45th airborne special forces regiment official. Airborne special forces: history and structure
45th separate brigade special purpose is the youngest military unit within the Russian Airborne Forces (VDV), its formation began in February 1994.
The regiment was formed on the basis of two separate special-purpose battalions, each of which had its own history of formation and development before being included in the regiment.
The 901st separate air assault battalion was formed on the territory of the Transcaucasian Military District and was immediately transferred to Czechoslovakia as part of the Central Group of Forces, where from November 20, 1979 it was stationed in the village. Riečki village.
In March 1989, in connection with the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Eastern Europe, the battalion was redeployed to the city of Aluksne, Latvian SSR and became part of the Baltic Military District. In May 1991, the battalion was transferred to the Transcaucasian Military District and redeployed to Sukhumi, Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.
In August 1992, the battalion was reassigned to the Airborne Forces Command and renamed the 901st separate parachute battalion. Later, as a separate battalion, it became part of the 7th Guards Airborne Division, but the city of Sukhumi remained its permanent location.
In 1993, during the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict, the battalion carried out tasks to protect and defend important military and government facilities on the territory of Abkhazia from looting and destruction. During this period, eight soldiers of the battalion died, having fully fulfilled their military duty, and about 20 were injured. For completing combat missions, 13 servicemen of the battalion were awarded the Order “For Personal Courage”, 21 people - the Medal “For Courage” and 1 person - the Medal “For Military Merit”.
In October 1993, the battalion was redeployed from Sukhumi to the Moscow region, where in February of the following year it was reorganized into the 901st separate battalion special purpose. With the beginning of the formation of the 45th Special Forces Special Forces, the battalion was included in its composition.
The 218th separate special forces battalion was formed on July 25, 1992. By order of the commander of the Airborne Forces, in order of historical continuity, the day of formation of the 45th Special Forces Special Forces is considered to be the day of the creation of this battalion.
The battalion took part in peacekeeping missions in the zones interethnic conflicts in Transnistria in June-July 1992, in North Ossetia - in September-November 1992, in Abkhazia - in December 1992. Many soldiers of the battalion were awarded state awards for courage and heroism.
The active use of battalions in solving special tasks in various conflicts showed the need to unite them into a regiment. By July 1994, the 45th Special Forces Special Forces was fully formed, equipped with personnel, equipment, and began combat training.
On December 2, 1994, the regiment's personnel left for North Caucasus to participate in the liquidation of illegal armed groups on the territory of the Chechen Republic.
By Presidential Decree Russian Federation dated July 21, 1995, the commander of the special-purpose reconnaissance group, senior lieutenant V.K. Ermakov, was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation (posthumously) for the courage and heroism shown during the execution of a special task of the command to disarm illegal armed groups. On July 30, 1995, a monument in honor of the fallen scouts was unveiled on the territory of the regiment in a solemn ceremony.
On May 9, 1995, for services to the Russian Federation, the regiment was awarded a diploma from the President of the Russian Federation. He took part in a military parade dedicated to the 50th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.
From February to May 1997, the combined detachment of the regiment took part in a peacekeeping mission in the zone of separation of the Georgian and Abkhaz armed forces in the city of Gudauta.
On July 26, 1997, following the glorious traditions of the Armed Forces, the regiment was awarded the Battle Banner and the certificate of the 5th Guards Airborne Rifle Mukachevo Order of Kutuzov, 3rd degree regiment, disbanded on June 27, 1945.
Since September 12, 1999, the regiment's combined reconnaissance detachment took part in the counter-terrorist operation in the North Caucasus.
In August 2008, units of the 45th Special Forces took part in the operation to force Georgia to peace. Regimental officer, Hero of Russia Anatoly Lebed was awarded the Order of St. George, IV degree.
On July 20, 2009, in accordance with Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of December 18, 2006 No. 1422, the regiment was awarded the St. George Banner.
In April 2010, the battalion tactical group of the regiment carried out 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 dated February 9, 2011 No. 170, the regiment was the first in modern history awarded the Order of Kutuzov. The presentation of the award took place on April 4, 2011 at the regiment's location in Kubinka. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev personally attached the badge and ribbon of the order to the regiment's St. George banner.
In May-June 2012, the regiment's reconnaissance platoon participated in joint exercises with the Green Berets of the US Armed Forces at the American military base of the 10th Special Operations Forces Group located at Fort Carson.
The regiment's paratroopers honorably continue the glorious combat traditions of scouts of all generations, proudly bearing the high guards rank, because it is not without reason that their motto is: “The strongest wins.”
During the existence of the regiment, five servicemen were awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation for courage and heroism.
A report from a correspondent who was lucky enough to get to the location of a unit of the 45th Airborne Special Forces Brigade.
In special forces random people no, they come here only of their own free will. At the same time, not everyone who expresses a desire to become a special forces soldier is accepted into a special forces unit.
“The selection of future special forces from among the conscripts begins with studying their personal files,” says Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Fridlander, deputy brigade commander for work with guard personnel. “The brigade officers specially go to the military registration and enlistment offices for this purpose. If possible, already there, on the ground, with those young men who have expressed a desire to serve in special forces, conversations are held, their moral and business qualities are studied, and the level of physical fitness is checked.
Before conscription into other units, recruits do not pass physical training standards. However, the 45th Airborne Special Forces Brigade is a special unit, with much higher requirements for the strength, speed, agility and endurance of a fighter.
As you know, conscripts at military registration and enlistment offices undergo psychological tests. However, upon arrival from the military registration and enlistment office to the 45th Brigade, each recruit is tested again. It is extremely important to identify in advance the guys who are not up to the task of being a special forces soldier. After all, they will be able to master another military specialty in the Airborne Forces or another type or branch of the military Armed Forces. Strict selection is in the interests of both conscripts, the 45th brigade, and the army as a whole.
Productive selection for special forces is facilitated by the active interaction of the brigade command with the military-patriotic clubs of the country, especially with the main military-patriotic organization - DOSAAF of Russia. For example, in Belgorod region successfully prepare young men for service in the Airborne Forces; Belgorod graduates of the DOSAAF school last year staffed an entire company of the 45th brigade.
Those wishing to enter the 45th airborne brigade under the contract, if they previously served in other airborne or air assault units, they know the requirements of special forces “entrance control” from the very beginning, since brigade officers, when traveling to other units and formations of the winged guard, talk about them in detail. It is more difficult for those who come from units of other branches of the armed forces and branches of the Armed Forces or from the “civilian” community.
Upon arrival at the brigade, a candidate for contract service passes physical training, then he is immediately subjected to psychological testing. The main task when taking physical training tests is to objectively reveal the capabilities and potential of the candidate. After exercises for speed (running 100 m), strength (pull-ups on the crossbar) and endurance (3 km), three sparring fights are held for three minutes. This is where the strong-willed qualities are revealed: this is when the candidate, missing a blow, falls, but then gets up and continues to fight to the end.
