Russia shoots films for Kosovo with million values

Russian cinematography is shooting two expensive films in the case of the 20-year operation “Marshi” of Russian paratroopers from Bosnia and Herzegovina at Pristina Airport in Slatina in June 1999. Working on these movies is being followed by campaigning against NATO and the involvement of Serbian actors in legalisation of the Crimea annexation.

The correction is based on the real event! ”, points out the Russian film company Upgrade Vision and thus warns “the heroic “>” The Balkan Line, which will appear in early 2019 to the public in 20 countries.

It's 1999. NATO is bombarding Serbia, and Kosovo is leaving the robbery of Albanian bandits. Russia has been offered a small and shameful role for resolving conflicts in Kosovo. The airport in Slatina passes under the control of Albanian commander Smuk. Russian intelligence members Andrej Shatalov and Beck Yethojev receive the airport. From Bosnia, in the 600km march to Kosovo, the Russian battalion departs. Their task is not only to control the airport but also to destroy Smuk's nest and rescue the daughter Shatalova, whom bandits have taken captive to smuggle organs. Russia, after the euphoria with Perestroika, realized that it has its own interests to protect. The new era of” began, explains the content of Upgrade Vision.

“Historians view these events as the most dangerous deterioration of relations between Russia and the West since the Caribbean crisis. The Balkan Line speaks of the fatal operation, whose details to this day are closed to the opinion”, the Russian Ministry of Culture statement said.

One of the film authors, who asked to remain anonymous, has told Radio Free Europe that in this account <x0-axitent is set up in the fact that Serbia is the much hit side in the conflict”.

“Enough events in Kosovo have been invented in order to spur bombing of NATO and this will be shown in the film”, Radio Free Europe co-ordinator has said.

According to him, the authors have been inspired by the confessions of some Russians who have been in the Balkans in the wars of the 1990s. Among them is the Major Intelligence Service GRU (he is now chairman of Ingashia) Yunus Jevkurov, who from Russian command in late May 1999, had received a secret assignment to take over the airport in Slatina. The other interesting person is Anatoly Lebed, <x0Landage” of special forces, which his colleagues called the Russian “Rambo”.

Lebed, who is the bearer of the largest military rewards, had to abandon his army in 1994 and work as a market keeper and smuggled into vehicles from Germany. The Balkan war has enabled him to return to the army ranks: he has gone to Kosovo and fought on the side of Serbs.

The leading roles in the movie will play actors: Gosha Kucenko, Ravshana Kurkova, Anton Pampuni, as well as some Serbian actors.

Among them are the idol of millions of Soviet boys, <x0ndian” best known, Gojko Mitiq, and the new star of Russian cinematography, Milos Bikovic, who had known Russian director Nikita Mihalkov a few years earlier.

Recently, the team of actors has joined also Emir Kusturica, who in 2016, Vladimir Putin had shared the Agreement of Friendship “, due to “specific mandates in strengthening mutual peace and understanding among the peoples” (the equivalent of this decoration in Serbia are Ivica Daciq, Nenad Popovic and Tomislav Nikolic).

The movie, in part, was shot in Crime. Afterwards, all those who were citizens of Serbia have been found on the Ukraine website “Miotvorec”, due to participation in propaganda activities and legalisation of the crime annex. “Miotvoreec” is positioned as part of the Centre for Investigation of Crime Against Ukraine's National Security Base.

This website publishes the personal data of people, which it considers as separatists or <x0->agens of the Kremlin”.

Also, Serbian actors are engaged in promoting common Slavic values in Russian media, as well as in fighting NATO politics. While Milos Bikovic speaks of the common historical and cultural code, as well as resistance to Western pressures, Gojko Mitic, says NATO has killed his mother.

Serbia's Ministry of Culture, as confirmed to the Balkan Radio Service Free Europe, for shooting “Balkan Line” has divided 24m and 880 thousand dinars (210 thousand euros), considering this as a national importance project.

