Captain Volkonogov Escaped (Russian: Капитан Волконогов бежал, translit. Kapitan Volkonogov bezhal) is a 2021 Russian thriller drama film written and directed by Natalya Merkulova and Aleksey Chupov. The main roles were played by Yuri Borisov as Captain Fyodor Volkonogov.^[1] It was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 78th Venice International Film Festival.^[2]

The setting is the USSR during the Great Terror. Captain Fyodor Volkonogov serves in the Soviet law enforcement agency. He is trusted by his superiors and his colleagues respect him. One day on his way to the service, he witnesses the suicide of his immediate superior: Major Gvozdev, who throws himself out of the window of his own office under the threat of imminent arrest. At the same time, under the pretext of a call for evaluation, arrests of employees of the department headed by Gvozdev begin. The Captain manages to run away before he is arrested. Then, a messenger from the world above appears to the Captain and informs him that after his death, he is destined for hell. He has one last chance to change his fate, if he would repent, and can find just one victim that would forgive him his crimes.

• Yuri Borisov as Captain Volkonogov
• Timofey Tribuntsev as Major Golovnya
• Aleksandr Yatsenko as Major Gvozdyov
• Nikita Kukushkin as Veretennikov
• Vladimir Epifantsev as Colonel Zhikharev
• Anastasiya Ukolova as Raisa
• Natalya Kudriashova as Elizarova
• Dmitry Podnozov as Professor Elizarov
• Viktoriya Tolstoganova as the widow Steiner
• Yury Kuznetsov as Ignatiy Alekseyevich
• Igor Savochkin as Uncle Misha
• Maxim Stoyanov as the worker Lependyin

This film was Igor Savochkin's final role before his death.

The film received support from the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Kinoprime Foundation for the Development of Contemporary Cinematography, the European Fund for Supporting Co-production and Distribution of Cinematographic and Audiovisual Works Eurimages, the Estonian Ministry of Culture and the Estonian Film Foundation.

Production was carried out by the film companies Place of Power and Look-Film (Russia), Homeless Bob Production (Estonia), KinoVista (France). The producers were Valery Fedorovich, Yevgeny Nikishov, Aleksandr Plotnikov, co-producers Catherine Kissa, Charles-Evrard Chekhov and Nadezhda Zayonchkovskaya.

The first screening of the film took place on September 8, 2021 at the 78th Venice Film Festival.

The film received the Audience Choice Award at the 32nd Kinotavr Open Film Festival (2021), the work entered the main competition and won in the Best Screenplay nomination. The film won the bronze medal in the main competition at the El Gouna Festival, Egypt, and also won the Best Feature Film award at the XXX Philadelphia International Film Festival, becoming the first Russian film in history to be awarded this prize.

Captain Volkonogov Escaped was theatrically released in the Russian Federation in 2022 by Central Partnership.