The film tells about the fate of two of our contemporaries, two dissidents - I. T. Lapkin and V. N. Osipov. The film uses the following filming: views of Leningrad, an excursion to the cruiser "Aurora", views of the Butyrka prison in Moscow, the life of residents of one of the rural settlements, views of the city of Yeniseisk, residents of the city of Tarusa in the Kaluga region on the streets of the city, a manifestation of refugees who arrived from different parts Soviet Union. Types of the Donskoy Monastery. A rally of the democratic community at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. Interview with the writer V. Astafiev (sinhr.), With the priest Father Naum (sinhr.). General view of one of the prison colonies, Optina Pustyn in the Kaluga region. I. T. Lapkin and V. N. Osipov talk about their lives. The film includes footage of the chronicle: the shooting of Emperor Nicholas II, the events in Moscow and Petrograd in 1917, collectivization in the countryside in the 30s, the fight against homelessness in the 20s, Soviet newsreels of the 50s, 60s, 70s -x, 80s.