In a remote village on the seashore lives a boy nicknamed Shumilka, the village mockingbird and mischief maker. A loyal fan of circus master Leonid Yengibarov considers himself his son. But Yengibarov himself doesn’t dare write a letter and ask for advice on how to join the circus. The morals and spirit of the village, its miserable and half-drunk life make thirteen-year-old Shumilka want to take revenge by all means. And the world takes revenge on him in its own way: everyone gave up on the boy - his mother, his grandmother, and his deaf-mute grandfather. In addition, he is expelled from school because he could not restrain himself and hit the teacher with a teapot. And now the boy is threatened with a colony...
This story is about the events of the beginning of the century, the circus, in which the favorite of the troupe Alesha grew up. After the mother - acrobat Maria-Louise died, his childhood was over. Revolutionary events influenced the fate of a small circus - and the boy was left alone. But when in his life appeared Bolshevik Stepan Ratushny, Alyosha again began to perform in the circus.
For Slava Gorokhov, his next adventure ends with a conditional conviction. By decision of law enforcement agencies, a young man begins to study at a vocational school for re-education. From the first day of being in vocational school, the young man is in the center of attention of students who are not ready to accept a person with a lifestyle that is significantly different from the traditional one for a Soviet citizen. Unexpectedly for many, on the side of Gorokhov is the master Radislav Yershov and Komsomol activist Nadya, in love with Slava. The intrigues unfolding in the school are changing the habitual life of an educational institution, which is becoming the scene of a struggle between two opposing ideologies.
The action takes place in the late 1940s. A large-scale land-surveying research is underway in a remote area of Eastern Siberia. The work had almost been concluded when a wire arrives with the news of people disappearing in the locality of Yambuy. The expedition’s chief and radioman decide to go in search of the lost ones. The local Evenk hunters come to their aid. Many dangerous adventures lie in store for these daring people before they find the culprit – a man-eating bear.
The film tells about the childhood of Yuri Gagarin, about that time of life, which, in his own words, played an important role in shaping his character: war, the occupation of their villages by the Germans, famine, the theft of the elder brother and sister to Germany, the expulsion of the Nazis from Smolensk, moving family in the city of Gzhatsk.
In November, 1942, near the Volga, Stanlingrad is under siege of Commander Friederich Paulus and his 330,000 men. The Russian high command unleashes an operation to protect the Mishkova River to avoid that about four hundred tanks join Paulus' army. The Soviet artillery soldiers protect their position with their lives in a bloodshed with few survivors.
Leningrade. Galina works as a restorer at Catherine Palace; she is a sculptor as well and takes her profession very seriously and enthusiastically. Vera, a friend from art school, sees her loneliness and introduces her to her husband's colleagues - friendly Mitya and mysterious Andrey. Soon Galina finds herself torn between the two men.
Sasha Larionov, is in the eighth grade and still doesn't know that his mother has left the family. Sasha's father, a decent and very honest person, was used to telling people only the truth. But here he doesn't now how to tell his son that the mother left them for another man and therefore explains her long absence from a long business trip. However, soon Sasha finds out the truth and decides to go after his mom, hoping to get her back
The film is based on the eponymous book, written by two former street gangsters - Grigori Belykh and Leonid Panteleyev. Film is set in the 1920s St. Petersburg, Russia. Streets of the city are full of the homeless boys. They are caught to be raised and educated at the correction school named after Dostoevsky. The boys are street smart and difficult. But the faculty stands up to the challenge. The teaches are being devoted and caring, and gradually win the respect of the most difficult kids. The school director Vicknixor is a refined intellectual, who becomes a role model for the boys.