Diamonds for the Dictatorship of the Proletariat

In 1921, the Cheka became aware that gold and jewelry were stolen from the treasury of Gokhran, and that a special organization was involved in transporting the stolen to Estonia. Scout Maksim Isayev is sent to this country. He establishes that the cipher of the Soviet embassy Olenetskaya works for the German resident Nolmar, with whom employees of Gokhran Kozlovskaya and an appraiser Yakov Shelekhes are associated. As a result of the provocation, Isayev was arrested. In the prison cell, he finds himself together with the famous Russian writer Nikandrov, who could not find himself in post-revolutionary Russia and went abroad. Released soon by the efforts of his comrades, Isayev continues the struggle for the fate of Nikandrov — for his return to his homeland.

Directed by Grigori Kromanov, Diamonds for the Dictatorship of the Proletariat leans on a strong ensemble — Vladimir Ivashov, Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy, Yekaterina Vasilyeva — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about crime titles of 1976.