discovering Stalin's weaknesses, the mass murders and cruelty spreading throughout the country, and disappointment that he had destroyed their hopes. However, an elderly Russian lady suggested to Ormond that she play a little more apathetically, since Alliluyeva would also have suffered psychological damage when realising that her ideals were in vain. As a result, Ormond played, according to critics, "perhaps the most tragic victim in history". Her "gentle, innocent, and loving" performance was later praised, as was Duvall's. Buffalo News film critic Alan Pergament slammed the film but praised her acting. He also opined that after Nadezhda's suicide there was no reason to watch the film since Ormond "stole the film". Maximilian Schell as Lenin The role of Lenin was not particularly extensive, as he dies after only 35 minutes into the movie. Maximilian Schell took advantage of the little time he was on screen. Before each scene, he had a tape recorder with him to listen to the recordings with Lenin's voice. He was less concerned with "imitating than with feeling him". This was not easy for Schell, since he felt a certain dislike for Lenin, "because he allowed many people to kill because he believed that power cannot be achieved without Terror could have". Schell tried to convey some contrast in body language. At the beginning of the film, for example, he concentrated on using his right hand vigorously more often. He was so convincing that he was repeatedly praised by film critics, who said that "it is very late to realize" that "Maximilian Schell is behind the mask". Filming Filming began in October 1991 and was shot exclusively in the Soviet Union at several original locations, including in Stalin's Kuntsevo Dacha, prisons, the Kyiv railway station and for the first time ever, the Kremlin. During the filming in the Russian White House, the film crew worked while Mikhail Gorbachev engaged in government affairs one floor below. Friends of Carliner, who had filmed in Russia before, warned him about difficult and sometimes unusual challenges. Several minor problems occurred during the estimated seven-week shooting period. Extras went on strike to demand higher pay. Engine drivers were already drunk by 8 a.m., so they couldn't keep their signals. Even simple scenes, like chasing the rabbit in Siberia, had to be interrupted when it was pointed out that they were shooting in a national park where it was forbidden. The head