Assiya Issemberdiyeva1; 1 Queen Mary University of London, UK
Discussion
This paper investigates the colonial dimensions of Soviet film production in Kazakhstan during the 1940s and 1950s, analysing both completed films—such as To the Sounds of Dombyra (1943), Songs of Abai (1946), and Zhambyl (1952)—and unrealised projects like Steppe Batyrs and Baluan Sholaq. Drawing on archival documents, it highlights how Soviet filmmakers censored and shaped portrayals of Russian and Kazakh identities to reinforce cultural hierarchies. Building on cinematic practices established in the 1920s and 1930s, these films framed Kazakhs as "backward" and dependent on the "enlightened" Russian identity, legitimising Soviet authority and marginalising Kazakh narratives. Depictions of Kazakh characters often undermined their individuality and agency, while emphasising Russian dominance. This study demonstrates that such portrayals were not incidental but rather deliberate strategies to uphold the ideological supremacy of Russian identity, offering a nuanced understanding of Soviet cinema's role in maintaining colonial power dynamics in Central Asia.