“There are quite a lot of cases when we have to inform the military registration and enlistment office that the recommended candidate is not suitable for us,” Lieutenant Colonel Friedlander says with regret to the Guard. – Military registration and enlistment offices should be more strict in selecting candidates for our brigade.
Careful selection of personnel, a healthy moral environment in the brigade units and, of course, care from the state contribute to the fact that about 90 percent of contract soldiers enter into repeated contracts.
Benefits include an increased salary, taking into account various bonuses (for completing a parachute jumping program, for successfully passing physical training standards, etc.), the opportunity distance learning at Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov and other leading universities in Moscow, the right to a mortgage after concluding a second contract. On average, a contract private, having served for three years, receives 35–40 thousand rubles monthly.
It is almost impossible to serve in special forces from year to year as a private or contract sergeant or officer without a love for military craft. Moreover, having fully experienced the hardships and hardships of training sessions, when you have to hide in an ambush for several days, and when performing combat missions, special forces groups become monolithic teams from which you don’t want to leave. How many friends and acquaintances does the average young compatriot have with whom he can go on reconnaissance? With the dominance of correspondence communication by phone, Skype or on social networks, young people have forgotten how to communicate in person, let alone make friends. When they get into trouble, they may think about the value of friends who can rush to the rescue, especially if there are no such friends. And in a special forces group, everyone is ready to pull a wounded comrade out of the heat or even lay down their life for their own.
And in general, the brigade is one family, where their own people are never abandoned. And after being wounded, many are looking for a position, helping in every possible way to find a worthy and feasible job again. This was the case, for example, with the holder of two Orders of Courage, warrant officer Vadim Selyukin, who lost his legs while performing a combat mission. Now he is the captain of the Russian Paralympic sledge hockey team.
Practice convinces: even advanced technology of the 21st century is deep reconnaissance will not completely replace, opportunities and role will not detract
To the skies - with a “soft jellyfish”
The special forces jokingly say: “I arrived at the place - everything is just beginning”.
Dropping behind enemy lines by parachute is just one of the options for delivering reconnaissance officers to the task site. Of course, this method is not easy and requires concentration from the soldier when studying a set of actions called airborne training.
The brigade makes parachute jumps D-10, "Arbalet-1" and "Arbalet-2", and the last two systems have a gliding dome-"wing". Airborne special forces are taught to land with a parachute on any surface: a field, a forest, the roof of a building , pond... Jumps are made during the day, at night and in difficult weather conditions. Therefore, airborne training in the 45th Brigade is one of the main subjects of training. This is where the combat training of both an ordinary paratrooper and an airborne special forces soldier begins.
“Airborne training includes studying equipment - a parachute and safety devices, packing a parachute and training at an airborne complex, where they practice the elements of a jump, actions in the air, preparation for landing and the landing itself,” explains the deputy brigade commander for airborne training Guard Lieutenant Colonel Oleg Rekun.
Recruits, as well as those who decided to throw in their lot with the airborne special forces, signed a contract, but had never jumped with a parachute before, are prepared for the first jump for two weeks.
The laying of D-10 parachutes takes place in 6 stages, the paratroopers pack the parachute together, the packing dynamics are controlled by the unit commanders and the airborne forces officer. At each stage, triple control is required, almost like in astronaut training. There is no room for error, because a person will be alone in the air and there will be no one to tell him anything.
Of the two parachute systems used in the brigade, the D-10 is easier to stow and operate in the air. The method of preparing for jumps with this parachute has long been worked out.
“When a serviceman leaves an aircraft, he has a neutral canopy, that is, a parachute that does not move horizontally or (in the wind) almost does not move,” Lieutenant Colonel Rekun explains to the Guard. – Accordingly, the paratrooper’s release point differs little from the landing point: it is vertical. By and large, nothing depends on the parachutist: where he was thrown is where he will land.
“Crossbow” has a different quality. From a kilometer in height you can move 4–5 km to the side using only Parachute performance characteristics, in complete calm. At strong wind a paratrooper from a kilometer altitude will be able to move 6–7 km from the drop point.
D-10 is designed for mass landing. And any special forces soldier first masters self-control in the air on this parachute.
Subsequently, according to the instructions of the commander of the Airborne Forces, Hero of Russia, Colonel General Vladimir Shamanov, after 25 jumps on the D-10, the serviceman is allowed to operate the Crossbow. In this case, at least seven jumps must be long.
“Preparation for jumping with Crossbow-2 lasts about 20 days,” says Oleg Dmitrievich. “The special forces are studying equipment in a new way, learning how to pack a parachute and mastering airborne operations at the airborne complex.
There are as many people in the 45th Brigade who own the Crossbow as they should be. Among them there are virtuosos. From an altitude of about 4000 m they flew away, gliding for 17 kilometers. Currently, experimental operation of oxygen equipment is being carried out, which in the future, when put into service, will allow landing from a height of more than 4 km. Accordingly, the planning range will increase.
“In addition to the Arbalet-1, the brigade also has the Arbalet-2 parachute system, which is easier to operate,” Lieutenant Colonel Rekun continues the guard’s story. – A stabilizing system is rigidly mounted on it, which is activated automatically, which guarantees that the parachutist who has left the plane or helicopter, in case of emergency, rotates only in the horizontal plane. A random fall with vertical rotation is eliminated.
But on “Crossbow-1”, instead of a stabilizing system, a so-called “soft jellyfish” is used, which the parachutist puts into action himself, after which the main parachute begins to open. And it takes even longer to prepare a serviceman for jumping on the Crossbow-1, taking into account the fact that the paratrooper is thrown out with weapons, equipment and cargo containers.
Military trials parachute system“Crossbow-2” took place at the base of the 45th brigade. In the equipment of each specialty that is in the Airborne Forces, taking into account the characteristics of its weapons and equipment, they made at least 10 jumps. That is, the special forces dressed up as paratroopers-signalmen, then as sappers, then as grenade launchers, etc. There were fewer people in the selected group than there were specialties. As a result, each person performed about 180 jumps during the tests. Well, the undisputed record holders are members of the unit’s non-standard sports parachute team. It includes four Honored Masters of Sports, one of them has already completed more than 11 thousand jumps.
The combat training program requires each member of a special forces brigade to make at least 10 jumps per year. The "crossbowmen" jump with their own parachutes, the rest - with the D-10. The tasks are performed in a variety of ways.
Without noise and fire
In the 45th Brigade, unit commanders persistently remind the soldiers: “Where the shooting begins, reconnaissance ends”. Especially deep. It is the collection of intelligence information that is the main task of special forces groups. Quietly, observing the rules of camouflage, detecting an object without noise or shots, transmitting its coordinates and leaving in the same silent manner - this is the special forces style.
However, today it is possible to detect the desired enemy object using unmanned aerial vehicles. aircraft or from satellites. Is advanced technology of the 21st century capable of replacing ground-based deep reconnaissance?
