{{Infobox film | name = Primary Russia | native_name = {{langx|ru|Русь изначальная}} | image = | caption = | director = Gennady Vasilyev | producer = Igor Zuyev | writer = {{Plainlist| * {{ill|Valentin Ivanov (writer)|lt=Valentin Ivanov|ru|Иванов, Валентин Дмитриевич}} * Gennady Vasilyev * Mikhail Vorfolomeyev }} | starring = {{Plainlist| * Lyudmila Chursina * Boris Nevzorov * Innokenty Smoktunovsky * Margarita Terekhova * Elena Kondulainen }} | music = Aleksey Rybnikov | cinematography = Aleksandr Garibyan | editing = Valeria Vasilyeva | released = {{Film date|1985}} | studio= Gorky Film Studio
| runtime = 140 min. | country = Soviet Union | language = Russian | budget = }} '''''Primary Russia''''' ({{langx|ru|Русь изначальная|Rus iznachalnaya}}) is a 1985 Soviet historical epic film directed by Gennady Vasilyev.<ref>[https://spb.er.ru/news/2018/11/7/v-ramkah-partproekta-istoricheskaya-pamyat-dlya-uchashihsya-shkoly-186-proshel-pokaz-istoricheskogo-filma/ В рамках партпроекта «Историческая память» для учащихся школы №186 прошел показ исторического фильма]</ref><ref>[https://oane.ws/2017/10/23/akter-mihaila-kokshenov-posle-insulta-nahoditsya-v-tyazhelom-sostoyanii.html Эксперты: Фильм «Спортлото-82» дал старт популярности Михаила Кокшенова]</ref><ref>[http://tass.ru/kultura/3467380 Утонченная и элегантная: 75 лет Людмиле Чурсиной]</ref>
The film takes place in Ancient Rus', when Ratibor united the Slavs into one army and rebuffed the nomads.<ref>[https://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/42142/ Русь изначальная] // КиноПоиск</ref>
==Plot== In the year 532, the Byzantine capital of Constantinople erupts in the Nika uprising against Emperor Justinian. Amid the chaos, rebels free several prisoners condemned to public execution, including Malchus, a freethinker and philosopher with Manichaean beliefs. When the revolt is suppressed, Malchus is sentenced to serve as a galley slave. However, he is noticed and freed by Demetrius, a scheming priest who demands Malchus’s assistance in missionary work among the pagan tribes known as the Rossichi. Malchus ultimately deserts and joins the Rossichi, coming to admire their simple, wise customs and sense of justice.
By 558, the fragmented pagan tribes of the Rossichi face a new threat: Byzantine interference stirs three Khazar chieftains to attack them. The Rossichi succeed in fending off the brutal invasion, but their leader, Vseslav, falls victim to a Byzantine emissary’s treachery and is poisoned during peace negotiations. Following Malchus's counsel, the new leader of the Antae, Ratibor, gathers an army and storms the Byzantine frontier fortress of Topir, the empire’s gateway. This decisive victory forces Byzantium to sign a peace agreement with the Rossichi.
== Cast == * Lyudmila Chursina as Aneya * Boris Nevzorov as Vseslav * Innokenty Smoktunovsky as Emperor Justinian<ref>{{cite AV media |people= Vasilyev,Gennady (director). |date=1985 |title=Русь изначальная |trans-title=Primary Russia |type=motion picture |language=ru |time=00:02:47 |location=Soviet Union |publisher=Gorky Film Studio |id= |isbn= |oclc= |quote=Юстиниан- Иннокентий СМОКТУНОВСКИЙ}}</ref> * Margarita Terekhova as Theodora * Elena Kondulainen as Mlava * Arnis Licitis as Malkh * Igor Dmitriev as Tribonian * Vladimir Talashko as Demetrius * Vladimir Antonik as Ratibor * Viktor Gogolev as Velimudr<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091876/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm Primary Russia (1986) Full Cast / Crew]</ref> * Mikhail Kokshenov as Kolot * Mikhail Svetin as Repartius * Yevgeny Steblov as Hypatius * Elguja Burduli as Belisarius * Georgi Yumatov as sentenced to death
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == * {{IMDb title|id=0091876}}
Category:1985 films Category:1985 Soviet films Category:1985 Russian-language films Category:1980s historical drama films Category:1980s war drama films Category:1985 war films Category:Films set in the Byzantine Empire Category:Films set in the 6th century Category:Soviet historical drama films Category:Soviet war drama films Category:Historical epic films Category:War epic films Category:Soviet epic films Category:Gorky Film Studio films Category:Direct-to-video drama films Category:1985 direct-to-video films Category:Films based on Russian novels Category:Russian-language historical drama films Category:Russian-language war drama films