Zhukov

Historical drama (de jure), de facto - a collection of jokes, rumors, and speculation. The series, created under the strict guidance of the famous journalist Alexei Pimanov (known to the general public for the program "Man and the Law"), and currently as the director of the mediocre film "Crimea". And in 2011, shortly before "Crimea", on the instructions of the head of the First Channel Ernst, he shot this series, which is terrible in every possible sense. And here is a brief opinion - Alexey Pimanov's anti-Soviet miscarriage. The series has both cons (no one doubted it) and pros (but this is unexpected, but it's true). Therefore, it is necessary to finish this introduction and proceed as soon as possible to the analysis of this, so to speak, series. And then forget it like a bad dream.

So, the pros: 1. Costumes and decorations - there's not even anything to argue about. It's all done pretty well, especially for a TV series. When viewing these elements, they don't hurt the eyes (everything else does). The form, the furnishings (here only the portrait of Lenin in the Kremlin instead of Stalin in 1953 after the latter's death catches the eye, but this is a trifle). The rooms, the offices, they don't look anything like that either, they look atmospheric.

2. Alexander Baluyev as Zhukov - if you forget about that collection of rumors, conjectures and anecdotes, which is called the "script" here, then Alexander is good. He's a good actor in his own right, but he often stars in outright trash (we just recently recalled the Hollywood "Peacemaker" released in 1997, where Alexander played a Russian military villain). Here he turned out to be Georgy Konstantinovich, a vengeful Russian bear (this is a quote from the series), whom all the leaders of the USSR betrayed. Baluyev succeeds in military roles (remember the TV series "Special Forces" - this is still his best role), and here he looks good. Dialogues really spoil the impression. But he can play a drama in a way that no other modern Russian actor can ever do. You can see it in the last two episodes. This does not change the overall sad picture, but it should be mentioned, purely for the sake of objectivity.

So, the cons: 1. The script is really a set of anecdotes, rumors, and conjectures that have been woven into Zhukov's real biography. Especially the "scriptwriters" decided to reveal the marshal's sex life in all its glory. They savored it with special pleasure. Zhukov's sexual promiscuity is presented here as something good (how to perceive this? And what about family values?). Maybe we shouldn't say that discussing personal life is at least unethical? Her personal life is like her personal life, because strangers are forbidden to enter it. The series covers the period from 1945 to 1973, but you can only understand what year it is in the series and in each individual episode by mentioning individual events. And that's a bad thing. Zhukov is shown to be a petty and vindictive man, a short-sighted politician (it's true, he was accused of bonapartism under Khrushchev for a reason), and then an offended woman, whom the viewer should feel sorry for (although in reality he drove himself into this disgrace with his own actions). And talking about the final is just the finish (in the worst sense). There is a hint that Zhukov decided to commit suicide. Screenwriters? Did you hate Georgy Konstantinovich so much that you decided to end the series at this point? Did you have to douse it with a brown substance to the end? Well, as always, all the cliches of modern Russian anti-Soviet cinema are here - Bloody Stalin, "monstrous repression", the state security agencies here "grab people for nothing" and cause rejection, the hero against the system, victory in spite of, the maniacal Lavrenty Pavlovich Beria (Stalin is no better) and so on. We have already seen all this (and we will see it more than once in Russian cinema). So be prepared for this before you want (hopefully not) to start watching.

2. "Disappearing" characters - various characters appear in the series, and then mysteriously disappear. We will give just two examples here - Beria and Serov. Both appear almost in the very first episodes, and then disappear, there is not a single line of voiceover about their future fate. Although Beria was shot after a brief trial (coup) in the same 1953 (although Lavrenty Pavlovich Sergo's son is convinced that his father was killed in the house during the assault), and Khrushchev himself removed Ivan Serov from all posts in 1958 in gratitude for his support in 1957. These are just the most striking examples, but there are more than two such characters. Oh yes, why do you need them, really "scriptwriters", the task was completely different, wasn't it?

3. Historical mistakes - their carriage and a small cart. We will list just a few of them: Stalin's toast "To the Russian people" is ruined beyond recognition, Stalin is a hysterical man who creates problems for himself, the trophy case is presented as Stalin's revenge on Zhukov personally (although the evidence suggests otherwise), in Zhukov's apartment in the early 1950s there is a Marx and Engels police station, published only in 1967, Beria worked on the atomic project from 1945 to 1949, and did not touch the NKVD and the MGB, the registry office says "Russian Federation", not the RSFSR, Zhukov's monologue in the last series in front of people is modernism. Zhukov says that "All Russians believe in God."- Yeah, that's just how it is, especially in the post-war USSR, and so on. We have a whole list of these errors written out. And this is for us, and for professional historians it will not be one sheet, but much more. And the creators will not be able to excuse themselves with the phrase "this is an artistic work." Because even from an artistic point of view, everything is bad.

4. Ideological poison - this series is not just a "historical" film production. This is a vivid example of anti-Sovietism (and hence Russophobia) in modern Russian cinema. Here, in addition to the cliches, the atmosphere of "monstrous" totalitarianism, according to the precepts of Judah Solzhenitsyn and his opuses, presses on the viewer. So that we, the audience, would be ashamed of our Soviet past, for the Great Victory, for going into Space, for the fact that our ancestors built a better future for their descendants, and we, sorry, blew it. They are trying to drum into us that the most progressive socio-economic model is bad, that degradation is better. Pimanov, Ernst, doesn't care about Zhukov, his life and difficult fate (who, to put it mildly, was not very good as a person, and didn't understand politics at all, who deserved disgrace, but he remained a Marshal of Victory, and this must be known, respected, appreciated and remembered), it is important for these gentlemen to process ideologically, you, fellow viewers, because (in most cases) you will not check everything that has been given to you here for twelve episodes.

Be critical and always check all the information you hear, especially from citizens like Pimanov and Ernst (who have a reputation below the baseboard). But don't watch this series, don't waste your precious time. But the Memoirist warned. It's also very difficult to watch this series, because it's an unbearable burden.

Score 1 out of 10 and don't watch this series!

The Mini-series "Zhukov" is a tremendous piece of television art. Well done, well-acted and providing an in-depth explanation of several aspects of the Marshal's life.

First, we have a wonderfully detailed look at the Military life of Zhukov as the war ends and his elevation to the head of the military, of a post war Soviet Union. Secondly, we then examine the political machinations of a government afraid of the power that they and circumstances thrust upon the victorious Marshal. And thirdly and lastly. We have a perhaps OVERY close examination of the romantic and family life of the man.

The acting was superb, except that I am a bit disappointed in the fact that none of actors seems to be able to express the process of simple aging, they all look like children imitating elderly people. The character of Misha, Zhukov's brother/cousin, appears old from his first appearance and is believable while the others "age" from the over application of make up which is rather unconvincing.

All in all the flaws are minor except one - the subtitles in English are terrible translations and run by much too quickly, but otherwise there is no damage to the excellence of the finished product.

Personally. I could have done with a little less of the romance which gave the production a whiff of Soap Opera to it, but nothing is perfect!