All language subtitles for KolymaRoadOfBones

ROAD OF BONES

There's the sea!

Let's catch some fish!

Are the fish biting today?

Sure.

Some time ago.

Fukushima, Japan, is not so far.
Are you not worried?

Far enough.

It's OK.

Hello, we are making
a film about Kolyma.

We'd like some
coffee and some tea.

Are you aware

that the world's longest
cemetery starts here?

No? Are you not
interested in history?

Not so far.
- No, keep the change.

Why is this place called "Hot Dog",
not "Hot Gulag"

or "Hot Kolyma"?

Because we were the first
to sell hot dogs here.

Wouldn't "Hot Gulag" be better?

What's that?

You don't know what a gulag is?

Seriously?
- Yes.

How old are you?

Old enough.

You really don't know what
a gulag is? - Gulag? - Yes.

Goulash?
- Not "goulash", "gulag"!

A cold place, you've got here.

No, it's quite normal.
- But the windows are all frosted.

No big deal!

This is nothing:
the heater is on, no problem.

Dad!
- We survive.

Say hello. - Hello!
- Good day!

Good day to you.
- How do you live on Kolyma?

Normal.

What does normal mean?
- Well ...

Normal, like any other place.

We've got food and drink,
even vodka, too.

And gold?
- What? - Gold, too?

Gold? - Yes. - People dig
for gold, but I don't like it.

Why not?
- What would I do with gold?

Wouldn't you like to have gold?
- No.

There's gold all around.

You just have to dig deep enough.

How cold does it get here?

Minus 49°C or 50°C.
But now it got warmer again.

You're not even wearing a t-shirt?

What for?

I don't feel the cold anymore!

I'm so used to it.

Welcome to Kolyma -
the golden heart of Russia!

At the airport, busses of the
Civil Defense Ministry are waiting.

What did it say?

"Welcome to Kolyma." We just
started to laugh hysterically.

"The golden heart ..."

It was all covered up by the busses.

We read "Russia's Golden Heart"
only later.

But "Welcome to Kolyma":
for us, that was...

just about the limit!

What did we do wrong?

We're refugees from a war and
are about to be put into a camp?

My name's Marina,

I'm 43 years old,

from Donezk in the Ukraine.

It's your turn.
- I'm Alina.

17 years, from Donezk.

My name is Masha, 17,
from Magadan.

What are you doing
in Magadan, on Kolyma?

We were taken here, and now
we live here. - Who brought you here?

We had a stopover in Crimea,
because of the war.

There we got tickets,
we had no idea where we'd go to.

So we ended up in Magadan.

You didn't know in advance?

They took away our passports,

and then we flew for two days.

Just before take-off, they told us

that some would go to Magadan,
and some to Yakutsk.

In which year was that?

2014, during the war.

Were you surprised?

Quite so.
We actually had

no idea at all what
Magadan really was about.

We only knew...

that it was somewhere up
in the north and ...

that there were the
prisoner settlements.

Everything else

we learned from the Internet.

Did you ever hear of
Kolyma before?

Only in songs and ballads.
- I didn't.

I used to sing.

What kind of songs did you sing?

About the prisoners.

That only prisoners live here,

insulated from the world.

But ...

they're not locked in a prison,

because nobody can
run away from this place.

They simply live
in their settlements.

That was my perception
of Magadan.

I didn't understand that Magadan
was somehow connected to Kolyma.

I only knew that gold and
diamonds were being mined here.

That it was in the Far East -
and had gold and diamonds.

We also didn't
ask a lot of questions.

Women don't care about it,
only men fall for the gold rush.

This road should be paved in gold,
that's how much they mined here.

A 10 cm layer of gold -
up to Yakutia!

Instead, we're living in shacks.

That's what we get.

Just like in the past,
the Government doesn't care.

Thieves, all of them!
It's true!

Some are getting fatter,
others are dirt poor.

My name's Solyartchin
Yuri Nicolayevich.

I was born

in Western Ukraine.

In Ternopil, district Borshchovsky,
in the village of Ivanko.

That's where I'm from.

When I was 10 years old,

I ran away from home.

I traipsed through
the Soviet Union.

Why did you run away?
- Life was horrible.

Our house was burnt down during
the war. We were four kids.

I left home.

I wanted to make my own living.

I was young and stupid.

How old were you?
- Ten.

Still very young.
- Yes.

