Minin and Pozharsky

Minin and Pozharsky (Minin i Pozharskiy) Original Russian Poster Country USSR Directed by Vsevolod Pudovkin Mikhail Doller Release Date 1939 Language Russian Studio Mosfilm Main Cast Character Actor Kuzma Minin Aleksandr Khanov Dmitry Pozharsky Boris Livanov Roman Boris Chirkov Hetman Jan Karol Chodkiewicz Anatoliy Goryunov King Sigismund III of Poland Mikhail Astangov Grigory Orlov Lev Sverdlin Stepan Khoroshev Vladimir Moskvin Prince Dmitry Troubetskoy Sergey Komarov Ivan Zarutsky Yevgeniy Kaluzhsky Pozharsky's wife Yelizaveta Kuzyurina

Minin and Pozharsky (Минин и Пожарский; Minin i Pozharskiy) is a 1939 Soviet B&W movie directed by Vsevolod Pudovkin and Mikhail Doller. Story take place during the end of Time of Troubles and tells about war between Russian peoples under the leadership of merchant Kuzma Minin and prince Dmitry Pozharsky against Polish army and Swedish mercenaries. This is the first movie about Time of Troubles. The second is 1612.

The following weapons were used in the film Minin and Pozharsky:

Pistols

Wheellock Pistol

Swedish mercenary Schmidt (Lev Fenin) fires Wheellock Pistol during the end of final battle.

Brunswick wheellock pistol

Schmidt (Lev Fenin) holds his pistol in the left hand.

Schmidt (Lev Fenin) fires his pistol at the Russian soldier.

Note the smoking barrel.

Muskets

Wheellock Musket

Many Russian soldier fires Wheellock Muskets during the final battle. It's completely historically incorrect. While this type of firearms was exist during the 1613, it was a very expensive gun, which uses only by a rich military personnel or aristocrats, and it absolutely couldn't be the main mass firearm of soldiers in the country, which was destroyed by a long civil war. Historically corect most popular firearm of the time was a matchlock musket which also appeared in this movie (see bellow), but much less videlly.

Mayflower Wheellock Musket

Russian soldier cleans his musket.

Perfect view of the buttstock.

Wheellock is seen.

Russian soldiers aims his musket. Note, that he uses berdysh as bipode.

Close view of the whellock.

Russian soldiers aims.

Soldiers fires.

Yermachyok (Nikolai Aparin) puts the dog on the wheel.

Matchlock Musket

Matchlock Musket can be briefly seen in the hands of one Polish soldier. Another type of Matchlock Muskets was used by Russian man (Mikhail Gluzskiy). Swedish mercenaries were armed with the matchlock as well.

European Matchlock musket.

Polish soldiers with the gun.

The same soldier a few seconds later.

Russian man (Mikhail Gluzsky) aims his musket at Polish soldiers.

Russian man fires his musket. Due the fact, that any part of the matchlock doesn't move, it's obviosly, that the flame and smoke are produced by pyrotechnical charge in the muzzle.

Swedish mercenaries with the muskets at the background. Matches is seen

Charleville Musket

Polish soldier (Aleksandr Chistyakov) fires heavy anochronistic Charleville Musket to wounds Dmitry Pozharsky (Boris Livanov).

Original Charleville Mle 1763 - .69 caliber

Polish soldier aims. Note the similar muzzle shape.

When Polish soldier fires fires, the flintlock doesn't move and the flame and smoke are produced by pyrotechnical charge in the muzzle.

Another view of the same scene. Note the similar barrel band and ramrod position. Note also, that the second barrel band is broken (it's mark on the stock is seen).

Other

Cannon

Polish soldiers and Russian militiamen uses cannons.

Naval cannon - 18th century

Polish commanders on the Moscow Cremlin near the cannons.

Russian soldiers near cannon.

Bandolier

The mandatory part of musketeers equipment, bandolier (that is often forgotten in historical movies) had carried by most of musket wielding soldiers.

Russian artilleryman Zotov (Nikolai Nikitich) carry bandolier. In the movie, he didn't use any small arms, but the screenshots were taken from restored version, while the original (and, currently lost) version of this movie runs more the half hour longer than restored version, so, most likelyhe used small arms in the scenes, that later were cutted.

Bandolier can be seen.

Russian soldiers with the bandoliers.