Russian Submariners K.O. the movie K-19
Russian seamen depicted in K-19: The Widowmaker have complained that they were betrayed by the producers of the movie who, they say, promised them that they would "be portrayed as heroes" but instead depicted them "as a bunch of alcoholics and illiterates." In an interview with the French wire service Agence France Presse, Yury Mukhin, a former lieutenant-commander aboard the Soviet nuclear submarine that figures in the film, said that what appears on screen "was nothing like the reality." Russian naval officers aboard the sub reportedly particularly objected to scenes showing submariners drinking vodka -- it is banned on submarines -- and having to read an instruction manual when an alarm goes off. "This was the Soviet Union's first nuclear submarine," Mukhin told AFP, "and the crew consisted of professionals of the highest quality." Ship's electrician Victor Strelez told CNN on Saturday: "I don't think that Americans can convey what we went through, only a Russian with a Russian mentality can convey it." The BBC reported on Friday that families of the survivors of the sub and victims' widows will receive one percent of the box office gross from the movie.
Russian seamen depicted in K-19: The Widowmaker have complained that they were betrayed by the producers of the movie who, they say, promised them that they would "be portrayed as heroes" but instead depicted them "as a bunch of alcoholics and illiterates." In an interview with the French wire service Agence France Presse, Yury Mukhin, a former lieutenant-commander aboard the Soviet nuclear submarine that figures in the film, said that what appears on screen "was nothing like the reality." Russian naval officers aboard the sub reportedly particularly objected to scenes showing submariners drinking vodka -- it is banned on submarines -- and having to read an instruction manual when an alarm goes off. "This was the Soviet Union's first nuclear submarine," Mukhin told AFP, "and the crew consisted of professionals of the highest quality." Ship's electrician Victor Strelez told CNN on Saturday: "I don't think that Americans can convey what we went through, only a Russian with a Russian mentality can convey it." The BBC reported on Friday that families of the survivors of the sub and victims' widows will receive one percent of the box office gross from the movie.
