A life-size copy of a Siberian Cossack village was constructed near Narva, Estonia for the production in 1969 - 1970. The village had a church, a grocery with restaurant, a horse-farm and several streets with homes. Actors were living Cossack-style in the village during the filming in 1970.
In the fall of 1970 the leading actors and crew went to Siberia, for filming in the Siberian province of Dauria, east of lake Baikal.
Over 100 horses were used in the film. All leading actors were trained horseback riding Cossack style. The training took place in Leningrad and in Estonia during 1969 and 1970.
Actors Arkadi Trusov, Petr Shelokhonov, Vera Kuznetsova, Vitali Solomin and Vasili Shukshin are playing one Cossack family, the Ulybins. The movie is focused on this family before and after the Russian revolution and Civil War of 1918.