Mutiny…!

On November 7th 1975 a mutiny breakes out on the Soviet destroyer “Storoschewoj” stationed in the Baltic Sea (Riga)!



The leader of the uprising is the "second man" on board, political officer Valery Ssablin, a devoted, even fanatical communist ...:



The political officer first showed the destroyer's crew the famous Einsenstein film "Battleship Potjomkin" (a mutiny in 1905) ...:


Then he locks the ship's captain in his cabin and calls on the crew to mutiny!

The mutiny is not directed against socialism, but against the CPSU, which - according to Ssablin - “deviated significantly from Lenin's ideals”.

The team participates - whether out of real conviction or because of the cadaver obedience that has been drummed into them since the beginning of the training remains open.

Ssablin orders to run from Riga to Leningrad - there he wants to face the people and the media, and thus move the party to "turn around".

Quite a confused plan.

The high command of the Baltic Fleet soon realizes that something is getting out of hand on “Storoschewoj” - but assumes that the ship was captured by its crew in order to flee to Sweden (the route from Riga to Leningrad initially leads north , i.e. towards Sweden).



There will be warships and Yak-31 bombers ...



... mobilized to stop “Storoschewoj”!

The next picture of "Storoschewoj" was made from one of these bombers ...:



When the bombers circle the ship and fire warning shots and the ships of the Baltic fleet approach, Ssablin gives up in resignation!

He was arrested on the spot, tried before a military tribunal, sentenced to death - and executed on August 3, 1976.

Incidentally, the events on the ship “Storoschewoj” inspired the US author Tom Clancy...



... to write his novel “Hunt for Red October”, which was published in 1984 and was made into a very successful commercial film in 1990 with Sean Connery in the leading role ...

Thanks Martin - this incident was unknown to me.

Phil

Thanks Martin, what an episode. And they took his life? Dear me.