New Russian Film About Syrian Operations Promotes Kremlin Narrative

“The motion picture ‘Sky’ can be considered one of the reference points for modern Russian cinema, allowing, figuratively speaking, to translate the arrows of Russian cinema, reorient, reformat it in the spirit of patriotism.”

The Russian military has entered its seventh year of combat operations in Syria.  The Kremlin-supported media has portrayed their country’s military involvement in an overall positive light.  According to their narrative, Russian forces have helped to decimate the terrorist threat in Syria, bringing large portions of the country back under Syrian government control.  Their participation, however, has not been cost-free.  While exact numbers are classified, more than 100 Russian security forces personnel have been killed in Syria since 2015, with an equal or greater number of injured. 

One of the most dramatic and painful losses occurred in November 2015, when a Russian Su-24M bomber was shot down by a Turkish fighter after an alleged border violation.  The Russian film industry, with financial help from the Ministry of Defense (MoD), recently released a movie “Небо” (Sky) to commemorate this event.  As the two accompanying excerpts describe, this film illustrates how the Russian media can transform a misfortune into a triumph and further strengthen the Kremlin’s narrative.

The first excerpt from the mostly independent Nezavisimoye Voennoye points out that “the film is based on real events that took place in Syria, when, during a combat mission on 24 November 2015, a Russian Su-24 was shot down by a Turkish fighter.”  It reminds readers that the aircraft’s “navigator (Murakhtin) was rescued, while the pilot, Peshkov was shot by terrorists in the air.”  The article quotes the commander of the Airborne Forces, who asserts that “the film ‘Sky’ can be considered one of the reference points for modern Russian cinema, allowing, figuratively speaking, to translate the arrows of Russian cinema, reorient, and reformat it toward the spirit of patriotism.”  The second excerpt from the popular Russian media site Vokrug TV provides some additional background.  Not surprisingly, “the main villain in the film is an invisible puppeteer from the United States who controls the actions of terrorists….”  This site also highly praises this new movie, asserting that “all this is filmed so spectacularly that even the last skeptic will stir up something like patriotism in his soul.”

Source:

Daria Lyubovik, “Небо летчик Олег Пешков: Вышел первый российский фильм о войне в Сирии (Sky of the pilot Oleg Peshkov: The first Russian film about the war in Syria was released),” Nezavisimoye Voennoye Obozreniye (mostly independent), 25 November 2021. https://nvo.ng.ru/realty/2021-11-25/1_1167_sky.html

The film company “Triix Media” together with the Ministry of Defense and with the participation of the channel “Russia 1” presented a film about the feat of the Russian pilot Oleg Peshkov, who died during the anti-terrorist operation in Syria. This is the first art picture, by the decision of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, included in the list of mandatory viewing in the Armed Forces.

The film is based on real events that took place in Syria, when, during a combat mission on 24 November 2015, a Russian Su-24 was shot down by a Turkish fighter. The crew – Oleg Peshkov and Konstantin Murakhtin – managed to eject. Navigator Murakhtin was rescued, and Peshkov was shot by terrorists in the air. 

…After the premiere of the film “Sky”, “NVO” asked to share his impressions of the Hero of the Russian Federation, the commander of the Airborne Forces, Colonel-General Andrei Serdyukov.

– In the Soviet Union, films about the Great Patriotic War were an incentive to educate the younger generation. Does the Ministry of Defense plan to further promote the theme of glorification of people who are responsible for the security of the state?

– “I agree that in our youth there was a lot of glorification in cinema, serious films were shot, the heroes of which became an example for the younger generation. We were brought up on catch phrases from our favorite films. The motion picture ‘Sky’ can be considered one of the reference points for modern Russian cinema, allowing, figuratively speaking, to translate the arrows of Russian cinema, reorient, reformat it in the spirit of patriotism. I am sure that in the future, with the support of our leadership, many new patriotic films will be released.”

Source: Leonid Kiskarkin, “Небо: военная драма о современном Маресьеве (Sky: a military drama about modern Maresyev).” Vokrug TV (popular Russian media site), 17 November 2021. https://www.vokrug.tv/article/show/16370996521/

The film describes the feat of Russian pilots, whose plane was shot down by the Turks on the border with Syria. …On November 24, 2015, a Russian Su-24M bomber with tail number 83 took off from the Khmeimim military base to carry out a combat mission: launching a missile strike against terrorists. Near the Syrian-Turkish border in the Yayladagi region of Hatay province, a Turkish fighter jet shot down a plane of the Russian military space forces. The crew of two was ejected from the burning bomber. One of the pilots was shot in the air by opponents of the Assad regime, another was able to land safely in an area controlled by terrorists and was rescued during a special operation by the Russian military. This story formed the basis of the military drama “Sky,” filmed with the support of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation….

…The main villain in the film is an invisible puppeteer from the United States who controls the actions of terrorists…

…The film culminates in the same ill-fated flight during which our bomber fell victim to a dastardly Turkish Air Force strike…. All this is filmed so spectacularly that even the last skeptic will stir up something like patriotism in his soul.