Film Censorship in Russia during the First World War

The article explores the censorship of cinema in Russia during the First World War and the 1917 Revolution. While the history of cinema in Russia has been comprehensively addressed in scientific literature, the structure and powers of cinematographic censorship during the period 1914–1918 remain to be fully elucidated. It is evident that these alterations were of considerable significance when compared to the pre-war period. The nation was divided into territories subject to “full” and “partial” military censorship, and the command of the front-line provinces was granted, among other things, the authority to control film distribution, a power previously held by the civil administration. In the rear provinces, the prevailing order remained largely unaltered. Petrograd, however, was distinguished by its notable deviation from this norm. This was attributable to the establishment of a substantial and intricate censorship apparatus within the city during the war years. The Cinematographic Department became one of its numerous subdivisions in the autumn of 1914. Its employees were responsible for the issuance and revocation of distribution permits, as well as the screening of films (including those with non-military content) prior to their release. Concurrently, the Ministry of the Imperial Court, the police, the inspection of printers, and other entities persisted in their involvement in film censorship. A notable role was played by the Skobelev Committee, which during the war claimed not only to produce war films, but also to censor them. However, as in other forms of censorship, the departmental principle was upheld in the context of cinema. Consequently, the Ministry of the Imperial Court retained the censorship of films involving members of the imperial family, while military censorship in Petrograd operated autonomously and local authorities exercised control in the theatre of war and in the rear. This fragmentation of film censorship was a characteristic feature of the pre-war years and gave rise to a degree of dissatisfaction among representatives of the film industry. The Provisional Government refrained from abolishing military censorship, and film censorship remained in place.