Trotsky (2017) s01e06 Episode Script
Episode 6
1
Señor Jacson, hey!
Señor Jacson!
-This is for you.
-Here you go.
Hands off!
Women shouldn't go to such places.
Even in the afternoon.
I'll take you to my place.
No. You're an excellent lover
for everyone.
But not for me.
No one can be as good in bed as him.
He screwed all this damn world.
Sleeping with him is like injecting
a drug into the brain.
It's like sleeping with God himself,
you know.
-Let me take you home.
-Why? I'm fine here.
You and him are very much alike, Frank.
You do not like to admit defeat either.
Give it to him. And tell him
No, do not say anything.
I do not want to see him. Especially now.
Do it for me!
Fine. He called me today for a picnic.
Jacson, my friend,
you are not yourself today.
You're not even blaming me
for all the sins of humanity.
What happened?
Nothing.
Today I was told that I do not know
how to admit defeat.
And that makes us similar.
Well, I have nothing to admit.
I have never had real defeats.
Although I was on the edge many times.
I was always changing
the situation for my own benefit.
An example is the story
on the armored train
I do not care about your
armored train, I'm sick of it.
These were the best years of your life,
your peak of power.
I'd like to know something else.
Now I recognize you, Frank.
Go ahead.
What are you accusing me of today?
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.
This is ridiculous.
People will never forgive you.
Can you not just sign this treaty?
I cannot. There is no army.
PETROGRAD. DECEMBER 1917
Nobody's left to fight for us. We need
to give the Germans what they want,
or they will conquer half the country.
Then make the soldiers fight!
Don't you get it?
We demoralized the army.
We cannot force these soldiers to fight.
Refuse. They cannot force you, right?!
Lenin waits only for this: "Trotsky
gave up on an arch-important mission."
"Down with Comrade Trotsky!" No.
Well, that's it. It's time.
VLADIMIR SKALON 1872-1917
RUSSIAN GENERAL, MONARCHIS
Don't you mind?
So, you are Trotsky.
Managing the foreign affairs.
I guess we should drink.
For the acquaintance.
You are cunning about the third way.
There are two ways out of the dead end
you drove Russia into.
Capitulation or death.
Vladimir, let's be honest.
You, the Tsarist generals,
have drawn your dear Russia into the war.
We were fulfilling our duty.
If it weren't for your
revolutionary agitation,
what did you call the soldiers for?
To shoot officers,
fraternize with enemies.
Who's to blame, that our ideas
were closer to the soldiers?
Your ideas have turned
a battle-worthy army into a herd!
And you did it! The Bolsheviks!
I want to remind you, despite this,
you still accepted the power
of the Bolsheviks, Comrade Skalon
So cool your heat.
I did not accept your power.
I accepted the will of Russia.
My Motherland It is
As a darling but mad woman.
Has no clue what she does.
She will understand it then.
Will be terrified and sorry.
But I will always be with her.
For better or worse.
Bravo. The words of a true patriot.
"Russia", "Motherland"
Just mere words.
Yesterday Courland
was a part of Russia.
Tomorrow it will be Germany.
What should Courlandians
consider their Motherland?
The world revolution abolishes
the concept of Motherland.
It is obsolete,
like everything you've lived for.
Forget about your Russia,
it has changed.
What stops me from shooting you
right here and now?
At least I'll keep the officer's honor.
Unarmed?
Some tea, comrades?
Put it on the table.
THE NEUTRALITY ZONE
BREST-LITOVSK, DECEMBER 1917
THE SOVIET DELEGATION
IN BREST-LITOVSK: WAR OR PEACE?
DECEMBER 3. THE BEGINNING OF
TRUCE NEGOTIATIONS WITH GERMANY.
The German government insists on
the immediate signing of a peace treaty
based on the national determination
in Poland, Lithuania, Courland,
Estland and Livonia.
As acts, witnessing
the will of these peoples,
the German government is considering
a statement by the governments of Poland,
Lithuania, Courland,
Estland, and Livonia
signed in November
and December of this year.
Livonia will be the German Empire?
The people of Poland
want to join Germany? Nonsense!
That's enough! What a show!
This is not the will of the people.
Just scrawls, made under your dictation
by puppet rulers
of the occupied Russian Empire!
Skalon, you, as the former
Tsarist general, may forget
there is no Russian Empire anymore.
There are these
"Councils of Jewish Deputies".
As the Commissar of Foreign Affairs
I responsibly declare,
that Soviet Russia
is ready to sign an agreement.
However. I would like to give
more clear status to Livonia.
If this is the only problem,
by the end of the week
we'll prepare all the papers.
Nice to meet you, Comrade Trotsky.
I order you to start printing
agitation leaflets in German, ASAP.
Write about strikes and police outrage.
The revolution in Germany
is a matter of time.
Our task is to accelerate this pace.
ON THE BRINK OF DISASTER
Show in articles an explicit picture
of the situation in Germany,
which the authorities
hide from their soldiers.
Stop. I order the distribution
of half a million copies of leaflets
on all fronts, where Russian soldiers
contact with Germans.
Stop.
The People's Commissar
of Foreign Affairs, Trotsky.
Do you think his plan will work?
-Maybe.
-Will you let him do this?
After all, he will become
the savior of Russia.
