| The Rifleman of the Voroshilov Regiment | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Stanislav Govorukhin |
| Produced by | Yevgeni Golynsky |
| Written by | Aleksandr Borodyanskiy Stanislav Govorukhin Yuri Polyakov Viktor Pronin |
| Starring | Mikhail Ulyanov Anna Sinyakina Aleksandr Porokhovshchikov |
| Cinematography | Gennadi Engstrem |
| Editing by | Vera Kruglova |
| Release date(s) | 1999 |
| Running time | 99 minutes |
| Country | Russia |
| Language | Russian |
The Rifleman of the Voroshilov Regiment (Russian: Ворошиловский стрелок, translit. Voroshilovskiy strelok) is a 1999 Russian action and drama film directed by Stanislav Govorukhin based on the book Woman on Wednesdays (Russian: Женщина по средам translit. Zhenshchina po sredam) by Viktor Pronin.
Contents |
World War II veteran Ivan Afonin lives with his granddaughter Katya. In a nearby flat, three bored unemployed youth, Vadim Pashutin, Boris and Igor Chuhanov Zvorygin kill time by designating Wednesdays as a day of sexual gratification. They manage to lure Katya to their flat and rape her. Initially the offenders are arrested, however Vadim's father is a senior figure in the police and uses his influence to have the charges against his son and his friends dropped.
Frustrated at the offenders having escaped justice, Ivan sells his dacha and buys a silenced sniper rifle from an illegal weapons trader. He obtains the keys to a flat directly in front of and overlooking the offenders flat and enters it when his neighbour is absent. From there he begins to administer vigilante justice. Taking care not to kill the offenders, he instead shoots them in their genitals.
The film proved controversial, with some film critics describing it as "a call to violence." [1]
Several subsequent real life cases have been compared to the film.[2][3]