Not long ago we wrote about five daring exploits of tank crews during the Great Patriotic War. But, as our readers rightly noted, in the modern history of Russia there was no less heroism. Therefore, we continue the series of stories about tank heroes and their exploits.
Alexey Kozin: “I won’t leave the car!”
Evgeny Kapustin. Fighting with a damaged spine
In January 2000, Evgeny Kapustin was seriously wounded in Grozny during street fighting. But even having suffered a spinal injury, he did not leave the tank and continued to fight. Only after reinforcements arrived was the tanker evacuated to the hospital. And this is not the only case when Eugene showed bravery and courage in battle. During the assault on the villages of Karamakhi and Chabanmakhi in the Buynaksky district, a tanker killed more than ten militants with a precise hit on the window of a house. For his courage in operations in the North Caucasus region, Evgeny Kapustin received the well-deserved title of Hero of the Russian Federation.
Oleg Kaskov. When you can't lose
On April 4, 1996, in Chechnya, in the Vedeno region, a motorized rifle column with tank guards under the command of Senior Lieutenant Kaskov was ambushed. Oleg Kaskov was shell-shocked, the gunner and driver were seriously wounded. It seemed that this battle was already lost. But, gathering his will into a fist, the senior lieutenant pulled the wounded out of the tank and gave them first aid. Then Kaskov extinguished the fire in the tank’s fighting compartment and, taking the gunner’s place, hit the enemy position, which was the most dangerous for the column, with a direct hit. The tanker covered the column's exit from the shelling zone until the last shell. In 1997, for courage and heroism while performing a special task, Oleg Kaskov was awarded the title of Hero of Russia.
Sergey Mylnikov. Unexpected maneuver
On August 8, 2008, Sergei Mylnikov was part of a Russian peacekeeping group that protected the Ossetian people from genocide. In a street battle in the capital of South Ossetia, Tskhinvali, the T-72 crew under the command of Mylnikov destroyed 2 tanks and 3 light armored vehicles, thus the tankers provided a breakthrough to the surrounded peacekeepers and saved them from destruction. But the battle didn't end there. Mylnikov held the defense until the last, and only after the vehicle received four direct hits did the crew leave the tank. The ring of Georgian troops around the peacekeepers was shrinking. It was decided to retreat to meet our troops. However, due to fierce enemy fire, this was impossible. Then Sergeant Mylnikov returned to his damaged and unarmed tank and moved at maximum speed towards the enemy. This unexpected maneuver did its job. In panic, the enemy rushed in all directions. This is what allowed the Russian peacekeeping battalion to break through to its own and carry out the wounded and dead.
Alexander Sinelnik. Enlisted forever
On February 21, 1995, the 3rd tank company under the command of Captain Sinelnik took part in the encirclement of Grozny and the capture of a commanding height in the Novye Promysla area. For 15 hours, the militants made furious attempts to knock down the motorized riflemen and tankers from the heights. At a critical moment in the battle, Alexander Sinelnik led the armored group and, calling fire on himself, allowed the motorized rifles to gain a foothold on their lines. 6 shots were fired at his tank from a grenade launcher, but the captain continued to fight. Being mortally wounded, Sinelnik ordered the crew to leave the burning car and took the tank to a safe place.
Alexander Vladimirovich Sinelnik was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. By order of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation dated April 4, 1999, he was forever included in the lists of the 3rd tank company of the tank battalion of the 506th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment.
Sergey Yesterday. Life for the wounded
December 1, 1980. Afghanistan. After a fierce battle, a tank was allocated to help the wounded, driven by driver Sergei Vashchernev. While the soldiers were crawling, under heavy fire, taking away the dead and wounded, Sergei’s car covered them from aimed fire, maneuvering under enemy shots. Taking the BRDM with the wounded in tow, the tank made a reverse breakthrough. It was getting dark. In order to better see the road and quickly transport the wounded, Sergei opened the tank hatch. The tanker did not notice how one of the dushmans got close to the road and fired a grenade launcher at point-blank range. The grenade hit the car's gun and exploded. No one was injured inside the tank. Of the entire detachment, only one fighter died - the driver-mechanic Sergei Vashchernev himself, who did the most to save the detachment.
Yuri Yakovlev. Keep it until the last minute
The grandson of the Soviet tankman, participant in the Great Patriotic War Ivan Nikitich Yakovlev, Yuri continued the family tradition and, having graduated from the Chelyabinsk Higher Tank Command School in 2002, entered the 503rd motorized rifle regiment of permanent readiness of the North Caucasus Military District.
