''The Vyborg Side'' (russian: Выборгская сторона, Vyborgskaya storona) is a 1939 Soviet

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Grigori Kozintsev Grigori Mikhailovich Kozintsev (russian: link=no, Григорий Михайлович Козинцев; 11 May 1973) was a Soviet theatre and film director, screenwriter and pedagogue. He was named People's Artist of the USSR in 1964. In 1965 ...

and

Leonid Trauberg Leonid Zakharovich Trauberg (russian: Леонид Захарович Трауберг, 17 January 1902 – 14 November 1990) was a Ukrainian Soviet film director and screenwriter. He directed 17 films between 1924 and 1961 and was awarded the S ...

, the final part of trilogy about the life of a young factory worker, Maxim. The film was also released in the United States under the title ''New Horizons''.

Background

The Vyborg Side is a traditional industrial area in

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 ...

, Russia, on the right bank of the River

Neva The Neva (russian: Нева́, ) is a river in northwestern Russia flowing from Lake Ladoga through the western part of Leningrad Oblast (historical region of Ingria) to the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Despite its modest length of , it ...

delta. It is named because of its situation at the start of the road to

Vyborg Vyborg (; rus, Вы́борг, links=1, r=Výborg, p=ˈvɨbərk; fi, Viipuri ; sv, Viborg ; german: Wiborg ) is a town in, and the administrative center of, Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus ne ...

, a formerly important city taken from

Swedish empire The Swedish Empire was a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic region during the 17th and early 18th centuries ( sv, Stormaktstiden, "the Era of Great Power"). The beginning of the empire is usually ta ...

by Russian army under

Peter I Peter I may refer to: Religious hierarchs * Saint Peter (c. 1 AD – c. 64–88 AD), a.k.a. Simon Peter, Simeon, or Simon, apostle of Jesus * Pope Peter I of Alexandria (died 311), revered as a saint * Peter I of Armenia (died 1058), Catholico ...

in early 18 century during the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...

and securing the existence of Russia's new capital Saint Petersburg. The Vyborg Side was filled with industrial enterprises of different complexity, producing sugar, textiles, timber and later, since the 19th century, many kinds of heavy industry products. There were factories e.g. by

Ericsson (lit. "Telephone Stock Company of LM Ericsson"), commonly known as Ericsson, is a Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company headquartered in Stockholm. The company sells infrastructure, software, and services in informat ...

and the

Nobel family The Nobel family ( , ) is a prominent Swedes, Swedish and Russians, Russian family closely related to the history both of Sweden and of Russia in the 19th and 20th centuries. Its legacy includes its outstanding contributions to philanthropy and ...

. Working and living conditions for workmen were varied, but generally considered harsh, and illegal Socialist propaganda of various political factions successfully spread among workers in the last decades of 19 century and early decades of the 20th. There were strikes, and World War I caused both battle losses and famine in the city. Not surprisingly factory workers supported in 1917 the

February revolution The February Revolution ( rus, Февра́льская револю́ция, r=Fevral'skaya revolyutsiya, p=fʲɪvˈralʲskəjə rʲɪvɐˈlʲutsɨjə), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and somet ...

that overthrew monarchy and the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

that promised to end private ownership of factories and actually of workers' lives. People's militia was formed on the Vyborg Side to counteract any attempts of counter revolution and maintain public order. These detachments were called Red Guards.

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

before the October Revolution returned from hiding in semi-autonomous Finland to a safe house on the Vyborg Side, from whence on the eve of the revolution he was conducted to the revolutionary headquarters in Smolny by a Finnish bodyguard of his to head the developments.

Plot

Following the Russian Revolution, Maksim is appointed state commissar in charge of the national bank. With great efforts, he learns the complexies of the banking trade and begins to fight off sabotaging underlings. Dymba, now a violent enemy of the Republic, tries to rob a wine store but is arrested with Maksim's help. Maksim also exposes a conspiracy of a group of tsarist officers who prepare an assassination attempt against Lenin. He then joins the Red Army in its fight against the German occupation.

Cast

Boris Chirkov Boris Petrovich Chirkov (russian: Борис Петрович Чирков; 13 August 1901, Brianka – 28 May 1982, Moscow) was a Soviet and Russian actor and Pedagogy, pedagogue. He appeared in 50 films between 1928 and 1975. He was awarde ...

- Maksim * Valentina Kibardina - Natasha *

Mikhail Zharov Mikhail Ivanovich Zharov (russian: Михаи́л Ива́нович Жа́ров; 27 October 1899 – 15 December 1981) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor and director. People's Artist of the USSR (1949) and Hero of Socialist Labour ...

- Platon Vassilievich Dymba * Natalya Uzhviy - Yevdokia Ivanovna Kozlova * Yuri Tolubeyev - Yegor Bugai * Anatoli Kuznetsov - Worker's Deputy Turayev * Boris Zhukovsky - Defense Attorney * Aleksandr Chistyakov - Mishchenko *

Nikolai Kryuchkov Nikolai Afanasyevich Kryuchkov (russian: Никола́й Афана́сьевич Крючко́в; 6 January 1911 – 13 April 1994) was a Soviet and Russian film actor. He appeared in more than 90 films between 1932 and 1993. Selected fi ...

- soldier *

Vasili Merkuryev Vasili Vasilyevich Merkuryev (russian: Васи́лий Васи́льевич Мерку́рьев; 6 April 1904 – 12 May 1978) was a Soviet actor, stage director and drama teacher. He was named People's Artist of the USSR in 1960.

- student *

Mikheil Gelovani Mikheil Gelovani ( ka, მიხეილ გელოვანი, Russified as Михаи́л Гео́ргиевич Гелова́ни, ''Mikhail Georgievich Gelovani''; – 21 December 1956) was a Soviet and Georgian actor, known for his nu ...

- Stalin * Leonid Lyubashevsky - Sverdlov *

Maksim Shtraukh Maksim Maksimovich Shtraukh (russian: Макси́м Макси́мович Штра́ух; 1900–1974) was a Soviet and Russian film and theater actor. He was awarded the People's Artist of the USSR in 1965, Lenin Prize and Stalin Prize betwee ...

- Lenin * Ivan Nazarov - Lapshin * Dmitri Dudnikov - Ropshin

References

External links

*
Historical Dictionary of Russian and Soviet Cinema By Peter Rollberg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vyborg Side, The 1939 films Lenfilm films Films set in Russia Soviet black-and-white films Films directed by Grigori Kozintsev Films directed by Leonid Trauberg Films scored by Dmitri Shostakovich Articles containing video clips Soviet drama films 1939 drama films Vyborgskiy District of Saint Petersburg World War I films set on the Eastern Front Russian Revolution films 1930s Russian-language films