The Don Cossacks in Moscow (Донские казаки в Москве, 1908) Silent Russian Documentary Film

THIS FILM IS IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. This is one of the earliest surviving documentaries of Russia prior to the Revolution of 1917. Alexander Drankov intended on filming various scenes of Russian life but was first beaten by the French. Technically the film is foreign and not really a "Russian" film, but quite popular in Russia because of its display of various scenes of the Don Cossacks. After this, Drankov would become even more famous for filming Lev Tolstoy in an effort to capitalize on Russian subjects and he then released the first successful Russian fiction film, "Stenka Razin" (1908). The intertitles of "The Don Cossacks in Moscow" are in Russian, so the table of contents below is in English and follows them as they appear in the film with subsequent scenes shown. 1. Introduction 00:06 2. Title Card with Pathé Logo 00:41 3. Patrol 00:45 4. Governor&Convoy 01:07 5. During Military Exercises 01:32 6. Vaulting (a variety of riding tricks are shown from here to the end) 02:42