To the commander of the internal troops of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs, Colonel General Yu.V. Shatalin received a telegram in the summer of 1989:
“We express our gratitude to the servicemen of the internal troops who selflessly defended the lives of thousands of Meskhetian Turks in the Fergana events in the summer of 1989. Our people will never forget the courage of privates Viktor Shelets, Sergei Burov, Alexander Dedushenkov, Viktor Gnedets, Vladimir Neznanov, Alexander Lazarenko, and their commanders - Viktor Elovsky, Vladimir Vasiliev, Vladimir Enyagin. We honor their names along with the names of national heroes.
Chairman of the board of the collective farm “Adygyun” Bayragdarov, refugees from the Fergana region Rizaev, Aslanov, Kambirov and others.”
After the Ferghana events, distinguished soldiers were awarded military awards. The Order of the Red Star was received by Lieutenant Colonels V. Vasilyev and V. Elovsky, who freed a hostage from the hands of terrorists. The Order “For Personal Courage” (one of the first in the internal troops) was awarded to Corporal V. Neznanov, who selflessly and courageously acted against the angry crowd.
It was a baptism of fire for the young Sofrino battalions. In a short time, the brigade command managed to prepare soldiers and officers to carry out complex, large-scale tasks that no one had encountered before in their service. “Mass inter-ethnic clashes” - this is how the bloody massacres and massacres in the cities of Central Asia were called in politically correct language.
There had never been such a brigade as the Sofrinsky brigade in the army. The commander of the troops, General Yu.V. Shatalin, carefully selected officers for this unit, knowing full well that none of them would have time for any kind of probationary period. Colonel Vladimir Maltsev, the first Sofrino brigade commander (later general of the Main Command), was no stranger to forming, uniting, and training new, unusual units. It was he, Maltsev, who was at one time the first commander of the special forces company of the division named after F. Dzerzhinsky, the same URSN, which later became the famous “Vityaz” detachment.
The combat training of the 21st OBRON was closely involved with a fan of military special forces, a competent methodologist-innovator and master practitioner, Lieutenant Colonel Viktor Elovsky. The chief of staff, Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Vasiliev (soon to become a brigade commander, colonel), the head of the political department, Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Enyagin, and the deputy commander, Lieutenant Colonel Boris Chugurov, each in his own department, worked day and night to create and work hard. Before our eyes, their brigade was becoming a unique unit - powerful, combat-ready, mobile, disciplined, well-trained. The standards for the Sofrintsy were very strict, extremely compressed, the brigade was like a strong spring, ready to release with an outburst of hidden energy - rising on alarm, “in the cars,” marching to the airfield, loading into the wombs of the “seventy-sixth Ilov,” a short flight nap and - into a battle with a very real enemy, whom you won’t let go of, but from whom you shouldn’t expect mercy...
It was a difficult time for them. In Fergana they thanked, in Tbilisi they cursed, in NKAO they asked not to leave, in Vilnius they called them fascists... And before Chechnya, there were Baku, Dushanbe, North Ossetia and Ingushetia...
But “a husband should not kill himself in a clash with fate. A husband in trouble is obliged to stand as an impregnable wall...” Shota Rustaveli once uttered wise words primarily for his fellow countrymen, but the Sofrints Slavs heeded them more quickly. It was they who stood as an impregnable wall between the warring parties, until the treacherous betrayal of the statesmen occurred, whose signatures on paper became a cord laid along the sovereign borders. There were explosions. Trouble was all around.
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Today, the name of the ancient city of Tbilisi is again on the lips of the whole world; the Yankees seriously believe that Caucasian Georgia and their state of Georgia are essentially twin relatives.
The Tbilisi events of April 1989 were also unique in their drama. It was after them that the ominously depressing term “Tbilisi syndrome” appeared (a terrible mixture: ignorance of who and why the true enemy is, how to fight against him, will you then have to blame and justify yourself for the use of force?).
The Sofrinsky battalion, which carried out tasks in the capital of Georgia, was lucky in that it was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel V. Elovsky, who had recently served in Tbilisi and knew well not only the poem “The Knight in the Skin of the Tiger,” but, more importantly, the psychology of the Georgians.
It fell to the Sofrintsy to protect public order in the Gruzteleradio area - a strategically important facility. Brought up in the spirit of observance of the law, our soldiers and commanders, gritting their teeth, looked at the raging crowd: they were thrown insults in their faces, they shook their fists in their direction, and spat on them. Then, cars with their headlights on and blaring horns began to rush dangerously close to the military line. At the wheel, as it later turned out, there were stoned and “dated” young instigators.