I started in Western Ukraine,

in the West, in Ternopil:

and they only caught me on the roof
of a train in the southern Ural.

How far is that in kilometers?
- About 3,000 kilometers.

I was riding on a train roof.

They caught me and put me
in a vocational school.

But I moved on in the
direction of Kolyma.

The Party asked me
to join their Youth Division.

But I was grown up by then.

To hell with it!

I preferred being a hooligan.

So I came to Kolyma in 1961,
and I've stayed ever since.

And ever since ...

I've managed to get by.

And I also served in the Army.

How long?

For three years.

You're an officer? - Yes.
- Why don't mention it?

Maybe I shouldn't...

Of course!
- No ... - It's an honor!

I worked in the
Ministry of Defense.

You mustn't talk about it,
or they'll shoot you.

No matter which government it is.

I must ... keep my mouth shut.

I see. - My life is more important
to me than your interview.

It's true, isn't it?

Everyone, stand up straight!

Line up!

At ease!
Good morning, trainees!

Good morning, Comrade Instructor!

Good.

Division flank, march!

Not like that, guys! To the right!

I received special training.

Later,

after this training,

I became a proper
qualified physiologist.

With a degree and the works.
Then they transferred me.

To the north of the USSR,
for training.

That's still a restricted area.

Like during the Soviet Union.
I was injured and

had to face a commission.

What happened?

An arms test.

We tested a nuclear weapon,

and then a fight started:

between us and the commander.

The explosion tore apart...

Let's not talk about it.

Does it hurt?

Do you feel pain?

I was in hospital for a while,
and then I came here.

I don't want to think about it.

High above the silent seas,
high above the rolling waves,

two evening stars,
two routes, two fates.

One of them calls me
over the sea to the east.

The other one guides me home
to my port of my heart.

You're a sailor, I'm a sailor,
you're a fisher, I'm a fisher.

You're on land, I'm at sea,
that's why we never meet.

We didn't even have tents.

We actually slept on the bare soil,

covered only with our coats.

But we were so tired
that we slept anyway.

Often...

we had to sleep in cold water.

Many suffered the same fate.

But I'm just speaking for myself.

Many say that there's no God.

But there is one, because
I'm still standing.

And I don't have any aches.

Olga Ivanova, why was
a young woman like you

sentenced to such
heavy labor?

I don't know.
I just happened to pass by.

Accidentally?
- Yes.

She was simply out on the street
when she was deported.

Then they put me in prison.
- Off to prison! - I said ...

At the hearing, I said my name:

Yegorova Olga Ivanovna,
born 1923.

The prison warden looked at me:

"Are you the daughter
of Ivan Nikitovich?"

I replied, "Yes."

"And where's your dad?"
- "Fighting in the war."

"My child, what have you done wrong?"

White birds over Mother Russia.

Hello happiness,
farewell sadness!

Cheerful bright faces,
familiar wrinkles,

unforgotten tracks of childhood.

A sky wide like the ocean,
Lakes made in heaven.

When it's cold,
the smell of bread warms us.

Hello, my dearest sunshine.

Hello, my happy morning.

Hello, my dreamily
drifting clouds.

Hello, my cherished homeland.

Hello, my dreamily
drifting clouds ...

It's quite interesting
how Olga Ivanova was released:

She was a forgotten child,

wandering about,
left to fend for herself.

Yes.
- Nobody took an interest in her.

So they forgot to release her.

But that is how she met the love
of her life, the most important one.

That sounds interesting.
Tell us how he courted you.

Not just once,

she rejected him repeatedly.

One day, the commander said to her:

"Two suitors have come for you.

Go and wash yourself."

So I washed my hands, went there,
and there they were sitting.

One took a look at me and left.
But the other one stayed.

He flirted with me.

But I didn't want him.

Why not?

The next day, he came back.
- Didn't you like him?

I didn't really like any of the men.

I told him: "Don't dare
to sit down next to me!"

Then they all started

to persuade me,
those who were still in the camp.

"Don't be so fussy!
Soon we'll have winter,

and you'll need
something to wear!

He's not an alcoholic,
he's a good man."

Did you agree?
- I eventually capitulated.

We went to the camp office ... But then
I changed my mind and ran away.

The next day,
he was back again.

And we went again to the office.

In fact, I only wanted my
compensation and go away.

I didn't want to marry.
That was my firm resolve.

Without compensation?
- I just wanted my discharge papers.

