45th Separate Guards Special Purpose Regiment of the Airborne Forces
The 45th Separate Guards Order of Kutuzov and Alexander Nevsky Special Purpose Regiment of the Airborne Forces (45th Guards OPSN Airborne Forces) was formed in February 1994 on the basis of the 218th ODSHB and the 901st ODSHB.
The 901st ODSHB was formed on the basis of the order of the Chief of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces in the territory of the Transcaucasian Military District by the end of the 70s.
Then this battalion was moved to Czechoslovakia, where it was included in the structure of the Central Group of Forces. On November 20, 1979, the Oremov Laz garrison in Slovenia became the new location of 901 ODSHB in Slovenia (some sources indicate the garrison in Riechka as the location).
The battalion was equipped with approximately 30 BMD-1 combat assault vehicles. In March 1989, the number of TsGV troops began to decrease, and this process affected 901 ODSHB. At the turn of March and April, the entire battalion was moved to the Latvian Aluksne, where it was enrolled in the PribVO.
1979 - formed on the territory of the Transcaucasian Military District as the 901st separate airborne assault battalion
1979 - transferred to the Central Group of Forces in Czechoslovakia
1989 - transferred to the Baltic Military District (Aluksne)
May 1991 - transferred to the Transcaucasian Military District (Sukhumi)
August 1992 - transferred to the headquarters of the Airborne Forces and renamed the 901st separate airborne battalion
1992 - transferred as a separate battalion to the 7th Guards Airborne Division
1993 - during the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict, he performed tasks for the protection and defense of military and state facilities on the territory of Abkhazia
October 1993 - transferred to the Moscow region
February 1994 - reorganized into the 901st separate special-purpose battalion
February 1994 - transferred to the newly formed 45th Separate Special Purpose Regiment (VDV)
In 1972, the 778th separate special-purpose radio company of 85 people was formed as part of the Airborne Forces. The main task of this unit was to drive the landing aviation to the drop point, for which the groups of this company had to land ahead of time behind enemy lines and deploy the drive equipment there. In 1975, the company was reorganized into the 778th OR REP, and in February 1980 - into the 899th separate special-purpose company with 117 people. In 1988, the 899th Special Forces Special Forces was reorganized into the 899th Special Forces Company (with a staff of 105 people) as part of the 196th Airborne Forces Ops. Later, the company was deployed to the 218th separate air assault battalion.
July 25, 1992 - formed in the Moscow Military District. The points of permanent deployment were in the Moscow region.
June-July 1992 - took part as a peacekeeping force in Transnistria
September-October 1992 - took part as a peacekeeping force in North Ossetia
December 1992 - took part as a peacekeeping force in Abkhazia
February 1994 - transferred to the newly formed 45th separate special-purpose regiment of the Airborne Forces
By July 1994, the regiment was fully formed and completed. By order of the Commander of the Airborne Forces, in order of historical continuity, the day of the formation of the 45th regiment is indicated to be the day of the formation of the 218th battalion - July 25, 1992.
On December 2, 1994, the regiment was transferred to Chechnya to participate in the liquidation of illegal armed groups. The units of the regiment took part in the hostilities until February 12, 1995, when the regiment was transferred back to its place of permanent deployment in the Moscow region. From March 15 to June 13, 1995, a combined detachment of the regiment operated in Chechnya.
On July 30, 1995, an obelisk was opened on the territory of the regiment's deployment in Sokolniki in honor of the soldiers of the regiment who died during the hostilities.
On May 9, 1995, for services to the Russian Federation, the regiment was awarded a diploma of the President of the Russian Federation, and the military personnel of the regiment as part of the combined battalion of the Airborne Forces took part in the parade on Poklonnaya Hill dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the Victory over Nazi Germany.
From February to May 1997, the combined detachment of the regiment was in Gudauta as part of a peacekeeping mission in the zone of separation of the Georgian and Abkhaz armed forces.
On July 26, 1997, the regiment was awarded the Combat banner and certificate of the 5th Guards Airborne Rifle Order of Mukachevo Order of Kutuzov III degree regiment, disbanded on June 27, 1945.
On May 1, 1998, the regiment was renamed the 45th Separate Reconnaissance Regiment of the Airborne Forces. The 901st separate special-purpose battalion was disbanded in the spring of 1998; in 2001, a special-purpose linear battalion was created on its basis as part of the regiment (called “901st” out of old habit).
From September 1999 to March 2006, the combined reconnaissance detachment of the regiment took part in the counter-terrorist operation in the North Caucasus.
On February 2, 2001, the regiment was awarded the pennant of the Minister of Defense "for courage, military prowess and high combat skills."
On August 8, 2001, on the territory of the regiment in Kubinka, in the presence of the commander of the Airborne Forces, Colonel-General Georgy Shpak, a new memorial complex was opened in memory of the soldiers of the regiment who died in combat missions. Every year, on January 8, the regiment celebrates the Day of Remembrance for the fallen soldiers.
In April-July 2005, it was decided to transfer to the 45th regiment the Battle Banner, the title of "Guards" and the Order of Alexander Nevsky, which belonged to the 119th Guards Airborne Regiment, which was disbanded in the same year. The solemn ceremony of the transfer of distinctions took place on August 2, 2005.
In 2007, the 218th separate special-purpose battalion was reorganized into a linear one, having lost its numbering and the status of a separate military unit. Since that time, the regiment consists of two line battalions.
The name of the 45th separate regiment of the special purpose of the Airborne Forces was returned to the regiment.
In August 2008, units of the regiment took part in the operation to force Georgia to peace. The officer of the regiment, Hero of Russia Anatoly Lebed was awarded the Order of St. George IV degree.
As early as January 6, 1995, the 45th OrpSpN, together with the USO FSK, occupied the complex of buildings of the STI.1 At that moment, the regiment was engaged in fighting snipers2, so it can be assumed that similar events were planned and carried out in the Council of Ministers area. Howbeit, on the morning of January 8 soldiers of the 2nd and 3rd companies of the 218 Special Forces left the area of the cannery. The special forces were advanced in at least three groups. Near 11:30 they came under mortar fire3 on Oktyabrskaya Street4 (besides this street, other places were also named - Hospitalnaya Street and etc. Revolution between the State Tax Inspectorate and the Council of Ministers5).
1st group: 3rd company 218 obspn
senior lieutenant Vladimir Vitalievich PalkinSergeant Valery Afonchenkov
Private Yuri Khazov
Sergei Babin and others.
