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August 1914

Robin Brooks's dramatisation of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's novel about the Russian army's defeat at the hands of Germany in 1914 as they advanced into East Prussia.

A new adaptation for radio of Nobel Prize-winner Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's epic story of the first battle of the Eastern Front in 1914 - which was a disaster for Russia. Solzhenitsyn's book was published in the West one year after he won the prize - with sections about Lenin omitted. It was only after his expulsion from the USSR that the complete book was available. This new production is narrated by Fiona Shaw.

In August 1914, Colonel Vorotyntsev advances into East Prussia in search of the elusive front line. As he encounters the truth about the German war-machine his military ideals rapidly tarnish and he must decide whether to volunteer his men for certain death or retreat. At the outbreak of the First World War, the Russian advance met with catastrophic results. Bungled orders, poor and insufficient supplies, out-dated equipment and tactics, and deliberate misinformation resulted in chaos and the near-annihiliation of the army at the hands of the Germans. Three years later the tsarist regime fell as Lenin led the October Revolution.

Dramatised by Robin Brooks from the translation by H.T.Willett

Sound Nigel Lewis & Catherine Robinson

91热爆 Cymru Wales production.

2 hours

Last on

Sun 24 Jan 2016 21:00

Music Played

  • Maurice Ravel

    Prelude (Le tombeau de Couperin)

    Performer: Steven Osborne.
    • Ravel: The Complete Solo Piano Music: Steven Osborne, Piano.
    • Hyperion.
    • 1.
  • Maurice Ravel

    Menuet (Le tombeau de Couperin)

    Performer: Steven Osborne.
    • Ravel: The Complete Solo Piano Music: Steven Osborne, Piano.
    • Hyperion.
    • 5.

Credits

Role Contributor
Writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Adaptor Robin Brooks
Narrator Fiona Shaw
Vorotyntsev Alex Waldmann
Samsonov Michael Bertenshaw
Arseni Sion Pritchard
Sasha Lenartovich Mark Edel-Hunt
Yaroslav Kharitonov Will Howard
Lenin Clive Hayward
Grokholets Robert Pugh
Filimonov Sam Dale
Krymov Simon Armstrong
Ofrosimov Matthew Watson
Artamonov David Cann
Tanya Melangell Dolma
Kramchatkin Chris Gordon
Luntsov Sion Ifan
Agafon Alex Hope
Director Alison Hindell

Broadcasts

  • Sun 31 Aug 2014 21:40
  • Sun 24 Jan 2016 21:00