But they said: "No.

If you don't marry,

you won't be discharged."

So they wanted to force you to marry.
How did the story continue?

We went back to the office,

signed the papers,
and the marriage was registered.

At the office, they said:
"A pretty couple! So normal!"

They paid the compensation,

and we drove up north.

My mother.

This is my mother,

Anna Nikolayevna Myskiv.

From Poland?
- Yes.

Yes, indeed.

Did she come with you
to Kolyma? - No.

She died in 1947.

In the Ukraine?
- Yes, at home.

She rests in Ivanko.

I visited her grave there
in 2014.

I was there for a holiday.

It's still there,

our Polish family grave.

A family tomb.

Did you not miss
your mother in Kolyma?

Can you imagine how much I cried?

I shed rivers of crocodile tears.

It was so horrible! I didn't
want to live anymore.

On the outside, I always pretended
to be cheerful.

But actually, I wanted to put
an end to my life.

But I had to go on living,

for my children and my wife.

But now I am already living

for eight years without my wife.

That's really hard.

What does Kolyma mean to you, Yuri?

My homeland.

It's my homeland.

You Western people don't
understand patriotism.

You don't know what homeland means.

Russia!

It means that we will win!

Russia,

we are your children.

Russia,

we need your voices.

The wide, open universe

and the depth of the ocean

are expanding with secret forces.
But only

Russia is waiting for us,
and loves us above all.

Like mothers their sons.

These used to be camp
settlements, right?

Yes, this was part of a camp.
But now it's mostly ruins.

There's not much
left of it here.

Some of the plants were dismantled,

others simply demolished.
Only in a few places

you can still see the remnants.

The camp was there,
and this was the settlement.

The settlement was demolished,
only this heap of scrap remains.

The longest shaft was over there,
it went right through the mountain.

The prospectors, those who labored here,
washed it out.

Prisoners, the lot.

Gold washers.

The date was

December 9, 1952:
the day I was brought here.

After ... being sentenced.

For what?

An alleged assassination of Stalin.

I only said that
he should be hanged.

I just mentioned it off-hand,
the hanging.

With the full name:
Soso Dzugashvili ...

Yosef Wissarionovich.

Gang name: Stalin.

I got the maximum sentence:

death by freezing.
They put me in the frost chamber.

We were about

15,000 prisoners here.

We excavated coal here.

And gold ...
And there's copper here,

platinum ...

and other precious metals.

Platinum is a very special metal,

because it doesn't
respond to temperatures.

The scientists said,
they'd use it for rockets.

Life was so brutal.

How many years did you get?

30 years.

25 years in prison and 5 years
withdrawal of civic rights.

I was under constant surveillance.

They secretly had a gun
trained on me.

I became aware of it quickly.

I once grabbed
a secret service guy by the arm.

A first lieutenant.

That son of a bitch. On a holiday!

He watched me even on Sundays.

I badly wanted to stick a knife
into his belly ...

and just run away,

leaving him to die.

Into the liver, and then a twist:

that will kill him.

I've done that quite often before.

A hard stab into the liver ...

The liver explodes,

and you drop dead immediately.

That's what this bastard
would've deserved.

We are here on the cemetery

of the prisoners.

In my youth, we found quite a bit

of skull bones here.
Now they're all gone.

In 1973, at this point,
they started ...

... to dig.

There were supposed to be
large gold deposits.

I assume, the KGB only
wanted to cover up their tracks.

Today, this cemetery is...

thought to be an old gold mine.

In 1974, I started
to work here.

And then I noticed that ...

none of the workers could work ...

for more than two weeks.

They dug out mountains
of bones, of shoes ...

and teeth.

If the camera man
would pan over there,

we can see steps there.

One, two, three steps,
and more.

There, on the second one
is a cross. And so on.

Many people are buried
in these rows. How many of them ...

is hard to tell. But the rows continue
all the way to the birches.

A row is more than 100 meters.

The way this cemetery is designed

tells you ...

that the dead were placed all

in a row.

And then they were covered
with soil.

That's how they formed the land.

A new row.

In 1974, it once happened,

while I was working as a driver.
I was 20 years old,

while my bulldozer
was closer to fifty.

Neither he

nor I had been taught to handle
corpses with dignity.

With respect.

So, while building this
road, we ripped open eight ...

... mass graves.

And we even left them
open afterwards.

