Baby Ryasanskie

BABY RYAZANSKIE depicts the fate of a woman in rural pre-revolutionary Russia. Orphan Anna and farmer’s son Ivan marry out of love. When he has to go to war, she stays behind with her father-in-law, who pesters and eventually rapes her. Upon Ivan’s return, the village suggests to him that Anna’s baby is a result of her infidelity; she commits suicide in despair. The character of Anna is contrasted with Ivan’s sister Vassilia, who starts an relationship unbefitting of her social status against her parents’ will. She resists the hostility of her village in self-confident fashion and represents the archetype of the new woman, who overcomes oppressive moral ideals and takes her life in her own hands. BABY RYAZANSKIE became a huge success both inside and outside Russia. It draws its power from its atmospheric, succinct depiction of its milieu, its expressive images of rural life, including bringing in the harvest, doing laundry down by the river and magnificent wedding celebrations, and its precisely portrayed characters. (al)