Chechen Wars
Brother. Motion Picture. Dir. Aleksei Balabanov (Excerpts)
Aleksei Balabanov's cult crime drama, which made its title character, the loveable killer Danila Bagrov into a youth idol and a national emblem of post-Soviet masculinity
Svetlana Baskova captures the surreal, deeply violent, and grotesque essence of the 1990s and the Chechen wars in her cult trash movie, Zelenyi slonik (The little green elephant, 1999).
An excerpt from Svetlana Baskova’s film Zelenyi slonik (The little green elephant, 1999).
The Miracle of Evgenii
A Russian soldier during the first Chechen War, Rodionov was captured outside of Grozny and reputedly executed for refusing to renounce his Orthodox faith. His image has since served as the inspiration for several of post-Soviet Orthodoxy's most popular new icons.
The Miracle of Evgenii
A Russian soldier during the first Chechen War, Rodionov was captured outside of Grozny and reputedly executed for refusing to renounce his Orthodox faith. His image has since served as the inspiration for several of post-Soviet Orthodoxy's most popular new icons.
Ryazan Sugar (Hexogen)
Released at the very end of the Soviet Union, Nol's album, Songs of Unrequited Love for the Motherland, gave the group several hits that carried them into the 1990s. The song Chelovek i koshka in particular became an anthem of drug culture as it spread through Russia in the post-Soviet years.
"Russian, It's Time For Revenge!"
In the weeks leading up to the Second Chechen War, Russia’s right wing publications reminded their audiences of the humiliation of the First Chechen War, and called for—nationalist, racist, brutal—revenge.
"Russian, It's Time For Revenge!"
In the weeks leading up to the Second Chechen War, Russia’s right wing publications reminded their audiences of the humiliation of the First Chechen War, and called for—nationalist, racist, brutal—revenge.
Shevchuk (DDT) in Chechnya
Excerpt from Vremia DDT, a 2002 documentary centered on DDT, one of Russia’s most famous rock bands throughout the 1990s and later. A montage of amateur film made by the group leader and frontman, Yuri Shevchuk during his visit to Russian frontlines during the First Chechen War in 1995-1996, overlaid by the song, “Patsany [The guys],” inspired by what Shevchuk saw there.
The Chechen Knot: 13 theses.
Infamous article on the Chechen war by controversial gay journalist Slava Mogutin
One on One with Vladimir Zhirinovskii and Boris Nemtsov
Aleksandr Liubimov’s talk show One on One staged debates between public figures who disagreed strongly with each other. When nationalist provocateur Vladimir Zhirinovskii and liberal reformer Boris Nemtsov met on air in as the First Chechen War was just beginning, sparks—and piece of the set—flew.
Novyi Vzgliad: Violence, Political Irony, and National Pride
Novyi Vzgliad authors write some of the most scandalous and incendiary political commentaries of the 1990s, producing new forms of political irony. Iaroslav Mogutin and Eduard Limonov turn violence into a paradoxical source of identity. The main artifact here–an article by Mogutin–exemplifies this process.