Serbia's “Film Centre has carried the means to Archangel studios' production house from Belgrade” has answered Radio Free Europe's question, the Serbian Ministry.

The Russian Culture Ministry has not responded to the demand regarding the financing of the project.

The overall film budget has been estimated to be 230m rubles (over 3m euros), while profits of around 525m ruble (over 7m euros) are expected.

On the production team is Vadim Birkin, who has experience with the renowned patriotic movies, like those called “buster” historical films “Jaroslav”, “a thousand years ago”, for which Rosture 2007 has allocated about $1m and has been one of the main events during the Jaroslavlja City Milenium cream.

With the organisation, the team of Governor Anatalij Lisic, who had Birkin advisors.

In recent years, Lisic has been interested in the Balkans. He has been committed to restoring the Russian cemetery in Serbia from World War I, as well as opening the “Valetina Tereskova” school.

Vladimir Birkin has told Radio Free Europe that the new film will be spectacular. However, he refused to talk about expenses.

The film budget is smaller than it is shown online. As long as the project doesn't end, there's no point in talking about concrete figures. We have the support of the Russian and Serbian Ministry of Culture, private investments and personal tools”, Birkin said.

According to him, the film's authors initially focus on Russian opinion and consider their scenario to bring unnecessary emotions to the Balkans.

“It is not possible to bypass relations among Balkan peoples, but this is not the most important issue in the film. We don't have good Serbs and bad Albanians” or vice versa good Albanians and bad Serbs. This is a flat image, as is the situation itself in the Balkans. Meanwhile, the bandit is a bandit and he may be Albanian or Serbian, as in the film of Angelina Jolie, on the land of blood and honey, may be Croatian. It shouldn't connect with nationality. In any case, we've had such a task”, Birkin stressed.

In Russia, too, a film is being prepared, without Serbian “ ”, but similar scenarios. According to the Russian television order NTV, which has been primarily known for “demoment” of the Russian political opposition, the film “Battalion is being filmed” This is a 4 series military-historic drama in which 10 intelligence agents try to protect the territory from the 60th most powerful enemy.

The essence lies in that Russia's military command decides to place control over Pristina airport in order to prevent genocide over the Serb people by the Kosovo Liberation Army, which Brahim leads.

The only man who can help and secure the weapons is the observer Andrej (Maxim Sighojev), who is formerly <x0... used in the Kosovo Army. But to carry out the task, Andreyan prevents the Roma, who kidnapped Venera, Brahimi's daughter, in whom the Russian agent is in love. Andrey needs to make a serious solution between duty to the country and honor of the girl he loves. The film is being filmed in the Republic of Adage, at the closed airport in the town of Mikeop.

In the space of information, Russia's political conflict with Western countries because of Kosovo, in the first part of 1999, seems dramatic and even mentioned World War III.

But despite spectacular stakes, such as the return of Yevgenije Primakov's plane over the Atlantic Ocean, in the wake of the bombing of Serbia, Russia and Western countries have emerged in the context of the Kosovo crisis, mainly as partners. Moscow has backed several UN Security Council resolutions on Kosovo, including the embargo on sending weapons, and after the launch of NATO bombings, had continued to seek a political solution together with the United States and European countries.

Another issue remains that that dialogue has been difficult because of NATO's action without UN mandate, while the position of the Russian delegation's military and political part in the talks was not always unanimous. However, Moscow, first of all, learned to strengthen its role in Kosovo, seeking special status for soldiers.

The Russian operation for taking control over Slavica Airport has been prepared in the final phase of the crisis, when the chairman of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milosevic, agreed to accept NATO's terms for attracting Serbian and Yugoslav forces, Yunus Revrukov, whose task has been to establish control over the airport and prepare for the arrival of the Russian contingent, speaks of that operation without details.

We were 18 people. We've taken positions so no one can investigate us”, Jevrukov said.

During this operation, Yevrukov, depending on the situation, was represented as Albanian, a mercenary, or a journalist.

