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Two additional posts were written by Brennan Hylla. He added them to his personal blog and they can be read here.

By Michael Martin

I thought that I should be the one to write about the “Russian Train” topic, because even though we all went to Moscow on an overnight train from Saint Petersburg, I was the only one also riding back to Saint Petersburg on a train, but this time, during the day. We did not talk much about trains during the course or over the trip, but still, I think that trains are interesting. We have trains in America of course, but I do not think that most people use them that much or think about them that much. I mean, people use the trains in America, but I think that they are a much smaller part of the story of how people get around there. We have a pretty good interstate road system that people use to drive themselves from one part of the country to another. Then of course there are planes which is how most people in America go from one part of the country to another.

In Russia, however, it is often cheaper and easier to go by train. For one thing, in the big cities like Saint Petersburg and Moscow at least, a lot of people do not have cars. Public transportation is good enough, and the roads are bad enough, that it just does not make any sense for most people to even own a car. So they are not driving between the cities so that they can bring their cars with them, like many people do in America. There is not a lot of difference in price between a plane ticket and a train ticket, but the train is the much more comfortable method of travel. The train may rock a bit, but so do planes and there is no turbulence on a train. There is also no ear popping from quick pressure changes. The overnight trains also have the added benefit of being able to lay down and get some proper sleep (depending on how loudly your cabin mates snore, sorry guys!), which can also be seen as saving one night’s accommodation. The train may take longer than a plane, but if you consider having to get to the airport early, checking in, possible delays, and this sort of thing, you will that the time basically evens out.

I found this website, https://www.seat61.com/Russia-trains.htm. According to its guide to “Moscow to Saint Petersburg by train,” Moscow to St Petersburg is the most popular route in Russia. Well we did the opposite, Saint Petersburg to Moscow. Probably still pretty popular. The beds and the dining car were a nice change of pace from the cramped seats of airplanes, or the huddled masses of people, not all of whom bathe on a regular basis, of the city metros. Speaking of bathing, the train had showers! I did not use it because it felt like too much of a hassle right before we were all about to walk around outside all day, but it is nice to have the option.

There were the other trains too, of course. First there was the trip to Masha’s dacha. This train was much simpler. It was not going anywhere overnight, our trip was about an hour, and it was pretty much straight to the point. The seats were not particularly comfortable, but they served their purpose, like the train itself. I was able to get a few pictures of Russian countryside. Then there was the train back to Saint Petersburg. It was somewhere between the other two in terms of comfort and general niceness. The seats were like airplane seats, but with a little more leg room. There was a bit of confusion boarding. I was told a seat number by the lady scanning passports, but someone else was in that seat. A few others were in the situation too, including an older lady who really looked like she needed to sit. We stood and waited for them to figure it out, and eventually they put us all in the next forward car, which actually looked a little bit nicer. I do not know if this disorganization is a Russian thing, or a company thing or what, but it felt a bit unprofessional. The train employees were great about it, and dealing with me not understanding them, but how do mistakes like that happen? I got a few pictures out the windows of that train also.

Some people say that riding the train in Russia is part of the “Russian experience.” I don’t know about that, but it is something a lot of Russians do, so maybe. I do not think there was anything in particular about the trains that influenced my perceptions of Russian culture. Perhaps just that it was another setting to interact with Russian people. The more I do that, the more I feel like even though there are unique aspects of Russian culture and people, just like there are with all cultures and people, they are not so very different, enigmatic, or mysterious.

By Michael Martin

The 22nd of May 2018. It was day 18 of our Russian study abroad trip. We went to see Vladimir Lenin. It was interesting to visit not only an important historical figure’s grave, but to see the person’s body, or what is left of it, preserved for the purpose (I have to assume) of allowing us, the visitors, the tourists, the students, and maybe even some Russian people, the opportunity to witness this great leader of Russia, just as he was when he was alive… or as close as possible. Such an attraction leaves one with many things to think about.

First, who was Vladimir Lenin? Born Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, he was a hugely influential figure in Russian history. He was the leader of Russian Revolution and the first leader of the Soviet Union. He and his ideas helped take Russia from a monarchy, to Communist superpower, to what it is today.

So why keep him preserved like that? No one else is afforded this honor, if you want to call it that. I have heard some people (not Russians) say that it is disrespectful to keep him like this. That they should just let him be buried already, leave his body alone, let him decompose and return to earth, and that sort of thing. I do not know the exact process, but to keep preserved like that somebody has to touch him. They have to manipulate his body, put stuff into it, maybe take things out, he is probably naked during some parts of the process. Many things have to be done that would normally be considered “defiling a dead body” in almost any other circumstance. If the idea is to honor a hero, is this really the way to do it?

