Russian troops fought in Chechnya under the Tsars, when the Caucasus region was just part of the Russian Empire. But in the nineties of the last century, a real massacre began there, the echoes of which have not subsided to this day. The Chechen war in 1994-1996 and in 1999-2000 are two disasters for the Russian army.
Prerequisites for the Chechen wars
The Caucasus has always been a very difficult region for Russia. Issues of nationality, religion, and culture have always been raised very sharply and were resolved in far from peaceful ways.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the influence of separatists increased in the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic on the basis of national and religious hostility, as a result of which the self-proclaimed Republic of Ichkeria was established. She entered into confrontation with Russia.
In November 1991, Boris Yeltsin, then the President of Russia, issued a decree “On the introduction of a state of emergency on the territory of the Chechen-Ingush Republic.” But this decree was not supported in the Supreme Council of Russia, due to the fact that most of the seats there were occupied by Yeltsin’s opponents.
In 1992, on March 3, Dzhokhar Dudayev said that he would enter into negotiations only when Chechnya received complete independence. A few days later, on the twelfth, the Chechen parliament adopted a new constitution, self-proclaiming the country as a secular independent state.
Almost immediately all government buildings, all military bases, all strategically important objects were captured. The territory of Chechnya completely came under the control of the separatists. From that moment on, legitimate centralized power ceased to exist. The situation got out of control: the trade in arms and people flourished, drug trafficking passed through the territory, bandits robbed the population (especially the Slavic ones).
In June 1993, soldiers from Dudayev's personal guard seized the parliament building in Grozny, and Dudayev himself proclaimed the emergence of a “sovereign Ichkeria” - a state that he completely controlled.
A year later, the First Chechen War (1994-1996) will begin, which will mark the beginning of a whole series of wars and conflicts that have become, perhaps, the bloodiest and most brutal throughout the entire territory of the former Soviet Union.
First Chechen: the beginning
In 1994, on the eleventh of December, Russian troops in three groups entered the territory of Chechnya. One entered from the west, through North Ossetia, another - through Mozdok, and the third group - from the territory of Dagestan. Initially, command was entrusted to Eduard Vorobyov, but he refused and resigned, citing complete unpreparedness for this operation. Later, the operation in Chechnya will be headed by Anatoly Kvashnin.
Of the three groups, only the Mozdok group was able to successfully reach Grozny on December 12th - the other two were blocked in different parts of Chechnya by local residents and partisan militant groups. A few days later, the remaining two groups of Russian troops approached Grozny and blocked it from all sides, with the exception of the southern direction. Until the start of the assault from this side, access to the city would be free for militants; this later influenced the siege of Grozny by federal forces.
Storm of Grozny
On December 31, 1994, the assault began, which claimed many lives of Russian soldiers and remained one of the most tragic episodes in Russian history. About two hundred units of armored vehicles entered Grozny from three sides, which were almost powerless in the conditions of street fighting. There was poor communication between the companies, which made it difficult to coordinate joint actions.
Russian troops are stuck on the streets of the city, constantly falling under the crossfire of militants. The battalion of the Maykop brigade, which advanced the furthest to the city center, was surrounded and was almost completely destroyed along with its commander, Colonel Savin. The battalion of the Petrakuvsky motorized rifle regiment, which went to the rescue of the “Maikopians”, after two days of fighting consisted of about thirty percent of the original composition.
By the beginning of February, the number of attackers was increased to seventy thousand people, but the assault on the city continued. It was not until the third of February that Grozny was blocked from the south and encircled.
On March 6, part of the last detachments of Chechen separatists was killed, others left the city. Grozny remained under the control of Russian troops. In fact, little remained of the city - both sides actively used both artillery and armored vehicles, so Grozny was practically in ruins.
In the rest of the area there were continuous local battles between Russian troops and militant groups. In addition, the militants prepared and carried out a series (June 1995) in Kizlyar (January 1996). In March 1996, militants made an attempt to recapture Grozny, but the assault was repelled by Russian soldiers. And Dudayev was liquidated.
In August, the militants repeated their attempt to take Grozny, this time they were successful. Many important facilities in the city were blocked by the separatists, and Russian troops suffered very heavy losses. Along with Grozny, the militants took Gudermes and Argun. On August 31, 1996, the Khasavyurt Agreement was signed - the First Chechen War ended with huge losses for Russia.
Human losses in the First Chechen War
The data varies depending on which side is doing the counting. Actually, this is not surprising and it has always been this way. Therefore, all options are provided below.
Losses in the Chechen War (table No. 1 according to the headquarters of the Russian troops):
The two numbers in each column indicating the losses of Russian troops are two headquarters investigations that were conducted a year apart.
According to the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers, the consequences of the Chechen war are completely different. The number of people killed there alone is about fourteen thousand.
Losses in the Chechen War (table No. 2) of militants according to Ichkeria and a human rights organization:
Among the civilian population, Memorial put forward a figure of 30-40 thousand people, and Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation A. I. Lebed - 80,000.
Second Chechen: main events
Even after the signing of the peace agreements, Chechnya did not become calmer. Militants were in charge, there was a brisk trade in drugs and weapons, people were kidnapped and killed. There was anxiety on the border between Dagestan and Chechnya.
After a series of kidnappings of major businessmen, officers, and journalists, it became clear that the continuation of the conflict in a more acute phase was simply inevitable. Moreover, since April, small groups of militants began to probe the weak points of the defense of Russian troops, preparing an invasion of Dagestan. The invasion operation was led by Basayev and Khattab. The place where the militants planned to strike was in the mountainous zone of Dagestan. There, the small number of Russian troops was combined with the inconvenient location of the roads, along which reinforcements could not be transferred very quickly. On August 7, 1999, militants crossed the border.
The main striking force of the bandits were mercenaries and Islamists from Al-Qaeda. The fighting continued for almost a month with varying success, but finally the militants were driven back to Chechnya. At the same time, the bandits carried out a number of terrorist attacks in different cities of Russia, including Moscow.
As a response, on September 23, a powerful shelling of Grozny began, and a week later, Russian troops entered Chechnya.
Human losses in the Second Chechen War among Russian military personnel
The situation changed, and Russian troops now played a dominant role. But many mothers never saw their sons.
Losses in the Chechen War (table No. 3):
In June 2010, the commander in chief of the Ministry of Internal Affairs cited the following figures: 2,984 killed and about 9,000 wounded.
Militant losses
Losses in the Chechen War (table No. 4):
Civilian casualties
According to officially confirmed data, as of February 2001, over a thousand civilians were killed. In S. V. Ryazantsev’s book “Demographic and Migration Portrait of the North Caucasus,” the losses of the parties in the Chechen War are called five thousand people, although we are talking about 2003.
Judging by the assessment of the Amnesty International organization, which calls itself non-governmental and objective, there were about twenty-five thousand civilian deaths. They can count for a long time and diligently, but when asked: “How many actually died in the Chechen war?” - hardly anyone will give an intelligible answer.
Results of the war: peace conditions, restoration of Chechnya
While the Chechen war was going on, the loss of equipment, enterprises, land, any resources and everything else was not even considered, because people always remain the main ones. But the war ended, Chechnya remained part of Russia, and the need arose to restore the republic practically from ruins.
Huge amounts of money were allocated for Grozny. After several assaults, there were almost no entire buildings left there, but at the moment it is a large and beautiful city.
The economy of the republic was also raised artificially - it was necessary to give time for the population to get used to the new realities, so that new factories and farms could be built. Roads, communication lines, and electricity were needed. Today we can say that the republic has almost completely emerged from the crisis.
Chechen wars: reflected in films, books
Dozens of films were made based on events that took place in Chechnya. Many books have been published. Now it is no longer possible to understand where are the fictions and where are the real horrors of war. The Chechen war (like the war in Afghanistan) claimed too many lives and swept through an entire generation, so it simply could not remain unnoticed. Russia's losses in the Chechen wars are colossal, and, according to some researchers, the losses are even greater than during the ten years of war in Afghanistan. Below is a list of films that most deeply show us the tragic events of the Chechen campaigns.
