Plot synopsis

The next episode of the documentary series is dedicated to 1945 and Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov (November 19 (December 1), 1896 - June 18, 1974) - Soviet commander, Marshal of the Soviet Union (1943), Minister of Defense of the USSR in 1955-1957.

The film follows Marshal Georgy Zhukov’s role in the closing phase of World War II and his complicated relationship with Stalin. In 1944 Stalin gives him command of the 1st Belorussian Front, the main axis toward Berlin, sidelining Rokossovsky. In February 1945, Zhukov and Konev propose a swift capture of Berlin, when German defenses are still weak, but Stalin prioritizes Yalta, East Prussia and political leverage over the Allies, thus delaying the assault. This delay proves costly: the April 1945 offensive, especially the bloody battle of the Seelow Heights, results in more than 250,000 Soviet dead during the Berlin operation. The text also recounts looting, rape and violence committed by Soviet and Allied soldiers in Germany, and efforts at discipline (orders, tribunals, Zhukov’s leaflets), against the backdrop of Soviet soldiers’ shock at Europe’s higher living standards. Zhukov appears as a harsh, sometimes brutal commander who nonetheless dares to contradict Stalin and later admits his share in pre-war failures. His memoirs are heavily edited to fit the official line: glorifying Brezhnev, vilifying his “bourgeois” uncle and omitting sensitive episodes. A major part of the narrative focuses on the secret discovery and forensic identification of Hitler’s remains by an NKVD-led team with interpreter Elena Rzhevskaya, while Stalin keeps the truth hidden for political purposes.

The film concludes with the Prague uprising and the paradoxical role of Vlasov’s troops, then with the Victory Parade of 24 June 1945, which Stalin assigns to Zhukov after an embarrassing fall from his horse. Victory Day is later abolished by Stalin and only restored in 1965, just as an aging Zhukov briefly reappears in public before his death – an emblem of heroic fame continually exploited and reshaped by the Soviet regime.

commentaries

Сценарии телесериала «Исторические хроники с Николаем Сванидзе», с 1934го по 1953 год. [Scénarios de la série télévisée « Chroniques historiques avec Nikolaï Svanidzé », de 1934 à 1953], Marina ZHUKOVA, Амфора, 2014

- Screenplay

Selected in the following festivals or events :

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

Images

Gueorgui JOUKOV (Георгий Константинович ЖУКОВ) 1896-1974