The young teacher Lobanovich, who has just graduated from the seminary, comes to the remote Polessky village of Telshino to teach the peasant children to read and write. In the heads of seminarians persistently hammered into the idea that the Tsar-father endlessly cares about the common people, and the people respond to him sincere filial gratitude. Arriving in the village, the teacher saw a different picture. The Poleshuk people are beaten down, driven, living in mud, darkness, tightly entangled in a network of prejudices and superstitions....
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
 Eduard IzotovNot listed | Not listed |
 Natalya KustinskayaNot listed | Not listed |
 Yuri DedovichNot listed | Not listed |
 Boris VladomirskyNot listed | Not listed |
 Nikolay EryomenkoNot listed | Not listed |
 Viktor TarasovNot listed | Not listed |
 Mikhail NazvanovNot listed | Not listed |
 Gleb GlebovNot listed | Not listed |
 Vladimir BalashovNot listed | Not listed |
 Tatyana BaryshevaNot listed | Not listed |
 Fyodor ShmakovNot listed | Not listed |
 Boris KudryavtsevNot listed | Not listed |
 Stefaniya StanyutaNot listed | Not listed |
 Sergei Karnovich-ValuaNot listed | Not listed |
| AAleksandr KistovPriest Vladimir | Priest Vladimir |
 Ivan ShatilloGleb | Gleb |
 Konstantin AdashevskyGovernor | Governor |
 Anna ZarzhitskayaNot listed | Not listed |
 Aleksandr IlyinskyYesyp | Yesyp |
| EEvgeniy KarnaukhovPolice officer | Police officer |
| VVasiliy MaksimovFerapont Ivanovich | Ferapont Ivanovich |