“Sovexportfilm” as an Actor of Ideological Influence during the Cold War

Abstract

During the Cold War exporting films was not only a means of obtaining commercial benefits from distribution in foreign countries, but also an important instrument of ideological influence. In the USSR, the All- Union Association “Sovexportfilm” served these functions selling Soviet film products as well as purchasing foreign films. The purpose of the article is to study the methods and principles of propaganda of “Sovexportfilm” in its work with foreign states within the framework of the foreign policy pursued by the USSR. The article examines the main aspects of the organizational activities of “Sovexportfilm”, the history of the creation and reorganization of the association, the mechanisms and efficiency of its work. The specifics of the export of products to the countries of Western Europe, the USA, Latin America, the countries of Asia and Africa are determined. The article pays particular attention to a comparative analysis of the principles of conducting propaganda aimed at foreign countries employed by the USSR and the United States as far as a number of aspects are concerned, including organizational activity, production capacity, and repertoire policy. The analysis of the sources enables to trace the main stages of the development of “Sovexportfilm” as an agent of foreign policy influence, to identify the shortcomings in the system of export of film, and also to highlight the reasons for the failure of the association’s activities in the last stages of the Cold War. Based on the results of the study, the author comes to the conclusion that “Sovexportfilm”, initially possessing a powerful starting potential for promoting Soviet films abroad, due to a number of objective factors and mistakes in organization of its work by the 1980s, ceased to perform the function of spreading ideological influence through the Soviet cinema.