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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 860

The White Eagle

192867 minSoviet Union
Drama

Synopsis

A governor who considers himself liberal tries to end a workers' strike in 1905. When persuasion fails, he authorizes gunfire that kills people in the crowd, including children. The state rewards his action with a decoration, but official approval cannot remove his knowledge of what the order has done.

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Video edition
Wikimedia Commons
Original language
No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: Russian.
This copy runs
67:27
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 · «Межрабпомфильм» · Public domain

Cast

DirectorsYakov Protazanov

Inspirations

Protazanov adapts Leonid Andreyev's The Governor. The title's imperial award creates the central irony of a story in which public honor deepens rather than resolves a man's private guilt.

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 referenceWikidata — 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.

  • Vasili Kachalov — Unknown author Unknown author; Original publications : Газета «Советское искусство» № 21 (367), 5 мая 1937 года , Газета «Комсомольская правда» 20 марта 1943 года Immediate source : Государственный каталог Музейного фонда Российской Федерации · Public domain
  • Anna Sten — Film screenshot; [1] · Public domain
  • Vsevolod Meyerhold — Original uploader was Jacques-urbanska at fr.wikipedia; Transferred from fr.wikipedia ; transferred to Commons by User:Esp2008 using CommonsHelper . · Public domain

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