Liquidation (2007) (, Likvidatsiya) is a highly popular Russian television series. The year is 1946. World War II is over, but the post-war city of Odessa is ruled by serial killer prison-escapees and former Nazi collaborators.
Fallen into disfavor, Soviet general Marshal Zhukov is sent to Odessa by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin to handle the situation. Together with the head of the local criminal investigation unit, David Gottsman, Marshal Zhoukov begins a special operation post-war Odessa crime cleanup.
Inspiration The film parallels the famous 1979 Soviet film The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed with a notable ethical shift. In the "Meeting Place", chief of criminal investigations Gleb Zheglov (played by Vladimir Vysotskiy) had a modus operandi "The thief must go to prison, no matter how I put him there" (and uses planted evidence to do so).
In Liquidation, chief of criminal investigations David Gottsman's (played by Vladimir Mashkov) motto has changed to "The thief must go to prison, but lawfully so".
The stars of the film include famous Russian actors such as Vladimir Mashkov and Konstantin Lavronenko (The Return, The Banishment). Sergei Makovetsky had to replace Andrey Krasko, who died of a heart attack during filming.
Historical accuracy On June 9, 1946, Zhukov was appointed commander of the Odessa military district, despite having previously held the post of commander-in-chief of all Soviet ground forces. The operation was codenamed "Operation Masquerade".
The film crew led by Maxim Faitelberg researched the topic to make a documentary about the operation led by Zhukov. The documentary filmmakers faced the problem of secrecy: all official appeals to both state archives and the FSB yielded no results. Then the authors of the film decided to independently find out what was happening in the city at that time. From the documents contained in Stalin's declassified "Special" folder, it is clear that in 1946, more than 500 thousand crimes were recorded throughout the country. Odessa did not stand out in these reports." Odessa historian and writer Viktor Savchenko, author of the book "Masonic Odessa, doubt the reliability of the movie. When the marshal arrived, "Sometimes up to 70 robberies were committed in one night. And in total, 80 people worked in the criminal investigation department...As soon as anyone tried to rob them, the “victims” shot to kill, not even trying to take the criminals alive. The corpses were left lying in the streets for some time as a warning. "They didn’t make arrests, they just shot several hundred people in a couple of months."
Isay Bondarev, who served in the Odessa military commandant's office in 1946 stated, "In my opinion, it is fiction, I didn’t hear anything like that, didn’t see it, didn’t know about it. If there’d been any such talk, as police officers we’d definitely have heard something."
The military command divided the city into sectors, each assigned to a unit commander. Parks, squares, train stations, restaurants and suburbs were also allocated their own guardian. Soldiers laid ambushes, searched suspicious apartments, attics and basements, and checked documents at city entrance and exit points.
New charges were brought against the Marshal for allegedly "abusing his official position, siding with the looters, and removing valuables from Germany for personal gain." On Jan. 20, 1948, the Marshal was recalled from Odessa and put in charge of the less important military district, this time in the Urals.How Marshal Zhukov shot all criminals in Odessa Jan 26 2021 Boris EgorovOdessa History David Kurlyand.
Episodes Episode 1 Marshal Zhukov, the newly appointed head of the Odessa Military District, arrives in the city, and Odessa's leaders immediately begin to feel the iron grip of the Marshal of Victory. During the night before his arrival, the Criminal Investigation Unit manages to arrest members of Sam "Goosey"’s gang. Running the operation was Lt. Colonel David Gottsman, the head of the Criminal Investigation Unit for the battle against banditry. All of Gottsman’s family and close friends perished during the war. Only his two childhood friends remain – shell-shocked pilot Mark, and Yefim Petrov, ex-pickpocket who became Gottsman’s willing assistant. It was Yefim who "talked" "Goosey" into showing the place where his gang hid their stolen goods. Near this place, in the ruins, Yefim, with the help of homeless boy Mishka "Crucian", finds a deposit of thousand sets of military uniform. Gottsman gives the news to the Military Command, but Prosecutor Naimov declines to investigate, stating that he is busy. And at night, the now guarded deposit sees the arrival of an unknown truck...
Episode 2 At night, the now guarded deposit sees the arrival of a truck with an unknown Captain. The guards are shot, and the military goods stolen. Chasing the truck proves fruitless. The bandits set fire to the truck and run it off a cliff. One bandit named Eva Radzakis is killed; the rest escape. It is discovered that Yefim hid several sets of the uniform at his home prior to the raid by the bandits. Using his contacts in the underworld of Odessa, Yefim, through the labels on the uniforms, is able to find out the warehouse they were stolen from. He even obtains a fake bill of goods that the bandits used to transport the goods, and brings it to Rodya, a counterfeiter. Rodya tells Yefim that it was not done by him and he can't help him.