During the Ossetian events of August 2008, he was one of the first to move towards the enemy at the head of a battalion tactical group. On the morning of August 9, Captain Yakovlev's advanced tank group entered Tskhinvali, which was controlled by Georgian troops. The tankers managed to break through to the positions of the peacekeeping battalion of Russian troops. From close range, maneuvering and exposing the frontal armor of the T-72, Yakovlev continued to fight. The tank held out until the withdrawal of Georgian troops from Tskhinvali. And this is after four direct hits! Yakovlev not only showed bravery and courage in battle, but also skillfully commanded the unit: in his group, which consisted of four T-72s, only one vehicle was lost, and only one serviceman was wounded.
Outside the window is the 21st century. But despite this, military conflicts do not subside, including those involving the Russian army. Courage and valor, bravery and bravery are qualities characteristic of Russian soldiers. Therefore, the exploits of Russian soldiers and officers require separate and detailed coverage.
How our people fought in Chechnya
The exploits of Russian soldiers these days do not leave anyone indifferent. The first example of boundless courage is the tank crew led by Yuri Sulimenko.
The exploits of Russian soldiers of the tank battalion began in 1994. During the First Chechen War, Sulimenko acted as a crew commander. The team showed good results and in 1995 took an active part in the assault on Grozny. The tank battalion lost 2/3 of its personnel. However, the brave fighters led by Yuri did not flee from the battlefield, but went to the presidential palace.
Sulimenko's tank was surrounded by Dudayev's men. The team of fighters did not surrender; on the contrary, they began to conduct targeted fire at strategic targets. Despite the numerical superiority of the opponents, Yuri Sulimenko and his crew were able to inflict colossal losses on the militants.
The commander received dangerous wounds to his legs, burns to his body and face. Viktor Velichko, with the rank of sergeant major, was able to provide first aid to him in a burning tank, after which he carried him to a safe place. These exploits of Russian soldiers in Chechnya did not go unnoticed. The fighters were awarded the titles of Heroes of the Russian Federation.
Yuri Sergeevich Igitov - hero posthumously
Very often, the exploits of Russian soldiers and officers these days become publicly known after the death of their heroes. This is exactly what happened in the case of Yuri Igitov. The private was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation posthumously for performing a duty and a special task.
Yuri Sergeevich took part in the Chechen War. The private was 21 years old, but despite his youth, he showed courage and valor in the last seconds of his life. Igitov’s platoon was surrounded by Dudayev’s fighters. Most of the comrades died under numerous enemy shots. The brave private, at the cost of his life, covered the retreat of the surviving soldiers until the last bullet. When the enemy advanced, Yuri blew up a grenade without surrendering to the enemy.
Evgeny Rodionov - faith in God until his last breath
The exploits of Russian soldiers these days cause boundless pride among fellow citizens, especially when it comes to young boys who gave their lives for the peaceful sky above their heads. Yevgeny Rodionov showed boundless heroism and unshakable faith in God, who, under threat of death, refused to remove his pectoral cross.
Young Evgeniy was called to serve in 1995. Permanent service took place in the North Caucasus, at the border point of Ingushetia and Chechnya. Together with his comrades, he joined the guard on February 13. Carrying out their direct task, the soldiers stopped an ambulance in which weapons were transported. After this, the privates were captured.
For about 100 days, the soldiers were subjected to torture, severe beatings and humiliation. Despite the unbearable pain and the threat of death, the soldiers did not remove their pectoral crosses. For this, Evgeniy’s head was cut off, and the rest of his colleagues were shot on the spot. For his martyrdom, Evgeniy Rodionov was awarded posthumously.
Yanina Irina is an example of heroism and courage
The exploits of Russian soldiers today are not only the heroic deeds of men, but also the incredible valor of Russian women. The sweet, fragile girl took part in two combat operations as a nurse during the First Chechen War. 1999 became the third test in Irina’s life.
August 31st became fatal. At risk for her own life, nurse Yanina saved more than 40 people by making three trips in an armored personnel carrier to the line of fire. Irina's fourth trip ended tragically. During the enemy counter-offensive, Yanina not only organized the lightning-fast loading of wounded soldiers, but also covered the retreat of her colleagues with machine gun fire.
