Memory of the Soviet Past: Trauma vs. Nostalgia in Ukrainian and Russian Cinema

• In Event: Screening the Past: Representing Trauma and Memory in Belarusian, Russian, and Ukrainian Cinema

Abstract

The paper explores the divergent cinematic representations of the Soviet past in Ukrainian and Russian films, revealing the contrasting ideological trajectories of the two nations following the Soviet Union's collapse. Recent Ukrainian cinema, through works like Ianchuk’s Famine-33 (1991), Sanin’s The Guide (2014), Seitablaev’s Haytarma (2013) and 87 Children (2017), and Brovko’s The Censored (2019), confronts the Stalinist era as a period rife with crimes, traumas, and genocides, particularly highlighting the Holodomor as a core element in shaping national identity. These films serve as a medium to consolidate Ukrainians around shared historical traumas and distance them from their Soviet past.
Conversely, Russian cinema, exemplified by Shakhnazarov’s Vanished Empire and Lebedev’s Legend No. 17, often reflects a nostalgia for the Soviet era, emphasizing themes of stability, social equality, and achievements. With few exceptions, such as Rogozhkin’s The Checkist (1992), these films align with the Russian government's agenda, which influences the film industry through mechanisms of funding and censorship, discouraging critical narratives of the Soviet regime. The paper explores how Ukrainian cinema employs historical narratives to foster a collective identity and memory, while Russian cinema tends to romanticize the Soviet past, reflecting broader political and cultural discourses.

Author

• Tetyana Shlikhar, U of Notre Dame