We advanced hardly 200 meters,
then we got stuck.

For a whole week, we were
stuck in a swamp of corpses.

A man told us that in winter

three tons of gold
were stolen. Is it true?

What?
- That three tons of gold were stolen.

Is it true?

Not three, two!

And 14 tons of silver.

There were no suspects.

That's Russia.

I guess,

the thieves are too powerful
to be held accountable.

On the other hand,

I wouldn't be surprised
if the gold

had gone to some slush funds

for some municipal
projects.

Because,

to steal 14 tons of gold,

I mean silver ...

How would you get this
amount of metal away?

Maybe, it also ends up
on some private bank accounts.

Well, whatever:

Sooner or later,
Putin will reveal everything.

What is Putin's view of Kolyma?

Go ask him yourself.
I didn't ask him.

Has he ever been to Kolyma?
- Yes, he was here.

Didn't he say
what he thinks about it?

He doesn't care about Kolyma!
There's for him to do in Moscow.

Why worry about Kolyma?

Kolyma must supply gold, that's it.

200 or 300 tons of gold per year.

But nobody really knows
what's happening with the gold.

These items are still all originals.

I collected them

in deserted camps ...

during my ... expeditions.

Even as a child, I was
interested in the camp history.

One day, we had ...

very strong rains.

Afterwards, us children found

a few human bones
in a ravine.

The water had washed them open.

We took some shovels
and dug out three skeletons.

And also a few amphoras.

But we were only kids then,

we just played around with them.

Isn't it gruesome to have
these found objects

in your apartment?

No.
- No? - Not at all.

People sometimes tell me:

"You are living

with dead people here."

I have to admit

that my age is now ...
slowly beginning to show.

Nowadays, I cannot

stand any movies about war anymore,

or ...

about love ...

Or any films about everyday life.

But films

about the gulag,

those I can watch

quite relaxed and

... normally.

Kyrill Tchausov, Super-Extremal!

Tchausov Kyrill Evgenjevich.
As of today, I'm "Super-Extremal".

I live in Debin,

in the old camp settlement,
and I am in Grade 11.

Most of my time I'm doing ...

sports,

computer games
and ... sleeping.

When I've finished school,

I want to go to Chabarovsk

and study programming
at a college.

Don't you want to
live here in Kolyma?

Yes, but it is

not possible to get ...

good vocational ...

training.

Anton Swedov, "Super-Brutal".

I'm Swedov Anton Alexeyevich.
Now "Super-Brutal".

I'm 17 years old,

and I came here three years ago.

From Lake Baikal,

from the city of Irkutsk.

How did you get
to Kolyma?

With my family, because of the gold.

I liked it here ...

right from the start.
I'm in Grade 10.

Later, I want to go to St. Petersburg,

to the military academy.

And Maxim Christunov,

Super Hero of the evening!

I'm Christunov Maxim,
16 years old.

As of today, I'm the super hero.

I'm in Grade 11,

at the school in Debin.

In my spare time, I do sports.

Once I've finished school,
I want to go to St. Petersburg.

You want to leave, too?
- Yes.

Our national competition is

the most famous in all of Kolyma:

the "Feathering."
Everyone has a feather in his hand.

You have to keep them in the air
with all your will power.

Understood?
- Yes.

Ready for it?
- Yes ...! - Go for it!

Thank you, your will power
is tremendous.

This is our laboratory,

the summer laboratory.

This is where we
conduct experiments.

What kind of experiments?

To rejuvenate people.

And with machines against fatigue.

We're also examining the use

of coal as a lightning insulator.

Would you show us some
of your experiments? - Yes.

Will he connect you now
to the power supply?

Yes, to the electricity.
- Really? - Yes.

My hair will then

emit a positive charge,

and change to negative.

This process stimulates

the blood under the hair.

This produces new
stem cells.

This makes you younger?
- Exactly, afterwards I'll be younger.

We'd love to see that.

You can try up there.

I have done experiments ...

already on a number of people.

But ...
- You've connected many people...

to an electric current?
- Yes. - Of what voltage?

Of ... 240,000 Volt.

The hair stands upright,
and energy sparks from the fingers.

Unfortunately, my timing
was not right.

It only lasted for 30 minutes.

But it should be at least
for four hours.

Blood circulation is stimulated

only after four hours.
Only then, the stem cells

regenerate.

Who were these people?

Just people, you know ...

