Cunning, selfish, but viable creature – Homo Sovieticus premieres / Article

Is the Soviet man and his way of thinking still alive 30 years after the collapse of the USSR? And do they continue to affect modern society? Such questions are asked by the documentary “Homo Sovieticus” by director Ivo Briežis and journalist Rita Ruduša.

In the documentary “Homo Sovieticus” director Ivo Briedis and screenwriter Rita Ruduša are looking for answers to the questions whether the Soviet Union is over and its “products” of social engineering are Soviet people – Homo Sovieticus is still between us and within ourselves. Through their personal stories and reflections, the authors draw a vector from today’s processes to the manifestations of collective consciousness, thus exploring Homo Sovieticus phenomenon.

“A cunning and quite selfish, but very viable creature,” the director describes it Homo Sovieticus or the Soviet man: “The concern about why I put myself in that film is such an inability to participate in politics.

Politics and I are absolutely antagonistic – I’d rather either keep quiet or just ignore it, but if it continues, we can’t keep the country going. “

The backbone of the film’s screenplay is a story about the recording of Vladimir Pozner’s talk show in 1991 and young people from different republics. At that time, Latvia was represented by Ingus Bērziņš, the manager of the Delfi.lv portal. Through the reflections and insights of young people, the authors seek an answer to how the imprints and patterns of Soviet thinking are reflected in modern society.

The co-author of the film Rita Ruduša tells about the current context of the film:

“We are reproducing the same mechanisms that were in place in Soviet times.

I think this is most evident in the attitude of the authorities towards civil society. Civil society is seen as an obstacle. “

The division of the Soviet way of thinking “they are power, we are the people” is a great breeding ground for populism, which can lead to totalitarianism. Experts Anne Aplbaum and Gleb Gudkov, interviewed in the film, conclude that there are about 30 percent of people in each country who seek a strong hand with simple solutions. The film “Homo Sovieticus” is like a warning and a personal call for self-reflection, looking for the heritability of totalitarian thinking in itself.

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