The Demolition of the Russian Monument at St Stephen
About The Demolition of the Russian Monument at St Stephen
The camera records the demolition of the Russian victory monument at San Stefano, now Yeşilköy, on the edge of Istanbul. The column had been raised after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78 and the Treaty of San Stefano. Enver Pasha ordered it destroyed when the Ottoman Empire entered the First World War against Russia. Fuat Uzkınay, a reserve officer, filmed the work for the Ottoman Army.
Cast & crew
More about The Demolition of the Russian Monument at St Stephen
Uzkınay shot the demolition on the order that followed the Ottoman declaration of war. The Turkish title is Ayastefanos'taki Rus Abidesinin Yıkılışı, also given in Ottoman Turkish as Moskof Heykelinin Tahrîbi. Wikipedia dates the release to 14 November 1914. It is described as the oldest known Turkish film.
Themes
Background
The Ottoman Empire had just entered the war on the German side. Enver Pasha used the Russian monument at San Stefano, a reminder of the 1878 defeat, as something to be taken down on camera.
In film history
Film histories cite it as the oldest known Turkish-made film.
Making
The subject is a single public act: soldiers and workmen pulling down the San Stefano column while Uzkınay's camera runs.
Look
Fuat Uzkınay filmed the demolition himself.
Preservation
The last known copy is believed to have been lost around 1941. No archive holds a print. Photographs of the demolition survive.
Notes
- The monument commemorated the Russian advance that ended in the 1878 Treaty of San Stefano, later revised at the Congress of Berlin.
- Uzkınay had been an army officer before he filmed. He is also credited as writer and producer.
- A Wikimedia file whose title includes the word canlandırma is a later reconstruction, not this negative.
- Only photographs of the demolition are known to survive.
Scenes
- The Russian column at San Stefano comes down under Enver Pasha's order.