Plot synopsis

On April 12, 1961, Gagarin made the first human spaceflight. This feat gave rise to large popular celebrations, particularly in Moscow. During the ceremonies on Red Square, Stalin’s name could still be read on the pediment of the Mausoleum. De-Stalinization remained ambiguous.

In 1961, the Vienna summit with the new president Kennedy is described as a moment when Khrushchev felt strong — buoyed by Gagarin’s success and by the American failure of the Bay of Pigs landing — while Kennedy emerged psychologically crushed.

As refugee flows from east to west continued, the GDR finally obtained approval to close the border: on the night of August 13, 1961, construction of the Berlin Wall began, presented as a brutal but stabilizing solution. In quick succession, the USSR resumed nuclear tests despite warnings (notably from Sakharov), demonstrating the dominance of political power over scientists.

The West is said to have overestimated the Soviet arsenal (the “myth” of missile superiority), a myth weakened by leaks attributed to Penkovsky. This revelation helped to calm American panic; Khrushchev ultimately did not obtain West Berlin: he backed down and later rationalized this retreat with jokes, while announcing that there were still “moves” to be played — a prelude to the future Caribbean crisis.

The second part of the film focuses on internal affairs: despite cosmic euphoria, the economic reality is portrayed as increasingly fragile. At the 22nd Congress of the CPSU (October 1961), Khrushchev had a triumphalist rhetoric adopted: overtaking the United States, building the material base of communism, and the promise that “the current generation will live under communism.” The film shows the unscientific nature of these forecasts, imposed from above. At the same time, agricultural policy (exhausted virgin lands, the corn campaign disrupting crops, pressure on peasants, slaughter of livestock to produce false results) led to shortages and rural discouragement.

In this context, local unrest appeared (often described as “drunken riots”), fueled by a paradoxical psychology: de-Stalinization had awakened hope for a better life, but life did not improve; and some of the discontented concluded, despite past terror, that “under Stalin there was order.” This is where the film connects with its second symbol: at the 22nd Congress, the decision was made to remove Stalin from the Mausoleum. On the night of October 31, 1961, Red Square was sealed off, the body was discreetly transferred, the insignia were removed, Stalin was buried near the Kremlin, and even his name was erased from the Mausoleum.

But soon, with rising prices and the food crisis, the Stalin/Khrushchev comparison returned in conversations — this time against Khrushchev. The year 1961 thus appears as the peak of a “freedom of atmosphere” (culture, cinema, figures of the time), but also as the year when the USSR tipped toward a dangerous external confrontation and an internal economic dead end: a “beginning of the end” for Khrushchev, framed by the light of Gagarin and the persistent shadow of Stalin.

commentaries

Text of a radio program by Nikolaï Svanidze on the same theme as the film, 2016

Selected in the following festivals or events :

- Historical Chronicles with Nikolay Svanidze, (kinoglaz.fr), 2026

Images

Nikita KHROUCHTCHEV (Никита Сергеевич ХРУЩЁВ) 1894-1971