Videos about Russia (Ukraine conflict, sanctions, history/USSR, geography, cities, lifestyle etc) and other countries of the former Soviet Union (Kyrgyzstan, Georgia etc). I try to make my videos informative and enjoyable. I put a lot of time and effort into each video and so I'm delighted if you have enjoyed watching it/them. Thank you for watching (and subscribing, if you have) and I look forward to making many more insightful videos for you in future...
I always try to read and respond to all messages so feel free to get involved in the comments sections which I have open on every video. All messages are best to go there. I'll include an email address for any other enquiries, but as I don't expect to get many of them at all, then I may not check it too often, so if you email then please be patient or notify me about it in the comments !
Yekaterinburg literally 10 years ago was a village that looked like a northern abandoned city. It was very ugly and no one wanted to live there. However, all this architecture and buildings were built and are being built during this time. Let's just say it's one of the fastest growing cities
I love Soviet movies. These are all great gems of Soviet cinema. But I guess you intentionally omit some best known ones: of Tarkovsky's (Andrei Rublev, Solaris), of early revolutionary period pioneer movies (B. Potemkin, New Babylon, The Man with the Movie Camera, Mr. West in the Land of Bolsheviks, Three Songs of Lenin) or later period's Come and See, Parajanov's (Color of Pomegranates, Shadow of Our Ancestors)... These are my top 10.
Yes, like I said, there are far more than 10 great Soviet movies and so I just focused on the more mainstream, commonly popular ones, which most people could enjoy. Sure, Battleship Potemkin was a classic of 1920s cinema but I think that and the other earlier ones would be for a more niche audience.
I've just started learning Russian and was wondering with my wife what films to watch. Literally a few hours later I stumbled across this video. Absolutely amazing. I am so grateful. Thank you so much. I can't wait to watch them. You even sent the links!!!!!!!
That's great, I'm happy to assist! Find your favourite and watch that a few times then you'll be speaking (or at least understanding) Russian before you know it! It's great for modern language learners to have films or serials with subtitles as it's a far more fun way of learning than when I first started learning Russian many years ago, just with a dull textbook and audio cassette! Some of them have Russian subtitles too, so I suggest watching the first time(s) with the English ones, then after that with the Russian subtitles. Then, when you are feeling brave, with no subtitles at all! Happy learning 😊👍
@@PaulintheUSSR I was just thinking that these movies might help me learn Russian too. A lot of words are similar to Czech, but I will try watching them with the Russian subtitles the second time because it's easier understand when reading then spoken language for me. Thanks for the idea.
Yes, from a language learning point of view if you find a film you enjoy and watch it a number of times in close proximity, perhaps with English then Russian subtitles thenno subtitles you'll see for yourself your progress. Perhaps it works a bit better for shorter things like tv serials but I've watched something 5 times in a row (for language purposes) and the first time with no subtitles or anything, I understood nothing but after the fifth time, (after watching with different language subtitles and rewinding and going over tricky bits) would understand everything! From nothing to everything in a few watches! I guess it's all about repetition and practice!
I'd say it's circa 70es, look at that fridge! Furniture! A tv set! Most urban apartments interiors looked rather modern and airy by mid 70es with these "Sputnik- style furniture, glass - cabinets and staple "stenka"- large, wall- sized cabinet- storage, sometimes imported from GDR, Chekhoslivakia, etc. I love that style❤. Great video, Paul.
Cheers! It was thought that things were built to last more back in the day than now so I guess most items in a 1980s home may have been from ther 70s. Also, I guess The USSR was probably a decade or two behind the capitalist countries in terms of fashion and home comforts!
Hehe..."too much of a perestroika vibe" 😁. I guess both the film and lead actor may not be for everyone but I think he's wonderful and in fact I saw him in a play recently, he's still performing with great spirit even though he must be quite old now.
I’ve seen three of these, obviously irony of fate and Moscow doesn’t believe in tears and also station for two. Another one I really like is “office party”. I used to be totally indifferent to Soviet films but now they make me want to cry I get very moved by them . Thanks for the video.
