Alexei Gavrilov Evgeny Mironov is conscripted into the Soviet Armed Forces, starting a chain of tense, corrosive encounters that will test his resolve. At the recruiting station, the stern and ambitious Sergeant Shipov Vladimir Mashkov shoves him, and Gavrilov stands his ground, demanding an apology. That small clash seeds a deep-seated resentment in Shipov, coloring every future exchange between them and setting the stage for a power struggle within the regiment.
When Shipov discovers that Gavrilov is slated to join the Naval Infantry, he pleads with a Marines officer to transfer Gavrilov’s personal file to his own unit, fabricating the claim that Gavrilov is a fellow countryman. The maneuver works in the short term, but Gavrilov does not land in the Naval Infantry; instead, he ends up in a motorized infantry regiment where Shipov serves, placing Gavrilov under a different, harsher regime.
Within this unit, dedovshchina—hazing that targets the newest recruits—runs rampant. The “grandfathers” thrust the newcomers into brutal chore lists, mock them mercilessly, and even steal money from them at night. Shipov tries to set the tone early, forcing the young recruits to endure push-ups and lecturing them on the “main points” of hazing. Yet Gavrilov refuses to bow to brute force, and he finds an ally in Ivan Botsu. The two form a quiet camaraderie amid the growing tension.
During a dining-room skirmish, Sergeant Stepanov defends Gavrilov and the other new soldiers, giving them a rare moment of solidarity. After dismissal, five unknown assailants strike Stepanov, and Shipov threatens disciplinary punishment if anyone interferes. The “grandfathers” lay a trap for Botsu: they order him to count down the days to demobilization, then engineer a cruel provocation—Yefreytor Kabanov steals money from one of the “skulls” and plants it in Botsu’s tunic. In front of everyone, Shipov exposes Botsu by pulling the money from Botsu’s tunic, turning the room against him and weaving a web of accusation and humiliation.
That night, Botsu is dragged into the boiler room; his friends attempt to intervene, but Stepanov, remembering Shipov’s threats, hesitates. Gavrilov returns to the barracks to find his friend missing and soon realizes something is terribly wrong. He enters the boiler room and is struck by the violence. The mood escalates as Gavrilov and Botsu are both targeted. Shipov appears again and orders the others to disperse, leaving Gavrilov and Botsu in a moment of escalating danger.
Desperation pushes Gavrilov to a drastic measure: he steals a PK machine gun from the weapons cabinet, an act that shifts the balance of power in the barracks. An alarm sounds, and the whole guard rushes toward the boiler room. Gavrilov reappears with the weapon, forcing the “grandfathers” to do push-ups and ordering Shipov to do them faster than the others. The escalating confrontation reaches a tense climax as the guard nears, and Gavrilov, choosing to avoid a tragic escalation, places the machine gun on the floor and moves toward the exit, signaling a fragile, uneasy pause to a brutal cycle of hazing and control.
