Original subtitles

STAR MEDIA

Aleksandr Domogarov

Mikhail Porechenkov

Yekaterina Vilkova

Pavel Trubiner

Written by Igor Ter-Karapetov

Production director: Sergei Ginzburg

Score by Gleb Matveichuk and Andrei Komissarov

First cameraman: Vasya Sikachinskiy

Art director: Yuri Konstantinov

Costume designers: Zhanna Lanina, Kseniya Mavrina

Make-up by Anastasiya Ramlya

Casting by Yekaterina Struchkova, Anastasiya Lenova

Edited by Olga Proshkina, Irina Michurina

Sound producer: Leonid Shushakov

Post-production producer: Artyom Yeliseev

Produced by Andrei Anokhin, Vlad Ryashin

Kill Stalin

Excuse me, I have an urgent wire to send.

Sorry, I only have to ask something. Nelya, is there anything for me?

Yeah, a flash just got here.

Oh, thanks a lot.

Is it from your wife, Comrade Captain?

Come on, now, I’d only marry you, Nelya.

What do you think you’re doing, young man!

I’m sorry, I just asked.

This is ridiculous.

I’m sorry, I’m sorry.

I just asked and took the wire.

And you were about to marry.

Young lady, can you wire this for me? My kids are waiting at home.

We have to take the man to the designated area

and hand him over to our people.

A plane will take you over the front lines.

You are not to talk to the man you will be transporting.

Everything clear?

Yes, sir. We may need to address the man on the way.

What shall we call him?

Call him Ghost.

I know, it sounds like an operetta, doesn’t it?

But what can you do, an order is an order.

Get ready, we’ll be there soon.

So here he deviates from the routine.

Here he sees the car.

Wait, wait, wait. Rewind it.

What did you see?

The reflection in the mirror, did you see it?

Yeah, there’s something there.

All right, Dronov, take this part for additional processing,

have them take the negative and print photos.

You have it good, watching around watching movies.

And I’m seeing double because of all those fingerprints.

Have you found anything yet?

No. Comrade Captain, Grisha is asks you to bring

the 16-meter film.

This one?

‒ Yeah, I guess. ‒ What’s on it?

I don’t know.

All right, take it, come on.

Zhenya, maybe you could help me?

Because of those filing cabinets I’m…

Of course, permission to go?

Go.

Is it far?

A couple of kilometers. Alas, this Russia.

Zhenya, I want to go to the front lines.

What’s happened?

I’ve had it, I have to do God knows what all the time.

And on the front lines they are actually fighting.

Meanwhile, we’re trying to catch those bastards,

and what? It’s no use.

What do you mean, no use? We’re going to catch them yet.

Yeah, we’d better not be late. You know, Zhenya…

I just don’t have the skills.

Like you do, for example, or Comrade Captain,

or even Grisha Sapater.

No, I can’t even handle this goddamn filing cabinet,

I’m looking at it as if it were...

You do have skills, and I’ll help you with the filing cabinet.

Come on, put your dukes up.

They’re almost above us.

Tell them that the time and the place stay the same.

Okay, we made the car.

It’s an M-1 car, the driver is military.

Take a lot of photos like this and go visit some cities.

Yes, sir. The car is clean, he must not have come from afar.

There’s hundreds of cars like that one in Moscow, anyway.

We don’t have a different way to do it, or the time.

I’ve seen him someplace, that driver.

Remember where. Come on, come on.

I barely glanced at him, must have been driving by or something.

What’s the matter, Senior Lieutenant?

Well.

No, I can’t remember, sorry, Captain, sir.

I wasn’t doing it on purpose, Senior Lieutenant.

Comrade Senior Lieutenant, you’ve been in this group

only a few weeks. Please act accordingly.

You’re not my commander to tell me what to do, got it?

Zhenya, Dronov, calm down, what’s the matter with you?

What the hell are you doing? Stop that! Have you lost your minds?!

Stop!

Hurl all your effort into finding that driver.

Send the participants of the group to me in 15 minutes.

Yes, sir.

Good day, can you tell where the commander of the third regiment is?

Upstairs, room 301, Major.

Thank you, good luck.

Major.

Right, Major.

Comrade Captain, I remember!

I remember, he’s the driver of that Major

who then became the District Commander’s aide.

You know, instead of the one who died.

Petrov, I think.

Yeah, he was in Letyagin’s apartment.

Right, I saw him there next to the door.

Dronov, put surveillance on Petrov right now.

Yes, sir.

