Pered sudom istorii

This film is in the form of an extended interview with Shulgin, a right wing Russian politician and member of the pre-revolutionary Duma [parliament] in Russia. Among other things, Shulgin secured the abdication of the Tsar, was a political adviser to the Whites during the civil war, and then to General Vlasov, who set up an anti-Soviet military force during the Second World War. Shulgin was captured by Soviet forces in 1945, and spent the next couple of decades in prison.

The interviewer takes him through his life, with archival footage.

Because Shulgin is far more intelligent and charming than his (Communist) interviewer, he has the best of every argument. The film was briefly shown in the Moscow cinemas at the end of 1965, but was taken off when the authorities realised its subversive nature.