This book examines Russian and Ukrainian feature films to trace the roots and consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It argues that the cultural war stems from a colonial past, where Russia viewed Ukraine as an inferior "little brother." By examining cinematic representations of the countries’ shared history, this book reveals how Russia has used cinema to promote a strong, unified state and patriotic narratives, while Ukrainian cinema seeks to overcome colonial trauma and build a distinct national identity. It also investigates how cultural memories of Kyivan Rus, the Cossacks, World War II, the Soviet past, and the Russian war in Ukraine are depicted differently in Russian and Ukrainian cinema.

Table of Contents:
Contents Acknowledgements Introduction Theoretical Background Competing Memories Historical Film and Memory Russian and Ukrainian Cinema since 1991 The Structure of the Book Chapter 1. Myths of Ancient Rus Ancient Rus? Yuri Kulakov’s Prince Vladimir (2005) Andrey Kravchuk’s The Viking (2016) Kyivan Rus? Volodymyr Denysenko’s Prince Volodymyr: Between Memory and Praise (2022) Dmitry Korobkin’s Yaroslav. A Thousand Years Ago (2010) Byliny Epic Tales—Ukrainian or Russian? Representations of byliny in Recent Russian Animation and Cinema Dmitry Dyachenko’s The Last Bogatyr (2017) The Ukrainian Bogatyrs: Yuri Kovalyov’s The Stronghold (2017) Chapter 2. The Contested Cossack Past The Cossack Myth in Russian and Ukrainian Cultural Memory Nikolay Gusarov’s The Cossack Tale (1999) The Revival of the Cossack Myth in Independent Ukraine Cossack Films of Post-Soviet Ukraine The Two Taras Bulbas Vladimir Bortko’s Taras Bulba (2009) Petro Pinchuk and Yevhen Bereznyak’s The Song of Taras Bulba (2009) Controversies Surrounding Hetman Khmelnytsky: Traitor and Unifier of Russia and Ukraine, or Founding Father of the Ukrainian State? Mykola Mashchenko’s Bohdan-Zinoviy Khmelnytsky (2006) Valery Yambursky’s Hetman (2015) Ivan Mazepa: Russian Traitor and Ukrainian Hero Chapter 3. Memories of the Twentieth Century: Great Patriotic War or Second World War? The Victory Myth Andrey Maliukov’s The Match (2012) Aleksandr Samokhvalov and Boris Rostov’s We Are from the Future 2 (2010) Fedor Bondarchuk’s Stalingrad (2013) Kim Druzhinin and Andrey Shalopa’s Panfilov’s 28 Men (2016) Sergey Mokritsky’s Battle for Sevastopol / The Unbreakable One (2015) Ukrainian Cinema: The Second World War Arkady Mykulsky’s Cherry Nights (1992) Oles Yanchuk’s The Undefeated (2000) Valery Shalyha’s A Far Shot (2005) Taras Khymych’s Alive (2016) Zaza Buadze’s Escape from Stalin’s Death Camp (2017) Chapter 4. The Soviet Past: Trauma vs. Nostalgia Oles Yanchuk’s Famine-33 (1991) Oles Sanin’s The Guide (2014) Akhtem Seitablayev’s Haytarma (2013) Akhtem Seitablayev’s 87 Children (2017) Roman Brovko’s The Censored (2019) Russian Cinema: Glimpses of Confrontation Aleksandr Rogozhkin’s The Checkist (1992) Russian Cinema: Nostalgia for the Soviet Past Karen Shakhnazarov’s The Vanished Empire (2007) Nikolay Lebedev’s Legend No. 17 (2013) Chapter 5. Memory of the Russian War in Ukraine Ukrainian Cinema since 2014 Moving away from the Soviet Past in Ukraine Akhtem Seitablayev’s Cyborgs. Heroes Never Die (2017) Valentyn Vasyanovych’s Atlantis (2019) Valentyn Vasyanovych’s Reflection (2021) Maryna Er Gorbach’s Klondike (2022) Russian Propaganda Cinema after 2014 Aleksey Pimanov’s Crimea (2017) Vera Sokolova’s Checkpoint: An Officer’s Story (2021) Afterword Bibliography Filmography Index