Although our research for Jewish Luck has been completed, our fascination

with current Russia and all topics Russian has not waned.

Last week I watched Putin’s Kiss one night followed by Red Army the next night. Both

filmmakers are young (Danish born Pedersen is 42, and American Gabe Polsky is 36.)

Besides their youth (relative to my age), both filmmakers selected Russian individuals as

the focus for their documentary.

Pedersen found a fascinating subject, Masha Drokova. Pedersen’s question of Masha is

one many westerners pose to Russians—why does Putin have so much support?

The title, Putin’s Kiss, refers to Masha’s adoration of Putin sealed when he offers her a

chaste kiss at one of the Nashi rallies. She admires him because he is strong, supports

Russian economic growth, and has created stability in Russia.

As a teen she became a spokesperson for Nashi—the official Youth Movement of Putin’s

political party, United Russia. Little did Pedersen know when she began filming that Drokova

would have a change of heart as she began to socialize with opponents of Putin and saw first

hand how potentially deadly that could be. As a former history teacher, it’s chilling to watch

Nashi meetings, parades, and chants because it’s reminiscent of Fascist youth groups although,

ironically, Nashi’s official name is the Youth Democratic Anti-Fascist Movement.

Since Putin's Kiss was filmed. Nashi has retreated into history and a new Putin support

group has taken its place. Network (Set in Russian) recruits young Russians by asking, "Are you

for Putin?" If your answer is "yes," then you belong. While Nashi focused on mass

gatherings denouncing Putin's enemies, Network's approach is softer-- enlisting the

creative talents of young Russians. For a sample from the Moscow chapter, see

Polsky’s film, Red Army, was distributed by Sony, a major Hollywood studio. His film was sure to

attract the hockey crowd as he profiles Vyacheslav Fetisov,a member of the USSR’s premier hockey

team that may be remembered for its loss at Lake Placid by many Americans, but was known for their

finesse on the ice by Russians and hockey aficionados.

Fetisov defected in 1991 as the Soviet Union collapsed. With the demise of the Politburo, the hockey

infrastructure also collapsed. In the NHL Fetisov eventually played for the Detroit Red Wings helping

the team cinch the Stanley Cup in 1997 and 1998. In 2002, Fetisov returned to Putin’s Russia and stayed

becoming the Minister of Sports, teaching Putin to skate, and now serving as a senator in the Federal Assembly.

And why does Fetisov admire Putin? He thinks Putin is standing up to the West and returning Russia to the

days when it had superpower status. He sees Russian patriotism and traditional Russian values on the rise

under Putin. In his own words, Fetisov says, “He [Putin] tried to bring respect and pride for our country back,

and do what he had to do as president.”

I wrote a blog several weeks ago about Russian trolls—government employees who exploit social media to

cause chaos in the west or to make it appear as if Putin has a vast army of supporters. In both these documentaries,

it’s clear that Putin has home grown support (currently estimated at about 80% of the population) and the trolls’ task

is simply to amplify that support.

Neither of these documentaries purports to be an analysis of the source of Putin’s power but by viewing both these

documentaries, we non-Russians gain insight into the thoughts and the dilemmas of Russians who have to make sense

of their world.

Filmography

Putin’s Kiss. Directed by Lisa Birk Pederson. Monday Productions in association with Made in Copenhagen, 2012

Red Army. Directed by Gabe Polsky. Sony Pictures Classics, 2015.

Viewing Russia through a Documentary Lens: Lisa Birk Pedersen and Gabe Polsky