ONE of the Russian militaryÂ’s most tragic and haunting defeats at the hands of Chechen separatists has been turned into a patriotic war film on the KremlinÂ’s orders in an attempt to turn one of the darkest chapters of RussiaÂ’s recent history into a cause for pride not shame.The bloody episode, in which 85 Russian paratroopers from one provincial town were massacred on a foggy hill in Chechnya in 2000, is known to fascinate President Vladimir Putin.
The incident occurred soon after Putin became president, and ordered Russian troops back into Chechnya for the second time in a decade to quell separatist sentiment. At the time, news of the massacre badly dented Russian morale, causing some sections of the population to question the war, and triggering a national outpouring of grief.
The film, Breakthrough (Proriv in Russian), purports to faithfully depict the military debacle and was financed largely by the Kremlin and the defence ministry.
For some in the Russian military, the filmÂ’s subject remains an enduring cause of shame since it was poor planning, poor equipment and poor intelligence that landed the paratroopers in such a dire predicament and prevented them from getting reinforcements.
But far from being a cause for regret or shame, the filmÂ’s makers say they hope their retelling of the story will prompt young people today to ponder the meaning of duty and Rodina (the Motherland).
Though the battle ended in the defeat and almost total annihilation of the Russian troops, it is being held up six years later as an example of selfless sacrifice, bravery and love of country.
The events upon which the film is based unfolded between February 29 and March 3, 2000, though some elements of the clash are disputed.
What is known is that 90 Russian paratroopers, all from the town of Pskov, were told to defend a hilltop against a force of 2000 Chechen fighters.
In the film the Chechen rebels are portrayed as a rag-tag army of extremists, mercenaries and drug addicts, who are intent on breaking out of the hills and swarming into towns and villages in order to take hostages and wreak terror.
All that stands between them and a Beslan-like scenario, the viewer is told, are the 90 paratroopers of 6th Company, many of whom are young conscripts with little military experience. Outnumbered, outgunned and starved of reinforcements, the paratroopers resort to luring the Chechens towards their own position and calling in an air strike on themselves towards the end of the battle. Thick fog prevented the Russian army providing any meaningful air support at the time since its helicopters were not equipped with all-weather radar equipment.
According to some reports, the Chechens radioed the paratroopers at one point offering to spare their lives if they were allowed to pass unhindered in the night but the Russians refused. Of the original 90 paratroopers only five survived but the resistance they put up was so fierce that the Chechens were unable to break out of the hills.
The survivors were awarded top military honours and the Kremlin claimed that the 85 paratroopers had died like heroes, killing 600 to 700 rebels before being overwhelmed.
Breakthrough is not the first time the incident has been given the Kremlin treatment. Earlier this year the debacle was the subject of an expensive and sentimental four-part TV mini-series called Storm Clouds At The Gates that ran on RussiaÂ’s Channel One.
Putin was reported to have liked the series so much that he requested a DVD copy of it; the incident has also inspired an unlikely musical stage production.
The premiere of Breakthrough was attended by Dmitri Kozak, PutinÂ’s point man on Chechnya, and Alu Alkhanov, the republicÂ’s Moscow-backed president.
However, in its review of the film, the weekly magazine Afisha suggested that Breakthrough may not have succeeded in turning the defeat into a patriotic propaganda coup.
“The main reaction after watching the film is not a patriotic one,” it wrote. “[Instead you think] who needs this war and when will it finally end?”