Simply my ...

well, my people.

Who exactly?
From your family? - No.

My family, and others, too.

Who? Your dad, mom, or kids?
- No.

My father and ...

a colleague from work, Nicolai.

Are they still alive?
- No ... They're alive.

Fiokla, too, my wife.

So you have to ...

stand for a full four hours?
- Four at least.

We won't wait that long, it's cold
here. - Yes, very cold. The water

will be frozen in 15 minutes.

We do that in summer.

Yes, in summer. Or we
would need better rooms.

Rooms that are well heated.

We hide in here

from humanity, because
science is against us.

Really?
- Yes.

Because we defy everyone,

and they're against us.

That is why we
have to hide out here.

About Kolyma, I think

that we are paying today for
past violence - all of us!

Everyone who is living here
carries the past pain in them.

That's how I feel,
it's not in any book.

I'm convinced
that this pain,

suffered by those killed here,

forms a strong energy field above us,

an epicenter of suffering.
Its negativity afflicts all of us.

We didn't do anything
bad ourselves,

yet we have to suffer for it!

Maybe for one
or two centuries.

So much suffering cannot
simply go away.

My name is Huzul Nicolai,

and I'm here since 20 years.

After they released me,

I worked as a chauffeur.

My brother taught me to drive,
when I was a kid, in the Carpates.

We were 13 siblings,
but they've all died.

You were in the camp? What for?

Here? For murder.

I didn't intend to,
but it just happened.

Tell us what happened?
- It was in Namzy.

Many people visited me
in those days.

Even Yakut people.
My door was open for everyone.

One day, a thirsty man
came to visit me,

he wanted something to drink.

I don't drink so much myself,

but never mind. We went
into the house.

In those days, I lived
with nine big dogs.

I asked him to pour

us a drink. And he filled
the glasses to the brim.

While I drank, I felt a knife
penetrating into my back.

It just missed my heart,
or I'd be dead.

Next thing, he nearly
sliced off my head.

Everything was covered in blood.

I don't know if I killed him,
or if he killed himself.

Then they locked me up.
I woke up in hospital.

I couldn't move my head,
I was just lying like this ...

With this knife,
I cut off his ear.

Though I actually aimed
for his stomach.

He messed up the entire wall.
- Show me how you did it.

I do not remember very
clearly what happened.

I was frantic with rage

and wanted to hit him here.

But he turned away,
and I only sliced off his ear.

Yes, I killed.

It was one morning,
like the Bartholomew Massacre.

Back then, I stood right

at the exit of the zone, you know.

We then killed 170 people

in a bloody slaughter.

I can kill any person

without even using a weapon.

Verbally, just with words.

I can do that if I feel,

when I really feel

that he's deserved it.

I've used that when ever
they tortured me,

or beat me.

After less than one month,

my torturers were dead.

I killed not only men
in this way, women too.

Do you think that
the camp has broken you?

No!
It has made me stronger.

Working in the kolkhoz
was much worse.

I had nothing there!

It was worse than
any camp. No decency at all!

We lived only off
Mother's garden.

In the kolkhoz, I worked
entirely without payment.

I got 16 kg of cereals per year.

That's just about nothing!

After sifting it, 6 kg remained.
The rest was dirt.

Please ask the ladies
not to talk, it interferes.

Olga! Little one!

Stop talking! We're filming here.
- It's about the sound!

Just sit still and keep quiet!

They talk a lot.
The fat one, she's one year

older than mine.
The other one is my wife.

Which one?
- The smaller one.

The left or the right one?
- The one with the apron.

What is her name?
- Olga Olegovna.

Nice, hey?
- Pardon?

My wife is still really young.
When I ...

How old is she?
- 28.

And you?
- 75.

Respect!
- How's that?

Put it there ...

No, really: only men
who are older than 50

can understand me.

Men who are over 50 tell me:

"You've done the right thing".

The younger men
are simply jealous.

Some time ago,

a man came to see me,

an electrician

from the boiler room.

He said,
"Huzul, how old are you in fact?

Are you not ashamed?
Such a young woman?"

I asked him, "Why should I?"

He said, "The young stokers
don't have any wives."

But, remember, I was in the camp:

I couldn't marry, I had to
masturbate all the time.

I was simply born as a man.

It's a law of nature
that I want children.

So I have to have sex
- may God forgive me -,

and I had to
choose this young woman.

So I don't care
if she acts bad.