Koba It seems to me lately
that the fate of Trotsky concerns you more
than the revolution itself.
DECEMBER 9. THE CONTINUATION OF
TRUCE NEGOTIATIONS WITH GERMANY.
A sleepless night, Hoffmann?
Well It's time to discuss
your separate peace with Ukraine.
Ukraine? What about it?
Well
You have signed a separate peace
with a part of Russia.
And the illegitimate government signed it.
Don't mess me about!
Let's continue when Hoffman
cleans his shoes,
and recalls the diplomatic etiquette.
THE PEOPLE ARE AGAINST WAR!
LAND AND LIBERTY TO REVOL
RUSSIANS COULD DO IT, WE CAN TOO!
OUR COMMON ENEMY
IS THE WORLD CAPITAL!
SAILORS RIOTING
RIOT IN KIEL
POLICE ARREST GERMAN WORKERS
The Soviets are blatantly procrastinating.
We won't bear this any longer.
I suggest advancing on Grodno, today.
span style="style.default1"Are you mad?/span
What war? What Grodno?
There is a revolution! Do you get it?
What have you decided, Kaiser?
Every minute counts.
Use the army against the rioters.
Let them shoot to kill.
DECEMBER 12. THE FINAL STAGE
OF NEGOTIATIONS ON A TRUCE.
Before we sign the treaty,
I'd like to inform you
an attempted revolution in Germany failed.
The all-out strike was stopped.
The military factories
are working again.
By the direct order of Emperor Wilhelm II,
as an ultimatum,
we demand from Russia
to sign the peace agreement
in 24 hours.
Clause 5 amended as follows:
Russia undertakes promptly
the complete demobilization of the army.
Including military forces
formed by the current government.
In addition, all Russian war ships
should be back in Russian ports.
And stay there until
the universal peace is signed.
Or they should be completely disarmed.
Military vessels of countries at war
with the states of the Central Powers
being under the Russian influence,
are treated as Russian war ships.
What do you mean, we won't sign?
Is this war or peace?
Neither. No peace and no war.
Write it down.
The urgent order of the Commissar Trotsky.
Move all troops from positions.
He's insane, gentlemen!
If the war were ever conducted
in self-defense,
then it has long ceased
to be so for both sides.
I told you! He's insane!
He's crazy, gentlemen! He's crazy!
Stop him! Traitor!
Hands off me!
This is madness
Are you really going, gentlemen?
We intend to.
The Germans guarantee shelter
for those not tied to Bolsheviks.
I can't go to the Germans.
I do not get how you
decided on this, Vasily.
And you, Vladimir?
Are you okay?
Don't worry, gentlemen.
-Skalon, are you going?
-Just a moment
That poor fellow
had every reason to hate you.
You lied that Russia
had no resources for war.
There were some in the opposition.
-And who were they?
-The Cossacks.
Sure, what can we do without them
Save it, Trotsky.
You had a chance
to put the squabbling aside
and unite to fight the foreign enemy.
Germany was exhausted
on the edge of defeat.
If we'd made such a union,
this would mean that our new world
would be unable to exist without
the traditional pillars of the old world.
But you could have
saved the great state.
Stalin would not have to extort
back Finland, the Baltics, and Galicia.
You chose the Germans.
-Your pride
-Quiet.
What?
You know what the locals
call this place?
span style="style.default1"Olla de cocodrilo./span
The crocodile vortex.
Give me that.
Don't move, Jacson! Don't move!
You attract the attention of predators.
Do not move.
-You are crazy.
-"I am German".
Imagine that I am a German.
What will you do?
Wait till they eat you?
Or take my helping hand?
You should have seen your look!
Full of hatred and horror
at the same time.
I deceived you,
there are no crocodiles here. Get out.
I want you to understand one simple thing.
I was thrown into the vortex many times.
It does not matter,
every time I swam out.
Finally Lenin was forced
to sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.
You see?
PETROGRAD. JANUARY 1918
I'll call a spade a spade.
The negotiations with Germany failed.
Therefore, I formally withdraw
the authority of the Commissar.
This is called "washing your hands of it."
I'm not going to wash
my hands of it, Vladimir.
From what happened
we all must learn a lesson.
The country cannot exist
without a strong, disciplined army
ready for military operations.
Stick to the topic, Trotsky.
I'm not declining
responsibility for my failure, but
If we had had a capable army, no one
would have dared to dictate us any terms.
Proceeding from the previously mentioned,
I ask to impose on me the duties
of the commander-in-chief.
And the task of forming
the new Red Army.
You did not manage
to sign the peace treaty.
You want to cope with war?
If someone wants
to take the responsibility
for the restoration of the army,
they are most welcome.
I declare a break in the meeting.
I hope you are aware, Leon,
that if you fail again
I know. That's why I have one condition.
-Condition?
-Yes.
Key posts of the new Red Army
should be taken
by the specialists of the Tsarist army.
They are professionals.
And they are real patriots.
You propose to give power
to the army again
-And Tsarist officers
-Yes.
And issue an open order.
In case of treason by a Tsarist officer,
his family should be executed.
Nonsense. We've been preparing
a class revolution not for that,
not to obey the same satraps,
but dressed in our uniform.
I will support you.
Go ahead.
Where did you get such good fellows?
Comrade Sermuks.
You said that the revolution should
not only be frightening, but admirable.
