Cinephile, history fan, and one-time Muscovite Ally Pitts explores contemporary and Soviet-era Russian language cinema one film at a time! The show combines interviews and movie discussion, and features expert guests including authors, journalists, stand-up comedians, and indie podcasters. From time to time, it also tackles Hollywood’s attempts to bring aspects of Russian culture, literature, and history to the Silver Screen.
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Finally, a history podcast for folks on the go & in the know. Who can spare an hour these days? Give us 20 minutes, and we'll inform and entertain you! From Stratford Hall Historic Preserve in Westmoreland County, Virginia, join Director of Research Dr. Gordon Blaine Steffey as he reads over the shoulder of letter-writers of yesteryear. What to expect? Once a month we feature an historical letter from a onetime resident, associate, ally, or friend of Stratford Hall. Whether the topic is wine ...
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EVENT: The Saint Audio Podcast Festival, 23-26 May '24 in Oxford, UK!
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Saint Audio Podcast Festival is happening over the late May Bank Holiday Weekend (that's 23-26 May), in Oxford, UK! See you there, maybe? Links mentioned in the episode: Saintaudiopodcastfestival.com Screening of Spice World (1997) at the Ultimate Picture Palace, presented by The Flop House podcast. Contact us/socials: (We've changed the name of th…
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Hannah Lee Corbin was undeniably a force to be reckoned with. She attracts interest from scholars and history-lovers alike, whether for her unusual private life, her defection from the established Anglican faith of her family, or her general independence of spirit. Hannah is sometimes celebrated as an 18th century proponent of women’s right to vote…
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FEED TAKEOVER: Ally guests on Projection Booth episode on Amphibian Man (Vladimir Chebotaryov, Gennadi Kazansky; 1961)
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Ally Pitts introduces an episode of The Projection Booth he guested on in 2022. Links mentioned in the episode: Listen to the rest of Ally's guest appearances on The Projection Booth. Contact us: (We've changed the name of the show, but the social handles are staying the same for now). Email: russophilesunite@gmail.com Letterboxd: https://letterbox…
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EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT: Alissa Timoshkina in conversation with Catriona Kelly on Russian Food Since 1800
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Professor Catriona Kelly will be discussing her new book Russian Food Since 1800: Empire at Table with previous guest on this show, Alissa Timoshkina at Pushkin House in London on Friday 15th March 2024. It's an in-person & online hybrid event, which will from 6.30 to 8.00 pm GMT. Find out more about the event and buy tickets at pushkinhouse.org Ou…
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In commemoration of Black History month, Stratford Mail considers a trio of portraits of Black women and men, two of whom were enslaved at Stratford Hall under Colonel Philip Ludwell Lee. The stories of Sawney, Henrietta Steptoe, and Louisa Thomas, however partial and fragmentary, offer valuable lessons of resistance and resilience in the face of t…
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In the spirit of High Fidelity, Ally Pitts brings you an audio listicle of some awesome movies he saw for the first time in 2023. They are, in the order they appear on the episode: - Conscience (Volodymr Denisenko; 1968) - Fright Night (Tom Holland; 1985) - Chameleon Street (Wendell B. Harris Jr; 1989) - The Queen of Spades (Thorold Dickinson;1949)…
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NEWSFLASH: Tchaikovsky’s Wife (Kirill Serebrennikov; 2023) in UK cinemas Jan-Mar ’24
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Links mentioned in the episode: Cinemas screening Tchaikovsky's Wife (UK and Republic of Ireland): sovereignfilms.co.uk/tchaikovskyswife The Guardian's Pjotr Sauer interviews Kirill Serebrennikov BBFC content advice for Tchaikovsky's Wife To receive a 50% discount on an annual subscription to Klassiki, please use the code RUPOD50 at checkout. Visit…
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1778, British-occupied Philadelphia. The American alliance with France and defeat at Saratoga have depressed the British outlook on the war. General William Howe pays the cost, resigning his command of British land forces. Only days from the order to withdraw from Philadelphia, Howe's officers organize a fabled farewell blowout called the Meschianz…
