When dictator Joseph Stalin dies, his parasitic cronies square off in a frantic power struggle to become the next Soviet leader. As they bumble, brawl and back-stab their way to the top, the question remains — just who is running the government?

A bust of Stalin is cut open on an operating table, leading to an elaborate animated depiction of Czech history from 1948 (the Communist takeover) to 1989 (the Velvet Revolution). Some knowledge of the subject is essential in order to understand the film, which is entirely visual.

Stalin is recognized by both East and West as a controversial, far-reaching, and extremely complex and contradictory historical giant. Later generations have mixed reviews about him, but no one can deny his extreme importance in human history in the twentieth century. This program will introduce the truth about Stalin’s death.

For 20 years, theirs was an ideological duel between two visions of Communism; a political duel, a duel for power, and above all, a duel to the death. By having Trotsky exiled and finally assassinated, Stalin gained sole control of Russia and became the unassailable dictator of the country.

January / February 1993 marked the 50th anniversary of the German surrender at Stalingrad. On the occasion of this anniversary, a television documentary was produced in German-Russian cooperation, which, following a classic documentary pattern, allows 6 contemporary witnesses, former opponents of the war, to recount their personal experiences in front of the camera.