Comrade Trotsky,
let me introduce my wife, Larisa Reisner.
-Appointed as a military reporter.
-I recall you.
I read your wicked essay about me.
I apologize for that article.
Larisa is a poet.
She liked anarchism.
She still can't get rid of maximalist
remarks in her publications.
You have nothing to explain,
Comrade Raskolnikov.
Think better about forming
the Volga fleet.
Good?
All aboard!
Well, Leon, now it all depends on you.
The fates of Russian and world revolutions
are literally in your hands.
I'm not exaggerating.
Are you going to the front, Koba?
I don't have such a nice uniform
as you do, Trotsky.
We'll both do everything
for the victory, right?
Why are you up there?
-Kick them, Dad!
-Certainly.
I hope they won't kill you.
How could they? Look at my armor!
There is no such cannon to break it.
Help your mother. I'll be back.
Do what you have to do, Leon.
Bye, Dad!
span style="style.default1"The telegraph just brought bad news./span
span style="style.default1"Kazan fell, which means that,/span
span style="style.default1"unless a miracle happens,/span
span style="style.default1"the young Soviet Republic/span
span style="style.default1"will die without food and oil./span
span style="style.default1"The Red Army has mostly fallen apart,/span
span style="style.default1"entire regiments are deserting./span
span style="style.default1"A sense of approaching disaster/span
span style="style.default1"is in the air./span
span style="style.default1"Because of this, you want so much/span
span style="style.default1"to live and to feel./span
Remove the beginning.
In the future, never mention defeat.
Whatever happens,
the position of the Red Army is reliable.
Success is on our side.
Our valiant troops push the enemy back.
European workers are about to
throw off the yoke of world capital.
-Comrade Trotsky.
-Yes.
We are approaching.
-Is everything clear?
-Yes, Leon.
We cannot go any further,
Comrade Chairman.
Kappel battled through the rear positions
and cut the line. He is coming.
They know you are here.
There is no way back. They locked us up.
-How much time do we have?
-An hour.
You can go down the river.
We will try to go back to Boguchaevsk.
I came to stop the retreat.
And if I run away now,
this will completely demoralize the army.
You will die if you stay.
Death is not important.
It is more important how to die.
If I die fighting,
it will be easier for my successor.
But we are not going to die with you.
Then turn in your weapons.
You are arrested. Both of you.
Yeah, right
The soldiers are under our command.
What's next?
What are you going to do next?
Desert?
Dissolve the soldiers and go where?
To Kappel?
They will take you in chains.
And send you to the front line.
They really do not like renegades.
One way or another, you'll have to fight.
Then die. It is a matter of time.
Put your weapon on the table.
Take them to the guardhouse.
No, chain them.
Hand out weapons just before the fight.
Take them away.
Change your clothes
into something appropriate.
We have enough cartridges. But not people.
The White Army is three times larger.
Bicyclists will guard the passage,
and the train to the river
Stop! Everyone into line!
Everyone. Bicyclists,
stenographers, even cooks!
Trotsky You have already
been seen at the front.
People will talk about it.
Shouldn't we evacuate the command?
Am I not clear? Everyone into line! Go.
Yes.
Our only chance is defense.
They also think so,
and they are not waiting for us.
Our only chance is a victory.
They think we are afraid!
But we'll cut them to pieces!
We will turn their weapons against them!
If we make this unexpected step.
We will attack them ourselves!
I am afraid of death, too.
Like all of you.
But I'll go there to survive.
And if I'm fated to die,
then I'll die in battle
for what I believe in.
Forward, march!
Comrade Trotsky,
our troops are retreating.
Stop!
Stop! Where are you going?
Go forward! Into the breach!
Listen to me, soldiers!
We've already won.
We've got just one step left.
Turn around! Into the breach!
Or I'll shoot you!
Into the breach! Well done!
Well done.
Hush Lie down
Don't get up, you are wounded.
-We won?
-Yes.
The reinforcements came up
and Kappel was kicked out.
I never thought you could.
Sit in the saddle?
I'm a village boy. I love horses.
No. Be so angry.
You have been cursing them out!
The soldiers can really treat you
like a father
after your words about their mothers!
I had to dominate
Sexual power is the main power.
It's the advantage
-You read Freud?
-I talked to him.
Trotsky, the soldiers are waiting.
Hooray!
span style="style.default1"If any unit willfully leaves positions,/span
its commissar and its commander
will be shot first.
Then every tenth fighter.
span style="style.default1"In case of desertion,/span
span style="style.default1"every fifth fighter will be shot./span
span style="style.default1"Courageous and brave soldiers/span
span style="style.default1"will be put in command./span
span style="style.default1"Cowards, self-seekers, and traitors/span
span style="style.default1"won't get away from the bullet./span
Death or victory. Trotsky.
Comrade Trotsky, Raskolnikov.
Comrade Trotsky. Kazan is ours.
The Red Army moved into a decisive attack.
Thanks. You can go.
Sylvia! Your fiancé scared
all crocodiles in the area.
You need not be afraid of anything;
he is as safe as houses.
Still, the amazing ability,
not to admit defeat
and be self-satisfied with victories
Where is your objectivity?
Objectivity is simple, Jacson.
What doesn't kill us makes us stronger.
Nietzsche was right.
-Nietzsche?
