The Decembrists (1926)

Directed by Alexander Ivanovsky; script by Pavel Schyogolev; camera by Ivan Frolov.

This “historical drama in seven parts” describes the Decembrist Revolt of 1825, when a group of revolutionary officers attempted to overthrow the autocracy. Tsar Alexander I dies and the members of the Northern Society agitate for an armed uprising. The indecisive actions of Prince Sergei Troubetzkoy win time for Nicholas I, who surrounds Senate Square with loyal troops and quells the rebellion.

The historical events form the background for the love interest in the film between the Decembrist Ivan Annenkov and a Frenchwoman called Pauline Gueble. The historical setting is merely illustrative and superficial.