Dianova E. V. Cooperative Cinema in Rural Distribution in Karelia in the 1920s

Cooperative Cinema in Rural Distribution in Karelia in the 1920s

Elena V. Dianova
Petrozavodsk State University, Petrozavodsk, Russia

Introduction. The article examines films about cooperation that were part of the repertoire of cooperative film exhibitions for rural film distribution in Karelia. The relevance of the topic is determined by the visual turn in historical research and the lack of works on this topic. The purpose of the study is to study the content of rural distribution in Karelia with cooperative films that were at the disposal of the Karelian-Prioneyezhsky Union of Consumer Societies; to consider the plots and content of the films; to find out their ideological and artistic potential for conducting cooperative agitation and propaganda.

Materials and Methods. The sources of the research are the documents from the National Archive of the Republic of Karelia, materials from the funds of regional cooperative unions, the Karelian Regional Committee of the RCP (b) – CPSU (b) and the People’s Commissariat of Education of the AKSSR. Along with archival documents, published materials about films of the 1920s were used. The research is based on an interdisciplinary approach. When working on the material, both general methods of the humanities (analysis and synthesis) and specific historical methods (historical narrative, statistical) were used.

Results and Discussion. The author of the article examined the works of cinema art created in the 1920s to indoctrinate cooperative ideas in rural society and shown in the villages of the Autonomous Karelian Soviet Socialist Republic. The article analyzes the repertoire of cooperative films for rural distribution; examines the plot and presents the content of films about cooperation in the 1920s. It also describes the work of cooperative film tours “to promote cinema in the village”, including in rural cooperatives with a diverse national composition; it reveals a positive attitude of the audience to cooperative cinema. The significance of cinema as an important means of visual representation of cooperative ideas for the incorporation of new members into cooperatives during the NEP period is determined. The study managed to find information confirming the influence of film propaganda with the help of cooperative films on the process of involving rural residents of Karelia in cooperation, which was manifested in the development of cooperative construction, expansion of cooperative work and an increase in the number of shareholders in consumer societies.

Conclusion. At the end of the 1920s, feature films, documentaries and cartoons about cooperation made up almost half of the repertoire of film exhibitions of the Karelo-Prionezh Union of Consumer Societies. They demonstrated ways of organizing a village cooperative, reflected the participation of women in cooperation, and the importance of cooperative trade in the fight against private owners and shopkeepers. The author’s conclusions contribute to the study of the development of cooperative cinematography in the 1920s as part of the general cultural and educational work of cooperative associations. The results of the study in general and the analysis of the cooperative repertoire of rural film tours in particular supplement the information on the history of culture and cinematography of Karelia and make possible the similar scientific research in other regions of the country. The practical significance of the study lies in establishing the continuity of the traditions of public organizations and the possibility of using historical experience in the socio-cultural activities of modern cooperative members in Russia.

Keywords: cooperation, cooperatives, film exhibitions, films, repertoire, village distribution, film propaganda and agitation

Conflict of interest: The author declares no conflict of interest.

For citation: Dianova E.V. Cooperative Cinema in Rural Distribution in Karelia in the 1920s. Finno-Ugric World. 2024;16(3):310–321. https://doi.org/10.15507/2076-2577.016.2024.03.310-321