The residents of the village of Staroje Dudino, located four kilometers west of the Soviet border, are completely dependent on the wealthy Novik, whose interests are protected by the local police and clergy. Novik is actively stirring up ethnic strife between the Jewish poor and Polish workers. During the traditional "black crown" ceremony (a wedding ceremony for an old man and an old woman), a group of factory workers led by the communist Haidul, together with the Jewish poor, attack the police and free Boris Bernstein, who had been sentenced to death.

A girl named Katya meets a boy Mitya on the street. He loves animals, but his mother won't let them at their house no more. He looks for another place for his pets and so he lets Katya to take the animals to her home for a day.

Kronstadt, 1917. Sailors aboard the revolutionary cruiser Zarya prepare for a general armed uprising. Kerensky's government decides to disarm the ships. The ship's crew expels delegates from the Provisional Government, refusing to obey orders. The cruiser's commander, Bersenev, sides with the sailors. Bersenev's family members react differently to this decision. Thus, a collapse occurs in the family of an old Russian intellectual...

A performance by the Leningrad Bolshoi Drama Theater named after M. Gorky.