Nikolay Nikitin

In 1939, Major Ivan Rosly, at the behest of ill-wishers, finds himself in the thick of the Soviet-Finnish War. But it is his unit that breaks through the impregnable Mannerheim Line, which becomes the most important stage of the future victory. In spite of everyone, Rosly returns from that war as a Hero of the Soviet Union with the rank of colonel. At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he is surrounded, but leads thousands of Soviet soldiers to their own.

The main character is a masked hero, akin to the great comedians of the 20th century, created by the Leningrad mime N.S. Nikitin.