Russian pornography and erotica
Encyclopedia
Russian pornography and erotica.
was largely suppressed until the final years of the USSR. According to The Pornography and Erotica Debate: USSR, sex in general was viewed as "a wasteful consumer of energies better devoted to the building of Communism." Genrikh Yagoda
, the third head of the NKVD
, was accused during his trial (besides espionage and high treason) of storing a great number of pornographic films and pictures. Such accusations were also faced by Nikolai Yezhov
, who followed Yagoda. More recently, possession could get up to 3 years in prison, or a 3000 ruble fine. The 1988 Soviet film Malenkaya Vera was the first to feature a sex scene. The resolution on Glasnost
stated, "Glasnost must not be used...[to] disseminate pornography" but by September 1989, calendars of topless women for the year 1990 were being sold in Moscow.
n directors and the entire community of adult-movie fans, critiques, and others intrigued by the rare sexual appeal of the Russian movies, often shun away from using the term pornography. Rightfully so, they prefer a more accurate term of erotica, which stands for a more creative and passionate dramatic performance.
Another reason for the use of the term erotica as opposed to pornography has its roots in the etymology of words and their established use in Russian society. The word porn, while spelled the same around the globe, may mean one thing in New York and stand for an entirely different concept in Moscow. There is no legal definition of pornography in Russia, but the social and linguistic look at the word makes it disreputable and notorious.
Erotica in Russia, on the other hand, often refers to sophisticated and refined adult entertainment, with or without close-up shots and vivid exposure of penetration. Instead on commenting on so to speak, technical attributes, the term Erotica rather contracts an approach that describes the nature and spirit of the movie as such. Say, a classy movie emerged in the luxury of early 19th century Russian noble life and depicting sexual merriment in glorious historical palaces, would definitely be classified as high-class erotica, irrespectively of the technical details such as close-ups and penetration.
Pornography in the Soviet Union
Pornography in the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
was largely suppressed until the final years of the USSR. According to The Pornography and Erotica Debate: USSR, sex in general was viewed as "a wasteful consumer of energies better devoted to the building of Communism." Genrikh Yagoda
Genrikh Yagoda
Genrikh Grigoryevich Yagoda , born Enokh Gershevich Ieguda , was a Soviet state security official who served as director of the NKVD, the Soviet Union's Stalin-era security and intelligence agency, from 1934 to 1936...
, the third head of the NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
, was accused during his trial (besides espionage and high treason) of storing a great number of pornographic films and pictures. Such accusations were also faced by Nikolai Yezhov
Nikolai Yezhov
Nikolai Ivanovich Yezhov or Ezhov was a senior figure in the NKVD under Joseph Stalin during the period of the Great Purge. His reign is sometimes known as the "Yezhovshchina" , "the Yezhov era", a term that began to be used during the de-Stalinization campaign of the 1950s...
, who followed Yagoda. More recently, possession could get up to 3 years in prison, or a 3000 ruble fine. The 1988 Soviet film Malenkaya Vera was the first to feature a sex scene. The resolution on Glasnost
Glasnost
Glasnost was the policy of maximal publicity, openness, and transparency in the activities of all government institutions in the Soviet Union, together with freedom of information, introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the second half of the 1980s...
stated, "Glasnost must not be used...[to] disseminate pornography" but by September 1989, calendars of topless women for the year 1990 were being sold in Moscow.
Terminology
RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n directors and the entire community of adult-movie fans, critiques, and others intrigued by the rare sexual appeal of the Russian movies, often shun away from using the term pornography. Rightfully so, they prefer a more accurate term of erotica, which stands for a more creative and passionate dramatic performance.
Another reason for the use of the term erotica as opposed to pornography has its roots in the etymology of words and their established use in Russian society. The word porn, while spelled the same around the globe, may mean one thing in New York and stand for an entirely different concept in Moscow. There is no legal definition of pornography in Russia, but the social and linguistic look at the word makes it disreputable and notorious.
Erotica in Russia, on the other hand, often refers to sophisticated and refined adult entertainment, with or without close-up shots and vivid exposure of penetration. Instead on commenting on so to speak, technical attributes, the term Erotica rather contracts an approach that describes the nature and spirit of the movie as such. Say, a classy movie emerged in the luxury of early 19th century Russian noble life and depicting sexual merriment in glorious historical palaces, would definitely be classified as high-class erotica, irrespectively of the technical details such as close-ups and penetration.