''Major Whirlwind'' or (russian: Майор Вихрь , Mayor Vikhr) is a 1967 television film directed by

Yevgeny Tashkov Yevgeny Ivanovich Tashkov (russian: Евгений Иванович Ташков; 18 December 1926 — 15 February 2012) was a Soviet and Russian film director, screenwriter and actor known for his spy movies as well as a comedy '' Come Tomorrow, ...

and based on the novel by Yulian Semyonov. The main character, Major Whirlwind, is inspired by Aleksey Nikolayevich Botyan.

Plot

Summer 1944. In impotent rage before impending disaster, management of the SS with the support of

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

undertakes a special program of extermination of Slavic cultural capitals.

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 159 ...

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% o ...

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

all these cities must be mined and razed to the ground with explosions. The Soviet command sends a special group of Major Whirlwind into occupied Kraków, consisting of three people, whose aim is to prevent the destruction of the city. The release of the group is unsuccessful, Whirlwind gets shipped to the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one or ...

, but later he manages to escape. Agents start to take action. The Polish underground collects valuable information about the German troops in Kraków, and radio operator Anya transmits them to the Soviet command. However, during one of radio transmissions, location of the transmitter is traced, and Anya is arrested by the

Abwehr The ''Abwehr'' ( German for ''resistance'' or ''defence'', but the word usually means ''counterintelligence'' in a military context; ) was the German military-intelligence service for the '' Reichswehr'' and the ''Wehrmacht'' from 1920 to 1944. ...

. Abwehr Colonel Berg in conjunction with the Gestapo holds an operation for recruiting Anya for the subsequent radio play. He tells the radio operator that supposedly he is ready to cooperate with the Soviet intelligence and pass important information on to them. Berg manages to convince Anya and she even sends coded disinformation prepared by the Gestapo. However, after the arrest of his chief Admiral Canaris in connection with the

20 July plot On 20 July 1944, Claus von Stauffenberg and other conspirators attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of Nazi Germany, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia, now Kętrzyn, in present-day Poland. Th ...

, Colonel Berg decides to establish genuine contact with the Soviet intelligence. He meets with Whirlwind and organizes Anya's escape. With Berg's group, Whirlwind gets information about the specific organizers of the Kraków explosion. Attempting to influence the Chief Executive of the act, SS officer Libo, is a failure. However, Whirlwind manages to capture engineer Krauch, who when saving his own life, draws a diagram of the Kraków explosion network. In the last hours before the destruction of the city, Whirlwind and the Polish underground find the main cable, blow it up and fiercely defend the place of the explosion. Brave heroes die, German soldiers are already prepared to repair the damaged cable, but Soviet tanks are not far away and the Nazis flee.

Cast

* Vadim Beroev as Major Whirlwind Майор Вихорь: Реальные имена и события. Владимир Лота, кандидат исторических наук.
/ref> * Anastasia Voznesenskaya as Anya, radio operator *

Viktor Pavlov Viktor Pavlovich Pavlov (russian: Ви́ктор Па́влович Па́влов; October 5, 1940 – August 24, 2006) was a Russian stage and film actor. Pavlov worked in some of the most popular theatres of Moscow: 1963–1965 - Sovremen ...

as Kolya, Whirlwind's deputy *

Alexander Schirvindt Aleksandr Anatolyevich Shirvindt (russian: Александр Анатольевич Ширвиндт, born July 19, 1934) is a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor, screenwriter and voice actor. People's Artist of the RSFSR (1989). Since 2000 h ...

as Jozef, Polish underground fighter *

Yevgeny Teterin Yevgeni, Yevgeny, Yevgenii or Yevgeniy (russian: Евгений), also transliterated as Evgeni, Evgeny, Evgenii or Evgeniy, is the Russian form of the masculine given name Eugene. People with the name include: :''Note: Occasionally, a person may be ...

as Sedoi, Polish underground fighter *

Lyudmila Davydova Ludmila, Ludmilla, or Lyudmila (Cyrillic: Людмила, ''Lyudmila'') may refer to: People * Ludmila (given name) a Slavic female given name (including a list of people with the name) * Ludmila da Silva (born 1994), Brazilian footballer, com ...

as Krysya, Polish underground fighter *

Igor Yasulovich Igor Nikolayevich Yasulovich (russian: Игорь Николаевич Ясулович; born 24 September 1941) is a Soviet and Russian film and theater actor, film director and pedagogue. Biography Yasulovich was born in the village of Reinsfe ...