- documentary film of five episodes "Chechen Trap";
- "Purgatory";
- "Cursed and Forgotten";
- "Prisoner of the Caucasus".
Many fiction and journalistic books describe the events in Chechnya. For example, the now famous writer Zakhar Prilepin fought as part of the Russian troops, who wrote the novel “Pathologies” specifically about this war. Writer and publicist Konstantin Semenov published a series of stories "Grozny Stories" (about the storming of the city) and the novel "We were betrayed by our homeland." Vyacheslav Mironov’s novel “I Was in This War” is dedicated to the storming of Grozny.
Video recordings made in Chechnya by rock musician Yuri Shevchuk are widely known. He and his group "DDT" performed more than once in Chechnya in front of Russian soldiers in Grozny and at military bases.
Conclusion
The State Council of Chechnya published data from which it follows that almost one hundred and sixty thousand people died between 1991 and 2005 - this figure includes militants, civilians, and Russian soldiers. One hundred sixty thousand.
Even if the numbers are exaggerated (which is quite likely), the volume of losses is still simply colossal. Russia's losses in the Chechen wars are a terrible memory of the nineties. The old wound will ache and itch in every family that lost a man there, in the Chechen war.
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I was killed in the war
Victor Elmanov
© Victor Elmanov, 2015
Created in the intellectual publishing system Ridero.ru
Kostroma, December, 1996.
Poet Maria Chapygina.
Maria Chapygina:
No, he didn't want to die!
He only wanted to live and laugh.
Gray-haired mother in tears:
He was only nineteen!
No, he didn't want to die!
My beloved girl is crying.
He suddenly... didn’t have time to escape
From mines howling subtly.
We were all waiting for our relatives,
Coming to terms with loss is not easy.
Did he die in the forties?
No. Just yesterday. In the nineties...
A short pause.
Maria Chapygina:
- Here's a poem...
Grozny, February 1995.
Outskirts. Private one-story houses. Military trucks and equipment are moving along the street, raising clouds of dust.
One of the central streets of Grozny. Miraculously surviving bus stop.
Guys from riot police and marines; the building of the former Muslim center in Grozny; grave with wooden plaque.
“We were transferred to Grozny and assigned to the Kostroma riot police. We settled in the basement of a former Muslim center. And even earlier there was a district party committee here. Not far from us, right on the lawn, is a grave. This is after the January battles. Then they buried him right in the city. And they didn’t put up any signs - they just buried them in the ground. And many were not even buried, they were covered with something - and that’s all...”
Kostroma, December, 1996.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Nikolai Galkin.
Nikolay Galkin:
– The picture was depressing: there were corpses all around. Everything was covered, but it was impossible to pick it up - the snipers were working... It was such a depressing picture...
– What troops did you have contact with?
– We were in contact with internal troops. We were assigned four armored personnel carriers with crews. But, you understand, the guys are young, eighteen years old. The commander of the armored personnel carrier, the crew, he still has to study and study himself, but he was drafted into the army and sent into such a meat grinder. It was necessary to appoint battalion fighters from among our fellow officers as senior ones, take them under their command, and carry out their service that way. But I won’t say, we guys got some good soldiers. Everyone understood. They ate porridge with us, shared everything, as in war, everything like brothers.
Grozny, February 1995.
The guys from the riot police and the marines wash, shave, cut each other's hair, and prepare food.
From the diary of Alexey Safonov:
“We are gradually settling in...
A puppy came running from somewhere. The guys nicknamed him “Chechen”...
Often women come up to us and talk about painful things. The guys filmed one such story.”
Woman:
– There wasn’t much good... My two sons were killed in December and January... (Crying).
The soldier’s hands unfold a piece of paper folded in four from a school notebook.
From the diary of Alexey Safonov:
“When they handed me this letter, it was a complete surprise! At first I even thought it was a joke. But this is a real letter. How it got here, to Chechnya, is completely unclear! True, the sender's last name is unknown to me. But still, I'm very happy! So glad that I even decided to rewrite the letter in my diary. Here it is…"
Text of the letter.
“Hello, Alexey.
Greetings to you Zhenya.
This letter will probably surprise you very much, and you may not be happy with this concern. But then forgive me, please.
Will you think about how I relate to you and why I decided to write? I just saw Yura’s mother and asked if they were taking you into the army or not? She said that they had already received a letter from you and gave me your address. And I asked her, maybe someone you have, I mean a girl, and she’s writing to you, but she replied that you don’t have anyone.
Things are going on as usual for me, I don’t go anywhere, I sit at home. Maybe you’ll ask a question about Tolka, but I have absolutely nothing to do with him and don’t want to have anything to do with him. But that seems to be all for now. Goodbye. Greetings Zhenya, I hope I haven’t forgotten, although we don’t know each other very well, except at Aunt Valya’s when I was with them. But nothing, I hope we will know each other very well, and, of course, this will depend on you.
Goodbye again.
I’m waiting for an answer if you write.”
The soldier's hands fold a piece of paper.
From the diary of Alexey Safonov:
“The girl’s last name is Kulikova. I don’t remember who it is, although the house where she lives is not far from mine.”
Kostroma, December, 1996.
– Was there a strict daily routine?
Nikolay Galkin:
– On such a business trip it is impossible without strict discipline. Wake up at seven o'clock, wash, breakfast at eight o'clock. At eight twenty we were already given a task: either we went to clear the area or clear mines.
Nikolai Galkin watches footage on TV: an armored personnel carrier is moving along a narrow street in the private sector of Grozny, followed by riot police; search of suspects; riot police approach a private house and look into the basement; the military man, stepping carefully, enters the room; half-overturned crib; There is a dead dog on the floor in a pool of blood.
- We were combing the forest...
Nikolay Galkin:
- They combed the green stuff. It was just from the northern side that greenery, that is, thickets of thick bushes, approached us closely. When it blooms in the spring, practically nothing can be seen twenty meters away, and at night there was constant shelling from there. And so we combed it twice. They found banners there, signs along which militants walked, and shelters.
Footage on TV: a detachment of riot police is approaching the “greenery”; riot police enter the thickets, move carefully; one riot policeman, noticing a building ahead, shoots at its window with a grenade launcher; grenade explosion inside a building.
– When did you return, was there a certain time, at such and such a gathering?
Nikolay Galkin:
– You understand, a time was assigned for each operation, we left for three hours, but it didn’t always work out. Sometimes it was six o'clock. But sometimes they made it in two hours. This depended on the volume of the operation being performed.
“But they returned in the evening.”
– Yes, that’s all by the evening... Dinner in the evening. For those who have lunch at the same time, a weapons check is mandatory. And assignment to the outfit, that is, assignment of the outfit for the night. A duty officer was appointed - he was responsible around the clock - who monitored the change of outfits and the safety of weapons.
- Lights out at ten o'clock?
– As such, the lights out... it all depended on the situation. Because if the shelling began, how could there be a release?..
Images on TV: riot policemen sleeping on the floor; two are standing, shivering from the cold, yawning.
Nikolay Galkin:
– ... And so at ten or eleven o’clock, so that people can really sleep. But there was not a single day of such sleep, normal, human sleep. People are in tension, constant shelling, bombings...
A helicopter flying over the city.
From the diary of Alexey Safonov:
“I re-read this letter from Zhenya Kulikova today.
Who is she? It's clear that it's from our yard. I looked at it secretly and fell in love. Yurka's mother knows from somewhere. I took her address. And she boldly asked - do I have a girlfriend? Actually there is. During all this time I sent one postcard – that’s all. And here, in the army, especially now, in Chechnya, you really want people to write letters to you and congratulate you on the holidays. By the way, today is our holiday – the twenty-third of February.”
Riot police are sitting in a cramped room, one of them is reading a holiday order.
