1st Edition

Modern Russian Cinema as a Battleground in Russia's Information War

Edited By Alexander Rojavin, Helen Haft Copyright 2025
232 Pages 42 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

232 Pages 42 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

232 Pages 42 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

This book explores how modern Russian cinema is part of the international information war that has unfolded across a variety of battlefields, including social media, online news, and television. It outlines how Russian cinema has been instrumentalized, both by the Kremlin's allies and its detractors, to convey salient political and cultural messages, often in subtle ways, thereby becoming a tool... Read more

Note on Transliteration

Contributor Details

List of Illustrations

 

Introduction

Alexander Rojavin

 

Part I: Regulations, Funding, and Policies of the Russian Film Industry

Chapter 1. Russia’s Film Industry between State and Commerce, between National and Global

Birgit Beumers

 

Chapter 2. In Defense of Historical Truth: The Second Front of Russia’s Information War

Rebecca Johnston

 

Part II: Military Adventurism and Foreign Policy Fantasies

Chapter 3. The Holocaust and Russia’s Cinematic Go-Betweens: Cultural Diplomatic Internationalism or Covert Information Warfare?

Stephen Hutchings

 

Chapter 4. Exploiting the Seventh Art: Legitimizing of Contemporary Russian Private Military Adventurism

Kiril Avramov

 

Chapter 5. Preparing for Total War: Ukraine in Recent Donbas and Russian Cinema

Gillian Littleton and Joshua First

 

Part III: Law and Dissent on the Screen

Chapter 6. The Battle for Narrative Dominance: Criminal Law in Contemporary Russian Cinema

Alexander Rojavin

 

Chapter 7. The Russian Orthodox Church and Religious Legislation Reflected in Contemporary Russian Film

Helen Haft

 

Chapter 8. Angry Young Men and Modest Provincials: Reimagining the Dissident Writer in Russian Cinema

Otto Boele

 

Index

Biography

Alexander Rojavin, formerly of the theater world, is an intelligence, policy, media, and film analyst specializing in information war history, strategy, and tactics. He is currently the Vice President of Counter Foreign Malign Influence Strategy at Deft9 Solutions, Inc.

Helen Haft is currently an Assistant District Attorney at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office (she is contributing to this volume in her personal capacity and the views expressed herin do not represent those of the DA's Office or the City of New York). Prior to joining the DA’s office she was a legal fellow at Human Rights in China, after having spent many years studying Russia, with a focus on church-state relations, religiously inspired legislation, and freedom of speech.