Who was Simas Kudirka and what did he do?
Simas Kudirka, was a radio operator on the fishing trawler Sovietskaya Litva. On November 23, 1970 he bravely jumped to the deck of a US Coast Guard vessel and requested political asylum.
Who is Alan Arkin in the defection of Simas Kudirka?
The Defection of Simas Kudirka is a 1978 American made-for-television drama film based on actual events, featuring Alan Arkin as Simas Kudirka, a Lithuanian merchant seaman in Soviet-era 1970 who attempts to defect to the United States by jumping onto a U.S. Coast Guard cutter.
Where did Simas Kudirka jump on the boat?
On 23 November 1970, a Lithuanian sailor called Simas Kudirka sat on a Soviet vessel anchored just off the shore of Martha’s Vineyard, an island located south of Massachusetts’ Cape Cod. Then, he made a desperate decision: to jump across the gelid waters onto an American boat in a bid for freedom.
Where was the defection of Simas Kudirka filmed?
This tinderbox political incident occurs during a Soviet/U.S. conference over fishing rights. The movie was filmed in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, and off the coast of New Hampshire and southern Maine.
How old is Simas Kudirka in the book defection?
He is forty years old, a native of the village of Griskabudis, Lithuania. His name is Simonas (Simas) Kudirka. He is the illegitimate son of a woman born in Brooklyn, where her own father had emigrated and worked in a foundry for nine years before returning to Griskabudis.
How old is Simas Kudirka on the Sovetskaya Litva?
On the third deck of the Sovetskaya Litva, a man watches the Soviet and American crew members laugh and talk. He is forty years old, a native of the village of Griskabudis, Lithuania. His name is Simonas (Simas) Kudirka.
Where did Simas Kudirka jump from the Vigilant?
Around 16:30 Simas Kudirka finally makes his jump. He lands beneath the port-side lifeboats, goes up the stairs and opens a hatch. And he runs into Ivan Burkal, the acting commander of the Litva. With the fishing discussions over, a small group of Soviets, Burkal included, had been touring the Vigilant.