Sergeant Valery Afonchenkov from the 3rd company of the 218 Special Forces: “That day we went to storm the Council of Ministers. And before the throw through the open area, Lieutenant Zelenkovsky sent me earlier, and left Sergei [Tumaev] with him. I told them that I would go nowhere without them I won’t go, but they don’t argue with the commanders. I managed to run to the building with the first group, and they lingered a little. Then there were explosions, both near us and there, but we still didn’t know that the whole group was covered. "6
Private Yury Khazov from the 3rd company of the 218th special forces unit: “We rushed across the square and hid in the basement. The shelling was such that it seemed that the whole building would collapse on us, everything was shaking. The second group, where Sergei [Tumaev] was, got in touch : waiting for the end of the mortar attack. Then the connection with the group was interrupted. After a while, another group of paratroopers reported on the radio that they were covered with mines. The operation was canceled, and we returned. "7
2nd group: 2nd company 218 obspn
senior lieutenant Sergey Nikolaevich Romashenko Lieutenant Andrei Andreevich Avramenko
lieutenant Igor Nikolaevich Chebotarev
ensign Dmitry Vitalievich Lakota
Sergeant Maxim Nikolaevich Kislichko
contract sergeant Alexander Yurievich Polikarpov
Private Sergei Petrovich Putyakov
Private Evgeny Alexandrovich Wenzel
captain Andrey Viktorovich Zelenkovsky from the 3rd company of the 218 obSpN
private Sergei Vladimirovich Tumaev from the 3rd company 218 obSpN
lieutenant Vladimir Mikhailovich Artemenko from 218 about Special Forces
From the description of the battle: “Romashenko’s unit was moving behind Palkin’s group. Suddenly, the words of Sergei [Romashenko] cut through the air: “A heavy mortar shelling has begun, let me wait!” Romashenko did not get in touch again. was severely shell-shocked, but managed to report the situation to the command and managed the unit to the last. "8
Major Sergey Ivanovich Shavrin from the USO FSK: “They had to overcome the area, and at that time the first test mine flew in, then a series of four ... One hit our Tunguska anti-aircraft gun, the ammunition detonated, three officers serving the machine died at once "A dozen soldiers with full weapons were hiding behind the Tunguska. Plastite, flamethrowers began to burst. 8 people died immediately, the rest died of wounds. Paratrooper Senior Lieutenant Igor Chebotarev went with us as the commander of an armored personnel carrier. That day he was in this group. He both legs were blown off and the officer bled to death."9
According to Private Tumaev's mother, an armored personnel carrier was hit at the place of the death of the group, the fuel from which began to flow out and burn10.
Group 3 (so far only version!)
Major Alexander A. Skobennikovradio operator
Perhaps in the same group were senior lieutenant Konstantin Mikhailovich Golubeev and private Vladimir Vitalievich Kareev from 901 special forces, who died on January 8.11
Major Alexander A. Skobennikov from the 45th special forces detachment: “I myself barely survived. We advanced to a new frontier. We moved in small groups - three people each. The radio operator followed me. I heard he screamed. I returned to him, he was sitting among the broken bricks and groaning - he sprained his leg. While he was taking off his shoe, he was adjusting the dislocation - there was an explosion ahead. We went ahead - a funnel. As it turned out, the guys were hung with explosives and "Bumblebees", and all this detonated from a mine explosion. If the radio operator had not stumbled, then we would have ended up with the guys in this funnel ... "12
Identification and evacuation of the dead
Deputy commander of the 901 Special Forces, Lieutenant Colonel V. Lozovoy: "After the end of the mortar raid [ around 14:00 hours 13], an additional group of 901 battalion and one of the combined arms units with a first aid detachment went to the location of the group to provide assistance. After inspecting the area, all the wounded and dead were taken to the collection point on the territory of the 2nd city hospital. "14
Sergeant V. Afonchenkov from the 3rd company of the 218 Special Forces: “Then there was an identification of the corpses, or rather what was left of them. Two were missing and one could not be identified. There were no Zelenkovsky, Tumaev and Wenzel. buried, then this is not so. The funeral was fictitious, with an empty coffin - so that the mothers would pay the insurance. Me and Yura Khazov and another of our group [Sergey Babin] had to identify the remaining corpse. And we identified it. It was the remains of Sergei [ Tumaev]."15
Private Yu. Khazov from the 3rd company of the 218 Special Forces: “When the remains were unloaded at the cannery, we recognized everyone except for three bodies. Then two more were identified, and one was taken to Mozdok unidentified. back. In the burnt remnants of clothing lying around here, Valera and I found a piece of a sweater that was on Seryoga. And I also noticed one detail that no one paid attention to - from the day of the call, it struck me that Sergey had one from the upper teeth exactly split off half.<...>It was on this very tooth that I drew attention to the burnt skull. We also saw Sergey's weapon - a piece of twisted metal, but he never let go of it."16 has been missing since then.)
Losses in 218 revs
Major S.I. Shavrin from the USO FSK: "In a few days of fighting in one of the companies of the 45th Airborne Regiment, three people out of twenty-seven who entered Grozny remained."18"Four people remained unharmed in Vladimir [Palkin's] company. All the officers went out of action, only two survived."19
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
1 Antipov A. Lev Rokhlin. The Life and Death of a General. M., 1998. S. 170.
2 Skobennikov A. Grozny Sacrifice // Soldier of Fortune. 1999. No. 5. (http://www.duel.ru/199928/?28_6_1)
13 Film "Matka nieznanego zolnierza". 2000.
14 Yakov V. Killed and betrayed // Izvestia. 1996. November 1.
15 Yakov V. Killed and betrayed // Izvestia. 1996. November 1.
16 Yakov V. Killed and betrayed // Izvestia. 1996. November 1.
17 Film "Matka nieznanego zolnierza". 2000.
18 Boltunov M. Everyone has their own war... // Fact. 2002. No. 3. January 18th. (http://www.mosoblpress.ru/balashiha/show.shtml?d_id=915)
19 Kretsul R. Fate named "landing party" - author's version. (
On April 15, 2014, First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Vitaliy Yarema announced that a unit of the 45th Guards Regiment of the Russian Airborne Troops, stationed in Kubinka, Moscow Region, is operating in the East of Ukraine. His soldiers have been identified.
Most likely, reconnaissance and sabotage platoons from both battalions operate on the territory of Ukraine.
BSNews offers readers information about this military unit based on materials from open sources:
45th Separate Guards Order of Kutuzov Order of Alexander Nevsky Special Purpose Regiment- military unit of the Airborne Troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
It was formed in February 1994 on the basis of the 218th and 901st separate special-purpose battalions.
901st OBSPN
1979 - formed on the territory of the Transcaucasian Military District as the 901st separate airborne assault battalion
1979 - transferred to the Central Group of Forces in Czechoslovakia
1989 - transferred to the Baltic Military District (Aluksne)
May 1991 - transferred to the Transcaucasian Military District (Sukhumi)
August 1992 - transferred to the headquarters of the Airborne Forces and renamed the 901st separate airborne battalion
1992 - transferred as a separate battalion to the 7th Guards Airborne Division
1993 - during the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict, he performed tasks for the protection and defense of military and government facilities on the territory of Abkhazia
October 1993 - transferred to the Moscow region
February 1994 - reorganized into the 901st separate special-purpose battalion
218th OBSPN
July 25, 1992 - formed in the Moscow Military District. The points of permanent deployment were in the Moscow region.
June-July 1992 - took part as a peacekeeping force in Transnistria
September-October 1992 - took part as a peacekeeping force in North Ossetia
December 1992 - took part as a peacekeeping force in Abkhazia
February 1994 - transferred to the newly formed 45th separate special-purpose regiment of the Airborne Forces
By July 1994, the regiment was fully formed and completed. By order of the Commander of the Airborne Forces, in order of historical continuity, the day of the formation of the 45th regiment is indicated to be the day of the formation of the 218th battalion - July 25, 1992.