– Completely unlikely. Firstly, a special forces group will still direct strike weapons at a number of strategic targets,” says Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Seliverstov, deputy commander of the 45th brigade, Hero of Russia Guard. “Secondly, after operations in the air and artillery preparation, a ground operation will still begin, where special forces units will be primarily involved, which will undergo sabotage and ambush operations. Special forces always work targeted...
- IN last years the list of tasks assigned to special forces has increased significantly,” continues Vladimir Vyacheslavovich. “I never thought about some of them before that they would become ours.”
Basic qualities of a paratrooper
The expansion of the range of tasks affects the content of combat training; it changes. However, the main basis of special forces has been and remains unchanged. This, according to the deep conviction of Guard Lieutenant Colonel Seliverstov, is discipline. Fire, physical, tactical-special, engineering training in relation to the discipline is a superstructure. With insufficient, for example, tactical and special training, special forces are bad. In the absence of discipline, there is no special forces at all.
“Discipline,” says the deputy brigade commander, “is precision, punctuality in everything: in time, place and actions.”
In the 45th Separate Guards Brigade, discipline is not forced, but conscious. Including because every special forces soldier knows: violators are not detained in this unit. As the commander of the Hero of Russia Guards brigade, Colonel Vadim Pankov, later explained
A serviceman who has to be punished for misconduct should not and will not serve in the 45th Special Forces Brigade.
Another quality that a special forces officer must have is initiative and readiness to make decisions.
The principles of learning are known: from theory to practice, from simple to complex. Practical classes are conducted on different terrain during the day and at night. A special forces soldier spends at least half of his service time in the field.
Traditions and innovations of the Airborne Forces
New weapons in the brigade include BTR-82A, drones and something else. Everything is in perfect working order.
“What was in the 45th regiment ten years ago and what has appeared now is heaven and earth,” Lieutenant Colonel Seliverstov, who served in the 45th “economy” for 15 years, states to the guard.
When the unit solved problems in the Caucasus in the early 2000s, the officers invested personal funds in equipment for the soldiers, recalls Vladimir Vyacheslavovich. Now the personnel are fully provided with clothing and equipment.
“The equipment is very decent,” notes the deputy brigade commander. – Of course, there is no limit to perfection, but already now a fighter, for example, has a choice of equipment, taking into account weather conditions, which allows you to complete the task and maintain your health. The same can be said about nutrition. Shifts in clothing and food supplies are noticeable to anyone.
Episodes from recent history
- In August 2008, brigade personnel participated in an operation to force Georgia to peace.
- At that time, the story of the seizure of SUVs supplied to the Georgian army by the Americans received great resonance. So, these trophies are on the account of the Airborne Special Forces.
- In April 2010, the battalion tactical group of the brigade ensured the safe evacuation of our fellow citizens, including family members of military personnel and civilian personnel, due to unrest in Kyrgyzstan.
- In the spring of 2014, brigade personnel as part of a separate reconnaissance detachment took part in the operation to return Crimea to Russia.
- The names of 14 Heroes of Russia are inscribed in the chronicle of the 45th Brigade. Four of them continue to serve in this glorious formation. Five servicemen of the 45th brigade were awarded three Orders of Courage.
Sergeant of the 45th separate special purpose reconnaissance regiment Airborne Forces Valery K., grenade launcher of the 4th reconnaissance group of the 1st reconnaissance company of the 901st separate special forces battalion.
By the time I was drafted into the army (June 1994), I already had a sports rank in rock climbing and prizes at youth competitions in 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 had already done several parachute jumps, we jumped in the winter of 1989 at the Murmashi airfield. In general, a kid came with jumping and rock climbing skills - practically a ready-made saboteur. The military commissar says to me: “You are not the right height, but with your athletic training, we can send you to 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 a combat company, and not to support. That's how I ended up in the 45th Regiment.
901 SEPARATE SPECIAL PURPOSE BATTALION
The 45th regiment at that time consisted of two battalions - 218 separate battalion (commander - Major Andrei Anatolyevich Nepryakhin, future Hero of Russia) and 901 separate battalion (commander - Major Nikolai Sergeevich Nikulnikov), a three-company composition of 4 reconnaissance groups in each company. The regiment also included auxiliary units - a communications company (signalmen were scattered among reconnaissance groups), a special weapons company, an armored personnel carrier driver and gunner, and AGS crews. The reconnaissance company numbered 52-54 people, so a combined detachment of about 150 people operated in Grozny: 2nd company (commander - captain Andrei Vladimirovich Zelenkovsky) 218 special forces, 1st (commander - senior lieutenant Vyacheslav Nikolaevich Nikolakhin) and 3rd ( commander - captain Cherdantsev) of company 901 special forces.
I can characterize all my immediate commanders as very professional, cruel and very cheerful people (such a complex combination). I am immensely grateful to them, and to this day, a quarter after the Grozny battles, I remember them. But this is never forgotten...
"Healthy, bald, with their own appearance and in their habits they were more reminiscent of 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 kill 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 GRU intelligence, and he told how their company commander extorted money from personnel. So, in principle, this could not have happened here; the consciousness of people in that early post-Soviet period did not allow it.
Hazing was very cruel. Officers approached this phenomenon in different ways: some tried not to pay attention, others, as the company commander Bannikov, fought as best he could (in the evening he climbed into the window of his office on the first floor, and when after lights out they began to press the young people, he jumped out office with a rubber stick and dispersed the old-timers), some of the officers, on the contrary, tried to use this phenomenon to their service. Our commander of the 4th group, Captain Vladimir Vladimirovich Glukhovsky, was engaged in serious education, and he turned our group into a truly well-coordinated team.
“Army friends... All this is a myth, a fiction, do not believe anyone who says that only in the army can you find real friends. Who can you call a friend here? Mordvin Evdokimov, who before the army made a living robbing passers-by at Moscow train stations and fled to the army from prison? The psychotic Tatar Zimadeev, who is also a karateka? He knows how to somersault over a fence and at the same time shoot from a machine gun. He has one argument for all everyday disputes - a kick to the head. A Kazakh named Batyr, who speaks Russian with difficulty? Or my fellow countryman from St. Petersburg Kokorin, who spent his entire childhood in a special boarding school and at twenty years old did not know the multiplication table? They could not be my friends." 1
“In the unit, where they didn’t take guys less than one meter tall and where there was a cult of physical strength, they began to hate me immediately, simply because of my short stature.
As night fell, after lights out, the old-timers came up with the idea 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 mentally break a person who was chest-high and thirty kilograms lighter.
All attempts to “agree” ended in a simple beating.
I didn’t say anything afterwards, I just walked up and hit back once, knowing that in a few seconds I would be looking at 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 take this shot over and over again.
They were a little discouraged by the fact that I packed the parachute faster than anyone else in the company, could accurately navigate the map, and could translate phrases into English language from the training manual for interrogating prisoners of war, he pulled himself up the most on the crossbar and never died on forced marches.
Who gave this little nerd a grenade launcher? Are you 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 Shepherd protected me with the castle of our reconnaissance group.
Well, they die, the soldiers constantly carry them in their arms...
