A Historical Mistake

January 13, 2019 | 7 min

Mexico. 1940. The agent of the People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs (NKVD) Ramon Merkader comes to the house of Leon Trotsky. Under a long leather raincoat he hides an ice pick. He is here to kill the unsuspecting Russian revolutionary. Moscow. 2019. The modest honours pupil Yura helps his schoolmate Masha in history. They just study Merkader’s murder of Trotsky. The uninhibited Masha decides to tempt nerdy Yura. The director of studies comes into the classroom in the most intense moment. Afterwards the school principal calls in the class teacher of Masha and Yura for a talk. He considers that such an irresponsible teacher has no place at the school and is set to dismiss her. The school bell rings. As if by magic, the endings of these three stories intertwine, giving rise to a new surprising reading of the known events.