Perm, Siberia, 1918. the central Siberian White guard corps under the command of a young general Anatoliy Pepelyaev have taken the city. the army is exhausted and running short on supplies. the General tasks the Permian merchants with collecting the money needed for the survival of the army much to their dismay. madame chagina, a rich widow answers the call and presents general with a massive diamond... only to have it mysteriously disappear the next day. recently sentenced to death red Army investigator Andrei murzin is brought in to nd the precious contribution. murzin must nd the diamond in exchange for a chance to save his life.
Production
Perm locations look authentically miserable, in the best way
Acting
Matveev's Peplyaev radiates entitled aristocratic panic
Director
Sergey Snezhkin
Maksim Matveev
Major-general Anatoliy Peplyaev
Ilya Noskov
Andrey Murzin
Elizaveta Boyarskaya
Chagina
Evgeniy Dyatlov
merchant Kuzma Nasonov
Grigory Chaban
Gnetochkin
Andrey Polishchuk
Pleshakov
Andrey Gulnev
Yuvelir Konstantinov
Nadezhda Tolubeeva
Konstantin Vorobyov
Artur Vakha
Yuriy Itskov
Igor Chernevich
Sergey Peregudov
Andrey Gulnev
Grigory Chaban
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Pepelyaev was a real figure — the 'Siberian Semyonov' — and his 1923 execution made him a White Army martyr. The film's sympathies are... complicated.
The 'contribution' system actually happened: White forces extorted 'donations' from civilians, often at gunpoint. Historical accuracy for the morally bankrupt.
RU