Riot policeman:
- Combat friends! On behalf of the operational headquarters of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Chechen Republic, I congratulate you on the holiday of Defenders of the Fatherland Day. We celebrate this holiday in difficult combat conditions, but this is the purpose of people in uniform: to be where it is difficult, where it is dangerous, where blood is shed, where real masculine strength and will are needed. Loyalty to military duty and the desire to preserve the unity of great Russia brought the army, police and internal troops on Chechen soil into a single peacekeeping detachment. And even though we cannot be at the festive tables with our family and friends today, we still honor this holiday, sacred to our fathers and grandfathers, and try to be worthy successors of their glorious traditions. Thank you for your courage, dedication and professional skill! They guarantee our return to family and friends. Many thanks to our comrades who died here in battles with bandits. Great sorrow for them and eternal memory of them. I wish everyone happiness, health, success in service, prosperity, and a speedy recovery to the wounded. Today you proved that the Fatherland can rely on you. Happy holiday!
Head of the control group of the operational headquarters of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, Major General of Police Khrapov.
Nikolay Galkin:
- Guys, I ask, let's honor the memory of those fighters who remained on this earth and who are no longer with us.
Everyone gets up. A minute of silence.
Nikolay Galkin:
- Please sit down.
Everyone sits down.
Nikolay Galkin (addresses the riot policeman):
- Well, Alexander Nikolaevich, will you feed me a festive dinner?
Riot policeman:
- Pasta.
Everyone laughs.
Street on the outskirts of Grozny. Burnt Muslim mosque. Houses with cross-sealed glass in the windows. There are tanks at the side of the road.
From the diary of Alexey Safonov:
“For the third day I’ve been going through all the girls I know in my head. There is an opportunity to forward the letter to this Zhenya Kulikova, but I’m slow. And I want to answer! For some reason she seems so lonely. I feel sorry for her! And then, who is this Tolka? Why doesn't she want to have any relationship with him? Did he offend her with something?.. That's a brake in the head, eh! This Chechnya will make you feel completely stunned. They say they show us all looking so good on TV! And there is enough of everything here! And shit too!.. Yesterday, riot police from Orenburg caught marauding soldiers... One woman’s last watch was taken away. Prapor was offended by the riot police and wanted to throw a grenade. They say he's already pulled the pin. They barely took it away."
Kostroma, December, 1996.
Nikolai Galkin watches footage on TV: drunken soldiers; riot police are searching
end of introductory fragment
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In front of the entrance to the hall, on a pedestal there is a portrait of Alexander Buzin, who died in the Chechen war. The candle is burning. There are fresh flowers lying around.
A book exhibition “Soldiers Are Not Born” was created, dedicated to the memory of the soldiers who served in Chechnya.
The song "Memory" is playing. Slide “Dedicated to the living and the dead.”
Our country failed to leave all the troubles and tragedies behind in the last century. Russia came to the New Century and Millennium with the Chechen war - cruel, merciless. And although war is never merciful - it is always tragedy, pain, tears, death... and the current, as it is called, the second Chechen campaign, is also terrible because it has become commonplace for us. People had become even accustomed to reports of the death toll; they looked indifferently at television screens where footage from the destructive Grozny flashed.
And the stories themselves from the Chechen war, which used to open any newscast, have now migrated to second, third, fifth place...
This war has no history yet. It's not written. We know as much about it as it is not dangerous for us to know, so as not to see ourselves as we are. But a lot has been said about the reasons for this bloodshed, a lot has been written about how the fighting was conducted there. But one thing is clear: there was a war.
There, in Chechnya, our soldiers, young guys, were on combat watch. And wherever each of them was - disarming some kind of charger, walking around the notorious Minutka Square in Grozny, or standing on duty - they were obliged to honorably fulfill their military duty, as befits a real man.
And we... We had to wait for them. And do everything possible to make our guys feel supported, confident that they are remembered, loved and expected.
B. Galkin “Russia”
What has become of us now...
How tired Russia is...
And what other war awaits Russia?
I don't want blood
And we don't need fame
There are so few of us left
And Russia is alone.And obedient soldiers
On special occasions
About birches and maples
A sweet voice sings
The shoulder straps will be ashamed
Defend the bastions
Stolen life
These and these gentlemen.The wounds of the body will heal,
If the matter bothers you.
Well, what if they incite me -
Let's go at each other.
Will drink our blood again
Power is a blind crow.
I probably won't meet
Year two thousand.Underground in Stalingrad
Awards will be minted
Long rains
Tears of Russian Matryona
Across Siberia, along the Don,
In Russia for a long time
The alarm will not subside
And a prayer bell.If only souls would be resurrected
And with hope and song
Everyone who believes stands up.
That Russia is one
Brother, father and childhood friend,
For Russia - all together!
Our wounds will heal.
But the soul - never!
Of course, it's not easy to wait. Especially for parents whose children served in the North Caucasus Military District. More than 150 guys from our Sovetsky district were on combat watch there. It happened that no letters arrived from them for months.
And then their relatives went to the Committee of Soldiers’ Mothers to find out at least something about the fate of their boys. The Committee of Soldiers' Mothers "Sibiryachka" in Sovetsky was registered in November 1999 as an independent public organization. In just a month and a half of 2001, “Sibiryachka” received about 50 applications, where parents asked to find children from whom there had been no letters for a long time, asked for help in sorting out cases of hazing in military units, unauthorized abandonment of military units. This is that huge invisible work that few people know about.
The war in Chechnya has left an indelible mark in the hearts of many of us. After the defeat in Afghanistan, our politicians should have avoided getting involved in an even more terrible war. The reasons were clear not to let Chechnya go. This is the problem of territorial integrity, as the most important condition for statehood; economic reasons: Chechnya is oil. There were also historical reasons. The religious factor also played an important role.
As a result, the value of man, his rights and freedom, contrary to the constitutional norm, gave way to the supremacy of the interests of oil structures and the military-industrial complex.
But whatever the reasons, the fate of the soldiers was decided by the military leaders. And it was the boys who had to suffer, who just yesterday were sitting at a school desk and had never smelled gunpowder. Mothers whose children went into the army had to worry: some were destined to meet disabled children, others were destined to be buried.
During the entire period of hostilities, 44 young men were called up to Chechnya from the city of Sovetsky, Yugorsk - 47, Agirish - 8, Alyabyevo - 3, Zelenoborsk - 5, Communist - 5, Taezhny - 6, Pionersky - 15. Malinovsky - 4. Seven soldiers died, two were missing. Eleven people were injured, two of them died in peacetime, 15 soldiers were awarded orders and medals, 1 received the title of Hero of Russia, posthumously.
They still don’t understand why they fought, why they died... But they know that war is a cruel, terrible phenomenon. And as long as there is anger and hatred on earth, there will also be wars that inflict battle wounds on people and take away children and loved ones from the lives.
Slide “Portrait of A. Buzin”
We dedicated our evening today to Alexander Buzin, our fellow countryman, who died almost 15 years ago in the Chechen war.
This happened at a time when the end of hostilities in Chechnya had not yet been announced. This happened on May 21, 1996. It was on that day that Private Alexander Buzin passed away. Or rather junior sergeant A. Buzin. Alexander never found out that a few days before his death, he was awarded the rank of junior sergeant.
Of the 12 Heroes of Russia awarded this title posthumously in the Chechen war, the first, and perhaps the only one in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug is Alexander Buzin, a guy from our city of Sovetsky.
On May 21, “on this tragic day,” he took part in a raid by an airborne assault group behind the militants’ rear. During the operation, the mine-detecting department instructor, together with his four-legged assistant John, discovered and neutralized 16 mines and 4 land mines, then the group was ambushed. Alexander was the first to realize this; he walked ahead and, to warn his comrades, opened fire on the militants. In this short battle, Buzin was mortally wounded...
The poem “I was killed in the Chechen War,” written by primary school teacher Evgenia Pavlovna Akinfova.
I was a smart and lively boy,
In the hallway with friends he was "boisterous"
I received both A's and D's,
But he loved his school.Don't rush, wait, guys!
Talk quietly to me.
And say: “What fun he was!
And how young he is!”Wait, girls laugh,
Look at this portrait
I just turned 20
And I’m no longer there, I’m just not there...I saw this terrible war,
I went into battle with a machine gun.
