''The End of St. Petersburg'' (russian: Конец Санкт-Петербурга, Konets Sankt-Peterburga) is a 1927

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

directed by

Vsevolod Pudovkin Vsevolod Illarionovich Pudovkin ( rus, Всеволод Илларионович Пудовкин, p=ˈfsʲevələt ɪlərʲɪˈonəvʲɪtɕ pʊˈdofkʲɪn; 16 February 1893 – 30 June 1953) was a Russian and Soviet film director, screenwrite ...

and produced by Mezhrabpom. Commissioned to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...

, ''The End of St Petersburg'' was to be one of Pudovkin's most famous films and secured his place as one of the foremost

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

montage Montage may refer to: Arts and entertainment Filmmaking and films * Montage (filmmaking), a technique in film editing * ''Montage'' (2013 film), a South Korean film Music * Montage (music), or sound collage * ''Montage'' (Block B EP), 201 ...

film directors A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role in choosing the Casting (per ...

. A political film, it depicts the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

' rise to power in 1917. The plot covers the period from about 1913 to 1917. Political figures of the time are not shown; the emphasis is on the struggle of ordinary people for their rights and for peace against the power of capital and the autocracy. The film forms part of Pudovkin's 'revolutionary trilogy', alongside ''Mother'' (1926) and '' Storm Over Asia'' (aka ''The Heir to Genghis Khan'') (1928). The film inspired the composer

Vernon Duke Vernon Duke ( 16 January 1969) was a Russian-born American composer/songwriter who also wrote under his birth name, Vladimir Dukelsky. He is best known for " Taking a Chance on Love," with lyrics by Ted Fetter and John Latouche (1940), "I Can' ...

to write his eponymous oratorio (completed in 1937).

Plot

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasant ...

boy leaves his rural community and arrives in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

to obtain employment. He stays in the

basement apartment A basement apartment is an apartment located below street level, underneath another structure—usually an apartment building, but possibly a house or a business. Cities in North America are beginning to recognize these units as a vital source ...

of a Bolshevik worker. When the workforce at the Lebedev factory goes on

strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

, the Bolshevik worker's wife fears their family will starve. The boy is offered a job in the Lebedev factory. He naively tells the management which employees started the strike, and he leads them to the Bolshevik worker's home. This results in the Bolshevik worker and his fellow

communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

being arrested. The boy is shocked by the consequences of his actions. The boy goes to the factory office, hoping to convince the boss to free the Bolshevik worker. After a violent fight with the management, the boy is arrested and forcibly enlisted in the Imperial Russian Army. Meanwhile, the aristocracy decides to enter

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The war continues for three years, during which the Russian military suffers many casualties. In 1917, the Imperial government has prioritized making weapons over feeding its people, and starving citizens riot. The

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...

is overthrown and the

Provisional Government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or ...

is instated, to the delight of the

upper class Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status, usually are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper class is gen ...

. The

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...

decides to overthrow the

capitalist Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...

ministers. The Russian soldiers are called back from the front to support the Provisional Government and "save the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

from communist traitors." The Bolshevik worker appears as the soldiers get ready to march on the city. The boy appears and makes his way to the front and orders the soldiers to lower their weapons, which they obey. The Bolshevik worker convinces the military to join the Soviet cause. The Soviets attack the

Winter Palace The Winter Palace ( rus, Зимний дворец, Zimnij dvorets, p=ˈzʲimnʲɪj dvɐˈrʲɛts) is a palace in Saint Petersburg that served as the official residence of the Russian Emperor from 1732 to 1917. The palace and its precincts now ...

and, after a violent battle, emerge victorious. The next morning, the wife comes looking for her husband. She shares potatoes with the soldiers and tends to the boy, who had been wounded. She is happily reunited with her husband in a church. The film declares "St. Petersburg is no more," and "Long live the City of Lenin."

Cast

*Alexander Chistyakov - Bolshevik worker *

Vera Baranovskaya Vera Vsevolodovna Baranovskaya (russian: Вера Всеволодовна Барановская; 1885 – 7 December 1935) was a Russian Empire and Soviet actress. She performed in more than twenty films between 1916 and 1935. Biography Barano ...

- His wife *Ivan Chuvelev - Peasant boy * Sergey Komarov - Bailiff *

Nikolai Khmelyov Nikolai Pavlovich Khmelyov russian: Николай Павлович Хмелёв, — 1 November 1945) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor, theater director and pedagogue, associated with the Moscow Art Theatre and later the Yermolova ...

- Speculator *Alexander Gromov - Bald Bolshevik *Vladimir Obolensky - Lebedev, manufacturer *Mikhail Tereshkovich - Journalist *Mark Cybulski - Speculator *Vladimir Chuvelev - Scab *Vsevolod Pudovkin - Soldier (uncredited) *

Vladimir Fogel Vladimir Pavlovich Fogel (russian: Влади́мир Па́влович Фо́гель; 19029 June 1929) was a Russian silent film actor. Biography Vladimir Fogel was born in Moscow. His family name comes from his German father, an immigrant who ...

- German officer (uncredited) *Serafim Birman - Lady with a fan (uncredited) *Victor Tsoppi - Anti-German "patriot" in a top hat (uncredited)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:End Of St Petersburg, The 1927 drama films 1927 films Soviet silent feature films Soviet revolutionary propaganda films Soviet black-and-white films Drama films based on actual events World War I films set on the Eastern Front Films set in Saint Petersburg Gorky Film Studio films Films directed by Vsevolod Pudovkin Films directed by Mikhail Doller 1920s Russian-language films