A significant part of the 1912 production "A Life for the Tsar" was used in this film.
Landlord
Based on the poem by Pushkin. A thief and his gang are at their camp next to the Volga River. He tells them of how his father died in a river, and how his brother and he were thrown out of the house as children by their step-mother…
An adaptation of a folk song.
The Miller
Немой художественный фильм Василия Гончарова, «народная драма в 6 сценах с апофеозом» по мотивам одноимённой поэтической пьесы А. С. Пушкина.
Гетьман Мазепа просит руки Марии, дочери Кочубея, и получает отказ. Мария, ослушавшись воли отца, убегает с Мазепой. Кочубей посылает царю Петру донос на Мазепу, однако царь не верит навету и выдаёт Мазепе и донос, и доставившего его посланца. Кочубея хватают и сажают в темницу. Мать Марии просит дочь спасти отца от смерти, но Кочубея всё-таки казнят.
A dramatization of a wedding in 16th-century Russia, between members of two prominent boyar families (based on paintings by Konstantin Makovskii): Three matchmakers first visit the family of the prospective bride, and then do the same with the prospective bridegroom's family. Later, as the time of the wedding draws near, the bride is dressed with great formality and prepared for the ceremony, as the guests get ready to celebrate the upcoming wedding.