So that no one here offends you,
So that no one kills you here!I would like to run on the football field,
And to meet a friend in the spring...
I didn’t return from the battle in the spring
I was killed in the Chechen war.The mother is crying, grieving, suffering,
Over my early grave,
Yes, he sings, pouring out in the spring,
Podporozhye crazy nightingale.Visit your mother's apartment,
Visit my dear one.
So that she knows about her son.
Someone remembers in their native land.You too will be sad over the grave,
Bring wild flowers.
So that my dear homeland smells to me,
On my unearthly roads.
Slide “Obelisk to A. Buzin”
Sovetsky city. Quiet cemetery. Monument with a name. Age 20 years.
What was Alexander Buzin like? How did you live? What remains of a life that is only 20 years long?
Alexander spent his childhood in our city. Since his school days, Alexander dreamed of becoming a wood artist. It is no coincidence that after graduating from the eighth grade, he went to study at Soviet PU-11, where he received the education that interested him - a carpenter of artistic furniture, a furniture machine operator. After graduating from college, I worked in my specialty for only 10 months. Then he was drafted into the army. He did not complain about fate, which prevented him from enjoying what he had achieved for some time. I was completely ready for army tests. And he believed that after serving, like everyone else, he would return home, to his mother, to his favorite job.
“I don’t know why...” Words by A. Vertinsky.
I don’t know why and who needs it,
Who sent them to their deaths
Not with a shaking hand.
It's just so useless
So evil and unnecessary
They were released to eternal rest.Cautious spectators
Silently wrapped in fur coats
And some woman with a distorted face
Kissed a dead man on his blue lips
And she threw her wedding ring at the priest.They showered them with Christmas trees and covered them with mud.
And they went home to talk quietly,
That it's time to put an end to the disgrace,
That soon we will begin to starve.And no one thought to just kneel down,
And tell these boys
What in a mediocre country,
Even bright feats are just steps
Into the endless abysses of impenetrable war.
Local newspapers later talked about the service of Alexander Buzin, about him as a person, an excellent warrior, and a reliable comrade in the essay “Give me a paw, John, for luck.”
As Alexander Buzin’s colleagues said, John was very devoted to his master. Immediately after the tragedy unfolded, John did not allow anyone near the owner’s body. To your place - more than three days! Having been blown up by a mine, like the owner, he also received a severe gunshot wound. The dog outlived its owner by only a month. John passed away on June 23.
This is what A. Buzin’s colleagues say.
Maybe these memories will help us answer the question : "What is human life?"
Junior Sergeant Vladimir Biryukov says:
Buzin and I were called up at the same time. From the first day, Alexander dreamed of being next to the enclosure, feeling like a trainer. In addition to his diligence, he was distinguished by such qualities as his love for animals and the ability to convey to them the most necessary things. Already in the first half of the year, Private A. Buzin proved himself to be the best, and he was thanked.
The assistant to the head of the group for work with personnel, Art. Lieutenant Pyotr Anatolyevich Belashev:
Private Buzin did not stand out in any way. On assignments, like most military personnel, he was executive. But I was always attracted to such a detail as the correspondence between his height and the size of his boots.
Alexander was not very tall, if not to say the contrary. And the boots were large - a sort of peasant from the forests. When he and his colleagues were preparing for their first trip to Chechnya, a small incident occurred. Everyone was selecting and adjusting their uniforms. They began to try on body armor. Private A. Buzin also began to try on the body armor. When I saw him in armor, I just smiled. It seemed that he was swaying under the weight, a little more and he would fall. But this was only a fleeting impression.
On his first mission, he proved that he makes an excellent fighter and a good comrade.
Colleague Private Oleg Alinovsky tells the story:
Sasha was pure charm. It was easy to communicate with him, the guy had a great attitude towards humor and never took offense at jokes. In general he was very calm.
Private Andrei Telegin tells:
He was an excellent hairdresser. All your haircuts - just ask. And overall he was a great guy.
At the beginning of May 1996, Alexander Buzin, as the most trained and experienced specialist, was assigned to the reconnaissance unit of the airborne division. Reconnaissance operations began in the rear, in the Bamut area. On May 21, as part of an air assault group, he left on a long flight behind the militants’ rear. As befits a mine-detecting dog instructor, Private Alexander Buzin was in front of the group. The operation did not last an hour. The instructor and the dog managed to detect and neutralize 20 mines and landmines. At some point, Alexander felt someone’s heavy gaze on him. There was no time to think. He opened fire on the entrenched militants. By calling fire on himself, Alexander thereby warned his comrades about the ambush. He himself was mortally wounded in a short battle.
Sasha died in the arms of his comrades.
Years will pass. Much will be forgotten over time, of course. The current discussions about “Afghans” and “Chechens”, and the reproaches that hurt them so painfully, will sink into oblivion. The wounds will heal, reminding you of the bad weather. Military orders will fade, soldiers will have children. But these wars will forever remain in the memory as an indelible tragic mark.
Poems and songs born during the war will remain, telling about the strength of spirit and courage of the Russian soldier.
In the homeland of Alexander Buzin there is a modest obelisk. This is material evidence of the memory of the Hero of Russia.
Well, the intangible evidence is in the memory of his colleagues, in the memory of those who served with him in the unit.
In the memory of those whom he saved in Chechnya, neutralizing mines and landmines.
Commander Suvorov defined six qualities necessary for a soldier, and said that he “should be healthy, brave, decisive, fair, and pious.”
The current Russian soldier, serving in Chechnya, needs many others in addition to these qualities. And, above all, wisdom and patience. He owes his duty, withstanding the onslaught of contradictory information, navigating the Caucasian political intricacies, and not succumbing to provocations.
As you know, wars do not end with that long-awaited moment when the weapons fall silent. They continue in the souls of those who participated in them. And this war on Chechen soil is no exception. She will remind of herself for a long time - while the mothers who lost their breadwinners are alive, while the wounds of the soldiers hurt.
Russian soldiers who returned from the Chechen war brought with them a renewed love for the Motherland. They to some extent returned to us the high concept of patriotism, courage, military and human duty.
The song "Memory" is playing
We present to you the release of photographs by Alexander Nemenov about the First Chechen War and the history of this military conflict. (Warning! The issue contains photographs that may be disturbing or disturbing)
1. The First Chechen War (Chechen conflict 1994-1996, First Chechen campaign, Restoration of constitutional order in the Chechen Republic) - fighting between Russian troops (Armed Forces and Ministry of Internal Affairs) and the unrecognized Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in Chechnya, and some settlements in neighboring regions of the Russian North Caucasus, with the aim of taking control of the territory of Chechnya, on which the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria was proclaimed in 1991.
2. Officially, the conflict was defined as “measures to maintain constitutional order”; military actions were called the “first Chechen war”, less often the “Russian-Chechen” or “Russian-Caucasian war”. The conflict and the events preceding it were characterized by a large number of casualties among the population, military and law enforcement agencies, and facts of ethnic cleansing of the non-Chechen population in Chechnya were noted.
3. Despite certain military successes of the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, the results of this conflict were the withdrawal of Russian units, mass destruction and casualties, de facto independence of Chechnya before the Second Chechen War and a wave of terror that swept across Russia.
4. With the beginning of perestroika in various republics of the Soviet Union, including Checheno-Ingushetia, various nationalist movements intensified. One of such organizations was the National Congress of the Chechen People (NCCHN), created in 1990, which set as its goal the secession of Chechnya from the USSR and the creation of an independent Chechen state. It was headed by former Soviet Air Force General Dzhokhar Dudayev.
5. On June 8, 1991, at the II session of the OKCHN, Dudayev proclaimed the independence of the Chechen Republic of Nokhchi-cho; Thus, a dual power arose in the republic.