On December 2, 1994, the regiment was transferred to Chechnya to participate in the liquidation of illegal armed groups. The units of the regiment took part in the hostilities until February 12, 1995, when the regiment was transferred back to its place of permanent deployment in the Moscow region (Kubinka). From March 15 to June 13, 1995, a combined detachment of the regiment operated in Chechnya.
On July 30, 1995, an obelisk was opened on the territory of the regiment's deployment in Sokolniki in honor of the soldiers of the regiment who died during the hostilities.
On May 9, 1995, for services to the Russian Federation, the regiment was awarded a diploma of the President of the Russian Federation, and the military personnel of the regiment as part of the combined battalion of the Airborne Forces took part in the parade on Poklonnaya Hill dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the Victory over Nazi Germany.
From February to May 1997, the combined detachment of the regiment was in Gudauta as part of a peacekeeping mission in the zone of separation of the Georgian and Abkhaz armed forces.
On July 26, 1997, the regiment was awarded the Combat banner and certificate of the 5th Guards Airborne Rifle Order of Mukachevo Order of Kutuzov III degree regiment, disbanded on June 27, 1945.
On May 1, 1998, the regiment was renamed the 45th Separate Reconnaissance Regiment of the Airborne Forces. The 901st separate special-purpose battalion was disbanded in the spring of 1998; in 2001, a special-purpose linear battalion was created on its basis as part of the regiment (called “901st” out of old habit).
From September 1999 to March 2006, the combined reconnaissance detachment of the regiment took part in the counter-terrorist operation in the North Caucasus.
On February 2, 2001, the regiment was awarded the pennant of the Minister of Defense "for courage, military prowess and high combat skills."
On August 8, 2001, on the territory of the regiment in Kubinka, in the presence of the commander of the Airborne Forces, Colonel-General Georgy Shpak, a new memorial complex was opened in memory of the soldiers of the regiment who died in combat missions. Every year, on January 8, the regiment celebrates the Day of Remembrance for the fallen soldiers.
In April-July 2005, it was decided to transfer to the 45th regiment the Battle Banner, the title of "Guards" and the Order of Alexander Nevsky, which belonged to the 119th Guards Airborne Regiment, which was disbanded in the same year. The solemn ceremony of the transfer of distinctions took place on August 2, 2005.
In 2007, the 218th separate special-purpose battalion was reorganized into a linear one, having lost its numbering and the status of a separate military unit. Since that time, the regiment consists of two line battalions.
On February 1, 2008, the regiment was named the 45th Separate Guards Order of Alexander Nevsky Special Purpose Regiment of the Airborne Forces.
In August 2008, units of the regiment took part in the operation to force Georgia to peace. The officer of the regiment, Hero of Russia Anatoly Lebed was awarded the Order of St. George IV degree.
On July 20, 2009, in accordance with the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of December 18, 2006 No. 1422, the regiment was awarded the St. George banner.
July 25, 2009, on the day of the regimental holiday, in Kubinka, a small consecration of the throne of the garrison church of the 45th separate guards regiment, consecrated in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Blessed Sky" took place.
In April 2010, the battalion tactical group of the regiment carried out a combat mission to ensure the safety of Russian citizens on the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic.
By Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 170 dated February 9, 2011, the regiment was the first in modern history to be awarded the Order of Kutuzov. The award ceremony took place on April 4, 2011 at the location of the regiment in Kubinka. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev personally attached the badge and ribbon of the order to the St. George's banner of the regiment.
In May-June 2012, the regiment's reconnaissance platoon participated in joint exercises with the Green Berets at the American military base of the 10th Special Operations Forces Group, located in Fort Carson.
Battle path
1994-1995 - First Chechen War
1997 - Georgian-Abkhazian conflict
1999-2006 - Second Chechen War
2008 - Georgian-Ossetian conflict
Armament and personnel
As of 2009, the regiment has 655 soldiers and officers, 15 BTR-80s and 1 BTR-D.
commanders
Guards Colonel Kolygin Viktor Dmitrievich (1994-2003)
Guards Colonel Kontsevoy Anatoly Georgievich (2003-2006)
Guards Colonel Shulishov Alexander Anatolyevich (2006-2012)
Guard Colonel, Hero of Russia Pankov Vadim Ivanovich (08.2012 - present)
Combat losses
901st separate battalion (before inclusion in the regiment)
During the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict in 1993, 8 servicemen were killed and about 20 were wounded.
45th separate regiment
During the participation in hostilities, the regiment lost 43 people killed, more than 80 soldiers were wounded.
Russian paratroopers are revered not only in their own country. They are respected by the whole world. One American general is known to have said that if he had a company of Russian paratroopers, he would have conquered the entire planet. Among the legendary formations of the Russian army is the 45th Airborne Regiment. It has an interesting history, the central part of which is occupied by heroic deeds.
We are proud of our paratroopers, honor their courage, valor and readiness to defend the interests of the Motherland at any cost. The glorious pages of the military history of the USSR, and then Russia, appeared, largely due to the heroic deeds of paratroopers. Soldiers serving in the Airborne Forces fearlessly performed the most difficult tasks and special operations. The airborne troops are among the most prestigious formations of the Russian army. Soldiers strive to get there, wanting to feel involved in creating the glorious military history of their country.
45th Airborne Regiment: key facts
The 45th Special Forces Regiment of the Airborne Forces was formed in early 1994. Its base was separate battalions number 218 and 901. By the middle of the year, the regiment was equipped with weapons and fighters. The 45th regiment began its first combat operation in December 1994 in Chechnya. The paratroopers participated in the battles until February 1995, and then returned to the Moscow region, to the base of their deployment on a permanent basis. In 2005, the regiment received the Battle Flag of the Guards Regiment No. 119
From the moment of its foundation, the military formation became known as the 45th reconnaissance regiment of the Airborne Forces. But in early 2008, it was renamed the Special Forces Regiment. In August of the same year, it participated in a special operation to force Georgia to peace. In 2010, Regiment 45 tactical group ensured the safety of Russian citizens during the riots in Kyrgyzstan.
background
The basis for the formation of the 45th separate guards regiment was the 218th and 901st special forces battalions. The fighters of the first battalion had taken part in three combat operations by that time. In the summer of 1992, the battalion served in Transnistria, in September - in the territories where there was a conflict between Ossetian and Ingush combat groups, in December - in Abkhazia.
Since 1979, battalion number 901 has been part of the Soviet troops on the territory of Czechoslovakia, in 1989 it was redeployed to Latvia and transferred to the structure of the Baltic Military District. In 1991, the 901st Special Forces Battalion was relocated to the Abkhaz ASSR. In 1992, it was renamed the paratrooper battalion. In 1993, the formation performed tasks related to the protection of state and military facilities. In the fall of 1993, the battalion was redeployed to the Moscow region. Then the 45th regiment of the Russian Airborne Forces appeared.
