The Progression of the Soviet Heroine in Film

Abstract

Heroines in Soviet films adapted to conform to changing political and social views throughout the twentieth century. Oksana Bulgakova's observation of the metamorphoses of Soviet heroines marks the decline and peaks of complexity in their characters through each progressing year. There are two major historical periods which precipitated the evolving portrayal of female protagonists in cinema: the Thaw and Glasnost. The films The Cranes Are Flying (1957) and Little Vera (1988) establish two specific breakthroughs: they set the precedent for independent, complex heroines who defy the communist condemnation of the "individualist" mindset while also portraying the feminist struggles of their decades.