Original subtitles

ZHUKOV

Part 12

Georgy Konstantinovich and Galina Alexandrovna!

According to Article 156

on marriage in the Russian Federation,

I pronounce you husband and wife.

It's very beautiful.

I wish you happiness.

- Galya, you should tell him. - Are you crazy?

He's relaxed now, writing his book, and here I am.

Hi, comrade Marshal, I feel giddy.

When was the last time when you did medical tests?

Last month.

Don't panic. You hear me?

We still have to check this.

Of course we have to check this,

but you are losing weight, Galya.

The end of discussion. Let's do the dishes. We have things to do.

That's what I'm gonna tell you.

You were struck by lightning and you fell.

And I just became stronger.

But she was caught, it seems.

Don't touch her.

Take my life if you want to but don't touch her.

Zhora!

That's where you are!

- Yes! - I've been looking for you.

I remembered how I lifted you in my arms for the first time and almost fell.

Why did you remember that?

What makes you love me so much?

What is it?

Zhora!

Shall I answer right now?

I liked you shiny boots.

After that, I liked you.

As an addition.

- Did you lose weight? - Stop it.

You keep harping on it.

What if I am on a diet?

What do they say about the medical tests?

It's fine. I am just doing my routine tests.

You know how much time takes this handsome one to die?

You don't know, Galina Alexandrovna.

I've read that the trees can kill themselves.

Let's change the subject, please.

A one like this probably would need half a year. The upper roots first,

those that pump the water. Then the thicker ones,

- the biggest, the most reliable. - Quiet, comrade Marshal.

Let's have some tea. I am freezing.

When the time came to protect

our main achievement,

we knew what we were fighting for.

You see? And you said, he's no Tolstoy.

Hold yourself up, Mikhail Mikhailovich.

It is amazing!

- It is. Right and true. I have no words. - Great!

I am proud of you.

Here.

That's to your health.

Zhora! That's it. Enough.

Hey, husband!

I've got an award for you.

- An award? - Yes.

We are going to the theatre tonight.

Here.

An award! You've heard this? Galochka, maybe we better…

No, Zhorochka.

- We're going to see some high art. - What is on today?

You'd better ask what theatre we're going to.

- What theatre are we going to? - The Sovremennik .

- Yes. - How did you get the tickets?

From nowhere. The medical chief' wife is giving birth, he can't go.

- Yes. - Come on.

- Come on, comrade Marshal. We're going. - Gotcha.

Let's go.

You are not going anywhere.

You can't go tonight.

Konstantinovich! Your editor-in-chief has just called.

He wants you to come.

And his voice is just too sweet.

Well…

Oh God, when will it be over? I am asking you.

- What is it, Galya? - Oh!

- Hold on. Zhora! - Don't even think about it!

He has a lot on his mind as is. Just help me.

Are you an idiot or just pretending to be one?

- Deal with your health! - Misha!

- You are a doctor. What is it? - Misha, stop it.

The end of discussion. I am fine.

Zhora!

- Can I come in? - Please sit and wait.

- Goodbye! - Goodbye!

Please come in.

Come on in.

Please tell me, during the operation in 1942,

near Novorossyisk, have you met the 18th Army commanders?

I have.

That's great. You should expand this chapter.

Because in that year, the marines stood to the last man at the Small Land.

Yes, Georgy Konstantinovich, you understood me.

In 1942, you flew to Novorossyisk.

You could've easily met Leonid Brezhnev there.

I came to meet with General Colonel Lesilidze,

the 18th Army Commander.

Who was Brezhnev back then? A political instructor?

No, I couldn't have met him.

- There are witnesses. They're alive. - The witnesses?

Georgy Konstantinovich!

- We can find you any witnesses, just ask. - It will never happen.

Then the book won't happen,

Georgy Konstantinovich. I'm sorry for being straightforward.

Turns out, you fought the war and the others didn't?

- You just have to mention him. - Let him write how he fought.

