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Nikolai Nikolayev 1973

51 years after the "suicide" of Nikolai (Nikos Zachariadis) comes this video from the secrets of the Federal Security Service of Russia that shows us the real circumstances of Nikolai's death. The once powerful man and former general secretary of the Communist Party of Greece, commits suicide under unclear circumstances in Sorgut, Russia (then the Soviet Union) in 1973 where he was in exile. Through an old camera we will see the last minutes of Nikolai (Nikos Zachariadis) but also how could this man of steel come to be a suicide.

  • Constantine Balabanidis
    Director
  • Constantine Balabanidis
    Writer
  • Constantine Balabanidis
    Key Cast
    "Nikolai Nikolayev (Nikos Zachariadis)"
  • Christos Panoutsos
    Key Cast
    "KGB Officer"
  • Stathis Balabanidis
    Key Cast
    "Boy (Nikolai's son)"
  • Ilias Arapis
    Key Cast
    "Doctor"
  • AcropolfilM
    Producer
  • Anastasis Spiliadis
    Camera - Man
  • Stathis Balabanidis
    Camera - Man Ass.
  • Anastasis Spiliadis
    Photomontage
  • Stathis Balabanidis
    Photomontage Ass.
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Νικολάι Νικολάγιεφ 1973
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short
  • Runtime:
    4 minutes 56 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 3, 2024
  • Country of Origin:
    Greece
  • Country of Filming:
    Greece
  • Language:
    Modern Greek (1453-), Russian
  • Aspect Ratio:
    4:3
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • TAMIZHAGAM INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

    India
    Winner (Best Experiment Film) 🏆
  • Couch Film Festival 2024

    Canada
    Nominee (Best Experiment Film)
  • Taiga Film Festival 2024
    Keldi
    Russian Federation
    Official Selection (Best Drama Film)
  • Eastern Europe Film Festival 2024
    Craiova
    Romania
    Official Selection
  • KISFFO Karditsa International Short Film Festival Opseis
    Karditsa
    Greece
    Semi - finalist
  • 100 Films Retreat #6

    United States
    August 17, 2024
    Official Selection
  • Edessa Film Festival 2024
    Edessa
    Ελλάδα
    September 21, 2024
    Official selection
Director Biography - Constantine Balabanidis

• Born in Athens in 1997.
📖In 2022 he attends an acting seminar at the Tabula Rasa school.
🎭In the winter of 2023, he is adapting A. Chekhov's book ''The Black Monk'' into a play. The performance took place at THEATRO EMBROS in Athens with him playing the lead role of the scientist Andrei Vasilich Kovrin. At the 2510 theater festival, he was honored for the best theatrical adaptation of a literary work (The Black Monk by A. Chekhov).
📽️In 2024 he directs his first experimental film "Nikolay Nikolayev 1973" where he shows the last minutes of the otherwise powerful Greek communist leader in Sorgut where he was in exile.
🎭In 2024, he arranges Dostoyevsky's ''Eternal Husband'' for the theater, while taking on one of the two leading roles, Trusotsky.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Through this film I wanted to show that this great man and politician was forced to commit suicide under the supervision of the Soviet authorities in August '73. Of an era when revisionism and opportunism had taken over the USSR's top administration. The real cause of Nikos Zachariadis' (Nikolai) suicide has not been made public. So with this "video" we reveal through exaggeration how Nikolai (Nikos Zachariadis) committed suicide.