-Yes.
His life ended in a mental asylum.
Do you want to end like him?
Well then. Live in a fictional world.
A normal person cannot turn
the world upside down
to organize two revolutions
and still be alive.
Look at me, Jacson, I'm alive.
-Really?
-Yes.
You are 60, you are an old man.
You are an exile at the end of the world.
Trying to fight with the great politician
by writing memoirs no one will ever read.
Stories of a defeated man. You just
cannot you refuse to admit defeat.
Think you're still in the saddle?
On your damned armored train?
-This is ridiculous!
-Then why I am laughing alone?
This mumbling for a solid hour
I had to you give you this, but
But I distracted you with my walk.
I see.
span style="style.default1"My dear, beloved Leon/span
span style="style.default1"You are a man of action. So am I./span
span style="style.default1"There is not much time left for us,/span
span style="style.default1"especially for you./span
span style="style.default1"We both know this./span
span style="style.default1"I have money. It doesn't make/span
span style="style.default1"sense for me to stay here./span
span style="style.default1"Why should we hide?/span
span style="style.default1"We are two almost dead loners./span
span style="style.default1"Living in prisons of our present lives./span
span style="style.default1"Let's leave and create a new one?/span
span style="style.default1"We'll spend the rest of our days/span
span style="style.default1"as ordinary people./span
span style="style.default1"By the sea. In love and comfort./span
span style="style.default1"I'll be waiting for you in our bar./span
span style="style.default1"I'll understand if you don't come./span
span style="style.default1"I'll try to understand./span
span style="style.default1"But I am leaving tomorrow,/span
span style="style.default1"with or without you./span
span style="style.default1"Yours, F./span
Why did you come back?
She's probably waiting for you.
Yes
You see, Jacson,
leaving with Frida, I would admit
that my old life is over
and I cannot do anything more.
Hell no.
Hell no.
Do you understand me?
Hell no.
SOUTHERN FRONT. TSARITSYN 1918.
Comrade Trotsky
Comrade Chairman. Why didn't you warn us,
we would have prepared!
Tell your people to go out.
-What for?
-A confidential conversation.
Comrade Voroshilov,
are you as decisive in battles?
Go on.
I did not invite you to sit down.
And fix yourself up
talking to the Chairman
of the Revolutionary Military Council.
I have one question for you.
Why are you sabotaging my orders?
I execute those orders
which I consider necessary.
In that case, you are arrested.
I'm sending you back to Moscow.
My people are everywhere.
You will be ground to dust.
That's true.
We'll execute you here.
Comrade Trotsky!
I was just following orders!
-Whose?
-Stalin's.
-Really?
-Yes.
You are the front commander,
Stalin was assigned to you only
as the head of the food unit.
You follow the orders of a quartermaster?
He is the hero of the revolution! A member
of the Council of People's Commissars!
You heard that? Koba is now
the hero of the revolution.
Find and bring to me this hero.
Arrest this one.
-May I?
-Yes.
Come on in. Stay here.
I advise you to put off the light,
Comrade Trotsky.
We are being bombed from airplanes.
What else would you advise me?
Do not stand there, Koba, sit down.
You know that thanks to former
Tsarist military specialists,
our army has finally started to win?
With the exception of the front, under
the command of the revolution hero,
the quartermaster Koba.
Are you listening?
I mentioned it several times.
The revolution wasn't undertaken
to bring the people under command
of the former Tsarist officers.
Holy hell! Koba! You are as you were!
You are an ex-con. A petty criminal
with the psychology of the shopkeeper.
You don't know a thing
in politics or in military strategy.
Where are you going?
Do not talk to me like that,
Comrade Trotsky.
I dismiss you and Voroshilov
from the front.
Go back to Moscow
and do not get in my way,
I'll crush you otherwise.
You know Comrade Trotsky.
You're right. I can really do
much more in Moscow than here.
I just want to tell you one parable.
Once, one proud eagle
was flying in the Caucasus mountains.
He saw wild ducks in the lake.
The eagle wanted to
catch one and rushed down.
The duck dove into the water,
and the eagle was left with nothing.
The eagle was very angry.
He rise up again very high, to the sun.
Folded his wings,
threw himself down like a stone.
"You won't get away from me!"
And he also dived into the lake.
But in the water, he began to suffocate.
And almost drowned.
And the duck waved her wings
and flew away.
"You see, eagle
I feel great in your skies,
and you are drowning in my lake."
An instructive parable.
But I'm not an eagle, I'm a lion.
And I'm not a duck.
You know, Koba,
I also remembered an old parable.
Once the jackal came to the lion.
And said, "Let's fight."
The lion grinned and turned away.
The jackal threatened to tell every animal
that the lion was scared of him.
The lion yawned and replied,
"Let them think I'm a coward,
but they won't despise me
for killing a jackal."
You'd better turn off the light.
Natalia, you may go,
I'll work a little more.
Have you ever thought about how
How it will happen?
No. Never.
I do not believe you.
You are too old to last long.
And too much Trotsky to die in bed.
You think
It may be your single thought.
In any case, your "way"
of avoiding liability is not for me.
This is more a manifestation of weakness.
In my case, maybe.
But in your case it would be
an example of courage.
Be brave.
I have not expected
anything more from you.
I'm already dead.
Like everything you lived for, Trotsky.
Boom.
Señor Jacson, hey!
Señor Jacson!
-This is for you.
-Here you go.
Hands off!
Women shouldn't go to such places.
Even in the afternoon.
I'll take you to my place.
No. You're an excellent lover
for everyone.
But not for me.
No one can be as good in bed as him.
He screwed all this damn world.
Sleeping with him is like injecting
a drug into the brain.
It's like sleeping with God himself,
you know.
-Let me take you home.
-Why? I'm fine here.
You and him are very much alike, Frank.
You do not like to admit defeat either.
Give it to him. And tell him
No, do not say anything.
I do not want to see him. Especially now.
Do it for me!
Fine. He called me today for a picnic.
Jacson, my friend,
you are not yourself today.
You're not even blaming me
for all the sins of humanity.
What happened?
Nothing.
Today I was told that I do not know
how to admit defeat.
And that makes us similar.
Well, I have nothing to admit.
I have never had real defeats.
Although I was on the edge many times.
I was always changing
the situation for my own benefit.
An example is the story
on the armored train
I do not care about your
armored train, I'm sick of it.
These were the best years of your life,
your peak of power.
I'd like to know something else.
Now I recognize you, Frank.
Go ahead.
What are you accusing me of today?
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.
This is ridiculous.
People will never forgive you.
Can you not just sign this treaty?
I cannot. There is no army.
PETROGRAD. DECEMBER 1917
Nobody's left to fight for us. We need
to give the Germans what they want,
or they will conquer half the country.
Then make the soldiers fight!
Don't you get it?
We demoralized the army.
We cannot force these soldiers to fight.
Refuse. They cannot force you, right?!
Lenin waits only for this: "Trotsky
gave up on an arch-important mission."
"Down with Comrade Trotsky!" No.
Well, that's it. It's time.
VLADIMIR SKALON 1872-1917
RUSSIAN GENERAL, MONARCHIS
Don't you mind?
So, you are Trotsky.
Managing the foreign affairs.
I guess we should drink.
For the acquaintance.
You are cunning about the third way.
There are two ways out of the dead end
you drove Russia into.
Capitulation or death.
Vladimir, let's be honest.
You, the Tsarist generals,
have drawn your dear Russia into the war.
We were fulfilling our duty.
If it weren't for your
revolutionary agitation,
what did you call the soldiers for?
To shoot officers,
fraternize with enemies.
Who's to blame, that our ideas
were closer to the soldiers?
Your ideas have turned
a battle-worthy army into a herd!
And you did it! The Bolsheviks!
I want to remind you, despite this,
you still accepted the power
of the Bolsheviks, Comrade Skalon
So cool your heat.
I did not accept your power.
I accepted the will of Russia.
My Motherland It is
As a darling but mad woman.
Has no clue what she does.
She will understand it then.
Will be terrified and sorry.
But I will always be with her.
For better or worse.
Bravo. The words of a true patriot.
"Russia", "Motherland"
Just mere words.
Yesterday Courland
was a part of Russia.
Tomorrow it will be Germany.
What should Courlandians
consider their Motherland?
The world revolution abolishes
the concept of Motherland.
It is obsolete,
like everything you've lived for.
Forget about your Russia,
it has changed.
What stops me from shooting you
right here and now?
At least I'll keep the officer's honor.
Unarmed?
Some tea, comrades?
Put it on the table.
THE NEUTRALITY ZONE
BREST-LITOVSK, DECEMBER 1917
THE SOVIET DELEGATION
IN BREST-LITOVSK: WAR OR PEACE?
DECEMBER 3. THE BEGINNING OF
TRUCE NEGOTIATIONS WITH GERMANY.
The German government insists on
the immediate signing of a peace treaty
based on the national determination
in Poland, Lithuania, Courland,
Estland and Livonia.
As acts, witnessing
the will of these peoples,
the German government is considering
a statement by the governments of Poland,
Lithuania, Courland,
Estland, and Livonia
signed in November
and December of this year.
Livonia will be the German Empire?
The people of Poland
want to join Germany? Nonsense!
That's enough! What a show!
This is not the will of the people.
Just scrawls, made under your dictation
by puppet rulers
of the occupied Russian Empire!
Skalon, you, as the former
Tsarist general, may forget
there is no Russian Empire anymore.
There are these
"Councils of Jewish Deputies".
As the Commissar of Foreign Affairs
I responsibly declare,
that Soviet Russia
is ready to sign an agreement.
However. I would like to give
more clear status to Livonia.
If this is the only problem,
by the end of the week
we'll prepare all the papers.
Nice to meet you, Comrade Trotsky.
I order you to start printing
agitation leaflets in German, ASAP.
Write about strikes and police outrage.
The revolution in Germany
is a matter of time.
Our task is to accelerate this pace.
ON THE BRINK OF DISASTER
Show in articles an explicit picture
of the situation in Germany,
which the authorities
hide from their soldiers.
Stop. I order the distribution
of half a million copies of leaflets
on all fronts, where Russian soldiers
contact with Germans.
Stop.
The People's Commissar
of Foreign Affairs, Trotsky.
Do you think his plan will work?
-Maybe.
-Will you let him do this?
After all, he will become
the savior of Russia.
Koba It seems to me lately
that the fate of Trotsky concerns you more
than the revolution itself.