You are the great Marshal. This is…

...an extremely powerful ideological weapon.

We, the Soviet Union,

have been experiencing ongoing

harmful destructive ideological pressure from the imperialist countries.

And we can't even mention the state leader in your book?

Just mention him. Nothing more, Georgy Konstantinovich.

Believe me, we'll forget about many of our corrections then.

Moreover, we'll send the book to print and we'll release it this year.

In these eight years,

I wasn't invited even once to any celebration or reception.

Yes, I am retired.

But other retirees, the front commanders, the brigade commanders, do get invited.

Let me ask you.

How did I hurt you so much?

- Georgy Konstantinovich, I will… - Don't interrupt me!

Don't you want to stand up in front of me?

The whole armies stood up in front of me! Stand up!

This is Zhukov facing you now.

I turned 69 on December 1. You didn't even send a telegram.

You're afraid.

Why?

I had three heart attacks. I can die any day.

Keep standing.

Until I leave.

Don't push me.

Even Stalin feared me at times.

I am afraid of a bear.

And a bear lives in taiga.

Don't push me.

Tell this to them.

In 1965,

it was decided to widely celebrate the 20th anniversary of the victory.

For the first time since 1948, this day became a holiday.

Many people received greetings. The soldiers, the sergeants, the captains,

and the great war Marshals.

Only one Marshal was forgotten. The very Marshal

who saved Moscow and Leningrad, who took over Berlin,

who signed the German Instrument of Surrender,

and inspected the great Victory Parade.

They forgot Marshal Zhukov.

Brezhnev, who came to power, hated and feared Zhukov,

just like Khrushchev did very recently

and like Stalin did after the war.

After Khrushchev's discharge in 1964, Zhukov still had some hope

and expected for a call.

He wanted be of use to the army which meant everything to him.

But the phone didn't ring.

In the days of celebrating the victory,

after another humiliation, he understood everything.

He didn't even get the invitation for a grand meeting in Kremlin.

He, the Marshal of the Victory, Georgy Zhukov.

In honor of the 20th anniversary of the victory over German fascism,

we invited here today an outstanding military leader,

the Marshal of the Soviet Union, four times the Hero of the Soviet Union,

Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov with his wife!

Zhukov! Zhukov!

Comrades!

Comrades! Comrades!

We will give the floor to comrade Zhukov a bit later.

And now the floor is given to comrade Konstantin Simonov!

Zhukov!

Comrades!

Zhukov! Zhukov!

I actually…

…didn't speak for a long time.

Probably eight years.

I was sitting at home…

Thinking.

What can I tell you, comrades?

Twenty years ago, the Red Army defeated fascism.

The Soviet people and the entire multinational USSR

showed the world an example of cohesion and heroism.

There are people in this hall

who'll know what I am talking about.

Neither generals nor marshals forged the victory.

Of course, we need generals and marshals as well.

The humanity

was freed from the fascism

by a Soviet soldier.

By their burning hatred of the enemy,

by their enormous and sincere love of the fatherland. They fought fearlessly,

they showed the highest heroism.

They are the real heroes of this war.

The Soviet soldier deserves a monument

from grateful humanity.

Let's get up and bow to him.

In hallowed memory of the Soviet soldier.

Hey, wife!

Wifey!

Will you feed your husband? 'Cause he is…

…hungry.

Wait!

Galya, what happened? Galochka! What happened?

What is it, Galochka? Hold on.

Misha! Misha!

- Misha! - Yeah!

Come here! Hurry!

- God! - Why are you screaming?

Get up now…

Get up. Come on.

Why are you screaming?

Come on. Yes.

That's it. Here.

- Okay. - Georgy, what happened?

We'll find out now.

- Wait! - It's alright. Come on.

Can I speak to doctor Kogan?

This is Marshal Zhukov. It is urgent.

At the surgery.

Tell him to come to us right after the surgery.

Please tell him, dear. Thank you very much.

Sit here.

Oh my god! Just a moment.

Why are you so pale?