There is another part of this that I do not think is discussed enough. Looking at him, I remember thinking that he did not look real. He looked like a wax dummy. A really well done wax dummy, but still, a wax dummy. A few other students said the same thing. I have seen dead bodies before, both in funerals and unfortunately, not in funerals. There is a similar thought looking at any deceased person, no matter how recent or how well preserved they are. So why go through all this trouble? Why not put him to rest, and make a wax dummy that people can see?

I have tried asking a few Russian people about their thoughts on the subject. There seems to be a mix of a little bit of nostalgia as a lot of older Russians do miss the Soviet Union, a little bit of “this is the way it is and has been,” (the Russians do seem to like their traditions), but mostly it seems as though most of the Russian people do not really even think about it at all.

Maybe it is just a draw for tourist revenue. Maybe it is a form of “honor” that I just do not understand. Earlier in the trip, I tried to argue that Russia is unique to the East and the West, and ended up with the conclusion that they are not so very different. But perhaps in this way they are, because this is just not something that people do in civilized society. I am not trying to say that Russians are uncivilized, but this practice of preserving and displaying Lenin’s body feels rather uncivilized.

There were no pictures allowed to be taken inside, but I took some pictures of the building outside, there is also a picture of Lenin from British newspaper, The Guardian, taken from this website: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/jun/15/lenin-body-moscow-burying-news.

While in St. Petersburg we had the opportunity to take a cooking class. We learned how to make traditional Russian pancakes- блины, and dumplings- пельмени, these usually have meat- pork, veal, and beef, but for vegetarians we made вереники, which were filled with potatoes and onions. Блины are typically served with either sweat toppings like cottage cheese and jam or savory toppings like cabbage and eggs. Блины are also are a very common food in Russia. Tea, чай, was served and is commonly served  as well.

Our mountain of блины

блины cooking

I find great comfort in cooking and had so much fun learning about Russian traditional food and culture. Food brings people together no matter where you are or where you are from and I had so much fun with my classmates learning how to cook some Russian food. I had some previous perceptions about Russian food. Mainly that there’d be a lot of pickles, cabbage and beets. In reality yes there are the previously mentioned foods but a lot of other things- sour cream, dill, potatoes and more. I honestly didn’t have high expectations. I actually really liked some Russian food. There are Russian doughnuts (пышки), and rolls filled with cabbage and others with mashed potatoes- if that doesn’t sound good I don’t know what does. Borscht (борщ) a traditional beet soup is delicious and can easily be made at home and vegetarian. Russian food gets a bad rap- but if you try it you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Below is a recipe for блины that is easy and delicious for everyone to try.

I guess that my point is where ever you go- even if the food is far from familiar you can always expirence another culture’s food and traditions and learn from it/them. You may not like everything but you’ll learn more about the people and customs. It is important to not look at everything through your own culture’s point of view- nothing is “better” or ” worse” it simply is. Each culture has their own customs, traditions, or habits. Through looking at it this way you can question your own culture and why you do the things that you do. Further you can expand your mind and learn about another way of life- one that you can learn and adapt from.  For example Russians often toast before drinking and often don’t wear shoes inside- instead they wear slippers known as тапочки.

Russia was a truly interesting place and I found that making and eating Russian food opened another window into their culture.

Here you can see us making пельмени and блины:

A basic very casual recipe for блины:

one cup/glass of flour

one egg

** tip from our instructor: crack the egg into a small bowl first, that way you can check that the egg is good ( if its not and you cracked it into the batter you’d have to start again:(  ) and that way you can easily remove egg shells too.

a good amount of sugar

salt- to taste

one cup/ or glass (same size as one for flour) of milk

whisk together… the batter needs to be thin. If it needs to be more thin, then keep adding milk.

Heat the burner to  high heat and add oil to a flat bottom pan.

After the oil begins to smoke a little grab a ladle and pour a small amount of the batter into the pan. Distribute the batter evenly. This should be a thin layer of batter.

It should cook quickly. You can tell that it is done by a dry appearance- and through my expirence when bubbles start to show up.

Flip it over and leave it for a very short amount of time, somewhere around 5 seconds. The goal is golden brown.

After,  eat it however you want, I recommend jam and sour cream, Enjoy!