Taking control of the Slatina airport by Russian soldiers ended after the adoption of Resolution 1244, when on June 12, 1999, 200 Russian paratroopers from Bosnia arrived shortly before British troops arrived within KFOR.

However, the Russian paramilitary battalion has not been able to operate independently. The reinforcements could not arrive, because Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria had closed air spaces for Russian aviation.

As a result of serious negotiations, Russia won the opportunity to place its forces in areas under the control of Germany, France, and the United States. Only after that did planes arrive in Kosovo with Russian soldiers and military equipment.

It's hard to imagine today, but Russian soldiers and British soldiers who contested airport control quickly established interaction.

One of the marching participants in Slatina, Aleksandar Lobncev, had so described the situation in his book “Kosovo 99”.

Our transporter was approached by a colonel and ordered that we leave for the convoy of British vehicles. He wasn't far away, and I asked him in advance if we should load our weapons. Will you fight? That's right, I answered with uncertainty. The colonel smiled and said: No, we won't fight here, son... Although our commanders and those Britons talked about various issues, it was clear that any decision was made hundreds of miles from Pristina. The situation, which in the first few hours depended entirely on us, was already in the hands of politicians...”

“Britianics formed a communications group of 10 or 20 people. That communication produced practical results. Since the first day of our arrival in Kosovo, we have had problems for drinking water. Later, the British helped us solve this problem. Once, an English truck filled with drinking water arrived. We dismissed those bottles of joint effort, our own and of British soldiers”, the book of Aleksandar Ljubljana, says.

At Vladimir Putin's order, in 2003, Russian peacekeepers have withdrawn from Bosnia and Kosovo. According to Russian Chief of General Staff Anatolian Kwasnin, “Russia no longer had strategic interests in the Balkans. In Russian diplomatic circles this decision was deemed wrong, even “First of all, that decision had destroyed the meaning and significance (anyhow) of the march in Pristina, whose 20th anniversary, the Kremlin, aims to celebrate next year.

In the past 20 years, many documentary films for NATO bombings and the march in Pristina have been filmed in Russia. In these accounts we can hear that “Cernomirdin had convinced Milosevich to betray Kosovo”, or that the Russian “soldiers had been waited as the heroes of 1945”, but that in those documentary films there is no information about clashes, the break-up of “Commander Smuk <75> or the release of captives. Russian soldiers have not participated in battle.

Military-political analyst from Belgrade Aleksandar Radic considers that events in the Balkans, in cinematography, are often presented as a collection of stereotypes, while the general tone of public debate, 20 years after the war, proves that the politics of the 1990s are still alive.

“Films based on real events have often adapted to the particular ideology. I consider that the confession of the Russian battalion march from Bosnia to Kosovo is just one of those examples. In 1999, apart from demonstrating Russian political will, the march had no other significance. But Russian cinematography is creating the view that has adapted to the new form of Russian political points”, Radic tells Radio Free Europe.

He has also cited the fact that Russian soldiers have arrived in Kosovo during the transitional period, when Serb forces were present at the Slatina airport.

For Serbs, the Russian march has had, first of all, psychological impact, but it has lasted short, because many of them have had to abandon Kosovo”, Radic points out.

After the attacks on terrorists in Dagenstan and the beginning of the second Chechen war in 2000, Russia has faced a absurd situation: its elite units are being held in the Balkans, the moment Russian territory was to be protected. The new course of Russian authorities meant that she should be concerned about her immediate environment. So Russian soldiers were withdrawn in 2003 and, in fact, this has been a symbol of Balkan importance in the true perception of Russian interests”, Radic said.

The Balkans have not been a priority. But opinion in Serbia is not willing to accept that fact.

Furthermore, support for Russian politics is increasing in Serbian society, while some of the Serbs who are present in the public sector have become carriers of the Russian “ide” and deal with praising the Russian nation's military power.

“This is part of the atmosphere in the Balkans at this moment”, analyst Aleksandar Radiq stressed.