Purgatory (Russian Title: Chistilishche/Чистилищe) is a 1998 Russian made-for-television movie directed by Alexander Nevzorov about the First Chechen War. Set in January 1995 during the First Battle of Grozny, the movie follows a group of Russian soldiers who must fight their way out of a hospital after being surrounded by Chechen rebels and foreign fighters. The movie is notable for its unflinchingly graphic portrayal of urban combat and nationalistic overtones.
The following weapons are seen in the television movie Purgatory:
The AKM is used by some of the GRU spetsnaz commandos, as well as by various Chechen fighters. Most of the AKMs seen have attached GP-25 grenade launchers and orange bakelite magazines.
Russian soldiers from the 131st Motorized Rifle Brigade (Maikop Brigade) are armed with AK-74 rifles. Most of their Chechen adversaries, including rebel commander Dukuzov Israpilov (Dmitry Nagiyev), also use AK-74s. The rifles are a mix of older model AK-74s and newer AK-74Ms, and like the AKMs, most have magazines taped "jungle-style".
A pair of female Lithuanian snipers (stared by Irina Veselina and Viktoriya Matveeva) use SVD Dragunov sniper rifles to pick off Russian soldiers. It is interesting to note that the female snipers are a depiction of the popular White Tights urban legend in which female biathletes from Baltic states are alleged to have fought against Russian forces as mercenaries in Chechnya and other conflicts in the former USSR. Aslan (Nikolai Alekseev) also uses a Dragunov while hunting the snipers down within the hospital.
The leader of the GRU spetsnaz team, "Cobra" (Vyacheslav Burlachko), uses a RPK machine gun throughout the film. Colonel Vitaly Suvorov (Viktor Stepanov) also uses a RPK towards the end of the film while leading a counter-attack on Chechen positions.
A NSVT heavy machine gun is mounted on the commander's hatch of Lieutenant Igor Grigorashenko's (Roman Zhilkin's) T-80BV tank, which is used in a desperate effort to relieve the surrounded Russians. Though never fired, the machine gun can be seen in several sequences, notably when Israpilov calls on Grigorashenko to surrender after his tank is disabled.
An AGS-17 Plamya grenade launcher is initially used by African foreign fighters to bombard the hospital wing that the Russians are holed up in. It is later captured by the spetsnaz commandos and turned on the Chechens with devastating results.
The RPG-7 is used by Chechen fighters at various points in the movie, including one sequence where it is used to (unrealistically) launch the head of an executed POW into Russian positions.
RPG-18 launchers are frequently seen slung over the shoulder of Russian troops and some of the Chechen fighters. Russian soldiers use the RPG-18 to knock an attacking Chechen T-72.
The RPG-26 is another common rocket launcher in the film, and is often used by the Chechen fighters, especially when they are attacking Lt. Grigorashenko's tank.
