RUSSIA24 — Novorossiya
20260915 213100 UTC
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[00:00:00] they change safe pavilions for
[00:00:02] frontline locations and go to Donbass to shoot
[00:00:06] feature films. About the importance
[00:00:09] of the cultural front and fixing meanings.
[00:00:12] What kind of battle will we lose if we freeze film production until
[00:00:16] peace comes. A conversation with the program's
[00:00:18] expert. Mountains that are not on
[00:00:21] the map, but are in the heart. How alpinism is developing
[00:00:24] in Donbass, despite the landscape and
[00:00:28] circumstances.
[00:00:30] Today we will talk about something that, it would seem,
[00:00:34] should be far from the trenches, but is actually
[00:00:37] in the very center
[00:00:40] of the battle, only this battle is being fought for
[00:00:43] minds, and today we will talk about
[00:00:46] cinema. Cinematography in Donbass and Novorossiya is not
[00:00:50] just entertainment and not art for art's sake,
[00:00:53] it is a chronicle, it is a weapon, and it
[00:00:56] is memory. Even in the pre-war Soviet years, directors
[00:01:00] came here to capture the real everyday life
[00:01:03] of workers, let's recall the legendary Great
[00:01:07] Life of Leonid Lukov, the film of 1939
[00:01:11] was shot in the Donetsk mines, glorifying the labor
[00:01:14] feat of Stakhanovites. It goes
[00:01:18] ahead Stakhanov's
[00:01:21] miners
[00:01:24] Donbass has always, as filmmakers say,
[00:01:27] had a rich texture. Industrial
[00:01:31] landscapes, spoil heaps, factory workshops, faces
[00:01:34] and character, people with a special core,
[00:01:38] charisma, it is enough to remember that it was
[00:01:41] here that one of the most talented
[00:01:44] actresses of Soviet cinema was born, adored
[00:01:47] by millions of viewers, Nonna Mordyukova, and
[00:01:51] of course, contrasts, here light and shadow, labor
[00:01:54] and everyday life, city and steppe, peace
[00:01:57] and war always clashed. which again
[00:02:01] came to Donbass in 2014.
[00:02:04] Then history took a sharp turn. In
[00:02:08] the territory of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's
[00:02:10] Republics, in response to punitive operations of Nazi
[00:02:13] battalions against civilians, large-scale hostilities
[00:02:16] began. The landscape
[00:02:20] changed, ruins, trenches, and checkpoints appeared.
[00:02:23] And it is all the more surprising that it was then, in
[00:02:26] this chaos, that a new Donbas
[00:02:30] school was born. In 2016, the
[00:02:33] Donfilm studio was created. Then the
[00:02:36] first Donetsk film studio appeared. Both,
[00:02:39] despite all the difficulties, continue their work. And not
[00:02:43] only them. About how Anna
[00:02:46] Khrustaleva shoots films in Novorossiya and Donbass today.
[00:02:49] Ready, camera, action,
[00:02:54] Donbass. The set is crowded, another episode of the
[00:02:57] film is being shot. life, which is already a ready-made
[00:03:01] script, motor camera started,
[00:03:04] the scene is Mariupol, in the frame
[00:03:08] is a wounded city, where instead of props there are living,
[00:03:11] bleeding decorations of war,
[00:03:14] challenge, let's go, a whole package they hit the residential sector,
[00:03:18] from creatures, shooting films about Donbass in
[00:03:21] Donbass, and not generating a picture and working in pavilions in the age
[00:03:24] of artificial intelligence of an ongoing war, seems
[00:03:27] almost ... unacceptable luxury, but the authors chose
[00:03:31] honesty, real human tragedies do not tolerate computer
[00:03:34] retouching and require the same authentic reality on
[00:03:38] the screen. and what were you in civilian
[00:03:41] life? doctor, are you a doctor? nothing,
[00:03:45] they say you fought in this militia of yours, yes,
[00:03:49] such textures, if we talk from the point of view of cinema,
[00:03:53] it is impossible somewhere else or some kind of decoration, it
[00:03:56] will still be false lies, so everything here is alive, everything is real.
