''Kandagar'' (; also known as ''Kandahar'') is a 2010 Russian historical action film detailing the escape of a Russian crew from the captivity of

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

fighters in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

in 1996. The film stars some of Russia's most famous actors, Vladimir Mashkov,

Andrei Panin Andrei Vladimirovich Panin (; 28 May 1962 – 6 March 2013) was a Nika Award-winner Russian actor appearing in film and television, and a director. Biography Early life Panin was born on 28 May 1962, in Novosibirsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, ...

and Alexander Baluyev. The movie is based on the Russian pilot Vladimir Sharpatov's diary. The film was released in Russia on April 4, 2010. The

Andrey Kavun Andrey Olegovich Kavun (; ; ) is a Russian film director and screenwriter of Ukrainian origin, notable for historical drama film ''Kandahar''. In 1999 he graduated from the directing department of VGIK The Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography ...

film is the first to depict Russians in Afghanistan after the Soviet withdrawal from the country.

Background

On August 3, 1995 a

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nicknames include: "''Balalaika''", because its planf ...

from the Taliban's air force forced down a Russian

Ilyushin Il-76 The Ilyushin Il-76 (; NATO reporting name: Candid) is a multi-purpose, fixed-wing, four-engine turbofan strategic airlifter designed by the Soviet Union's Ilyushin design bureau as a commercial freighter in 1967, to replace the Antonov An-1 ...

plane with seven Russian nationals on board. The aircraft was forced to land at a Taliban controlled airfield near

Kandahar Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It is the capital of Kandahar Pro ...

. The men were held prisoners for more than one year by the Taliban which controlled about half of Afghanistan at the time during the Afghan Civil War. The movie follows their captivity, day-to-day survival, and escape from

. Unexpected negligence from Russian diplomats caused the prisoners to take steps toward their freedom themselves. The captain was forced to teach Taliban fighters to fly the plane, and the rest of the hostages were allowed to visit their aircraft for maintenance. At some point the Russian crew worked out the escape plan, and during one of the maintenance visits for landing gear work, they were able to gain control over the plane. Despite interception efforts by Taliban base guards, which caused the aircraft to start the takeoff having only half of the runway, they were able to take off. Despite several technical difficulties immediately after takeoff, they finally gained a safe cruising altitude and speed.

Cast

Aleksandr Baluev Aleksandr Nikolaevich Baluev (; born 6 December 1958) is a Soviet and Russian theatre and film actor who has appeared in more than 100 films and numerous stage productions since 1980. Life and career Aleksandr Baluev was born in Moscow, Russian ...

– Vladimir Ivanovich Sharpatov, pilot * Vladimir Mashkov – Serega, co-pilot *

– Alexander Gotov, navigator * Alexandr Golubev – Vitek, boardwriter * Bohdan Beniuk – Roman Vakulenko, flight engineer * Aleksandr Robak – Mark

References

Notes

External links

*
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kandahar 2010 films 2010s Russian films 2010s Russian-language films 2010s historical action films 2010s action war films Russian aviation films Russian historical action films Russian action war films Russian action drama films Russian war drama films Russian-language action drama films Russian-language war drama films Films set in Afghanistan Thriller films based on actual events Films directed by Andrey Kavun Films set in 1995 Films set in 1996

Background

Cast

See also

References

Notes

External links