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An episode of the talk show “Tema”: “Racism in Russia”
A clip from the talk show "Tema [Theme]," Vladislav Listyev's (1956-1995) major post-Soviet project after the 1991 end of “Vzgliad.” This episode centers on racism in Russia and includes guest Dzheims (James) Lloydovich Patterson (1933-), who played an interracial baby in the classic Stalin-era musical comedy Circus (1936).
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"Pro Eto." Male Prostitution
A clip from the talk show "Pro Eto" with Elena Khanga, episode on male prostitution.
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“Politburo” versus the specter of communism during the 1993 Constitutional Crisis
A clip from “Politburo,” a weekly commentary show from Aleksandr Politkovsky, a former host of “Vzgliad.” This episode aired in the days following the April referendum that solidified Yeltsin’s position, and, in particular, follows People’s Deputy (and Yeltsin opponent) Alexander Rutskoy's first salvo in the so-called "Kompromat Wars," in which he made public 11 suitcases’ worth of material allegedly documenting Yeltsin's corruption. The episode ends with some May Day-themed anti-communist “chastushki” (Russian limericks).
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One-on-One with Vladimir Zhirinovsky and Boris Nemtsov
Alexander Liubimov’s (1962-) talk show, “One on One,” staged debates between public figures who disagreed strongly with each other. When nationalist provocateur Vladimir Zhirinovsky (1946-2022) and liberal reformer Boris Nemtsov (1959-2015) met on air in as the First Chechen War (1994-1996) was just beginning, sparks—and a piece of the set—flew.
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Perestroika-era Russian Women Speak to US Women
A clip from one of many perestroika-era televised conversations between American and Soviet "regular people," in which they find common ground with the help of longtime Soviet propagandist and future star of liberal post-Soviet TV, Vladimir Pozner (1934-).
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Lenin Was a Mushroom
An excerpt from the famous episode of the TV show "Piatoe koleso" (The Fifth Wheel) in which the experimental musician and performer Sergey Kuryokhin (1954-1996) nearly convinced Soviet audiences that "Lenin was a mushroom."
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