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Probably not the best place to start if you're arriving at this feed for the first time.By Ally Pitts
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MINI-REVIEW: Unclenching the Fists (Kira Kovalenko; 2021)
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Ally Pitts reviews Kira Kovalenko's 2021 Ossetian language coming of age drama Unclenching the Fists and then recommends a handful of other films currently streaming on MUBI. Links mentioned in the episode: To get a 30-day free trial of MUBI, please visit:https://mubi.com/russiansovietpod Carmen Gray's article, Scarred States: Unclenching the Fists…
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FEED TAKEOVER: Ninotchka (Ernst Lubitsch; 1939) with Ally Pitts - All the Best Lines episode
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Ally Pitts introduces an episode of All the Best Lines, hosted by Smokey and Adam Roche, that he guested on in 2021. Links mentioned in the episode: Listen to more All the Best Lines episodes. Listen to our episode on War & Peace with Adam Roche. Listen to The Projection Booth on Ninotchka. Contact Us: (We've changed the name of the show, but the s…
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Join Dr. Steffey for a special edition of Stratford Mail. In this final episode of Season 1, Hallowtide is upon us, and as the veil between the worlds grows thin, our minds turn to the 'hereafter,' and perhaps to the departed who haunt our here and now. What's the connection between historic sites like Stratford and ghosts? Which member of the Lee …
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As conflict with England escalated, delegates to the 2nd Continental Congress foresaw the need for diplomatic and intelligence services. On 29 November 1775 the Committee for Correspondence was born, soon becoming the Committee for Secret Correspondence, and ultimately the Committee for Foreign Affairs on 17 April 1777. In the beginning, with war o…
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On October 19, 1774 a tyrant minority in Annapolis compelled traders James Dick & Anthony Stewart to burn the merchant brigantine Peggy Stewart. The so-called Annapolis Tea Party differed from its Boston precedent in that there were no disguises, no concealing cover of night. The disposition of the Peggy Stewart and its cargo were topics of open de…
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BONUS EPISODE: Ally’s Klassiki Recommendations
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Dr Samuel Goff, editorial director at the film streaming service Klassiki, joins Ally Pitts to talk about Ally's five film picks from the Klassiki film Library. To receive a 50% discount on an annual subscription to Klassiki, please use the code RUPOD50 at checkout. Visit Klassiki.Online and sign up for a free trial! Follow Klassiki on: Letterboxd:…
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In 1787 Thomas Lee Shippen, an American student at Inner Temple, London, shipped a hat to his sister Anne Home Livingston in Philadelphia. Nancy, as she was called by kith and kin, was living at Shippen House with her parents after her marriage to a scoundrel with a taste for scandal and no taste for divorce fell through. Tommy Shippen was a bon vi…
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If you’ve visited Stratford Hall since 2016, you likely noticed the looming full-length portrait of British statesman WIlliam Pitt the elder in our parlor. Standing at 8 feet by 5 feet, it’s difficult to miss! That painting reproduces the original now hanging in the Westmoreland County Museum. From the hand of Maryland painter Charles Willson Peale…
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Virginia wine has made a comeback from its bleak beginnings. Cultivation failed to make native grapes competitive with European vintages, and European vines struggled to adapt to the challenges of foreign climates, soils, and pests. Interest in producing good quality wine from native grapes persisted across centuries, and was a preoccupation of Vir…
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1773. A letter and gift from prominent British abolitionist Granville Sharp prompt a thank you from Arthur Lee, whose antislavery writings circulated among abolitionists at home and abroad. Sharp may have encountered Lee in London, or possibly become acquainted through his abolitionist correspondent in Philadelphia, Anthony Benezet, who reprinted b…
