Soviet gardens and parks of the 1920s and 1930s in state cultural policy: A view through the lens of feature films

• Published in: S̆agi (Moskva) Vol. 11; no. 2
• Main Authors: M. V. Vorobyeva, E. S. Kochukhova
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. RANEPA 01.06.2025
• ISSN: 2412-9410; 2782-1765

The article analyzes the representation of gardens and parks in Soviet feature films from the 1920s and 1930s, set against the backdrop of evolving state cultural policy during that era. It compares the state’s cultural policy guidelines regarding the purpose and functionality of garden and park spaces with their cinematic portrayals in films from the same period. The study is based on a sample of ten films set in Soviet urban everyday life. For a detailed investigation, episodes set in gardens and parks were chosen. The analysis focused on the role of these episodes in the plot, the visual elements within the frame (such as objects and infrastructure), and the content of intertitles and dialogues. The dominant themes of state cultural policy are selectively reflected in these films. In the mid-1920s, cinema primarily depicted the existing conditions of gardens and parks. By contrast, films from the late 1920s and early 1930s began to reflect the ideological directives of that time, particularly emphasizing the educational role of parks. In the mid-1930s, some films reintroduced a politically neutral image of parks as spaces for private life, aligning with a shift in official park requirements. Films produced in the latter half of the 1930s fully embraced a new direction in state cultural policy, portraying park recreation as depoliticized. The authors link these fluctuations to historical contexts such as the New Economic Policy and its subsequent rollback, the intensification of the “cultural revolution” associated with industrialization, and the “conservative turn” of the mid-1930s.