Unfortunately for the girl, two grenades hit the armored personnel carrier. The nurse rushed to the aid of the wounded commander and 3rd private. Irina saved the young fighters from certain death, but did not have time to get out of the burning car herself. The armored personnel carrier's ammunition detonated.
For his valor and courage he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. Irina is the only woman who was awarded this title for operations in the North Caucasus.
Maroon beret posthumously
The exploits of Russian soldiers these days are known not only in Russia. The story about Sergei Burnaev leaves no one indifferent. Brown - that’s what his comrades called the commander - was in the “Vityaz”, a special division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In 2002, the detachment was sent to the city of Argun, where an underground weapons warehouse with numerous tunnels was discovered.
It was possible to reach the opponents only by going through an underground hole. Sergei Burnaev went first. The opponents opened fire on the fighter, who was able to answer the call of the militants in the darkness. The comrades were rushing to help, it was at that moment that Bury saw a grenade that was rolling towards the soldiers. Without hesitation, Sergei Burnaev covered the grenade with his body, thereby saving his colleagues from certain death.
For his accomplished feat, Sergei Burnaev was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. The school where he studied was open so that young people could remember the exploits of Russian soldiers and officers in our days. The parents were given a maroon beret in honor of the memory of the brave soldier.
Beslan: no one is forgotten
The exploits of Russian soldiers and officers these days are becoming the best confirmation of the boundless courage of men in uniform. September 1, 2004 became a dark day in the history of North Ossetia and all of Russia. The seizure of the school in Beslan did not leave a single person indifferent. Andrei Turkin was no exception. The lieutenant took an active part in the operation to free the hostages.
At the very beginning of the rescue operation, he was wounded, but did not leave the school. Thanks to his professional skills, the lieutenant took an advantageous position in the dining room, where about 250 hostages were housed. The militants were eliminated, which increased the chances of a successful outcome of the operation.
However, a militant with a detonated grenade came to the aid of the terrorists. Turkin, without hesitation, rushed towards the bandit, holding the device between himself and the enemy. Such an action saved the lives of innocent children. The lieutenant posthumously became a Hero of the Russian Federation.
Combat Sun
During ordinary everyday life of military service, exploits of Russian soldiers are also often performed. or battalion commander Sun, in 2012, during an exercise, he became hostage to a situation, the way out of which was a real feat. Saving his soldiers from death, the battalion commander covered with his own body the activated grenade, which flew off the edge of the parapet. Thanks to Sergei’s dedication, tragedy was avoided. The battalion commander was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation.
Whatever the exploits of Russian soldiers these days, every person should remember the valor and courage of the army. Only the memory of the actions of each of these heroes is a reward for the courage that cost them their lives.
On the eve of the anniversary of the Great Patriotic War, I would like to raise the issue of the heroes of the Chechen people.
About choice and the consequences of choice. About who they look up to and who they take as an example...
Let's not rely on rhetoric and rhetoric, but rely on logic and facts.
So,
Who are the heroes and who are the “heroes” of the Chechen people?
How are they different from each other?
Let me give you examples:
Khanpasha Nuradilovich Nuradilov - Hero of the Soviet Union
Born on July 6, 1924 in the village of Yaryksu-Aukh, after the death of his parents, he and his brothers were sheltered by distant relatives from the village of Minai-Tugai (now the village of Gamiakh, Novolaksky district of Dagestan). Chechen by nationality.
During the Great Patriotic War, he served as commander of a machine gun platoon of the 5th Guards Cavalry Division. In the first battle near the village of Zakharovka, Nuradilov, the only one left from his crew, being wounded, stopped the advance of the German troops, destroying 120 Wehrmacht soldiers with his machine gun. In January 1942, during an attack near the village of Tolstoy, Nuradilov moved forward with his machine gun, clearing the way for the infantry. In this battle, he destroyed 50 Germans and suppressed 4 enemy machine guns. For this feat he was awarded the Order of the Red Star and given the rank of sergeant. In February 1942, during the battle for the village of Shigry, Nuradilov’s crew was out of action, wounded in the arm, he remained behind the machine gun and destroyed up to 200 Germans. In the spring of 1942, after one of the battles during the attack on the village of Bayrak, the squadron commander personally counted 300 German soldiers killed by Nuradilov’s machine gun. For this feat, Khanpasha was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
During the Battle of Stalingrad in September 1942, during battles near the city of Serafimovich, Stalingrad Region, Nuradilov commanded a machine gun platoon. Heavily wounded, he did not leave his military weapons, destroying 250 Germans and 2 machine guns. He died in this battle on September 12, 1942.
