Comrades was a 1983-84 BBC television documentary series and the related book about life in the Soviet Union composed mainly of interviews and fly on the wall filming of 'normal' Soviet citizens. BBC producer Richard Denton was able achieve a largely unprecedented degree of freedom in selecting and interviewing people.
The Education of Rita
Rita Tikhonova, 21, is a model Russian citizen. The lifestyle and ambitions of an outstanding Young Communist League member in Moscow are depicted as she completes her education at a prestigious school and begins her first teaching job.
Hunter and Son
For four months every year, Mikhail Kuzakov and his son, Yuri, leave the comforts of home for the Siberian wilderness, where they hunt on horseback for sable and other valuable fur animals. Frontline examines life in the taiga and follows the hunt of father and son.
All That Jazz
Sergei Kuryokhin is a popular Russian jazz and rock musician who is disapproved of by the state because his music is difficult to control. Made without the permission of Soviet authorities on a home video camera, Frontline takes a look at the Soviet music subculture and this one talented musician.
The Trial of Tamara Russo
Frontline examines the differences in Soviet and Western justice systems as it contrasts the lives of Tamara Russo, a 50-year-old hospital orderly on trial for theft in Soviet Moldavia, and Lyubov Bubulic, the female judge presiding over Russo’s case.
Master of Samarkand
Abdugaffar Khakkulov is a master craftsman of Uzbek heritage who for 35 years has been restoring the great Islamic mosques in Samarkand. Frontline examines daily life in a Muslim community and explores the uneasy relationship between Islamic faith and Soviet power.
Pacific Outpost
Frontline gained unique access in filming the inner workings of the local government system in Nakhodka, a town six thousand miles and seven time zones from Moscow. Here, Frontline profiles the workaholic lifestyle of Tatyana Naumova, a communist zealot and town official in Nakhodka, and the tensions it creates with her husband, who cares for their two daughters.
Steel Mill Soccer
Frontline profiles the lives of players on a factory soccer team in the southern Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan as they fight for the town championship.
Doctor in Moscow
Svyatoslav Nilolaevich Fyodorov is an outspoken and provocative eye surgeon whose surgical technique for correcting nearsightedness has made him famous. He lives like a superstar with a chauffeur, a sumptuous apartment in Moscow, and a house in the country. Frontline follows Fyodorov through his day and reveals what life is really like for privileged Soviet Citizens.
Baltic Chic
Fashion-conscious Estonians living on the Gulf of Finland are inspired by the Western styles of Dallas and Dynasty which are picked up from Finnish TV in Helsinki, fifty miles away. Frontline profiles Krista Kajandu, the chief designer of a fashion house in the town of Tallin the ‘Paris of the North,’ who tries to raise the design standards of the Soviet fashion industry.
Soldier Boy
For the first time on Western television, Frontline details a recruit’s life inside a Soviet Army barracks. Frontline cameras follow Valera Krylov, 18, through the exertion and boredom of basic training in the military and focuses on his parents, who worry that in the next two years he may be fighting in Afghanistan.
October Harvest
The Kulinich family lives and works on a collective farm in southern Russia. Frontline follows the Kulinichs through their daily lives during harvest time and takes a close look at the workings of the collective farm system to find that they, like many other Russian peasants, have discovered their own version of the Communist way of life-Leninism with loopholes.
Leningrad Movie
Soviet film directors have one advantage over Westerners: the state takes care of the budget. But in return, the state expects firm control over all productions. Dinara Asanova, one of the few female directors of Soviet features, knows how to bend the rules-departing from approved scripts and changing characters and locations, with controversial results.