6. During the “August putsch” in Moscow, the leadership of the Chechen Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic supported the State Emergency Committee. In response to this, on September 6, 1991, Dudayev announced the dissolution of republican government structures, accusing Russia of “colonial” policies. On the same day, Dudayev's guards stormed the building of the Supreme Council, the television center and the Radio House. More than 40 deputies were beaten, and the chairman of the Grozny City Council, Vitaly Kutsenko, was thrown out of a window, as a result of which he died. On this issue, the head of the Chechen Republic D. G. Zavgaev spoke in 1996 at a meeting of the State Duma "Yes, on the territory of the Chechen-Ingush Republic (today it is divided) the war began in the fall of 1991, namely the war against a multinational people, when the criminal regime under some support from those who today also show an unhealthy interest in the situation, this nation was filled with blood. The first victim of what was happening was precisely the people of this republic, and the Chechens first of all. The war began when Vitaly Kutsenko, the chairman of the Grozny City Council, was killed in broad daylight , during a meeting of the Supreme Council of the Republic. When Besliev, the vice-rector of a state university, was shot dead on the street. When Kankalik, the rector of the same state university, was killed. When every day in the fall of 1991, up to 30 people were found killed on the streets of Grozny. When, starting in the fall of 1991 and until 1994, the morgues of Grozny were filled to the ceiling, announcements were made on local television with a request to take them away, to establish who was there, and so on. - Zavgaev D.G., Head of the Chechen Republic, transcript of the meeting of the State Duma dated July 19, 1996.
8. The Chairman of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR, Ruslan Khasbulatov, then sent them a telegram: “I was pleased to learn about the resignation of the Armed Forces of the Republic.” After the collapse of the USSR, Dzhokhar Dudayev announced the final secession of Chechnya from the Russian Federation. On October 27, 1991, presidential and parliamentary elections were held in the republic under the control of separatists. Dzhokhar Dudayev became the president of the republic. These elections were declared illegal by the Russian Federation
9. On November 7, 1991, Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed the Decree “On the introduction of a state of emergency in the Chechen-Ingush Republic (1991).” After these actions by the Russian leadership, the situation in the republic sharply worsened - separatist supporters surrounded the buildings of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the KGB, military camps, and blocked railway and air hubs. In the end, the introduction of a state of emergency was thwarted; the Decree “On the introduction of a state of emergency in the Checheno-Ingush Republic (1991)” was canceled on November 11, three days after its signing, after a heated discussion at a meeting of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR and from the republic The withdrawal of Russian military units and units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs began, which was finally completed by the summer of 1992. The separatists began seizing and looting military warehouses.
10. Dudayev’s forces received a lot of weapons: Two launchers of an operational-tactical missile system in a non-combat-ready state. 111 L-39 and 149 L-29 trainer aircraft, the aircraft converted into light attack aircraft; three MiG-17 fighters and two MiG-15 fighters; six An-2 aircraft and two Mi-8 helicopters, 117 R-23 and R-24 aircraft missiles, 126 R-60 aircraft; about 7 thousand GSh-23 aerial shells. 42 tanks T-62 and T-72; 34 BMP-1 and BMP-2; 30 BTR-70 and BRDM; 44 MT-LB, 942 vehicles. 18 Grad MLRS and more than 1000 shells for them. 139 artillery systems, including 30 122-mm D-30 howitzers and 24 thousand shells for them; as well as self-propelled guns 2S1 and 2S3; anti-tank guns MT-12. Five air defense systems, 25 missiles of various types, 88 MANPADS; 105 pcs. S-75 missile defense system. 590 anti-tank weapons, including two Konkurs ATGMs, 24 Fagot ATGM systems, 51 Metis ATGM systems, 113 RPG-7 systems. About 50 thousand small arms, more than 150 thousand grenades. 27 wagons of ammunition; 1620 tons of fuels and lubricants; about 10 thousand sets of clothing, 72 tons of food; 90 tons of medical equipment.
12. In June 1992, Russian Defense Minister Pavel Grachev ordered the transfer of half of all weapons and ammunition available in the republic to the Dudayevites. According to him, this was a forced step, since a significant part of the “transferred” weapons had already been captured, and there was no way to remove the rest due to the lack of soldiers and trains.
13. The victory of the separatists in Grozny led to the collapse of the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Malgobek, Nazranovsky and most of the Sunzhensky district of the former Chechen Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic formed the Republic of Ingushetia within the Russian Federation. Legally, the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic ceased to exist on December 10, 1992.
14. The exact border between Chechnya and Ingushetia was not demarcated and has not been determined to this day (2012). During the Ossetian-Ingush conflict in November 1992, Russian troops were introduced into the Prigorodny region of North Ossetia. Relations between Russia and Chechnya have deteriorated sharply. The Russian high command proposed at the same time solving the “Chechen problem” by force, but then the deployment of troops into the territory of Chechnya was prevented by the efforts of Yegor Gaidar.
16. As a result, Chechnya became a virtually independent state, but not legally recognized by any country, including Russia. The republic had state symbols - the flag, coat of arms and anthem, authorities - the president, parliament, government, secular courts. It was planned to create a small Armed Forces, as well as the introduction of its own state currency - nahar. In the constitution adopted on March 12, 1992, the CRI was characterized as an “independent secular state”; its government refused to sign a federal agreement with the Russian Federation.
17. In reality, the state system of the CRI turned out to be extremely ineffective and rapidly became criminalized in the period 1991-1994. In 1992-1993, over 600 intentional murders were committed on the territory of Chechnya. During the period of 1993, at the Grozny branch of the North Caucasus Railway, 559 trains were subjected to an armed attack with the complete or partial looting of about 4 thousand cars and containers worth 11.5 billion rubles. During 8 months of 1994, 120 armed attacks were carried out, as a result of which 1,156 wagons and 527 containers were looted. Losses amounted to more than 11 billion rubles. In 1992-1994, 26 railway workers were killed as a result of armed attacks. The current situation forced the Russian government to decide to stop traffic through the territory of Chechnya from October 1994
18. A special trade was the production of false advice notes, from which more than 4 trillion rubles were received. Hostage-taking and slave trade flourished in the republic - according to Rosinformtsentr, a total of 1,790 people have been kidnapped and illegally held in Chechnya since 1992.
19. Even after this, when Dudayev stopped paying taxes to the general budget and banned employees of the Russian special services from entering the republic, the federal center continued to transfer funds from the budget to Chechnya. In 1993, 11.5 billion rubles were allocated for Chechnya. Russian oil continued to flow into Chechnya until 1994, but it was not paid for and was resold abroad.
20. The period of Dudayev's reign is characterized by ethnic cleansing against the entire non-Chechen population. In 1991-1994, the non-Chechen (primarily Russian) population of Chechnya was subjected to murders, attacks and threats from Chechens. Many were forced to leave Chechnya, being driven out of their homes, abandoning them or selling their apartments to Chechens at low prices. In 1992 alone, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 250 Russians were killed in Grozny, and 300 went missing. The morgues were filled with unidentified corpses. Widespread anti-Russian propaganda was fueled by relevant literature, direct insults and calls from government platforms, and desecration of Russian cemeteries[
21. In the spring of 1993, the contradictions between President Dudayev and the parliament sharply worsened in the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. On April 17, 1993, Dudayev announced the dissolution of parliament, the constitutional court and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. On June 4, armed Dudayevites under the command of Shamil Basayev seized the building of the Grozny City Council, where meetings of the parliament and the constitutional court were held; Thus, a coup d'état took place in the CRI. Amendments were made to the constitution adopted last year; a regime of Dudayev’s personal power was established in the republic, which lasted until August 1994, when legislative powers were returned to parliament
22. After the coup d'etat on June 4, 1993, in the northern regions of Chechnya, not controlled by the separatist government in Grozny, an armed anti-Dudaev opposition was formed, which began an armed struggle against the Dudayev regime. The first opposition organization was the Committee of National Salvation (KNS), which carried out several armed actions, but was soon defeated and disintegrated. It was replaced by the Provisional Council of the Chechen Republic (VCCR), which declared itself the only legitimate authority on the territory of Chechnya. The VSChR was recognized as such by the Russian authorities, who provided it with all kinds of support (including weapons and volunteers).
