The Great Glinka (Глинка) was a 1946 Soviet film directed by Lev Arnshtam. Awarded the Stalin Prize, the film depicts the life of Mikhail Glinka, a Russian composer of the 19th century.
Incorporating Russian folk songs into his compositions, Glinka, despite his friendships with Alexander Pushkin and recognition by Czar Nicholas the First, reportedly never forgot his humble origins — he was a “composer of the people.”
Soviet singing star Boris Chirkov played Glinka along with members of the Bolshoi Theatre in secondary roles. The film was entered into the 1946 Cannes Film Festival.