Awards
In 1995, the 45th Airborne Regiment received the Diploma of the President of Russia for services to the country. In July 1997, the formation was awarded the banner of the airborne regiment number 5, which participated in the hostilities during the Great Patriotic War. In 2001, the regiment received Vympel from the Minister of Defense of Russia - for courage, high combat skills and real valor when participating in hostilities on the territory of Chechnya. The 45th Guards Regiment of the Airborne Forces owns the Order of Kutuzov - the corresponding decree was signed by the President of Russia. The military formation was awarded this award for the success in the heroic performance of military operations, the heroism and courage shown by the soldiers and the command. The regiment became the first carrier in the modern history of our country. In July 2009, the formation received the St. George banner.
The title of Hero of Russia was given to ten fighters, whose duty station was the 45th Airborne Regiment. The Order of Courage was awarded to 79 paratroopers. Ten military personnel of the regiment were awarded the medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" of the second degree. Seventeen and three paratroopers received the Orders "For Military Merit" and "For Merit to the Fatherland", respectively. Medals "For Courage" were received by 174 servicemen, the medal of Suvorov - 166. Seven people were awarded the Zhukov medal.
Anniversary
Kubinka near Moscow - the 45th Airborne Regiment is based there - in July 2014 was the place where the anniversary celebrations dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the formation were held. The event was held in an open door format - the paratroopers showed their combat skills to the guests, the parachute units lowered the flag of the Airborne Forces from the sky, and the famous pilots from the Russian Knights team showed miracles of aerobatics on fighter jets.
The legendary regiment as part of the Airborne Forces
Which includes the 45th regiment - Airborne Forces (airborne troops) of Russia. Their history dates back to August 2, 1930. Then the first paratroopers of the Air Force of the Moscow District made a parachute landing in our country. It was a kind of experiment that showed military theorists how promising the landing of parachute units could be from the point of view of combat operations. The first official unit of the airborne troops of the USSR appeared only the following year in the Leningrad Military District. The formation included 164 people, all of them were servicemen of the airborne assault detachment. By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, there were five airborne corps in the USSR, each of which served 10,000 fighters.
Airborne Forces during the Great Patriotic War
With the outbreak of war, all Soviet airborne corps entered into battles taking place on the territory of the Ukrainian, Belarusian, Lithuanian Republics. The largest operation involving paratroopers during the war years is considered to be the battle with a group of Germans near Moscow in early 1942. Then 10 thousand paratroopers won the most important victory for the front. Parts of the Airborne Forces were connected to the battles near Stalingrad.
The paratroopers of the Soviet army honorably fulfilled their duty to defend the city. The Airborne Forces of the USSR army also took part in the battles after the defeat of Nazi Germany - in August 1945 they fought in the Far East against the imperial armed forces of Japan. Over 4,000 paratroopers helped the Soviet troops win important victories in this sector of the front.
After the war
Particular attention, according to the observation of military analysts, in the post-war strategy for the development of the USSR Airborne Forces was given to organizing military operations behind enemy lines, increasing the combat capability of soldiers, and interacting with army units, subject to the possible use of atomic weapons. The troops began to be equipped with new aircraft of the AN-12 and AN-22 type, which, thanks to their large carrying capacity, could deliver vehicles, armored vehicles, artillery and other means of warfare behind enemy lines.
Every year, an increasing number of military exercises were conducted with the participation of airborne soldiers. Among the largest - held in the spring of 1970 in the Byelorussian ASSR. As part of the Dvina exercises, more than 7 thousand soldiers and more than 150 guns were parachuted. In 1971, exercises "South" of a comparable scale took place. In the late 1970s, the use of new Il-76 aircraft in landing operations was first tested. Until the collapse of the USSR, the soldiers of the Airborne Forces at each of the exercises repeatedly showed the highest combat skills.
Airborne troops of the Russian Federation today
Now the Airborne Forces are considered a structure that is called upon to independently (or as part of it) perform combat missions in conflicts of various scales - from local to global. About 95% of the Airborne Forces are in a state of constant combat readiness. Landing forces are considered one of the most mobile branches of the Russian military. are also called upon to perform the functions of conducting combat operations behind enemy lines.
As part of the Russian Airborne Forces - four divisions, its own training center, institute, as well as a large number of structures that perform work on provision, supply and maintenance.
The motto of the Russian Airborne Forces is "No one but us!" The service of a paratrooper is considered by many to be one of the most prestigious and at the same time difficult. As of 2010, 4,000 officers, 7,000 contract soldiers, and 24,000 conscripts served in the Airborne Forces. Another 28,000 are civilian personnel of the formation.
Paratroopers and operation in Afghanistan
The largest participation of the Airborne Forces in hostilities after the Great Patriotic War took place in Afghanistan. The 103rd division, the 345th airborne regiment, two battalions, motorized rifle brigades participated in the battles. A number of military analysts believe that the specifics of the conduct of hostilities in Afghanistan did not imply the expediency of using parachute landing as a method of transferring army combat personnel. This, according to analysts, is due to the country's mountainous terrain, as well as the high level of costs for such operations. The personnel of the Airborne Forces, as a rule, were transferred using helicopters.
The largest operation of the USSR Airborne Forces in Afghanistan was the Battle of Panjer in 1982. More than 4 thousand paratroopers took part in it (with a total number of soldiers involved in the operation of 12 thousand people). as a result of the fighting, she was able to take the main part of the Panjer Gorge under her control.
Combat operations of the Airborne Forces after the collapse of the USSR
The paratroopers, despite the difficult times that came after the collapse of the superpower, continued to defend the interests of their country. They were often peacekeepers in the territories of the former Soviet republics. Russian paratroopers made themselves known to the whole world during the conflict in Yugoslavia in 1999. Soldiers of the Airborne Forces of the Russian Federation made the famous throw at Pristina, having managed to get ahead of the military from NATO.
Throw on Pristina
On the night of June 11-12, 1999, Russian paratroopers appeared on the territory of Yugoslavia, starting from neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina. They managed to occupy an airfield located near the city of Pristina. There, a few hours later, NATO soldiers appeared. Some details of those events are known. In particular, US Army General Clark ordered his colleague from the British armed forces to prevent the Russians from seizing the airfield. He replied that he did not want to provoke a third world war. However, the main part of the information on the essence of the operation in Pristina is not available - it is all classified.
Russian paratroopers in Chechnya
Troops of the Airborne Forces of the Russian Federation took part in both Chechen wars. Regarding the first - most of the data is still secret. It is known, for example, that among the most famous operations of the second campaign with the participation of the Airborne Forces is the Battle of Argun. The Russian army received the task of blocking a strategically significant section of the transport highways passing through the Argun Gorge. According to him, the separatists received food, weapons and medicines. The paratroopers joined the operation in December as part of the 56th Airborne Regiment.
The heroic feat of the paratroopers participating in the battles for 776 heights near the Chechen Ulus-Kert is known. In February 2000, the 6th company of the Airborne Forces from Pskov entered the battle with the grouping of Khattab and Basaev, ten times larger in number. During the day, the militants were blocked inside the Argun Gorge. Performing the task, the soldiers of the Pskov company of the Airborne Forces did not spare themselves. Only 6 soldiers survived.
