Plot synopsis

In 1955, the Soviet Union enters a period of profound instability. The mass amnesty of 1953 and the collapse of the Gulag system release hundreds of thousands of former prisoners into a country unable to reintegrate them. Crime, urban violence, and social unrest spread across the country, reaching even Moscow. Youth, hit hard by unemployment and poverty, becomes a central factor of instability.

At the same time, the first cracks appear in political silence. Anonymous leaflets, “anti-Soviet” conversations, and muted criticism in kitchens and factories reveal a society beginning to speak. The authorities, alarmed, waver between repression and cautious reform.

At the heart of this moment stands Nikita Khrushchev — heir to Stalinism and yet the architect of its undoing. A key participant in the purges, he nevertheless initiates a discreet process of release and review of political convictions. Behind internal power struggles and personal calculations emerges a decisive question: what should be done with Stalin and his crimes?

On the eve of the 20th Party Congress, the Soviet Union is already in motion. The return of former prisoners makes silence impossible. The time of de-Stalinization is approaching.

Commentaries

Text of a radio program by Nikolaï Svanidze on the same theme as the film, 2016

Selected in the following festivals or events :

- Historical Chronicles with Nikolay Svanidze, (kinoglaz.fr), 2026

Photos, videos, texts

Nikita KHROUCHTCHEV (Никита Сергеевич ХРУЩЁВ) 1901-1988