The Soviet Cinema of Late Stalinism

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Between 1945 and 1953, the USSR experienced Stalin's last years in power. The country was rebuilding after the hecatomb of the Second World War. Cinema itself was rising from the physical destruction in the West and its mobilization for the war effort through its studios relocated to the East, in Central Asia. The constitution of cinema under late Stalinism went through phases. From 1945 to 1947, challenging, critical and audacious films were made by filmmakers who took advantage of the autonomy gained by society during the war and the state's need to garner support. But there were also engaged filmmakers at every turn. After 1947, artistic freedom was curtailed and cinema was coerced or invited to participate in the project of national unity in the face of a new conflict, now cold in Europe and hot in the nascent Third World. To combat anti-communist and anti-Soviet propaganda, the cinema produced anti-Anglo-American propaganda. They could be seen as the usual capitalists, oppressive, greedy and exploitative, but they could also be drunk - not on vodka, but on gin for the poor or whiskey for the rich.