Well, good job.

So, Novitsky and I are going to find that driver,

and you tell Sapater, could be that it was Petrov

who went to Serebryakova’s apartment.

‒ Get to it, group. ‒ Yes, sir.

Password.

‒ Ghost. Reply? ‒ Gunther.

Ghost delivered, awaiting further instructions.

They’re waiting for news from you, the radio is there.

I recognize Hess’s style.

Clean it up.

Go on air, Lindshof. If you’re Lindshof, of course.

Kind of a weird photo.

Doesn’t matter, do you know him?

Well, yeah, it’s Sergeant Grigory Akhlakov.

He drives Major Petrov, General Artemyev’s aide.

Where is he now?

Sleeping in the barracks.

They drove off in the middle of the night with Major,

his master. Did they do something?

Can you walk me to the barracks?

And you call HQ, find out about Serebryakova.

Yes, sir.

Where is the phone, Comrade Senior Lieutenant?

Here, in the post.

Thank you.

This is where Comrade Major took me.

Told me to wait and left.

He went into this courtyard, then came back and

told me to drive on, but slowly.

Was he waiting for someone?

I didn’t see, I was watching the road.

Have you been to this place a lot?

Yeah, that one time, we were circling around the park.

And you didn’t ask what for?

We aren’t supposed to, we’re supposed to drive

and that’s what we do, and if we’re asked to stop, we do that, too.

Do you remember which day that was?

It was the 26th.

I remember it because it snowed for the first time,

and I had old tires.

Letyagin was killed on the 27th.

Right, thank you.

Let’s go take your statement. Start it up.

Based on the latest information I suppose that

Major Letyagin was killed so that Boris Petrov

could take his place.

He is Abwehr’s most important agent in our HQ.

And Letyagin’s name was tarnished to divert attention from us and

lead my group down the wrong path.

Next theory, Comrade Senior Major...

I know the rest.

What do we have on Petrov?

The driver’s statement?

That’s not enough.

There’s no time, Comrade Senior Major. There’s no time.

I agree. We need to contact the HQ.

You do understand what arresting a

District Commander’s aide means? It’s no joke.

Petrov is at the front lines with the Commander now.

And what, you want to arrest him?

No, he’ll be watched there.

I want to search his office.

All right, you’ll get the permission.

Well, what can you tell me?

To get up propping yourself up on the table is a good habit.

Well, I can tell you that he hasn’t been to your apartment,

the fingerprints are different.

Comrade Captain.

There’s one more.

He’s afraid to live, Comrade Major.

Put it back in its place carefully. You too.

There’s nothing else here.

Clean as a tear.

I’d like to search his apartment, but his family is there.

When is the commander back?

He has a meeting at three o’clock.

Right, we’re leaving. We’re leaving.

Get up.

Gentlemen, congratulations, the operation has entered its final phase.

Get the radio and the rest ready.

Yes, sir.

Thank god, I was getting tired of being stuck

in that smelly hellhole.

Agent Rose is close to failure.

What can we do?

You? Nothing.

It’s just that we can’t count on agent Rose anymore.

Comrade Major, didn’t I ask you to stop with that doorman routine?

Excuse me.

I’m waiting for you and the papers in my office in a half hour.

Yes, sir.

Comrade Major, I have some business with you.

Grisha!

Gena, get back!

Dronov, the door!

Comrade Major, lower your gun.

The bastard! We were late again.

Easy, Grisha. Easy, easy.

Get the doctor, quick.

Call a doctor, right now.

He was warned.

He was burning something.

There was one word on it: “Rose.”

‒ Grisha! ‒ Rose.

Grisha!

What is going on here? Who are you?

NKVD Special Group Leader Captain Berezhnoy.

Comrade District Commander, permission to report.

It was my fault, Comrade Captain. Mine.

We thought Grisha would distract him, and the rest of us would arrest him.

And he… I don’t know, sensed it or something.

It’s not your fault and he never sensed anything.

He was warned. He said the paper said “Rose.”

Who’s that Rose bastard, Comrade Captain?

I don’t know, it could be Petrov’s codename.

Tell me something, did Grisha manage to figure out the prints?

Serebryakova’s fingerprints still haven’t been found,

but we haven’t looked at the political prisoners’ ones yet.

Grisha has finished that map of his.

He found some prints on the chair and on the doorknob,

but those were some lousy prints.

And he hasn’t had time to figure out whose they were.

We didn’t find this last time.

What?

Invoices. Building materials and fuels, pretty big quantities.