[00:05:00] then there will be no life here at all, remember even Poroshenko's
[00:05:03] winged speech about how their children will go to school, but ours
[00:05:07] will not.
[00:05:09] It was then that it became obvious that silence is not
[00:05:13] an option. At this time, the filming of the first independent Donbas
[00:05:17] film begins in Shakhtyorsk. Rock musicians, poets,
[00:05:20] artists write the script for an underground film,
[00:05:23] the idea is a postmodern puzzle about how reality
[00:05:26] is structured and who controls it. But
[00:05:28] still, what do you think, will there be a war?
[00:05:32] Then came the understanding that in order to shoot
[00:05:36] films on a larger scale, better, faster, a film studio and its
[00:05:39] own material base were needed. And
[00:05:43] we took it and did it. The film studio buildings were built
[00:05:47] literally by everyone without professional builders, by hand, with private
[00:05:50] donations. Today there is all the necessary equipment,
[00:05:53] control rooms, editing rooms, recording studios and
[00:05:56] their own actors, who are also lighting technicians and general
[00:06:00] laborers in the frontline city. The studio today exists rather
[00:06:03] despite everything. All
[00:06:06] locals.
[00:06:08] Really eat. Yuri Fedotov lived all his life in
[00:06:11] Shakhtyorsk. After the start of the special military operation, he went to the front, fought near
[00:06:15] Avdiivka, during one of the combat missions, he came under
[00:06:19] artillery fire, so the path of a soldier ended and
[00:06:22] the path of an actor began. After being wounded near Avdiivka, having learned that our
[00:06:26] Donfilm film studio was being built, he joined as
[00:06:29] a builder in its construction. After
[00:06:32] the completion of the
[00:06:35] building, I took part in the filming of the feature film Council
[00:06:38] of Winds. I have an idea.
[00:06:52] in principle, it is now at the beginning of its journey, our studios, our guys
[00:06:56] from our regions, they are just starting to apply for grants, now
[00:07:00] for example, our first Donetsk film studio, recently created, has
[00:07:04] won the IRI competition for the production
[00:07:06] of a four-part feature series, now
[00:07:10] a system is being built, we plan ... in the near future to conclude a cooperation agreement
[00:07:14] with the Cinema Fund and the Internet Development Institute. The development
[00:07:17] of cinema in the region has become one of the priority tasks. Since
[00:07:20] 2022, several dozen feature films and TV series have
[00:07:23] been shot in Donbass, loud premieres and sometimes
[00:07:27] quiet filming, which took place in conditions of strict
[00:07:31] secrecy. For the Armed Forces of Ukraine, any people with a camera, be it journalists or
[00:07:34] filmmakers, are a very desirable target. For them,
[00:07:37] this is primarily, it seems to me, an attempt.
[00:07:41] these are certain risks, therefore
[00:08:12] many filming is not allowed in connection
[00:08:16] with this, we still have to reshoot a lot of things
[00:08:19] in pavilions, but we still try to find some
[00:08:22] compromises, the process is still going on and it is necessary. it is necessary first of all for
[00:08:26] viewers, for the outside world such films are a harsh inoculation of truth,
[00:08:30] forcing one to understand what is really happening there. for
[00:08:33] the residents of Donbass, this is not just a movie, it is a naked personal
[00:08:37] tragedy, and also a way to be heard, to tell about what
[00:08:40] they went through, that is why every second on
[00:08:43] the screen is so captivating, the scene
[00:08:46] that probably stuck with me the most
[00:08:49] was when the main character came
[00:08:53] to the children's camp for the sake of his daughter, I saw a bit
[00:08:57] of myself in this situation, the scene with
[00:09:00] the child and the father, my father was a serviceman,
[00:09:04] a deceased serviceman, just horrifying, this
[00:09:07] very scene, when he returned to his old house, where
[00:09:11] his grandfather and grandmother lived, just horror, yes, well, the emotions are
[00:09:14] indescribable,
[00:09:31] just recently Donbass talked about the revival of cinema only in the future tense,
[00:09:35] now it's the present scripts, castings, filming,
[00:09:38] but the main thing is its audience, because only for their sake the camera
[00:09:41] continues. to work, despite anything,
[00:09:44] are you calling
[00:09:50] an ambulance, Anna Khrustaleva, Valery Savilev,
[00:09:52] Anastasia Popova, Novorossiya. About
[00:09:55] the importance of film production in the new territories in
[00:09:59] these difficult, sometimes dangerous
[00:10:02] conditions, and generally
[00:10:11] expert, Mikhail. Hello Mikhail, good afternoon,
[00:10:14] when we talk about regional cinema,
[00:10:18] for example, Yakut cinema, or Ural cinema, we
[00:10:21] mean some local flavor.
