Common Property

The fragile domesticity of Pavel Pavlovitch, a Russian patriarch, is catastrophically upended by a chilling state decree. In a move of staggering governmental overreach, all women within a prescribed age bracket—seventeen to thirty-five—are declared "common property," effectively nationalized for the arbitrary use of the citizenry. This insidious edict immediately ensnarls the Pavlovitch family, whose attempts to secure travel documents are summarily denied, trapping them within the suffocating grip of this new, terrifying reality. The horror intensifies as Pavlovitch's own aged servant, exploiting the decree, stakes a claim on his wife, Anna, while the village priest's son casts his covetous gaze upon their innocent daughter. The family's plight seems utterly insurmountable, a stark testament to the erosion of personal liberty. However, just as despair threatens to consume them, a deus ex machina manifests in the form of a resolute troop of American cavalry. Their dramatic arrival ignites a fierce street battle against the oppressive Russian populace in Saratov, a visceral clash between freedom and subjugation. The intervention proves decisive, leading to the swift annulment of the abhorrent edict and the joyous restoration of the Pavlovitch family's autonomy and happiness.