On October 21, 1942, the front-line newspaper “Red Army” published material dedicated to Nuradilov. The newspaper said: “The valiant knight of our Fatherland. The immortal hero of the Caucasus, the son of the sun, the eagle of eagles, the fighter Khanpasha Nuradilov, who killed nine hundred twenty (920) enemies.”
Abukhaji (Abukhazhi) Idrisov - Hero of the Soviet Union
Born on May 17, 1918 in the village of Berdykel (now the village of Komsomolskoye, Grozny district of the Chechen Republic) in a peasant family. Chechen.
Graduated from primary school. He worked as a shepherd on the collective farm "Soviet Russia". In October 1939 he was drafted into the Red Army. He served in the 125th Infantry Division, which was located on the western borders of the country in the Baltic states. Received the specialty of a machine gunner.
Participant of the Great Patriotic War from the first day. As part of the regiment, he fought back to the east. In July 1941, his division took up defensive positions on the Pskov-Velikie Luki line between lakes Ilmen and Seliger. Machine gunner Idrisov, together with his fellow soldiers, fought off the daily attacks of the Nazis rushing towards Leningrad. During these battles, Idrisov became a sniper.
In his pillbox, he made a special nest for the machine gun, leaving a narrow slot towards the enemy, but with a wide view. In a short time, with single shots from a machine gun, he destroyed 22 Nazis. The command became aware of this, and the machine gunner was transferred to snipers.
Soon his name became known throughout the Northwestern Front. Newspapers wrote about the sniper Idrisov, and they began to invite him to help in other sectors of the front. In October 1942, as part of a group of snipers, he was transferred to one of the most difficult sectors of the front, where an enemy attack was expected. When the offensive began, the snipers, hunting down the officers first, opened accurate fire. The infantry, with sniper support, repulsed several fierce attacks. Idrisov himself destroyed about a hundred enemy soldiers and officers in 10 days of fighting.
“Idrisov was waiting. He sat motionless all day. He felt sleepy, his eyes were drooping, he wanted to move his numb arms and legs, but he couldn’t move. The German waited in exactly the same way. But he couldn't stand it. He finally moved and it was his mistake. Idrisov’s bullet found the sniper..."
By April 1943, sniper Idrisov had 309 fascists killed, which was confirmed in the political report of the 370th Infantry Division, in which he then served. After breaking the blockade of Leningrad, the brave sniper, together with his comrades, took part in the liberation of cities and villages in the Pskov region and the Baltic states. By March 1944, he already had 349 fascists killed, and he was nominated for the title of Hero. In one of the battles in April 1944, Irisov was wounded by a fragment of a mine that exploded nearby and was covered with earth. His comrades unearthed him in an unconscious state and sent him to the hospital.
In 1944, a front-line military exhibition was opened in the city of Mozowieck. In one of its halls, Idrisov was given a whole stand. His sniper rifle, photographs were displayed on it, and under them there was an inscription: “The glorious son of the Chechen people, Hero of the Soviet Union Abukhazhi Idrisov destroyed more than three hundred German fascists.”
He spent four months in a hospital in the city of Gorky. After recovery, as a special settler, a representative of the expelled people, he lived in Kazakhstan: first in Alma-Ata, then in the Taldy-Kurgan region. He worked in agriculture and continued to raise sheep.
In 1957 he returned to Chechnya. Until his last days he lived and worked in his native village. Member of the CPSU since 1962.
Died October 22, 1983.
(Thank Allah, or God, that he did not live to see Gorbachev’s shame)
Khasan Israilov - hero of Hitler's Reich
Khasan Israilov, known under the pseudonym “Terloev” in 1929, joined the CPSU (b) at the age of 19 and entered the Komvuz in Rostov-on-Don in the same year. In 1933, to continue his studies, Israilov was sent to Moscow to the Communist University of the Toilers of the East. In 1935 he was arrested under Art. 58–10 part 2 and 95 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR and was sentenced to 5 years in the camps, but was released in 1937. Returning to Chechnya, he worked as a lawyer in the Shatoevsky district. After the start of the Great Patriotic War, Khasan Israilov and his brother Hussein developed vigorous activity to prepare a general uprising of the Chechens. He created numerous combat groups.
