''The Nine Lives of Nestor Makhno'' (russian: Девять жизней Нестора Махно, ) is a 12-part
mini-series which aired on
Channel One Russia
Channel One ( rus, Первый канал, r=Pervyy kanal, p=ˈpʲervɨj kɐˈnal, t=First Channel) is a Russian state-controlled television channel. It is the first television channel to broadcast in the Russian Federation. Its headquarters ...
.
The series is a historical biographical drama about the life of
Nestor Makhno
Nestor Ivanovych Makhno, The surname "Makhno" ( uk, Махно́) was itself a corruption of Nestor's father's surname "Mikhnenko" ( uk, Міхненко). ( 1888 – 25 July 1934), also known as Bat'ko Makhno ("Father Makhno"),; According to ...
, a
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
anarchist who was the commander of the
Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine
The Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine ( uk, Революційна Повстанська Армія України), also known as the Black Army or as Makhnovtsi ( uk, Махновці), named after their leader Nestor Makhno, was a ...
(Makhnovshchina).
A 6-disc
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
set of the series is available.
Plot
The series tells the story about the life of
Nestor Makhno
Nestor Ivanovych Makhno, The surname "Makhno" ( uk, Махно́) was itself a corruption of Nestor's father's surname "Mikhnenko" ( uk, Міхненко). ( 1888 – 25 July 1934), also known as Bat'ko Makhno ("Father Makhno"),; According to ...
and his
Revolutionary Insurgent Army. During the
1905 Russian revolution, he joined the
Union of Poor Peasants
The Union of Poor Peasants ( uk, Спілка бідних хліборобів), also known as the Peasant Group of Anarcho-Communists or the Huliaipole Anarchist Group, was an underground anarchist organization, operating in the years 1905–190 ...
and carried out a campaign of
expropriative anarchism
Expropriative anarchism ( es, anarquismo expropiador) is the name given to a practice carried out by certain anarchist affinity groups in Argentina and Spain which involved theft, robbery, scams and counterfeiting currency.Osvaldo Bayer, ''Los a ...
. He was arrested and sent to
Butyrka prison
Butyrskaya prison ( rus, Бутырская тюрьма, r= Butýrskaya tyurmá), usually known simply as Butyrka ( rus, Бутырка, p=bʊˈtɨrkə), is a prison in the Tverskoy District of central Moscow, Russia. In Imperial Russia it ...
, where he received an education from
Peter Arshinov
Peter Andreyevich Arshinov (russian: Пётр Андре́евич Арши́нов; 1887–1937), was a Russian anarchist revolutionary and intellectual who chronicled the history of the Makhnovshchina.
Initially a Bolshevik, during the 190 ...
before being granted amnesty during the
February Revolution and released. His first steps were to organize communes in the
Huliaipole region, later forming rebel detachments, which eventually grew into the
Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine
The Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine ( uk, Революційна Повстанська Армія України), also known as the Black Army or as Makhnovtsi ( uk, Махновці), named after their leader Nestor Makhno, was a ...
and played an influential role in the
Russian Civil War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Russian Civil War
, partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I
, image =
, caption = Clockwise from top left:
{{flatlist,
*Soldiers ...
. After it was defeated, Makhno fled into exile in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, where he would eventually die.
Cast
Reception
Critical response
''The Nine Lives of Nestor Makhno'' received mixed reviews, with praise typically being reserved for the performance of
Pavel Derevyanko
Pavel Yurievich Derevyanko (russian: Па́вел Ю́рьевич Деревя́нко, born 2 July 1976) is a Russian theatre and film actor.
Biography
Pavel Derevyanko was born in the city of Taganrog, Rostov Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Uni ...
as the titular Makhno, while criticism was generally focused on the series' lack of narrative structure and its poor direction.
Anastasia Krainer for ''Nash Film'' reviewed the series positively, exalting it for its historical accuracy. She particularly lauded Derevyanko's "soulful" performance, in which he "conveys Nestor's inner feelings, his passion, his pain, his eternal protest through gestures, intonations and glances. Sometimes it seems that he feels deeper, sharper than the role requires." However, she also criticized the series' direction, notably in a scene that featured Makhno and
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 ...
drinking together, finding the performances on display "unbelievable". She concluded by stating that "this is not a masterpiece, but also not an empty glossy picture that has nothing to do with history."
On the other hand, the Russian Marxist
Boris Kagarlitsky
Boris Yulyevich Kagarlitsky (russian: Бори́с Ю́льевич Кагарли́цкий; born 29 August 1958) is a Russian Marxist theoretician and sociologist who has been a political dissident in the Soviet Union. He is coordinator of ...
gave the series a negative review, criticizing the show's lack of narrative coherence as "events simply drag on one after the other in chronological order, without any internal connection, without any logic." He claimed that the show's writers had little understanding of the
Russian Revolution, its causes and consequences, stating that "the
how
How may refer to:
* How (greeting), a word used in some misrepresentations of Native American/First Nations speech
* How, an interrogative word in English grammar
Art and entertainment Literature
* ''How'' (book), a 2007 book by Dov Seidma ...
will tell you who won, but you will not be able to understand why. And most importantly, you will not be left with a sense of tragedy." He also criticized the casting of
Leon Trotsky
Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian ...
as the main antagonist, comparing his portrayal to "evil wizards" from children's stories.
Sergey Varshavchik for the ''
Russian Journal'' was also critical of the series, pointing out its historical inaccuracy in respect to a fabricated sequence where
Fedir Shchus
Fedir Shchus ( uk, Федір Щусь, 25 March 1893 – 30 June 1921), also Fyodor Shuss or Feodosiy Shchus, was a commander (ataman) in the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine of Nestor Makhno.
Biography
Fedir Shchus was born into a poo ...
murders Nestor's first wife Nastia, going further to attack it for its incoherent narrative and illogical set design, while also poking fun at the direction of the battle scenes.
Accolades
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
* ''The Nine Lives of Nestor Makhno'' o
archive.org*
*
* {{cite web, url=https://www.victoriafilmstudios.com/mahno, title=Девять жизней Нестора Махно, website=Victoria Film Studios, access-date=20 January 2022, language=ru
2007 Russian television series debuts
2007 Russian television series endings
2000s Russian television series
Biographical films about military leaders
Biographical films about military personnel
Channel One Russia original programming
Cultural depictions of Nestor Makhno
Films about anarchism
Russian Civil War films
Russian drama television series
Russian television miniseries
Russian biographical television series