Photo credit: Personnel of the Normandie-Niemen air regiment / unkrown // normandieniemen.free.fr / Les_photos_du_Normandie_Niemen.htm, /wikimedia.org (Public domain)
Gerard Depardieu plans to start work on a film about the pilots of the French squadron Normandie-Niemen, TASS reports. Filming will take place in the westernmost Russian region. The air regiment took part in the Battle of East Prussia in 1945. The squadron also participated in the assault on the fortress city of Konigsberg.
The administration of the Kaliningrad region called the idea of the new film very interesting. The assault on Konigsberg is an important part of the history of the region. At least ten locations are related to the Normandie-Niemen squadron. The regional authorities have promised to provide all-round assistance to the filmmakers.
A film studio complex will soon be created in Kaliningrad. Experts are confident that the Kaliningrad region can become a sort of Baltic Hollywood in the future - a major center of the film industry.
The Normandie-Niemen Regiment, created during the war in the USSR, is the most awarded regiment in France. The squadron was formed at the height of the war on the initiative of General Charles de Gaulle. It took part in the most important battles on the Eastern Front. The air regiment flew more than 5,000 sorties, conducted about 900 air battles. 42 pilots of the regiment were killed in the battle with the enemy. Four officers were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Russkiy Mir