The Hermitage is a giant complex of museums containing the winter palace originally built for Peter the Great’s daughter, Elizabeth. Elizabeth died before the building was finished but was used by others- such as Catherine the Great. The art collection was started by Catherine the Great and has continued to grow. Interestingly Catherine purchased art that was originally intended for Fredrick II from Prussia.  Most of the art isn’t on display. It is the biggest museum of art in Russia and one of the biggest in Europe. There are 5 buildings in total (Winter Palace, Large Hermitage, Small Hermitage, New Hermitage, and the theatre). The Hermitage contains 233, 345 square feet of museum, and 1, 013, 653 pieces of art. It’s honestly mind blowing.

The Hermitage is the kind of  place I had only dreamed of going. It is a beautiful building filled with beautiful art created by masters- Matisse, Picasso,  Van Gogh, Renoir, Vallotton, Degas, Monet, Rousseau, Michel Angelo, DaVinci, and more. Yes, you can Google this art and see pictures of it- but standing in front of a masterpiece, something I had only seen in textbooks and seeing the texture of the paint and the detail is simply unreal. It is seeing a piece of notable history- something that is read about, talked about, and analyzed to this day years after it was created. It is an honor.

It is an overload of beautiful art. This is due to the building being is art itself. The Hermitage is full of ornate rooms gilded with gold and with incredible murals and detail. One can see a throne room and then go see a Da Vinci- talk about an expirence.

Not only is the building and the art beautiful, the location of the building is incredibly scenic. The Hermitage sits on the Neva river. So whilst in a beautiful room looking at wonderful art one can look out a window to an amazing view of the Neva river or the palace square which is also a beautiful view.

I had no idea that Saint Petersburg was a city of ornate beautiful palaces or that it has one of the biggest art museums in Europe. So in that way, my view point of Russia changed. I knew Peter wanted a western city so I expected more Italian architecture. I also knew it was a city rich in history and further I knew Russia had an abundant culture but I wasn’t expecting a gilded, canal filled, pastel colored city. Others assured me it was a cold grey block city, remnants of the soviet union- a result of a horrible stereotype and I hope that I can show them otherwise. Saint Petersburg is a more diverse city than I thought and a more picturesque city than expected. However, in general I don’t think Russia is much different in terms of museums- don’t get me wrong- the Hermitage is unique but there are several other very large museums that hold similar masterpieces. What sets it apart, from what I can tell, is the building itself. Each room is a historic piece and an art piece and is a must see if one is in St. Petersburg.

Walking through the Hermitage it gave a window into the past- of what life must have been like for Catherine the Great and those who lived there.

** you can click on any of the pictures to see a bigger size. The following are just a few examples, if you have the desire to see more of the buildings or the art you can see their online collection  via the Hermitage website:

http://hermitage–www.hermitagemuseum.org/wps/portal/hermitage/explore/artworks/?lng=en

The Dancer – Degas
One of my favorite pieces of art that I saw

Cites used:

http://www.saint-petersburg.com/virtual-tour/hermitage/

http://hermitage–www.hermitagemuseum.org/wps/portal/hermitage/explore/history/?lng=en

http://www.hermitagemuseumfoundation.org/the-museum/history/

The venue for this activity was a little ways away from the dorms we were staying at. To get to the building the ball was being held at we had to take the subway, walk through a little suburb type area and then through a park. The ball was in a building kind of in the middle of nowhere all by itself. The normal building was under reconstruction or restoration, so they were holding it here. We had a few extra people join our group in order to make a participant requirement. We started by having to take our shoes off and put on these thin flat shoes. Then the boys and girls were separated to get their outfits on. The girls were taken into a room with racks of poofy dresses. We had to put on the hoop skirt and all. Then the ladies that worked there assessed our dress sizes by looking at us and pointing us in a direction. Once we picked out our dresses and were zipped in, we got gloves and head accessories.

The dressing up was easily the best part. We were then led downstairs again to the ballroom where we took so many pictures. It’s not every day that you get to dress up in ball gowns! Once the boys joined us in their costumes, our instructor joined us. He did not speak English, so this woman had to translate for us, but he was very passionate about the dancing and customs.

He taught us three or four different dances and they ranged from very slow and simple to fast paced and more complex like the polka. It was a ton of fun. We had to switch partners and go around in a big circle. Then we learned the language of the fans. Different fan colors as well as different gestures have different meanings. Some of the gestures include twirling it, putting it over certain body parts, and holding it in different hands. It is a rather complex system for having a fan be the only thing that conveys meaning. Then all of the ladies in the group got white fans and we learned dances where we used the fans as props, it was also really hot in that room, so we did use the fans as fans. After we finished learning all of the dances, we took more photos and then the boys and girls went our separate ways to change back into our normal clothes.

