In tonight’s Historama you will meet a time-traveling girl who became a Soviet star and a top Soviet painter.
Sci-fi family adventure wins hearts of Soviet children
The first episode of cult Soviet mini-series “Guest from the Future” hit Russian TV screens today in 1985.
The five-part film was about an 11-year-old girl from the future called Alisa.
Alisa is on the run from pirates who want to steal her “myelophone” – a mind-reading gadget – and she has to hide out at a Moscow school, where the pupils help her.
The series was a huge success when it first aired during the spring school holidays of the 1980s.
The show and its theme music now make Russians who grew up in the 80s very nostalgic.
Read more on the film in our “Russian cinema” section
Top Soviet painter born
Post-impressionist painter and art historian Igor Grabar was born today in 1871.
Grabar was a member of the influential art group “Mir Iskusstva” (“World of Art”) and for several years ran the Tretyakov Gallery.
Read more about Tretyakov Gallery in our “Where to go” section
During Soviet times, Grabar used his artistic talents for the benefit of the Party and, as a result, won the respect and ear of its leaders.
Further, Grabar initiated a project to confiscate works of art from Germany and its allies to make up for the art losses suffered by the USSR during the war.