Listen now | In this episode Evgenia and I talk about the newest Russian cultural sensation: Serf — a film of the Russian oligarchy, by the Russian oligarchy.
Really enjoyed this! I want a whole Yasha and Evgenia movie list. And good god the only person in my family who ever hired a cleaning lady was my sister who would clean beforehand AND scream at my niece and nephew (true Soviet style) to clean as well haha. Otherwise my mother and I are overly proud about cleaning our own homes — we say it comes from my grandfather who truly embodied the “new soviet man” and loved to clean, cook, and meticulously organize everything. Also on the bit about Russians being lost with their identity — thank you for talking about this! I remember the utter confusion I felt over a decade ago when Russian Jews on Brighton beach started to convert to Christianity. This continues today with my aunts who celebrated American Christmas for the first time in their lives this year — I’m still flabbergasted! Anyways, always a pleasure! Your podcast & substack give me life!
My opinion about the serfdom vs slavery bit is they want to maintain their moral high ground over America. The racism theory is good, but I actually just don't think that's the main driver. It seems very important for the Russian view of history to say "we won the great patriotic war, we are a great nation, also we used to do these unjust things but they were nowhere near as bad as American slavery."
Thank you for this wonderful list. Maybe Jansen Films will notice. They have done a fabulous job of adapting Russian movies and TV shows for American audiences. Thanks again!
Really enjoyed this! I want a whole Yasha and Evgenia movie list. And good god the only person in my family who ever hired a cleaning lady was my sister who would clean beforehand AND scream at my niece and nephew (true Soviet style) to clean as well haha. Otherwise my mother and I are overly proud about cleaning our own homes — we say it comes from my grandfather who truly embodied the “new soviet man” and loved to clean, cook, and meticulously organize everything. Also on the bit about Russians being lost with their identity — thank you for talking about this! I remember the utter confusion I felt over a decade ago when Russian Jews on Brighton beach started to convert to Christianity. This continues today with my aunts who celebrated American Christmas for the first time in their lives this year — I’m still flabbergasted! Anyways, always a pleasure! Your podcast & substack give me life!
My opinion about the serfdom vs slavery bit is they want to maintain their moral high ground over America. The racism theory is good, but I actually just don't think that's the main driver. It seems very important for the Russian view of history to say "we won the great patriotic war, we are a great nation, also we used to do these unjust things but they were nowhere near as bad as American slavery."
Thank you for this wonderful list. Maybe Jansen Films will notice. They have done a fabulous job of adapting Russian movies and TV shows for American audiences. Thanks again!