The party functionary who ran Soviet cinema as a state Hollywood: blockbusters, Oscars, and ideological control
When Andropov called after watching 'Siberiade' and demanded, 'Isn't this an anti-Soviet film?', Yermash replied, 'I'm a Siberian myself — that's how it was,' and the film stood.
Filipp Yermash chaired the USSR State Committee for Cinematography (Goskino) from 1972 to 1986, controlling all Soviet film production, distribution, and censorship throughout the Brezhnev stagnation era. Born to a Siberian peasant family and a decorated WWII sapper, he rose through the Komsomol and Sverdlovsk party apparatus to become cinema sector head at the Central Committee's culture department in 1962. As Goskino chairman, he pursued mass-audience blockbusters like 'Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears' and 'Air Crew' alongside auteur works by Tarkovsky and Konchalovsky, restructuring the industry around profitability in a bid to build a Soviet Hollywood. Removed after fierce criticism at the 1986 filmmakers' congress, his tenure nonetheless saw Soviet cinema win two Oscars.
Career Timeline
- 1941–1945Red Army sapper; Order of the Red Star, Medal for Courage
- 1951–1956Second then First Secretary, Sverdlovsk City Komsomol
- 1956–1962Head, Dept of Science, Schools & Culture, Sverdlovsk Regional Party Committee
- 1962–1972Cinema sector head → Deputy head, CC Culture Dept
- 1972–1986Chairman, USSR State Committee for Cinematography (Goskino)
- 1976–1989Candidate member, CPSU Central Committee