If she is unfaithful,

or talks nonsense.

If she had done
that in the past,

I would have killed her.
But not now anymore. I love her!

It would break my heart
if I would kill her.

Without her,
my life would be sad.

Choose yourself, my dear,
light or darkness.

We are inextricably
joined to each other.

Your silence is no solution.

For none of you.

You can choose
your own destiny.

Now, we only fight all the time.

Silence, after all,
is only your reply.

He'll never change.

We fight about who's right
and who's to blame.

Don't interrupt me all the time!

I want a cease-fire right now!

A little horsey.

Isn't it pretty?

What are you making?
- A diamond.

This will be
the world's biggest diamond.

Made of ice?
- Yes, entirely of ice.

1.5 million carat.

My name is Doulus Markov.

I've been working

for 20 years with ice.

Ice is somehow my hobby,

it is my freedom.

Due to ice, I've been
able to see the entire

... world.

I took part
in competitions ...

in 20 countries.

But no matter how

much you admire the ice,

remember that our hearts
are never ice cold.

I am the guardian of

the cold, and I bid
you a warm welcome.

What are you doing here?

My job is to ...
- Why are you disguising your voice?

Use your normal voice!

As the guardian of the cold,

I have the duty to look after
the world's cold.

To ensure that the

balance in nature
remains intact.

My phone number is:

89 65 995 ...

... 12 37.

Electronic mail.

What do Yakut people
really think about

Kolyma,
the road of the bones?

Nothing.
It's not our road.

Not at all.

We ...

avoid ...

places like this in fact, where

the souls of the dead might reside.

For us, this is a terrible place.

In any event, in the history ...

of this road ...

there are still many blank spots.

German prisoners of war
were also here,

but the archives are sealed.

Nobody must know about it,
everything remains hushed-up.

It's easier to keep quiet
than to dig things up.

The archives will remain
sealed forever.

We have become accustomed

to speak of the time of the camps

only in negative terms.

Yes, but ...

How shall I put it ...?

Don't get me wrong,
of course I don't want to

glorify the gulag.
But it is in fact so

that simply everything
depends on the administration.

Of course, Stalin is
guilty, sure. But ...

in fact, the camp commanders
were to blame.

However, the issue is

that ... on Kolyma,

that's what

most people think here, that

all people
were unjustly sentenced.

In fact, there were a few
innocent people here.

I don't know the exact
numbers: about ...

20, not more than 25 percent ...

were sentenced unjustly.
That's a whole lot.

But 80 percent
were here for a reason,

for their misdeeds.

They were thieves,
felons, murderers.

Be damned, dreadful Kolyma.

They're calling you
a strange planet.

You make everyone
lose their mind,

there's no way back from here.

You make everyone
lose their mind,

there's no way back from here.

I don't recall the rest.

Why do you say "damned Kolyma?"

Do you know how many
people died here?

Only prisoners worked here,
many prisoners of war.

A damn hell:

pushing the cart in the icy cold,
and getting beaten on top.

An idiot constantly training
his gun on you.

There's no God here, no mother.

Nobody, who looks out for you.

Here, on this pass,

10,000 people were shot.

Over there,
they killed many Poles.

2,000!

One day, I saw many
corpses lying there.

Only in underwear,
many barefoot, like me.

Some were dressed.

Many of them were Baptists,
Sabbatists,

and other criminals,
like me.

How many people perished
in Kolyma?

Perished?

Perhaps 5 million.

Millions, for sure.
Survivors ...

there are only a few,

like me, for example.

They also came here
in the '50s. Some even earlier ...

In 1932, the first
deportations took place.

Among them, people from our
village, even back then.

More transports
took place in 1952, 1953,

1954 and '57.

They all ended here.
They needed the labor force.

The streets were built
with shovels only.

I get many letters.
Especially from Polish people,

but also from Russians.
Everyone's writing to me.

A lot of Poles,

who were here.

They show

that no one is cursing Kolyma,
you understand?

I read that Putin

honored your work
with an award.

Yes, I received ...

this distinction,

the State Prize!
It's always been the highest ...

Russian award.

Even during the Soviet Union.

It also included

considerable prize money.

I received ...

the good news in 2011.

On 26 December,
I believe.

The award ceremony for the title,

"Laureate of the
Russian Government",

took place in March.

There I was, facing Putin -
like I'm facing you.

We talked for a while.