DECEMBER 9. THE CONTINUATION OF
TRUCE NEGOTIATIONS WITH GERMANY.
A sleepless night, Hoffmann?
Well It's time to discuss
your separate peace with Ukraine.
Ukraine? What about it?
Well
You have signed a separate peace
with a part of Russia.
And the illegitimate government signed it.
Don't mess me about!
Let's continue when Hoffman
cleans his shoes,
and recalls the diplomatic etiquette.
THE PEOPLE ARE AGAINST WAR!
LAND AND LIBERTY TO REVOL
RUSSIANS COULD DO IT, WE CAN TOO!
OUR COMMON ENEMY
IS THE WORLD CAPITAL!
SAILORS RIOTING
RIOT IN KIEL
POLICE ARREST GERMAN WORKERS
The Soviets are blatantly procrastinating.
We won't bear this any longer.
I suggest advancing on Grodno, today.
span style="style.default1"Are you mad?/span
What war? What Grodno?
There is a revolution! Do you get it?
What have you decided, Kaiser?
Every minute counts.
Use the army against the rioters.
Let them shoot to kill.
DECEMBER 12. THE FINAL STAGE
OF NEGOTIATIONS ON A TRUCE.
Before we sign the treaty,
I'd like to inform you
an attempted revolution in Germany failed.
The all-out strike was stopped.
The military factories
are working again.
By the direct order of Emperor Wilhelm II,
as an ultimatum,
we demand from Russia
to sign the peace agreement
in 24 hours.
Clause 5 amended as follows:
Russia undertakes promptly
the complete demobilization of the army.
Including military forces
formed by the current government.
In addition, all Russian war ships
should be back in Russian ports.
And stay there until
the universal peace is signed.
Or they should be completely disarmed.
Military vessels of countries at war
with the states of the Central Powers
being under the Russian influence,
are treated as Russian war ships.
What do you mean, we won't sign?
Is this war or peace?
Neither. No peace and no war.
Write it down.
The urgent order of the Commissar Trotsky.
Move all troops from positions.
He's insane, gentlemen!
If the war were ever conducted
in self-defense,
then it has long ceased
to be so for both sides.
I told you! He's insane!
He's crazy, gentlemen! He's crazy!
Stop him! Traitor!
Hands off me!
This is madness
Are you really going, gentlemen?
We intend to.
The Germans guarantee shelter
for those not tied to Bolsheviks.
I can't go to the Germans.
I do not get how you
decided on this, Vasily.
And you, Vladimir?
Are you okay?
Don't worry, gentlemen.
-Skalon, are you going?
-Just a moment
That poor fellow
had every reason to hate you.
You lied that Russia
had no resources for war.
There were some in the opposition.
-And who were they?
-The Cossacks.
Sure, what can we do without them
Save it, Trotsky.
You had a chance
to put the squabbling aside
and unite to fight the foreign enemy.
Germany was exhausted
on the edge of defeat.
If we'd made such a union,
this would mean that our new world
would be unable to exist without
the traditional pillars of the old world.
But you could have
saved the great state.
Stalin would not have to extort
back Finland, the Baltics, and Galicia.
You chose the Germans.
-Your pride
-Quiet.
What?
You know what the locals
call this place?
span style="style.default1"Olla de cocodrilo./span
The crocodile vortex.
Give me that.
Don't move, Jacson! Don't move!
You attract the attention of predators.
Do not move.
-You are crazy.
-"I am German".
Imagine that I am a German.
What will you do?
Wait till they eat you?
Or take my helping hand?
You should have seen your look!
Full of hatred and horror
at the same time.
I deceived you,
there are no crocodiles here. Get out.
I want you to understand one simple thing.
I was thrown into the vortex many times.
It does not matter,
every time I swam out.
Finally Lenin was forced
to sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.
You see?
PETROGRAD. JANUARY 1918
I'll call a spade a spade.
The negotiations with Germany failed.
Therefore, I formally withdraw
the authority of the Commissar.
This is called "washing your hands of it."
I'm not going to wash
my hands of it, Vladimir.
From what happened
we all must learn a lesson.
The country cannot exist
without a strong, disciplined army
ready for military operations.
Stick to the topic, Trotsky.
I'm not declining
responsibility for my failure, but
If we had had a capable army, no one
would have dared to dictate us any terms.
Proceeding from the previously mentioned,
I ask to impose on me the duties
of the commander-in-chief.
And the task of forming
the new Red Army.
You did not manage
to sign the peace treaty.
You want to cope with war?
If someone wants
to take the responsibility
for the restoration of the army,
they are most welcome.
I declare a break in the meeting.
I hope you are aware, Leon,
that if you fail again
I know. That's why I have one condition.
-Condition?
-Yes.
Key posts of the new Red Army
should be taken
by the specialists of the Tsarist army.
They are professionals.
And they are real patriots.
You propose to give power
to the army again
-And Tsarist officers
-Yes.
And issue an open order.
In case of treason by a Tsarist officer,
his family should be executed.
Nonsense. We've been preparing
a class revolution not for that,
not to obey the same satraps,
but dressed in our uniform.
I will support you.
Go ahead.
Where did you get such good fellows?
Comrade Sermuks.
You said that the revolution should
not only be frightening, but admirable.
Comrade Trotsky,
let me introduce my wife, Larisa Reisner.
-Appointed as a military reporter.
-I recall you.
I read your wicked essay about me.
I apologize for that article.
Larisa is a poet.
She liked anarchism.
She still can't get rid of maximalist
remarks in her publications.
You have nothing to explain,
Comrade Raskolnikov.
Think better about forming
the Volga fleet.
Good?
All aboard!
Well, Leon, now it all depends on you.
The fates of Russian and world revolutions
are literally in your hands.
I'm not exaggerating.
Are you going to the front, Koba?
I don't have such a nice uniform
as you do, Trotsky.
We'll both do everything
for the victory, right?
Why are you up there?
-Kick them, Dad!
-Certainly.
I hope they won't kill you.
How could they? Look at my armor!
There is no such cannon to break it.
Help your mother. I'll be back.
Do what you have to do, Leon.
Bye, Dad!
span style="style.default1"The telegraph just brought bad news./span
span style="style.default1"Kazan fell, which means that,/span
span style="style.default1"unless a miracle happens,/span
span style="style.default1"the young Soviet Republic/span
span style="style.default1"will die without food and oil./span
span style="style.default1"The Red Army has mostly fallen apart,/span
span style="style.default1"entire regiments are deserting./span
span style="style.default1"A sense of approaching disaster/span
span style="style.default1"is in the air./span
span style="style.default1"Because of this, you want so much/span
span style="style.default1"to live and to feel./span
Remove the beginning.
In the future, never mention defeat.
Whatever happens,
the position of the Red Army is reliable.
Success is on our side.
Our valiant troops push the enemy back.
European workers are about to
throw off the yoke of world capital.
-Comrade Trotsky.
-Yes.
We are approaching.
-Is everything clear?
-Yes, Leon.
We cannot go any further,
Comrade Chairman.
Kappel battled through the rear positions
and cut the line. He is coming.
They know you are here.
There is no way back. They locked us up.
-How much time do we have?
-An hour.
You can go down the river.
We will try to go back to Boguchaevsk.
I came to stop the retreat.
And if I run away now,
this will completely demoralize the army.
You will die if you stay.
Death is not important.
It is more important how to die.
If I die fighting,
it will be easier for my successor.
But we are not going to die with you.
Then turn in your weapons.
You are arrested. Both of you.
Yeah, right
The soldiers are under our command.
What's next?
What are you going to do next?
Desert?
Dissolve the soldiers and go where?
To Kappel?
They will take you in chains.
And send you to the front line.
They really do not like renegades.
One way or another, you'll have to fight.
Then die. It is a matter of time.
Put your weapon on the table.
Take them to the guardhouse.
No, chain them.
Hand out weapons just before the fight.
Take them away.
Change your clothes
into something appropriate.
We have enough cartridges. But not people.
The White Army is three times larger.
Bicyclists will guard the passage,
and the train to the river
Stop! Everyone into line!
Everyone. Bicyclists,
stenographers, even cooks!
Trotsky You have already
been seen at the front.
People will talk about it.
Shouldn't we evacuate the command?
Am I not clear? Everyone into line! Go.
Yes.
Our only chance is defense.
They also think so,
and they are not waiting for us.
Our only chance is a victory.
They think we are afraid!
But we'll cut them to pieces!
We will turn their weapons against them!
If we make this unexpected step.
We will attack them ourselves!
I am afraid of death, too.
Like all of you.
But I'll go there to survive.
And if I'm fated to die,
then I'll die in battle
for what I believe in.
Forward, march!
Comrade Trotsky,
our troops are retreating.
Stop!
Stop! Where are you going?
Go forward! Into the breach!
Listen to me, soldiers!
We've already won.
We've got just one step left.
Turn around! Into the breach!
Or I'll shoot you!
Into the breach! Well done!
Well done.
Hush Lie down
Don't get up, you are wounded.
-We won?
-Yes.
The reinforcements came up
and Kappel was kicked out.
I never thought you could.
Sit in the saddle?
I'm a village boy. I love horses.
No. Be so angry.
You have been cursing them out!
The soldiers can really treat you
like a father
after your words about their mothers!
I had to dominate
Sexual power is the main power.
It's the advantage
-You read Freud?
-I talked to him.
Trotsky, the soldiers are waiting.
Hooray!
span style="style.default1"If any unit willfully leaves positions,/span
its commissar and its commander
will be shot first.
Then every tenth fighter.
span style="style.default1"In case of desertion,/span
span style="style.default1"every fifth fighter will be shot./span
span style="style.default1"Courageous and brave soldiers/span
span style="style.default1"will be put in command./span
span style="style.default1"Cowards, self-seekers, and traitors/span
span style="style.default1"won't get away from the bullet./span
Death or victory. Trotsky.
Comrade Trotsky, Raskolnikov.
Comrade Trotsky. Kazan is ours.
The Red Army moved into a decisive attack.
Thanks. You can go.
Sylvia! Your fiancé scared
all crocodiles in the area.
You need not be afraid of anything;
he is as safe as houses.
Still, the amazing ability,
not to admit defeat
and be self-satisfied with victories
Where is your objectivity?
Objectivity is simple, Jacson.
What doesn't kill us makes us stronger.
Nietzsche was right.
-Nietzsche?
-Yes.
