“It was an armed seizure of the ship” – BBC

40 years ago, on November 9, 1975, the deputy commander of a large anti-ship Valery Sablin made history by capturing the large anti-submarine ship “Watchdog”. Sablin locked commander in one of the rooms, and the rest of the team announced a “large gathering”, which stated that he intends to steer the ship to Leningrad, to appear on television to start a new revolution to correct the admitted power error.

Part of the team supported Sablin disagreement were locked and beaten, the morning of November 9 the ship came out of the Gulf of Riga.

However, the incident became known to the command, and then to prosecute BOD They were sent patrol ships and bombers. Seeing them, the team of “Sentry” has released the captain. Sablin with accomplices were arrested, the ship with minor injuries returned to Riga. Sablin was found guilty of treason and executed in 1976, a participant of the uprising Shane sentenced to eight years in prison.

The details of the capture and view Sablina “Gazeta.ru” said writer-seascape, Captain 1st Rank Vladimir Shigin, author of the book “Rebellious” watchdog “. Last hits Captain 3rd Rank Sablina “to get acquainted with the investigation materials.

– Vladimir Vilenovich, studied the materials of the case, do you think that Sablin was a loner or him there were some forces?

– My opinion – it was not a loner, he was taken, he was, if I may say so, recruited by certain circles during his studies at the Military Political Academy. It was a touchstone, which was launched against the Soviet regime, to see cave in it or not.

The power is not bent and very rigidly reacted to the attempt of rebellion, so the beginning of the active performances was postponed for ten years.

During interrogations Sablin behaved very arrogantly believed that he closed down “from above”, without psychiatric examination was carried out, despite the fact that the investigators insisted on this. And when in the judgment was pronounced a death sentence to him became hysterical, he began to shout, “I’ll tell you everything,” but he was not allowed to speak and dragged away. Revocation was filed, but it was rejected, and the sentence was carried out. I think, to those who conducted lively it was no longer needed, and later out of it make an image of a martyr who died for democracy.

In general, the political officer of the ship, Captain 3rd rank – just low post, he was called to the Baltic Fleet, which had not previously served, and for the success of the rebellion he needed to fix the ship two people – senior assistant commander and commander of a motorized combat unit, it is a very reputable people.

Found deficient ticket, one was sent to a sanatorium in Tartu and senior assistant Novozhilova laid in hospital, although this was not necessary.

– What is sought Sablin, seizing the ship ?
– a lot of people talking about, but few know what it was he wanted. I am familiar with his political program, and listened to it on tape reel. He himself said that in the world there are three great men: Marx, Lenin and himself. Marx theorized the building of communism, Lenin implemented the construction of socialism in one country, and Sablin substantiated and is ready to implement the building of communism in a single country. His idea was that the older generation in the leadership of the country has exhausted the intellectual and spiritual resources, it should be destroyed and to bring young people to the barricades. Cancel social institutions, to introduce the slogan “From each according to ability, to each according to his needs».

– Where did you read this program?
– Sablin expounded it in the course of the investigation, there are protocols. Also, I personally looked through his notebooks notebooks, setting out the main points.

– How many people from nearly 200 have sided Sablina?
– some who had soon transferred to the reserve, Sablin promised that upon arrival to Leningrad, they will be exempt from service. Specificity warship that people are not together in the army on the parade ground. They are fighting for posts, isolated from each other. Therefore, when sounded team removed from the barrel, the combat readiness of the number one all gone and no one is seen. Even when the ship went to the Gulf of Riga and they were approached by boat, all began to realize that something is wrong. Officers were locked to their cabins, and the sailors themselves have raised kontrmyatezh ship from no one captured.

The sailors were released the officers, the commander of the ship and stopped.

– Is it true that dropped bombs?

– Yes, aviation bombs, but not the naval and the Baltic Military District. The bombs fell nearby, without injuring a single person, but Sablin was an idea to expel all the upper deck, so that no one fired. Was damaged pipe, it was fragments from bombs. Sablin tried to deploy guns to open fire, but the men did not let do it by disconnecting the electrical circuits.

– where the ship was in fact – in the direction of Sweden or Leningrad?
– The Swedish side, that’s for sure. When the Commander of the Navy ordered him to return to Riga and to anchor Sablin understood that in Leningrad he was not let go, he turned to the nearest Swedish island, to which was just 60 miles away. As backup plan he wanted to enter in Swedish waters, anchor and call on the international community, the UN.

– For all time capture a ship weapons were used?
– Weapons It did not apply, but people were beaten, and beaten badly. Shane, and another assistant Sablina beaten sailors pistol grip, hit on the head,

one sailor, trying to free the commander, his head smashed.

– was born of their union with Shane?
– Sablin brought him to her, he was a criminal, he had a conditional conviction. For the time of his service in the Navy was an extraordinary event. He became a personal aide Sablin, who let him twice on holiday.

– Who and how to leave the ship and informed the command about what happened?
– Lieutenant Firsov, secretary of the Komsomol organization of the ship, when he realized what was happening, moved to the mooring barrel with her it was taken to the submarine, which stood in the parade, after which he announced the capture of the ship.

– Were there any in the history of the Soviet fleet similar cases of “political” capture the military ships?
– Nothing like that happened, there was one stupid incident at the Pacific Fleet, when three or four unruly sailors decided to raise a pirate flag and go at sea on patrol ship.

From blankets stitched pirate flag, seized the arsenal, but it’s up to what did not make it, they began to suspect each other of treason and killed each other.

– whether to write about the incident with Sablin in the press and how it is perceived in the fleet?
– The press, of course, nothing reported. The Navy knew about it at meetings ever, the attitude was extremely negative, as now all normal officers. Because it was an armed seizure of the ship and the arrest of the commander. Substitute a bomb or hundreds of innocent people in the name of their ideas – is despicable. I believe that the government responded adequately, and the punishment was extremely lenient and humane to the other participants of rebellion.

– Is it true that in 1994 the Supreme Court verdict Sablin was posthumously mitigated?
– Instead of treason Sablina accused of an armed seizure of the ship and said that instead of shooting he ought to ten years in prison. However, it has not been rehabilitated. As a sailor, I can say that all the international rules of the arrest, capture or removal from power commander is treated uniquely as an act of piracy. Imagine what would be done in the United States, if someone is arrested the commander and seized power on the ship? It was put in the electric chair at once.