Cold-blooded and wise from Transcaucasia, Elovsky decided to arrange a “demonstration of muscles” in front of the raging crowd - our soldiers, one by one, to warm up after a long standing in a chain, performed several expressive special forces “steps” with machine guns, with shields, with rubber batons. The crowd of Georgians fell silent at first. Then some provocateur shouted: “They’re scaring you, you assholes! Yes, we will do them!”
But the Sofrits were the first to do their job, they worked ahead of the curve - the trained soldiers not only dodged the Zhiguli car rushing at them, but also managed to hit the windshield with a rubber baton, so much so that the hot southern guys instantly cooled down. Here, in the area of responsibility of the Sofrintsy, there was no massacre...
Following Tbilisi were Dushanbe, Baku, NKAO... After hand-to-hand street fighting, shootouts, armed provocations, and explosions increasingly occurred. The confrontations became wider along the front, deeper, more fierce.
On the border of Azerbaijan and Armenia, the company's political officer, Lieutenant Oleg Babak, accomplished his feat. (To this day, many Azerbaijanis call him Babek - after the name of the hero of national liberation of the 9th century.)
The Sofrin battalion, then commanded by Major V. Burdukov (later colonel, brigade commander), was stationed in the Azerbaijani regional center of Kubatly. The outpost, where Lieutenant O. Babak was the senior officer, is twenty kilometers away, in the mountain village of Yukhary Dzhibikli. The vicissitudes of the unequal battle, which was waged by Lieutenant Babak and Sergeants Loginov and Bochkov, still sit in us like torn fragments. Three Sofrintsy fought off an attack by a company of militants who were trying to capture civilians. Oleg Babak’s last words to his subordinates were the order: “Take the people away! Move away! I'll cover you!"
The day of the death of the brave officer - April 7 (in 1991 it was the Holy Resurrection of Christ, Easter) - became the Day of Remembrance of the Sofrino brigade. On September 17, 1991, Lieutenant Oleg Yakovlevich Babak was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously). Two sergeants, two Alexei - Loginov and Bochkov - were awarded the Order “For Personal Courage”...
And there were also heartfelt letters sent to Oleg Babak’s parents in the Poltava village of Victoria from Moscow and Sakhalin, from Kazakhstan and Estonia, from Moldova and Tyumen... This is what Baku tenth-grader Sevinj Tagieva wrote: “I am very hurt and offended that such a nightmare is happening in our peacetime, and it’s even more painful to know that this is happening on my native land, in my native republic. Your son showed heroism by protecting civilians from the massacre of militants. Oleg was only 24 years old, he did not even have time to enjoy the joys of life. Let everyone know how many young lives this merciless war is taking. Will evil really triumph over truth? No, this will not happen as long as there are warriors like your son. You should be proud of your son. The good memory of him will forever remain in the hearts of people."
The first and second Chechen campaigns confirmed the high authority of the Sofrintsy. The command sent the brigade to where it was most difficult. More than a thousand soldiers, sergeants, warrant officers and officers were awarded military orders and medals. The brigade commander, Major General Gennady Fomenko, and the driver-mechanic of the BMP, Corporal Evgeny Bushmelev, became Heroes of Russia.
In January 1995, they entered Grozny. There were battles in Samashki and Bamut. There were many battles, little respite...
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The second campaign began with a heavy march from Dagestan, walking through the Nogai steppes, sands... And again it was Grozny, a return to square one, to the circles of hell - Staropromyslovsky district, Zavodskoy...
The conversation with Private Yuri Konshin took place in Grozny on the night of January 14, 1995:
– I really believe in God. Before the business trip, I asked the company commander (he is a good man) for leave. We live in Sofrino, and Zagorsk (Sergiev Posad - B.K.) is thirty minutes from us, there is a monastery there. I went there and lit candles for my health and for the health of my parents. I now believe that I will live until I am 87 and nothing will happen to me here. And although I go here on missions, I walk carefully, I believe that I will live until I am 87 years old.
- Well, God forbid!
“So it will be, Comrade Colonel, so it will be!” I have a sweetheart at home... She and I got married in a Christian church (my grandmother advised me to marry my sweetheart before the army), she is now my beloved wife. He writes to me every day, every day. “I don’t know anymore, my dear, what to write to you...” She writes what she did that day, where she was. And still, every day you receive a letter with “my dear” - joy! She came to my unit and said: “God forbid, you fool, where do you go!”
- All women say that...
We flew to Chechnya again on May 23. Sapper Yura Konshin died on the 22nd...
From the “second Chechnya” I remember a conversation with soldiers in the ruins of Grozny. With the Hero of Russia, Colonel G. Fomenko, we arrived at the position. The mood on that February day in 2000 noticeably lifted: the Sofrin brigade completed its task, knocking out the “spirits” from the Zavodsky district in heavy battles. The main thing that pleased the brigade commander was that there were no losses in the last days. Even the sun finally peeked through the smoke, fumes, and fog. But just a couple of days ago everything was pretty bad...
