The film was made in the days of the August 1991 coup in Leningrad, USSR . Respecting the manner of a proprietary parallel cinema with the use of hand-held camera . Subsequently, Lars von Trier in his " Dogma " went on the same way , using a handheld camera without a tripod or placing special light. The soundtrack of the film is the soundtrack Emergency Committee appeal for the All-Union Radio August 19, 1991 . The film captured the moment of change red tricolor flag on the roof of the Mariinsky Palace on August 20, 1991.