Moscow premiers docu film on Chittagong Port mines removal

An exclusive documentary film on the removal of mines at the Chittagong port by the then Soviet Navy was premiered in Moscow.

The film was displayed marking the 50 years of diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and Russia, reports BSS.   

The documentary film titled "Freedom Does Not Breathe Money" has depicted the removal of mines immediately after the independence of Bangladesh at the Chittagong port during 1972-1984, said a PMO release.

The movie, directed by Russian filmmaker Evgeny Barkhanov, had its opening show in presence of Russian celebrities on December 28 at the Central Cinema Hall in Moscow.

Bangladesh Ambassador to Russia Kamrul Ahsan, alongside Evgeny Barkhanov, the director of the documentary, and Captain (retd) Nikolay Nikolayevich Koloskov, who was involved in mine clearing as a young navy officer were present.

Addressing the audience, Ambassador Kamrul Ahsan said, “This 44-minute documentary contains some rare video footage of our Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, which many of us have never seen before.”

The documentary is now available for the audiences

The documentary showcases the incident after the War of Liberation in 1971, as the Chittagong seaport could not be opened for sinking ships and mines, and even no western country showed any interest in helping Bangladesh in this matter at that time.

To solve this problem, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman requested then Prime Minister of Russia Alexei Kosygin and the Secretary General of the Soviet Communist Party Lunev Brezhnev during his state visit to Moscow on March 1-3, 1972, to cooperate in clearing the mines in the Bay of Bengal as soon as possible and clear the fairway of sunken ships in order to make way for ships with humanitarian aid.

The then Soviet government, in response to Bangabandhu's request, immediately dispatched about 900 naval personnel from their Pacific Naval Base at Vladivostok to Chittagong with military vessels capable of removing mines and rescuing sunken ships.

The documentary interviews Admiral Yuriy Konstantinovich Senatskiy and two other senior officials of the Russian Navy and featured relevant incidents with mine clearance and other circumstances during that operation.

Admiral Yuriy, who passed away during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020 shortly after giving the interview, served as the second-in-command of the Soviet Navy stationed at Chittagong seaport.