

White Russians in 1920s Constantinople: trauma, intrigue, and the last embers of empire.
8.050 minSeason 1 • Episode 10
LatestAfter losing his family and army in the Russian Civil War, White Guard officer Neratov flees to Constantinople with Wrangel's defeated forces and becomes leader of Russian emigrants.
Production
Constantinople recreated with obsessive period authenticity.
Acting
Ustyugov's haunted restraint—grief wearing a uniform.
Cinematography
Golden decay: every frame looks like a dying photograph.
Creator
Сергей Чекалов
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The 'White Emigration' of 1920-1923 saw roughly 150,000 Russians stranded in Constantinople, creating a temporary micro-society that vanished almost entirely within two years.
Ustyugov learned conversational Turkish for scenes where Neratov code-switches, though the character rarely does—intentional linguistic tension the director demanded.