I've spoiled you, Georgy.

What, a woman can't faint from time to time?

- The water. - Calling Kogan at once.

What is that? Come on, drink.

- You feel better? - I'm fine.

I just…

…felt giddy.

I'm fine.

That's it. Fine.

Georgy Konstantinovich…

Don't bother,

holy father.

I have nothing more to talk to him about.

Eat shit, bitches!

Sit! Sit now!

I don't…

I don't want anything without her!

My Galya has cancer!

It is impossible! Could it be a mistake?

Hey! Wait here!

Here. Drink it.

I… I spoke to the doctor. I said, I am an old soldier, tell me the truth.

She's had this tumor…

This beast has been eating her for long time.

She didn't want to tell me.

- Zhora… - She didn't want to tell me!

That's it! It's gonna be okay.

That's it! You gotta keep living instead of breaking things here.

Let's go! Get up.

Come on! Get up!

Very good.

Atta boy!

That's it. Okay...

- Yes, I have to live. - Let's go.

- for the two of us. - Come on.

I have to finish the book.

It is very late now. Let's go.

Era?

Galina Alexandrovna, hi! I need to talk to my father.

- What happened? - Mom is dying.

Zhora…

Our life has passed.

Hold up! The doctor says, they'll get you back on your feet. Hold up, Shura.

I have no reason to live.

Zhora…

No reason.

I walk around the apartment, alone.

You are not there.

Before, there were the girls, at least…

And now they have the lives of their own.

Here. Drink this.

Thank you.

Hold up, Shura.

Did I only bring you pain?

What are you saying?

God is your judge.

I am your guardian angel.

You live while I live.

Come here.

Here. Yes.

I loved you…

…more than anything else.

More than life.

More that the sun, more than the sky and the wind.

Georgy…

Farewell.

Farewell.

I am sorry.

Comrade Zhukov, the car is ready.

Where is Galya?

In the hospital. She's got cancer.

He spends days and nights with her.

The chairman of the meeting, comrade Suslov,

gives the floor to the 1st Secretary of the Central Committee, Leonid Brezhnev,

to deliver the Central Committee report.

Yes, I see. Yes.

What is it? Ah?

They rejected,

both the book and the article.

They are afraid.

Afraid of Zhora's article for the anniversary of the victory.

The unconditional surrender…

That's what they are afraid of.

…for all key directions of the Communist development.

He'll be ashamed one day.

No, Zhora, you are wrong. They don't have this shame muscle.

They just don't.

I'm listening.

Hello, Galina Alexandrovna.

I am calling from Old Square, from the S ecretariat.

Just a second. Zhora!

That's the Secretariat. Yes, I am listening.

We sent the insertions. Three pages.

- What did he decide? -Just a second.

Zhora!

What do you say?

For now, he says no.

No? Please tell comrade Marshal, I'm calling for the last time.

Zhora…

He's obtrusive and bold.

- He's not bold. That one is. - That's his job.

Zhora! You want this book to be published? Right?

Zhora!

Listen, my dear! If he signs the inserts, when will you publish the book?

Won't you start bouncing it between different offices again?

It's been nine years!

I give you my word. If he signs, we'll release it in a couple of months.

Moreover, we will immediately translate it to Bulgarian, Czech, and Polish.

People are waiting in queues in fraternal countries.

Just a second.

- Hello! Yes. - How are you?

So you say that if I add to my book a fake, a chapter that you wrote

about my accidental meeting with the war hero Leonid Brezhnev,

you'd release my book immediately?

I promise, Georgy Konstantinovich.

Goodbye. I'll think about it.

I'm flying to the 18th Army to consult with Brezhnev, the political instructor.

The whole world will laugh at me! Commander consulting with instructor!

- God forbid! - There's no god in our country.

But there's Brezhnev.

Well, let the fool celebrate! A smart one will know anyway.

Okay?

Come on.

Atta boy.

Take it there.

Very good.

