The Soviet cinematic offensive in the Spanish Civil War

This article explores the relationship of Soviet cinema and the Spanish Civil War, 1936–1939. The article focuses on three separate components of Moscow's cinematic operations vis-à-vis the Spanish imbroglio: (1) the distribution of Soviet-made feature films in the Loyalist zone, (2) the production of Soviet propaganda newsreels on Spanish subjects intended for distribution within the Soviet Union, and (3) the significance of the Spanish war for Soviet cinema throughout the balance of the Bolshevik period. The narrative and conclusions herein are supported by new research from archives in both Spain and the Russian Federation, as well as analyses of films rarely if ever discussed in the scholarly literature, either within film studies or twentieth century European history.