You've got at 7 more to get through then 😉. In fairness I enjoy many old British/American films too but I only discovered the joys of Soviet cinema once I came to Russia.
Thanks for the list of movies. They all look interesting. It's nice that you have the links for them! I always wanted to watch some old russian movies, but didn't know which ones to watch. Don't know which one to start with, maybe I'll just go down the list. It will be fun just watching them to see how Russia looked in the past. I watch a good amount of old programs mainly to see the architecture and how people dressed/acted. A movie that I would recommend that maybe you haven't watched is an East German movie Die Flucht/The Flight. It really delves into the emotions of planning emigration to the west.
I thought exactly like you just said that some people might like to watch some Soviet films but of course there must have been thousands and one wouldn't know where to start. That's why I thought the video could help such people like you! 👍 I don't think I've watched the German film you mention but it does ring a bell so perhaps I did a long time ago. Or maybe I'm just thinking about my visit to the excellent "Checkpoint Charlie" museum in Berlin which also covers a lot of outrageous escape attempts!
@@PaulintheUSSR I just watched The Irony of Fate! Great movie. Thanks again for recommending the movies. I really liked the plot and the back and forth between the two lead actors. Liked all the camera work. The scenes of Nadia walking through St. Petersburg were really nice because of the beauty of the city, but they really got the lighting and camera angles spot on. Even though the premise was a bit outlandish the director and actors made it very believable. I thought I would only watch 30 minutes at first because I was a bit busy and then watch the rest later, but it was so good I watched the whole movie at once! I'll watch the Diamond Arm next! Wish I went to Berlin back in the early 90's before they modernized it.(at least the east) Instead my parents would go to Austria a lot and I would go to Innsbruck for one month each summer to spend time with my dad's son who was playing professional hockey there. Can't complain because I really like Austria though.
What's extra interesting for you Marcel is that the lead female character (Nadia, like you said, I'd forgotten her name!) but remember the fact that she is from your country! I guess she was a famous Czech actress in the 1970's and actually she does seem not quite as Russian as Soviet actresses in other films from the time. I guess there was some kind of joint collaboration between the USSR and Czechoslovakia...
My favourite soviet movie is Moonzund (1987) despite the year of production, this is not a perestroika movie, showing the universal male virtues of honor and conscience in the contradictory situation of revolutionary Russia in 1917.
5:38 Thank you! :D (I've been once; I can't recognize the style of building or the food package; but I did recognize its Russian name because it was all over the news in 2022) The fact the USSR was doomed was foretold when all those Soviets made a line outside the first McDonalds that opened in Moscow. Such a well-read and intelligent nation was attracted by such a thing? Humanity is doomed. 9:07 As if they consulted us whether we want Ukraine in NATO or the EU! (we don't, in either - we don't want Georgia or Moldova either, and we didnt want the Baltic countries or Poland, but they never asked us anyway! If they had asked the Swedes in 2022 whether they want to join NATO and destroy their 200-yr old policy of "neutrality", they'd have answered "no"!)
Exactly! The hypocritical West is actually just as undemocratic as Russia...if not more so! The only difference is that Russia doesn't claim to be democratic but The West does (even though it's not!) Russia wants Ukraine, it is so dear to them but like you said, no one in The EU would want them as it will just need years (or decades) of subsidising, even before the war, let alone afterwards.
@@PaulintheUSSR Re: "no one in The EU would want them as it will just need years (or decades) of subsidising" It's not only about the subsidising, but also about the fact that the anti-Russian countries are the USA's trojan horse in the EU. They've been used time after time to drag forcefully the EU focus to anti-Russian measures, when the rest of Europe had a fine relationship with Russia and wasn't willing to compromise it for their sake! Ukraine is large and important, unlike the Baltic states, yet again we prefer it to be a buffer zone, instead of a source of enmity with Russia - in fact, we wouldn't have batted an eye, if Russia had supported with its Army the independence of DPR and LPR in 2014, after the many violent clashes in Kiev we had watched on TV. It's unbelievable how forcefully the official narrative has been shaped since 2022 to twist the Europeans' wishes and alter reality! But Putin too has been trapped in the Kremlin's own version of reality, amplified by the nationalistic voices in Russia and the enemy agents who've been working there since 2014.