– Is it true that there was an order to fight until the last soldier?
Corporal Anokhin's question is directed directly at the brigade commander. We are standing in front of two dozen grimy, smoke-stained demobilizers in the ruins of a house. The window openings are blocked with fragments of the same walls, the wind blows into the gaps and crumbles of plaster fly when “spirit” bullets and VOGs hit the jambs. The floor under the fire, lit right there, in a nook that is not subject to gunfire, is almost burnt out, and it is covered with black coarse snow brought from the street in a leaky bucket.
“We are not the last soldiers.” – The brigade commander, who knows how to conduct a dialogue with the minister, and with the commanders, and with the Chechens, is now choosing a few right words for an honest answer to his trench heroes. – We, the Sofrintsy, have always been the first, haven’t we? But the first one is more difficult. We had only one order - to drive out the bandits from the Zavodsky district. And we will carry out the order. I won’t force you to storm, but you will sit on the “blocks” - the enemy should not hit us on our flanks or rear. You have done too much for me to speak rudely and disrespectfully to you. But if you go against the law, then I will step over myself - you will leave without state awards, without “fighting” money, with shame. That's all I can tell you...
The brigade commander spoke quietly, but clearly, pausing only during explosions hooting from left and right. Colonel Fomenko found himself in a difficult dilemma. His brigade is fighting in Grozny and is suffering losses. There aren't enough people. For several dozen soldiers and sergeants, the time has come for transfer to the reserve. And according to the unspoken rule established back in Afghanistan, “demobes” were not sent into battle - they were taken care of. Although the “old” soldiers themselves had the opposite opinion on this matter: they rushed to the front line, teaching the young ones an example of courage...
The next day, the Sofrin brigade will go out into the bend of the muddy, gray-turquoise Sunzha, where television crews will interrogate the brigade commander among the grimy, but clearly cheerful, fighters. The reporter will sum up the interview with a beautiful ambiguous phrase: “The commander led his brigade into the city. To a city that doesn't exist."
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It’s like a rhetorical “What are we fighting for?..”
Journalists did not go to war with the Sofrintsy for an answer to this sacramental question. The writing and filming brethren felt that where this brigade is, there are the hottest battles, there is the epicenter of events, there are feats, there are heroes. In search of the origins of courage and heroism, journalists sought to be close to the brigade fighters. Near Samashki, in an ambush, the military correspondent of the magazine “On a Combat Post,” senior lieutenant Anatoly Yagodin, who loved the Sofrintsy very much and wrote a lot about them, died.
During the second war, near the village of Chervlennaya, photojournalist Oleg Smirnov was seriously wounded, who walked his glorious path with his Sofrintsy friends, capturing both battle battles and everyday life in tents and trenches at the front...
We will remember all this. Let us remember the joy of victories, the faces of heroes. Let us remember the bitter days of loss, the tears of inconsolable widows and mothers, the monuments that were erected in honor of the dead. As long as we ourselves are alive, we will say: “Hello, Sofrintsy!”
... The retired commander of the internal troops, Colonel General Yuri Vasilyevich Shatalin, chose a “village to live in” - he was tired of the noisy capital, and besides, “those who fought have the right to sit by a quiet river.”
Remembering the proverb “where he was born, he was useful there,” he traveled around his native Dmitrov, from Moscow to Sergiev Posad, knowing that here he could find complete peace after all his wars and military campaigns.
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A suitable house with a vegetable garden was found in Khotkovo, near Radonezh, where the wonderworker Sergius, the sad man of the Russian land, of all Rus', lived.
The abbot of Radonezh lived here in ancient times, but as if yesterday he set off from here on foot across Rus', gathering it together with deeds and words.
According to the testimony of contemporaries, amazing purity, modesty and strength distinguished the youth Bartholomew (the future Sergius). Isn’t it these virtues that are so characteristic of many brave Sofrintsy - those who fell in battle and are still living?!
It was he, Sergius of Radonezh, who blessed the Russian army for the right battle before the Battle of Kulikovo, and sent the monks and warriors of Peresvet and Oslyabya into mortal combat with the Horde.
Pilgrims going to Sergius, to the Lavra, always stopped in Sofrino.
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So Yuri Vasilyevich Shatalin, who created the front line brigade in 1988, when retiring, decided unambiguously and firmly: “I will be next to my Sofrintsy!”