Reference for photo – www.fancircleinternational.org

Overall I thought this experience was amazing. This activity was so cool and unlike anything I have ever done and probably will do again. Dressing up in the ballgowns was so cool and it was so interesting to have to wear a dress that big and have to be so aware of your surroundings. That wasn’t something that I had ever considered before. Learning the dances was very interesting and finding out that there is a fan language. I would definitely recommend this for anyone going to Saint Petersburg. It was just very unique and the people that worked there seemed to really love their jobs and they seemed to be incredibly knowledgeable about all of that stuff. It was just such an awesome experience and I cannot stress that enough.

Refernces

http://www.angelpig.net/victorian/fanlanguage.html

https://janeaustensworld.wordpress.com/tag/language-of-the-fan/

Saint Isaac’s Cathedral is located in Saint Petersburg. When it was first constructed it was the central and largest cathedral in Russia. It holds some of the most beautiful artwork, statues, and granite columns. It also offers an unparalleled view of the city. The cathedral was built in the honor of Peter the Great’s patron saint: Saint Isaac.

Saint Isaac’s Cathedral was turned into a museum around the 1930s, it was used as a Soviet Union tactic to disprove religion. The cathedral later reopened as a place of worship after the fall of communism in Russia. Our tour guide Sergei, described during the tour how he visited the cathedral when it was a museum. He showed us where the Foucault pendulum used to be held. The pendulum was used as a communist tactic to dispel religion. The Foucault pendulum proved that the earth was not the center of the universe. This pendulum was removed during the reopening of the cathedral.

When I first entered Saint Isaac’s Cathedral, I was blown away. Its use of vibrant colors to illustrate the heavens and story of the bible were breathtaking. I have never seen granites, marbles, and malachites used in a place of worship before. The tall pillars of malachite enhanced the overall beauty of the cathedral. Along with the viewing of the interior, my tour group and I were able to go on top of the cathedral. It was a long climb up, but extremely worth it. Walking alongside the dome of St. Issac one can see a 360 degree view of Saint Petersburg. Getting to see both the city and Moyka River was an incredible experience that I will never forget.

While in Moscow, we visited the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. It is a Russian Orthodox cathedral with an interesting past. The cathedral is actually a remake and was constructed in 2000.  The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour was demolished in 1931 under the reign of communism. Its demolition was ordered by Joseph Stalin in 1931. Between 1931 and 2000 the ground the church used to stand on was planned to be made into a giant house for the Soviets and a place to do governmental/legislative work. Due to World War II this building was never finished. It was also at one time a public swimming pool named “Moskva Pool.” The most fascinating part of this cathedral is centered around how it received funding for its reconstruction. It was done with the help of donations for Russian citizens. The cathedral was thus able to be made anew. The amount of time and money that goes into the creation of these buildings is astounding. Seeing the Russian collectivist notion of coming together for a common good can be realized in the reestablishment of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.

It was also very interesting to note the differences between Russian Orthodox religion to other forms of Christianity. In the religion they value suffering as a way to be close to God. For instance, none of the Russian Orthodox cathedrals have chairs to sit on. The cathedral attendees must stand for hours during the ceremony and preaching. The crosses were also different. For example, in Russian Orthodoxy there are three horizontal lines, instead of the usual one. The last line is slanted and according to Sergei it is supposed to represent how one of the two men crucified with Jesus were saved (the slanted line is pointing up in the direction of heaven) and the one who chose to not accept Christianity  is slanted down pointing towards hell. The very top line has an inscription that usually translates to “King of the Jews.” Visiting these monumental and stunning cathedrals truly displayed how some Russians deeply value Russian Orthodoxy and show the differences with varying forms of Christianity. 

http://www.saint-petersburg.com/cathedrals/st-isaacs-cathedral/

Sergei

Saint Isaac’s Cathedral Tour

Cathedral of Christ the Saviour Tour

http://www.moscow.info/orthodox-moscow/cathedral-christ-saviour.aspx

The day started early in the morning. We had to take the subway to get to the train. The train ride itself was about an hour, but there were some cool things to see. There was tons of graffiti art on the walls surrounding the railroad tracks and this man who played the harmonica was walking around.  Once we got off the train at the station, it was very apparent that we were no longer in the city. There was lots of green space. We arrived at a church that sat outside of the train station. The church was surrounded by lilac bushes and pigeons. After we looked around at the church for a few minutes, we had about a fifteen minute walk through the rows of dachas.

