Leaving Afghanistan (Russian: Братство, romanized: Bratstvo lit. brotherhood) is a Russian war film directed and written by Pavel Lungin.[1][2][3][4]
Set between 1988 and 1989 in the closing stages of the Soviet-Afghan War, the plot, based upon a true story, centres around the men of the 108th Motor Rifle Division, whose withdrawal from Afghanistan is put on hold to rescue the kidnapped son of a Soviet general by the Mujahideen as a result of a plane crash, fighting their way through the Salang Pass and experiencing the hardship of war along the way.[5]
The film was criticized by politicians and Soviet Army veterans for being "unpatriotic", among which Federation Council member Igor Morozov noted the film featuring scenes of Soviet soldiers looting and fighting amongst themselves as being unsuitable for "educating young people with a sense of patriotism", accusing director Pavel Lungin of distorting history.[7] Lungin rejected criticism of the film as being "anti-Russian", stating how it is instead an anti-war film that instead shows "how good guys are sent to fight ugly, pointless wars" and how it promotes conversation about the role of Russia’s armed forces during and after the Cold War period.[8]
Leaving Afghanistan was entered into the 2019 Shanghai International Film Festival’s Golden Goblet Awards, where writers Aleksandr and Pavel Lungin won the award for Best Screenplay.[9]