Cinema as a Merchant's Affair: Khanzhonkov vs. Drankov

Now, many of our readers may be surprised to learn that the foundation of Russian cinema was laid not by cultural figures or the state, but by merchants.

At the beginning of the 20th century, cinema in Russia was born not in theaters but in the stalls of market squares. And the first to recognize the future in the then-trendy "moving pictures" were two entrepreneurs with vastly different worldviews: Alexander Drankov and Alexander Khanzhonkov.

Drankov: Cinema as a Commodity

Drankov, an Odessa photographer and shrewd businessman, was the first to sense cinema's commercial potential. To him, it was a product: fast, profitable, thrilling, and a gateway to high society. He pioneered newsreels, mass film distribution, and even introduced advertising. And, incidentally, the first risqué adult films were also his doing. His films were events, sensations, adorned with flashy posters. He knew the audience wanted spectacle—and he delivered.

Khanzhonkov: Cinema as a Leap into the Unknown

Khanzhonkov, the son of a Cossack and a retired officer, believed in cinema as a new artistic medium. He invested in *The Song of the Merchant Kalashnikov*—the first feature film made by Russians, for a domestic audience, based on national literary material. He collaborated with Meyerhold, Protazanov, and Goncharov. He built studios and sought to understand and define the laws of cinematic language. Where Drankov rushed to profit, Khanzhonkov built. Where one sold, the other created.

Their "Cinema War"

This was more than just rivalry. It was a clash of two worldviews. Drankov won in the short term—faster, louder, closer to the masses. Khanzhonkov ran a marathon—thoughtfully, deeply, with long-term vision.

After the Revolution: The Race

After the revolution, private enterprise in cinema was abolished. Drankov emigrated to Constantinople, where, deprived of access to a camera but not to an audience, he launched... cockroach races. Tickets, bets, excitement, spectacle—once again, he turned moving dots into a profitable show.

Khanzhonkov found himself in exile in Germany, attempting to establish film production there. Notably, he experimented with sound, but lacked the funds to succeed. Forced to abandon the project, he returned to his homeland in 1923, where he was invited to work in cinema. He contributed to Rusfilm and Proletkino, was convicted following a denunciation, later acquitted, and wrote memoirs.

In the same year, 1923, Alexander Drankov also decided to leave Constantinople and moved to America. He planned to make a blockbuster about Nicholas II and Mathilde Kschessinskaya but failed. He never managed to return to cinema.

Legacy

Today, Alexander Drankov's name is nearly forgotten. Meanwhile, Khanzhonkov entered history as the father of Russian cinema. He was the first to see in cinema not just a business but the spirit of the times. The first to dare to turn an attraction into art.

And this is just a teaser, a small hint of what you'll see in one of the episodes of the "Merchant VS" project. We tell how merchants shaped the country—its roads, factories, ideas, dreams. And its cinema.