Aleksandr Kamshalov (1932–2019; Russian: Александр Камшалов) was a member of the Communist Party who served as the chairman of the

State Committee for Cinematography Goskino USSR () is the abbreviated name for the USSR State Committee for Cinematography (Государственный комитет по кинематографии СССР) in the Soviet Union. It was a central state directory body for Sovi ...

in the Soviet Union being last Soviet politician who held the post. During his tenure Kamshalov was the most authoritative figure in the Soviet film industry, including the production, theatrical distribution, home video, and import and export of films.

Early life and education

Kamshalov was born on 9 January 1932. He graduated from

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

in 1954 receiving a degree in history.

Career

Following his graduation Kamshalov began to work as a teacher. From 1962 to 1970 he was secretary of the central committee of the Komsomol and a member of the collegium of the ministry of culture. Then he was in charge of the cinematography sector of the culture department of the Communist Party and appointed the chairman of the State Committee on Cinematography in 1970 which he held until 1986. Next he became chairman of the cinematography committee under the cabinet of ministers in December 1986, replacing Filip Yermash in the post.

Views and activities

His appointment as the head of the State Committee on Cinematography was regarded by the liberals as a positive initiative, but Kamshalov had a conservative political stance. Kamshalov made it possible for the senior Soviet officials to watch the foreign films and cancelled the broadcast of films which were directed by the Soviet filmmakers. In 1988 Marina Goldovskaya, a well-known

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

director, produced a documentary about the history of the Soviet concentration camp at the Solovki Islands entitled ''Solovki Power''. Like other films produced in the Soviet Union it was first screened for Kamshalov who requested major modifications in the film after watching it. For instance, he demanded the exclusion of the statement of Nikolai Beliakov, a

comrade In political contexts, comrade means a fellow party member. The political use was inspired by the French Revolution, after which it grew into a form of address between socialists and workers. Since the Russian Revolution, popular culture in t ...

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

, "You’re in the hands of fascists now!" which he told the inmate Anatolii Gorelov. In addition, Kamshalov requested the deletion of a reference to Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's book '' The Gulag Archipelago'' from the film which was still banned in the country due to the fact that Solzhenitsyn was a persona non grata in the Soviet Union. Although Kamshalov did not provide a permission for its broadcast, it was released without any modification in the late 1988 at the Dom Kino film club in Moscow possibly due to

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

's initiative.

Death

Kamshalov died in Moscow on 4 September 2019. He was buried in the Troyekurovskoye cemetery, Moscow, on 7 September after funeral ceremony.

Awards

Kamshalov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour, the Order of Friendship of Peoples and the Order of the Badge of Honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamshalov, Aleksandr 1932 births 2019 deaths People's commissars and ministers of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Moscow State University alumni Burials in Troyekurovskoye Cemetery Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Censorship in the Soviet Union State Committee for Cinematography