Did you speak about Kolyma?
What did he say about it?

In fact, we hardly ...

spoke. There were
too many people around.

It was ... purely ...

Official?

Yes. Exactly.

Every country gets the rulers
it deserves.

That's why we have Putin,
whom I like very much.

And I understand him. Because ...

after 1985, we had nothing in
Russia to be proud of.

Until Putin came.

Although Stalin ... I mean, Putin

tries to move away
from that ...

and to go a different
road than Stalin.

Stalin also waged wars,
but that only lead

to terror.

His motto was: shoot five people,

and hundreds
will obey immediately.

Putin, on the other hand ...

warns, explains, and scolds,
but only if it's necessary.

That's why we've had last year

only 11,000 cases of corruption.

Are you not scared
to talk about the Kolyma camps?

No, I'm not scared at all.

Although they are still
after me, still today.

In Parliament,

a young woman asked me:
"Now what do you want?"

"I want you to come
and take my place!

I want you go to the zone
and suffer there.

You've ensured
that I'm getting for my detention

75 rubles compensation ...

... per year.

But they paid only 5,000.

And you?
How much do you earn per month?

You earn 8,000.
But I worked 40 years

for a mere 5,000."

Simply for ...

for nothing!

Sure, a camp is not a nice place.
But I think, it's also

a place ...

How shall I put it?

It's a school for life.
Rather one to avoid,

but if they put you there,

you'd better learn
something for life from it.

I know many children
born in the camps,

and I can prove
it to anyone, who

asks me. I've heard many stories
from survivors

about the fact ...

that they found true friends there,
and even love. Indeed!

There was really love.
Among the criminals.

They were gays.

They had sex. The raped the boys
who had just arrived.

In our brigade, there was Crotov,

Ivan Grigorovich.

He was a hardened criminal
and a thief.

He could do whatever
he wanted to do,

because he was in charge.

And he had two guys:

Osadtchy ...

Mischa and little Adamczyk.

He lived with the two of them.
Only him and the two guys.

One Armenian even managed ...

to hide four guys
under the sheets.

When I first saw that,

I nearly exploded with anger!

Here's our first patient.
- Your father.

My father.

He can't see anything.

I'm blind.

He specifically grew his hair
for the experiment.

He didn't cut them
for several months.

The beard, too.

Now, the water basin, then we
switch on the machine.

With how much Volt?

110,000 Volt.

I'm 75 years old.

How long have you been blind for?

A very long time.

And you really can't see us?

What?
- You can't see us?

No! Not only you,
I can't see anything at all.

The lilac is blooming
under the window ...

of your faraway home,

while winter is raging here.

Just tell everyone,

just tell them about ...

how under Russia's skies ...

there's a place like Kolyma.

Tell them about the cold.

Tell everyone,

how - deeply covered in frost -

we dug hungrily for metals ...

in the soil.

Only the birds high above

know how we suffered

here on the stony ground.

I no longer think about
the place of my birth.

I no longer think
about my homeland.

I no longer want to live,
no longer want to cry,

don't want to grind so hard.

I know more than enough,

know what poverty means.

Myself, I'm lacking the strength ...

to look up at the cranes.

This machine

is so wonderful,

because you don't
need any surgery.

With this machine you

don't need an operation.

He came, sat down,
and left as a young man.

I don't mind my age,
but I want to see again!

Eyes,

ears,

even legs can grow again
on an invalid.

A person without legs
will grow new ones.

If your hands are gone,
new hands will grow.

You're just fantasizing.

It's not a fantasy!

They already did that
back in old Israel,

when Jesus Christ
performed his miracles.

He ...

simply spat,

and mixed the spittle with soil.

Then he smeared the paste
on the blind man's eyes,

and he said, "Go ...

wash yourself in the river."

He went,

washed himself,
and was able to see again.

Just biblical stories.

He calls them biblical stories,
because he doesn't believe.

Dad, just look here.

This book is from

a US laboratory.

It describes how you ...

can turn blood into stem cells
within in four hours.

It's from a
US laboratory.

Sounds like science ...
- Of course it is!

That's what I believe in.
- Me too. I follow this book.

Exactly like in this book.

I trust those laboratory
Americans, but not you.

I believe in all things American.

Such an idiot!

My son is such a
big idiot.

I'm feeling something.

Maybe it's working after all.

Who's there?

It's me.

What do you want?
- Don't be scared!