Masha’s family’s dacha was huge. There were like three or four buildings on the property and tons of space for planting stuff. When we arrived, we were greeted by Masha’s family – her mom, dad, and son. The first activity we did was to make borscht, both with meat and vegetarian and we got a mini tour of the main house. It had a few bedrooms and lots of family heirlooms.  After the borscht was finished cooking and we ate, we played a trivia game with a ball where we could win chocolate.  Then we painted our own matryoshka dolls! This, in my opinion, was the highlight of the day. They all turned out so good and everyone’s dolls looked so different and creative! We probably spent at least an hour doing it.

Next we made our dinner. It was pelmeni, both with meat and vegetarian again, and this lemon chicken, called shashlik in Russian, that was made over a little fire. I was pretty skeptical about this chicken, but it turned out to be amazing. It had some onions and a little bit of garlic. We were all so hungry by the time dinner was ready, that we ate almost everything. Then Masha tried to get us to sing some songs in Russian while her dad played the accordion. The lyrics jumped around, but that was still an experience.

After dinner, we started playing some games that I am pretty sure Masha made up. It was like charades with a jump rope and teams. It was pretty weird, but I was pleasantly surprised at how long we could jump rope as a team. Then we had to learn these “dances.” I put that in quotes because I am also semi-sure that Masha made them up. They were pretty fun but they were pretty fast and I struggled with them just a tad.

By this time it started getting dark and the bugs were getting way worse. We had been plagued with mosquitoes all day and we tried using bug spray to no avail.  The sun was starting to get lower and the bugs were really coming out. The hosts made us tea and had some candy on the table. We kind of had to speed through that because it was starting to get late and we had to catch our train. They ended up driving us back to the station just because we were running out of time, which was very nice of them, especially because of the bugs. We finally made it to that station and got back on our train. By the time we made it to the station we were all exhausted.

The dacha was really fun overall and the food was really good. They said that all of the produce was from their gardens which is really cool. Painting the dolls was definitely the best part of the day. It was nice to have a chill day where we didn’t have to do too much stuff. I really liked this experience.

Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery

Katie Cook

Today was our first sight of rain in St. Petersburg. It was metaphoric in a way, we are always taught in school that rain brings about change, and in this case, I believe it brings a rebirth. The sweltering heat of days previous would not have been appropriate for the solemn scenery of the memorial. I like to think the sun represented the unbearable suffering that burned in St. Petersburg during the siege of Leningrad, but the rain, it brought a calmness and peace to the land. The sky was grey, but the grass was a fresh, lush green that starkly contrasted its surroundings. The dew gave a lovely sheen to the grass and trees — it felt as if it was an early morning sunrise, rather than the afternoon.

Over the course of WWII, no country suffered as much loss as the Soviet Union. They lost 11 million soldiers, and as least as many civilians, though these numbers range anywhere from 7 million civilian casualties to 20 million. The siege of Leningrad was the most brutal battle of the war, lasting nearly 900 days and claimed over a million civilian lives. With this in mind, the monument stands as a huge testament to the bravery and perseverance of not only Soviet soldiers, but people as well.

As you approach the memorial, the motherland welcomes you with open arms, as if she was asking you to pass over her children, to lay flowers and give thanks. This place was more than a place of remembrance, but one of self-reflection as well. I walked through the path of trees and felt an overwhelming sadness, but soon it gave way to such an overwhelming sense of happiness that I began to cry; in this moment I understood the phrase, “joy with tears.” I was happy because I felt such peace in this place. Everything was still, and I had the impression of a relieving sigh hanging overhead like a breath of fresh air and the beauty of spring. The air smelled sweet and the trees laced within each other creating the perfect path of solitude. Indeed, I thought anyone could be at peace here, simultaneously feeling connected to both one’s self and others that they had never even known. I had no conception of nationality or the decades that separated me from those buried here; simply that all humans are the same in that they understand the precious gift of life and the desire to hold on to it.

The only disturbance to the silence was the sound of birds. People strolled this way and that, but no one dared to speak, as if it was an insult to the memory of others. Though, what words could be said? In such grave contemplation, no words would do justice, only poetry seems profound enough, because it is like a song and only music can portray the indescribable and unspeakable. I thought of Anna Akhmatova’s poem about the war:

Nikto nam ne khotel pomoch’
Za to, chto my ostalis’ doma,
Za to, chto, gorod svoi liubia,
A ne krylatuiu svododu,
My sokhranili dlia sebia
Ego dvortsy, ogon’ i vodu.