But ours won’t die! He is our only “undying” one! “The shepherd was the only one who 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 began to respect me." 1
Hazing is a complex, reciprocal phenomenon in which not only old-timers are to blame, and not all forms are bad. And whoever has not seen this will never understand. Later, reconnaissance groups tried to form guys from the same conscription, 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 last in line.
To the bathhouse, to the dining room, to receive uniforms.
And now, I stood in the central aisle in front of the storeroom, anxiously watching a stack of tattered pea coats melting away.
A year ago, our unit left Abkhazia, and the thrifty company commander took out a whole truckload of what seemed then unnecessary junk. These peacoats have come a long way and if they could talk they could tell a lot.
Are these bullet holes? - a colleague of my conscription, standing opposite the window, looked into the light at the mysterious holes in the pea coat he had just received.
What is this, blood?.. - he turned to us showing strange brown spots on the fabric.
I won't wear this!!
Take it! Don't wander around! - one of the “old men” said sternly - “it will get cold in the forest at night, put it on, and you will be glad!”
The first three-day reconnaissance mission awaited us, and since we were called up in June, we were not entitled to winter uniforms.
In the army everything is on schedule.
The transition to winter uniform October 15th, which means that until this moment everyone wears summer camouflage, and it doesn’t matter that it’s already the end of September and there are frosts in the mornings.
You're out of luck! - the company commander said cheerfully, pointing to the empty shelves of the rack; he issued these pea coats personally.
Maybe... maybe there was at least one shot left?
No more pea coats! Take a raincoat from OZK, it will be warmer for everyone to spend the night - he handed me a rubber package.
It was a very cold three days.
When I went to bed, I covered my head with this cloak and from breathing it became covered from the inside with perspiration, which by morning turned into frost.
On the third day of continuous trembling, I heard, I almost felt a strange click in my head, as if some kind of switch had been switched.
And with that click, I suddenly stopped shaking and felt warm.
I will only acquire the ability to freeze again only about seven years after leaving the army.” 2
"EVERYONE WAS READY THREE DAYS BEFORE DEPARTURE"
I remember very well how the transfer took place in Kubinka, to the battalion’s PPD. On the twentieth of November 1994, on Saturday, we were in the garrison cinema on the territory of a tank unit. During the film show, a messenger came running and shouted into the audience: “First company, go out!”
We ran out and went to the company location. The training camp was already underway there. It was announced that a joint reconnaissance group was moving to Chechnya. The first reconnaissance group was assembled from us; they laid out the 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, got into trouble. And the most pumped-up and bullish ones. Overnight they turned from centers into schmucks. But then no one condemned them. But they remained outcasts until the end of the service.) Then a new composition of the advanced detachment was formed, in which included our group. Before departure, everyone was ready three days in advance and slept on rolled-up mattresses. The bed linen was handed over, and we lay with our weapons on nothing but armored nets. Before departure, we wrote letters to our parents that we were going to Pskov for jumping. Maybe in Moscow (the 218th battalion was stationed in Sokolniki) there were parents at the checkpoint, but we had no one. On November 27 the departure took place. Upon arrival in Mozdok, we spent the night at the location of the VV unit. This night was very memorable because the BB guys in the barracks had a TV on the wall, and the singer Freddie Mercury was playing there. Then we moved to the checkpoint at the airfield, and soon everyone else arrived, and we moved to the boathouses near the takeoff. On the very first night, my grandfathers poked me a little with a knife in order to take away cash, but bad luck - I didn’t have any cash! Looking ahead, I will immediately say that during the hostilities in Grozny, hazing disappeared completely; in those conditions, hazing was impossible.
Upon arrival in Mozdok, they immediately went on guard 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: to and from guard duty, to training, 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. Dank wind with wet snow. We've been on it for three days now. We can’t hide from him anywhere, because we are at the airfield.
My friend and I are standing guard. There is no one to replace us, since our company is chasing a Chechen reconnaissance group through the forests.
The day before yesterday we guarded the plane of the Minister of Defense, yesterday we guarded the helicopter of the Minister of Defense, today we are guarding 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. It's warmer this way. As I fall 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 sleep. The snow covers us with a wet blanket." 1
Of course, in addition to guarding facilities, the personnel of some reconnaissance groups carried out reconnaissance missions of the approaches to Grozny.
Once, my 4th reconnaissance group carried out a mission to search for an exposed Chechen reconnaissance group. True, they were not found.
On December 30, Captain Glukhovsky gave the order to prepare for a flight to mountainous areas, scheduled for tomorrow, December 31. In addition to the ammunition, we were each given a kilogram of forty different charges of explosives; it was assumed that we would have to start blowing up some bridges, the details were not specified. On the 31st we were ready to take off, and at approximately 14:15 a combined 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 about 17-18 the command came to load again, and this time we took off. We spent almost an hour in the air. We were covered by three Mi-24s. In the mountains, at the time of landing, the pilot discovered a Chechen armored personnel carrier standing in the bushes, and our helicopter took off sharply and left the landing point. The militants were apparently 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 learned that they were planning to land on the central stadium of Grozny, exactly where the reserve of Dudayev’s forces was located. We were very lucky that the flight was cancelled.
“There were about 20 of us left from the special operations department. Guys from the 45th reconnaissance regiment were supposed to act with us. They alerted us again and brought us to the airfield in Mozdok to deliver us by helicopter to the center of Grozny, to the stadium. It was then assumed that 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 types of troops was revealed. It turned out that the helicopters could not take off, because one helicopter pilot had not yet had lunch, another had not yet refueled, and the third was completely on duty. As a result, already on January 1 at 00 hours 10 minutes we were given the order: “Get to the cars!” - the city had 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 not subordinate to anyone: it was on December 31 that the the weapons available in warehouses were also distributed there without restrictions to everyone who wanted to defend “free Ichkeria.” So our three helicopters would most likely have been burned over this stadium.” 3
The leadership developed a “brilliant plan”: when we start sending troops into the city from the north, the militants will “get scared” and run to the south, where pre-established ambushes will await them on the main roads. It was these ambushes that we had to organize, and this explains the distribution of 40 kilograms of explosives for each person.
We are celebrating the New Year near the boathouses after the failed landing in the mountains. Somewhere there in the dark in the ranks is me.
Returning to Mozdok on the evening of the 31st, we immediately stepped up to guard Grachev’s train. New Year I met, guarding this train. There were BB posts 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, branches cut down by bullets fell on us, he took out a can of beer stolen from an “officer’s” gift, and lying behind the poplar, we drank it in honor of the coming New Year.
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By the way, very good video, filmed by an officer from the 901st battalion. All our officers are here, almost all the guys from our group. I will comment on this video, summarizing the “peaceful” part of the service - from the PPD in Kubinka to the location in the boathouses at the Mozdok airfield. There were a lot of videos on the regiment on the Internet, but these videos disappear from time to time, perhaps the owners delete accounts.
Loading before departure on the battalion's central parade ground.
