Heroes of New Russia

Abstract

The master thesis “Heroes of New Russia: Analysis of Character Archetypes in the Works of Alexei Balanov” introduces the life and work of one of the most remarkable directors of a new Russian cinema, Alexei Balabanov. Through the use of qualitative content analysis it discusses all his feature films, both finished and unfinished, and focuses on the hero archetypes that the director/screenwriter Balabanov kept using. Furthermore, it describes changing of these archetypes over time as the society of the new Russian Federation kept on changing after the fall of the Soviet Union and as Balabanov perceived that change, both in his life and in his works. Finally, the thesis puts all the ascertained findings into a broader context, based on national, historical and cultural aspects to provide an objective framework for the subjective approach of the famous director.