A picture of Bernt Leuton, a resident of East Berlin East Germany, who fled to West Berlin West Germany. Border guards at the Communist side of Berlin in East Germany. View of Leuton on August 13, 1961 after being shot by an East German guard, after successfully swimming across the connecting canal. He is hauled out by West German guards. A map of the world. Narrator begins to trace history of Bernt Leuton's shooting by recounting prior events in history of Russia and Soviet Union. View of the Winter Palace of Czar Nicholas II, with the Czar and Czarina Alexandra standing on a balcony. Saint Petersburg, Russia on January 22nd , 1905 : Peasants and workers, with their leader Russian Orthodox Priest, Father Georgi Gapon, gathered outside the palace to deliver a petition to Czar Nicholas II. A number of the people carry banners. A picture of Czar Nicholas II. Reenactment of Czar's armed cossack cavalry dispersing the crowd, The words 'My autocracy will remain unchanged' issued by the Czar to which Father Gapon replies that they "no longer have a Czar." Picture of Father George Gapon. Picture of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, and moving images of Lenin speaking. The Czar Nicholas II and his wife, escorted by guards, moving on a path during a ceremony. The Czar mounting a horse and the guards saluting him. A picture of the Czar's wife and hemophiliac son. Picture of Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin, whose occult powers were believed to have kept the Czar's son alive.
Film depicts the rise of communism as a backlash to Imperial rule in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Animated map of the world. Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra of Russia at the balcony of the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia. In contrast , scenes show peasants at work, carrying wooden logs. Russian peasants accompanied by Priest Father Georgiy Apollonovich Gapon, gather with a group of protesters in a square of St. Petersburg. People stand before the Winter Palace and protest against the hardship of their lives under the Tsar. An inserted scene shows Protesters being subdued by Tsarist soldiers. .Closeup of the young Tsar, Nicholas II. Closeup of Father Gapon. Closeup of a young Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (AKA Lenin). View of Lenin giving a revolutionary speech. The Tsar and Tsarina strolling together in the company of Royal Guardsmen. The Tsar mounting a horse for ceremonial review. Picture of Tsarina Alexandra and her hemophiliac son, Alexei Nikolaevich, in a sailor suit. Picture of Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin.