At the Beginning of Glorious Days () is the second part of a two-part film that started with The Youth of Peter the Great. Both parts were released in the Soviet Union in 1980 and are based on a novel, Peter I, written by Aleksey Tolstoy. The film was directed by Russian director Sergey Gerasimov. The movie is considered to be a classic of Russian historical cinema.

Synopsis

In late 17th-century Russia, Czar Peter the Great orders an attack on Turkey, which refuses to pay taxes to the Russian government. The Russian military is equipped with outdated technology, and they suffer their first defeat. After the defeat the czar orders the building of a fleet, and sends many educated men to study in Germany, France, and Holland. Russian victory over Turkey will not only force the Turks to pay taxes, but also make the Sea of Azov accessible to the Russians.

At the Beginning of Glorious Days

Cast

Dmitri Zolotukhin — Peter the Great

Tamara Makarova — Natalya Naryshkina

Aleksandr Belyavskiy — Lev Naryshkin, Peter's uncle

Natalya Bondarchuk — Czarevna Sophia

Nikolai Yeremenko Jr. — Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov

Mikhail Nozhkin — Knyaz Boris Alexeyevich Galitzine

Boris Khmelnitsky — Kuzma Chermnyi

Lyubov Germanova — Eudoxia Lopukhina

Ivan Lapikov — Zhemov

Lyubov Polekhina — Sanka Brovkina

Marina Levtova — Olga Bulnosova

Yekaterina Vasilyeva — Antonida Bulnosova

Pyotr Glebov — Gypsy

Marina Golub — Verka

Muza Krepkogorskaya — Sparrow caregiver

Yury Moroz — Alyosha Brovkin

Peter Reusse — Franz Lefort

Eduard Bocharov — Merchant Ivan Brovkin

Anatoli Barantsev — Nikita Zotov

Roman Filippov — Fyodor Romodanovsky

Vladimir Kashpur — Ovdokim

Nikolai Grinko — Starets Nektari

References

External links

At the beginning of glorious days Russian Cinema Council catalogue

1980s historical drama films

Soviet historical drama films

Russian historical drama films

Films directed by Sergei Gerasimov

Gorky Film Studio films

Films about the Russian Empire

Films set in the 17th century

Cultural depictions of Peter the Great

At the Beginning of Glorious Days