[00:10:25] but why should the cinematography of, say, Donbass,
[00:10:28] Novorossiya, be singled out into
[00:10:32] some special, separate, sovereign
[00:10:34] theme, it seems as if a
[00:10:38] fundamentally new film language is being born
[00:10:41] here, which is nourished
[00:10:45] precisely by special impressions from special events. As
[00:10:49] a native of Donbass, a native of Donetsk, I never
[00:10:52] tire of repeating and reminding that we have...
[00:11:25] Soviet Socialist Republic, and under Ukraine, Donbass, as it were,
[00:11:28] gave birth not once, not twice, not three times, also wonderful
[00:11:32] personnel for Soviet cinema, and a
[00:11:35] huge number of actors, directors,
[00:11:39] film composers, screenwriters also have Donbass
[00:11:43] origin, and not only Donbass, but also Novorossiya
[00:11:46] origin, so it should be said that
[00:11:50] now, given the circumstances, given the
[00:11:52] turning point context, this is a place where new meanings are born, any
[00:11:56] creative person wants to feel and catch
[00:11:59] this resonance, this is always an opportunity to see
[00:12:02] something new, it seems to me that in addition to the fact that
[00:12:06] Novorossiya should see itself in this film, it seems
[00:12:09] to me that big Russia, let's say, it
[00:12:13] should see who came to us, you see, this is a land
[00:12:16] of heroes, this is a land
[00:12:19] of sacrifice, this is not enough, it seems to me, in the public
[00:12:22] consciousness of big Russia, this is not enough. The first
[00:13:10] films about the war appeared
[00:13:14] even before our victory, all
[00:13:18] subsequent
[00:13:19] years
[00:13:22] the best works were often shot
[00:13:26] with the direct participation of either actors who went to the
[00:13:29] front, directors, screenwriters,
[00:13:31] composers, that is, people who lived
[00:13:35] through it. The current war is
[00:13:38] also a turning point for Russia after the monstrous catastrophe
[00:13:41] of 1991, Russia is reborn, unfortunately
[00:13:44] through such dramatic events, and
[00:13:47] accordingly, the point is really not only for Novorossiya to
[00:13:51] see itself in artistic presentation
[00:13:54] and... Donbass not only in order for Great
[00:13:57] Russia to see Novorossiya and Donbass in artistic
[00:14:01] presentation, we are now at war for minds, we are now at war for hearts
[00:14:05] and souls, and feature
[00:14:07] films, in this sense, are the most important
[00:14:10] tool that more easily penetrates the minds and hearts
[00:14:14] of the younger generation, people who doubt,
[00:14:17] people who, perhaps, would perceive
[00:14:21] documentaries or news reports much more critically.
[00:14:25] publications, articles or blogs and even streams, but
[00:14:28] works of art are perceived much
[00:14:31] more gently and organically, accordingly, there must be
[00:14:34] such a film, this is our factory, not of dreams,
[00:14:38] but a factory of conveying heroism,
[00:14:41] conveying the importance of the moment, conveying the main
[00:14:45] meanings, in this sense, of course, creators
[00:14:49] must come there, despite the risks, and it must be born
[00:14:52] there, this film, you understand, well, and...