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. On January 5, 1995, in the hospital, he will receive a bullet in the head, the Sphere will save him: the bullet will pierce steel, Kevlar, lining, all layers, and, having pierced the skin, will stick into the skull, but all the consequences will be a hefty bump.
01:53. A high officer - Major Cherushev, in my opinion he will later become a battalion commander after Nikulnikov.
14:21. Boxes with gifts from Menatep Bank. We called the black round hats “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 “officers” and “soldiers”. They all had writing materials: notebooks, pens, and also sweaters and hats like this. The "officer's" boxes also contained a bottle of champagne and a can of imported beer. Whoever compiled these kits had a very good understanding of 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 consult with knowledgeable specialist, what exactly a soldier needs. This had to come down... The fact is that a fucking soldier's helmet only fits on the top of the head with a fur army earflap, and the whole point of the helmet disappears, but here they sent caps - the consultant clearly understood the situation.
So we ran around in these hats. In general, it turned out that all the uniforms and equipment were very poorly suited for active combat operations. Upon arrival at the PPD in Kubinka, these caps were taken to the warehouse by order.
A few years later, in the St. Petersburg metro, I saw a man wearing 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 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. From the first days, Gridnev was seriously involved in training and educating the guys from the group, they regularly ran with him, ran extra cross-country races, and every evening he came and forced them to douse themselves with ice water (in fact, we didn’t have hot water in the company at that time). They called it “Karbyshev’s bathhouse”. He gave the impression of a very tough person. But I remember when his wife arrived at the unit, when he had already settled into the officer’s dormitory, and we were helping him bring in furniture and things, he, secretly from his wife, took a box with jars of raspberry jam, and in the dark around the corner of the dormitory, he handed it to us, saying : “Here, guys, eat some jam!” I remember being very touched. After Konoplyannikov was wounded on January 5, Gridnev will take command of the reconnaissance group and will successfully lead it. The guys from the group recalled that he was very lively in battle, they laughed, saying: “The battle is being fought by Lieutenant Gridnev and ten of his squires,” because he was constantly running from one fighter to another, shooting from a grenade launcher, then from a machine gun, then He’ll take the rifle away from the sniper, the guys laughed that if they start giving him shells, he’ll throw shells at the militants’ positions even without a gun. And when I found out that he was given the Hero star, I was not surprised at all.
15:53. Company commander Nikolakhin and on the left in a winter hat and camouflage uniform are the deputy company commander and the commander of the combined group of snipers (included soldiers armed with SVD and VSS) Konstantin Mikhailovich Golubev, who will die on January 8, 1995. They were friends, and Nikolahin was very upset about his death.
16:11. Our political officer Bannikov waves his hand.
16:15. A big mustachioed guy is the battalion's main demolition bomber, I don't remember his name. When classes on subversive training were taking place, he said: “Explosives can be made from last year’s leaves; whoever stays for 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 guy, 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 things will work out with him a good relationship. In Grozny he was the commander of the second reconnaissance group. At the very edge of the frame on the right is Dima T., a sergeant from our reconnaissance group, who after the assault on Grozny transferred to the RMO. Now in Europe he is a chef in one of the hotels.
17:20. Formation of officers of our 1st company. The tallest in the ranks is Glukhovsky! Vladimir Glukhovsky, at the age of 27 at that time, was already a very experienced officer, commanding a reconnaissance group in Transnistria in a separate 818th special forces company, subordinate directly to the commander of the 14th Army Lebed, which carried out complex combat missions, and was disbanded after the withdrawal from Transnistria. Glukhovsky was sent to our regiment, and it so happened that he, a captain, a former group commander, who was already wounded, fell under the subordination of the junior senior lieutenant Nikolakhin. Glukhovsky was a man of character, very energetic and treated war as a sport. I never saw him scared or tired, although he sometimes slept less than we did.
Behind Glukhovsky, the last one in the ranks is his deputy. Vadim Pastukh. On his second trip in the summer of 1995, Shepherd will be the commander of a group providing support for a detachment of drones. And the commander of this unit will be Sergei Makarov, the second in line. In the event of a drone being shot down by militants, Shepherd’s group was to ensure its search and return.
"THE CITY WAS DESTROYED, MANY HOUSES WERE BURNED"
I don’t remember exactly, but it seems that on January 1, 1995, on the Urals, we moved to Grozny with two companies: the 2nd 218th battalion and our 1st 901st battalion. The second company, under the leadership of Major Nepryakhin, entered first. The third company of our battalion entered Grozny one or two days later than us.
I always thought that they entered the city late in the evening on January 1st. The day before there was turmoil: departures, arrivals, train security... Perhaps one day (December 31, 1994) slipped out of my memory.
Before leaving for Grozny, near the boathouses, we tied the Urals with boxes of sand, and it was during the day, I remember exactly. The thaw began, and, by the way, they brought “sphere” helmets 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 set out, accordingly, 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.
In the video there are metal trusses of a cannery; there were infantry machine gunners on all the platforms, who began firing bursts at any sound.
Then, if the 218th battalion reached the canned food facility approximately at the time indicated on the timer in the video frames of Lyubimov’s film, then it turns out that our company arrived at night after them. Nepryakhin says in the video that they entered with a fight. And then we, the first company of the 901st battalion, moved separately (our column was not large, just a few vehicles). 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 lighting, but many houses were burning. At one moment in front of our "Ural" it exploded mortar mine. The driver stopped, and immediately a second mine fell behind the car. I saw how Glukhovsky, who was sitting at the edge of the body, ran to the cabin and began banging on it with his fist, shouting: “Forward!” The driver drove off, and where we were standing, the third mine exploded. One of the mines hit a private house, which was located on the left side in the direction of travel. We entered the cannery late at night on January 1st. The company was located in a two-story building on the second floor. My friend and I were immediately put on guard to guard the Urals. The mortar shelling continued and several mines exploded nearby.
There were already infantry at the plant, the remnants of some units. In the darkness, we met a surviving warrant officer from the Maikop brigade, who told us about the death of their column, about how the Chechens shot the crews of the vehicles leaving the burning equipment. The cannery was generally a safe place, despite periodic shelling. All the stories about compote from this factory - however, we drank compote all the time, no one broke these cans (obviously referring to a scene from feature film A.G. Nevzorova “Purgatory”, 1997: “Why are you destroying banks, huh?”)
Over time, the plant became a kind of springboard where suitable units were pulled up.
“[The plant] was a series of barracks-type premises, but built very thoroughly. Some of them housed unit headquarters, others housed units withdrawn from battle and their armored vehicles. Some of the warehouses were still filled with canned juices and compotes. there was a constant stream of people carrying away the cans." 4
After entering the cannery, Glukhovsky ordered to find wooden pallets, and from these pallets to build a floor for sleeping in the two-story building where we were located. It must be said that Glukhovsky took the organization of everyday life very seriously and always forced the creation of the most comfortable conditions possible for sleep and rest. He immediately dispatched one of our soldiers to make lamps from shell casings. It turned out that this ancient, proven method 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 shell casings. This habit of making our locations as comfortable as possible will remain with us until the end of our service.