Delivered to Kletino village area. According to the road waybills.

But neither the invoices nor the waybills are registered.

And what does that mean?

Good job, Zhenya. It means, Comrade Lieutenant,

that a building of unknown purpose has been built around Kletino village.

All right, Dronov, gather all your people,

Novitsky and I are going to find something out and come visit, too.

Yes, sir.

‒ Everyone, get to work. ‒ Yes, sir.

Are we going to tell Comrade Prokhorov?

No, he’s going to ask the superiors’ permission,

and that takes a long time.

Get to work.

Yes, sir.

Can you tell me who worked here?

Only the soldiers did, we just prepared the wood.

What are you doing, you dumb bastards, gonna run us over!

I’ll write your dad on the front lines.

Tell me, did this man coordinate the construction?

He came, he would come almost every day, but I can’t tell you if he was the boss.

No, I can’t tell you.

And what road do we take to get there?

Come on, Dronov.

Well, they went straight through the village,

and from there to the woods, can’t tell you where they went from there.

Oh, thanks a lot.

Get in, let’s go. Start it.

Well, you know the drill, let’s go.

Oh, thanks.

Godspeed.

A military base. Weird, why would it be here?

What are we going to do, Captain?

Halt! Halt!

Drop your weapons! Drop your weapons!

Hands up!

Ivan, lower your weapon.

Lower your arms.

This is a strange situation. We’ve been here three hours.

I don’t get it either.

So suppose we discovered this secret base, so what?

We all swore not to disclose military secrets.

And if they don’t trust us, why don’t they shoot us?

Don’t jinx it.

Shoot us, huh.

Ten-hut!

At ease. Say what you wanted to say.

Firstly: the military base that we discovered

was built specifically to accommodate the troops

that are going to take part in the parade on the Red Square

on November 7.

Secondly and most importantly:

the brass believes that the attempt on Stalin’s life

will take place at that same parade.

The bastards.

You do understand the consequences of the assassination

if it succeeds? And the responsibility we all bear?

Comrade People’s Commissar,

permission to ask Comrade Senior Major something?

Comrade Senior Major, why don’t we just cancel the parade?

The parade has political significance.

Comrade Stalin knows about a possible assassination attempt,

but the parade has to happen on the anniversary of the Revolution.

Comrade Stalin has faith in you,

he knows that you’ll foil your enemy.

I think the Leader is right as always.

Come with me, let Comrade Berezhnoy work.

Yes, sir.

At ease.

Well, what do you think?

Well, at least we know what day the attempt

is going to take place on.

Right, we only have four days.

Obviously the attempt is going to be made

by one of the men on parade.

A sniper?

No. I don’t think they’re going to shoot

while surrounded by trained personnel,

most likely it’s going to be an armored vehicle.

Remember the catalyst that was stolen from the institute?

Of course. It could be used to manufacture a projectile.

A shot at Lenin’s Mausoleum from a cannon!

Think, comrades officers, think!

We’ll have to check every tank regiment.

How many of them are taking part in the parade?

Right, here’s a list of the regiments

that are taking part in the parade.

This is the only copy of the document, please be careful.

There’s not that many of them.

Yeah, but we only need one man from this list.

These were written in by Major Petrov.

I know his handwriting.

33rd Tank Brigade.

Right, Dronov, here you go.

Continue the search for Serebryakova and Ponomarenko’s group.

Yes, sir.

Sechin, check Sapater’s notes about fingerprints in my apartment.

Yes, sir.

Novitsky and I are going to the HQ, we’re going to check the 33rd Tank Brigade.

Everyone, get to work.

Comrades officers, come up, please.

Right. Anokhin, Leonov, listen up.

This is your area. You’re on round-the-clock surveillance detail.

Got it? Report to me immediately, is that clear?

Yes, sir.

Come on!

General Artemyev said that Petrov served in this brigade himself.

And that he insisted that this brigade be included in the list.

Maybe the sensible thing to do would be not to let them take part in the parade?

There’s always time for that.

We have to find the saboteurs, it’s our only lead.

I still don’t understand how you can plant a stranger

into a brigade where everyone’s fought side-by-side

for a long time.

That’s the thing, the brigade was completely destroyed

in one of the battles. It was formed anew recently.

Right, stop.

We have to try to find something in Petrov’s apartment.

I don’t know, papers, personal belongings.

What, did you get bogged down?

Set your wheels straight!

Comrade State Security Captain? Permission to help you?

