The action of the television play covers the period from the beginning of the twentieth century to the first years of Soviet power. Two village boys, brothers Semyon and Pavel, serve a Moscow merchant shopkeeper. They face severe exploitation, hard forced labor. The brothers' lives diverge. Unable to withstand the bullying of the merchant, Pavel goes to the factory, becomes a worker, and later a professional revolutionary. Semyon remains in service. In the post-revolutionary period, Semyon, having
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