Russian paratroopers and the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict
In the 1990s, units of the Airborne Forces of the Russian Federation performed in the territories where the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict took place, mainly peacekeeping functions. But in 2008, the paratroopers participated in combat operations. When the Georgian army attacked South Ossetia, units of the Russian army were sent to the war area, including the 76th division of the Russian Airborne Forces from Pskov. According to a number of military analysts, there were no major amphibious landings in this special operation. However, according to experts, the participation of Russian paratroopers had a psychological effect - primarily on the political leadership of Georgia.
45th regiment: renaming
Recently, information has appeared that the 45th Airborne Regiment may receive the honorary name of the Preobrazhensky Regiment. A military formation with this name was founded by Peter the Great and became legendary. There is a version that the initiative regarding the fact that the 45th regiment of the Airborne Forces of the Russian Federation should be renamed comes from a statement by the President of Russia, who expressed the opinion that formations named after famous regiments, such as Semenovsky, Preobrazhensky, should appear in the Russian army. At one of the military councils of the Russian Airborne Forces, as indicated in some sources, the proposal of the President was considered, and as a result, responsible persons were instructed to prepare information on the start of work on the creation of historical army regiments. It is quite possible that the 45th Special Forces Regiment of the Airborne Forces of the Russian Federation will receive the title of Preobrazhensky.
Valery K., sergeant of the 45th separate reconnaissance regiment of the special forces of the Airborne Forces, grenade launcher of the 4th reconnaissance group of the 1st reconnaissance company of the 901st separate battalion of the Special Forces.
By the time I was drafted into the army (June 1994), I already had a sports category in rock climbing and prizes at youth competitions in the city of Apatity, Murmansk Region - I lived there until the mid-90s. That’s why they took me to the 45th regiment, I didn’t fit in height, they took guys with a height of 180 cm, but in those years there was a wild shortage of people, besides, I already had several parachute jumps, we jumped in the winter of 1989 year at the airfield "Murmashi". In general, a kid came with jumps and climbing ranks - almost a ready saboteur. The military commissar said to me: "You are not tall enough, but with your sports training we can send you to the special forces. Understand, it will be very difficult for you ... Are you ready?" And in the parachute club where we trained, the instructors were Afghans, healthy, cheerful men in vests, some with military awards. Of course, I also wanted to be like them! I say: "Of course, I can handle it!" And from the very beginning, I was determined to go to the combat company, and not to support. So I ended up in the 45th regiment.
901 SEPARATE SPECIAL PURPOSE BATTALION
The 45th regiment at that time consisted of two battalions - 218 separate battalions (commander - Major Andrey Anatolyevich Nepryakhin, future Hero of Russia) and 901 separate battalions (commander - Major Nikolai Sergeevich Nikulnikov), three-company composition of 4 reconnaissance groups in each company. The regiment also included auxiliary units - a communications company (signallers were scattered among reconnaissance groups), a special weapons company, an armored personnel carrier driver and gunners, and ACS crews. In the reconnaissance company, the number was 52-54 people, so a consolidated detachment of about 150 people operated in Grozny: 2 company (commander - Captain Andrey Vladimirovich Zelenkovsky) 218 Special Forces, 1st (commander - Senior Lieutenant Vyacheslav Nikolayevich Nikolakhin) and 3rd ( commander - captain Cherdantsev) of company 901 obSpN.
I can characterize all my direct commanders as very professional, cruel and very funny people (such a complex combination). I am immensely grateful to them, and to this day, a quarter after the battles in Grozny, I remember them. But this is never forgotten...
“Healthy, bald, with their appearance and habits they looked more like bandits than officers of the Red Army. It was not for nothing that at that time citizens in black Mercedes were constantly grazing at the checkpoint with offers to earn extra money - to fill up someone in Moscow ... " 1
I now understand that, by and large, all our officers were real Soviet officers, in the best sense of the word. One of my acquaintances served ten years later in 2005 in the intelligence service of the GRU, and he told how their company commander made exactions from the personnel. So, in principle, this could not have happened to us, the consciousness of people in that early post-Soviet period did not allow it.
Hazing was also very cruel. The officers approached this phenomenon in different ways: someone tried not to pay attention, someone, like the political officer of the Bannikov company, fought as best he could (in the evening he climbed into the window of his office on the ground floor, and when, after lights out, they began to press the young, he jumped out of office with a rubber stick and dispersed the old-timers), one of the officers, on the contrary, tried to put this phenomenon to his service. Our commander of the 4th group, Captain Vladimir Vladimirovich Glukhovsky, was engaged in serious education, and he turned our group into a really well-coordinated team.
"Army friends ... All this is a myth, fiction, do not believe anyone who says that only in the army you can find real friends. Who can be called a friend here? in prison? The crazy Tatar Zimadeev, who is also a karateka? He knows how to jump somersaults over the fence and at the same time shoot from a machine gun. He has one argument for all domestic disputes - a kick in the head. A Kazakh named Batyr, who speaks Russian with difficulty? Or my countrywoman from Peter Kokorin, who spent all his childhood in a special boarding school and did not know the multiplication table at the age of twenty? They could not be my friends. " 1
“In the part where they didn’t take guys less than a meter eighty and where there was a cult of physical strength, they began to hate me immediately, simply because of my short stature.
With the advent of night, after lights out, the idea came to the old-timers that it was I who should clean their boots and hem their collars. Of course, because it seemed to them that it was much easier to morally break a person who was chest-high and thirty kilograms lighter.
All attempts to "negotiate" ended with a simple beating.
I didn’t say anything afterwards, I just approached and hit back once, knowing that in a few seconds I would be viewing the interior of the barracks from some unusual angle, lying with my head turned between the bedside table and the bed.
But I had to make this blow from time to time.
They were a little discouraged by the fact that I packed the parachute faster than anyone else in the company, accurately navigated the map, could translate phrases in English from the training manual for interrogating prisoners of war, pulled myself up most of all on the crossbar and never died on forced marches.
Who issued a grenade launcher to this petty nerd? Completely crazy? - officers from another battalion reacted to me. After all, in addition to the machine gun, I also had to carry a grenade launcher with ammunition.
Everything is fine! Are your grenade launchers dying on the march? - Lieutenant Pastukh protected me with the lock of our reconnaissance group.
Well, they die, the fighters constantly carry them in their arms ...
And ours does not die! He's the only "undying" one of us! - The shepherd alone believed in me, maybe because he was just as short and thoughtful.
I was stubborn and patient, and after a year, even those who hated me started to respect me." 1
Hazing is a complex mutual phenomenon, in which not only old-timers are to blame, and not all forms are bad. And those who haven't seen it will never understand. In the future, reconnaissance groups tried to form the guys of the same call, but this did not always help.
“Being a soldier of the smallest stature, and even serving in the fourth reconnaissance group, means always and everywhere being the last in line.
To the bathhouse, to the dining room, to get uniforms.
And now, I was standing in the central aisle in front of the supply room, looking with concern as a pile of tattered pea jackets was melting.
A year ago, our unit left Abkhazia, and the thrifty company commander took out a whole truck from there, as it seemed then, unnecessary junk. These jackets have come a long way and if they could speak they could tell a lot.
What are these, bullet holes? - A colleague of my call, standing in front of the window to the light, looked at the mysterious holes in the newly received pea jacket.
