A BBC documentary series presented by art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon, exploring Russian art from the origins of the Russian icon from its roots in Byzantium to today. The series consists of three episodes: the first episode "Out of the Forest" explores the origins of the Russian icon from its roots in Byzantium; the second episode "Roads to Revolution" tells of how art moved from being a servant of the state to an agent of its destruction; and the third and final episode "Smashing the Mould" looks at Russian art from the early revolutionary days in 1920s, through World War Two and the Cold War, to today.
Episode 2 - Roads to Revolution | Click here to watch
(51 min; English)
Director: John Mullen
This episode explores how Russia changed from a feudal nation of aristocratic excess to a hotbed of revolution at the beginning of the 20th century and how art moved from being a servant of the state to an agent of its destruction.