Initially, the uprising was scheduled for the fall of 1941 (and not the winter of 1940, as Avtorkhanov lies) and was supposed to be timed to coincide with the approach of German troops to the borders of the republic. However, Hitler's blitzkrieg failed, and the start of the rebellion was postponed to January 10, 1942.
But due to the lack of clear communication between the rebel cells, it was not possible to postpone the uprising. A unified action did not take place, resulting in scattered premature actions of individual Chechen groups. On October 21, 1941, residents of the Khilokhoy farm, Galanchozhsky district, plundered the collective farm and offered armed resistance to the task force trying to restore order. An operational squad of 40 people was sent to the area to arrest the instigators. However, his commander made a fatal mistake by dividing his men into two groups.
The first of them was surrounded by rebels, disarmed and shot. The second began to retreat, was surrounded in the village of Galanchozh and was also disarmed. The Chechen uprising was suppressed only after the deployment of large forces. About a week later, an uprising broke out in the village of Borzoi, Shatoevsky district. The crowd that gathered there disarmed the police, defeated the village council and plundered the collective farm's livestock. Together with rebels from the surrounding villages who joined, the Borzoevites tried to resist the approaching NKVD task force, however, unable to withstand its blow, the Chechens scattered through the forests and gorges.
Israilov was actively involved in party building. He built his organization on the principle of armed detachments in regions. On January 28, 1942, at an illegal meeting in Ordzhonikidze (Vladikavkaz), Israilov established the “Special Party of the Emblem of the OPKB - the deportation of Chechen Caucasian brothers” (OPKB). Its program provided for “the creation in the Caucasus of a free fraternal Federal Republic of the states of the fraternal peoples of the Caucasus under the mandate of the German Empire.”
To better suit the tastes of the German masters, Israilov renamed his organization the “National Socialist Party of the Caucasian Brothers” (NSPKB). Its number soon reached 5,000 people. Another major anti-Soviet group in Checheno-Ingushetia was the “Chechen-Mountain National Socialist Underground Organization” created in November 1941.
Sheripov, Mairbek Dzhemaldinovich - hero of Hitler's Reich
The younger brother of the famous commander of the so-called “Chechen Red Army” Aslanbek Sheripov, who was killed in September 1919 in a battle with Denikin’s troops, was a member of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), was also arrested for anti-Soviet propaganda in 1938, and in 1939 was released for lack of proof of guilt and was soon appointed Chairman of the Forest Industry Council of the Chi ASSR.
In the fall of 1941, he united around himself gang leaders, deserters, fugitive criminals from the Shatoevsky, Cheberloyevsky and parts of the Itum-Kalinsky districts, established connections with religious and teip authorities, trying to provoke an armed uprising. Sheripov's main base was in the Shatoevsky district. Sheripov repeatedly changed the name of his organization: “Society for the Rescue of Mountain People”, “Union of Liberated Mountain People”, “Checheno-Ingush Union of Mountain Nationalists” and, finally, “Checheno-Mountain National Socialist Underground Organization”.
After the front approached the borders of the Chechen Republic, in August 1942 Sheripov entered into contact with the inspirer of a number of past uprisings, an associate of Imam Gotsinsky, Dzhavotkhan Murtazaliev, who had been in an illegal position since 1925. Taking advantage of his authority, he managed to raise a major uprising in the Itum-Kalinsky and Shatoevsky regions. It began in the village of Dzumskaya. Having defeated the village council and the board of the collective farm, Sheripov led the bandits to the center of the Shatoevsky district - the village of Khimoi. On August 17, Khimoy was taken, Chechen rebels destroyed party and Soviet institutions, and the local population plundered their property.
The capture of the regional center was successful thanks to the betrayal of the head of the department for combating banditry of the NKVD CHI ASSR, Ingush Idris Aliyev, associated with Sheripov. A day before the attack, he recalled the task force and military unit from Khimoy that were guarding the regional center. The rebels, led by Sheripov, went to seize the regional center of Itum-Kale, joining their fellow countrymen along the way. Fifteen thousand Chechens surrounded Itum-Kale on August 20, but were unable to take it. A small garrison repulsed all their attacks, and the two companies that approached put the Chechen rebels to flight. The defeated Sheripov tried to unite with Israilov, but on November 7, 1942 he was killed by state security officers.