... In 1992, when there was no longer a state called the USSR, on the parade ground of the Sofrino brigade, three flags fluttered on high flagpoles - Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian. The brigade commander explained: “There is no union, and the soldiers called up from Belarus and Ukraine remained to serve until the end of their term. And until then the flags will be here. Politics is politics, but no one can cancel our Sofrino brotherhood by any decree..."
Boris KARPOV
Photo by Oleg SMIRNOV,
Vladimir NIKOLAICHUK
and the author
B Evgeniy Vyacheslavovich Ushmelev - mechanic-driver of an infantry fighting vehicle of the 21st separate operational brigade of the Moscow District of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, corporal.
He graduated from high school in his homeland. In 1998, he was called up for military service in the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. He served in the 21st separate operational brigade of the Moscow District of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. Based on the name of the village of Sofrino, Moscow Region, in which the brigade is stationed, it became known as the “Sofrin brigade”. He mastered the military specialty of driver-mechanic of an infantry fighting vehicle.
In September 1999, he took part in battles with gangs in Dagestan. Since October 1, 1999, as part of the Sofrinsky brigade, Private Bushmelev participated in the battles of the second Chechen war. During the capture of the village of Chervlennaya on October 15, 1999, the crew supported the actions of the advancing troops with fire for three hours. Under enemy fire, he repeatedly broke through the BPM into the battle formations of the advancing troops and took out the wounded from there. One of the flights also took out a wounded photojournalist. Skillfully maneuvering on the battlefield, he did not give the enemy grenade launchers the opportunity to hit his infantry fighting vehicle. Several dozen grenades flew past.
On October 30, already during the assault on the militants’ stronghold near the village of Novoshchedrinskaya, Evgeniy Bushmelev’s infantry fighting vehicle was damaged by a direct hit from a grenade launcher. Under heavy enemy fire, he got out and repaired the damage. Then he broke through to another damaged infantry fighting vehicle. Bushmelev’s crew drove away the militants who were trying to seize the car with machine-gun and cannon fire. And again, Evgeniy, under enemy fire, repaired the damaged chassis on his comrades’ BMP, and then towed it to the brigade’s location.
In the Gudermes area, his actions decided the outcome of the battle in favor of the Russian troops - he secretly brought an infantry fighting vehicle into the militants’ flag and with heavy fire forced them to abandon the fortified line and retreat. In the battle for the village of Alkhan-Yurt, he broke through to the encircled motorized rifle units, providing them with fire support, and took out the wounded battalion commander on the return flight.
For these feats he was nominated for the title of Hero of the Russian Federation, but while the performance was “moving” along the headquarters corridors, Evgeny Bushmelev accomplished a new feat. From December 28 to December 29, 1999, the advanced units of the Sofrin brigade broke into the outlying areas of Grozny and fell into a trap prepared by the militants. The units isolated from the main forces fought a heavy battle for two days. Being part of one of these units, Bushmelev was moving at the head of a column along a city street when the militants tried to repeat the New Year's beating of Russian troops in 1995. Heavy fire was opened from the windows of nearby buildings. However, the times were no longer the same. Having overcome a moment of confusion, parts of the brigade accepted the battle. Yevgeny Bushmelev directed his infantry fighting vehicle at one of the houses occupied by militants. The crew members forced the enemy to flee with powerful fire. Having burst into the building, the fighters organized a perimeter defense, suppressing several enemy firing points and allowing the units caught in trouble to gain a foothold and organize a reliable defense. The brigade's losses in that battle were 33 killed and over 100 wounded. At night, the wounded were loaded into Bushmelev's BMP. Evgeniy alone, through the streets of Grozny unknown to him, managed to reach the location of his troops and save the lives of his comrades. He fought heroically as part of the units storming the city until January 3, 2000, when the Sofrin brigade began to be replaced by other units on the front line. There, in Chechnya, he was awarded the following military rank: "corporal".
For the courage and heroism shown during the counter-terrorist operation in the North Caucasus, by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 1754 of December 30, 1999, Corporal Evgeniy Vyacheslavovich Bushmelev was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation.
After being transferred to the reserve from military service, he lives and works in his homeland.
