The Shield and the Sword

The Shield and the Sword (Russian: Щит и меч) is a 1968 Soviet spy series with four parts directed by Vladimir Basov. It is based on a novel by Vadim Kozhevnikov, who was Secretary of the Soviet Writers' Union. It was a highly influential movie in the Soviet Union, inspiring many, Vladimir Putin for instance, to join the KGB.

The song What Does Motherland Begin With (С чего начинается Родина), sung by Mark Bernes, that was main musical theme of each film in the series, became well known in the USSR.

Plot
The year is 1940 and Nazi Germany is at the height of its military prowess, having captured most of Europe and eyeing the Soviet Union to the East. The Soviet military command suspects hostile intent from Germany and so arranges for its spies to infiltrate ranks of the German military and the SS. Alexander Belov (Lyubshin) is a Russian spy, who travels from Soviet-held Latvia to Nazi Germany under an alias of Johann Weiss. His mastery of the German language, steel nerves and an ability to manipulate others help him to use his connections in the SS to ascend the ladder of the Abwehr and then in the SD. He uses his position to identify sympathetic Germans, who help him to procure vital intelligence, and to help local resistance movements in their collective fight against Nazism.

Cast

 * Stanislav Lyubshin as Alexander Belov/Johann Weiss
 * Oleg Yankovsky as Heinrich Schwarzkopf
 * Georgy Martyniuk as Aleksey Zubov/Alois Hagen
 * Vladimir Basov as Bruno
 * Alla Demidova as Angelika Buecher
 * Juozas Budraitis as Dietrich
 * Aleksey Glazyrin as Steinglitz
 * Valentina Titova as Nina
 * Natalia Velichko as Elsa
 * Vladimir Balashov as Sonnenberg
 * Algimantas Masiulis as Willi Schwarzkopf
 * Nikolai Zasukhin as Papke
 * Lev Polyakov as Gerlach
 * Nikolay Grabbe as Deaf-mute Man
 * Yelena Dobronravova as Deaf-mute Woman
 * Vatslav Dvorzhetsky as Lansdorf
 * Anatoly Kubatsky as Franz
 * Nikolay Prokopovich as Schulz
 * Kristina Lazar as Brigitte
 * Valentin Smirnitsky as Andrey Basalyga
 * Igor Bezyayev as Rabbit
 * Vsevolod Safonov as Nail
 * Vladimir Marenkov as Ace
 * German Kachin as Cartilage
 * Igor Yasulovich as Goga
 * Radner Muratov as Shaman
 * Konstantin Tyrtov as Tit
 * Sergey Plotnikov as General Baryshev
 * Inga Budkevich as Inga
 * Uldis Dumpis as Luftwaffe Ace
 * Helga Göring as Frau Dietmar
 * Horst Preusker as Prof. Stutthoff
 * Wojcech Duriasz as Jerzy Czyzewski
 * Kurt-Mueller Reizner as Karl Kunert
 * Silard Banki as Janos Molnar
 * Vladimír Brabec as Jaromir Drobny
 * Vladimir Osenev as Hitler
 * Vyacheslav Dugin as Himmler
 * Mikhail Sidorkin as Göring