as Kurt Appel, German soldier-driver, Krysya's groom *

Yevgeni Burenkov Yevgeni, Yevgeny, Yevgenii or Yevgeniy (russian: Евгений), also transliterated as Evgeni, Evgeny, Evgenii or Evgeniy, is the Russian form of the masculine given name Eugene. People with the name include: :''Note: Occasionally, a person may be ...

as Borodin, soviet intelligence colonel *

Yuri Volyntsev Yuri Vitalyevich Volyntsev (russian: Юрий Витальевич Волынцев; 28 April 1932 – 9 August 1999) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor. People's Artist of the RSFSR (1984).Русский драматический те� ...

as Hugo Shwalb, Gestapo officer *

Vladimir Kenigson Vladimir Vladimirovich Kenigson (russian: Владимир Владимирович Кенигсон; November 7, 1907 – November 17, 1986) was a Soviet and Russian film and stage actor. People's Artist of the USSR (1982). Biography and career ...

as Traub, German military journalist *

Vladislav Strzhelchik Vladislav Ignatievich Strzhelchik (russian: Владисла́в Игна́тьевич Стрже́льчик) (1921–1995) was a Soviet and Russian actor. People's Artist of the USSR (1974). Biography Vladislav Strzhelchik born in Petrograd ( ...

as Berg, Abwehr colonel * Yevgeniy Kuznetsov as Friedrich-Wilhelm Krüger, SD chief of Kraków * Vladimir Gusev as Mukha, traitor *

Oleg Golubitsky Oleg (russian: Олег), Oleh ( uk, Олег), or Aleh ( be, Алег) is an East Slavic given name. The name is very common in Russia, Ukraine and Belаrus. It derives from the Old Norse ''Helgi'' ( Helge), meaning "holy", "sacred", or "bless ...

as interpreter *

Georgi Shevtsov Georgi may refer to: * Georgi (given name) * Georgi (surname) See also *Georgy (disambiguation) Georgy may refer to: *Georgy (given name) *Diminituve for Georgina *Georgy, the protagonist in ''Georgy Girl'' novel, film, and song * ''Georgy'' (mus ...

as Stromberg, Wehrmacht major *

Konstantin Zheldin The first name Konstantin () is a derivation from the Latin name ''Constantinus'' (Constantine) in some European languages, such as Russian and German. As a Christian given name, it refers to the memory of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great ...

as Gestapo officer, Kolya's who questioned *

Boris Bibikov Boris may refer to: People * Boris (given name), a male given name *:''See'': List of people with given name Boris * Boris (surname) * Boris I of Bulgaria (died 907), the first Christian ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire, canonized after his ...

as Neubutt, Wehrmacht colonel-general *

Vladimir Osenev Vladimir Ivanovich Osenev (russian: Владимир Иванович Осенев; 8 September 1908 – 1 April 1977) was a Soviet stage, film and voice actor. After graduating from Vakhtangov Theatre in the 1930s he had a stage career spanning ...

as Krauch, German colonel-engineer * Peeter Kard as Gustav Libo, SS Obersturmbannführer * Vladimir Pitsek as hairdresser * Sergei Golovanov as Birghoff, Wehrmacht officer *

Valentin Golubenko Valentin is a male given name meaning "strong, healthy, power, rule, terco". It comes from the Latin name ''Valentinus'', as in Saint Valentin. Commonly found in Spain, Romania, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, Scandinavia, Latin America ...

as Gestapo officer *

Valentina Sharykina Valentina Dmitrievna Sharykina (russian: Валенти́на Дми́триевна Шары́кина; born 25 February 1940, Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union) is a Soviet and Russian stage and film actress. People's Artist of Russia (2000). S ...

as girl dancing at the restaurant * Aleksandra Denisova as old Polish woman *

Alevtina Rumyantseva Alevtina (russian: Алевтина) or occasionally Aleftina (russian: Алефтина) is a female given name. Notable people with the name include: *Alevtina Aparina (1941–2013), Russian politician and member of the State Duma from 1993 * Ale ...

as waitress * Victor Filippov as Polish partisan

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0299018, Major Whirlwind 1967 films Mosfilm films Soviet television films Soviet war adventure films 1960s Russian-language films 1960s war adventure films Soviet black-and-white films Stierlitz Soviet World War II films Russian World War II films Films set in Kraków Films set in 1944 Films about the 20 July plot