23. Since the summer of 1994, fighting has unfolded in Chechnya between troops loyal to Dudayev and the forces of the opposition Provisional Council. Troops loyal to Dudayev carried out offensive operations in the Nadterechny and Urus-Martan regions controlled by opposition troops. They were accompanied by significant losses on both sides; tanks, artillery and mortars were used.
24. The forces of the parties were approximately equal, and none of them was able to gain the upper hand in the fight.
25. In Urus-Martan alone in October 1994, the Dudayevites lost 27 people killed, according to the opposition. The operation was planned by the Chief of the Main Staff of the Armed Forces of the ChRI Aslan Maskhadov. The commander of the opposition detachment in Urus-Martan, Bislan Gantamirov, lost from 5 to 34 people killed, according to various sources. In Argun in September 1994, the detachment of the opposition field commander Ruslan Labazanov lost 27 people killed. The opposition, in turn, carried out offensive actions in Grozny on September 12 and October 15, 1994, but retreated each time without achieving decisive success, although it did not suffer large losses.
26. On November 26, oppositionists unsuccessfully stormed Grozny for the third time. At the same time, a number of Russian military personnel who “fought on the side of the opposition” under a contract with the Federal Counterintelligence Service were captured by Dudayev’s supporters.
27. Deployment of troops (December 1994)
At that time, the use of the expression “the entry of Russian troops into Chechnya,” according to deputy and journalist Alexander Nevzorov, was, to a greater extent, caused by journalistic terminological confusion - Chechnya was part of Russia.
Even before any decision was announced by the Russian authorities, on December 1, Russian aviation attacked the Kalinovskaya and Khankala airfields and disabled all aircraft at the disposal of the separatists. On December 11, President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin signed Decree No. 2169 “On measures to ensure legality, law and order and public safety on the territory of the Chechen Republic.” Later, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation recognized most of the decrees and resolutions of the government that justified the actions of the federal government in Chechnya as consistent with the Constitution.
On the same day, units of the United Group of Forces (OGV), consisting of units of the Ministry of Defense and Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, entered the territory of Chechnya. The troops were divided into three groups and entered from three different directions - from the west from North Ossetia through Ingushetia), from the northwest from the Mozdok region of North Ossetia, directly bordering Chechnya, and from the east from the territory of Dagestan).
The eastern group was blocked in the Khasavyurt region of Dagestan by local residents - Akkin Chechens. The western group was also blocked by local residents and came under fire near the village of Barsuki, but using force, they nevertheless broke through into Chechnya. The Mozdok group advanced most successfully, already on December 12 approaching the village of Dolinsky, located 10 km from Grozny.
Near Dolinskoye, Russian troops came under fire from a Chechen Grad rocket artillery system and then entered into battle for this populated area.
The Kizlyar group reached the village of Tolstoy-Yurt on December 15.
A new offensive by OGV units began on December 19. The Vladikavkaz (western) group blocked Grozny from the western direction, bypassing the Sunzhensky ridge. On December 20, the Mozdok (northwestern) group occupied Dolinsky and blocked Grozny from the northwest. The Kizlyar (eastern) group blocked Grozny from the east, and paratroopers of the 104th Airborne Regiment blocked the city from the Argun Gorge. At the same time, the southern part of Grozny was not blocked.
Thus, at the initial stage of hostilities, in the first weeks of the war, Russian troops were able to occupy the northern regions of Chechnya practically without resistance
28. Assault on Grozny (December 1994 - March 1995)
In mid-December, federal troops began shelling the suburbs of Grozny, and on December 19 the first bomb attack was carried out on the city center. The artillery shelling and bombing killed and injured many civilians (including ethnic Russians).
Despite the fact that Grozny still remained unblocked on the southern side, on December 31, 1994, the assault on the city began. About 250 armored vehicles entered the city, extremely vulnerable in street battles. Russian troops were poorly prepared, there was no interaction and coordination between various units, and many soldiers had no combat experience. The troops had aerial photographs of the city, outdated plans of the city in limited quantities. The communications facilities were not equipped with closed-circuit communications equipment, which allowed the enemy to intercept communications. The troops were given an order to occupy only industrial buildings and areas and not to invade the homes of the civilian population.
The western group of troops was stopped, the eastern also retreated and did not take any action until January 2, 1995. In the northern direction, the 1st and 2nd battalions of the 131st separate Maykop motorized rifle brigade (more than 300 people), a motorized rifle battalion and a tank company of the 81st Petrakuvsky motorized rifle regiment (10 tanks), under the command of General Pulikovsky, reached the railway station and the Presidential Palace. Federal forces were surrounded - the losses of the battalions of the Maykop brigade, according to official data, amounted to 85 people killed and 72 missing, 20 tanks were destroyed, the brigade commander Colonel Savin was killed, more than 100 military personnel were captured.
The eastern group under the command of General Rokhlin was also surrounded and bogged down in battles with separatist units, but nevertheless, Rokhlin did not give the order to retreat.
On January 7, 1995, the Northeast and North groupings were united under the command of General Rokhlin, and Ivan Babichev became commander of the West grouping.
Russian troops changed tactics - now, instead of the massive use of armored vehicles, they used maneuverable air assault groups supported by artillery and aviation. Fierce street fighting broke out in Grozny.
Two groups moved to the Presidential Palace and by January 9 occupied the building of the Oil Institute and the Grozny airport. By January 19, these groups met in the center of Grozny and captured the Presidential Palace, but detachments of Chechen separatists retreated across the Sunzha River and took up defensive positions on Minutka Square. Despite the successful offensive, Russian troops controlled only about a third of the city at that time.
By the beginning of February, the strength of the OGV was increased to 70,000 people. General Anatoly Kulikov became the new commander of the OGV.
Only on February 3, 1995, the “South” group was formed and the implementation of the plan to blockade Grozny from the south began. By February 9, Russian units reached the line of the Rostov-Baku federal highway.
On February 13, in the village of Sleptsovskaya (Ingushetia), negotiations were held between the commander of the OGV Anatoly Kulikov and the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the ChRI Aslan Maskhadov on concluding a temporary truce - the parties exchanged lists of prisoners of war, and both sides were given the opportunity to remove the dead and wounded from the streets of the city. The truce, however, was violated by both sides.
In the 20th of February, street fighting continued in the city (especially in its southern part), but the Chechen troops, deprived of support, gradually retreated from the city.
Finally, on March 6, 1995, a detachment of militants of the Chechen field commander Shamil Basayev retreated from Chernorechye, the last area of Grozny controlled by the separatists, and the city finally came under the control of Russian troops.
A pro-Russian administration of Chechnya was formed in Grozny, headed by Salambek Khadzhiev and Umar Avturkhanov.
As a result of the assault on Grozny, the city was virtually destroyed and turned into ruins.
29. Establishing control over the lowland regions of Chechnya (March - April 1995)
After the assault on Grozny, the main task of the Russian troops was to establish control over the lowland areas of the rebellious republic.
The Russian side began to conduct active negotiations with the population, convincing local residents to expel the militants from their settlements. At the same time, Russian units occupied commanding heights above villages and cities. Thanks to this, Argun was taken on March 15-23, and the cities of Shali and Gudermes were taken without a fight on March 30 and 31, respectively. However, the militant groups were not destroyed and freely left populated areas.
Despite this, local battles took place in the western regions of Chechnya. On March 10, fighting began for the village of Bamut. On April 7-8, a combined detachment of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, consisting of the Sofrinsky brigade of internal troops and supported by SOBR and OMON detachments, entered the village of Samashki (Achkhoy-Martan district of Chechnya). It was alleged that the village was defended by more than 300 people (the so-called “Abkhaz battalion” of Shamil Basayev). After Russian soldiers entered the village, some residents who had weapons began to resist, and shootouts broke out on the streets of the village.
According to a number of international organizations (in particular, the UN Commission on Human Rights - UNCHR), many civilians died during the battle for Samashki. This information, disseminated by the separatist agency Chechen Press, however, turned out to be quite contradictory - thus, according to representatives of the Memorial human rights center, this data “does not inspire confidence.” According to Memorial, the minimum number of civilians killed during the clearing of the village was 112-114 people.