I best remeber the comedy movie "Rette sich wer kann" (Полосатый рейс) from 1961. Tigers are breaking out from cages on a ship and are swimming to a coast. A woman on the strand shouts enthusiastically: "Oh, look, those muscular swimmers in the striped swimsuits!"
Hehe, as it happens I watched that film quite recently for the first time. It has the actor I mentioned a couple of times, Leonov, when he was a bit younger.
I like Danelia's movies. From your list Afonya and Mimino are the best. Alsoo I am fan of Kin-Za-Za. The most strange thing with Danelia's movies is that you always find new fantastic episodes with any new watching. When I saw Afonya in my childhood, I found it long and boaring. When I watched it in age of 20 I laughed at great jokes. When i watched it in the age of 40, I thought that is a great movie about post-war generation of 50-70.
Yes, what a talent Danelia was. Afonya I guess wouldn't be appreciated so much by a child, but like you said, once you get to a certain age you can really enjoy this classic film. And yes, every watch is a renewed treat each time!
Napoleon could be added maybe, Sherlock Holmes was a TV series but can be added... /// Several eastern European films are pretty good When the cat comes, tank brigade, etc ...
Yes, I saw the Sherlock Holmes TV series and enjoyed that as well. To be honest I could have done a top 25 easily but had to stick to ten for time reasons.
Fascinating upload, many thanks for posting. I've only been to Moscow, Volgograd and St. Petersburg but these videos are the real Russia. The local bakery I use here in Galway, Ireland employs a girl originally from Tobolsk, Russia. She's a long way from home.
Thank you very much. I guess my videos are more about simple, everyday things rather than more extravagant amazing things! Look out for more of the same...👍
Great video again! The cinemas are really nice and I like that you actually filmed the movies playing! The Sochi one was the was breathtaking! Loved the font on the one in Kasli. The one in Karabash kind of looks like they were trying to make a cheap recreation of 13th century castle! Liked the Yerkeny curved hallway with the repeating windows. Liked the booties. I was just discussing with a friend that in the US you don't wear booties in hospitals and doctors/nurses don't change into their scrubs at work for the most part they drive to and from work with them on. Nothing like going through the newspaper and finding a movie you like and then seeing what movie theatre it is in! Used to do that in Prague in the early 90s with my sister, but there they weren't their own building, but just in regular 5 story city buildings as is/was the style in a lot of europe. The US still has quite a lot of old stand alone theatres in smaller towns and suburbs. A good amount of them have the original large theatre subdivided into 2 or 3 theatres, but the buildings are still original and one good thing about the US is that if they don't tear it down they usually don't update it as drastically as they do in Europe. I was in one in Chicago where it still had the original looking 1920s bathroom. Bathrooms aren't actually a bad thing to update (lol), but it was still fun to see. It had the old cotton rag on a roll that would roll out as you pulled on it instead of paper towels or blowers.
I like the 90s way of looking in the newspaper to find the movies! I have a slight recollection of doing it via "Time Out" type magazines but I guess no one does it that way anymore! Yes, smaller towns throughout The States are great places to see cool things I seem to remember. I particularly liked the libraries I remember.
Yes, it's a shame they destroyed the more interesting ones but I guess as always it's all about money and I don't know for sure but I bet the space is now occupied by apartments or a shopping mall!
Many our small towns also beautiful, country changed with every day, become better and better, despite sanctions. Thank you western govts for sanctions, its real gift for Russia, bc for us its mean independence and even more development.
Lasar Kaganovich was the leader of subway construction under Stalin. started Moscow metro, around 1935. Hrushev was very young in those days. Hrushev was notorious in criticism of Stalin-era beatifications of the subway. Hrushev era subway was simplified and made uniform and boring
Tram is indeed authentic 86 piece. They were retrofitted of course to a bit more modern motors and controllers, but hull is still from USSR (well, Czechoslovakia. Thanks to comrades from Tatra).