Are you crazy?

It's fine.
- Stop it, you idiot!

Do you want to kill me?

I've come
to fill up drinking water.

From the shaman's spring?
- Exactly.

What kind of water is this?

This water? - Yes.
- It's good spring water.

Shaman?

It's called "shaman."

Why?

Because it never freezes over.

It's minus 50 °C, and

yet the water still flows.

We truck drivers always fill up
water here for the journey.

Shamans are born in places,

where life is tough.
The tougher life is,

the ... more ...

opportunities for people
to develop their spirit.

If a person's life is too easy,

if he succeeds in everything,
if everything is fine,

he forgets the spiritual things.

He owns a yacht,
he owns a villa ...

on the Canaries.

His whole life

is one long holiday.

Only when things are tough,
when a person suffers,

then they use
their inner potential.

But in fact, it is like this:

A person living in the US
who becomes a business man,

and a shaman from Kolyma

both dispose of
the same inner potential.

What should then,

in your view,
a person think,

who drives on the Kolyma,
the Road of Bones?

In principle, you're
driving over bones ...

or on the bones.

Yes.

Yes, what?

How do you experience it?

Black and white. - Black and white?
- Like nature around here.

Was it good or bad?

It was ...

... good, it was bad,
it was uncomfortable.

If you hadn't known about

the bones under the street?
- That's my question.

Without knowing it?
- Not ...

knowing it,
that's impossible.

Well ... - I think,
people should know it.

Yes, they should. But ...

How old is humanity?

And since when ...

have people been living here?

On this soil
entitled Yakutsk.

And for how many years ...

on the place where Berlin is located?

How many deaths have taken place there?

How many bones are buried
in that soil?

If you take soil from there,

do you think ... Are there perhaps no

human remains in there?
Everywhere, everywhere ...

In the one hand, you hold sorrow,

and the death of a person,

perhaps even their blood.

In fact, all of Europe
is built on bones. - Yes.

That was Hitler's work.

Maybe you also eat some ...

rice from the soil,

on which Hitler lived.

What does that mean?

Does that make you feel bad?

I'm not saying
we should be insensitive.

I'm just against

this cheap sentimentality.

The world outside is anyway

black and white.

We sit here in a heated house,

talking about people dying in Syria
without having a bad conscience.

Right now,
bombs are killing

innocent people there.
Why doesn't it make us suffer?

Why don't we show
them our solidarity?

Why doesn't it make
us feel guilty?

Just in our region,
170,000 men are buried

under the road you're using.

My friends, don't forget:
you're driving on a cemetery!

One big cemetery!

Just 15 cm under the road
it's full of skulls and bones.

They jut from potholes.
They simply dumped soil on them.

I am so ashamed of
my homeland!

We defended our homeland! I, as an
officer, my son as a war hero.

Everything for this damned Russia!
The pox on it!

Damn it!

Huge and dumb,
like a log!

Why is it like this?
Tell me! Tell me!

Why such a huge territory
for all these stupid sheep?

We have never learnt
ourselves ...

what it means to live
an honest life,

but we want to lecture others!

Our roads are rotting away!

Everything is falling apart!
But we interfere everywhere!

Each of these parasites

should first clean up
their own backyard,

before they mess somewhere else.

I can't stop myself!
I could tell you so many ...

stories that they would
have to shoot me!

Let's rather sing.
- Bloody hell!

I have 10 of the highest
medals from our Government!

But they'd shoot me
like a bag of dirt!

What am I?
I'm just cannon fodder for them!

Just have a look around,

at the conditions in which
I'm living. No one cares!

Everyone's just saying:
"What a veteran!"

Let me tell you,
they're all lying to us!

All governments are liars!

Yours too, the German one!
Get it?

No one wants guys like me.

You understand?

Why did you come to see me?

Because I'm not a bootlicker!
I say what I mean.

Do you think, I'm afraid?
Let them shoot me!

This is a beautiful song:

Give the young people
a bit of freedom ...

What can you change about
this road?

Nothing at all.

What you can change,
is the way you feel about the road.

And it's all up to you:

You can drive in your car
and suffer,

you can take a hanky and

wipe away your tears.

Cry if you want to.

We don't even know 99 percent
of what really happened.

We only know the point of view of

the authors and historians,

who tell us about it.

We know about the horrors of it.

But not what it means, because
we didn't experience it ourselves.