Gardes-Marines, Ahead!
Gardes-Marines, Ahead! or () is a 1988 Soviet four-series television film (mini-series), the first of a series of films about Russian Gardes-Marines of the 18th century, directed by Svetlana Druzhinina. It was followed by "Viva Gardes-Marines!". Plot. It is Russia in 1742. Some time ago as a result of a palace coup, Elizabeth Petrovna, the daughter of Peter the Great, came to power. French Cardinal André-Hercule de Fleury, displeased with Russia's foreign policy, plots against Vice-Chancellor Alexey Bestuzhev-Ryumin. The secret archive of Bestuzhev has been stolen, and priceless papers  from Russia are to be brought out by Chevalier de Brillieu, an experienced diplomat and womanizer. At the same time three faithful friends are undergoing training in the navigational school in Moscow: Aleksei Korsak, Alexander Belov and Nikita Olenev. Their student life is fun and carefree but suddenly due to a combination of circumstances, the young men are drawn into dangerous political games. As a result of an alleged conspiracy against Elizabeth, the Lopukhin and Yaguzhinsky families are under attack. Anna Yaguzhinskaya, the patroness of Korsak is arrested and her beautiful daughter Anastasia is kidnapped by de Brillieu from her  arrest and is preparing to leave with her beloved Frenchman directly to Paris. Anastasia Yaguzhinskaya steals from de Brillieu Bestuzhev's archive and passes it on to Korsak who, having arrived in St. Petersburg, must hand over the papers to the vice-chancellor. Thus Anastasia hopes to alleviate the fate of her arrested mother. Aleksei Korsak, who escaped from Moscow in a women's dress right while performing in an amateur theater, is heading to St. Petersburg. Along his way he is joined through a stroke of luck by Sofia, a wealthy heiress, whom her greedy relatives want to forcefully  turn her into a nun. Aleksei falls in love with a beautiful girl and helps her avoid the sad fate. Once in St. Petersburg, three friends and Sophia must solve two important tasks. First, hand over the stolen papers to Bestuzhev personally in hand, and, secondly, to wrest Anastasia Yaguzhinskaya from the tenacious paws of de Brillieu. And a real hunt for Bestuzhev's archive begins now that the Count de Lestocq, the all-powerful personal physician of the Empress, her trusted adviser, joins the French. Lestocq hates Bestuzhev and is ready to do anything to get hold of the  papers of the vice-chancellor, but with the help of the well-known Belov Count Lyadashchev, the archive is successfully returned to Bestuzhev. But now Korsak, Belov and Olenev must save the beautiful Anastasia and at the same time execute the cunning task of the vice-chancellor.