Oh, if only for the weather! On Saturday, September 27, 2008 to the 21st SEPARATE OPERATIONAL BRIGADE, better known. AS SOFRINSKAYA, TURNED 20 YEARS OLD. We were waiting for this day and preparing for it. And not just those who serve today. Brigade commanders of different years. deputies, officers of previous and current years... An anniversary is a time to look back, take stock, and here - the rain, as if it was specially accumulating strength, was waiting for the moment. Bubbles in the puddles, a wet, hopeless sky... However, the 21 separate operational brigade is an all-weather unit. Therefore, the holiday in Sofrino went according to plan. With formation on the parade ground, congratulations, laying flowers, and fireworks... Everything at this holiday was as it should be: kind words addressed to the heroes of the day, admiration for the local boys who prepared their congratulations... And also - there were words of gratitude... They don’t sound that often today to the Internal Troops and the Army... Well, the special forces, naturally, went to great lengths - they prepared a whole program: “the liberation of a bus seized by terrorists,” the shooting of an armored personnel carrier right on the parade ground in front of amazed spectators, demonstration performances of the special forces, a lot, many other things, also very special. And the extreme rain only added adrenaline to the blood and lifted my spirits. And no puddles, no rain interfered. There was everything that should happen at such a glorious anniversary... And there was also the presentation of military and government awards and valuable gifts. And this also happened in the rain. From the command, from the local administration, from brothers in arms - veterans of various special forces who came to congratulate their colleagues. The opening of the updated exhibition of the Museum of Military Glory of the 21st OBRON was also timed to coincide with the anniversary. The guests learned a lot about the history of the VV special forces. In memory of the holiday, the participants of the celebration received commemorative badges, pennants, packages... And the leitmotif everywhere is three words: NOBILITY, COURAGE, COURAGE. I personally appreciated this magnificent badge. as a reward for work in extreme conditions and as an advance for what still remains to be done... The families of the fallen soldiers and officers were not forgotten either. It is a tradition in the Sofrinsky brigade to invite relatives and friends of soldiers who died in action to their celebrations... it just so happened that at the first opportunity the brigade provides assistance... Various. As much as possible. This is exactly what the former brigade commander is talking about in the photograph... Yes, there was also a festive concert and banquet... But I can only tell you about what I saw. see for yourself. Note. An outside observer may ask: why are there so many photographs here, and why are photographs displayed that leave much to be desired in quality? The angle is bad, the distance is too big for shooting, well, and so on... I answer: for those who were present there, or once served in the brigade, even a person standing with his back to the lens can be familiar and dear. And, as you understand, no one will bring photographs to the participants of the holiday, who are getting wet in this rain, on a silver platter. And it was simply impossible for me to be able to get everywhere in order to take a photo from the right angle and the right quality with my point-and-shoot camera and weak lens. Too much was happening around, sometimes at the same time. The sequence of events was unknown, the distances were large. Well, plus the weather... so... don't blame me. I just stopped for you a few moments of this Saturday as they were... True, WHAT A RAIN IT WAS, the pictures don’t convey it... And one more thing. There is no footage of the reconnaissance company performing on the parade ground, and this is wrong. Add if someone was filming.... It was beautiful, even though it was raining...
On May 8, 1989, in the internal troops of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs, following the Omsdon "nine", a second full-time special forces unit appeared - a special-purpose training company of the Sofrino brigade.
The company commander was senior lieutenant Valery Chernyshev, who received a fourth star on his shoulder straps after the Fergana events of the same year. Senior Lieutenant Vadim Suvorov and Lieutenant Shakir Akhmedov were appointed the first platoon commanders. A little later, even before the participation of the Sofrino special forces in the Karabakh operations, Lieutenant Pavel Yashchuk arrived as a platoon commander in the URSN. The “commissioner” position was entrusted to Lieutenant Oleg Sulima, who became “part-time” the unofficial chronicler of the new special forces unit...
Already in June of the same year, fighters of the Sofrino URSN carried out combat missions to suppress unrest and prevent massacres of Meskhetian Turks in the Fergana region of the Uzbek SSR. The first milestones of their military journey were the cities of Andijan, Kokand, Yaipan, Gulistan, and the villages of Gorsky and Komsomolskoye. According to the most conservative estimates, in the Fergana region, Valery Chernyshev’s company in those days saved more than three thousand civilians from certain death.
I cannot help but draw attention to the fact that during the Fergana epic, the young, essentially newly formed unit had only two officers - senior lieutenant Chernyshev and lieutenant Akhmedov. Sergeant Andrei Makarov often took on officer duties. And he coped with them beyond all praise. Despite the fact that on some days the company’s soldiers had to work out four to six combat missions!
During the Fergana events, the best qualities of special forces soldiers were shown by the Sofrino “urses” of the first set - Sergeant Alexander Narozhny, privates Alexander Doroshenko, Pavel Leshchenko, Alexander Petrovsky, Roman Velichko, Sergei Safronov, Vitaly Nalimov, Mikhail Kalinin, Vladimir Gornostaev (later became a sergeant), Anatoly Andreev, Sergey Astapenko, who came to us from URSN OMSDON. It was they who laid the traditions of the highest professionalism, masculinity and dedication, mutual assistance and military brotherhood, on which all the service and combat activities of the special unit of the Sofrino brigade were subsequently built.
