Forgotten Art: Old Russian Literature in Filmstrips

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Category: Hermeneutics of Old Russian Literature: Issue 25
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Abstract:

This article examines the problem of conveying the themes, images, and plots of literary monuments of Old Rus’ through photographic images on film. Old Russian literature, as reflected in the art of Soviet filmstrips, offers a fascinating example of the search for visual solutions to translate the poetics of literary text into the visual realm. Filmstrip artists often worked as illustrators for children’s literature, which assisted them in creating illustrations on Old Russian themes, which often depicted legendary and fairytale events: A Journey Beyond the Three Seas, The Tale of Igor’s Campaign, The Tale of Evpatiy Kolovrat, The Tale of the Invisible City of Kitezh. The poetics of Old Russian texts might appear simplified when transferred to a slide projector screen, but for illustrators conveying the epic events of bygone times, the artistic challenge involved finding expressive and pictorial means that would most clearly and vividly represent compositionally important episodes, demonstrating the necessary visual and textual balance.
Keywords: Old Russian literature, poetics, literary monuments, filmstrip, slide, illustration, visual art
Author: Marianna V. Kaplun
Information about the author:

Marianna V. Kaplun, PhD in Philology, Senior Researcher, A.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Povarskaya St., 25A, bld. 1, 121069 Moscow, Russia.

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2427-2855

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
For citation:

Kaplun, M.V. “Forgotten Art: Old Russian Literature in Filmstrips.” Germenevtika drevnerusskoi literatury [Hermeneutics of Old Russian Literature]. Issue 25. Ed.-in-chief O.A. Tufanova, sci. ed. M.V. Kaplun. Moscow, IWL RAS Publ., 2026, pp. 683–696. https://doi.org/10.22455/HORL.1607-6192-2026-25-683-696 (In Russian)
EDN:

https://elibrary.ru/ESSWGG
UDC: 821.161.1.0+778.252
Publication Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22455/HORL.1607-6192-2026-25-683-696

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