One way or another, this operation caused a great resonance in Russian society and strengthened anti-Russian sentiments in Chechnya.
On April 15-16, the decisive assault on Bamut began - Russian troops managed to enter the village and gain a foothold on the outskirts. Then, however, Russian troops were forced to leave the village, as the militants now occupied commanding heights above the village, using old missile silos of the Strategic Missile Forces, designed for waging a nuclear war and invulnerable to Russian aircraft. A series of battles for this village continued until June 1995, then the battles were suspended after the terrorist attack in Budennovsk and resumed in February 1996.
By April 1995, Russian troops occupied almost the entire flat territory of Chechnya and the separatists focused on sabotage and guerrilla operations.
30. Establishing control over the mountainous regions of Chechnya (May - June 1995)
From April 28 to May 11, 1995, the Russian side announced a suspension of hostilities on its part.
The offensive resumed only on May 12. The attacks of Russian troops fell on the villages of Chiri-Yurt, which covered the entrance to the Argun Gorge, and Serzhen-Yurt, located at the entrance to the Vedenskoye Gorge. Despite significant superiority in manpower and equipment, Russian troops were bogged down in enemy defenses - it took General Shamanov a week of shelling and bombing to take Chiri-Yurt.
Under these conditions, the Russian command decided to change the direction of the attack - instead of Shatoy to Vedeno. The militant units were pinned down in the Argun Gorge and on June 3 Vedeno was taken by Russian troops, and on June 12 the regional centers of Shatoy and Nozhai-Yurt were taken.
Just as in the lowland areas, the separatist forces were not defeated and they were able to leave the abandoned settlements. Therefore, even during the “truce”, the militants were able to transfer a significant part of their forces to the northern regions - on May 14, the city of Grozny was shelled by them more than 14 times
31. Terrorist attack in Budennovsk (June 14-19, 1995)
On June 14, 1995, a group of Chechen militants numbering 195 people, led by field commander Shamil Basayev, entered the territory of the Stavropol Territory in trucks and stopped in the city of Budyonnovsk.
The first target of the attack was the building of the city police department, then the terrorists occupied the city hospital and herded captured civilians into it. In total, there were about 2,000 hostages in the hands of terrorists. Basayev put forward demands to the Russian authorities - a cessation of hostilities and the withdrawal of Russian troops from Chechnya, negotiations with Dudayev through the mediation of UN representatives in exchange for the release of hostages.
Under these conditions, the authorities decided to storm the hospital building. Due to an information leak, the terrorists managed to prepare to repel the assault, which lasted four hours; As a result, the special forces recaptured all buildings (except the main one), freeing 95 hostages. Special forces losses amounted to three people killed. On the same day, an unsuccessful second assault attempt was made.
After the failure of military action to free the hostages, negotiations began between the then Chairman of the Russian Government Viktor Chernomyrdin and field commander Shamil Basayev. The terrorists were provided with buses, on which they, along with 120 hostages, arrived in the Chechen village of Zandak, where the hostages were released.
The total losses of the Russian side, according to official data, amounted to 143 people (of which 46 were law enforcement officers) and 415 wounded, terrorist losses - 19 killed and 20 wounded
32. The situation in the republic in June - December 1995
After the terrorist attack in Budyonnovsk, from June 19 to 22, the first round of negotiations between the Russian and Chechen sides took place in Grozny, at which it was possible to achieve the introduction of a moratorium on hostilities for an indefinite period.
From June 27 to 30, the second stage of negotiations took place there, at which an agreement was reached on the exchange of prisoners “all for all,” the disarmament of the CRI detachments, the withdrawal of Russian troops and the holding of free elections.
Despite all the agreements concluded, the ceasefire regime was violated by both sides. Chechen detachments returned to their villages, but no longer as members of illegal armed groups, but as “self-defense units.” Local battles took place throughout Chechnya. For some time, the tensions that arose could be resolved through negotiations. Thus, on August 18-19, Russian troops blocked Achkhoy-Martan; the situation was resolved at negotiations in Grozny.
On August 21, a detachment of militants of the field commander Alaudi Khamzatov captured Argun, but after heavy shelling by Russian troops, they left the city, into which Russian armored vehicles were then introduced.
In September, Achkhoy-Martan and Sernovodsk were blocked by Russian troops, since militant detachments were located in these settlements. The Chechen side refused to leave their occupied positions, since, according to them, these were “self-defense units” that had the right to remain in accordance with previously reached agreements.
On October 6, 1995, an assassination attempt was made on the commander of the United Group of Forces (OGV), General Romanov, as a result of which he ended up in a coma. In turn, “retaliation strikes” were carried out against Chechen villages.
On October 8, an unsuccessful attempt was made to eliminate Dudayev - an air strike was carried out on the village of Roshni-Chu.
The Russian leadership decided before the elections to replace the leaders of the pro-Russian administration of the republic, Salambek Khadzhiev and Umar Avturkhanov, with the former head of the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, Dokka Zavgaev.
On December 10-12, the city of Gudermes, occupied by Russian troops without resistance, was captured by the detachments of Salman Raduev, Khunkar-Pasha Israpilov and Sultan Gelikhanov. On December 14-20, there were battles for this city; it took Russian troops about another week of “cleansing operations” to finally take control of Gudermes.
On December 14-17, elections were held in Chechnya, which were held with a large number of violations, but were nevertheless recognized as valid. Separatist supporters announced in advance their boycott and non-recognition of the elections. Dokku Zavgaev won the elections, receiving over 90% of the votes; At the same time, all UGA military personnel participated in the elections.
33. Terrorist attack in Kizlyar (January 9-18, 1996)
On January 9, 1996, a detachment of militants numbering 256 people under the command of field commanders Salman Raduev, Turpal-Ali Atgeriyev and Khunkar-Pasha Israpilov carried out a raid on the city of Kizlyar. The militants' initial target was a Russian helicopter base and weapons depot. The terrorists destroyed two Mi-8 transport helicopters and took several hostages from among the military personnel guarding the base. Russian military and law enforcement agencies began to approach the city, so the terrorists seized the hospital and maternity hospital, driving about 3,000 more civilians there. This time, the Russian authorities did not give the order to storm the hospital, so as not to strengthen anti-Russian sentiments in Dagestan. During the negotiations, it was possible to agree on providing the militants with buses to the border with Chechnya in exchange for the release of the hostages, who were supposed to be dropped off at the very border. On January 10, a convoy with militants and hostages moved towards the border. When it became clear that the terrorists would go to Chechnya, the bus convoy was stopped with warning shots. Taking advantage of the confusion of the Russian leadership, the militants captured the village of Pervomaiskoye, disarming the police checkpoint located there. Negotiations took place from January 11 to 14, and an unsuccessful assault on the village took place on January 15-18. In parallel with the assault on Pervomaisky, on January 16, in the Turkish port of Trabzon, a group of terrorists seized the passenger ship "Avrasia" with threats to shoot Russian hostages if the assault was not stopped. After two days of negotiations, the terrorists surrendered to the Turkish authorities.
On January 18, under the cover of darkness, the militants broke through the encirclement and left for Chechnya.
The losses of the Russian side, according to official data, amounted to 78 people killed and several hundred wounded.
34. Attack of militants on Grozny (March 6-8, 1996) On March 6, 1996, several detachments of militants attacked Grozny, controlled by Russian troops, from various directions. The militants captured the Staropromyslovsky district of the city, blocked and fired at Russian checkpoints and checkpoints. Despite the fact that Grozny remained under the control of the Russian armed forces, the separatists took with them supplies of food, medicine and ammunition when they retreated. The losses of the Russian side, according to official data, amounted to 70 people killed and 259 wounded
35. Battle near the village of Yaryshmardy (April 16, 1996) On April 16, 1996, a column of the 245th motorized rifle regiment of the Russian Armed Forces, moving to Shatoy, was ambushed in the Argun Gorge near the village of Yaryshmardy. The operation was led by field commander Khattab. The militants knocked out the leading and trailing column of the vehicle, so the column was blocked and suffered significant losses - almost all the armored vehicles and half of the personnel were lost.
