Seventeen Moments of Spring (1973) – Excellent

Story : Yulian (Julian) Semyonov

Direction : Tatyana Lioznova

Cast : Vyacheslav Tikhonov,

Most of us are used to spy stories where Western Heroes set out to slay the evil Soviet Empire and save the Western Way of life. The Spy fiction genre has its rules in that the Western characters are usually the “good heroes” while the “Eastern/ Soviet” operatives are generally the “villains” and “evil”. Very little is known about books written during the Soviet era with Soviet heroes and “Western villains’.

Writer Yulian (sometimes spelt Julian) Semyonov is often called the Russian le Carre as he brings similar sensibilities to his writing with solid plotting and characters. Unfortunately, his books are not easily available (and were not available during the heydays of the Cold War 30 – 40 years ago). His greatest claim to fame in spy fiction lore is his classic espionage novel Seventeen Moments of Spring. Many sources often claim that the Soviet KGB commissioned the TV serial as its idea of Soviet heroes meshed with Semyonov’s superb writing. This book is a classic for a different reason, as it is set during World War 2 and the espionage battles during the final days of the Third Reich. (The Nazis always make great villains, don’t they? 😊).

The story is pretty straightforward. It is February 1945, and The war is on its last legs. Stalin and Roosevelt are meeting at Yalta to decide on a post-war world. Walter Schellenberg, the head of SD, the intelligence service of the SS headed by Himmler, convinces Himmler to secretly negotiate with the West so that they can turn their entire military strength towards the Soviets. Hitler is unaware of these moves. Max Stirlitz, a senior SD officer, is Maxim Isaev, a classic “Illegal” who has been in the Nazi establishment with an iron cast cover. He is now under suspicion and being investigated by Kaltenbrunner, the head of RSHA. Stirlitz must also derail the peace initiative without blowing his cover, use the rivalries between the intelligence agencies to his advantage,  manage to send the information to his Soviet masters and last but not least stay alive.

Most of the background to this twelve-part TV series is based on facts :

• Himmler contacted the Western Allies through the Swedes to broker peace with them.
• The rivalry between different intelligence organisations was fierce, as Hitler wanted no single agency to dominate the Nazi hierarchy.
• The thought of a separate peace deal between the Nazis and the West was the stuff of Soviet nightmares, and they instructed all their agents (including Kim Philby) to go out of their way to prevent such an event.
• In February 1945, the Soviet juggernaut was already at the German borders after liberating Poland.

Soviet use of “Illegals” was well known, though most, if not all, in Germany had already been rounded up by mid-1942. This is what the story plays on. That the Gestapo, SD and RSHA missed that one man who made a difference. That one spy who single-handedly prevented such an occurrence.  How he does so is what the story is all about.

This is superb storytelling, and it is easy to see why Semyonov was called the Russian le Carre, as there is more emphasis on plotting and characters than throwaway lines, gunfights and explosions. Stirlitz is a careful man who often weighs his chances and then acts in favour of his Soviet masters, preventing a separate peace initiative and making the Germans stick to the declaration of unconditional surrender. This is an excellent example of fact and fiction enmeshing to deliver a fine thriller.

The book is still unavailable. Around 10 – 15 years ago, the video was unavailable, and one had to go through various torrent sites and wait for some poor VHS-quality transfers,

Today, the twelve parts are available on YouTube with English subtitles for the Russian dialogues. Lead actor Vyacheslav Tikhonov is superb as the calm, almost bloodless Stirlitz (he passed away in 2009).

Rumour has it that the then KGB head, Yuri Andropov, would not miss any episodes. That apart, it is an exceptionally well-made slow-burn TV serial. The title song is superb and has a slightly whimsical and nostalgic quality.

The entire twelve-part series playlist is available on YouTube below link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtazv8uPvvA&list=PLbwJKFRNQRUaujKr0oWMG-nl6nGS0QVga&pp=iAQB

Script – 5 out of 5

Story – 5 out of 5

Direction – 5 out of 5

Photography – 4 out of 5

Total – 4.8 out of 5