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A letter full of life and light from 12-year-old Alice Lee (1749-1789) of Blenheim plantation in Charles County, Maryland, to her second cousin William Lee of Stratford, a commercial agent for Virginia tobacco living in Tower Hill, London. Alice speaks her mind on 'tying the knot,' her eccentric Virginia relation known as 'the Squire,' and the purs…
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This month Elizabeth Jackson gives a piece of her mind to Martha Corbin (Turberville) of Portobago on the Rappahannock River and reports on a special event at Stratford. Working with letters from yesteryear we realize emphatically that the 'Devil is in the details,' and often those details lie just beyond our grasp. In consequence we float the know…
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Controlling the narrative is at the center of this month's microcast. As tensions escalate between Britain and the colonies, Americans residing and working in London experienced a unique set of difficulties, especially Americans involved in the production and dissemination of political intelligence. In a letter dated 6 March 1785, Arthur Lee underl…
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PODCAST 5th ANNIVERSARY BONUS SHOW: Battleship Potemkin (Sergei Eisenstein; 1925) Classic Schmassic episode with Ally Pitts
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To mark the 5th anniversary of the release of the pilot episode for this show, we're taking you to on a trip into the show's pre-history...our host Ally Pitts's podcasting debut! Classic Schmassic was an amazing comedy podcast about movies from before 1980. For this episode, Ally joined hosts Chris Mead & Owen Choules to discuss Sergei Eisenstein’s…
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FEED TAKEOVER! SRB Podcast episode: The Stalinist Film Industry
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Ally Pitts introduces a conversation between Sean Guillory and Maria Belodubrovskaya that was originally recorded for the SRB Podcast. Find it wherever you listen to this podcast. There's also a brief update on what's happening with the show. Also, Feedspot added us to their 100 best movie podcasts list, which is pretty awesome! Contact Us: Twitter…
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We highly recommend you check out this history podcast series centering on Teddy Roe, an American who visited the Soviet Union in 1968. Visit the Teddy Goes to the USSR website, or find the show wherever you get your podcasts.By Ally Pitts
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The Lord Eagle (Eduard Novikov; 2018)
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Jenny Shelton from the RSPB discusses this historical drama from Yakutia with host Ally Pitts. The film centres around an elderly couple whose grueling but predictable life in rural Siberia in the 1930s is a disrupted by the arrival of mysterious bird of prey. Episode Sponsor: You can watch The Lord Eagle, along with many other films from Eastern E…
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Podchaser.com is donating $0.25 to support World Central Kitchen's #ChefsForUkraine for every podcast review on their site from now until the end of April 2022. Russophiles Unite's Podchaser page. The Eastern Border's Podchaser page. More about Podchaser's #Reviews4Good campaign. Here's Podchaser's FAQ about #Reviews4Good. Contact Us: Twitter: @Rus…
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MOVIE NEWS: Petrov’s Flu (Kirill Serebrennikov; 2021) in UK Cinemas February 2022
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Petrov's Flu film screening times: https://www.odeon.co.uk/films/petrovs-flu/HO00002609/ Petrov's Flu + Q&A with Kirill Serebrennikov film screening times:: https://www.odeon.co.uk/films/petrovs-flu--qa/HO00002626/By Ally Pitts
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Bonus Episode: Stump the Guesser! (Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson; 2020)
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Lyn Seren joins Ally Pitts once again, this time to discuss this surreal Canadian spoof of early Soviet film. Some Ways You Can Support the Show: First of all, please subscribe on your podcatcher of choice, if you haven't already! Try out MUBI for free for 30 days with our referral link, www.mubi.com/russophiles If you're listening from the UK, you…
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What else did Ally get up to last year when he wasn't recording Russophiles Unite episodes?By Ally Pitts
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Carrie & Ally Pitts discuss a Khrushchev Thaw-era musical satirical comedy from the director of Soviet New Year staple The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath!. Some Ways You Can Support the Show: First of all, please subscribe on your podcatcher of choice, if you haven't already! If you're listening from the UK, you can pick up a book from our uk.bo…
