as the backdrop for a story on the state of government sponsored surveillance both at home in the US and around the world.
- CreatorSteve LawrenceStarsJames McAvoySeva NovgorodtsevAntonBorn in the USSR: Up follows the lives of people who grew up in the Soviet Union. They give an insight into Russian life.
- DirectorRobert DornhelmStarsHelena Bonham CarterRobert PicardoFrank WhaleyThe story of the widow of Lee Harvey Oswald, the man accused of shooting President Kennedy. Via flashbacks, the story traces the woman's life from her days in Russia, the turmoil following the assassination, raising her family, and coming to grips with the fact that she too may have been a pawn in a grand conspiracy.
- DirectorSid FederStarsCarey WilsonDocumentary footage of late 1950s Russia covers such cities and towns as Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, Yalta, the Black Sea, Kharkov, Sochi, Sukumi, Gori, Bukhara, Samarkand, Frunzo and Siberia. In Tbilisi, Georgia, cameras capture what the narrator describes as a fight between police and students. Daily Soviet life is represented, from women performing heavy labor to a state-sponsored fashion show. The film also makes note of the Sputnik spaceship launches, depicting Russian university students as future scientists. Scenes include children playing in a park, sailboats cruising the Ukraine, crude shanty towns, a trip through a government-owned grocery store and the cathedrals of pre-Soviet Russia.
- DirectorSergey LoznitsaThe city of Leningrad and the blockade during the Second World War. No words. No music. Only sounds and black and white images of a dying city.
- StarsFrankie BoyleValery RodinSergei KalenikComedian Frankie Boyle visits Russia ahead of the 2018 World Cup. He explores Russian football and culture, and examines the current relationship between Russia and the West following recent controversial geo-political events.
- DirectorPeter Wronski
- DirectorMichael BeckelhimerStarsEkaterina AsmusRussians often declare 'Pushkin is our everything.' After 200 years of regime changes and political upheavals, the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin remains Russian Number One, the common thread that unites Russians of all political stripes. He's been a part of every national debate since his friends revolted against Tsar Nicholas in 1825. Russians on all sides of today's burning issues still use Pushkin as a defender of their cause. Front-page stories about anti-Kremlin demonstrations, anti-American nationalist propaganda, and the rise of the Orthodox Church often reference Pushkin. How did Pushkin become 'everything' to Russians? Director Michael Beckelhimer, a life-long Russophile and Russian expert, travels through Russia to understand how Pushkin attained mythic status, and how he helps Russians today.
- DirectorPeter JarvisStarsFrank BourgholtzerLucy JarvisEdwin NewmanOnce the heart of Soviet Russia and the center of the communist world, The Kremlin embodies the rich and fascinating cultural heritage of Moscow. This was the first time ever that an American film crew was granted permission to enter and discover the rich treasures and history of the government and system whose ideology swept through half the modern world during the 20th century. From its early beginnings to its present base of power, this fascinating look at the Kremlin comes to us from award-winning filmmaker Lucy Jarvis and is told through actual Kremlin officials.
- DirectorSonja VesterholtStarsVadim ZnamenovLydia LevchenkoBent JensenPortrait of Grand Duchess Olga Romanov (1882-1960), youngest daughter of Czarina Maria Fyodorovna and the Russian Czar Aleksandr III. Olga was the Russia's last Grand Duchess.
- DirectorRussell BarnesStarsDavid ReynoldsThis is an interesting documentary about Stalin, his rise to power, and the invasion of the USSR by Germany in WWII. It's split into two parts, the first a general overview of the early history. The second part is the details of WWII and after. David Reynolds does an excellent job of explaining what happened with snippets from diaries, letters and other contemporaneous accounts. Well-assembled historical work.
- DirectorSergey DebizhevThe film tells about Marina Albi, a famous American woman who has been living for twenty years in Russia. She undertakes a spiritual trip to the Russian province to find 'the Heart of Russia'. It is with her eyes that we see the beauties and the joys of small Russian towns and villages, as well as their sufferings and problems. The goal of her trip is to find explanations: "What is one's own life?" "How to live one's own life?" In the end of the film, she meets someone and this great meeting reveals to her simple and great truths.