On the same day they will bring in a captured artillery spotter. Then there was a version about “a captain dressed in a uniform,” I don’t know if these are different people or not. But the spotter is not a myth, and I have seen it myself.
Officer 22 Special Special Forces Vyacheslav Dmitriev:“For some time we were tormented by mortar fire, from which there was no escape. This continued until the spotter was caught. One of the sentries noticed a man of Slavic appearance in the uniform of a captain of the Russian army, who alone entered and then left the territory again cannery. They checked it, the part number in the documents did not match any number military units 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. Further fate his is unknown. Some said that he was sent to Mozdok to a filtration point of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, others that he was shot here, behind the barracks. In those conditions, both could be true." 4
The captured spotter will boast: “Welcome to hell!” There were rumors that 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 was “rummaging around” near the plant, and apparently lost his sense of smell from impunity. He was a Chechen with a big nose, unshaven, spoke with an accent, was dressed in black trousers and a long black jacket. leather jacket with pockets. Now I think it wasn’t a mercenary, but most likely one of the locals, such as a surveyor or a retired military man; you can’t teach a simple shepherd to use a compass so quickly. I'll 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 didn’t recognize him, his face was very badly damaged, he cried and said: “Don’t kill me, I’m a soldier like you!” A tall, thin general spoke to him gloomily.
It became psychologically difficult already on January 2: constant lack of sleep, knee-deep mud, shelling from mortars, snipers. Even to smoke - I had to hide.
On January 2, if I’m not mistaken, the first reconnaissance group received the task of moving to the Petropavlovskoye Highway area (but this is not accurate information). The fact is that troops were planned to approach the highway, and the militants set up ambushes there, and it was necessary to carry out counter-ambush measures.
Major Sergei Ivanovich Shavrin, FSK Special Operations Directorate:"The task of the corps 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 tracks along which the Combat vehicles and troops. This is Lermontovskaya street (Lermontov Street, adjacent to Petropavlovskoye Highway). On one side there are houses, a private sector, and on the other there are modern buildings. Militants in groups of 5-6 people made their way into houses and fired at the columns. And the street is completely clogged with combat vehicles, tankers, and vehicles with ammunition. In general, every shot results in a hit and a lot of damage and losses. From our joint team with special forces paratroopers, we formed four groups and cleared the neighborhood of bandits. They set up ambushes, and when they found militants, they entered into battle. The bandits are afraid of open battle and avoid it. They have one tactic: bite and run, bite and run... They soon realized that there were ambushes, there were special forces, there was danger. And the bandit raids stopped. Several blocks along the road were clear." 3
On one of the night outs, 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 mentioned cleansing of the private sector, where exactly, I don’t know exactly, maybe somewhere in the area of the Petropavlovskoye Highway. The voice of the commander of the first reconnaissance group of our company, Konoplyannikov: “Seki in right side, Mustafa!" Mustafa is the nickname of the sniper from the VSS Radik Alkhamov from Bashkiria. Radik was very kind and very slow, but he transformed in the ring at competitions hand-to-hand combat. Short stature, he was very sinewy, with prominent muscles, like Bruce Lee, Radik was a champion in hand-to-hand combat in the battalion, they pitted huge guys against him and he defeated everyone! When we jokingly asked: “Radik, why are you so slow?”, he drawled and answered: “The sniper must be slow!”
I remember in the morning I went on some errand to the plant, and saw a car 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 turns out that our tank was standing opposite the bridge behind a concrete fence in a caponier and with the first shot the hood with the engine was torn off the “six”, the driver and passenger in the front seat were killed, and two passengers They jumped out of the back seat and rushed back across the bridge. Immediately, heavy fire was opened from all the metal trusses of the plant on those escaping, and I saw how the bullets began to tear their clothes. I sat with my neck craned and looked over the fence, which wildly infuriated Glukhovsky: “Do you want a bullet in the head?!” - He hit me on the helmet with the butt of his helmet.
And the next moment a mine flew into the territory of the plant and a shrapnel cut off one of our Ural drivers, he fell as if he had been knocked 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 himself.-M., Printing house "News", 2012.-112 p., ill. Page 107.
2. Valery K. “I can’t be an atheist,” story. Published in the author's edition.
Thanks to cinema and television, most Russians know about the existence of special forces units that are subordinate to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (GRU special forces). However, these special units are far from the only ones in the Russian armed forces; it’s just that their “colleagues” are less known and not so “publicized.” At the same time, in their professionalism and combat experience they are hardly inferior to the famous GRU special forces. First of all, we are talking about special forces units of the Airborne Forces of the Russian Federation or special forces of the Airborne Forces.
Special units of the Airborne Forces appeared quite a long time ago, during the Great Patriotic War. In February 1994, on the basis of two separate special-purpose battalions, an airborne special forces regiment was formed. Closer to our time, this unit took Active participation in both campaigns in the North Caucasus, and was later deployed in the war with Georgia in 2008. Its permanent location is Kubinka, near Moscow. At the end of 2014, the airborne regiment was deployed into a brigade.
Despite the fact that the tasks performed by the GRU special forces and the Airborne Special Forces are largely similar, there are still differences between these units. However, before talking about the airborne special forces, a few words should be said about the history of special forces in general.
History of special forces
Units for special operations were created in the USSR almost immediately after the Bolsheviks came to power. The units were engaged in reconnaissance and subversive work in hostile territory. IN neighboring countries pro-Soviet partisan detachments were created, the work of which was supervised military intelligence from Moscow. In 1921, the Red Army created special department, which was engaged in collecting intelligence information for the leadership of the Red Army.
Having survived several reorganizations, the intelligence department of the Red Army in 1940 was finally transferred to the subordination of General Staff. The GRU special forces were created in 1950.
Special units of the Airborne Forces appeared in the 30s, immediately after the appearance of this type of troops in the USSR. First part of the Airborne Forces was formed in 1930 near Voronezh. Almost immediately, an obvious need arose to create our own airborne reconnaissance unit.
The fact is that the Airborne Forces are designed to perform specific functions - operations behind enemy lines, destruction of particularly important enemy targets, disruption of enemy communications, seizure of bridgeheads and other operations of a predominantly offensive nature.
To conduct a successful landing operation, preliminary reconnaissance of the landing site is necessary. Otherwise, the operation is in danger of failure - this happened many times during the Great Patriotic War, when poorly prepared landing operations cost the lives of thousands of paratroopers.
In 1994, on the basis of two separate special forces battalions of the Airborne Forces, the 901st and 218th, the 45th was formed separate regiment Airborne special forces. A few words should be said about the units that made up the regiment.
The 218th battalion was formed in 1992, and before joining the airborne special forces regiment, it managed to take part in several peacekeeping missions: in Abkhazia, Ossetia and Transnistria.
