Shifting Meanings of “Russian” in Czech Discourse: Insights from a Russian Film Festival

Abstract

This article examines how the meaning of the term “Russian” (ruský) has evolved within Czech cultural discourse, using the film festival Seminar of Russian Films (1994–2021) as a long-term case study. Employing a discursive-historical approach combined with insights from festival studies, the research analyzes festival programs and catalogues, alongside comparative materials from the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, the National Film Archive, and Czech media discourse. The study traces a three-stage shift in curatorial labeling: (1) an initial period of post-Soviet continuity (1994–2004), where inherited practices presented productions from different Soviet republics under “Russian cinema”; (2) a period of semantic inconsistency (2004–2014), characterized by the overlap of “Soviet,” “Russian,” and emerging national labels; and (3) a final stage of heightened reflexivity (2014–2021), where post-2014 geopolitical shifts triggered a narrowing of the term “Russian” and a more explicit recognition of non-Russian identities. Ultimately, the study contributes to discussions on postimperial semantics, cultural memory, and naming practices, illustrating how cultural institutions can simultaneously preserve inherited categories and participate in their active transformation.

Article in English