The title, “Moscow does not believe in tears,” seems to be a Russian saying meaning, “Even if you cry, nobody will help you.” This movie’s winning of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1980 represented the bright hope many countries had for the Soviet Union just before the perestroika (“restructuring”) started in the Soviet Union in the 1980s. Since it is a pretty good movie, and it depicts the lives of Russians realistically, it is understandable that this movie was warmly welcomed by viewers in Russia as well as other countries.
To state a simple summary, this movie is set in Moscow from the late 1950s until the late 1970s, and it depicts the lives of three working-class women from their twenties until their forties, who left the countryside to go to Moscow in search of their dreams, a job, and a husband. Katerina plans to succeed in life by means of education. On the way, she has a child with Rudolf, a cameraman at a television station, but she goes to college without relying on this man who doesn’t acknowledge her, and she succeeds in life as a factory director 20 years later. One of Katerina’s friends, Antonia, builds a steady life with her blue-collar worker husband. Her other friend, Lyudmila, aims to move up by marrying a rich man, and almost succeeds, but in the end, the marriage fails. Katerina meets and wants to develop a serious relationship with blue-collar worker Gosha, but Gosha learns that Katerina makes much more money than he does, and he leaves her. Old friends come together to support saddened Katerina, and work together to solve her issue. People who have worked with Russians often realize that many Russians are empathetic and full of camaraderie. This movie is a story about careers, the independence of women, and the lives of ordinary Soviet citizens, as well as a story of friendship. But the one thing this movie doesn’t have is criticism for the system.
In 2012—thirty years later—Prime Minister Putin was elected in the Russian presidential race with approximately 64% of votes; in his victory speech, Putin shed tears. This was a difficult campaign for him due to the rise of the anti-Putin movement in the middle class, but in the end, he turned out to be strong. Mr. Putin exclaimed in his speech, “We won an open, fair fight.” It seemed that tears were already on his cheek before he stepped onto the stage, but he wasn’t going to wipe them away during his speech. Afterwards, when asked, “What were those tears?” Putin responded, “Wind-stung eyes.”
The next day, anti-government demonstrators held up signs that read, “Moscow doesn’t believe in tears,” and protested the rigged election. For Russians, the existence of this movie is good because it represents optimism. However, what will the future hold for today’s Russia led by Putin? With the various unstable affairs in the current world, I think all people—not just Russians—hope that Russia grows into a strong and healthy democratic nation.