The Death of a Government Clerk (based on the short story by Anton Chekhov)
Written & directed by Aleksandr Viken
art director Genrikh Umansky
Camera A. Gavrilov
Sound I. Moyzhes
animators N. Rudnik, Aleksandr Viken, Nina Churilova, M. Antipova, Vadim Turyayev, Aleksandr Bubnov, M. Koroleva
Assistants T. Shvets, O. Yankovskaya, V. Yezerskiy
artists Sergey Ignatenko, Vadim Turyayev, I. Borodayeva, M. Koroleva, T. Kupsa, O. Yankovskaya, Ye. Korotkevich, Ye. Baskova
voice artists O. Mesecha, S. Brusilovskiy, D. Babayev, montage S. Vasilyeva, Script editor Ye. Nazarenko, Producer I. Mazepa
Music by R. Planquette & I. Stravinskiy is used in the film
Aptchee!!
I have spattered him,
A Department General!
He is not the head of my department, but still it is awkward. I must apologise.
Pardon, your Excellency, I spattered you accidentally...
Never mind, never mind.
For goodness' sake excuse me, I... I did not mean to.
Oh, please, sit down! Let me listen!
He is not the head of my department, but... still...
I must apologise.
I spattered you, your Excellency...
Oh, that's enough... I'd forgotten it, and you keep on about it!
He has forgotten,
but there is a sour tone in his voice...
And he doesn't want to talk.
I ought to explain to him... that I really didn't intend to...
or else he will think I meant to spit on him.
Aptchee!
He doesn't think so now, but he will think so later!
I did apologise, but he took it somehow queerly...
he didn't say a word of sense.
No, it can't be left like this...
I will explain to him.
Yesterday, if you recollect, your Excellency,
I sneezed and... accidentally spattered...Exc...
What nonsense... It's beyond anything!
It was not intentional if you will graciously believe me.
Why, you are simply making fun of me, sir.
He is a general, but he can't understand.
I am not going to apologise to that fanfaron any more!
The devil take him. I'll write a letter to him, but I won't go.
Sneezing is not forbidden to anyone anywhere
Peasants and chiefs of police and privvy councillors sneeze
sometimes even....
I did not dream of making fun of him.
No, it can't be left like this, I need to explain it all to him
I was apologising for having spattered you in sneezing...
But I did not dream of making fun of you.
Would I dare to make fun of you?
If we should take to making fun
then there would be no respect for persons, would there?!...
Be off!!!
The End Subs by Eus & Niffiwan (2021), based on C. Garnett's translation