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The Lighthouse (AKA Mayak) (Maria Saakyan; 2006)
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Film historian and Hamo Bek-Nazarov Project co-founder Daniel Bird joins Ally Pitts to discuss this astonishing debut feature by the late Armenian-Russian director Maria Saakyan. To celebrate the release of the new restoration the film on region-free Blu-ray, Second Run are offering 10% off the list price of The Lighthouse and/or any other Blu-ray …
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The Lighthouse (AKA Mayak) (Maria Saakyan; 2006) Second Run Blu-ray Twitter Competition Terms & Conditions
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The Lighthouse [AKA Mayak] (Maria Saakyan; 2006) Blu-ray Giveaway on Twitter A new restoration of Maria Saakyan’s stunning film The Lighthouse AKA Mayak is out on Blu-ray on 27th September 2021! To celebrate, we've teamed up with Second Run to give away 2 copies of the Blu-ray. To enter: 1) Follow @RussophilesU & @SecondRunDVD on Twitter. 2) Retwee…
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Announcement: Gentlemen Don't Get Caught, an R.E.M. Podcast, hosted by Ally Pitts & Lyn Seren
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Ally Pitts and Lyn Seren are hosting podcast where they discuss the music of alternative rock legends R.E.M. one track at a time. It's called Gentlemen Don't Get Caught, and we think you should listen to it! You can find the show at this link.By Ally Pitts & Lyn Seren
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STATE FUNERAL (Sergei Loznitsa; 2019)
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Kristaps Andrejsons, journalist and host of The Eastern Border podcast, joins Ally Pitts to discuss this documentary which provides a startling insight into the cult of personality surrounding Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. STATE FUNERAL is now showing on MUBI. You can claim your free 30-day trial of their incredible film streaming service by visit…
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Phil Manchester, former Moscow resident and pub quizmaster extraordinaire, joins Ally Pitts to discuss this adaptation of the first of Martin Cruz Smith's Arkady Renko detective novels, set in early 1980s Moscow. CONTENT WARNING: The film includes violence and gore, including violence against women. SPOILERS for both the book and the film (and inde…
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Khraniteli (Soviet TV version of The Lord of the Rings)
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Against their better judgement, Ally & Carrie Pitts decided to watch this extremely low-budget adaptation of JRR Tolkien's classic fantasy. Here are a few of their thoughts. If you'd like to get in touch, it would be great to hear from you! Here are some ways you can do that: Twitter: @RussophilesU Email: russophilesunite@gmail.com Facebook: www.fa…
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Interview with Alex Christofi, author of Dostoevsky in Love
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Author and publisher Alex Christofi joins Ally Pitts to discuss the tumultuous life of Fyodor Dostoevsky, who is the subject of his fascinating new biography, Dostoevsky in Love, published by Bloomsbury Continuum. Listeners in the UK can pick up a copy of Dostoevsky in Love via our uk.bookshop.org affiliate link. 10% of the sale will go towards cov…
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I am Twenty (Marlen Khutsiev; 1965)
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Nadja Bee, film critic and co-founder of KinoSelect, joins Ally Pitts to discuss a sprawling drama from the 1960s in which a group of friends navigate the trials, tribulations, and joys of young adulthood. Oh, and a youthful Andrei Tarkovsky shows up briefly as a jerk at a party. CONTENT WARNING: The film's plot includes the death of a parent. SPOI…
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A Russian Youth (Alexander Zolotukhin; 2019)
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Lyn Seren, host of Gentlemen Don't Get Caught: An R.E.M. Podcast, joins Ally Pitts to discuss this depiction of an adolescent conscript's experience of the First World War, which features an unusual (and perhaps not wholly successful) artistic twist. SPOILERS from about 8 minutes in until the end. CONTENT WARNING: the film discussed contains violen…
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Lyn Seren, host of Gentlemen Don't Get Caught: An R.E.M. Podcast, joins Ally Pitts to discuss this dark exploration of a relationship between two young women living in Leningrad in the aftermath of World War II. SPOILERS from about 20 minutes in until the end. CONTENT WARNING: the film discussed contains many upsetting scenes, including some contai…
