Russian war veteran Vitaliy Gubenko, who took part in the 1972-1974 mine clearing operation in the post-independent Bangladesh, has said that the US suspected that the then Soviet Union would build a naval base in Chittagong.
“But our main goal was to help the young republic and help to secure its independence. The US suspected us that we were in preparation for (building) a naval base in Chittagong,” he said, as he recalled those days in newly born Bangladesh.
“Building a military base in Chittagong was not in our plan,” he said.
He was 30 years old in 1973 when he was tasked to maintain communication among the ships and between Dhaka and Moscow as a divisional signal officer.
He recalled those days and said Bangladesh has developed a lot since then.
Vitaliy Gubenko and Alexander Zalutskiy, members of the Soviet Navy Special Purpose Expedition, are in Bangladesh at the invitation of the government to participate in the Victory Day commemorative events, visit the place of their duty in Chittagong and pay tribute to Yuri Redkin, who died in the line of duty in 1973.
“We are grateful for this warm welcome and hope that this visit will facilitate further strengthening bilateral relations,” Vitaliy Gubenko said.
“Bangladesh has developed drastically in the last 50 years. Now I see lot of construction sites, big projects are being developed,” he said, as he was 30 years old in 1973.
“50 years ago, while we were in Chittagong, we barely saw any woman down there. Now I walk down the street and see many beautiful women's faces,” he said, while lauding Bangladesh’s socio-economic development.
“In the 70s, the Soviet Union was a super power with a great fleet that went through every Ocean in the world and no one was there to mess around with Moscow,” he said.
“We helped other countries including Bangladesh without asking any financial obligations. When we first arrived, it was really hard to make ourselves comfortable with the weather conditions,” he said, adding that they even lost weight to cope with the new climate.
He said local people helped them both during their work and also in leisure time.
He also recalled the support of India and said we worked with Indian seamen and two Indian minesweepers. “It made our work efficient,” he said.
“As a communication officer I worked on an Indian trawler and did my job and it was really a good example of joint work.”
How did Russia get engaged?
Russia, then Soviet Union, helped Bangladesh during the war as the US had sided with Pakistan.
The Soviet navy also chased the US’s Seventh Fleet when it approached Bangladesh during the war.
After the victory, Bangladesh needed to clear the mines and sunken ships to resume the Chittagong port, the lifeline for exports.
The Soviet Pacific Navy conducted that Special Purpose Expedition for that from 1972-1974.
Russian Ambassador Alexander Mantytskiy said in January 1972, war-torn Bangladesh appealed to the UN for help in solving the problem of its paralyzed ports. The necessary funding to hire private ship-lifting companies was found, but contract negotiations came to no avail.
“Meanwhile, preliminary talks on the same issue were underway between Moscow and Dhaka. On March 3, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman requested the Soviet leadership to send an expedition to restore Chittagong port's functioning. The response was quick, and the respective agreement was signed the same month. Notably, it didn’t entail any financial liabilities for Bangladesh, as the USSR undertook the task on purely humanitarian grounds, while other "volunteers" requested over 10 million dollars for that job,” he said.
The first Soviet minesweepers came to the Chittagong port on April 26.
According to Western estimates, the ambassador said, it should have taken from three to five years to complete the task.
But the Soviet force did it in 26 months.
Around one thousand sailors under the command of Rear Admiral Sergei Zuenko lifted 26 ships, almost 2,000 tons of metal scrap and mines.
As a result, the ships with humanitarian aid and commercial cargo started anchoring at the revived port. “It is safe to say that the mission rescued the economy of Bangladesh from the threat of total collapse and its 75 million people from hunger,” the ambassador said.
“The port restoration was a truly heroic feat as the Soviet servicemen demonstrated high professionalism despite austere living conditions, storms, extreme heat and almost zero visibility in water.”
In 2020, a stele to their memory was unveiled in Chittagong.
Unfortunately, not all crewmembers returned home. On July 13, 1973, senior sailor Yuri Redkin, only 22 years old, lost his life in the line of duty.
He was buried with military honors on the territory of the Bangladesh Naval Academy on the Patenga Cape. In 1984, the obelisk was built there and the place was named Redkin Point.
“We appreciate that the Academy authorities continue the tradition of laying floral wreaths on Yuri Redkin's birthday and keep the monument in good condition.”
“We stand proud of our country's contribution to the early years of Bangladesh development, which over the years has become a role model for the whole world. Today, we remain a reliable partner of Bangladesh progressive journey,” said the ambassador.