ABSTRACT
When Gorbachev started his program of reforms in 1985, no one, including Soviet cinematographers, could predict that the Soviet system, ideology, and empire would all be dead in five to six years. Therefore, in 1985–1988 Soviet film directors only gradually emancipated themselves from their fear of the state and from official ideology. Alexander Gel’man was one filmmaker who, like some other liberals, was not afraid to join Gorbachev’s glasnost in 1986. His articles in 1986-1987 stands as some of the bravest challenges to the nomenklatura. Between 1989 and 1992 the political activity of cinematographers continued, even though the role of moviemakers in the political struggle had somewhat decreased. With the expansion of glasnost, by 1989 Soviet moviemakers began to elaborate their own mythology and create their own saints and villains. The first among the saints was, of course, Andrei Tarkovskii. Each of his movies was instantly declared a masterpiece and any critique of his work or personality was ignored.
