Rzhev

A division of the Red Army was ordered to liberate and subsequently hold a village from the German Wehrmacht. Only half survive; they hope for reinforcements, which are never sent. Instead an officer from the security agency shows up to determine whether the soldiers have been reading enemy leaflets. The investigation is perceived as a breach of trust on the part of the government and sees critical questions about identity in the multi-ethnic state of the Soviet Union rise to the surface. Thus it is that the fight of the Red Army against the Wehrmacht evolves into the backdrop for a conflict that takes place within its own ranks. JP