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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 907

Departure of a Grand Old Man

191231 minRussia

Synopsis

An elderly Tolstoy receives peasants seeking help while conflict within his own household deepens his distress. The dramatization presents his final days as a struggle between the demands of conscience, family and material possessions. His departure and approaching death are framed as the conclusion of a moral crisis rather than a neutral biographical account.

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Video edition: Wikimedia Commons
Original language: No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: Russian.
This copy runs: 31:54
Subtitles: No subtitle track in this language

No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: Russian. No subtitle track in this language.

Languages and subtitles

No subtitle track in this language

Wikimedia Commons · дореволюционное видео · Public domain

Cast

Olga Petrova

Vladimir Shaternikov

Mikhail Tamarov

Elizaveta Thiman

DirectorsYakov Protazanov Elizaveta Thiman

Reception and legacy

The film's hostile portrayal of Sofia Tolstaya provoked objections and threats of legal action. Its treatment of the writer's family therefore belongs to the controversy surrounding the production, rather than being accepted uncritically as historical fact.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

Wikipedia — film reference Wikidata — film identity and credits

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.

Availability checked on September 12, 2026.

Photograph credit

Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.

Olga Petrova — Miscellaneous Items in High Demand, PPOC, Library of Congress; Library of Congress Catalog: https://lccn.loc.gov/98501042 Image download: https://cdn.loc.gov/service/pnp/cph/3c20000/3c20000/3c20100/3c20172v.jpg Original url: https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/98501042/ · Public domain

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