Великая освободительная миссия Советской армии: политические и идеологические причины появления киноэпопеи «Освобождение»
The Great Liberation Mission of the Soviet Army: Political and Ideological Reasons of the Creation of the Epic War Film “Liberation”

Summary/Abstract: The article is devoted to the study of the reasons for the revival of military epics in the cinematography of the Soviet Union in the 1960’s and, in particular, the prerequisites for the appearance of the film epic “Liberation” directed by Yuri Ozerov. The author examines the documents of the Committee for Cinematography under the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union, the Mosfilm studio, the Main Political Department of the Soviet Army and Navy, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The study of discussions among filmmakers, military-political workers, and party officials takes a special place in the article. They are presented in the minutes and transcripts of the meetings of the relevant authorities. The main positions of the participants of the discussions on the research question are revealed. The conclusions are made that the revival of the genre of epic films was due to the concern of the workers of ideology and propaganda, cinematography patriotic education of the population, as well as the need to compete with the “super films” about the past war, which were created in Western countries. The American film “The Longest Day”, which drew serious criticism from Soviet officials and artists, also occupies a special place in the article’s material. The creation of the Liberation epic cannot be presented as the desire of any one person. The return of the military epic as a genre to Soviet cinema was the result of a consensus of various social and political forces, each pursuing its own interests. This process is an indicator of a major change in the ideology and propaganda of the Soviet leadership in the 1960’s: a shift from defense to offensive, to the creation of historical memory of the Great Patriotic War, and it is part of the overall “memorial turn” of the decade.

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