What is this, blood? .. - he turned to us, showing strange brown spots on the fabric.
I won't wear it!!
Take it! Don't wander! - severely threw one of the "old men" - at night it will become cold in the forest, put it on, and you will be glad!
The first three-day reconnaissance exit awaited us, and since we were called up in June, we were not supposed to wear a winter uniform.
In the army, everything is on schedule.
The transition to winter uniforms is scheduled for October 15, which means that until that moment everyone wears summer camouflage, and it doesn’t matter that it’s already the end of September and frost in the mornings.
And you're out of luck! - the company commander said cheerfully, pointing to the empty shelves of the rack, he personally gave out these pea jackets.
Maybe ... maybe, at least what kind of shot was left?
There are no more peacoats! Take a raincoat from the OZK, everything will be warmer for the night - he handed me a rubber bundle.
It was a very cold three days.
Going to bed, I covered myself with this cloak with my head, and from breathing it was covered from the inside with perspiration, which turned into frost by morning.
On the third day of continuous trembling, I heard, I practically felt a strange click in my head, as if some kind of toggle switch had been switched.
And with that click, I suddenly stopped shivering and became warm.
I will acquire the ability to freeze again only seven years after my discharge from the army. 2
"EVERYONE WAS READY IN THREE DAYS BEFORE DEPARTURE"
I remember very well how the dispatch took place in Kubinka, to the battalion's PPD. In the twentieth of November 1994, on Saturday, we were in the garrison cinema on the territory of the tank unit. During the film show, a messenger ran up and shouted into the hall: "First company, go out!"
We ran out and went to the location of the company. There were already fees. They announced that a combined reconnaissance group was moving to Chechnya. The first reconnaissance group was assembled from us, they laid out equipment in the central aisle for inspection. The mood before the departure was combative, they turned to the company commander with a request to include us in the combat formation. To which he replied: "Don't worry, we'll all fly there soon." (One couple, however, dristanul. And the most rocked and bullish. In one night they turned from centers into chmoshniki. But then no one condemned them. But they remained outcasts until the end of the service.) Then a new composition of the forward detachment was formed, in which included our group. Before departure, everyone was ready in three days, and slept on rolled mattresses. The bed linen was handed over, and we were lying with weapons on some shell nets. Before sending, they wrote letters to their parents that we were going to jump in Pskov. Maybe in Moscow (the 218th battalion was stationed in Sokolniki.) There were parents at the checkpoint, but we didn’t have anyone. On the 27th of November there was a departure. Upon arrival in Mozdok, we spent the night at the location of the military unit. This night was very memorable, because the VV-shnikovs in the barracks had a TV on the wall, and the singer Freddie Mercury was spinning there. Then we moved to the checkpoint at the airfield, and soon everyone else arrived, and we moved to the boathouses near the take-off. On the very first night, my grandfathers poked me a little with a knife in order to withdraw cash, but that's bad luck - I had no cash! Looking ahead, I’ll say right away that during the hostilities in Grozny hazing disappeared completely, in those conditions hazing was impossible.
Upon arrival in Mozdok, they immediately took up guard duty to protect the personal train of Defense Minister P. Grachev, as well as his helicopter and the plane on which he flew to Moscow. So they changed constantly: on guard - from guard, to classes, to shooting. In Grozny, we operated with three companies, the other two were replacements, and one company was in reserve. Reserve companies guarded Grachev's train.
"Winter. Mozdok. A dank wind with sleet. We have been on it for the third day already. There is nowhere for us to hide from it, because we are at the airfield.
My friend and I are on guard duty. There is no one to replace us, since our company is chasing the Chechen reconnaissance group through the forests.
The day before yesterday we guarded the aircraft of the Minister of Defense, yesterday we guarded the helicopter of the Minister of Defense, today we guard the mobile headquarters of the Minister of Defense.
We wait for the inspector to leave, take off our helmets and sit in them, like in pots. Back to back. So warmer. Falling asleep, I think that a Chechen reconnaissance group will find us and cut our throats. "And then everything will end ...", - I think, even with some relief, and fall into a dream. The snow covers us with a wet blanket." 1
Of course, in addition to guarding the facilities, the personnel of some reconnaissance groups carried out reconnaissance missions for approaches to Grozny.
Once, my 4th reconnaissance group was on a mission to search for a Chechen reconnaissance group that had been spotted. True, they could not be found.
On December 30, Captain Glukhovsky gave the order to prepare for a flight to the mountainous regions, which was supposed to take place tomorrow, December 31. In addition to the ammunition load, we were given forty different charges of explosives for each kilogram, it was assumed that we would have to deal with undermining some bridges, the details were not specified. On the 31st, we were ready to take off, and at approximately 14:15 a consolidated detachment of about 30 people boarded two Mi-8s. But an hour later, the takeoff was canceled, nevertheless, the order was given to be at the airfield. At 17-18 hours the team came to load again, and this time we took off. We were in the air for almost an hour. We were covered by three Mi-24s. In the mountains, at the moment of landing, the pilot found a Chechen armored personnel carrier standing in the bushes, and our helicopter, having sharply soared, left the landing point. The militants, apparently, were afraid of the Mi-24 and did not open fire. For a long time it was a mystery to me where they wanted to send us for the first time, and after 20 years from some source, I found out that it was planned to land on the central stadium of Grozny, just where the reserve of Dudayev's forces was located. We were very lucky that the flight was cancelled.
“We were left with about 20 people from the special operations department. Guys from the 45th intelligence regiment were supposed to act with us. They raised us again in alarm, brought us to Mozdok to the airfield to be delivered by helicopters to the center of Grozny, to the stadium. that we will take Dudayev's palace in much the same way as we took Amin's palace in December 1979.<...>We never flew to the center of Grozny. As they say, as above, so below. A terrible inconsistency in the actions of different branches of the armed forces was revealed. It turned out that the helicopters could not take off, because one helicopter pilot had not yet had lunch, the other had not yet refueled, and the third was on duty at all. As a result, already on January 1, at 00:10, we were given the order: "By cars!" - the city was to be entered by land.<...>By the evening of that day, having already entered the city with a tank column, we learned from our scouts that by the time of that failed landing, the stadium planned as a springboard for it was full of well-armed and at the same time obeying no one people: it was on December 31 that the weapons available in the warehouses were distributed there without restrictions to everyone who wanted to defend "free Ichkeria". So our three helicopters, most likely, would have been burned over this stadium." 3
The leadership developed a "brilliant plan": when we begin to send troops into the city from the north, the militants will be "scared" and run to the south, and there, on the main routes, they will be expected by pre-set ambushes. It was these ambushes that we had to organize, and this explains the issuance of 40 kilograms of explosives for each.
We are near the boathouses after the failed landing in the mountains, celebrating the new year. Somewhere out there in the dark in the ranks - I am.
Returning to Mozdok on the evening of the 31st, we immediately took over the protection of the Grachev train. I met the New Year guarding this train. There were posts of VV officers across the field, and when the chimes struck, they opened fire with tracers in our direction, apparently believing that there could be no one in the field. My friend and I fell behind a thick poplar tree, branches cut down by bullets fell on us, he took out a can of beer stolen from an "officer's" gift, and lying behind a poplar tree, we drank it in honor of the upcoming New Year.