(No one wanted to help us
Because we stayed home,
Because, loving our city
And not winged freedom,
We preserved for ourselves
Its palaces, its fire and water.)

These people had hopes and dreams all rooted within this city. They dared not abandon it because the thought that it could be taken away and destroyed in an instant was inconceivable. It is a truly humbling experience, realizing how easily it could have been you lying beneath this grass. You, or your mother, or your father, or your sisters, or your brothers, or your dearest friend. My chest was tight as I thought of the love I held for my family and how that was stripped away for so many lying right beneath my feet. Who am I to be able to walk here, to reap the benefits of their perseverance and strength? A strength I myself don’t think I could have kept in their same circumstance. To think one man’s selfish war could have destroyed the love of so many is despicable to say the least, but as I said before, what words can even be used to portray such deep feelings of sorrow and humility?

If you ever find yourself in St. Petersburg, I beg you take the trek to this memorial. Though it may seem a grim thought, you will realize the depth of emotion goes so much farther than that. It is more than a memory of people you didn’t know, but a reminder of how lucky we are to live such privileged lives. Truly, I am humbled and I hope one day I can stroll those peaceful paths again with the people I love.

Sources:

http://www.eisenhowerinstitute.org/about/living_history/wwii_soviet_experience.dot

https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/siege-of-leningrad

As a part of the Russian Study Abroad Trip, our group toured Mosfilm. It is the largest film studio in both Russia and Europe. The tour included a comprehensive display and explanation of different sets, props, cars, and history of the studio. According to our tour guide it was founded in 1920 and the first film was released in 1924. The film studio produced films during both major wars and consequently has never halted production. According to Mosfilm, it was imperative to keep making films whether it be as war propaganda or enjoyment for the citizens of Russia. Mosfilm is still to this day the leading film company in Russia.

On the tour we looked at vintage cars and carriages. The tour guide told us that any director/filmmaker of the studio can come and use whatever props they see fit for their film. It was interesting to see how a prop could be used in a variety of ways. For instance, the same piece of pottery could be seen in both a science fiction film and in a period piece. We were also able to see costumes, wigs, and makeup prosthetics. Mosfilm has a wide array of military costumes and regal wear. Most of the regal wear was used throughout the film Anna Karenina.

The tour also involved the showcase of a backlot, set, and green-screen. The backlot was a reproduction of the streets of Moscow and old Saint Petersburg. The buildings were made to look old and built of stone, when in reality they were made of a cheap and inexpensive material. After we viewed the backlot, we were taken to the main production lot. The tour guide took us to one of the smaller sets. The set was of a church and we were able to see the immense detail that goes into the creation of a stage set. From the fake candelabra and recreation of old cathedral artwork, the set looked exactly like the inside of a tiny Russian church.

We were then taken to one of the bigger rooms on the production lot: the green-screen room. It was a giant room painted neon green. The room is primarily used for post production work. Here filmmakers can put visual effects and virtual backgrounds into their film. Compared to the green-screens in America, this studio was very small. This was something that I noted throughout the tour, American film studios have a wider array of props, sets, backlots, costumes, etc. than Mosfilm. I believe this is due to influences such as monetary funds and other such factors.

The tour put into perspective all the work and production that has to occur in order to create a film. It was interesting to see all the effort that goes in behind the camera for such films to be constructed. I have watched my fair share of films produced by Mosfilm; thus I found the tour to be both informative and fun. It was exciting to be able to see costumes and props from films I have deeply enjoyed such as Kidnapping, Caucasian Style and Moscow Doesn’t Believe in Tears.  

During my group’s time in Saint Petersburg we meet with Russian film students. This was one of my favorite parts of the trip. I was able to witness firsthand the influence of Mosfilm on these students and get a deeper understanding of Russian culture from their perspectives. I talked with a student named Anton Beesonov, he discussed how films directed by Sergei Eisenstein had influenced his career choice of going into directing. The students also discussed the way film has been evolving in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union. More advancements in technology and the use of such items as a green-screen have started to expand cinema in a more creative way. This discussion and the tour of Mosfilm truly encapsulated how the Russian film industry has inspired the desire for creation and imagination.

Mosfilm Tour

https://en.mosfilm.ru/main.php

https://www.moscovery.com/mosfilm-museum/

Anton Beesonov