Bond, Russia, and The Cold War Part 1

James Bond was a creation of the cold war. As a result, both James Bond novels and the movie series they’ve spawned have had to engage with the U.S.S.R.

The way the 007 movies have treated the former U.S.S.R. has morphed and mutated with time. Russia was always  a formidable and dangerous presence in the world. However, Russians have only sometimes taken the role of James Bond’s main movie adversaries.Individual Russians opposed Bond, but they could also be his lovers, and his allies.

This despite the fact that James Bond films tended to parallel major events in the cold war showdown. Here at Eyeonbond, we are going to take a closer look at how the EON movies have depicted Russia and Russians in different time periods. We’re also going to talk a little about how this was different from the books.

FROM SMERSH TO SPECTRE

It’s a little bit of shock to watch classic Bond movies, go  read the books, and find out that SPECTRE only really pops up in 3 of the books.  Bond spends more time grappling with SMERSH, a fictional Russian agency. Remember when Flemming was writing. Casino Royale was first published in 1953.  The betrayal of British intelligence by Donald Maclean and Guy Burgess to the USSR was still fresh in the mind of both Bond’s author.

Over time, our thinking on topics can evolve. As early as 1961, Mr. Flemming was growing concerned that the Cold War was winding down. Different production companies had approached Flemming to adapt Bond. So Flemming decided to create a new powerful conspiracy of terrorists and criminals for Bond to fight, but with a difference. Instead of binding them to one particular  power, SPECTRE would be composed of adversaries all around the world, united by a common desire to sow chaos.

This proved to be a masterstroke. The Bond films could thus offer cutting-edge escapism without directly pointing the finger at anybody.

1960’s: SPECTRE IS THE BIG BAD

Dr. No was the sixth 007 novel, and the first film. While it is a close adaptation, one of the biggest differences is in who Dr. No works for. In the novel, No is working for Russia, sabotaging American missile tests. In the movie, he is the first tentacle of Spectre that James Bond must oppose. (He even gets to explain the acronym).

Also, the fact that the film was about destablizing ballistic missiles in the year of the Cuban missile crises allowed it to tap into Western anxieties without direct demonization of Russia. This trend would continue, as the series would continue.

THE RUSSIANS IN FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE

This trend continued in From Russia With Love. Even though SMERSH were the main big bads in the novel, SPECTRE takes that role in the movie version. While Rosa Klebb is the mastermind trying to kill Bond, she is no longer doing it at the behest of mother Russia. She has defected to SPECTRE. Her plan to use MI6 to steal a Russian code machine, kill both Bond and the Russian defector who helps him, and then increase tension between the U.S.S.R. and the U.K.. This is an ingenious adaptation decision that allows them to keep most of the plot elements of the original book, while changing the main evil organization.

This was the first Bond movie with two Russian main characters: Rosa Klebb and Tatiana Romanova.

Rosa Klebb

Rosa Klebb is the central villainess of the piece. Yet choices that the movie makes prevents it from being demonizing towards Russians in general. The movie makes it clear at the beginning that she has defected from SMERSH to SPECTRE.

Klebb is shown to be confidant, and exacting, both admirable traits. When selecting Red Grant, she punches him with brass knuckles in the stomach. This test demonstrates both her ruthlessness, and her hands on approach to management. Klebb is also smart enough to use her former KGB status to recruit Tatiana into SPECTRE’s plan. While Klebb may be the villain, she’s a great kind of villain: The formidable and terrifying kind.

Tatiana Romanova

Tatiana was skilled enough to have an embassy posting in Istanbul, the capital of Turkey. She is shown to speak at least 3 languages (Russian, English, French to a passing officer in Turkey). When interviewing her, Rosa Klebb mentions that she has had an excellent work record so far, which shows she is hardworking. We also know she’s professional enough to agree to seducing Bond for mother Russia.

Yet when she falls in love with Bond for real, she throws her lot in with him completely.  This is clear in the scene where Klebb comes to take the Lectre for herself. Klebb has Bond at gunpoint. Bond hadn’t told her about Klebb’s defection to SPECTRE, so from Tatiana’s point of view, Klebb still represents her homeland, and everything she once lived for. At first she listens to orders, but then she tackles Klebb and knocks the gun out of her hands. At that point, she is willing to sacrifice anything for Bond.

Some may claim at the fact that the first Russian Bond women was a defector to England is not a positive portrayal of a Russian. If your idea of someone’s worth being decided is only based on their loyalty to their country, then that’s true. I’d argue that the depiction of her as a capable professional who is willing to sacrifice herself for love is positive.

You Only Live Twice

Other than that, the only other James Bond film from the 60’s that involved Russia is a significant capacity is You Only Live Twice. Yet at the same time, it’s a fairly positive portrayal. America blames Russia for stealing one of it’s spacecraft. Russia protest, saying they had nothing to do with it, and that’s actually true. It turns out SPECTRE is stealing both Russian and American  spacecraft in the hopes of driving the two superpowers to war.

The only speaking roles in the movie (in English) are for the Russian ambassador and the two cosmonauts kidnapped. The ambassador is telling the truth, defending his country from American accusations.

The two cosmonauts don’t get much to say. However, they’re cosmonauts, which requires a great deal of dedication and training. They’re chatting with the captured American astronaut in a friendly manner while imprisoned. When James Bond stages a jailbreak for them, they help fight SPECTRE agents and then escape the volcano fortress together.

That last detail is very important. This was maybe the first Western movie I can think of that showed representatives of the American, English and Russian governments working together. (Japanese people too, remember Tiger Tanaka and his ninjas?) This was the first time James Bond worked with non-defectors from the USSR as allies. It wouldn’t be the last.