A quarter of a century later, Sergei Loznitsa turns to the dramatic scenes of August 1991 and to an event that has entered modern European history as the moment of the "birth of Russian democracy." What actually happened in Russia in August 1991? What kind of force controlled the crowds on Palace Square in Leningrad? What kind of evidence is presented on the screen: the collapse of the regime or its creative rebranding? Who are these people looking at the camera, the winners or the victims?