RED ARMY IN WAR AND PEACE

This patriotic black-and-white Russian language film from 1976, is part of a series of Soviet propaganda documentaries entitled “Our Beloved Army.” Commissioned by the Ministry of Education, this particular film features narration by celebrated Colonel-General of Tank Troops Petr Alekseevich Markov as he explains the military prowess of the Red Army as well as the benefits of a strong military in war and peacetime. The film includes footage of Soviet military vehicles and aircraft like T-34 tanks, GAZ-53 truck, and Mil Mi-10 K helicopters, shots of Soviet military monuments, and important sites at the Kremlin complex and Red Square like the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Film opens, title page and opening credits (0:07). Colonel-General of Tank Troops Petr Alekseevich Markov speaks to a room, seeks to convince listeners that the formation of a strong defensive army is crucial (0:13). Montage clips of Soviet T-34 tanks in battlefield (1:01). Markov reads excerpt from Red Army oath, a military oath taken by members of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army in the Soviet Union; Patriotic archival footage of perhaps General Lavr Kornilov on horse, other infantrymen in battle (1:19). Official ceremony presenting the Navy with a new warship; Soviet Navy Flag hoisted up on flagpole (2:13). Soldiers visit industrial factories, meet with male and female employees of all ages (2:35). Village gathers to send off young men for military services: Exchange of bouquets, what appears to be glasses of ayran served to everyone, women wearing headscarves in Ikat prints give men fresh baked bread and watermelons, man wears traditional Chugurma fur hat (3:07). Soldiers stand out of tops of tanks, crowds gather along side of road and cheer on soldiers (4:02). Soldiers involvement in infrastructure and economic expansion: Soldier seen helping with grain harvest (4:10). Aerial view of trucks transporting grain to silo, GAZ-53 truck (4:19). Assisting with natural disasters: Forest fire, soldiers seen battling intense flames and clearing forested area (4:27). Aerial view of flooded area, soldiers load bread onto helicopters, next scene of airborne Soviet Mil Mi-10 K (Harke) helicopters (4:52). Construction of Baikal–Amur Mainline: Soldiers at forefront of construction efforts, track parts laid by crane (5:11). Montage different young male soldiers joining military, reciting Red Army Oath (5:37). Flag bearers hold up ceremonial flags at event surrounding Tomb of the Unknown Soldier near walls of Kremlin in Moscow; Various shots of the eternal flame (6:33). Clips of different monuments, statues honoring fallen soldiers through patriotic symbolism (6:53). Monument to the defenders of the Brest fortress and ruins of the Brest Fortress, Belarus (7:13). Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery honoring 500,000 victims of Siege of Leningrad: Overturned torch and central alley, details of “Motherland (Mother-Russia)” sculpture, descendants lay flowers on graves of relatives (7:33). “The Motherland Calls (Russian: Родина-мать зовёт),” war memorial sculpture on Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd (8:09). Ceremony at Hall of Military Glory, camera pans list of fallen soldiers who served in WWII (8:11). Panoramic view of Moscow, Bolshoy Kamenny Bridge in foreground and Kremlin in background (8:35). Changing of the guard ceremony in front of Lenin's Mausoleum (8:41). Exterior of the Kremlin Palace of Congresses (9:05). Interior of Kremlin Palace: Nikita Khrushchev, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, other party leaders (9:08). Closing credits (9:52). Film ends (9:56).