Pugachev (Russian: Пугачёв, romanized: Pugachyov) is a 1937[1][2] Soviet biographical drama film directed by Pavel Petrov-Bytov.

The film centers on the biography of Emelyan Ivanovich Pugachev, a key figure in one of Russia's largest peasant uprisings.

The story begins with a group of singing peasants being led under guard to a prison in Kazan, where Pugachev, a fugitive Don Cossack, discusses escape plans with fellow inmates.

A nobleman, Volotskoy, and the elderly governor of Kazan arrive to select prisoners for forced labor in the Orenburg province.

In the town square, a peasant woman, Praskovya, is publicly punished for spreading rumors that Tsar Peter III survived his reported death.

Pugachev finds refuge among the Yaik Cossacks, who persuade him to assume the identity of the "surviving" Peter III and arrange his marriage to Ustinya Kuznetsova.

Although initially ambushed due to Volotskoy's cunning, Pugachev's impassioned speech turns the tide, convincing the garrison and Cossacks to join him.