Subsequently, in 1989-1991, the personnel of our URSN in various regions of the country took part in more than 50 special operations, in twelve of which the situation developed and developed in such a way that it was necessary to use firearms. Naturally, with full compliance with the requirements of the laws and the Combat Regulations of the Internal Troops. Thanks to the high level of training of its fighters, the Sofrino URSN had no losses at that time.
One of the pinnacles of the combat skills of the Sofrintsy during that period was the operation in the village of Shurnukh, Goris region of the Armenian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, carried out on April 6, 1990 under the leadership of the same Shakir Akhmedov. The officer, who by this time had become the deputy commander of the URSN for special training, so competently planned and talentedly carried out all the actions with his subordinates that they were even included in the collections of educational and methodological materials of the internal troops and were recommended for study. And no wonder: as a result of the Shurnukh operation, the Sofrintsy captured a large group of militants, who, according to captured documents, were listed as “Armenian special forces.”
This operation turned out to be indicative in another way: after its successful implementation, the company received nine awards, but the direct participants received only two. The rest settled with representatives of higher headquarters. Unfortunately, this happened in the future.
We, who did our job not for rubles and awards, but for the glory of our country and special forces, continued to increase the list of successfully completed combat missions. It included an operation to neutralize and disarm a gang that had settled between the villages of Upper Farajan and Spitakshen. By the way, it was for this matter that the commander of the Sofrino URSN, Captain Valery Chernyshev, who not only directly commanded one of the groups, but also went to the blocked militants as a parliamentarian with a proposal to surrender in order to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, was presented with the Order “For Personal Courage.” And I finally got it!
Then there was the seizure of the extremist headquarters in Jebrail, after which we handed over fifty active participants in armed actions against civilians to law enforcement agencies.
In Hadrut, the Sophrans freed more than two dozen families of border guards whom the militants were holding as hostages. Women, children, and several elderly parents of border guards were then taken in a convoy from the military camp outside the state of emergency zone. After this, the command of the border detachment, in gratitude for what they had done, awarded many of our soldiers the “Excellence in Border Troops” badge. As they say: “Everything I can!” But our soldiers who participated in that operation wore these signs with special pride.
Remembering the first years of the Sofrin special forces, we should also mention the qualification tests for the right to wear a maroon beret.
The final stage of the first “beret exam” did not take place in the native part. The Sofrints felt that they did not have the moral right to independently assess the level of preparedness of their candidates. And they turned for help to the luminaries of the military special forces, which even then were considered to be the officers and warrant officers-instructors of the URSN division named after F. Dzerzhinsky, the future “Vityaz” detachment.
The surrender turned out to be very serious: only a few of the twenty best hand-to-hand fighters of the Sofrino company were able to survive to the end and receive the special forces shrine. But all the candidates received a master class in hand-to-hand combat, experiencing for themselves what they need to focus on in this type of combat training.
In addition to passing qualifying tests in the Moscow region, which took place, so to speak, according to the classical scheme and rules, we twice organized such exams under unusual conditions. The first took place during a business trip to the NKAO and took place near the city of Kubatly, located high in the mountains. The second is near the village of Mardakan, located on the Caspian coast. In both cases, a whole series of actions and standards were added to the test program, taking into account the specifics of the tasks that URSN personnel performed during that period.
In the first case, it was a forced march in high altitude conditions, and therefore a clear lack of oxygen. In addition, we included (perhaps for the first time in the history of special forces) elements of mountain training in the exam: candidates overcame turbulent river flows and rockfall areas that pose a real danger. Additionally, they learned a whole set of conventional signs that help to communicate in the mountains within visual contact without means of communication, and demonstrated the ability to navigate in mountainous terrain. We practiced various introductory instructions during the march.
Those who fought for the right to wear a beret near Mardakan also had a hard time. The forced march took place at temperatures above thirty degrees. Ten kilometers ran along the sandy coast of the Caspian Sea. But two more had to be overcome directly by sea - sometimes waist-deep, and sometimes chest-deep in water, while keeping your own weapons intact. There was a little roughness at sea that day. And while moving, the special forces had to not only hold machine guns, machine guns, sniper rifles, grenade launchers over their heads, but also regularly jump, jumping out over the crest of the oncoming wave in order to avoid being covered over their heads.
No less of a challenge – physical and psychological – was the encounter on this section of the route with sea snakes, which were found in abundance in the plantations of coastal algae. So they walked: they made their way through dense clumps of stems, as if through a viscous swamp, every thirty to forty meters with the butt of a machine gun or simply with their hands, throwing aside a vile green creature almost a meter long that was floating nearby or that emerged from under their feet.
