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Moscow to Baykal Region Soviet Union (1963)

1963 · Short film · 14 min

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Synopsis

This Russian language training film was produced in 1963 by International Film Bureau, Inc., and the East European Language program of Syracuse University. Narration by Olga Snegireff Federoff. Depicted are the produce markets of an average European Soviet city, a central Asian produce market, shots of the normal traffic in Samarkand (the capital of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic at the time), a prolonged explanation of the daily life in the Soviet countryside, ending with several shots of the now-extinct kolkhoz in the Baikal region and the kolkhoz workers wistfully gazing at the Russophone "Amerika" magazine. Footage dating 1956-1962. Highlights include: 0:49 - 1:51 an overhead shot of a Russian produce market and produce, scenes of people, mostly elderly women and older men, buying produce. Supposedly Moscow, but can be anywhere in Russia, just a very typical shot. 2:05 Overhead shot of a Central Asian Soviet produce market, supposedly in Tashkent 2:14 A ZIS/ZIL-150 (1947) truck, navigating the crowd, in the background 2:15 - 3:07 People buying and selling produce. 3:21 - 3:41 Samarkand, Registan Masjid Square 3:41 People exiting one of the mosque doors 4:12 Registan square ensemble, viewed from the back, people exiting a 1949-model GZA-651 bus, and a Willis-MB by, swiftly, at 4:14.04, followed possibly by a ZIS-5 or GAZ-AA trucks. Continued from the same spot behind the Registan square is a long shot of the Samarkand street traffic, consisting mostly of pedestrians,…

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Details

Running time
14 minutes
Collection
Ephemeral Films

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