Leonid Zorin

An omnibus of comical shorts.

The story is centered around members of the Kamshatov family (including Sergei Petrovich and his grandson Yakov Ivanovich) alongside various relatives, acquaintances, and family contacts.

Gordei Kabachkov, a professional con man, decided to pursue a career in science and was very successful. Having settled in a certain Institute of Ancient Culture, he easily wraps his finger around the numerous "kind men" - members of the academic council - and defends his thesis. Using his "talents" and the kindness of the staff of the Institute of Ancient Culture, Kabachkov makes a rapid take-off on the career ladder...

Stories from the lives of the tenants of the Moscow's communal apartment: Kostik, who is a college student, lives with his aunt while studying; Arkady Velyurov who is a performing artist; Khobotovs, who are a divorced couple; and Sava, who is Margarita Khobotov's new fiancé. All these people live in one apartment and their lives constantly touch each other's.

Pregnant German woman is trapped behind Russian lines. When she goes into labor, three Soviet soldiers deliver her to a field hospital: a newly graduated officer, an affable truck driver, and a soldier shell-shocked into muteness. The dangerous trip to the hospital ends up a rite of passage for all concerned.

Based on a satirical short story by Fyodor Dostoyevsky concerning the escapades of a Russian civil servant.

During World War II, the Frenchman Léon Garros and Boris Vaganov escape from the Nazi concentration camp. After 15 years, Léon, who became a journalist, and his friends came to the USSR to make a report and find Boris in the meantime. In Moscow he doesn't found, and for the sake of meeting with a friend, Garros has to travel around the country by car... The foreigners are accompanied by Nikolai, the translator, who, in turn, is looking for his brother's runaway bride, Natasha.

Screen version of the popular play of the 1960’s about people of a generation, whose lives were affected in different ways by the main developments in the Soviet Union from the 30’s and 60’s.