[00:15:25] This is another dimension of the question, well, such a, perhaps, narrowly thematic,
[00:15:29] at the same time, you have already touched upon it, where
[00:15:33] is that line
[00:15:36] between such a perfectionist
[00:15:40] artist who says: guys, well, let's get a little closer, let's
[00:15:43] capture that tank and so
[00:15:46] on, and the situation when he is already risking
[00:15:50] the lives of the film crew, when you need to give the command
[00:15:53] to move back and shoot somewhere further from Donbass and Tula,
[00:15:57] here is the personal, moral responsibility,
[00:16:00] the responsibility of artists, firstly, indeed for a creative person this
[00:16:04] catharsis is necessary, the creator must face this.
[00:16:37] through the scripts, through the people, that light that comes from them,
[00:16:41] from your point of view, what kind of new cinema
[00:16:45] should be born, about war, about Donbass, about
[00:16:49] Novorossiya, this film should meet two
[00:16:51] criteria, it must be interesting, it must be
[00:16:55] honest, that's all, nothing else is needed, if it's
[00:16:59] just honest, it's not a fact that everyone will want to put it on, if it's just
[00:17:03] interesting, but lies, they won't believe it, but if it's both,
[00:17:06] it will be wonderful. Thank you, in conclusion I want to
[00:17:10] thank you and say, God grant us to see a film about
[00:17:13] our victory, a film about
[00:17:16] victory in this very difficult
[00:17:20] war. Thank you, it's already being filmed, yes,
[00:17:24] thank you.
[00:17:28] Donbass, land of steppes and spoil heaps?
[00:17:32] Local climbers are ready to argue
[00:17:35] with that. Mountain sports in the region are today
[00:17:38] experiencing a real revival, and
[00:17:41] new tourist routes, which in 2026,
[00:17:45] as part of the implementation of the national project Tourism
[00:17:48] and Hospitality, developed by Donetsk students, prove
[00:17:52] that the local heights have huge potential. Few
[00:17:55] people know, but it was Donbass that gave the world
[00:17:58] one of the first researchers of the Caucasus,
[00:18:02] military topographer, alpinist, geodesist, Andrey
[00:18:06] Pastukhov, the first Russian man to conquer
[00:18:09] both peaks of Elbrus back in the 19th century,
[00:18:12] was born in Luganshchina, in the village of Novoderkul,
[00:18:15] Belovodsky district, Lugansk region, on August 16,
[00:18:19] 1860. Today, his compatriots
[00:18:22] carefully preserve traditions, annually go on
[00:18:26] difficult expeditions and teach a new generation
[00:18:29] to conquer peaks. How the Steppe region
[00:18:33] trains the best climbers in the country and what
[00:18:36] mountains do they?
[00:19:01] He was born in the steppe region in the family of a stableman of the Derkul factory, and
[00:19:05] he discovered the mountains to the world.
[00:19:08] He eliminated the blank spots on the map of the Caucasus, he
[00:19:12] made a detailed mapping of the highest
[00:19:15] peaks, Elbrus, Kazbek, Ororata,
[00:19:18] Ushba. He studied the melting of glaciers, meteorological
[00:19:21] conditions, the ethnology of mountain peoples. And he is also considered the domestic
[00:19:25] inventor of crampons, spiked boots that climbers wear
[00:19:29] before going out on the glacier. Andrey Pastukhov was two decades
[00:19:32] ahead of the British Oscar Eckenstein, who
[00:19:36] is credited with the authorship of the already standardized ten-point
[00:19:39] model of this equipment.
[00:19:42] One of the brightest pages in the history of world alpinism was the first
[00:19:46] Soviet Himalayan expedition
[00:19:48] of 1982. 11 athletes
[00:19:52] not only climbed Mount Everest, overcoming the height of
[00:19:55] 8,848 meters, but also laid one of
[00:19:59] the most difficult routes in the history of conquering the peak. Part
[00:20:02] of the climbers, among whom was Mikhail Turkevich, the youngest
[00:20:06] participant.
