Seventeen Moments of Spring () is a 1973 Soviet twelve-part television series, directed by Tatyana Lioznova and based on the novel of the same title by Yulian Semyonov.
The series portrays the exploits of Maxim Isaev, a Soviet spy operating in Nazi Germany under the name Max Otto von Stierlitz, portrayed by Vyacheslav Tikhonov. Stierlitz is planted in 1927, well before the Nazi takeover of pre-war Germany. He then enlists in the NSDAP and rises through the ranks, becoming an important Nazi counterintelligence officer. He recruits several agents from among dissident German intellectuals and persecuted clergy. Stierlitz discovers, and later schemes to disrupt, the secret negotiations between Karl Wolff and Allen Dulles taking place in Switzerland, aimed at forging a separate peace between Germany and the western Allies. Meanwhile, the Gestapo under Heinrich Müller are on a search for the unidentified Soviet resident spy and his ring.
The series is considered the most successful Soviet spy thriller ever made and is one of the most popular television series in Soviet history. Two songs from the series, "Moments" and "The Song on the Far-away Homeland", received critical acclaim.
Plot February 1945, Germany, Max Otto von Stierlitz, a respected SS-Standartenführer in the Ausland-SD, is in fact Soviet spy Maxim Isaev, who has infiltrated the German establishment many years ago. Though Adolf Hitler is determined to continue the Second World War, Walter Schellenberg convinces Heinrich Himmler to conduct secret negotiations with the Americans, hoping to reach a separate peace deal which would allow the Germans to concentrate all their forces on the Eastern Front. In the meantime, Ernst Kaltenbrunner becomes suspicious of Stierlitz, and orders Heinrich Müller to launch a covert investigation on him.
Stierlitz is ordered by Moscow to ascertain whether the Americans and the Germans have a backdoor channel and, if so, to foil any possible agreement. His mission is complicated when the house of his assistants, radio operators Erwin and Katherin Kinn, is bombed. Erwin is killed, and his pregnant wife is taken to a hospital, threatening to compromise Stierlitz. He recruits two new aides – Professor Pleischner, a former member of the German Resistance, and Pastor Schlag, a clergyman who disapproves of the regime. All the while, Stierlitz has to engage in a battle of wits with Müller, who seeks to expose him as an enemy agent. He must also maneuver between the opposing factions inside the Main Security Office, as different high-ranking officials vie for power.
After realizing Himmler and Schellenberg have sent Karl Wolff to negotiate with Allen Dulles in neutral Switzerland, Stierlitz—playing on the rivalries between the Nazi plenipotentiaries—succeeds in leaking the details of the negotiations, conducted under the code name Operation Crossword, both to Hitler and Stalin. The Soviets, now possessing evidence, demand that those contacts and President Roosevelt must oblige them. Himmler narrowly convinces Hitler it was all merely an attempt to sow distrust between the Allies. On 24 March 1945, Stierlitz, who managed to clear all suspicions against him, returns to his duties. The Red Army is steadily approaching Berlin.
Cast Vyacheslav Tikhonov — *Max Otto von Stierlitz Yevgeniy Yevstigneyev — Professor Pleischner Lev Durov — Klaus Svetlana Svetlichnaya — Gabi Nabel Nikolai Volkov — Erwin Kinn Yekaterina Gradova — Katherin Kinn Oleg Tabakov — Walter Schellenberg Leonid Bronevoy — Heinrich Müller Mikhail Zharkovsky — Ernst Kaltenbrunner Emilia Milton — Mrs Saurich Otto Mellies — Helmut Kolder Olga Soshnikova — Barbara Krein Nikolai Prokopovich — Heinrich Himmler Yevgeniy Kuznetsov — Friedrich-Wilhelm Krüger Edvard Izotov — Rudolf Schmundt Vladimir Udalov — Wilhelm Burgdorf Rostislav Plyatt — Pastor Fritz Schlag Yuri Vizbor — Martin Bormann Nikolai Gritsenko — General in the train Leonid Kuravlyov — Kurt Eismann Fritz Diez — Adolf Hitler Vasily Lanovoy — Karl Wolff Valentin Gaft — Gaevernitz Vladimir Kenigson — Krause Eleonora Shashkova — Isaev's wife Alexei Safonov — Jürgen Rolf Konstantin Zheldin — Wilhelm Holthoff Lavrentiy Masokha — Scholz Andro Kobaladze — Joseph Stalin Wilhelm Burmeier — Hermann Göring Yan Yanakiev — Eugen Dollmann Vyacheslav Shalevich — Allen Dulles Alexey Eybozhenko — Max Husmann Vladimir Emelyanov — Wilhelm Keitel Alexei Boryashinov — Albert Speer
Production
Background In the late 1960s, after Yuri Andropov became the chairman of the Soviet Union's Committee for State Security, he launched a campaign to improve the service's image, which was primarily associated in the public's view with its role in the political repressions carried out by the government. Andropov encouraged a series of novels, songs, films and other works glorifying KGB agents, focusing on those serving abroad – mainly in the hope of attracting young and educated recruits to the organization. The television production of Seventeen Moments of Spring was part of this trend.Knightley. P. 368.