**************************************** **************************************** *************************
By the way, here is a very good video taken by an officer from the 901st battalion. Here are all our officers, almost all the guys from our group. I will comment on this video, summing up the "peaceful" part of the service - from the checkpoint in Kubinka to the location in boathouses at the Mozdok airfield. There were a lot of videos on the web on the shelf, but these videos disappear from time to time, perhaps the owners delete accounts.
Loading before departure on the central parade ground of the battalion.
01:00. Battalion commander Nikulnikov and the commander of the 3rd company Cherdantsev stands with his back.
01:46. Senior Lieutenant Konoplyannikov, commander of the first reconnaissance group. January 5, 1995, in the hospital, he will receive a bullet in the head, he will be saved by "Sphere": the bullet will pierce steel, Kevlar, lining, all layers, and breaking through the skin, will stick into the skull, but all the consequences are a hefty lump.
01:53. A high officer is Major Cherushev, in my opinion he will later become a battalion commander after Nikulnikov.
14:21. Boxes with gifts from Menatep bank. Black round hats we called "menatepovki". Ironically, just before the storming of Grozny, they sent us gifts from "Menatep" - such cardboard boxes, they were brought on the 30th. The boxes were "officer's" and "soldier's". They all had writing utensils: notebooks, pens, and sweaters and hats like that. The "officer's" boxes still contained a bottle of champagne and a can of imported beer. The one who made these sets was very well versed in what a soldier needed. Many years later, to be honest, I am stunned, knowing the arrogance of the current oligarchs: to send a gift to a soldier and also to consult with a knowledgeable specialist what exactly the soldier needs. It had to come down ... The fact is that a fucking soldier's helmet fits only on the top of the fur army earflaps, and the whole point of the helmet disappears, but here they sent hats - the consultant clearly understood the situation.
So we ran in these hats. In general, it turned out that all uniforms and equipment are very poorly suited for active combat operations. Upon arrival at the PPD in Kubinka, these hats were taken by order to the warehouse.
A few years later, in the St. Petersburg metro, I saw a man in such a hat. I stood and looked at him for a long time, trying to understand whether he was in Grozny...
15:41. On the right in the frame is Lieutenant Andrei Gridnev, the future Hero of Russia. I remember how Gridnev just came to the unit from the school as a young lieutenant, he was only 21 or 22 years old, he was assigned to our company as Konoplyannikov's deputy, he was immediately very motivated to serve. Gridnev from the first days was seriously engaged in the preparation and education of the guys from the group, they regularly ran with him, ran additional crosses, and every evening he came and forced them to pour ice water on them (actually, we didn’t have hot water in the company then). They called it "Karbyshev's bath". He gave the impression of a very tough person. But I remember when his wife arrived at the unit, when he was already settled in the officer's dormitory, and we helped him bring in furniture and things, he secretly took a box with jars of raspberry jam from his wife, and in the darkness around the corner of the dormitory slipped it to us, saying : "Here, guys, eat jam!" I remember being very touched. After Konoplyannikov was wounded on January 5, Gridnev would take command of the reconnaissance group and lead it successfully. The guys from the group recalled that he was very groovy in battle, they laughed, saying: "The battle is fought by Lieutenant Gridnev and ten of his squires," because he constantly ran from one fighter to another, firing from a grenade launcher, then from a machine gun, then he would take away a rifle from a sniper, the guys were neighing that if they started to give him shells, he would throw shells even without a gun at the positions of the militants. And when I found out that he was given the star of the Hero, I was not surprised at all.
15:53. The company commander Nikolakhin and on the left in a winter hat and camouflage uniform are the commanders and the commander of the consolidated group of snipers (including fighters armed with SVD and VSS) Konstantin Mikhailovich Golubev, who will die on January 8, 1995. They were friends, and Nikolakhin was very worried about his death.
16:11. Our political officer Bannikov is waving his hand.
16:15. A big mustachioed man is the main demolition officer of the battalion, I don’t remember his name. When classes on subversive training were held, he said: "Explosives can be made from last year's leaves, whoever remains on a contract, I'll tell you how." Behind him is a healthy guy - our machine gunner Yura Sannikov, from Siberia, a very kind guy, one of two in the company with a higher education.
The camera moves to the right, and we again see Gridnev and Lieutenant Gonta, a tough man, on the second trip he will be the commander of a combined reconnaissance group, in which I will be, we will destroy the ambush at height 970 in the Serzhen-Yurt area under his leadership. Then I have a good relationship with him. In Grozny, he was the commander of the second reconnaissance group. At the very edge of the frame on the right - Dima T., a sergeant from our reconnaissance group, after the storming of Grozny was transferred to the RMO. Now in Europe as a chef in one of the hotels.
17:20. Formation of officers of our 1st company. The highest in the ranks - Glukhovsky! Vladimir Glukhovsky, at the age of 27 at that time, was already a very experienced officer, who commanded a reconnaissance group in Pridnestrovie in a separate 818th special forces company, reporting directly to the commander of the 14th army, Lebed, who performed complex combat missions, and after the withdrawal from Pridnestrovie disbanded. Glukhovsky was sent to our regiment, and it so happened that he, the captain, the former commander of the group, who was already wounded, fell under the command of senior lieutenant Nikolahin, junior in rank. Glukhovsky was a man of character, very energetic and treated war as a sport. I never saw him frightened or tired, although he sometimes slept less than ours.
Behind Glukhovsky, his last deputy in the ranks. Vadim Pastukh. On his second trip in the summer of 1995, Pastukh will be the commander of the drone support group. And the commander of this unit will be Sergei Makarov, the second in the ranks. In the event that a drone was shot down by militants, Pastukh's group was supposed to ensure its search and return.
"THE CITY WAS DESTROYED, MANY HOUSES BURNED"
I don’t remember exactly, but it seems that on January 1, 1995, on the Urals, we advanced to Grozny with two companies: the 2nd 218th battalion and our 1st 901st battalion. The second company under the leadership of Major Nepryakhin was the first to enter. The third company of our battalion entered Grozny one or two days later than us.
I always thought that they entered the city on the first of January late in the evening. On the eve there was a turmoil: departures, arrivals, train security ... Perhaps one day (December 31, 1994) flew out of my memory.
Before leaving for Grozny, near the sheds, we tied boxes of sand around the Urals, and it was during the day, I remember exactly. The thaw began, and, by the way, they brought helmets - "spheres" by car, which the officers immediately snapped up, but they brought few helmets, so not even all the officers had enough. Apparently, this happened on the afternoon of January 1, and we moved out, respectively, on the second, because on December 31 we were closely busy with these attempts to fly somewhere, and the Urals were not tied with boxes that day. But I was always sure that the entrance to the city took place on the first of January.
On the video - the metal farms of the cannery, there were infantry machine gunners on all the platforms, who began to fire bursts at any sound.
Then, if the 218th battalion reached canning at about the time indicated on the timer in the video frames of Lyubimov's film, then, it turns out, our company pulled itself up by night after them. Nepryakhin on the video says that they came in with a fight. And then we, the first company of the 901st battalion, moved separately (our column was not large, only a few cars). Grozny is only about 100 kilometers from Mozdok.
