Episode
Frontline: Comrades V: Master of Samarkand
Overview
Abdugaffar Khakkulov is a master craftsman of Uzbek heritage who for 35 years has been restoring the great Islamic mosques in Samarkand. Frontline examines daily life in a Muslim community and explores the uneasy relationship between Islamic faith and Soviet power.
Details
- Series
- Frontline
- Season
- Season 4
- Episode
- Episode 24
- Air date
- 1986-07-29
Episode context
Comrades V: Master of Samarkand is Episode 24 in Season 4 of Frontline. It aired on 1986-07-29.
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Episode 23: Comrades IV: The Trial of Tamara Russo
Frontline examines the differences in Soviet and Western justice systems as it contrasts the lives of Tamara Russo, a 50-year-old hospital orderly on trial for theft in Soviet Moldavia, and Lyubov Bubulic, the female judge presiding over Russo's case.
Episode 25: Comrades VI: Pacific Outpost
Frontline gained unique access in filming the inner workings of the local government system in Nakhodka, a town six thousand miles and seven time zones from Moscow. Here, Frontline profiles the workaholic lifestyle of Tatyana Naumova, a communist zealot and town official in Nakhodka, and the tensions it creates with her husband, who cares for their two daughters.
More episodes from this season
Episode 22: Comrades III: All that Jazz
Sergei Kuryokhin is a popular Russian jazz and rock musician who is disapproved of by the state because his music is difficult to control. Made without the permission of Soviet authorities on a home video camera, Frontline takes a look at the Soviet music subculture and this one talented musician.
Episode 26: Comrades VII: Steel Mill Soccer
Frontline profiles the lives of players on a factory soccer team in the southern Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan as they fight for the town championship.
Episode 21: Comrades II: Hunter and Son
For four months every year, Mikhail Kuzakov and his son, Yuri, leave the comforts of home for the Siberian wilderness, where they hunt on horseback for sable and other valuable fur animals. Frontline examines life in the taiga and follows the hunt of father and son.
Episode 27: Comrades VIII: Doctor in Moscow
Svyatoslav Nilolaevich Fyodorov is an outspoken and provocative eye surgeon whose surgical technique for correcting nearsightedness has made him famous. He lives like a superstar with a chauffeur, a sumptuous apartment in Moscow, and a house in the country. Frontline follows Fyodorov through his day and reveals what life is really like for privileged Soviet Citizens.
Episode 20: Comrades I: The Education of Rita
Rita Tikhonova, 21, is a model Russian citizen. The lifestyle and ambitions of an outstanding Young Communist League member in Moscow are depicted as she completes her education at a prestigious school and begins her first teaching job.
Episode 28: Comrades IX: Baltic Chic
Episode 19: Assault on Affirmative Action
The Supreme Court ruled against a Memphis firefighter who successfully fought for an affirmative action plan for the hiring of fellow firefighters in 1984. As a result, the Justice Department asked 50 cities to tighten their affirmative action policies. Correspondent George Curry examines the 20 year conflict over these policies and reveals the point of view of those whom it affects.
Episode 29: Comrades X: Soldier Boy
For the first time on Western television, Frontline details a recruit's life inside a Soviet Army barracks. Frontline cameras follow Valera Krylov, 18, through the exertion and boredom of basic training in the military and focuses on his parents, who worry that in the next two years he may be fighting in Afghanistan.
Episode 18: Will There Always Be an England?
England is a country divided. One in five workers in northern England is unemployed, while in the south of the country, power, privilege prevail. Ofra Bikel explores Britain's social structure, cultural values, and attitudes toward enterprise and work.
Episode 30: Comrades XI: October Harvest
The Kulinich family lives and works on a collective farm in southern Russia. Frontline follows the Kulinichs through their daily lives during harvest time and takes a close look at the workings of the collective farm system to find that they, like many other Russian peasants, have discovered their own version of the Communist way of life-Leninism with loopholes.