January 07, 2014

The Many Homelands of Sergei Parajanov


The Many Homelands of Sergei Parajanov

Today, January 7, would have been Soviet filmmaker Sergei Parajanov’s 90th birthday.

Sergei Parajanov was always hard to define, but he was best summed up as “an Armenian born in Georgia and put in a Russian prison for Ukrainian nationalism,” and as one of Soviet film’s creative geniuses.

In comparing Russia to the Soviet Union, one often overlooked point is the sheer number of various ethnicities and nationalities that made up the USSR. The USSR was not just the Russian Federative Republic – it included 14 other republics, politically subjugated, but culturally distinct. In much the same way, Soviet film was not just Russian film: while the Russians had a technological headstart, actors and directors of the various republics eventually came into their own, drawing on their home cultures and methods of storytelling.

Enter Parajanov. Well, before him, enter his mentor at the VGIK film institute, Aleksandr Dovzhenko. In films like Earth, Dovzhenko was one of the first to use motifs from a distinct minority culture – in his case, Ukrainian. For his troubles, the film studio in Kiev was later named in his honor.

Okay, now enter Parajanov, who relocated to Kiev after graduating from VGIK, to work at the newly-named Dovzhenko studio. In addition to his Armenian heritage, Georgian upbringing, and Russian education, he learned to speak Ukrainian fluently, married a Ukrainian woman, and immersed himself in the culture. He emerged with one of his most famous films, Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, steeped in Ukrainian Hutsul culture and which, for its markedly un-socialist un-realism, quickly got him blacklisted with the Soviet authorities.

A markedly traditional wedding from Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors

Later films – all released with great difficulty – explored Armenian (The Color of Pomegranates), Georgian (Legend of Suram Fortress), and Azerbaijani (Ashik-Kerib [video]) cultures in similarly vivid color and detail.

So what was that about being put in a Russian prison? Parajanov’s art and public position on touchy subjects like free press and show trials were a bit of a nuisance to party leadership. Their heckling pushed him to leave Ukraine for Armenia; in 1973 he was arrested for the first time and sent to Siberia – the Soviet punishment of choice. He served “only” four of his five years, following a personal plea from Louis Aragon to Brezhnev on his behalf, but made up that last year after being arrested again in 1982 and serving one more year before another early release.

Needless to say, hard labor in a Siberian prison camp is no path to good health. In 1990, while working on yet another film, Parajanov died of lung cancer – the news was relayed to Russia as “the world of cinema has lost a magician.” In claiming Parajanov’s legacy, Armenia was most proactive: Parajanov’s “house-museum” was opened in Yerevan in 1991, even though Parajanov never lived in that house. But it’s Tbilisi’s gravity-defying statue that gives the filmmaker the representation he deserves: full of life and somehow soaring above it all.

Lookit 'im go!

Image credit: Vladimer Shioshvili, Wikimedia Foundation

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955