Zhukov's book, Recollections and Thoughts , was originally released in 1969,

and it had a bombshell effect,

even though numerous pages and paragraphs

have been removed from it throughout the years,

and numerous sentences have been altered so that they lost their initial meaning.

They wanted to get the Marshal broken

because they were terrified by his fame, by his popularity,

and by his famous will to win.

They tried to break him with all the power of their state machine

but they couldn't.

The book had a phenomenal success.

When Recollections hit the shelves of Moscow bookstores in April, 1969,

the first edition of 100,000 copies has disappeared immediately.

People waited in half-kilometer queue to get to the Book Centre

at Kalininsky Avenue.

At the bookstore on Kirov street, the crowd just smashed the windows

and broke into the store.

Those sitting in the Kremlin were shocked by common people's reaction to the book.

After twelve years of retirement, disgrace and oblivion,

Zhukov came back to his people.

And again he was a winner.

She waited for him.

He's lying with a stroke. Just don't tell her!

I get it.

Galya, hi!

Well…

Misha…

What?

How are you?

Where's Georgy?

They called him. He's away. He…

…told me to bring you this.

- Misha… - Yes.

Go.

Start the car.

- We're going to him. - Well…

- Right now. - Galya, don't get up. They called him.

Galya!

Misha…

You are just…

You are an old man

but you haven't learnt how to lie.

- What happened to him? - A stroke.

A stroke?

A stroke is…

It is not so bad.

It is here. Room No. 4.

Don't help me now.

He can't see this.

Girls! Let's go out.

Hi there!

Georgy!

Your doctor is here.

The physician.

Shall we make an injection now?

Do you remember how we met?

Let's see how they treat you here.

They don't treat you well.

They treat you wrong.

They pity you.

But one doesn't pity the Marshal of the Victory.

That's okay.

That's okay.

We'll get up.

You and I, we'll walk.

We'll run.

We'll teach them how to dance.

Remember how we waltzed in Bulgaria, while their Political Bureau was looking?

Against all odds!

Georgy!

Aren't you tired?

I'll be right back.

You can't stay in the sun for so long.

You gotta fly to Moscow! I've got a call.

I am not flying before he starts walking.

You have to do the second surgery, urgently.

We'll do it.

Once he starts walking and talking.

Galina Alexandrovna!

- He might never talk again. - He will talk!

You don't understand who is this man and how strong is his will.

He is a titan.

- Hello! - Hello.

Well…

What did she say?

Misha! Don't leave him alone when I die.

Stop! Don't even think about it!

The doctors said, you are a miracle!

I am serious! Really.

Look at me! You don't believe me?

- I am looking. - You see?

Right? It's all good.

One thing makes me happy. Really happy.

- That we made peace with the girls. - This is nice.

- They won't leave him, right? - What makes you think so?

How can they leave their father?

Galya!

- The lunch is ready. Go! - Yes.

- Girls! Let's go. The lunch is ready. - We'll be right back.

Zhora…

Come on, try one more time.

We'll get up and make three steps to the bench, right?

Come on, my dear, we have to do this.

Come on.

Hold onto me. Come on, Zhora.

Come on!

Come on, help me! Help me, Zhora!

Hold on! Hold on, my love.

We have to do it. Do you hear me?

Come on, my dear! Let's do it together!

Come on!

Come on!

Come on!

Well done!

Well done! Hold on!

Hold onto me! Come on!

Come on! Come on!

Come on! Well done!

Come on, Zhora!

That's it!

Well done.

Well done.

Here. Just as you asked.

Zhora! Maybe I could write it?

- I will. I will. - And you could just sign.

- I have to write myself. - Don't bother him, Misha.

He'll write it himself.

You heard her. Myself. Go.

Okay, do it yourself.

- Do you want dinner? - No.

And you?

Okay, I'm gonna eat now. Call me if you need me.

Here.

They just said in the news, Lida died.

Ruslanova.

The dinner will be ready soon.

Galechka, I can't live without you.

And I don't want to.