Episode 3 The case of the stolen military goods takes a tragic turn of events – Yefim is murdered. Yefim was David Gottsman's close friend and actively aided the investigation. There are almost no leads anywhere in the case, so Gottsman requests a meeting of the gang leaders of Odessa through Uncle Yeshta, kingpin in underworld who happens to live in his home. He asks them to find the man with the captain's uniform and with a scar at his left temple, who turned up several times in the investigation. Respect for Gottsman in the city is such that the thieves agree to help. They discovered that this person is "Chekan", a bandit who appeared in Odessa before the war. It is also discovered that a certain “Academic” is behind the murders and robberies. Only a contrabandist, nicknamed "Greying Greek", knows of "Academic". However, "Greying Greek"’s arrest is to be postponed, as Gottsman’s group is unexpectedly ordered to guard Marshal Zhukov, who is outside in the city. In the crowd surrounding Zhukov, Gottsman once again bumps into Mishka Crucian, who picks Zhukov’s watch in plain sight of everyone without anyone but Gottsman noticing.
Episode 4 The case of the stolen uniforms continues grow, but all leads seem to get cut off – the goods were burnt in the truck, Yefim was found murdered, "Greying Greek" was finally arrested, but was shot dead during his transport to the station. The only real discovery was that the operations were led by "Chekan", and that the mastermind behind them was some secret “Academic”. At night, "Chekan"’s gang attempt to take away weapons from a military depot, but are caught by password checks put in place by the city’s Military Quartermaster, Vorobyov. The bandits escape with a firefight, and in two hours, Quartermaster Vorobyov is found murdered. According to doctor Arsenin, the murderers wanted to imitate a suicide. Due to the difficulty of the case, Gottsman’s group is strengthened with another member – Prosecutor’s Assistant Major Vitaliy Krechetov. Simultaneously, the Counterintelligence Unit discovers that "Chekan" was educated at a German intelligence school, where he met a top-secret agent nicknamed “Academic”, but no-one questioned has seen the “Academic” face to face. During an attempt to arrest "Chekan", two Counterintelligence officers are killed, and "Chekan" escapes. Chekan's girlfriend, Ida, convinces him to run away with the contrabandists to Turkey, but this does not fit in with the “Academic’s” plans...
Episode 5 When "Chekan" attempts to leave Odessa, his assistant, Tolya "Zhivchik", informs seemingly leader "Shtekhel" of it and Ida is taken prisoner while "Chekan" is given a new task – selling criminals TT pistols. As a result of the new weapons, Odessa is once again drowned in a wave of murders and robberies. Within several days, Gottsman discovers through sharper Alex "Know nothing" that the weapons are passing through "Chekan". He tells Gottsman the location and time of the next delivery of weapons. An ambush is planned, but "Chekan" doesn't come to the meeting. It becomes evident that an informant is working within the ranks of the Criminal Investigation Unit. Major Dovjik, of the CIU, finds a chance to place a rat in the gang – arrested bandit Sam "Goosey". However, Gottsman himself is arrested by the MGB, after heated argument with Marshal Zhukov during a conference, and been sent out by the Marshal. Within an hour, a case of an anti-Soviet plot is fabricated against Gottsman.
Episode 6 Marshal Zhukov doesn't forget the shrewd head of the CI Unit. He orders closure of "anti-Soviet" case, and release of Gottsman. It seems that everything bad is in the past. Gottsman adopts ex-homeless boy and pickpocket Mishka "Crucian" who is now a pupil of a boarding school for gifted children. All-loved singer Leonid Utyosov arrives for a single concert in Odessa. The whole city turns up for the show, and, as a sign of respect, entire underworld announces a "non-working" day for all criminals and even catch and beat up those who decide to pickpocket during concert. It turns out that Utyosov's unexpected arrival is part of Marshal Zhukov's plan. The concert is unexpectedly interrupted, and the leaders of Odessa gangs are arrested. The Military Counter Intelligence Unit MGB is behind the operation, but "Chekan"’s gang was preparing as well. The “Academic”, obviously knowing of Zhukov's operation, decides to make use of the Marshal's mistake. When riots in Odessa begin, "Chekan" sends his gang, together with the rioters, to military weapons caches...
Episode 7 Zhukov's blunder leads to unexpected results – the arrest of Odessa's gang leaders leads to mass riots. Weapons caches are robbed, and a fresh wave of banditry descends upon Odessa. Through Sam "Goosey", the CI Unit discovers where "Chekan" is hiding, but counterfeiter Rodya interrupts the arrest. "Chekan" escapes once again, and Rodya is taken to the station. During the interrogation, a call, apparently from Major Dovjik who stayed at the arrest site, comes through, requesting that Gottsman come at once. Rodya is locked in an iron closet, at Gottsman's request. When Gottsman and Krechetov return, Rodya is found strangled with a necklace cord. David Gottsman figures out his killer, Army Guard Luzhov. It becomes obvious that Luzhov wasn't acting alone, and that the accomplice is close by. During an escape attempt, Luzhov is shot dead by Gottsman's assistant Captain Yakimenko.
Episode 8