STRAFBAT by Nikolai Dostal

The Shtrafbat - Penal Battalion
Russia 2004
Director: Nikolai Dostal
Colour, 550 min (11 parts)
Cast: Aleksei Serebriakov, Iurii Stepanov, Aleksandr Bashirov, Il'ia Kovrizhnykh, Roman Madianov, Dmitrii Nazarov

Nikolai Dostal'’s critically acclaimed 11-part television serial Penal Battalion redefines Russia’s last Soviet myth—the heroic myth of the Great Patriotic War.

The serial focuses on the theme of penal battalions—Stalin’s application of GULAG methods to combat environment. This theme, like the GULAG, was a taboo topic during Soviet times and continues to be a rare subject matter for discussion in the Russian media and historiography. Penal battalions were created in 1942 following Stalin’s Order #227 known as “Not A Step Back” to punish soldiers and officers retreating under the pressure of the German offensive. The soldiers sentenced to service in a penal battalion were considered “enemies of the people” who had two choices: either to die or, in the words of Stalin’s order, “to redeem their guilt with blood.”