Aleksandr Sokurov

Birgit Beumers is professor of film studies at the University of Aberystwyth, Wales. She is editor of the journals KinoKultura and Studies in Russian and Soviet Cinema.

• Note on transliterationAcknowledgementsKinoSputniks general editors’ prefaceList of illustrationsProduction creditsPlot summaryChapter 1: Introduction and production historyChapter 2: ContextsChapter 3: Film analysisChapter 4: Themes and motifsChapter 5: ReceptionConclusion: The sinking ship

'Birgit Beumers’ book is an excellent primer on the movie, contextualizing it and presenting the critical reception and scholarly analysis the motion picture has inspired. At once a production history, a film analysis and a history of the museum, the Chair of the Film Studies Department at Aberystwyth University has written a concise and thought-provoking volume. Based on interviews, research and an interpretation of the digital movie, Dr. Beumers explores the contradictions and controversies for viewers, scholars and critics responding to the film, which celebrates Russian modern history and Russian nationalism by focusing on an international collection of Western European Art, featuring mostly art collected by the strong and charismatic Empress Catherine II.'