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Cinematic Tag


Major General Bukharin (Russian: Генера́л-лейтена́нт Буха́рин) is a fictional General of the Russian Armed Forces. A minor character played by late British actor Terence Rigby, he appeared in the 1997 James Bond film, Tomorrow Never Dies, and was subsequently adapted for the film's accompanying novelisation, penned by Raymond Benson.

Biography[]

The film begins with James Bond remotely broadcasting footage of a terrorist arms bazaar somewhere on the Russian border. Major General Bukharin is Russia's liaison to the joint MI6 / Admirality team in the British Situation Room. Impatient and satisfied with the intelligence provided by 007, Admiral Roebuck asks Bukharin if his troops are prepared for the kind of firepower presented by the terrorists' defences. With an upcoming election in Moscow, the President of Russia has made it clear to the General that any loss of life is unacceptable. Roebuck opts for a naval solution - ordering a cruise missile strike on the position. However, shortly after ordering the strike it is revealed that one of the terrorist aircraft is equipped with a Soviet SB-5 nuclear torpedo. A visibly nervous Bukharin exclaims that it might not detonate, but there's enough plutonium on-board to make Chernobyl look like a picnic. Unable to abort the missile, Bond is forced to steal the plane - along with its deadly cargo - and narrowly escapes.

Alternate Continuities[]

In Raymond Benson's novelisation of the film, Bukharin is described as "a handsome man pushing sixty", with intelligence, tremendous energy and a remarkably good grasp of the English language.[1] He joins M and Roebuck in the British Situation Room as they remotely examine an arms bazaar in Afghanistan. It was as a result of M's insistence that the Russian join them (against the Admiral's wishes) and of all the men in the Situation Room, it was Bukharin she respected the most. The novelisation indicates that their initial plan was to send in Bukharin's troops, however at this stage they were fog bound and unable to reach the bazaar in time. He ends up siding with the Admiral's "Plan B"; a cruise missile strike. The plot is almost identical to its film counterpart, with the addition of a nearby village which is threatened by the nuclear torpedo's radioactive payload. The General responds incredulously to Tanner's suggestion that they evacuate a village in the middle of the mountains in three minutes. As with the film, 007 escapes with the plane and its cargo.

References[]

  1. Tomorrow Never Dies, Raymond Benson, Hodder and Stoughton, 1997, The Flea Market From Hell.

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