Powerful documentary gives cadets glimpse of terrorism

News > Powerful documentary gives cadets glimpse of terrorism

Powerful documentary gives cadets glimpse of terrorism

Posted 11/4/2011 Updated 11/4/2011

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by David Edwards
Air Force Academy Public Affairs

11/4/2011 - U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- An Air Force Academy audience recently got to see what it was like for the hundreds of people held hostage by Chechen terrorists in a Moscow theater 10 years ago.

Thanks to the efforts of Lt. Col. Jennifer Alexander of the Economics and Geosciences Department, the Academy screened the documentary film "The Moscow Siege" for cadets, faculty and guests Oct. 27.

Presenting the film was Dr. Alexander Soifer, an instructor at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and a native of Russia.

Alexander heard about a showing of the film at UCCS through her husband, who works at the university. She felt compelled to see it.

"When I first saw Dr. Soifer's announcement for the film, I thought it might be a film that would enhance our cadets' learning," Alexander said. "Actually viewing it only confirmed my impression."

The film tracks in graphic detail the four-day ordeal of patrons trapped inside the Nord-Ost Theater when it was stormed by Chechen separatists, who were aided by female suicide bombers embedded in the audience prior to the show.

The siege ended when a powerful nerve gas was piped into the theater, incapacitating the terrorists and allowing elite Russian commandos to kill them.

But the Russian government's plan to end the siege did not account for rescue of the hostages. More than 100 of them died after succumbing to the effects of the nerve gas.
Soifer received permission from the film's London-based director to show the film at the Academy. In his introduction, he highlighted some of the main characters in the drama, including famed Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

She was one of the primary negotiators, and she also organized an impromptu delivery of food and water to the hostages because the government had not planned for any humanitarian relief.

The film supplemented the classroom learning of the cadets in Social Science 412, a core course.

"Terrorism is also an overarching concept we address," Alexander said. "What's really interesting about the film is that it illustrates an idea that one of my fellow faculty members, Army Lt. Col. Aaron Koenigsecker, emphasizes to his classes: One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. That concept is relevant because we want our cadets in Social Science 412 to challenge their preconceptions and think about how the world works from a broader perspective."

Dr. Dave Sacko, the faculty adviser for the Slavic Studies club, invited his cadets to see the film, and several of them did.

Future screenings may be offered at the Academy if Soifer can again secure the director's permission. The version of the film with English subtitles is controlled by October Films and director Pamela Gordon. The Russian version is banned in Soifer's homeland.

Alexander said she plans to continue her collaboration with Soifer and believes the partnership will reap additional rewards for the Academy.

"I think cadets who (attended) the film viewing came away with a deeper understanding of the complexities of ethnic conflict," Alexander said. "Several cadets mentioned they didn't realize the extent of the damage inflicted in Chechnya by the Russians. They saw the possibility that the (Chechens) were not just terrorists but also victims."