A masterpiece of Soviet cinema, the best movie by director Alexei Saltykov, based on a screenplay by the major prose writer Yuri Nagibin. This is one of those feeds that opens up vast space for acting talent, submitting to its level: it depends on the performers whether a solid picture becomes a great one. Thanks to the performances and heartfelt commitment of Mikhail Ulyanov, Ivan Lapikov, Nonna Mordyukova (and a dozen other prominent actors), the movie «The Chairman» became great. At the time, it sparked heated debates about its «ideological» correctness and historical authenticity, yet it impressed everyone equally: the movie was seen by 33 million viewers. Mikhail Ulyanov was named Actor of the Year in a poll conducted by «Soviet Screen» and received the Lenin Prize. You can watch the feed «The Chairman», a landmark work for its era and for Russian cinematic art as a whole, online in our internet cinema.
Having returned from the war with a Hero’s Star and a wartime disability, Yegor Trubnikov finds himself in a realm of poverty and devastation. His native collective farm resembles a swamp: nobody here needs anything. Trubnikov wants to get people back on their feet, to prove that they are capable of a feat of labor and will. That this feat, that they themselves and their region, matter. He makes enemies of the district committee, the NKVD, and even his fellow villagers, but still takes on the role of an indomitable leader.
