Here are two very different films. Both have taken aspects of Soviet History and use it to send a particular message. In the first film: "The Fall of Berlin", the Stalinist film maker portrays Stalin's heroic role in defeating the Nazis. Stalin is shows as the great saviour of the Soviet Union. It is slightly bizarre to see Hitler speaking Russian, but interesting how the whole affair is portrayed - Hitler's marriage during the fall of Berlin is of particular interest, as is the scene where a dying Russian soldier begs his comrade to raise his flag on the Reichstag as well.
In the second film, produced under Gorbachev's rule, the Communist regime comes under direct fire - the director criticises the brutal repressions of Stalin and his descendants. Such a film would never have seen the light of day before 1984. Both films offer an interesting insight into the ways in which history was used and manipulated in the Soviet Union. Indeed one of Gorbachev's first concerns when he came to reform the Soviet Union was to rewrite the history of the Communist Party in Russia to show its excesses. Of course this is no different to the way in which Stalin tried to rewrite Russian history in his own image, or how Vladimir Putin has attempted to resurrect Stalin's memory in modern history textbooks!!
In the second film, produced under Gorbachev's rule, the Communist regime comes under direct fire - the director criticises the brutal repressions of Stalin and his descendants. Such a film would never have seen the light of day before 1984. Both films offer an interesting insight into the ways in which history was used and manipulated in the Soviet Union. Indeed one of Gorbachev's first concerns when he came to reform the Soviet Union was to rewrite the history of the Communist Party in Russia to show its excesses. Of course this is no different to the way in which Stalin tried to rewrite Russian history in his own image, or how Vladimir Putin has attempted to resurrect Stalin's memory in modern history textbooks!!
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