The Republic of ShKID

The Republic of ShKID is a 1966 Soviet comedy-drama directed by Gennadi Poloka. The premiere of The Republic of ShKID was held on December 29, 1966; in 1967, the film became a box-office leader – it was seen by 32.6 million viewers (12th place). Synopsis The action takes place in Petrograd in the early 1920s. Throughout the country, as reported in the credits, four million children are homeless. Juvenile offenders are caught by the Cheka and sent to boarding schools and gated colonies. Children who are not chosen by school leaders and colonies are sent to prison. Vikniksor, director of the school-commune named for Dostoevsky, prepares the teaching staff and personnel to welcome the first set of students. They set the table for breakfast, but no one comes to the dining room: the children haven stolen keys from the janitor, Meftahutdyn, and left the school. The children throw the keys into a tree so that it is difficult to lock the gates, and the tree is eventually cut down in order to get the keys. Having reveled enough, the children return to school on the evening of the same day and bully the staff. Most of their ire is focused on Elanlyum, the German-language teacher. Vikniksor decides to treat the children more strictly; in the morning, the teachers and the staff send them first into the shower, then into the dining room, where they are dismissed from the table for the slightest infractions, and finally are seated at their desks. Palvan, teacher of literature, has his own "method of education"; fawning before the disorderly street children, he sings them songs (mainly "urban folklore") during lessons, without burdening them with studies.