Pyotr Pavlenko

Man of Music

The young composer Mikhail Glinka performs his new work at a soiree at earl Vielgorsky's house. However, the public is accustomed to Western music, and reacts coldly to the creation of the composer. This makes him very sad, but soon he decides to go learn the art of music in Italy. After returning from Italy, he is full of desire to write national Russian opera. Vasily Zhukovsky proposes a subject: a feat of Ivan Susanin. Tsar Nicholas I change the name of the opera to A Life for the Tsar and assigns a librettist - Baron Rosen. Acquaintance with the future co-author shocked Glinka: Rosen speaks Russian with a noticeable German accent. The premiere was successful, but Glinka was still not entirely happy with the libretto: "False words were written by Rosen". When Nicholas I learned that Ruslan and Lyudmila was written on Pushkin's subject, he sees it as sedition. The bitter experience of the composer brighten his supporters.

A Good Lad

A group of Russian partisans hiding within a remote forest attempt to destroy a nearby German airfield, all the while assisting a downed French pilot who happens to fall madly in love with a local girl.

On the Steppe

Pioneer Seryozha Emelyanov, who had never been to the steppe before, comes with his father, a chauffeur, for the harvest. The boy's preconceived ideas about farm life being terribly boring, change into love for nature.

Alexander Nevsky

When German knights invade Russia, Prince Alexander Nevsky must rally his people to resist the formidable force. After the Teutonic soldiers take over an eastern Russian city, Alexander stages his stand at Novgorod, where a major battle is fought on the ice of frozen Lake Chudskoe. While Alexander leads his outnumbered troops, two of their number, Vasili and Gavrilo, begin a contest of bravery to win the hand of a local maiden.

The Fall of Berlin

Surrounded by a few party officials, Alexei Ivanov, a stakhanovist smelter, is decorated by Stalin. The "Little Father of the Peoples" takes this opportunity to invoke threats of war.... One day, war indeed breaks out. Bombs fall on the field where Alexei finds himself in the company of the schoolmistress Natacha, his fiancée. Alexei joins the Red Army and soon becomes a sergeant. Fighting rages and German troops advance. Natacha is arrested and deported. But the tide turns decisively with the German defeat at Stalingrad. Now the major offensive against Hitler can begin.

Soviet Border

The Soviet Far East and Manchukuo are separated by a border river, on one side of which Russian White Guards have settled in a small Manchurian village, while on the opposite bank lives the Vlasov family. Wanting to destroy the Vlasovs, the White Guards break into their house. A detachment of soldiers led by border guard commander Captain Tarasov comes to their aid. A long and exhausting battle ensues.

Yakov Sverdlov

Story on the life and work of the first chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, Yakov Mikhailovich Sverdlov.

Moscow Strikes Back

A Soviet documentary chronicling the Battle of Moscow (October 1941 – January 1942), when Red Army forces repelled the German advance on the capital. Shot by numerous frontline cameramen, it combines harrowing footage of combat and civilian suffering with scenes of Nazi atrocities, framed against themes of Russian heroism and cultural survival. Originally released under the title Defeat of the German Armies Near Moscow, the English-language version, narrated by Edward G. Robinson, was retitled Moscow Strikes Back. The film won the 1943 Academy Award for Best Documentary. Warning: contains graphic images.

Man of Music

The young composer Mikhail Glinka performs his new work at a soiree at earl Vielgorsky's house. However, the public is accustomed to Western music, and reacts coldly to the creation of the composer. This makes him very sad, but soon he decides to go learn the art of music in Italy. After returning from Italy, he is full of desire to write national Russian opera. Vasily Zhukovsky proposes a subject: a feat of Ivan Susanin. Tsar Nicholas I change the name of the opera to A Life for the Tsar and assigns a librettist - Baron Rosen. Acquaintance with the future co-author shocked Glinka: Rosen speaks Russian with a noticeable German accent. The premiere was successful, but Glinka was still not entirely happy with the libretto: "False words were written by Rosen". When Nicholas I learned that Ruslan and Lyudmila was written on Pushkin's subject, he sees it as sedition. The bitter experience of the composer brighten his supporters.

A Good Lad

A group of Russian partisans hiding within a remote forest attempt to destroy a nearby German airfield, all the while assisting a downed French pilot who happens to fall madly in love with a local girl.

On the Steppe

Pioneer Seryozha Emelyanov, who had never been to the steppe before, comes with his father, a chauffeur, for the harvest. The boy's preconceived ideas about farm life being terribly boring, change into love for nature.

Alexander Nevsky

When German knights invade Russia, Prince Alexander Nevsky must rally his people to resist the formidable force. After the Teutonic soldiers take over an eastern Russian city, Alexander stages his stand at Novgorod, where a major battle is fought on the ice of frozen Lake Chudskoe. While Alexander leads his outnumbered troops, two of their number, Vasili and Gavrilo, begin a contest of bravery to win the hand of a local maiden.

The Fall of Berlin

Surrounded by a few party officials, Alexei Ivanov, a stakhanovist smelter, is decorated by Stalin. The "Little Father of the Peoples" takes this opportunity to invoke threats of war.... One day, war indeed breaks out. Bombs fall on the field where Alexei finds himself in the company of the schoolmistress Natacha, his fiancée. Alexei joins the Red Army and soon becomes a sergeant. Fighting rages and German troops advance. Natacha is arrested and deported. But the tide turns decisively with the German defeat at Stalingrad. Now the major offensive against Hitler can begin.

Soviet Border

The Soviet Far East and Manchukuo are separated by a border river, on one side of which Russian White Guards have settled in a small Manchurian village, while on the opposite bank lives the Vlasov family. Wanting to destroy the Vlasovs, the White Guards break into their house. A detachment of soldiers led by border guard commander Captain Tarasov comes to their aid. A long and exhausting battle ensues.

Yakov Sverdlov

Story on the life and work of the first chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, Yakov Mikhailovich Sverdlov.

Moscow Strikes Back

A Soviet documentary chronicling the Battle of Moscow (October 1941 – January 1942), when Red Army forces repelled the German advance on the capital. Shot by numerous frontline cameramen, it combines harrowing footage of combat and civilian suffering with scenes of Nazi atrocities, framed against themes of Russian heroism and cultural survival. Originally released under the title Defeat of the German Armies Near Moscow, the English-language version, narrated by Edward G. Robinson, was retitled Moscow Strikes Back. The film won the 1943 Academy Award for Best Documentary. Warning: contains graphic images.

The Vow

The story of Stalin and the Soviet people.