"Film lovers all over the world are familiar with the masterpieces of Eisenstein and Tarkovsky. These directors' unique achievements were part of a powerful process that began under Russia's last tsar and underwent several periods of blossoming: the bourgeois cinema in the 1910s, the revolutionary avant-garde in the 1920s, the thaw in the 1950s, and the awakening of national cinemas in the 1960s and 1970s." "Historical Dictionary of Russian and Soviet Cinema is the first English reference work of its kind devoted entirely to the cinema of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and the post-Soviet period, including both cinematic highlights and mainstream film. The most influential artists of the former Soviet republics are also represented. Through a chronology, an introduction, a bibliography, and more than 500 cross-referenced dictionary entries on filmmakers, performers, cinematographers, composers, producers, studios, genres, and films, this reference work covers the history of Russian and Soviet filmmaking from 1896 to 2007"--Jacket.