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Interview with Kino Klassika season manager Olga Doletskaya
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Kino Klassika is a UK non-profit organisation that highlights films from Russia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. Shortly before the launch of Klassiki, Kino Klassika's new streaming service, Ally Pitts spoke to season manager Olga Doletskaya. Find out more about Kino Klassika: https://www.kinoklassikafoundation.org/ Find out more about Klassiki: ht…
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War and Peace (Sergei Bondarchuk; 1966)
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Lyn Seren, host of Gentlemen Don't Get Caught: An R.E.M. Podcast joins Ally Pitts to discuss this suitably epic adaptation of Lev Tolstoy's famous masterpiece. Support the show/fund Ally's caffeine habit at: ko-fi.com/russophilesunite Listeners in the UK can buy War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy and Bondarchuk's War and Peace': Literary Classic to Sovie…
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Morozko [AKA Frosty AKA Father Frost AKA Jack Frost...] (Alexander Rou; 1964)
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Carrie Pitts, Russian language & literature graduate, joins Ally Pitts to discuss this festive fairy tale adventure featuring winter wizard Ded Moroz and notorious witch Baba Yaga. Listeners in the UK can buy Why the Bear Has No Tail: And other Russian Folk Tales, translated by Netta Peacock and The Story of Synko-Filipko and other Russian Folk Tal…
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Anastasia: Once Upon a Time (Blake Harris; 2020)
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Samantha Berkhead, Moscow Times editor and bad movie enthusiast, joins Ally Pitts to discuss this extremely ill-judged pre-teen fish-out-of-water/time-travel comedy which features the doomed Romanov princess as its main character. Listeners in the UK can support the show by picking up a book via our online affiliate bookshop. 10% of the sale will g…
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Caroline Ridler, academic and musician, joins Ally Pitts to discuss this musical/drama/biopic which follows the growth of the Leningrad rock scene in the early 1980s, with a particular focus on one of its most famous members, Kino frontman Viktor Tsoi. Listeners in the UK can buy Everything Was Forever, Until It Was No More by Alexei Yurchak from P…
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Brief Encounters (Kira Muratova; 1967)
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Bianca Garner, film critic and editor and founder of In Their Own League, a website focusing on female filmmakers, joins Ally Pitts to discuss this 1960s romantic drama co-starring legendary Soviet bard Vladimir Vysotsky. Listeners in the UK can buy Kira Muratova by Jane Taubman from Bloomsbury Books via our uk.bookshop.org affiliate link. 10% of t…
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Mongol: The Rise to Power of Genghis Khan (Sergei Bodrov Sr; 2007)
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Dr Sarah Ifft Decker, professional historian and host of Media-eval: A Medieval Pop Culture Podcast, joins Ally Pitts to discuss an epic drama/war movie based on the early career of one of the most (in)famous military leaders in history. CONTENT WARNING: a character in the film is raped off-screen, there is also several violent battle scenes. This …
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Russian Ark (Aleksandr Sokurov; 2002)
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Jonny Tickle, Moscow resident and YouTuber, joins Ally Pitts to discuss this meandering, mysterious walk through Russian history and Saint Petersberg's Hermitage Museum, filmed in a single continuous take. Listeners in the UK can buy Alexander Sokurov: Russian Ark by Birgit Beumers via our uk.bookshop.org affiliate link. 10% of the sale will go tow…
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My Boyfriend is an Angel (Vera Storozheva; 2011)
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Carrie joins Ally once again, this time to discuss a fantastical rom-com in which Sasha (Anna Starshenbaum), a student, meets Serafim (Artur Smolyaninov), a celestial visitor in Moscow on New Year's Eve. CONTENT WARNING: As we discuss in this episode, this film contains extreme racial insensitivity and also outright racism. Expect SPOILERS from abo…
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