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Kosovo Roundtable Discussion March 3, 2008 Media Coverage »

Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies

Pop culture, Russian style

Olga Mesropova has vivid childhood memories of the Soviet Union.

And the memories of television, movies and other popular culture mediums in the communist country are predictable - few choices and heavy governmental censorship.

That all has changed in post-Soviet Russia.

"After the collapse of the Soviet Union Western television programs and other pop culture inundated Russia," says the assistant professor in the Department of World Languages and Cultures.
Government censorship ended in the mid-1980s when Mikhail Gorbachev came to power. Playboy magazines were soon sold on every street corner. Cosmopolitan became readily available. But that was nothing compared to life in Russia when the old American soap opera "Santa Barbara" was aired on Russian television.
"The streets were virtually empty," Mesropova said, "because everyone was sitting at home watching 'Santa Barbara.'"
Mesropova researches popular culture in the post-Soviet Union, particularly Russian film, comedy, and popular performance. Read More