to overtake
Your Excellency.
A message from St. Petersburg.
Will you read it, please?
The wife of a state criminal is not
to leave the place of exile
before her husband dies.
Even after his death, the government
takes no obligation
to permit the widows of criminals
to return to Russia.
Thank you.
Now tell me,
how far is Yekaterinburg?
Two hundred versts, Your Excellency.
How come, Your Excellency?
Wait, I'll announce you.
But I don't know if he'll receive you.
Dear sir, you have received
the answer last week.
Stop your evasions!
You know about the letter as well as
I do.
Really, Princess?
But I haven't read it yet.
Too bad, I didn't have the time.
Then read it,
dear sir!
Certainly I will read it.
But I receive a lot of mail from His
Majesty which concerns not only you.
- Maybe in a week...
- Sir!
You've been keeping me waiting
for almost six months!
Well, as you wish. Pafnuti!
You may read it.
At least read what's required of you.
I don't care, and you know it.
You're wrong.
You're very wrong, Princess.
A wife, following her husband,
will share his fate
and lose her former title
of any rank,
that is, will be recognized as no
other than an exiled convict's wife.
At the same time, she agrees
to take any distress
that such a position may involve,
namely:
children that may be begotten
in Siberia
will be enlisted as factory peasants...
with no right of inheriting either
the property or name of their father,
for they will be
registered as serfs.
You shouldn't have tortured
yourself so.
Had you listened to me in the first
place, you would've been home now.
And your parents wouldn't have pined
for their daughter.
Is that all?
Can I go to my husband now?
Be so kind as to make arrangements
for the horses.
Have you ever seen
convicts in irons?
Answer me!
Why are you shouting?
Who gave you that right?
You gave it to me!
You're the wife of an exiled convict.
You yourself will be sent
to Nerchinsk as a convict.
With your hands and feet in irons.
You will go with a group of
convicts under convoy.
You will be tied up with the rest,
as villains are, so that...
they don't escape.
And one more thing: out of 500 men
we send under convoy,
no more than a third
get to Nerchinsk alive.
Well?
Are you still willing?
I don't care, I just want to go.
Tell them to bring irons.
You will go, you will go...
I don't want to, I can't torture you
anymore. I'm sorry, Princess.
I had been pressured to dissuade you
by all possible means.
I just tried to scare you. I'll give
you the horses, and may God save you.
The winter of 1826-1827 dragged on
and on at the Blagodatsk mine.
No, no, let's go there.
You don't deserve the leniency
you're accorded.
Leniency?
Using you in the works
is a leniency to your sin.
You must prove your obedience
by modesty and good behaviour.
I'm not well, and you
know it, my good man.
Did you come here to take treatments?
Stand up when you're spoken to!
There, we're awake.
My dear Alyonka is awake!
Now we'll eat, we'll eat...
My Goodness!
Your cheeks have frozen!
Now, have patience, mistress.
At last we're in the Promised Land.
Halt! Where are you going?
No one is to go in here.
Is Prince Volkonsky
kept here?
There're no princes here,
only convicts.
I have covered 7,000 versts
to see my husband.
Run fast!
I pray the commandant
wouldn't come here.
Oh, God! Oh, my God!
I'm so sorry!
A year later. Spring, 1828...
Do you, Praskovya, take this loann,
whom you see in front of you,
as your husband,
of your good and unconstrained will
and firm conviction?
Mademoiselle Gebl, do you take Jean
to be your husband?
Yes!
Come what may!
My congratulations, Madame!
Hurry up!
Where are you taking him,
the poor man?
I forgot to tell you...
I want you to know...
Stand back!
How dare you speak not Russian?
I don't understand...
You pledged yourself
to speak only Russian!
Stand back! Are you deaf or what?
Don'