TROTSKY (2017) 2DVD NTSC RUSSIAN TV SERIES 8 EPISODES Language:Russian with English subtitles (WWI Russian Civil War)

A rare example, a contemporary Russian mini-series that is absolutely brilliant.Even watching it in Russian with English subtitles captures you completely.The story on the scale of Shakespearian tragedy, brilliantly written, expertly directed and superbly performed. The main character of Leon Trotsky portrayed by Konstantin Khabensky with gusto and conviction of the highest quality. He is a world-class actor, who makes this character his own. The other actors support him confidently, creating a solid and gripping production.Highly recommended.

This eight-part Russian language TV series, with English subtitles, was produced by Russia’s Channel 1 in 2017 for the centenary of the Russian Revolution. Aimed squarely at a domestic audience, this isn’t the kind of adoring puff-piece about Trotsky you’d expect to see on the BBC. However, despite the Russian pedigree, the series still contains numerous historical inaccuracies which the producer, Konstantin Ernst, has excused by reminding critics that this is a drama not a documentary – something viewers should bear in mind.Perhaps the most interesting thing about this TV series has been the reaction of Western liberals to its central themes. A review in The Washington Post went as far as to accuse the streaming service, which first aired the series in the West, of “taking contemporary Russia’s anti-revolution ideology global” - as if modern Russia, still ruined and scarred by the communist revolution, could possibly be pro-revolution? It also took umbrage at the series’ portrayal of the events of October 1917 as a German-backed Bolshevik coup designed to knock Russia out of WW1 [surely a historical fact] rather than the spontaneous people’s uprising of Western Leftists’ imaginations. The series has also been criticised in some quarters for antisemitism for appearing to link Bolshevism with Jewishness.Overall, ‘Trotsky’ is well worth watching for those interested in the Russian Revolution or anyone who enjoys great, well-acted drama. Its principal message, a warning to the Russian people about the dangers of foreign interference in Russian affairs, is particularly pertinent today and is illustrative of the post-communist Kremlin worldview. For non-Russians, the story of how Germany facilitated Lenin’s return to Russia and financed the subsequent Bolshevik putsch which brought him and Trotsky to power is a story that can’t be told too often and something which we need to understand in order to appreciate the true significance of the tragedy which befell Russia in October 1917.