Modern Russian Cinema as a Battleground in Russia’s Information War

This book explores how modern Russian cinema is part of the international information war that has unfolded across a variety of battlefields, including social media, online news, and television. It outlines how Russian cinema has been instrumentalized, both by the Kremlin’s allies and its detractors, to convey salient political and cultural messages, often in subtle ways, thereby becoming a tool for both critiquing and serving domestic and foreign policy objectives, shaping national identity, and determining cultural memory. It explains how regulations, legislation, and funding mechanisms have rendered contemporary cinema both an essential weapon for the Kremlin and a means for more independent figures to publicly frame official government policy. In addition, the book employs formal cinematic analysis to highlight the dominant themes and narratives in modern Russian films of a variety of genres, situating them in Russia’s broader rhetorical ecosystem and explaining how they serve the objectives of the Kremlin or its opponents.

Alexander Rojavin, formerly of the theater world, is an intelligence, policy, media, and film analyst specializing in information war history, strategy, and tactics. He is currently the Director of Counter Foreign Malign Influence Strategy at Deft9 Solutions, Inc.

Helen Haft is currently an Assistant District Attorney at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office (she is contributing to this volume in her personal capacity). Prior to joining the DA’s office she was a legal fellow at Human Rights in China, after having spent many years studying Russia, with a focus on church-state relations, religiously inspired legislation, and freedom of speech.