Retrospective - Lesson 2

Four УРОКИ (LESSONS) approache the complex of the Soviet Union and cinema from different temporal, geographical, and cultural perspectives with pedagogical tongue and cheek.

Lesson 2

Man - Environment - Resources

The exploitation of natural resources, which escalated into a struggle against nature during the Stalin era, was an inextricable part of Soviet modernisation. It was based on the idea that with knowledge, irrigation techniques, and labour, even the desert could be made fertile. These projects were rarely successful, and the effects on the ecosystems were sometimes devastating. Consider the Aral Sea, from which water was diverted for cotton cultivation. The films ТУРКСИБ (TURKSIB) and БЕЛОЕ ЗОЛОТО (WEISSES GOLD) depict cotton cultivation in Central Asia as vital for the economy. In Georgia, traditional viticulture has been transformed into state mass production. The film ЛИСТОПАД (FALLING LEAVES) deals with the resultant consequences on quality. As part of the short film programme, perspectives are presented about the natural resources of the Soviet Union. In the process, utopian visions collide with critical debates about impacts on nature and about human-animal relations.