Pioneering and original, this book brings contemporary theory to the study of modern Russian film and brings recent Russian film to the attention of cultural theorists. Full of penetrating and exciting insights, it deepens our understanding of how contemporary Russian authorial cinema works and reminds us why it is important.

- Prof Julian Graffy, UCL,

Strukov's book is unique by its combination of outstanding theoretical vision and incredible attention to filmic texture. Through the theoretically innovative concept of the symbolic mode, the book explores the transformations in the epistemology of Russian film and the story of making and unmaking of new subjectivities called to life by the historical shifts of the last decade.

- Mark Lipovetsky, University of Colorado, Boulder,

A highly sophisticated and provocative monograph.

- Alexander Prokhorov, College of William and Mary, The Russian Review