At the Russian House, PREMIER and RUTUBE showcased a historical series about the secret friendship between Federal Republic of Germany Chancellor Willy Brandt and USSR General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev, which saved the world from nuclear war. The series was shown in Russian with German subtitles.
The project was presented by the authors and actors. The performer of Brandt’s role, Kirill Käro, greeted the audience in German. Igor Prokopenko, creator and screenplay author, emphasized that this is a fictional story based on real materials and interviews gathered over 20 years – from diaries and archives to conversations with direct participants, including politician Egon Bahr. Susanna Alperina, a movie critic and curator of the author’s program for the Russian House in Berlin, also addressed the guests. She noted that the idea for the series was born almost a decade ago and called the project one of the most prominent of the outgoing year.
The plot takes us back to the 1960s when Soviet intelligence learns about a planned US strike from military bases in West Germany. Understanding the stakes of the ultimatum, Brezhnev makes secret contact with Brandt. Both risk their careers and reputations, so the connection between them is established by the best Soviet spies under conditions of absolute secrecy.
The series was filmed with the support of the Institute for Internet Development.