The young serf Eremey Mizgir is surrendered as a soldier by his mistress for his mischievous tricks. Mizgir ends up in St. Petersburg in the guards regiment. Resourceful, quick-witted, cheerful, he easily copes with his official duties and, although he often gets punished by the sergeant-major for his pranks, he never loses heart. But then sad news came from the village: the old people’s cow had died, and Eremey’s bride Dunya was being relentlessly pursued by the clerk. The soldier felt sad. Standing on guard at the rich, diamond-studded icon of the Kazan Mother of God and thinking about how to help the elderly and the bride, Mizgir decides to take a desperate step. He breaks the glass of the icon and picks out a large gemstone from the aureole of the Mother of God. When the loss is discovered, Mizgir, without blinking an eye, announces that the Mother of God herself gave him the stone.

An adaptation of Olga Frosh's novel about the life of Mihail Beideman.

Official Nikolai Pokrovsky marries young Vera, his colleague. The newlyweds are not quite happy. Necessity makes Vera sell home-made cakes. Arriving from America, Obolensky, a longtime friend of Pokrovsky, conquers the heart of Vera from the first days of their acquaintance. She does not refuse him trips out of town and soon her behavior becomes public. Upon learning of his wife's infidelity, Pokrovsky, before their eyes, commits suicide. Consciousness of guilt acts heavily on Vera - she loses her mind.

Tsar Nicholas I is enamoured by Natalia, the wife of Alexander Pushkin. To cover his tracks, the tsar encourages the suit of Georges d'Anthès, a French officer, with the help of Count Alexander von Benckendorff. Pushkin hears rumours of D’Anthès’s love for his wife and challenges him to a duel.