In general, the command of the Sofrino URSN never had to blush for the level of preparedness of its fighters. This is evidenced not only by successfully carried out special operations, but also by the results of professional competitions. For example, at the first and, alas, only combined arms training of special forces of the internal troops of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs, held in the summer of 1990 in the city of Rustavi, Georgian SSR, the Sofrintsy were the best in hand-to-hand combat and fire training.
The traditions established in the early years were further strengthened by all generations of Sofrin special forces...
Vladimir Nikolaevich, what tasks are the brigade facing today?
Our main task today is to assist law enforcement agencies in maintaining law and order at their location and in surrounding areas. If any conflict arises on Russian territory, we are obliged to separate the warring parties. We must also resist terrorist attacks. At the same time, we have wartime tasks of territorial defense. In general, our tasks are broad.
Currently, all personnel are located here, at the place of permanent deployment, and serve in Moscow and the Moscow region. We patrol in the city of Pushkin, Mytishchi, Korolev, Sergiev Posad, Moscow. We go to Moscow for various large public events: football matches, celebrations of May 9, City Day... We are not special forces, but our units are well trained for specific actions to protect public order. For example, we have our own platoon of dog handlers. All sorts of dogs: mine-detecting dogs, tracking dogs, and guard dogs. On the eve of any mass event, first of all, specialists with dogs arrive at the venue, who first inspect it, and only then stand guard together with the police. We don’t take dogs with us to the capital - they have their own dog handlers there, but in the Moscow region we use our own dogs.
What is the assessment of the work of the brigade units in the Moscow region?
We met with the prosecutor of the Pushkinsky district, and he said that in the territory under his jurisdiction, for the period from January to September of this year, crime fell, if my memory serves me correctly, by 18%. He noted that our guys also contribute to this - their constant joint patrols with employees of internal affairs departments at the same stations and in especially dangerous places. Because there were cases when we detained someone for crimes.
Are your current resources and resources sufficient for you today?
Yes, today the brigade is fully provided with everything necessary, staffed with personnel, armored vehicles, and ready to carry out the tasks facing it. This, I believe, is a great merit of the high command. The brigade is ready to rise on alarm at any time, march and carry out any practical task that is assigned. Naturally, within the framework of the Constitution, within the framework of laws.
| PRIVATE BUSSINESS SIMACHKOV Vladimir Nikolaevich Born in 1956 in the village of Novoselki, Buinsky district of the TASSR. In 1980 he graduated with honors from the Novosibirsk Higher Command School of the Internal Troops of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs, and in 1990 - from the Military Academy named after. Frunze. He went through all the steps of the career ladder from a private in conscript service to a brigade commander inclusive. Participated in eliminating unrest and restoring the constitutional order in all “hot spots” in Transcaucasia and the North Caucasus. Since February 2001, he has commanded the 21st separate operational brigade. Military rank - major general. Knight of the Order of Courage and "For Military Merit". Married, has two children. |
- Could you give a frank description of the conscripts who come to you today: according to physical, psychological, educational and other data?
Unfortunately, we have now been moved to the third health group, so the military personnel come different. A lot of them come from single-parent families - and this is already a big minus; many military personnel do not have a general secondary education - this also leaves its mark on working with them. Well, regarding external data, I will say the following: those who served for a long time may, of course, think that some soldiers do not look good here, but I fight with them and see that short and frail guys sometimes hold up better and carry them on their shoulders. much more than those who seem healthier than them. However, it’s difficult to judge here, because a lot depends on the character of the person.
Almost the entire personnel of the 21st Brigade went on business trips to Chechnya, including you. During what periods after the end of full-scale hostilities were militants most active?
The spring of 2001 was difficult. Especially because of high explosives and attacks. The shelling was more frequent.
And when did the brigade suffer the greatest losses?
During the storming of Grozny, in December 1999.
Can you give an example of some of the most successful military operations?
We have had many such operations. True, we didn’t take big leaders, but the middle ones, as they called themselves, “emirs” of this or that region - almost every six months. They were discovered by their call signs, and then handed over to the relevant authorities. I don’t know their names; the FSB has already established their real names. We took especially many demolitions: we set up ambushes, and when they went out onto the road to lay a landmine, my guys met them at that moment... We carried out engineering reconnaissance almost daily on routes with a total length of over 70 km, and for the entire period while we carried out these events, there were no explosions in these areas. Another thing is that there were shellings or something else, but this was not our fault. When my engineering reconnaissance took place, there were no losses. In terms of seizures, I can say something like this: in a day or two we removed one landmine.
What were the tasks of the units of the 21st Defense Forces located on the territory of Chechnya?
