On November 2, the Culture TV channel hosted the premiere of the Peter the Great. A Story with a French Accent documentary. There took part Chair of the Department of Russian History and Archaeology of the Institute of History and International Relations Sergei Mezin.
The film was released in the year of the 300th anniversary of Peter the Great’s proclamation as an emperor (October 22, 1721) and on the eve of the 350th anniversary of his birth. The documentary tells how Empress Elizabeth’s favourite Ivan Shuvalov invited Voltaire to write a biography of Peter I as well as about how Russia and its reformer appeared in the book.
Professor, an expert on the history of Russian-French cultural relations of the 18th century and a Voltaire’s translator Sergei Mezin told us about the film making. ‘In May, the film crew arrived to Saratov: the scriptwriter, the director, and the cameraman. The screenwriter Elena Polyakova was in charge of the work. The filming lasted for two days. On the first day, we worked for a long time in the department of rare books and manuscripts of the SSU Scientific Library: we filmed an interview where I answered questions about how Voltaire discovered Peter I and Russia, how the image of the tsar changed in Voltaire's vision, how he worked over a book commissioned by the Russian government, how Russian contemporaries reacted to his History of Peter. Elena Polyakova took with interest my story about the French books on Russia available in our library. All these books, as well as the story itself, were filmed, but in the film this resulted in only a minute picture with the leafing of old books. I rarely had to work with professional cameramen, so I was surprised at how carefully the lighting was prepared, the angles were chosen, and the passage through the library was filmed.
The next day, they filmed footage in the auditorium where I was giving a lecture to the students. Then we moved to Museum Square. Elena Polyakova asked me to tell about Peter I’s visit to Saratov. This story was filmed against the backdrop of the Trinity Cathedral, but the plot was not included in the film. Finally, we moved to the embankment, where, on the banks of the Volga, I spoke about the references to Saratov in Voltaire's letters. I admit that shooting in the heat, when you had to do several takes, seemed tedious. When I asked how long my text will last in the film, the authors replied, ‘Seven minutes’.
Earlier I had gained some experience of participating in television programmes and filming always left me not a very favourable impression: I did not like myself on the screen. Watching the film on the Culture channel, perhaps, for the first time did not make me feel awkward. The professionalism of the film crew had a great impact on the entire work. The film is attended by remarkable specialists from St. Petersburg, such as Natalia Speranskaya, the “keeper” of Voltaire’s library. Overall, I think the film was a success.’
You can watch the documentary Peter the Great. A Story with a French Accent on the YouTube channel of the Culture TV at the link. To remind, researchers from the National Library of Russia, the State Historical Museum, the Institute of Russian Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the University of Lyon (Lumière University Lyon 2 Lyon-2) also participated in the film making.
