Private company

State Committee for Cinematography

Agency in charge of film production in the Soviet Union

The State Committee for Cinematography (Russian: Государственный комитет по кинематографии СССР), abbreviated as Goskino USSR (Russian: Госкино СССР), was a central state directory body for film production in the Soviet Union.² It is part of Ministry of Culture.¹ It ceased to exist in 2008.¹ Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

Dec 19, 1922Founded¹

Industrymotion picture, video and television programme activities¹

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Corporate structure

State Committee for Cinematography sits at the top of its group. 2 entities, 1 country on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

State Committee for Cinematography
- Sovinfilm Subsidiary · Moscow, Russia

Built from subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0); major holders from Schedules 13D and 13G. Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

History

The first main film production and distribution organisation in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic until 1924 was Goskino. This was succeeded by Sovkino from 1924 until being replaced by Soyuzkino in 1930 chaired by Martemyan Ryutin, which had jurisdiction over the entire USSR until 1933. It was then replaced by GUKF (The Chief Directorate of the Film and Photo Industry, largely headed by Boris Shumyatsky), which, again, was replaced in 1939 by the Central Committee for Cinema Affairs until 1946, when it was replaced by the Ministry of the Cinema.

The responsible heads of Soviet Cinema

Source:

1919–1921 Dmitry Ilyich Leshchenko (head of the photo-film department of the People's Commissariat for Education)

1921–1922 Pyotr Ivanovich Voevodin (head of the photo-film department of the People's Commissariat for Education)

1922–1923 Lev Liberman (head of the State Committee for Cinematography)

1923–1925 Erazm Kadomtsev (chairman of the Board of the State Film Agency)

1925–1927 Stefan Bala-Dobrov (director of the State Film Agency)

1926–1929 Konstantin Matveyevich Shvedchikov (chairman of the Board of Sovkino)

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1929–1930 Jan Ernestovich Rudzutak (Chairman of the Film Committee)

1930–1930 Martemyan Nikitich Ryutin (chairman of the Board of Soyuzkino)

1930–1938 Boris Zakharovich Shumyatsky

1938–1939 Semyon Semyonovich Dukelsky

1939–1953 Ivan Grigorievich Bolshakov

Founding

In December 1924, Sovkino was established, beginning its official work in January 1925. Founded by Sovnarkom, Sovkino was one of many Soviet film studios which sought to streamline the film-making process. This was similar to an assembly line where different parts are allotted different tasks. Goskino was another soviet film studio, which was subsequently replaced by Sovkino by 1926. Sovkino would form the overarching organization over all Russian cinema, excluding Proletkino – whose primary concern was appealing to the working class – and Mezhrabpom-Rus.

From Wikipedia’s article on State Committee for Cinematography, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.³

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

Ministry of Culture

Subsidiaries

Sovinfilm

From Wikidata.¹

Controversies and legal

Criticism

Many Soviet films being produced by Sovkino had a clear priority of profit over messaging. Critics accused them of caring about 90% towards profit and 10% towards ideology, suggesting that the socialist project to them was not even worth a kopek (cela ne vaut pas un kopek in French). Both the working class and the peasantry were less willing to even pay 10 kopecks to see a politicoeducational film, however. Yet, it didn’t help Sovkino’s case that 85% of their gross revenues came from foreign, not Soviet, films.

This apparent financial priority, among other things, led to further criticisms against Sovkino. One notable critic was Adrian Piotrovsky, who advocated for the Five-Year Plan. The Cultural Revolution would later spread throughout the Soviet film industry, echoing the Five-Year Plan, and subsequently leading to the disbandment of Sovkino. It would later be replaced by Soiuzkino.