Inception During 1965, author Yulian Semyonov, a Soviet writer of espionage books, composed the novel No Password Required (), in which he first introduced the character of Vsevolod Vladimirov – a young Cheka secret police agent who infiltrates Admiral Alexander Kolchak's staff under the alias Maxim Isaev. No Password Required became a success with readers. It was adapted for the screen in 1967, and the eponymous film attracted more than 20 million viewers. Semyonov published a sequel, Major "Whirlwind" (), during the same year.Fedor Razzakov. Who Invented Stierlitz. levdurov.ru. In 1968 he was invited to a meeting with Andropov, who told him he had read No Password Required and enjoyed it. After the interview, Semyonov began directly cooperating with the KGB and received access to its archives. The third novel featuring Isaev, Seventeen Moments of Spring, was inspired by a suggestion from the chairman himself; Semyonov wrote it down in less than two weeks.Yulian Semyonov: He Knew Too Much. 1tv.ru. In the new book, Isaev was – for the first time – the chief protagonist, operating inside the German intelligence system in the guise of SS officer Stierlitz. It was decided to turn the novel into a television series already in 1969, before it was even published. The character of Stierlitz reflected Andropov's own concept of the ideal Soviet spy: calculated, modest, devoted to his country and above all an intellectual, accomplishing his mission by outwitting his enemies.Solovʹev, Klepikova. p. 154. Semyonov based Stierlitz primarily, although not exclusively and in a loose fashion, on a Gestapo officer turned Soviet agent, Willi Lehmann.Nepomnyashchy. p. 4. The American-German negotiations foiled by Stierlitz were modeled after the real agreement reached by Allen Dulles and Karl Wolff during 1945, which brought about the surrender of the Wehrmacht in northern Italy on 2 May 1945.Laqueur. P. 219. Within the novel Semyonov mentions the phrase "seventeen moments of spring" in reference to the lyrics of a song sung by Marika Rökk, a popular star in Nazi Germany.
Development Director Tatyana Lioznova of the Gorky Film Studio encountered Seventeen Moments of Spring while reading an excerpt of it in Znamya magazine; she determined that she would adapt it for the screen. By that time, Semyonov had already successfully negotiated a deal with the Lenfilm studio to produce the series. Lioznova applied strong pressure on him, and eventually convinced the author to cancel the arrangement with the Leningrad-based company. Semyonov wrote to Sergey Lapin, Chairman of the State Committee for Television and Radio, and requested him to allow the Gorky Studio to take over the project.Vladimir Gromov. "For the Filming of Seventeen Moments of Spring, Stierlitz Required Twelve Suits and One Hundred Shirts." Argumenty i Fakty, 20 July 2004.
Lioznova made several adjustments to Semyonov's material: she had in mind a character of Mrs. Saurich, an elderly German woman with whom Stierlitz was to have occasional conversations, to make him more amiable; the author hesitantly indulged her, and wrote several such scenes. Actress Faina Ranevskaya, to whom the director offered the role, refused to perform it, saying that it was "horrible nonsense". Eventually, Lioznova decided to improvise it during the filming, and had given the part to Emilia Milton., Frau Saurich: The 105th Anniversary to the Birth of Emilia Milton. utro.ru.
The work on the series was supervised by the KGB: Andropov's deputy, Colonel General Semen Tzvigun served as chief consultant, alongside other high-ranking officers of the service. They encouraged Lioznova to make further changes to the script: A flashback from Stierlitz's last meeting with his wife was included. The director insisted on retaining the six-minute long wordless scene in spite of objections from other producers, who claimed that it was too monotonous. This scene later became one of the most memorable parts of the series.Fedor Razzakov. Consultants. levdurov.ru.
Casting The first contender for the role of Stierlitz was actor Innokenty Smoktunovsky, who removed his application after learning that he would have to leave his home for more than two years for the filming. Afterwards, Archil Gomiashvili had auditioned for it, but he left the project upon receiving the role of Ostap Bender in Leonid Gaidai's upcoming adaptation of The Twelve Chairs. Eventually, Vyacheslav Tikhonov was selected to portray the lead protagonist. Leonid Kuravlyov was an early candidate to be cast as Hitler, but instead was given the role of SS officer Eismann; East German actor Fritz Diez portrayed the dictator, making his fifth appearance as such on screen. Oleg Tabakov had physically resembled Walter Schellenberg, whom he portrayed in the series – the latter's niece, who resided in East Germany, even wrote the actor a letter appreciating his work;Anna Visens. Oleg Tabakov: I Hate Both Lenin and Stalin. BBC Russian Service, 31 May 2011. at the same time, the producers lacked any photograph of Heinrich Müller, and thus chose Leonid Bronevoy, who was very different in appearance.Fedor Razzakov. Actors. levdurov.ru.
Filming Lioznova began photographing in March 1971; the first part of the shooting took place in East Germany, mainly in Berlin.Fedor Razzakov. Filming in the GDR. levdurov.ru. The crew remained there until the end of the summer. The scenes taking place in Bern were shot in Hohnstein, Sächsische Schweiz. The crew returned to Moscow to work further in the Gorky Film Studio. In early 1972, they set out for the Georgian SSR, using the mountains near Tbilisi as a substitute for the Swiss Alps featured in the series. After returning to Moscow to complete several further sessions, the filming ended in autumn 1972.Fedor Razzakov. Georgian Switzerland. levdurov.ru.
The production crew encountered several problems: actor Lev Durov had mocked the members of the travel permit committee, resulting in a refusal to allow him to leave the USSR. The scenes involving his character had to be filmed in Moscow rather than in East Germany, as planned. In Berlin, Tikhonov had donned his costume prior to leaving his hotel; he was nearly arrested by the People's Police. Actor Lavrenty Masokha, who played Müller's chief adjutant Scholz, died of a heart attack on 20 June 1971, before the work on the series has been completed.Fedor Razzakov. Losses. levdurov.ru.
Music