President attends screening of Panfilovs 28 Men, the story of a Red Army divisions heroic defence of Moscow in the second world war
A new movie about a perhaps untrue or exaggerated act of second world war valor has become the latest weapon in Vladimir Putins drive to restore national pride. According to a BBC report, the Russian president joined Kazakhstan president Nursultan Nazarbayev for a screening of Panfilovs 28 Men in the Kazakh capital of Astana, an event that was reported on national TV.
Panfilovs 28 Men is based on a much discussed incident during the defence of Moscow in 1941, during the German invasion of Russia. A unit from the Red Armys 316 th Rifle division( predominantly composed of Khazakhs and Kyrgyz) was reported to have fought a column of German tanks near the village of Dubosekovo, destroying 18 before all being killed. In 1942, the entire group was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, and a number of monuments were erected, including one in Kazakhstans largest city, Almaty.
However, later investigations including an official report compiled in 1948 by a military magistrate suggested that the action had been at best exaggerated, and at worst entirely invented. At least six of the soldiers survived, and one, named as Ivan Dobrobabin, surrendered to the Germans and was sent to the gulag for betraying the motherland.
The 1948 report was declassified by the country archive in 2015, after production on Panfilovs 28 Men was underway. According to the Moscow Times, producer and co-director Andrey Shalopa protested against the declassification, saying: Attempt to debunk instances of national heroism can only be done to weaken the peoples moral foundation. One can hardly think of a noble motive for that.
Panfilovs 28 Mens was produced with backing from the culture ministries of Russia and Kazakhstan; the film-makers also say they raised more than 34 m roubles( 444,000) via crowdfunding. It is due for release on 24 November.
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