The Childhood of Ratibor

The Childhood of Ratibor (1973) is a Soviet hand-drawn animated short you can watch online on iFILM. It carries you back to pre-Christian Rus, long before churches and princes, when Slavic tribes lived off the forests and rivers.

Young Ratibor grows up in that world until Khazar raiders ride in and tear it apart. The boy watches his people fight to hold their ground, and the attack forces him out of childhood far too soon. Director Roman Davydov adapts motifs from Valentin Ivanov's historical novel Primordial Rus', packing the customs and stubborn pride of the early Slavs into nineteen stark, near-folkloric minutes. Stream The Childhood of Ratibor online on iFILM.