Stalin
Power, Politics & Performance in Russia: “Grandchildren. The Second Act” + Panel Discussion
How do the grandchildren of prominent Stalinists feel when they find out who their beloved grandparents really were? Interviewed by the playwrights over the last couple of years, the protagonists’ grandparents were from Stalin’s inner circle – or members of the Soviet Communist Party or NKVD – and their testimonies bear witness to the very human desire to forgive those we love, even when we know their worst crimes. The staged reading with be followed by a panel discussion.
“Why did anybody go along with totalitarianism?” – Insight with Anne Applebaum
By Jim Treadway Free societies crumbled in the decade after World War II, when Stalin took much of Eastern and Central Europe, and in a single-minded fashion, dismantled the existing institutions to build totalitarianism. This period provides the subject for Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anne Applebaum’s latest book Iron Curtain, which she discussed with journalists and columnist for The Times, Oliver Kamm […]
Screening: The Palace
The Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw was a despised gift from Stalin and after the fall of communism, some suggested pulling it down. Director Tomasz Wolski takes us on a cinematic journey through what is more than just a building: The Palace of Culture and Science is both a reflection of Poland’s everyday life and its rich history.
FULLY BOOKED UK Premiere Screening: 900 Days + Q&A
A haunting documentary about a tragedy that took place 70 years ago in Russia during the blockade of Leningrad. Director Jessica Gorter explores the distance between individual memory and a narrative imposed by censorship, propaganda and fear for political ends.
Hitler, Stalin, and Mr. Jones
By Jim Treadway George Carey brought his Storyville documentary Hitler, Stalin and Mr. Jones to the Frontline Club on Friday night, exploring the life and tragic murder of Welsh journalist Gareth Jones (1905-1935). Jones grew up in Barry, south Wales, attended Cambridge University on a scholarship, became fluent in Russian and German, and showed a flair for […]
Stalin’s children
I have read many sagas of Russian families, but Stalin’s Children: Three Generations of Love and War by Owen Matthews has facets that make it poignant. It is both tragedy and love story by a distinguished chronicler of the East. Matthews has covered Moscow for Newsweek since 1997 and has witnessed the Chechen, Bosnian and […]