''Moonzund'' (russian: Моонзунд) is a 1988 Soviet

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war fi ...

based on Valentin Pikul's 1970 novel of the same name. "Moonzund" refers to the

West Estonian archipelago West Estonian archipelago ( et, Lääne-Eesti saarestik, also Moonsund archipelago) is a group of Estonian islands located in the Baltic Sea around Väinameri. The total area is about . The archipelago is composed of the islands Saaremaa, Hiium ...

, where the

Battle of Moon Sound The Battle of Moon Sound was a naval battle fought between the forces of the German Empire, and the then Russian Republic (and three British submarines) in the Baltic Sea during Operation Albion from 16 October 1917 until 3 November 1917 durin ...

took place during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Plot

Epic film set during the First World War brightly illustrates the struggles of Russian Empire in the years 1915–1917. The hardships of war cause major social and political unrest in the Tsarist Russia. Communist propaganda provokes conflicts between classes causing clashes and un-subordination aboard battleships of Russian Imperial Navy and on locations in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

Kronstadt Kronstadt (russian: Кроншта́дт, Kronshtadt ), also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt or Kronštádt (from german: link=no, Krone for "crown" and ''Stadt'' for "city") is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city of ...

and

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. Torn by internal class struggle, Russian Navy is weakened and loses major battles in the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages * Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...

theater of war. Against this background, the commanding admirals of the Russian Navy are powerless witnesses of the tragic collapse of the fleet in terms of nascent revolutionary events of 1917. Most film characters are officers and sailors of the Baltic Fleet.

Cast

Oleg Menshikov Oleg Evgenyevich Menshikov, PAR (russian: Оле́г Евге́ньевич Ме́ньшиков, link=no; born 8 November 1960) is a Russian actor, theatre director and occasional singer. He is the current artistic director of the Yermolova Thea ...

as ''Captain Sergey Arten'ev'' *

Vladimir Gostyukhin Vladimir Vasilyevich Gostyukhin (russian: Владимир Васильевич Гостюхин, be, Уладзі́мір Васі́льевіч Гасцю́хін, born 10 March 1946) is a Soviet and Russian, Belarusian film and stage actor. ...

as ''Semenchuk'' * Lyudmila Nilskaya as ''spy Anna "Klara Georgievna" Revelskaya'' *

Nikolai Karachentsov Nikolai Petrovich Karachentsov (russian: Николай Петрович Караченцов, 27 October 1944 – 26 October 2018) was a Soviet and Russian film and stage actor of Lenkom Theatre. Karachentsov's popularity peaked in the late 1970 ...

as officer ''Von Knupfer'' *

Yury Belyayev Yury Viktorovich Belyayev (russian: Юрий Викторович Беляев; born 28 August 1947) is a Soviet and Russian film and theatre actor. He has received the title of Honored Artist of the Russian Federation (1995) and the USSR State ...

as ''Admiral

Kolchak Kolchak, Kolçak or Kolčák is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Iliash Kolchak ("Kolchak-Pasha") ( fl. before 1710–1743), Moldavian mercenary and military commander * Alexander Kolchak (1873–1920), Russian naval commande ...

'' *

Boris Klyuyev Boris Vladimirovich Klyuyev (russian: Бори́с Влади́мирович Клю́ев; 13 July 1944 — 1 September 2020) was a Soviet and Russian actor and theatre teacher. He served as one of the lead actors of the Maly Theatre from 1969 t ...

as '' Von Grapf'' *

Vija Artmane Vija Artmane (born Alīda Artmane; 21 August 1929 in Kaive, Sēme Parish – 11 October 2008 in Strenči) was a Latvian theatre and cinema actress. Life and career Childhood Vija Artmane was born Alīda Artmane at the time when Latvia was a s ...

as ''Frau Milch'' * Aleksei Buldakov as ''Portnyagin, sailor'' *

Vladimir Baranov Vladimir may refer to: Names * Vladimir (name) Vladimir (russian: Влади́мир) is a masculine given name of Slavic origin, widespread throughout all Slavic nations in different forms and spellings. The earliest record of a person with ...

as ''orderly Platov'' *

Yevgenia Dobrovolskaya Yevgenia Vladimirovna Dobrovolskaya (russian: Евге́ния Влади́мировна Доброво́льская; born 26 December 1964) is a Soviet Union, Soviet and Russian actress of theater and cinema, People's Artist of the Russian Fede ...

as ''Irina Artenyeva'' *

Yevgeniy Yevstigneyev Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Yevstigneyev (russian: Евгений Александрович Евстигнеев; 9 October 1926 — 4 March 1992) was a prominent Soviet and Russian stage and film actor, theatre pedagogue, one of the founders of the ...

as ''Admiral

Nikolai Essen Nikolai Ottovich von Essen (russian: Никола́й О́ттович Э́ссен, tr. ; – ) was a Russian naval commander and admiral descended from the Baltic German noble Essen family. For more than two centuries, his ancestors had ...

'' *

Sergei Garmash Sergei Leonidovich Garmash (russian: Серге́й Леони́дович Гарма́ш; born 1 September 1958) is a Soviet and Russian film and stage actor. He is a People's Artist of Russia. In 2013 he was a member of the jury at the 35th Mosc ...

as ''

Pavel Dybenko Pavel Efimovich Dybenko (russian: Павел Ефимович Дыбенко), (February 16, 1889 – July 29, 1938) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and a leading Soviet officer and military commander. Prior to military service Pavel Dybenko was b ...

'' * Vladimir Yeryomin as ''Leonid Deichman, Mechanical Engineer'' *

Vladimir Golovin Vladimir Golovin ( hu, Golovin Vlagyimir; born 21 March 1970) is a former team handball, handball player and the current head coach of the Hungary women's national handball team, Hungarian women's national team. Born in Odessa, Soviet Union, G ...

as ''von Den'' *

Petr Shelokhonov Petr Illarionovich Shelokhonov, ( pl, Piotr Szełochonow, russian: Пётр Илларио́нович Шелохо́нов, be, Пятро Ларывонавіч Шэлахонаў, uk, Петро Іларіонович Шелохонов; in ...

as ''Captain Andreev'' *

Victor Kostetskiy Victor Aleksandrovich Kostetskiy (; 12 April 1941 – 6 November 2014) was a Russian and Soviet actor. Biography Kosteskiy was born in Zhmerynka. He lived in St. Petersburg. He spent eighteen months in the graphic arts department of the Herz ...

as ''commander of the cruiser "Rurik"''

External links

* 1987 films 1980s war drama films World War I films set on the Eastern Front 1980s Russian-language films Lenfilm films Soviet war drama films Biographical films about military leaders Cultural depictions of Alexander Kolchak 1987 drama films {{WWI-film-stub