''Pugachev'' () is a 1978

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...

film, directed by Alexey Saltykov and starring

Yevgeny Matveyev Yevgeny Semyonovich Matveyev (, ; 8 March 1922 – 1 June 2003) was a Soviet Union, Soviet and Russia, Russian actor and film director who was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1974. He is best known as Nagulnov in ''Virgin Soil Upturned ( ...

and Vija Artmane. The film was honored with a special prize at

All-Union Film Festival The All-Union Film Festival (; tr.:''Vsesoyuznyy kinofestival'', also known as ВКФ; ''VKF'') was one of the most important film festivals of the Soviet Union. It was founded in 1958 and held regularly from 1964 to 1988. It was held annually fr ...

in 1979.

Don Cossack Don Cossacks (, ) or Donians (, ), are Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don. Historically, they lived within the former Don Cossack Host (, ), which was either an independent or an autonomous democratic republic in present-da ...

Yemelyan Pugachev Yemelyan Ivanovich Pugachev (also spelled Pugachyov; ; ) was an ataman of the Yaik Cossacks and the leader of the Pugachev's Rebellion, a major popular uprising in the Russian Empire during the reign of Catherine the Great. The son of a Do ...

says goodbye to his wife and children and goes to run. The elder Filaret blesses him to lead a rebellion under the name of

Peter III of Russia Peter III Fyodorovich (; ) was Emperor of Russia from 5 January 1762 until 9 July of the same year, when he was overthrown by his wife, Catherine II (the Great). He was born in the German city of Kiel as Charles Peter Ulrich of Schleswig-Holst ...

. The insurgents dealt with the feudal lords cruelly. Queen

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

directs troops against the rioters. Traitors betray Yemelyan, and now he is being transported across Russia in an iron cage.

Plot

In 1773, the Don Cossack Yemelyan Pugachev, on the run, finds refuge with Filaret, a renowned Old Believer abbot, and then hides at the Taly settlement with Stepan Obolyaev, its owner. There, he meets several Yaik Cossacks, including Ivan Zarubin, nicknamed "Chika," who decides to recognize Pugachev as Tsar Peter III. Pugachev gathers followers and, claiming to be the miraculously saved Emperor Peter III, leads a Cossack uprising. This rebellion gradually escalates into a full-scale peasant war, spreading across a vast territory. During the fighting, Pugachev's forces capture many fortresses, with his ranks swelling with Cossacks, serfs, factory peasants, and escaped convicts. The Bashkir cavalry, led by singer Salavat Yulaev and Colonel Kinzei Arslanov, also joins them. Colonel Chernyshyov, sent to relieve the Pugachev siege on Orenburg, suffers a defeat in an ambush. Empress Catherine the Great struggles to raise a substantial army against the rebels, as the regular forces are tied up in the ongoing Russo-Turkish War. Meanwhile, Pugachev learns of the death of discontented chieftain Mitya Lysov, sends Chika as an emissary to Ufa, and marries Ustinya Kuznetsova, a Yaik Cossack woman. Despite the setbacks, Pugachev’s forces manage to capture Kazan after royal troops devastate the rebel army in Berdsk settlement. In the Battle of Kazan, Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Michelson deals a crushing blow to Pugachev's forces, forcing him to retreat with the remaining rebel army to the right bank of the Volga. Facing doubts among his followers about support from peasants, Pugachev holds a court in a seized estate, sentencing a cruel landowner, and meets an artist who paints his portrait. In disguise, Pugachev approaches an old acquaintance, a Don Cossack officer, hoping to sway Cossacks sent against him, but his efforts fail. In the significant Battle of Solenikova Vataga, the royal troops finally crush the rebels. As a result, a conspiracy forms among Cossack colonels, led by chieftains Fedulev and Tvorogov. Betrayed, Pugachev is captured, though Kinzei Arslanov manages to escape. In Simbirsk, Yemelyan Pugachev is interrogated by General Pyotr Panin, confined in an iron cage.

Main cast

* Vija Artmane as

* Tamara Syomina as Sofia Pugachyeva * Olga Prokhorova as Ustinya Pugachyeva * Pyotr Glebov as Stepan Fedulov *Boris Kudryavtsev as Maksim Shigayev (voiced by

Stanislav Chekan Stanislav Yulianovich Chekan (; 2 June 1922, Rostov-on-Don — 11 August 1994, Moscow) was a Soviet actor of theater and cinema, known primarily for his blue-collar manly appearance, and character actor roles of a stereotypical "big guy". Biograp ...

) * Grigore Grigoriu as Chika Zarubin (voiced by Vladimir Ferapontov) *

Viktor Pavlov Viktor Pavlovich Pavlov (; 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 - Sovremennik Theatre, Yermolova Theatre (1965–1969), Mayakovs ...

as Mitka Lysov *Boris Kulikov as Andrei Ovchinnikov *Konstantin Zakharchenko as Ivan Tvorogov * Fyodor Odinokov as Khlopusha * Mikhail Zlatopolsky as

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

* Vatslav Dvorzhetsky as Filaret *Salavat Kireyev as

Salawat Yulayev Salawat Yulayev (; ; June 1754 – 8 October 1800) was a Bashkirs, Bashkir national hero who helped lead the Pugachev's Rebellion. He was also a poet and singer. Biography Salawat Yulayev was born in the village of Tekeyevo, Orenburg Governo ...

* Boris Plotnikov as icon painter *

Igor Gorbachyov Igor Olegovich Gorbachyov (October 20, 1927February 19, 2003) was a Soviet and Russian actor, theater director and pedagogue. People's Artist of the USSR (1972).

Nikita Panin Count Nikita Ivanovich Panin (; ) was an influential Russian statesman and political mentor to Catherine the Great for the first 18 years of her reign (1762–1780). In that role, he advocated the Northern Alliance, closer ties with Frederick the ...

*Anatoly Azo as

Grigory Orlov Prince Grigory Grigoryevich Orlov (; 17 October 1734 – 24 April 1783) was a favourite of the Empress Catherine the Great of Russia, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire (1772), state and military figure, collector, patron of arts, and General-in ...

(voiced by Vladimir Druzhnikov) *Vilnis Bekeris as

Johann von Michelsohnen Johann von Michelsohnen (also Mikhelson or Michelson; ; – ) was a Baltic German military commander who served in the Imperial Russian Army. He was a prominent general in several wars, but his most noted contribution was his critical role in sup ...

*Sergei Golovanov as Petr Panin * Alexander Zhdanov as

Paul I of Russia Paul I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1796 until his assassination in 1801. Paul remained overshadowed by his mother, Catherine the Great, for most of his life. He adopted the Pauline Laws, laws of succession to the Russian throne—rules ...

* Fyodor Nikitin as valet

References

External links

* *
Yemelyan Pugachev
' at the Kino-teatr.ru 1970s biographical drama films Soviet biographical drama films 1970s Russian-language films 1970s historical drama films Soviet historical drama films Films set in 1773 Films set in Russia Mosfilm films Films directed by Alexey Saltykov Cultural depictions of Catherine the Great Films about Paul I of Russia Films about the Russian Empire 1970s Soviet films Russian-language biographical drama films Russian-language historical drama films {{bio-film-stub