When defeat is glorious, patriotic victory

The Kremlin is characterising a bungled hill battle defeat in Chechnya as a lesson in bravery for future generations. Picture / Reuters

MOSCOW - One of the Russian military's most tragic defeats in Chechnya has been turned into a patriotic war film on Kremlin orders in a bid to turn one of the darkest chapters of Russia's recent history into a cause for pride.

The bloody episode, in which 85 paratroopers from the same town were massacred on a fog-shrouded 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.

At the time, news of the massacre badly dented Russian morale, causing some sections of the Russian population to question the war, and triggering a national outpouring of grief.

The Kremlin-funded film "Breakthrough" purports to faithfully depict the military debacle. For some in the Russian military, the film's subject remains an enduring cause of shame that highlighted poor planning, poor equipment, and poor intelligence.

But far from being a cause for regret or shame, the film's makers say they hope the retelling will prompt young people to ponder the meaning of duty and Rodina (the Motherland).

Though the battle saw the almost total annihilation of Russian troops, it is being held up as an example of selfless sacrifice, bravery, and patriotism.

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 provincial town of Pskov, were told to defend a hilltop against 2000 Chechen fighters.

In the film the 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 to take hostages and wreak terror.

All that stands between them and a bloodbath akin to the Beslan school siege, the viewer is told, are the 90 paratroopers of 6th Company, many of whom are inexperienced conscripts.

Outnumbered, outgunned, and starved of support, the men resort to luring the Chechens towards them and calling in air strikes on themselves towards the end of the battle.

Thick fog prevented the Russians providing any meaningful air support at the time as its helicopters were not equipped with all-weather 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 during the night, but they 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 600-700 rebels before being overwhelmed.

- INDEPENDENT