Plot

Act 1

TSAREVICH
   Boris Godunov orders the assassination of a child, the tsarevich, rightful heir to the throne. The murderers do his bidding. The crowd who have been let into the palace can see that the heir to the throne has been murdered. Godunov exploits the people's terror and manipulates them, beginning the final stage of his fight for power. Guards and policemen force the gathered crowd to pray for Boris's ascension to the throne. Shchelkałov announces that Godunov still hasn't reached a final decision. The people's prayers become more and more fervent, finally even "men of God" appear who plead that God protect their country. Boris lays flowers where the child was slain, takes complete control of the situation, officially agrees to take power.

CORONATION
   The coronation. Boris appears to the sound of bells. He delivers a speech inaugurating his reign, filled with an irrational fear: "I feel a burden in my soul. A sense of fear, dread, anxiety in my heart, foreboding".

PLOT
   Pimen unfolds his vision of Russian history to a group of young fanatics who form a national-religious group. To support his arguments, he shows them the mass grave of Godunov's victims. One of the young men, Grigory, relates his nightmare: he dreamt for the third time that he climbed some steep stairs to the top of a high tower, looked down on Moscow, and fell from a great height. Pimen recounts the story of his life, and Grigory asks him about the death of tsarevich Dmitry in Uglich. "He would have been your age, he would have been the ruler!", Pimen says. These words make a huge impression on Grigory, who becomes Pimen's favourite and his fanatical supporter. As a terrorist prepared to do anything, he sets about his task: to overthrow Godunov and seize the throne. A pretender is born.

PRETENDER
   Close to the Lithuanian border, Grigory with Varlaam and Misail, who are dressed as monks, arrive at a brothel frequented by soldiers and police. Grigory's companions quickly succumb to the debauched atmosphere of the place. Grigory doesn't take part in the merriment, he remains aloof, focused on his task. He wants to get to Lithuania and from there to Moscow. Policemen enter the brothel. They are looking for a fugitive who they claim poses a threat to the state. The policemen are brutal, beating up Varlaam. Grigory reads out the warrant, changing what it says and the description of the fugitive. He suggests Varlaam is their man. In the end, the battered Varlaam is to read the warrant himself. When the police finally seem to be in control, young hit-squad members who are supporters of Pimen appear on the scene. The police get a thrashing. Grigory becomes a leader.

Act 2

CRIME
   Somewhere close to the sea, at Godunov's private residence. His daughter Kseniya is grieving over the death of her husband. Fyodor, Boris's son, is also there. The Tsar enters. Irritated by his daughter's constant wailing, he shouts at her to be quiet. The Godunov family is suffering a serious breakdown. Boris seeks consolation in a conversation with Fyodor - he is his last hope, his last purpose in life. Things aren't going well. The Tsar knows his subjects hate him and that nothing can change their minds. 

REBELLION
   Boris's reflections are interrupted by Prince Shuysky. He reports with malicious satisfaction that a Pretender has appeared in Lithuania. Hearing Dmitry's name, Boris goes to pieces. He orders the border with Lithuania to be secured. He asks Shuysky to swear the tsarevich is dead. The man describes the murder in detail. Taken aback and terrified, Godunov dismisses the prince. Then the ghost of the murdered child appears. The situation is rapidly getting out of hand.

DOWNFALL
   In a television studio, work is under way on a programme with Boris Godunov in which a public trial of the ruler will be held. The people present talk about the anathema on Grigory and the Pretender's forces approaching Moscow. The focal figures of the show arrive: Godunov, Shuysky, and Shchelkałov. Nikolka the yurodivy appears, a crippled child, and starts the strange show. A chorus of mournful women in costumes modelled on Russian folk dress present a scene in which the starving people demand bread. Boris asks the yurodivy why he is so sad. The boy accuses him to his face that he ordered the killing of the tsarevich, and calls him Tsar Herod. Carried in a solemn procession, the yurodivy foretells the country's destruction. The people have a new hero.

   A meeting is in progress on how to deal with the Pretender. Soon Shuysky arrives. He tells everyone about Boris's strange behaviour and his hallucinations. Nobody believes him, but suddenly the man himself appears, screaming "Away, away, child!", confirming everything that's been said. Shuysky asks Boris to listen to an old man who wants to reveal a great secret. Pimen enters. He tells the Tsar that a miracle has taken place in Uglich: a blind man regained his sight on tsarevich Dmitry's grave. This is the final stage of the fight against Godunov, the final humiliation. Suddenly Boris is stabbed to death before the TV cameras by members of Pimen's hit-squad. Feeling death approaching, he calls for his son. The bells are ringing, Boris points to Fyodor: "This is your tsar". The situation starts to lose its objectivity, the dying Godunov's last visions appear. Fyodor - Godunov's last hope and his only purpose in life - is also murdered. Boris's downfall is final, his family will never play any major part in Russia's history.