We moved in a column behind the second company of the 218th battalion, already in the dark. The city was destroyed, there was no electric light, but many houses were on fire. At one point, a mortar mine exploded in front of our Ural. The driver stopped, and immediately a second mine lay behind the car. I saw how Glukhovsky, who was sitting at the edge of the body, ran to the cab and began to pound on it with his fist, shouting: "Forward!". The driver pulled away, and where we were standing, the third mine exploded. One of the mines lay in a private house, which was in the direction of travel on the left side. We entered the cannery on January 1 late at night. The company was located in a two-story building on the second floor. My comrade and I were immediately placed on guard duty, guarding the Urals. The mortar shelling continued and several mines exploded nearby.
The plant already had infantry, the remains of some units. In the dark, we met a surviving ensign from the Maikop brigade, who told us about the death of their convoy, about how the Chechens shot the crews of vehicles leaving the burning equipment. The cannery was generally a safe place, despite occasional shelling. All the tales about compote from this plant - however, we drank compote all the time, no one broke these cans (obviously, this refers to a scene from the feature film by A.G. Nevzorov "Purgatory", 1997: "Why are you destroying banks, are you?")
Over time, the plant became a kind of springboard, where suitable parts were pulled up.
"[The plant] was a series of barrack-type rooms, but built very thoroughly. Some of them housed the headquarters of the units, others - the units withdrawn from the battle, and their armored vehicles. Some of the warehouses were still filled with canned juices and compotes. To them a human stream constantly stretched, carrying away canned jars. 4
After entering the canning factory, Glukhovsky ordered to find wooden pallets, and from these pallets to build a sleeping floor in the two-story building where we settled down. It must be said that Glukhovsky took the organization of life very seriously and always forced the most comfortable conditions possible to create for sleep and rest. He immediately sent one of our fighters to make lamps from shell casings. It turned out that this ancient tried and tested way of lighting has no alternative. Later, when the building is hit by a mortar, we will move to the basement, and there, too, our commander will force us to equip sleeping places, build a stove from a barrel and make a dozen lamps from shells. This habit of equipping locations as comfortably as possible will remain with us until the end of the service.
On the same day, a captured artillery spotter will be brought in. Then there was a version about a "captain dressed in uniform", I don't know if these people are different or not. But the spotter is not a myth, and I saw it myself.
Officer 22 obrSpN Vyacheslav Dmitriev:“For some time we were pestered by mortar shelling, from which there was no escape. This continued until the spotter was caught. cannery. They checked him, the unit number in the documents did not match with any number of the military units that entered Grozny, and the artillery compass and the Japanese radio station dispelled all doubts. During interrogation, it turned out that he was a Ukrainian mercenary. His further fate is unknown. Some said, that he was sent to Mozdok to the filtration point of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, others that they shot him right there, behind the barracks. Under those conditions, both could be true." 4
The captive spotter will flaunt: "Welcome to hell!" There were rumors that the infantrymen took him on the roof of either a five-story building, or a nine-story building nearby, he had a walkie-talkie with him, but this is also unlikely, rather he "rummaged around" near the plant, and apparently lost his scent from impunity. He was a Chechen with a big nose, unshaven, spoke with an accent, was dressed in black trousers and a long black leather jacket with pockets. I now think that this was a mercenary, but most likely one of the locals, such as a surveyor or a retired military man, you cannot teach a simple shepherd to use a compass so quickly. I will see him the next day. The spotter was kept in the basement of the house where we lived at first. There, near the porch, the next morning I saw him and did not recognize him, his face was very badly broken, he cried and said: "Do not kill me, I am a soldier like you!" A tall thin general was talking to him frowningly.
It became psychologically difficult already on January 2: constant lack of sleep, knee-deep mud, shelling from mortars, snipers. Even to smoke - it was necessary to hide.
On January 2, if I am not mistaken, the first reconnaissance group was ordered to advance to the Petropavlovsk Highway area (but this is not accurate information). The fact is that troops were planned to approach along the highway, and the militants set up ambushes there, and it was necessary to carry out counter-ambush measures.
Major Sergey Ivanovich Shavrin, FSK Special Operations Department:"The task of the commander (commander of the 8th Guards AK, Lieutenant General L.Ya. Rokhlin) entrusted us with a difficult task: to ensure the safety of the column routes along which military equipment and troops advanced. This is Lermontovskaya street (Lermontov street, adjacent to the Petropavlovsk highway). There, on the one hand, there are houses, the private sector, and on the other, modern buildings. The militants in groups of 5-6 people made their way into the houses and fired at the columns. And the street is completely crammed with military vehicles, tankers, vehicles with ammunition. In general, every shot is a hit and a lot of damage, losses. From our joint team with commando paratroopers, we formed four groups and cleared the bandits from the quarter. They set up ambushes, and when militants were found, they went into battle. The bandits are afraid of an open battle, they avoid it. They have one tactic: bite-run away, bite-run away... They soon realized that there were ambushes, there were special forces, it was not safe there. And the bandit raids stopped. Several blocks along the road were free." 3
On one of the night exits, machine gunner Sergei Dmitruk, from the first reconnaissance group, died, number 3 or 4, I don’t remember exactly. The first loss in our company.
The aforementioned cleansing of the private sector, I don’t know exactly where, maybe somewhere in the area of the Petropavlovsk highway. The voice of the commander of the first reconnaissance group of our company Konoplyannikov: "Seki to the right, Mustafa!" Mustafa is the nickname of a sniper from the VSS Radik Alkhamov from Bashkiria. Radik was very kind and very slow, but he transformed in the ring at hand-to-hand combat competitions. Small in stature, he was very wiry, with relief muscles, like Bruce Lee, Radik was the hand-to-hand champion in the battalion, they put up huge guys against him and he won everyone! When we jokingly asked: "Radik, why are you so slow?", He, drawing out his words, answered: "Sniper must be slow!"
I remember that in the morning I went on some assignment to the plant, and saw how a car was trying to break through the bridge over the Sunzha at full speed - a white "six" with four men in it. I don’t know if they were militants, but this maneuver was tragic for them: it turned out that our tank was standing in front of the bridge behind a concrete fence in a caponier and the first shot from the “six” tore off the hood with the engine, the driver and passenger in the front seat died, and two passengers jumped out of the back seat and rushed back across the bridge. Immediately, heavy fire was opened on the fleeing from all the metal farms of the plant, and I saw how the bullets began to tear their clothes. I sat with my neck stretched out and looked out over the fence, which infuriated Glukhovsky wildly: "Do you want a bullet in the head ?!" - He hit me with the butt on the helmet.
And the next moment, a mine flew into the territory of the plant and cut off one of our Ural drivers with a shrapnel, he fell as if he had been cut down. The guys immediately grabbed him and carried him to the doctors. Only upon arrival in Kubinka did we learn that he had survived.
SOURCES
1. God comes by himself.-M., Typography "News", 2012.-112 p., ill. Page 107.
2. Valery K. "I can't be an atheist", story. Published in the author's edition.