Well, that was a bit of luck then! I thought it seemed a bit old school and the passengers seemed to be dressed in not too modern attire so I thought I'd get away with it 😊
There was a time when it was said Russia didn't throw away anything, not sure I like the modernization of building around the world big clunky glass buildings. We really do have some hideous eyesores these days all the name of progress. I much prefer the pre 1970s architecture when buildings were made to please the eye and minds with art and acoustic sounds if you've been in St Paul's Cathedral or the dome of Union station you'll know what I mean.
Very interesting Paul.some of these buildings were classics and still are. Technology has destroyed the cinama all over world. Pity as its a great experience watching a film on the big screen with others.
Ну а я опять не нашла возможности остаться без претензий. Ну никак не получается. И, к сожалению -- классика Ютуба -- вынуждена воспользоваться опцией ответа, т.е. мне перекрыли возможность начать ветку: не могу сделать отдельный комментарий. Вот такие цензурные меры, ютубом просто создаётся мир дип-фейков и кривых зеркал. И это имеет отношение к моей претензии: почему "здравый смысл не принимается во внимание", -- это якобы характерно именно для России? Россия как раз очаг здравомыслия на фоне безумеющего Запада. А сколько раз ютуберы вынуждены приглушать звук, если слышна какая-н. песня (могут застрайкать за "нарушение авторского права"!), или заблюривать экран, если там, например, заснят телевизор с кадрами из какого-то фильма. Доходит до абсурда: в России Ютуб запрещает слушать... произведения Чайковского, если они исполнены каким-н. западенцем, вражком России. И после этого говорить про "частое игнорирование здравого смысла", применяясь специально к России -- это значит игнорировать здравый смысл, что крайне характерно для Запада, впавшего уже просто в абсурдизм.
@@Olga-de3ru Ah yes I think I may of spotted why you weren't originally allowed to post a lovely comment, see it depends on where you are when you post a comment and what context was used. Whilst YT is available for use in most countries, not only do users have YT rules to follow they also have their own countries rules on internet etiquette. While you may think that your comment is innocent and unharmful, it might be violating some policies. Sometimes, RU-vid considers leaving comments at the start of a video when watching it for the first time as suspicious activity.
And again -kudos to you! Wow. You might be interesred in looking into some recent cinema conversion projects in moscow (the likes of кинотеатр первомайский). I dont know what came out of it, but it was a multimillion dollar project a decade or two ago, the idea being that cinemas played a central part in sovietnhrban planning, which gave them a prime lication - so it only makes sense to convert them to shopping malls/entertainment/cultural gravitation centers.
Yes, I guess that is the main issue. Because they are in good locations, usually on nice squares, and centrally located (within their region) that's what is their downfall! More lucrative proposals will win out every time.
Paul, you make some really, really cool videos. Даже шутки отличные! As to asbestos proper - I'm sure someone must have already commented, but there are two types of asbestos, and one of them is banned pretty much globally, and the other kind is still used, primarily in industrial applications.
Hi Richard, Russia is full of contrasts! They actually rejected your email? Or just directed it into my spam box? (Did it include attachments? Write a new comment on any video to explain, as I only recieve notifications about new comments, not ones i've already replied to) I'll check to see if it's there. I guess the problem is emailing from outside of Russia, but I wasn't aware that they were not accepting them. Maybe I can try to create a google email account for the channel too. Look out for that then try again soon. I don't use VK/Telegram, I'm such a dinosaur it's a miracle I only use RU-vid! Hello Paul, yes I did write you a comment earlier but did not see any response. My email gave me a message saying your yandex server had rejected my email as potential spam. It was an undeliverable message so I assume it did not go to your spam folder, just got refused.
One thing everyone forgets is that the GenSec said "in order to build something back, you must first destroy it". This is common in most of Russian history. They'd burn Moscow & rebuild it in the days of the Tsar's.