Little-known pages in the fate of Marshal Kirill Meretskov spotlighted by the Presidential Library

On September 7, 2022, the Presidential Library showed the documentary film Unfinished Memoirs. The film has been created by the Teleinvest TV company and is dedicated to Kirill Meretskov, Marshal of the Soviet Union, one of the leaders in the liberation of Leningrad from the Nazi siege. The film in the Presidential Library was dedicated to the 125th anniversary of the Hero of the Soviet Union.

Earlier, the same studio produced the film Unwritten Memoirs. Marshal Govorov. After its premiere, Marshal's grandson Leonid Govorov suggested creating a film about Marshal Meretskov, who made a huge contribution to the liberation of Leningrad. For producer Sergei Pochin, head of the studio, these words became a guide to action.

In the memoirs of Kirill Meretskov In the Service of the People some very important episodes are missing, for example, in the story of the Marshal's arrest on June 23, 1941 - it turned out that the investigation file was destroyed. The documentary, which is why it is called Unfinished Memoirs, sheds light on little-known pages in Meretskov's life.

The director of the film, Pavel Medvedev, abandoned the chronological narrative, off-screen text, and generally from well-known facts. He believes that it is better when the viewer draws his own conclusions. People who live in his homeland, in those cities that he liberated, tell about Meretskov. And the comments of the marshal's relatives, historians, archive materials provide all the necessary information.

The film also uses the memories of Meretskov's descendants, for example, his grandson Kirill Vladimirovich, who is often present in the frame. Part of the filming was carried out in Arkhangelsk near Moscow, where the commander’s house is located, preserved almost in its original form by his relatives, one of the marshal’s suburban dachas of those times is also a kind of monument to the era. “We tried to make the film frank and informal”, - the director said.

The film has been created as part of the program to support the cinematography of the Government of St. Petersburg. Significant assistance in the preparation of the project has been provided by the Memorial Museum of the Defence and Siege of Leningrad, including its Public Council, headed by Leonid Govorov.

The event recording is available ob the Presidenrial Library's Rutube-channel.