Russia
Power, Politics and Performance in Russia: Collective Memory and the Cult of Stalin
By Elliot Goat “It took me years to make sense of my own history, and Russian society will take a similar time.”– Vladimir Ashurkov, Russian opposition politician In collaboration with Theatre Royal Plymouth and the Sputnik Theatre, on Thursday 14 January the Frontline Club presented a staged reading of Grandchildren: The Second Act by Alexandra Polivanova […]
The Fight Against Daesh: Symptoms and Causes
By Antonia Roupell A panel discussion focused on The Fight Against Daesh made for a timely first First Wednesday of the year at the Frontline Club. The packed event on 6 January was chaired by David Loyn, foreign correspondent for the BBC for over 30 years. The speakers included Richard Spencer, Middle East editor of The Daily and Sunday […]
Power, Politics & Performance in Russia: “Doctor” + Q&A
The Frontline Club and Theatre Royal Plymouth in association with Sputnik Theatre present four nights of new Russian drama. Featuring exciting and topical plays by British theatre directors and cast – each evening will touch upon various aspects of life in Russia covering an array of issues, from the clampdown on theatre and freedom of speech to growing social tensions and immigration.
The play Doctor is one of the longest running productions of Teatr.doc, the famous studio theatre in Moscow which was supported by Tom Stoppard amongst other prominent British voices when facing closure in 2014. The staged reading will be followed by a discussion with artistic director of Teatr.doc, Elena Gremina, in conversation with senior international correspondent for The Guardian, Luke Harding.
Power, Politics & Performance in Russia: “Zhanna” + Drinks
Zhanna is a self-made business woman who has made it to the top for all the wrong reasons. She is living happily and in love until she is jilted, which sets her on the course for revenge. This play is not only about love but also the ruthless business practices borne of 1990s opportunistic Russia and its gangster capitalism. Following the staged reading, the members’ clubroom will open its doors to all attendees in celebration of theatre week.
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.
Power, Politics and Performance in Russia: “The War Hasn’t Yet Started” + Q&A
The War Hasn’t Yet Started is a poignant play that depicts the dehumanising effects of living in a society on the brink of all-out war. The staged reading will be followed by a Q&A with artistic director of Sputnik theatre, Noah Birksted-Breen, and the artistic director of Theatre Royal Plymouth, Simon Stokes in conversation with Lucy Ash, an award winning presenter of foreign affairs documentaries at the BBC.
The Red Web: Digital Surveillance in Russia
By Elliot Goat “This is not a phone conversation…” – Soviet saying Introducing his new book The Red Web: The […]
Screening and Discussion: A World Without Words
For this unique event a selection of short documentaries by celebrated ethnographic filmmaker Vincent Moon will be screened in alternation with an informal discussion by the director of London’s Institute of Philosophy Dr Barry Smith. He will explore the neural correlates of meaning, music and language in the context of each film, to offer the audience an explanation of the role of language in subjective mental life.
Screening: Gamer – An Evening in Support of Oleg Sentsov
Please join us and our partners for an evening in support of imprisoned Ukrainian filmmaker, Oleg Sentsov. We will be screening Sentsov’s award-winning film Gamer. Honourable guests will include David Lan, Michael Stewart, Mike Downey and other prominent UK cultural figures.
The Red Web: The Struggle Between Russia’s Digital Dictators and the New Online Revolutionaries
On the eighth floor of an ordinary-looking building in an otherwise residential district of southwest Moscow, in a room occupied by the Federal Security Service (FSB), is a box the size of a VHS player marked SORM. The Russian government’s front line in the battle for the future of the Internet, SORM is the world’s most intrusive listening device – monitoring e-mails, Internet usage, Skype, and all social networks.
In a new book, The Red Web, Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan peel back the history of advanced surveillance systems in Russia. They will be joining us to discuss what they found and to reveal how a free global exchange can be coerced into becoming a tool of repression and geopolitical warfare.
Chechnya: A ‘Schizophrenic Land’
By Sara Monetta Twenty years have passed since the beginning of the first Chechen war. How has the country changed in this period and what happened to the many men and women who fought for independence? With this starting point, journalist and filmmaker Manon Loizeau revisited Chechnya, a country where she had previously lived and reported from during the […]
William Dalrymple: The Battle for Afghanistan
By Olivia Acland On Tuesday 2 June, acclaimed writer and historian William Dalrymple joined an audience at the Frontline Club for a fascinating talk on his latest book, Return of a King – The Battle for Afghanistan, in partnership with the London Press Club. The work is the third volume in a series examining the history of […]
Documenting Ukraine: The Curious Tale of a Handmade Country + Maidan Shorts
By Francis Churchill As part of the Documenting Ukraine festival held on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 May in partnership with Open City Docs and GRAD, the Frontline Club screened the UK premiere of Anthony Butts’ work in progress: The Curious Tale of a Handmade Country. With astonishing access, Butts followed and filmed Ukrainian rebels in the east of the country […]
Al Jazeera Preview Screening: Chechnya, War Without Trace + Q&A
This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Manon Loizeau.
Award-winning journalist Manon Loizeau has spent the past 20 years covering the Chechen conflict. In Chechnya, War Without Trace she returns to the places she knew well, filming undercover, to examine the lasting effects of conflict with Russia.