[00:20:37] The highest peak in Russia and Europe. When in the late
[00:20:40] eighties, Volgograd climbers saw
[00:20:43] the deplorable state of the museum of defense
[00:20:47] near Elbrus, they decided to help with its instructions,
[00:20:50] they developed a sketch of the memorial, collected public money, at
[00:20:54] the Lugansk Locomotive Building Plant they cast the necessary
[00:20:57] elements. Almost 400 people came from Lugansk,
[00:21:01] Komsomol members, athletes, those who participated in subbotniks, well, in
[00:21:05] general, there was such a Lugansk
[00:21:08] paratrooper in Varshalovgrad, then on May 9, there was
[00:21:11] a solemn opening,
[00:21:14] two people were present,
[00:21:17] even those who removed
[00:21:20] German standards from Elbrus, glory to the hero,
[00:21:24] our reverence. On these
[00:21:27] steles are 219 names of those who defended Elbrus in '42, and
[00:21:31] liberated it in '43, the key outpost
[00:21:34] of the Caucasus. Lugansk athletes climb here
[00:21:37] regularly in honor of Victory Day. In 2014,
[00:21:40] a new tradition emerged: the high-altitude Immortal
[00:21:43] Regiment. Such are these people, climbers, courage and honor
[00:21:47] go hand in hand.
[00:21:51] Donbass, despite the steppe relief of the local area, has been famous
[00:21:54] since Soviet times for its schools of mountaineering
[00:21:57] and rock climbing. More than once its students became champions
[00:22:00] of competitions of the highest level.
[00:22:03] 2014 brought adjustments: some of the athletes
[00:22:07] left, some went to the front. With the entry into the Russian Federation, a new
[00:22:11] era began for Donbass climbers in history.
[00:22:15] This somehow inspires some pride
[00:22:18] and confidence in tomorrow.
[00:23:21] Young athletes from Horlivka do not give up, in a difficult time for the region
[00:23:25] they have to learn rock climbing online,
[00:23:28] rare training sessions in the gym are only a weak substitute, but without practice
[00:23:31] theory is dead. The famous climbing wall in Zuevka is also closed
[00:23:35] for the children, the unique natural landscape of the Donbass steppe.
[00:23:39] There, where the rocks of the Donetsk ridge go up 30 meters,
[00:23:42] honing skills is still too dangerous.
[00:23:46] Tsoevka is the cradle of alpinism and... parents
[00:24:05] are afraid to let them go to competitions, we are generally
[00:24:09] forbidden to do that there, Crimea helps Donbass athletes, the traditional
[00:24:12] Russian alpinism championship among veterans in the rock
[00:24:16] class, which was held in Sudak, this year brought silver and bronze to the Donetsk
[00:24:20] climbers in individual climbing and gold in
[00:24:24] team competitions, the oldest participant of the team from
[00:24:27] DPR is 80, ready to
[00:24:30] start, attention,
[00:24:32] march!
[00:24:36] If veterans come to Crimea once again to test themselves and communicate with
[00:24:40] colleagues from all over Russia, then for young athletes from Donbass,
[00:24:43] the rocks of Sudak and Bakhtchisaraï are the very practice that they
[00:24:47] are currently deprived of at home. I
[00:24:50] really like it, I really enjoy it when I climb, some
[00:24:53] fear, adrenaline, you climb,
[00:24:57] well, sometimes I'm scared to climb when there's especially a bottom belay, but
[00:25:01] still you climb, reach the top and relax, so
[00:25:04] I really enjoy this
[00:25:06] moment,
[00:25:09] they dream of becoming Olympic champions, their coaches of
[00:25:12] modern climbing walls for their students, and of course both
[00:25:15] of them dream of new peaks, because as Vladimir
[00:25:19] Vysotsky once sang, you can't say better than mountains can only be
[00:25:22] mountains you haven't been to yet. Olga Mokhova, Valery
[00:25:25] Savelev, Anastasia Popova,
[00:27:28] It's easy to get confused about facts when you only see part of the big picture.
[00:27:34] In pursuit of views, entire locations
[00:27:37] are changed, it's easy to make a deepfake.
[00:29:41] Our units have taken control of another village in Kharkiv
[00:29:44] region, this is the village of Olkhovatka. This settlement
[00:29:47] is located right inside the Reznikovsky cauldron, where
[00:29:51] thousands of militants are blocked, their situation is worsening every day.