Culture

Intellectuals are excited that this winter’s protests are a sign Russia could finally be turning into a democratic state. Andrei Konchalovsky urges them to look back into the country’s past and see how far Russians still must travel to become normal Europeans. The protesters must show caution, he argues, or risk the kind of bloodshed that has accompanied other attempts to modernise the country.

A British theatre company has brought a play about final hours of Sergei Magnitsky’s life to the London stage. Irina Shumovich reviews “One hour eighteen minutes”.

This year marked the seventy year anniversary of the Siege of Leningrad, which saw three quarters of a million of the city’s residents perish during 872 days of cold and hunger. For years, little was written about what was a hollow and Pyrrhic victory for the Soviet authorities; later the realities of the siege were glorified to fit within a heroic narrative. Only today are we beginning to read the truth, writes Anna Reid.

Before Soviet rule, Georgian capital Tbilisi had none of the towering blocks, highways and marble palaces that today stand as symbols to a fallen, rejected regime. Why, therefore have Georgia’s young leaders chosen to continue this imposing neo-classical language in their own buildings, asks Pawel Wargan?

The lengthy and vastly expensive restoration of Moscow’s famous Bolshoi Theatre comes to fruition on 28 October, when there will be an invitation-only gala performance in the presence of President Medvedev. Costs have soared, end dates have been extended and accusations of inefficiency (and corruption) have been rife. The theatre may be opening its doors again, but can it ever be a theatre for all, as it was in Soviet times? Clementine Cecil looks at some of the facts.

Russian political observers have been titillated by Medvedev’s announcement that he will not be running for president. But what were they expecting? Andrei Konchalovsky was under no illusions: plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

Alla Pugacheva has ruled Russian pop for more than 40 years, surviving criticism and change while endearing herself to ordinary Russians. Her recent foray into politics, supporting the billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov and ‘Just Cause’ was less successful, but she will rise above the problems, just as she always has, writes Mikhail Loginov

Hidden from view for decades, two large caches of Soviet wartime posters have recently emerged from the archives of the Chicago Art Institute and British Communist Party. Clementine Cecil reviews the striking, beautiful and often belligerent collections.

Feted by everyone from politicians to prostitutes, the prospect of co-hosting the Euro 2012 football championships has become something of a substitute national idea for Ukraine. Such a pity, therefore, that it has done nothing to heal the population's deep divisions, or rein in an increasingly corrupt, authoritarian regime.

Marat Gelman is a well-known Moscow cultural figure. In 2008 he went to curate the Museum of Contemporary Art in provincial Perm, where his ideas for a cultural revolution have encountered considerable local opposition. Arguments about art soon developed into a fully-fledged political battle, recounts Elena Fedotova

Former spin-doctor and gallery owner Marat Gelman has arrived in Perm with a plan to bring "cultural revolution" to the city. Not all locals are happy with the results of his endeavours, reports Roman Yushkov.

What happens to a writer when he is no longer surrounded by his own language and reality? Emigres, exiles use a kind of cunning to adapt and continue functioning as writers, but they have to make so many adjustments that some fall silent. Oleg Yuriev examines some famous literary exiles to consider his own position and attitudes to literature in his former country.

When Sergei Sobyanin was appointed Mayor of Moscow in October last year, many residents had come to loathe his predecessor Yuri Luzhkov’s ability to trade historic architecture for nepotistic building contracts. Sobyanin’s early talk on architectural preservation was tough, reports Clementine Cecil, but is he delivering on his promises?

From self-styled “great Russian poet” to conceptual performance artist, Dmitri Prigov (1940 – 2007) was a nonconformist Renaissance man who survived institutionalisation in a Soviet asylum and died on the day he was due to collaborate with the Voina collective, enfants terribles of the new generation. As an exhibition in Venice showcases his work this summer, Yelena Fedotova explores why Prigov is a rare Soviet-era artist whose reputation is continuing to grow.

Director Andrei Konchalovksy and film critic Professor Ian Christie continue a fascinating conversation. In this second part: censorship, the Communists, corruption and civilisation. Part one can be found here

From subversive Soviet art films to Hollywood blockbusters, biting satires on postcommunist Russia to a recent 3D fantasy, director Andrei Konchalovsky has produced an extraordinary and diverse body of work. Ian Christie, meanwhile, is an acknowledged authority on world cinema and Professor of Film at Birkbeck University. At openDemocracy’s request, the two met in London. The conversation, which ranged from Konchalovsky himself to the ethics of art, is an absorbing one. Part 1 of 2.

A recent documentary, “The Desert of Forbidden Art”, tells of a cultural and social phenomenon hidden in the deserts of Uzbekistan. The museum has miraculously preserved rich collections of Soviet avant-garde art, but will it be able to survive under new – completely different, but no less threatening – conditions? The film also illuminates the relationship between the state and the individual, writes Masha Karp

Igor Kon, one of Russia’s leading intellectuals and one of the founding fathers of Soviet sociology, has died aged 82. He was a veritable polymath whose interests ranged from history to sexology, a branch of science he set up in Russia, often in the teeth of considerable harassment and opposition. Lyubov Borusyak worked with him during the last two and half years of his life and pays this personal tribute to his achievements.

Ukrainian identity has historically been defined in opposition to Russia, but an anti-Russian agenda is unable to bind together a state with a large ethnic Russian population. With the Yanukovych administration now taking a neo-Stalinist approach to history and education, airbrushing out nationalist heritage, David Marples asks: where does Ukraine go from here?

The Cossacks have played an important part at various times in Russian history. Now their ranks are diluted by intermarriage and the admission of non-Cossacks. Elena Strelnikova ponders the attempts to keep Cossack traditions alive in Orenburg, South Russia.