Rice Pudding and Lego Men: A Blueprint for Revolution
By Elliott Goat “Creativity always wins out over power.” – Srdja Popovic To mark the release of his new book, Blueprint for Revolution: How to use rice pudding, Lego men, and other non-violent techniques to galvanise communities, overthrow dictators, or simply change the world, the Frontline Club hosted a conversation with Serbian author and activist […]
Documenting Ukraine: Two Days of Cinema and Debate
Open City Docs and the Frontline Club present Documenting Ukraine: Two Days of Cinema and Debate — special events and discussions exploring the realities of modern Ukraine and the depth of Ukrainian cinema — on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 May 2015 at the Frontline Club.
Documenting Ukraine: Two Days of Cinema and Debate – Opening Day
Open City Docs and the Frontline Club present Documenting Ukraine: Two Days of Cinema and Debate — special events and discussions exploring the realities of modern Ukraine and the depth of Ukrainian cinema — on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 May 2015 at the Frontline Club.
George Blake: Masterspy of Moscow
By Helena Kardova On Monday 16 March, the Frontline Club hosted a preview screening of Masterspy of Moscow – George Blake, directed by George Carey. The film, which will be broadcast on Monday 23 March by BBC 4 Storyville, traces the life story of the legendary George Blake, a British diplomat who became a longterm double agent […]
Media censorship, broadcast funding, and The World According to Russia Today
By Josie Le Blond Who shot down MH17? For international TV channel Russia Today (RT), whose tag line is “Question More,” the truth has many faces. But is the Kremlin-backed channel’s post-modernist approach to news threatening to undermine empirical journalism? That was the subject of a panel Q&A following the UK premiere of Misja Pekel‘s […]
UK Premiere: The World According to Russia Today + Q&A
This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Misja Pekel. Its critics call it a bullhorn for Russian propaganda, Russia Today (RT) claims only to show a different perspective on world events, and presents itself as an alternative to the mainstream media. In Misja Pekel’s The World According to Russia Today, current and former employees, journalists and media analysts dissect RT’s modus operandi. What is it like to work for the channel? How much influence does the Kremlin really have? And is it possible to discern between fact and opinion when Russian interests are at stake?
Conflict in Ukraine: One Year On
By Graham Lanktree A year since revolution erupted in Ukraine has marked increasingly violent changes inside the country. Yet the transformation remains unfinished and it is uncertain where the conflict and efforts to reform corruption will go next as fighting intensifies across the east of the country. To discuss the future of Ukraine, and whether 2015 […]
Ukraine: One Year On
It is a year since protests erupted in Ukraine. The events that followed saw the fall of Viktor Yanukovych, the annexation of Crimea and violent clashes breaking out across the east of the country. As the stand off with Russia continues, we will be taking a view of the situation in Ukraine one year on. Will 2015 see an end to the most dangerous conflict to grip Europe since the wars in the former Yugoslavia?
BookNight with Andrey Kurkov
For February’s members’ BookNight we are pleased to welcome acclaimed Ukrainian writer Andrey Kurkov, who will present his recently published book Ukrainian Diaries over an intimate dinner with Frontline Club members.
The End of the Wall: 25 Years After the Fall
By Graham Lanktree The young Harvard-educated economist Miklós Németh didn’t dream he would play a decisive role in the fall of the Berlin Wall when he was appointed Prime Minister by Hungary’s Communist Party to fix the nation’s finances in late 1988. Only a year later he was at the centre of it all. On […]
Opposing Power
By Max Hallam The Term offers a fascinating insight into the world of the groups opposing Vladamir Putin’s presidency in Russia. After its screening at the Frontline Club on Friday 17 October 2014, producer Max Tuula joined the audience for a brief Q&A via Skype. The film follows the efforts of a number of opposition leaders, […]
1989 Season: Moments After
This autumn marks the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the revolutionary events of 1989. Together with the Czech Centre, the Frontline Club presents a special series of events: ‘Moments After’. These documentary film screenings and talks, aim to tackle political and social developments following the collapse of the Eastern bloc. […]
Screening: The Term + Q&A
The Term tells the unique inside story of the Russian opposition movement as Vladimir Putin settles into the Kremlin for his third term, through exclusive access to anti-corruption blogger Aleksei Navalny and other key opposition figures, including Putin’s god-daughter, Ksenia Sobchak, and Solidarnost leader, Ilya Yashin. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with with producer Max Tuula via Skype.
Shorts at the Frontline Club
Join us for an evening of short documentaries, from different parts of the world, covering a wide range of topics. Shorts at the Frontline Club showcases moving, striking and funny films, exploring the many different faces of documentary filmmaking.
Summer Screening: Pipeline
The 4,500-kilometer (2,800-mile) Urengoy–Pomary–Uzhgorod gas pipeline connects the second-largest gas field in the world in Urengoy, West Siberia, with the Western European market. It has become one of the most vital arteries of the Russian economy, with Vladimir Putin claiming that its gas and oil revenues account for half of Russia’s disposable capital. For 104 days, renowned director Vitaly Mansky followed the course of this Trans-Siberian gas pipeline through seven different countries. Pipeline is a visually refined road movie offering an unsettling portrait of the legendary Trans-Siberian gas pipeline, on which much of Europe is still reliant.
Ukraine: a new challenge
By Sally Ashley-Cound On Wednesday 18 June at the Frontline Club, Bridget Kendall, diplomatic correspondent for BBC News, chaired a heated panel discussion on the current situation in Ukraine and the role of local and Russian media in the region.