The First Circle (TV miniseries)
Encyclopedia
The First Circle is a 2006 Russia
n miniseries
directed by Gleb Panfilov
, with ten 44-minute episodes. It is based on The First Circle
, the novel written by the late Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
based on his experiences in Joseph Stalin
's gulags.The series was first broadcast in the Russia on RTR-Russia on January 29, 2006.
turns to one of the projects at the sharashka. The character of Gleb Nerzhin (Yevgeny Mironov
), a mathematician who chooses the horrors of the Gulag rather than compromise his conscience, is based on Solzhenitsyn himself. The First Circle is a hard but optimistic story about the victory of the human spirit over totalitarianism.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
directed by Gleb Panfilov
Gleb Panfilov
Gleb Anatolyevich Panfilov is an internationally acclaimed Russian film director noted for a string of mostly historical films starring his wife, Inna Churikova:...
, with ten 44-minute episodes. It is based on The First Circle
The First Circle
In the First Circle is a novel by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn released in 1968. A fuller version of the book was published in English in 2009....
, the novel written by the late Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn was aRussian and Soviet novelist, dramatist, and historian. Through his often-suppressed writings, he helped to raise global awareness of the Gulag, the Soviet Union's forced labor camp system – particularly in The Gulag Archipelago and One Day in the Life of...
based on his experiences in Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's gulags.The series was first broadcast in the Russia on RTR-Russia on January 29, 2006.
Plot
Based on Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s autobiographical novel and set during the fearful times of Stalin’s mass arrests, the series takes place in a sharashka, a prison-laboratory for secret research where Russia’s greatest minds are put to government use. While living conditions in this «first circle of hell» are incomparably superior to the Gulag camps, the scientists there face the moral dilemma of cooperating with an inhuman system. The action begins when a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official makes an anonymous phone call to the American embassy, trying to warn them about a leak of information that would allow the USSR to build the atomic bomb. In order to identify the traitor, the KGBKGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
turns to one of the projects at the sharashka. The character of Gleb Nerzhin (Yevgeny Mironov
Yevgeny Mironov (actor)
Yevgeny Mironov is a Russian film and stage actor, Meritorious Artist of Russian Federation , People's Artist of Russia , State Prize of the Russian Federation laureate . Yevgeny Mironov lives and works in Moscow, Russia.- Early life :Yevgeny Mironov was born in Saratov...
), a mathematician who chooses the horrors of the Gulag rather than compromise his conscience, is based on Solzhenitsyn himself. The First Circle is a hard but optimistic story about the victory of the human spirit over totalitarianism.
Cast
- Yevgeny MironovYevgeny Mironov (actor)Yevgeny Mironov is a Russian film and stage actor, Meritorious Artist of Russian Federation , People's Artist of Russia , State Prize of the Russian Federation laureate . Yevgeny Mironov lives and works in Moscow, Russia.- Early life :Yevgeny Mironov was born in Saratov...
– Gleb Nerzhin - Dmitry PevtsovDmitry Pevtsov-Biography:Dmitry Pevtsov was born 8 July 1963 in the family of a pentathlon coach and a sports doctor. Has Jewish roots, from his mother, but considers himself Russian.Since 2001, takes part in the Volkswagen Polo Cup race.-Filmography:Films:...
– Innokenty Volodin - Olga Drozdova – Volodin’s Wife
- Inna ChurikovaInna ChurikovaInna Mikhailovna Churikova is a Soviet Russian film and theatre actress.-Biography:...
– Gerasimovich’s Wife - Albert Filozov – Uncle Averin
- Ksenia Kachalina – Potapov’s wife
- Galina Tunina – Nadya Nerzhina
- Igor SklyarIgor SklyarIgor Sklyar is a Russian actor and singer. He has appeared in over 30 films since 1974. He starred in the 1994 film The Year of the Dog, which won the Silver Bear for an outstanding artistic contribution at the 44th Berlin International Film Festival.-Selected filmography:* We Are from Jazz * The...
– Illarion Gerasimovich - Roman Madianov – Abakumov
- Igor KvashaIgor KvashaIgor Vladimirovich Kvasha is a Soviet and Russian theater and film actor. He is a leading actor of Sovremennik Theater. Igor Kvasha was one Sovremennik founders along with Galina Volchek, Oleg Yefremov, Yevgeniy Yevstigneyev and Oleg Tabakov...
– Stalin - Alexander Solzhenitsyn – narrator’s voice