Made in 1967 by Central Studio in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Socialist Revolution, this historic Soviet film celebrates the founding of the Red Army by Lenin, and the present-day military might of the Soviet Union. The film presents a rare look at Soviet strategic capabilities in the era immediately after the Cuban Missile Crisis. (Note: this version of the film is dubbed in Arabic, and is not in Russian).
Narration: (00:00) “This movie is dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution. Before us exists an edict that is historically significant. It is about the establishment of the Red Army and signed by Vladimir Lenin. This marks the beginning of the Red Army.: At (1:49), is a song about the Soviet Army. At (3:50), an underground military bunker is seen, home to a nuclear tipped ICBM. The narrator declares: “These missiles can hit the target no matter how far it is. Where is it? How many? It has to be said that these strategic missiles are where they are supposed to be and that their number is as supposed to be, too.” At 6:21, mobile ICBMs are seen moving through the forest as part of a military exercise. At 8:00, units are seen operating early warning and radar equipment in the frozen wastes, where tracked vehicles are used to deliver mail (9:18). More early warning is seen at 10:30, narrator: “
The enemy’s plane is in square 4147 and it does not respond to our signal. The square 4147, the enemy’s plane has been discovered. Height is 6000 and the direction is 45….got it. Ready the combat missiles for the fight.” At (12:27), anti-aircraft missiles are readied while pilots scramble to fighter aircraft. These are Tupolev Tu-28 (NATO reporting name Fiddler), long-range interceptor aircraft introduced by the Soviet Union in the 1960s. Narrator: “The aggressor aircraft is destroyed in square 4149. I would like to express my appreciation to all of the participants in the inspection training.Each day and night, every inch of the homeland sky is observed in addition to the test raids that are waged. All air defense methods lie in the hands of skilled and trained soldiers, though, a number of them are new in military.”
At 14:47, the film shows a new group of recruits-to-be including Anatoly Kulikov and Russell Mosticov, in their home village. At 16:41, a 93-year-old man is seen drinking wine as part of the going-away party. They will serve in the Proletarians Honorary Squad.
The induction is seen at 19:20. Narrator: “By the end of the service day in the Baltic Sea, the sun will rise on the Pacific shore. Anthony Krakow is wearing his Navy suit for the first time. ” Part of the Soviet fleet is seen at 20:20, with sailors called to duty stations.
At 22:20, a large scale military exercise begins involving the army, navy, and more. Tanks are shown on the move, as well as at 23:21, tactical missiles and amphibious tanks (24:27). Rockets are fired and a fleet of helicopters is seen at 26:00. A mass paradrop takes place at 31:00, with heavy cargo braked using rockets. Tanks are seen on the move at 31:50 covered by waves of jets. At 32:33, a bridge is built in an astonishing 10 minutes, 27 seconds. At (34:00) the narrator says: “Every day of the soldiers’ life starts with political lessons, as Soviet army soldiers should have mature political awareness. Additionally, sports are obligatory in military.”
At 34:50, pilots experience an ejection seat ride, and at 35:00 an ejection from a Mig is seen. At 35:38, strategic rocket forces are seen working in a missile silo. At 35:56, armored anti-personnel weapons are seen in action as well as rocket firing APCs that the narrator indicates can be manually controlled by the shooting soldier. At 36:50, a series of anti-aircraft missile test are seen, followed at 37:20 by images at the Soviet Maritime Academy. At 37:30, a gigantic Russian mainframe computer is seen at work. As the movie draws to a close the narrator states: ” Military leaders of the Soviet Army better their military skills in the General Staff Academy. In the military, there is not a general, Marshal or an Admiral who does not try to improve their marital arts skills. Admiral, Arishtkov, military minister for The Soviet Army states his report. In the auditorium, heroes of WW1 and WW2 are seen. These people are the ones who led the armies to historical victory over Nazi Germany.”
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