Well, you can try.

Come on, ladies!

One! Two! Three!

Come on, come on, come on!

Come on, come on, again!

One!

Thanks, ladies.

Glad to help.

Thank you.

Form up! March onwards!

One, two, three!

Come in, please.

Hello.

Hello.

Hello.

I asked my husband to send us over the Ural,

he said that the Germans would never take Russia.

Now I understand why he didn’t want to let us go.

Tell me, where is your husband’s work desk?

In that room, and the keys to the drawers, too.

What is going to happen to us now?

We’ll see. We don’t punish the innocent.

Especially if they’re children.

Of course, who’s going to believe that I never suspected anything?

Some documents and letters, Comrade Captain.

Some of my letters are in there, too. Very personal.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to read your letters.

Easy there, this woman just lost her husband.

I’m sorry, I’m just tired.

Do you want some tea?

We have some ration tea left.

Yes, thank you.

Look, there used to be a picture here.

Hey, girls.

Tell me, do you remember who used to be in these photos?

Uncle Sergei.

Uncle Sergei.

Uncle Sergei.

The tea will be ready in fifteen minutes.

Who did this?

Wasn’t me.

I didn’t do it.

I think there was a photo of my husband and his academy classmates.

Gorchakov and Samokhvalov were their names.

He served with Samokhvalov later.

Do you have any other photographs of them?

Yes. Weird.

There should be a photograph of Sergei Samokhvalov here.

My husband and I went to visit him in the hospital,

and we took a photo.

When?

In August, a hospital in Bogorodsk in Moscow Oblast.

Call the HQ, find out if a Sergei Samokhvalov serves

in the 33rd Tank Brigade. What’s his rank?

Captain.

You’re going to have to come with us.

Don’t worry, you’ll only have to identify Sergei Samokhvalov.

Sergei Samokhvalov just came back from medical leave.

He’s attached to the brigade as commander of vehicle 141.

Get dressed.

Tell me, is this man Sergei Samokhvalov?

Yes, this is Sergei Samokhbalov.

My late husband’s friend.

Well, what are we going to do? Arrest him?

No, take her to the office.

Come on, come on, come on.

Everyone out.

So you claim that this man is Sergei Samokhvalov?

Yes.

I’m going to shoot you, German swine!

Look me in the eye, tell me the truth! The truth!

‒ I am telling the truth. ‒ Look me in the eye!

What’s wrong with you?

Lower the gun. Lower the gun.

Easy, easy, easy.

Calm down, calm down.

What’s gotten into you?!

What do we have? Another false lead?

It’s easy to find it out.

We have to arrange a meeting with Samokhvalov

and see if he recognizes her.

If he’s an agent, he has to know what the people close to him look like.

Agreed, bad idea.

But I don’t think she’s the only one who knows Samokhvalov.

We need to look in the archives.

We’re going to the HQ, she’s coming with us.

Take her!

Let’s go, let’s go.

‒ Hello, comrades. ‒ Hello.

Take a picture of Samokhvalov, urgently and in secret.

There’s going to be a marching drill in the brigade.

I need lots of pictures. Do you understand?

Lots, from different angles.

I understand the assignment, permission to carry it out?

‒ Get to it. ‒ Yes, sir.

It’s all good, Ghost is ready to work.

Great. Tell them we’re laying low until the end of the operation.

Got it.

Come on.

Thank you.

Come on, come on, get a move on.

Wait up, wait up.

Come on.

Thank you.

That’s it, let’s go.

I need Lieutenant Sechin.

Take the citizen to her cell.

The basement?

The basement.

Oh, and come to the office later.

Yes, sir. Let’s go.

Where?

Follow me.

Today we may have lost yet another lead.

I say “may have” because I still have some hope

of turning the situation around.

For that it is imperative that in the span of one day,

in Moscow, in the closest Red Army regiments,

we find people who know Captain Sergei Samokhvalov,

who is serving in the 33rd Tank Brigade which is getting ready for the parade.

Look at all the archives and interrogate everyone

who knew Petrov or his comrades in arms.

By the end of the day I need all the people

who know or have seen Captain Samokhvalov. Everything clear?

And Lidya Petrova?

Petrova identified the man who is posing as Samokhvalov.

‒ How is that possible? ‒ I don’t know!

We need to check her statement.

That’s it, the meeting is over,

Senior Lieutenant Novitsky is left in charge.

Yes, sir.

You’ll get your personal orders from the commander.

At ease. Everyone is free to go.

