Light over Russia (Russian: Свет над Россией, romanized: Svet nad Rossyey) is a 1947 Soviet history propaganda film directed by Sergei Yutkevich.
The film illustrates the memories of a sailor who survived the Revolution and the Great Patriotic War.
The film was shelved and was not released in cinemas.
Contents
Premise
The film is based on the play Kremlovskiye Kurrants by Nikolai Pogodin.
The story is told through the recollections of Alexander Rybakov, a sailor who participated in the October Revolution, guarded Vladimir Lenin, and fought against the fascists during World War II.
The central theme of Light Over Russia is the realization of the plan for the electrification of the entire country (GOELRO), implemented in Russia under the leadership of the Bolshevik Party, led by Lenin and Joseph Stalin, during the 1920s and 1930s.
The film also reflects the story of Herbert George Wells' visit to Moscow and his meeting with the "Kremlin dreamer" Vladimir Lenin, who invited the writer to come to Russia ten years later to witness the implementation of the GOELRO plan. Wells, who wrote the essay Russia in the Dark, visited the USSR in 1934 and was amazed to find that the plan was not only completed but also exceeded expectations in several areas.
Cast
Nikolai Kolesnikov as Vladimir Lenin
Mikheil Gelovani as Joseph Stalin
Vasily Markov as Felix Dzerzhinsky
Boris Olenin-Girshman as Gleb Krzhizhanovsky
Nikolay Okhlopkov as Anton Ivanovich Zabelin, engineer
Kira Golovko as Masha Zabelina (credited as K. Ivanova)
Nikolai Kryuchkov as Aleksandr Rybakov, sailor
Benjamin Zuskin as watchmaker
Sergei Tsenin as H. G. Wells
Boris Livanov as Vladimir Mayakovsky
Vasili Vanin as soldier
Boris Tolmazov as Lastochkin, Red Army soldier
Vladimir Maryev as Red Army soldier
Sergey Filippov as speculator
Yelena Yelina as Lidiya Mikhailovna, Zabelin's wife
Maria Yarotskaya as Dasha, servant of Zabelins
Lidiya Sukharevskaya as Yelena Vyacheslavovna, frightened lady
Yelena Tyapkina as lady with knitting
Rostislav Plyatt as Optimist