Our tasks were to assist the internal affairs bodies and ensure order in the Staropromyslovsky and Zavodsky districts of Grozny. What did this mean? We maintained our checkpoints, our outposts, carried out access control, carried out special measures to identify militants and persons involved in terrorist activities and, together with employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the FSB and other units, detained them.
What tactics did the militants follow during that period?
Mainly mine warfare tactics. Although the methods they used were different: from dressing up in our uniform and causing outrages in populated areas, ending with bribery, getting drunk - whatever. But the biggest obstacle to our work were the “mass demonstrations of citizens” provoked and paid for by militant emissaries: women came out, blocked the roads and, waving scarves, began shouting that our servicemen had stolen someone from them. The troops have no resistance to this.
Do you think it is possible to trust local police officers in Chechnya today? Were there any moments when you and your subordinates felt that at some point they might be stabbed in the back by their Chechen allies?
I think that if the president and the authorities have determined that it is necessary to provide assistance to the heads of local administrations, then there should be no doubts. There were minor skirmishes that were in no way dependent on the leaders - say, a policeman had a fight with my soldier, and a conflict arose between them on a domestic basis. But for part to part to go, and at the commander level to have to sort it out later - this did not happen.
What did you lack in terms of technical and other equipment?
A big obstacle was some lack of knowledge of the area in which we operated. We had in our hands topographic maps from old publications, which showed one thing, but in reality we saw something completely different, as a result of which it happened that we began to get lost. During this war, our radio communications became better - there were approximately the same compact radio stations that could fit in one hand that the militants had in the last war. However, even now they use more modern equipment compared to ours with “dialers”, decoders and closed communications. But we, too, when we take it from them, use it... The radio jammer installed on the armored personnel carrier, which “quenches” all radio signals arriving at landmines, has proven itself quite well, but the guaranteed distance that it provides (for me, the most modern one worked at 100 m) , - it’s small. Therefore, of course, I would like to have a more powerful system.
In your opinion, when will there be a need for counter-terrorism measures in Chechnya?
Everything is done purposefully and correctly, but the intensity of it all, for unknown reasons, is still too low. It is necessary to create jobs there, pay people money in the same amount that emissaries of gangs pay them, only for the restoration of housing, enterprises, factories - so that they are interested in the stability of the region. When people know that working in a village, at a factory in Grozny, they are guaranteed to get their money, they will stop supporting those who are hiding in the mountains. Otherwise, you will not defeat the militants either by force or by bombing - others will replace one. Yes, blood feud will remain, yes, someone else will go to the mountains, but every day there will be fewer and fewer of them. The faster the welfare of Chechnya grows, the sooner the situation there will stabilize. There is no other option.
How long were some of your servicemen on business trips in Chechnya? Have any rehabilitation measures been carried out with them?
They stayed there from a month to a year and two months maximum. After returning to their place of permanent deployment, they lived for three months according to a rehabilitation daily routine, which included daytime rest and trips to Moscow. Psychologists took part and sponsors helped. Almost all of the military personnel who needed deeper treatment went through a psychologist, psychiatrist, or medical school. Well, there were no such people for someone to return from there as a fool. Unfortunately, it turns out a little the other way around - more of these people come from civilian life.
Did your people get extra leave?
We are not entitled to it: this law applies only to military personnel serving in the Transcaucasus and on the territory of Tajikistan. We took advantage of other benefits. We were paid money there for completing tasks, including the soldiers. A soldier who served for a year in Chechnya took home on average 50-60 thousand rubles. The slobs, of course, took away only 10 thousand or less.
In what sense are they slobs? Those who received money and spent it there?
No, for each special operation we selected normal people who could carry out the tasks, and left those who were worse on the sidelines. And the so-called “combat” money was received only by those who participated in special operations. If a person participated in the operation, then together with daily allowance and other payments he was credited for that day with about 1 thousand rubles.
In recent years, the topic of recruiting troops through conscription has been very actively discussed. How many contract soldiers do you have in your brigade and what is your own opinion on this issue?
In my brigade, approximately every sixth person is a contract soldier. I am also a supporter of a contract army, it will be more professional and better, but it is a pity that the state does not yet have the money for this.
Are contract workers residents of the Moscow region?
Nobody comes to us from the Moscow region or Moscow. Mostly guys from the Urals, from the Tver province, from remote villages serve, then they marry girls near Moscow, there are already such cases.
Is the brigade experiencing a shortage of officers?
No, graduating from colleges allows you to be fully recruited, but another problem arises: lieutenants earn on average 4.5-5 thousand rubles and when they start families, they begin not only to break down, but to wonder whether it is worth continuing to put up with such a miserable existence ? It’s not that they perform their service poorly after this, but doubts arise, because go to any security agency, and they pay 700-800 rubles per night. So people begin to think: why do we serve here, invest so much effort?..