Admiral Ushakov

Admiral Ushakov (1953) is a Soviet historical epic you can watch online on iFILM, directed by Mikhail Romm, with Ivan Pereverzev in the lead, Sergei Bondarchuk and Boris Livanov.

In the late eighteenth century Fyodor Ushakov inherited a Black Sea squadron that barely existed as a fighting force. He drilled it into shape and led it against Ottoman fleets that had treated these waters as their own for decades. The film follows the career from dockyards to the naval engagements that decided who controlled the southern seas.

Romm chose biography over pageantry: the film is built around commands, manoeuvres and the men who carry them out. Bondarchuk, in one of his earlier roles, is among the cast. Stream Admiral Ushakov online on iFILM.