The history of the 901st battalion is much longer and richer. It was formed in 1979 in the Transcaucasian Military District as a separate air assault battalion, then was transferred to Europe, to the site of the proposed theater of operations. At the end of the 80s, the Baltic states became the location of the unit. In 1992, the 901st battalion was renamed a separate parachute battalion and transferred to the subordination of the Airborne Forces headquarters.
In 1993, during the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict, the 901st battalion was located on the territory of Abkhazia, after which it was transferred to the Moscow region. In 1994, the unit became a separate special forces battalion and became part of the 45th Special Forces Regiment.
The regiment's military personnel took part in both Chechen campaigns and in the operation to force Georgia to peace in 2008. In 2005, the 45th Special Forces Regiment received the honorary title “Guards,” and the unit was awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky. In 2009 he was awarded the St. George Banner.
In 2014, based on the 45th separate regiment An airborne special forces brigade was formed.
More than 40 servicemen from the unit were killed in various conflicts. Many soldiers and officers of the regiment were awarded orders and medals.
Why do you need airborne special forces?
The functions of the Airborne Special Forces are very similar to those performed by their colleagues from the units of the Main Intelligence Directorate. However, there are still differences. And they are associated with specific tasks that the Airborne Forces must solve.
Of course, airborne special forces can conduct sabotage and reconnaissance operations behind enemy lines, but first of all they must prepare the possibility of landing for the main airborne units. The concept of “prepare” in this case is interpreted very broadly. First of all, we are talking about reconnaissance of the landing area: management is obliged to have maximum information about where the paratroopers will land and what awaits them there.
In addition, scouts, if necessary, prepare a landing site. This could be the capture of an enemy airfield or a small bridgehead. If necessary, sabotage is carried out in the area, infrastructure is destroyed, communications are disrupted, chaos and panic are created. Airborne special forces can also conduct operations to capture and briefly hold important objects behind enemy lines. Most often, such work is carried out during offensive operations.
One more difference should be noted between the special forces of the GRU and the Airborne Forces. Units of the Main Intelligence Directorate can operate anywhere on the planet (it’s not for nothing that their emblem depicts Earth). Airborne special forces usually operate closer, within the flight range of airborne transport aircraft, usually no further than two thousand kilometers.
Airborne special forces are rightfully considered the elite Russian army. Therefore, the requirements for training and equipment of fighters are very strict. Not everyone is able to pass the selection process and become a fighter in this unit. An airborne special forces fighter must be resistant to stress, endurance, and have excellent command of all types of weapons. Special forces have to operate deep behind enemy lines, without any support from big land", carrying tens of kilograms of weapons, ammunition and equipment.
The unit's fighters are equipped the best views weapons, ammunition, equipment of Russian and foreign production. They don't spare money for special forces. It should be noted that any special forces (Russian or American) is a very expensive “pleasure”. Sniper rifle"Vintorez", Kalashnikov assault rifles of the 100th series, large caliber rifles domestic production - this is not a complete list small arms, which is used by scouts.
The Department took part in the storming of Grozny Special Operations(USO) FSK "in full force - 21 people"1, according to other sources - 22 people2, under the command of General Dmitry Mikhailovich Gerasimov. (FSK was the name of the reformed KGB-FSB in December 1994, and the USO included fighters from the Vympel group that was disbanded at that time)The 45th separate special purpose reconnaissance regiment of the Airborne Forces (45th Special Purpose Reconnaissance Regiment of the Airborne Forces, military unit 28337), which was in the reserve of the Minister of Defense, consisted of about 450 people.3 According to other sources, 400 people entered the city of Grozny directly.4
There is also information that in December 1994, “exactly half of the entire regiment” was involved in guarding the “train of the Minister of Defense.” And that, supposedly, there was an order “not to involve those who are on security duty at combat exits.”5 Thus, the number of people entering Grozny can vary greatly.
The regiment commander was Colonel Viktor Dmitrievich Kolygin, but on the territory of the Chechen Republic his duties were performed by the chief of staff, Colonel Valery Nikolaevich Yuryev.6
Major Alexander Skobennikov from the 45th Special Forces Airborne Regiment: “Our unit was divided into two detachments. The one I was in was supposed to join the northern, “Rokhlina” group.”7 Unfortunately, it is not entirely clear what the author meant . There may be two battalions of the regiment: 218th (military unit 48427) and 901 (military unit 23372).
According to Major Sergei Ivanovich Shavrin from the USO FSK: “There were about 20 of us left from the special operations department. Guys from the 45th reconnaissance regiment were supposed to act with us. They alerted us again and brought us to the airfield in Mozdok to deliver us by helicopter to the center of Grozny, to the stadium. Then it was assumed that we would 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 types of troops was revealed. It turned out that the helicopters could not take off, because one helicopter pilot had not yet had lunch, another had not yet refueled, and the third was completely on duty. As a result, already January 1 at 00 hours 10 minutes we were given the order: “Get in the cars!” - the city had 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 not subordinate to anyone: it was on December 31 that the the weapons available in warehouses were also distributed there without restrictions to everyone who wanted to defend “free Ichkeria.” So our three helicopters would most likely have been burned over this stadium."8
January 1, 1995
Major Shavrin from the USO FSK: "In New Year's Eve We marched in an armored personnel carrier to the Tolstoy-Yurt area and entered Grozny. I remember our column moved to 0.10
minutes of the first of January."9 Major Skobennikov: “In Tolstoy-Yurt we were assured that the route of our movement was absolutely safe and controlled by ours, we could move in a marching column. We entered, indeed, quite calmly. However, as it turned out, this part of the city was not controlled by anyone. That it was not controlled by ours - that's for sure."10
Major Shavrin: “The departure was unsuccessful. The guide from the corps, for unknown reasons, pressed the gas and disappeared around the corner, and we walked along Khmelnitsky street, Pervomaiskaya and drove out almost to the city center. They realized that they had driven in the wrong place, began to turn around, and on Khmelnitsky Square (probably Ordzhonikidze Square) they were fired upon from a nine-story building. The grenade hit the last armored vehicle, several people were wounded. But the group was taken out without losses."12 (judging by the fact that the next day 16 people from the USO FSK entered the city, there were 5 or 6 wounded)
Major Skobennikov: “While the column was turning towards one of our armored personnel carriers, a grenade launcher was fired from somewhere on the upper floors. We responded with a barrage of fire. The soldiers examined the surrounding buildings, but found no one. It turned out that the armored personnel carrier was damaged, and two of our guys were seriously wounded. New attempts to get in touch were again unsuccessful. We decided to return to Tolstoy-Yurt, spend the night, find a more intelligent guide and move to the city again at dawn."13
January 2, 1995
Major Shavrin: " Since morning let's go again. There are 16 of us, led by the head of airborne reconnaissance (Colonel Pavel Yakovlevich Popovskikh)."14 Meanwhile, "in ten o'clock in the morning on January 2 command post(8th Guards AK) settled in the basement of the plant."15
Major Skobennikov: " In the morning We moved to the city along the same route.<...>After some time, our convoy was overtaken by cars with medicines. They also went to the cannery and knew the way. We went together, but we didn’t break in at random. The soldiers dismounted and walked along the sidewalks, looking at the neighboring windows. Already on the way to the plant, we had to engage in a short battle with the militants who did not have time to leave the area. We arrived, however, without losses."16
From the description of the actions of the battalion under the command of Major Nikolai Sergeevich Nikulnikov: “Nikulnikov’s battalion enters Grozny. Its location is allocated in one of the buildings of the former cannery. It would seem that ours are already there. You can advance in a column. And the battalion commander dismounted and organized long before the approaches to the city patrols, combat guards, reconnaissance. The motorized rifle commander, who got to Grozny with him, opened his mouth when he saw how the landing groups were making their way through the “peaceful open” area - sometimes crawling, sometimes running, from cover to cover."17 (interesting , what motorized rifle unit are we talking about? 74th Omsbr?)
