The Russian revolution of 1917. The radical leftist revolutionaries overthrew the centuries-old Czar Nicholas II ending the Romanov rule. The Bolsheviks established a socialist state in the empire once called the Russian empire. A long and bloody civil war followed.

During WW1 Russia suffered from poor and underdeveloped infrastructure. She was reliant on foreign exchange and due Russia’s struggling economy during the period they were incapable of competing with the German’s powerhouse economy. During the three years of war Russia showed serious strain on their economy and led to famine and a depression within the country.

Between WW1 and The Russian revolution, the film industry within Russia had deteriorated to the point of being unusable. Additionally the government did not have the funds to support the production of Russian films.