 The series achieved the status of a cult film in the USSR, and along with "Seventeen Moments of Spring" became a part of popular culture with several generations of Russian-speaking TV viewers.The series stars singer-songwriter Vladimir Vysotsky in one of his final screen appearances (his death at the age of 42 came less than a year after the film's release).Soviet screen and stage legends Sergey Yursky, Armen Dzhigarkhanyan, Zinovy Gerdt, Yevgeniy Yevstigneyev, and Leonid Kuravlev also appear in the film.