The Soviet T-34 tank helped to win World War II. Now it’s beating box office records.
Monument to the designer of the tank T-34 Koshkin Mikhail Ilyich. Russia, Yaroslavl region, M8 highway, June 26,2018 Getty
It helped to win World War II. Now it’s beating box office records.
The Soviet T-34 tank had its moments of glory during the battles to drive Hitler’s troops from the USSR during the Second World War. A new film, simply called „T-34“, opened for the New Year holiday in Russia. It has already taken more than $20 million in box office receipts, including the best ever opening weekend for a Russian-made film.
The story–you can find the trailer, in Russian, online–is a tale of the heroic feats of a small group of Soviet soldiers, with a T-34 tank, fighting the Nazi invaders.
The fact that the movie itself is named for the tank says something about the way Russia views the war, and its Soviet past. So does „T’34″’s popularity.
Russia’s 20th century history was marked by massive social change to Communism in its early stage, and away from Communism in its final decade. Political and economic systems were torn down and rebuilt. The population endured massive privation and upheaval. Today, more than a quarter of a century after the collapse of the Marxist-Leninist system, there’s no general consensus on how that era should be seen.
There is consensus that victory over Nazi Germany was the Soviet Union’s finest achievement; the greatest feat of the entire 20th century.
