Press Release, 7.04.2024

Photos by the Yabloko Press Service

On 5 April, a screening of Svetlana Prokudina’s documentary film “Vera Pavlovna Is Dreaming of a Dream” took place at the Yabloko office as part of the “Another View” festival.

The film was shot in Saratov, the city where the famous Russian writer Nikolai Chernyshevsky was born, and the heroes of the film are people who live by creativity and the desire to make life around them better. Musicians, artists, restorers, and local historians look for their place in the world through their work.

Film director Svetlana Prokudina told the audience about how the film was created and how she chose the characters for it.

“One of my friends, having learned that I was going to make a film about Saratov, said that this was a good idea, because Saratov was a dying city and we should film what still remained there. I then thought about these words, realising that I didn’t want to make a film about a dying city. And, perhaps, internally protesting against such a characterisation of my hometown, I involuntarily began to look for heroes who would prove that Saratov was alive. The first on my list were the volunteers of the Tom Sawyer Fest movement, and after them came other active and caring residents of Saratov.”

The film sparked a lively discussion about whether volunteering and creativity can change the state of affairs in the country.

Anna Shatunovskaya-Burno, a candidate Yabloko member, noted the similarity of the socio-political situation of the period when Chernyshevsky wrote “What Is to Be Done?” and our days and asked the question of whether it was worth trying to change the country through creativity and education, following the example of the heroes of the novel, who did not have any means of political influence on the government.

Yabloko supporter David Davtyan spoke out unequivocally against the possibility of bringing about change through the application of the small deeds theory – focusing on small problems would only distract attention from substantive political issues.

Andrei Morev, Deputy Chairman of the Moscow Yabloko and a member of the Federal Bureau of the party, noted that activism was only the first step, after which one should realise the impossibility of solving local problems without changing state policies, thus, one should participate in politics, rather than avoid it.

It should be noted that those who were unable to attend the screening of the film “Vera Pavlovna Dreams a Dream” can watch it on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEyd_l0LaVc).

On 11 April, Yabloko will host, as part of the “Another View” festival, a recording of the play “Sforza” directed by Alexei Zherebtsov and based on the novel-play by Sasha Denisova.