His life ended in a mental asylum.
Do you want to end like him?
Well then. Live in a fictional world.
A normal person cannot turn
the world upside down
to organize two revolutions
and still be alive.
Look at me, Jacson, I'm alive.
-Really?
-Yes.
You are 60, you are an old man.
You are an exile at the end of the world.
Trying to fight with the great politician
by writing memoirs no one will ever read.
Stories of a defeated man. You just
cannot you refuse to admit defeat.
Think you're still in the saddle?
On your damned armored train?
-This is ridiculous!
-Then why I am laughing alone?
This mumbling for a solid hour
I had to you give you this, but
But I distracted you with my walk.
I see.
span style="style.default1"My dear, beloved Leon/span
span style="style.default1"You are a man of action. So am I./span
span style="style.default1"There is not much time left for us,/span
span style="style.default1"especially for you./span
span style="style.default1"We both know this./span
span style="style.default1"I have money. It doesn't make/span
span style="style.default1"sense for me to stay here./span
span style="style.default1"Why should we hide?/span
span style="style.default1"We are two almost dead loners./span
span style="style.default1"Living in prisons of our present lives./span
span style="style.default1"Let's leave and create a new one?/span
span style="style.default1"We'll spend the rest of our days/span
span style="style.default1"as ordinary people./span
span style="style.default1"By the sea. In love and comfort./span
span style="style.default1"I'll be waiting for you in our bar./span
span style="style.default1"I'll understand if you don't come./span
span style="style.default1"I'll try to understand./span
span style="style.default1"But I am leaving tomorrow,/span
span style="style.default1"with or without you./span
span style="style.default1"Yours, F./span
Why did you come back?
She's probably waiting for you.
Yes
You see, Jacson,
leaving with Frida, I would admit
that my old life is over
and I cannot do anything more.
Hell no.
Hell no.
Do you understand me?
Hell no.
SOUTHERN FRONT. TSARITSYN 1918.
Comrade Trotsky
Comrade Chairman. Why didn't you warn us,
we would have prepared!
Tell your people to go out.
-What for?
-A confidential conversation.
Comrade Voroshilov,
are you as decisive in battles?
Go on.
I did not invite you to sit down.
And fix yourself up
talking to the Chairman
of the Revolutionary Military Council.
I have one question for you.
Why are you sabotaging my orders?
I execute those orders
which I consider necessary.
In that case, you are arrested.
I'm sending you back to Moscow.
My people are everywhere.
You will be ground to dust.
That's true.
We'll execute you here.
Comrade Trotsky!
I was just following orders!
-Whose?
-Stalin's.
-Really?
-Yes.
You are the front commander,
Stalin was assigned to you only
as the head of the food unit.
You follow the orders of a quartermaster?
He is the hero of the revolution! A member
of the Council of People's Commissars!
You heard that? Koba is now
the hero of the revolution.
Find and bring to me this hero.
Arrest this one.
-May I?
-Yes.
Come on in. Stay here.
I advise you to put off the light,
Comrade Trotsky.
We are being bombed from airplanes.
What else would you advise me?
Do not stand there, Koba, sit down.
You know that thanks to former
Tsarist military specialists,
our army has finally started to win?
With the exception of the front, under
the command of the revolution hero,
the quartermaster Koba.
Are you listening?
I mentioned it several times.
The revolution wasn't undertaken
to bring the people under command
of the former Tsarist officers.
Holy hell! Koba! You are as you were!
You are an ex-con. A petty criminal
with the psychology of the shopkeeper.
You don't know a thing
in politics or in military strategy.
Where are you going?
Do not talk to me like that,
Comrade Trotsky.
I dismiss you and Voroshilov
from the front.
Go back to Moscow
and do not get in my way,
I'll crush you otherwise.
You know Comrade Trotsky.
You're right. I can really do
much more in Moscow than here.
I just want to tell you one parable.
Once, one proud eagle
was flying in the Caucasus mountains.
He saw wild ducks in the lake.
The eagle wanted to
catch one and rushed down.
The duck dove into the water,
and the eagle was left with nothing.
The eagle was very angry.
He rise up again very high, to the sun.
Folded his wings,
threw himself down like a stone.
"You won't get away from me!"
And he also dived into the lake.
But in the water, he began to suffocate.
And almost drowned.
And the duck waved her wings
and flew away.
"You see, eagle
I feel great in your skies,
and you are drowning in my lake."
An instructive parable.
But I'm not an eagle, I'm a lion.
And I'm not a duck.
You know, Koba,
I also remembered an old parable.
Once the jackal came to the lion.
And said, "Let's fight."
The lion grinned and turned away.
The jackal threatened to tell every animal
that the lion was scared of him.
The lion yawned and replied,
"Let them think I'm a coward,
but they won't despise me
for killing a jackal."
You'd better turn off the light.
Natalia, you may go,
I'll work a little more.
Have you ever thought about how
How it will happen?
No. Never.
I do not believe you.
You are too old to last long.
And too much Trotsky to die in bed.
You think
It may be your single thought.
In any case, your "way"
of avoiding liability is not for me.
This is more a manifestation of weakness.
In my case, maybe.
But in your case it would be
an example of courage.
Be brave.
I have not expected
anything more from you.
I'm already dead.
Like everything you lived for, Trotsky.
Boom.