The course will examine the history of Russian cinema from the silent era to the 21st century. The study of cinema in prerevolutionary Russia, the Soviet Union, and the post-Soviet epoch will include topics such as technological and cultural developments and exploration of significant directors and genres of these periods. Students will watch films that belong to popular culture, as well as films outside the mainstream. Special emphasis will be given to comedy, the genre that survived during the Stalin and Brezhnev eras. Films of world-renowned directors Eisenstein, Aleksandrov, Tarkovsky, Aleksei German, and others will be screened. The course incorporates readings of literary works—e.g., Zoshchenko, Chekhov, Yuri German—that reflect the content of the films, as well as detailed analyses of the cinematic works. The course includes two films screenings weekly, four essays, a journal, and a final paper.