Let me remind you: summer 1942 - on August 6, units of the German 1st Tank Army took Armavir and continued the offensive in the direction of Maykop. To prevent an enemy breakthrough to Tuapse and to prevent the encirclement of troops in the Kuban, the Soviet command organized the defense of this direction with the forces of the 12th, 18th armies and the 17th Cossack cavalry corps. For four days there were battles on the Kuban, Belaya, and Laba rivers. On August 10, German troops took Maykop and continued the offensive on Tuapse.
This is the difference between the essence of true and false heroes of the people.
Traitors, on the orders of the Fuhrer, stabbing their brothers (the same Chechens) in the back. fighting at the front and dragging into their showdowns not only their own families, but also the families of other Chechens.
And Heroes, fighting against a strong enemy and defending their own and other people's families from enslavement and destruction.
Let me note, for connoisseurs of “let’s live together,” that accepting them indiscriminately is schizophrenia, since they fought for different things and their goals were completely opposite.
This is confirmed, for example, by the fact that in Gorbachev’s USSR and Yeltsin’s Russia, as part of the war with history, even among the Chechens, the names of the heroes who fought for the Chechen people to grow, develop and become an example for the people around them have been taboo for the last 30 years.
But the “heroes” who sought to hand over their people to the service of their masters, on the contrary, were given carte blanche. And it was they who were advertised and praised in every possible way. And along with their “exploits” they praised the consequences of these exploits - prison and exile.
Moreover, it would be fine if they sat down themselves or were expelled, but they pulled the whole people along with them.
Let me explain: since the teip system for surviving childbirth involves helping any of the members of this clan (within the clan it only looks at who you are, and not what you have done to others), then help is obligatory.
What is helping a criminal to commit crimes called? Right! Complicity in the commission of a crime.
And it doesn’t matter to the state that a member of the clan simply helped him with food or told him where the police and NKVD troops were located - according to the law, he is an accomplice. And he is subject to criminal prosecution under the law, just like the criminal himself.
And here we see the great HUMANISM of the Soviet state in relation to the Chechen people. If they were tried according to the law, then in fact the ENTIRE male part of the population of Chechnya should have been imprisoned under the article “banditry” and for crimes against statehood.
The consequences would be simple: children are sent to orphanages, where they are brought up in the right spirit, the female part of the population, also in accordance with the law, or to a zone for 10-20 years or into exile (without children). And the people, the people are disappearing, because after 20 years of imprisonment, the children will become adults and brought up completely differently, and the older generation will become too old to pass on the traditions of their people.
The Chechen people are disappearing.
It would be almost like the Polabian Slavs, from whom only surnames remain in German culture - Dönitz, von Bülow, von Verkhov or the last Prime Minister of the GDR Hans Modrow and the names of cities and localities - Berlin, aka Berlogier or Brandenburg, aka Branny Bor .
So, we see two ways: either follow the HEROES and then the people develop and become better. Or following PSEUDO-HEROES who carry out other people's orders and then the people first degrade, then become a slave to the masters whom these same pseudo-heroes chose for their people.
My father’s heart sank with a sense of foreboding when he went out into the courtyard of the helicopter factory where he worked to take a smoke break. Suddenly he saw two white swans flying in the sky with a plaintive purr. He thought about Dima. I felt bad from a bad feeling. His son Dmitry Petrov at that moment, together with his comrades, repelled the attacks of bandits under the leadership of Khattab and Shamil Basayev near the foot of height 776 near Ulus-Kert.
White swans in the March sky are harbingers of the death of Pskov paratroopers
On the day when the detachment of paratroopers advanced to the combat mission area, wet sticky snow began to fall and the weather was unflyable. And the terrain - continuous gullies, ravines, the mountain river Abazulgol and beech forest - prevented the landing of helicopters. Therefore, the detachment moved on foot. They did not have time to reach the height when they were discovered by bandits. The battle has begun. The paratroopers died one after another. They didn't get help. The commanders of the troops, Shamanov, have already reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin that the war in Chechnya is over, all large gangs have been destroyed. The general hurried. The parents of the dead 84 Pskov paratroopers urgently demanded an independent investigation and punishment of those responsible who failed to come to the aid of the dying company during the three days of battle, from February 29 to March 1, 2000. 90 paratroopers fought against 2,500 thousand bandits.