In A. Lyubimov's documentary "Chechnya. The Beginning of War" there is a video recording of Captain Igor Dementyev, filmed at a cannery. From the comments of senior lieutenant Vladimir Palkin it follows that the consolidated column in 13:35
was in a cannery. (Major Andrei Anatolyevich Nepryakhin and senior lieutenant Sergei Nikolaevich Romashenko, both from 218 about SpN18, were present in the frame)
Major Shavrin: “Soon they appeared before General Rokhlin and reported.<...>The corps commander entrusted us with a difficult task: to ensure the safety of the column routes along which military equipment and troops were moving forward. This is Lermontovskaya street ( Lermontov). There are houses and a private sector on one side, and high-rise buildings on the other. Militants in groups of 5-6 people made their way into houses and fired at the columns. And the street is completely clogged with combat vehicles, tankers, and vehicles with ammunition. In general, every shot results in a hit and a lot of damage and losses."19
According to Major Shavrin, the FSK USO also cleared the street. B. Khmelnitsky, although without specifying the date: “There were high-rise buildings on Bogdan Khmelnitsky Avenue - our petrochemists lived there: also Russians, Ukrainians, Tatars - Soviet Union, All in all. During the assault, the streets became deserted: some left, some hid in the basements. And this house also seemed to be empty. We cleared it out."20
It is likely that from this moment the 45th Special Forces Airborne Forces began to operate on two different directions, because according to Major Skobennikov: “We were given another task: to liberate, together with the SOBR, from the Dudayevites Petropavlovskoe highway. We chose night time for work; darkness, as you know, is a special forces soldier’s friend. Technically, it looked something like this: they spent the whole day watching the block that was to be “cleared,” tracking every smallest detail. At night, the sappers were the first to move forward, remove the Chechen “tripwires” and install their own, blocking the possible retreat routes of Dudayev’s troops and the approach routes for reinforcements. Then the group quietly infiltrated the building, most often through some “unusual” opening, like a hole in the wall. They quieted down for a while, trying to determine the location of the militants by sounds, then slowly began to move, destroying the “spirits” with the help of silent and bladed weapons.<...>. Most often with the help silent weapons the matter was over. If necessary, then grenades and everything else were used in full. Behind two nights we cleared Peter and Paul Fortress." (night of January 2/3 and January 3/4)
According to Major Shavrin, it was joint groups cleared the street Lermontov: “From our team together with special forces paratroopers, we formed four groups and cleared the block of bandits. We set up ambushes, and when militants were found, we entered into battle. The bandits are afraid of open battle and avoid it. They have one tactic: bite-run, bite- run away... They soon realized that there were ambushes, there were special forces there, it was unsafe there. And the bandit raids stopped. Several blocks along the road were free."21
Major Skobennikov: “Sometimes they fired at our own people even after a warning, as happened on Lermontov Street. We notified everyone that we would be working. They advised us not to interfere under any circumstances. In one house it was not possible to work quietly, grenades were used. Here, out of nowhere, a tank - the explosion of its shell destroyed half a house. One of our soldiers was killed, one was wounded, another was shell-shocked."22 (it seems that what happened on January 4, 1995, when Private Sergei Alekseevich Dmitruk from 901 about SpN.23 died)
Major Shavrin: “How many lives we saved! We and the scouts of the 45th regiment. The Chechens didn’t fight at night. They didn’t have night vision devices. And the scouts and I went out at night, captured their lines and then met ours.”24
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1 Mikhailov A. Chechen wheel. M., 2002. P. 71.
2 Boltunov M. Everyone has their own war... // Fact. 2002. No. 3. January 18. (http://www.mosoblpress.ru/balashiha/show.shtml?d_id=915)
3 Maksimov A., Shurygin V. Airborne Forces. Chechnya. Nobody except us. M., 2004. P. 189.
4 Shurygin V. Give me Argun, give me Shawl! // Tomorrow. 1999. December 14. (http://zavtra.ru/cgi/veil/data/zavtra/99/315/21.html)
5 Shurygin V. Chechnya. War. "Special Forces" // Maksimov A., Shurygin V. Airborne Forces. Chechnya. Nobody except us. M., 2004. P. 211.
6 Shurygin V. Give me Argun, give me Shawl! // Tomorrow. 1999. December 14.
7 Skobennikov A. Grozny sacrifice // Soldier of fortune. 1999. No. 5. (http://www.duel.ru/199928/?28_6_1)
8 Dobromyslova O. Mission Impossible // Rossiyskaya Gazeta. 2005. December 16. (http://www.rg.ru/2005/12/16/chechnya.html)
9 Boltunov M. Everyone has their own war... // Fact. 2002. No. 3. January 18.
10 Skobennikov A. Grozny sacrifice // Soldier of fortune. 1999. No. 5.
11 Skobennikov A. Betrayed and killed // Russian House. 1999. No. 3. (http://rd.rusk.ru/99/rd3/home3_4.htm)
12 Boltunov M. Everyone has their own war... // Fact. 2002. No. 3. January 18.
13 Skobennikov A. Grozny sacrifice // Soldier of fortune. 1999. No. 5.
14 Boltunov M. Everyone has their own war... // Fact. 2002. No. 3. January 18.
15 Antipov A. Lev Rokhlin. The life and death of a general. M., 1998. P. 155.
16 Skobennikov A. Grozny sacrifice // Soldier of fortune. 1999. No. 5.
17 Popov V. Professional // Gudok. 2002. December 12.
18 Lyubimov A. "Chechnya. The beginning of the war" - documentary footage filmed by servicemen of the Russian Army
19 Boltunov M. Everyone has their own war... // Fact. 2002. No. 3. January 18.
20 Dobromyslova O. Mission Impossible // Russian newspaper. 2005. December 16.
21 Boltunov M. Everyone has their own war... // Fact. 2002. No. 3. January 18.
22 Skobennikov A. Grozny sacrifice // Soldier of fortune. 1999. No. 5.
23 Airborne Troops Russia. M., 2005. P. 378.
24 Dobromyslova O. Mission impossible // Russian newspaper. 2005. December 16.
(to be continued...)
