Bednaya Nastya

Poor Nastya is a wonderful Russian costume TV series. Kind, beautiful, romantic, fascinating, naive, but at the same time intriguing. Beautiful locations and amazing actors literally took me to the 19th century. Balls, duels, honor and nobility, love and betrayal, pride and prejudice. I think with this series you can have a good rest and have fun. The best thing about this series is that the directors are not obsessed with one love line, the plot is constantly evolving around all the characters. My favorites are Vladimir Korf, Natasha, Mikhail, Liza and Zabaluev.

The Russian XIX century in its the best traits, romanticism being the first one. Seductive for locations and costumes, for twists and flavors of the period, for lovely stories and especially for acting, it is one of beautiful series , in soap opera style but cooked after Russian tradition who propose a large fresco, naivety and tension in fair doses, delicate situations and rivalries, fights and confessions, old nobility and enthusiastic young people.

Short, delightful.

Bednaya Nastya (Poor Anastasia/Poor Nastya) has a romantic setting in the earlier half of the Nineteenth Century in autocratic Imperial Russia during the times of Tsar Nicholas I. The year is circa 1840. Serfdom still exists in Russia (most of the population then consisted of serfs).Most of the characters are noblemen and noblewomen who are bound by codes of honor that often get them in trouble. Other characters are a few freemen, and a group of Gypsies.

True to the cliff-hanger unique to this genre of television dramas, each twist leads to another puzzle. The most fascinating and enjoyable aspect of Bednaya Nastya is the turning and twisting of events that the story takes. Surprises abound, and the development is very fresh; consistently each of its parts evolves into something completely unexpected, and never boring.

I fell in love with the music, the actors in their great interpretation of varied types of characters, and the story itself, which is very strong. There's beauty, suspense, humor, drama, romance, and a wonderful recreation and scenery of mid-Nineteenth Century Imperial Russia.

I recommend it to those who love historical television dramas, the "telenovela" genre, Russian history, or beautifully-crafted series in general. If you do not like television dramas meant to air for about five months (Monday through Friday, ideally), then perhaps you would not be interested. It is not available on DVD, even as a shorter summary, but should you have the chance to see it, I recommend that you watch the first week to let it enrapture you in its setting that resembles the finest of European Romantic literature. It only gets better with each passing week. If you have never seen a series of this kind, then this is perfect one with which to begin.

This TV series is airing now in Greece. While I was there I tried to catch as many episodes as possible, and I even taped some to make sure I wasn't going to miss them! I loved the settings, the atmosphere, the costumes... I thought it was all very well done! Each episode carried the flavor of the 19th century into my 21st century living room! I also liked the twists and turns of the plot. Unlike most other soap operas, this one had quite a few surprises. Yes, I did see some things coming, but that has more to do with me being a seasoned TV viewer than the series being anything close to "banal". The acting was good as well. I regretted the fact that in Greece the series was aired dubbed. I think I would have enjoyed it even more in its original language. All in all, a series worth watching. If it airs in your area, consider yourselves lucky!

When "Poor Anastasia" started here in Greece I intended to ignore it but after the first episode I was hopelessly addicted. The atmosphere that is created by costumes, locations and characters transfered me to my childhood when I was terribly fond of fairy tales. Moreover, a number of experienced actors manage to back up the whole story and the new generation of very talented and motivated actors give this production the energy and colour that it needs to move on. My absolute favourite: Daniil Strakhov (Vladimir I. Korf) who develops from a difficult, hot tempered, selfish big boy to a brave, tender, caring, mature man of honour. I started getting interested in Russia just a short while ago and I've been trying to get reliable information on country and culture through well made docus. "Poor Anastasia" is my first insight into everyday Russian TV culture and into its current development and this is especially interesting considering the experiences and changes that Russian society has been going through for the last 10 to 15 years. "Poor Anastasia" gives me an idea what people like in contemporary Russia and why they might like the glamour, luxury and values and attitudes reflected by the characters. "Anastasia" certainly conveys a nostalgic picture of Russian 19th century glory but it also contains a certain amount of criticism and revolution e.g. the poor position of slaves, disobedience towards the monarch etc. In general: the whole team of "Anastasia" did a great job and I don't intend to miss any episode, well done and congratulations Russia!!! My next project: read Russian literature (Pushkin was mentioned in the series).