Taisa Yanson

The time of action is the beginning of perestroika. A young girl, an employee of the LOMO association, an incorrigible idealist, endures a serious unequal struggle with the plant management for the ideals in which she recklessly believes. She is sent to a psychiatric hospital, they say that her “straightforward character” is a disease, that she has “truth-seeking syndrome.”

The film is dedicated to the development of culture in Russia. The musical basis of the film is Alexander Gradsky's suite "Nostalgia", written on poems by Vladimir Nabokov.

The following guests take part in the music concert-documentary: Rosa Rymbaeva, Dmitry Pokrovsky folklore Ensemble, Elena Kamburova, Alla Pugacheva, Bulat Okudzhava and the Nergebi children's vocal ensemble from Georgia.

The film tells about the heroic struggle of the Leningraders during the siege, about the defenders of Leningrad, and about various aspects of life in the city today.

“You have to love people, really. If you don’t, you’ll get them trapped in the tram doors,” says the central figure Lyudmila. She takes the viewer on three of her shifts as a tram driver; she speaks frankly and tenderly about her profession and introduces her passengers. People, streets, light and mood change, and with them an image of Leningrad takes shape.

About the soloist of the Mariinsky Theatre of Opera and Ballet, the famous ballerina Irina Alexandrovna Kolpakova. The ballerina is shown in completely different situations — she conducts rehearsals, teaches, takes exams at the conservatory, learns English, rehearses numbers from the ballet 'Giselle,' and feels nervous before the start of a performance.

Follows the life feat of doctor L.S.Soboleva, who saved people during three outbreaks of the plague.

About the everyday life of border outposts in different regions of the country.

The central figure, Marina, recalls an unfulfilled dream of becoming an actress and speaks of the challenging time of the siege of Leningrad. Her account is heard over footage from a restaurant catering to young visitors where she is waiting tables. Fingers moving over the valves of a trumpet; the heels of shoes tapping out a rhythm on the parquet floor; girls waiting anxiously to be asked for a dance. A hidden camera records a place full of joy and ease, while Marina’s memories run on the soundtrack.

About the creator of famous aircraft - aircraft designer Ilyushin.

The heroic romance of the profession is in the story about the life of test pilot Yuri Garnaev, who tragically died with his crew while extinguishing forest fires in France in 1967.

The documentary concert consists of performances by Soviet pop performers such as Anne Veski, Alexander Gradsky, Nani Bregvadze, and others.

In the postwar years, many photographs and newsreels taken during the Siege were confiscated and destroyed for presenting too “subjective” a view of the events of that time. This film is the result of a long search through the Leningrad archives. Out of thousands of surviving wartime photographs, the director selected four hundred that had never before been used in cinema. The film is a montage of these historical documents, accompanied by the voices of poets Olga Berggolts and Alexander Prokofyev, radio announcer Yuri Levitan, and the sounds of air raid sirens…

The film is dedicated to the work of Olga Berggolts during wartime and her role in the radio committee of besieged Leningrad.

The biographies of the heroes of the painting - residents of the Arkhangelsk region - some of whom remained in their native village, while others, disregarding the joys of rural life, went to the city - come together to form the biography of the country.

About mass forms of youth recreation. The object of the film was one of the evenings of rest in a working dormitory.

The film is about the monument erected with the participation of M. Anikushin in honor of the heroic 900-day defense of Leningrad.

About the General director of the Leningrad association "Electrosila" B.I.Fomin.