Comrade Captain, I need thirty minutes to draft an operations plan.

You have thirty minutes.

All right, I’m going to see Prokhorov.

What’s with the captain?

What do you think? He’s nervous, there’s no results.

Not exactly. I have to talk to you.

Well, okay.

In private.

Comrade Captain, permission to speak.

I’m listening.

Permission to work on my own, independently from

Senior Lieutenant Novitsky.

Is that why you stopped me?

Your ego is hurt? Your ego has to be below zero.

That’s why we haven’t gotten any results.

But still?

Go to Bogorodsk, to the hospital, talk to the doctor.

We need Samokhvalov’s distinguishing marks: scars, burns, cuts and so on.

Yes, sir, Comrade Captain. Thank you.

Colonel, sir, we have a report from Hess.

Ghost has arrived, the plant is a success.

Has the escort group gotten back?

Negative. Nor have they contacted us.

Hess’s report doesn’t mention the group at all.

He killed them.

No.

Yes, I’m sure.

That psycho doesn’t leave anyone alive.

I think soon enough we’re going to have to work

with those punks alone.

Here, read this.

Wow.

I didn’t dare show him this.

Yeah, that’s some story.

What do we do? We have to report this.

Let me report it.

I’ll wait for the right moment and report it.

Zhenya, I’d appreciate that.

Come on, get your things and let’s go to the HQ.

We’ll talk to Petrov’s coworkers.

Yep.

Yevgeny. I didn’t think you’d come.

Hello, Polina.

Or whatever your name is.

Does he know?

He knows. We all know Polina Serebryakova is dead.

She’s dead? I didn’t know.

What a strange situation, I’m telling you,

Polina Serebryakova, that you’re dead.

Berezhnoy doesn’t trust you, neither do I.

I have to arrest you, but you’ve come and I’ll keep my word.

Goodbye.

Wait. I have to tell you, you’d understand then.

I have very little time. Come on.

Get out of Moscow immediately.

Come on, Petrovich, take her out. Let’s go.

Take the heavily wounded closer to the operating theater.

I’ll be right there.

You’ve picked a bad time to come, Comrade…

What’s your name?

Dronov.

Right, Dronov, I’d forgotten.

Look, Comrade Sorin, I’m not playing games here.

This is a matter of national importance.

So this is how it is.

Maybe you could arrange it for the HQ to fix our phones?

You have the authority.

Doctor, that’s not my jurisdiction, I don’t have the time.

Sorry.

Oh, it’s okay.

Okay, prep this one for surgery, prep him.

So, you were saying?

I need data on Captain Sergei Samokhvalov

who was discharged from your hospital around a week ago.

Okay, what kind of data?

Distinguishing marks. Burns, scars.

All right. Careful, careful.

Okay, I’ll arrange it in a second.

What did you say his name was?

Samokhvalov.

Samokhvalov. Okay, you wait here, wait,

I’ll be right back, don’t go anywhere, after all, we’re in a...

Unconscious, take him to room ten.

Come on, guys, come on.

Hello, who is in charge here?

He is.

What’s the matter, comrades?

Hello, Comrade Doctor.

There’s been an accident on the bridge,

a truck fell into the river, people have died.

Aleksandr Vasilyevich!

This is an infirmary, not a morgue, what did you bring them here for?

Well, we weren’t able to call your infirmary.

Or you’d send someone to us. We need to document the bodies,

everything by the book.

Here’s the folder you asked for.

Yeah, thank you. Thank you.

Here, take this, this is your case.

All right, come on.

So, this one… the entire ribcage is broken,

probably the driver.

This one… head trauma, broken arm, broken leg…

come on, he didn’t die today.

He’s been in the water for about a week.

He was in the pond along with everyone else.

I’m telling you, around a week.

The body was tied to the weight.

The car broke the rope while falling down.

An officer, no papers. Disfigured face.

Doctor, look over the body and compare it to

the notes about Samokhvalov’s marks.

Young lady, can I ask you something?

I’m listening.

Get back to the apartment, bitch,

and don’t you try to pull anything without permission.

I don’t understand. Who are you?

Yes you do, Olya. Give me the papers.

Give me the papers.

Tell them someone stole them at the train station.

Now go back home.

And don’t let me catch you trying to escape again.

Go. Go.

Comrade Lieutenant! I found these papers on the platform.

What is this?

The country is at war, and you can’t stop pickpockets.

We’ll sort this out.

Yeah, do that. And be attentive.

End of Episode Seven