For this battle, 21 paratroopers received the Hero Star posthumously. Dima Petrov is among them. The parents cherished the star like the apple of their eye. But they didn’t save it. Apartment thieves stole the relic. Local newspapers wrote about this. And a miracle happened. Even thieves, it turns out, have hearts. They planted a reward near the front door of the apartment.
A school in the city of Rostov-on-Don is named after the hero of Russia. In 2016, a memorial plaque was installed on the house where Dima studied at the Young Pilot club. There is no monument to the hero in the city.
Feat of the Orthodox spirit without official awards
In the narrow, dead Khanchelak gorge, during the first Chechen war in 1995, Chechen militants ambushed. Time for rescue is only 25 minutes or less. Russian helicopter pilots succeeded. But after a short battle, the comrades were missing Alexander Voronov. He was sitting on an armored vehicle and was apparently hit by a shock wave. They were looking for him. To no avail. Only blood on the stones. Sasha was captured. They searched for him in the surrounding villages for another three days. Not found. Five years have passed. The second Chechen war began in 2000. After the assault on the village of Utam-Kala, local residents told the special forces that they had a special pit (zindan) in their backyard. There is a Russian man sitting there.
A miracle happened. When the fighters descended along a wooden ladder into a seven-meter hole, they hardly recognized the bearded man in decaying camouflage, dressed in burlap, as their lost friend. He was staggering. He was very weak. Special forces soldier Sasha Voronov was alive. He fell to his knees, cried and kissed the free ground. He was saved by his indestructible will to live and his Orthodox cross. He took it in his hands, kissed it, rolled pellets of clay and ate it. His hands were cut by bandits' knives. They practiced hand-to-hand combat techniques on it. Not everyone gets to experience such challenges. This is a real feat. A feat of the human spirit. Even without official awards.
Zhukov walked through a minefield
In the Argun Gorge, a reconnaissance group was ambushed while carrying out a mission. She could not tear herself away, having two seriously wounded people in her arms. Lieutenant Colonel of the North Caucasus Military Headquarters District Alexander Zhukov receives an order to rescue his comrades. It is not possible to land helicopters in dense forests. The winch lifts the fighters. To help evacuate the remaining wounded, Zhukov winches down. Mi-24s, which are designed to provide fire support, cannot fire - a salvo can destroy their own.
Zhukov lowers the helicopter. It turns out. 100 meters away, militants surround him and the remaining two fighters on three sides. Heavy fire. And - captivity. The militants did not kill the fighters. After all, a captured district headquarters officer can be ransomed at a profit. The tractor driver, the leader of the militants, orders the prisoners not to be fed and to be methodically beaten. He sells Colonel Zhukov to field commander Gelayev. The gang of which is surrounded near the village of Komsomolskoye. The area is mined. Gelayev orders the prisoners to walk through the minefield. Alexander Zhukov was blown up by a mine, was seriously wounded and received the star of the Hero of Russia. Alive.
I didn’t attach the Hero’s star to my ceremonial jacket.
In 1995, in the area of Minutka Square, Chechen militants dressed in airborne uniforms with short haircuts characteristic of paratroopers killed the local population. The alleged atrocities of Russian soldiers were filmed on camera. A report was received about this to Ivan Babichev, the general of the united group “West”. He gives the order to Colonel Vasily Nuzhny to neutralize the militants.
Nuzhny visited Afghanistan twice and had military decorations. A proposal to confer the title of Hero of Russia has already been sent to him.
He and the soldiers began clearing the ruins of houses. Four militants were found. Surrounded. They ordered to surrender. Suddenly, from the forks, shots were heard from other bandits sitting in ambush. Vasily Nuzhny was wounded. Blood instantly appeared in the place on the chest where the golden star should have hung. He died almost immediately.
Tanya and 17 children were rescued by scouts
In the village of Bamut, 18 children were rescued by a reconnaissance platoon under the command of Sergeant Danila Blarneysky. The militants held children hostage in order to use them as human shields. Our scouts suddenly burst into the house and began carrying out the children. The bandits went wild. They shot at their defenseless backs. The soldiers fell, but under heavy fire they grabbed the children and ran to hide them under saving stones. 27 soldiers died. The last girl rescued, Tanya Blank, was wounded in the leg. All other children survived. Danil was seriously wounded and did not receive the Hero of Russia star because he was discharged from the army. Instead of this well-deserved award, he puts the Order of Courage on his jacket.