In 1993 a plan emerged to launch a regional version of the Muppets created specifically for a Russian audience. It would include not only translated skits, but also new, unique characters and original stories that would appeal to Russian children. This was a new type of educational entertainment, developed at a time when the Cold War seemed to be ending for good. The history of the Muppets in Russia is a narrative about how two cultures from either side of the former Iron Curtain learned to communicate and understand each other while the country was plunging deep into economic crisis.
Join Natasha Lance Rogoff, producer of Ulitsa Sezam and the author of Muppets in Moscow: The Unexpected Crazy True Story of Making Sesame Street in Russia, shortlisted for the Pushkin House Book Prize 2023, for an online conversation with filmmaker Zlata Onufrieva. They will talk about the way television is being made, the short-lived history of liberalisation in Russia as witnessed both from outside and inside, and the transformations that society was facing in the first years of the Russian Federation.
You can meet Natasha and other authors at the Pushkin House Book Prize award ceremony on 15 June 2023.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Natasha Lance Rogoff is an award-winning American director and TV producer who has written and produced documentaries, broadcast news and children’s television shows for more than 25 years. She was the executive producer of Ulitsa Sezam (Sesame Street in Russia) and a producer of Plaza Sesamo (Sesame Street in Mexico) from 1992–1997. She is an associate fellow at Harvard University’s Art, Film, and Visual Studies department.
Zlata Onufrieva is a filmmaker and video producer with a particular interest in socially conscious stories. She currently works for the BBC World Service.