36. Liquidation of Dzhokhar Dudayev (April 21, 1996)
From the very beginning of the Chechen campaign, Russian special services have repeatedly tried to eliminate the President of the Chechen Republic, Dzhokhar Dudayev. Attempts to send assassins ended in failure. It was possible to find out that Dudayev often talks on a satellite phone of the Inmarsat system.
On April 21, 1996, a Russian A-50 AWACS aircraft, which was equipped with equipment for bearing a satellite phone signal, received an order to take off. At the same time, Dudayev’s motorcade left for the area of the village of Gekhi-Chu. Unfolding his phone, Dudayev contacted Konstantin Borov. At that moment, the signal from the phone was intercepted, and two Su-25 attack aircraft took off. When the planes reached the target, two missiles were fired at the motorcade, one of which hit the target directly.
By a closed decree of Boris Yeltsin, several military pilots were awarded the titles of Heroes of the Russian Federation
37. Negotiations with the separatists (May - July 1996)
Despite some successes of the Russian Armed Forces (the successful liquidation of Dudayev, the final capture of the settlements of Goiskoye, Stary Achkhoy, Bamut, Shali), the war began to take a protracted character. In the context of the upcoming presidential elections, the Russian leadership decided to once again negotiate with the separatists.
On May 27-28, a meeting of the Russian and Ichkerian (headed by Zelimkhan Yandarbiev) delegations was held in Moscow, at which it was possible to agree on a truce from June 1, 1996 and an exchange of prisoners. Immediately after the end of the negotiations in Moscow, Boris Yeltsin flew to Grozny, where he congratulated the Russian military on their victory over the “rebellious Dudayev regime” and announced the abolition of conscription.
On June 10, in Nazran (Republic of Ingushetia), during the next round of negotiations, an agreement was reached on the withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of Chechnya (with the exception of two brigades), the disarmament of separatist detachments, and the holding of free democratic elections. The question of the status of the republic was temporarily postponed.
The agreements concluded in Moscow and Nazran were violated by both sides, in particular, the Russian side was in no hurry to withdraw its troops, and the Chechen field commander Ruslan Khaikhoroev took responsibility for the explosion of a regular bus in Nalchik.
On July 3, 1996, the current President of the Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin, was re-elected to the presidency. The new Secretary of the Security Council, Alexander Lebed, announced the resumption of hostilities against militants.
On July 9, after the Russian ultimatum, hostilities resumed - aircraft attacked militant bases in the mountainous Shatoi, Vedeno and Nozhai-Yurt regions.
38. Operation Jihad (6-22 August 1996)
On August 6, 1996, detachments of Chechen separatists numbering from 850 to 2000 people again attacked Grozny. The separatists did not aim to capture the city; They blocked administrative buildings in the city center, and also fired at checkpoints and checkpoints. The Russian garrison under the command of General Pulikovsky, despite significant superiority in manpower and equipment, was unable to hold the city.
Simultaneously with the assault on Grozny, the separatists also captured the cities of Gudermes (they took it without a fight) and Argun (Russian troops only held the commandant’s office building).
According to Oleg Lukin, it was the defeat of Russian troops in Grozny that led to the signing of the Khasavyurt ceasefire agreements
In memory of Misha Dorozhkin who died in the Chechen war
Literary and musical composition
A geometric decoration is installed on the stage, a candle is burning, and fresh flowers are lying.
The metronome sounds. Against the background of a metronome Narrator's text:
“This war has no history yet. It's not written. We know about it exactly as much as it is not dangerous for us to know, so as not to see ourselves as we are. But this war has witnesses. Thousands of witnesses. They want to be heard before they are invented in such a way that they will be convenient and again needed by someone for something. They want to be needed by the truth.
The ringing of bells is a phonogram.
1 Presenter.
The ringing of a bell, Like a call, like an alarm, like a memory. We dedicate today's composition to Misha Dorozhkin, our fellow countryman who died in the Chechen war.
War is a cruel and terrible phenomenon
But as long as there is evil on earth,
There will be hatred, there will be wars,
Which inflict battle wounds on people,
Children and loved ones are taken away from their lives.
2 Presenter.
Russian people are characterized by love for their native land, where they were born and raised, for their beautiful Motherland. This love from time immemorial is manifested in their readiness to defend, without sparing their lives, their Fatherland. The Russian people live in the belief that a true man and a son of the Fatherland are one and the same. Patriotism is love for the Motherland, devotion to it, the desire to protect it from enemies, to serve its interests with one’s deeds - a great, wonderful feeling.
Lyrical melody.
an excerpt from a poem against the background of music
M. Plyatskovsky “Motherland”
“Motherland” - we say with excitement,
We see a distance without an edge in front of us
This is our childhood, our youth
This is all that fate will bring us,
Motherland! Holy Fatherland
Coppices, Groves, Barega
Golden wheat field
Moon-blue haystacks
Motherland! Land of fathers and grandfathers
We fell in love with these clovers
Having tasted the spring freshness
From the edge of a clinking bucket
It will hardly be forgotten
And will remain holy forever
The land that was called the Motherland
If we have to, we will protect with our hearts.
Against the background of music, a story about M. Dorozhkin.
For Misha, his homeland was the village, friends, sister Nadya, father Viktor Savelyevich, mother Valentina Mikhailovna.
What kind of guy was he?..
...An ordinary curly-haired, mischievous boy. Gathering his peers around him, he kicked a ball in the yard and played war with a toy machine gun.
He, born under the auspices of the sun, was given by nature to lead and do good deeds, so everyone who turned to his responsive heart always achieved what they wanted.
From the memories of fellow villagers, teachers, classmates, relatives, colleagues.
P.I. Krapchatova, distant relative of the Dorozhkin family:
“How do I remember? He answered kindly in kind. Wherever we meet, he will always stop and ask everything. Last summer, when I came on vacation, I said: “Aunt Paul, I’ll be back soon.” In May I was supposed to...
Childhood, youth, unforgettable years. Classmate Tatyana Milutina remembers a friend:
“I studied like all boys. He wasn't the first, but he wasn't the last either. He helped in any way he could, no, he laughed it off. I couldn't be rude. So energetic, cheerful, lively. He always encouraged us with his smile.”
Childhood friend Alexander Pakhomov speaks sadly about Misha:"Ordinary person. Whatever you ask for, it will break into pieces, but it will be done.”
“I studied to the best of my abilities,” says the director of the Ostrovskaya school, V.I. Skachkova. - however, what difference does it make, a good student or a bad one? He is our student, his mother's child. Each has its own flavor."
Briefly based on reviews from colleagues: “World guy” Everyone was there like one fist... Very young, unexploded. It’s a pity for the guy, because even one person is the whole world.
Dorozhkin Mikhail Viktorovich is a soldier who completely fulfilled his duty in this terrible, unfair, unnecessary war.
The good memory of him will forever remain in the hearts of all who knew him.
Misha died on February 24.
The parents learned about their son’s death only on the 28th. This terrible news instantly spread through the homes of fellow villagers and Misha, Mishenka, echoed acute pain in their hearts!
How little fate has given you in this world, just 19-something. Cruel, unfair. Where can I find words to drown out my mother’s pain and calm my father down?
(Next is the poem “Krovinushka - son”, a young man enters, approaches the portrait of M. Dorozhkin, lights a candle).
Little blood, son, you were stolen by the war
Little piece of grass, little leaf, how empty it is for me alone
Trouble croaked like a crow, like in a bad dream
She came to me with funeral paper
I desperately chased the damned crow
I cried my eyes out
And everything was waiting for you
You will come with a light gait
The overcoat is wide open
You'll come back alive, whole
With a smile on your lips
You will come, kissed by fire
With a combat award
Albeit bandaged
But still alive
Week after week
Year after year goes by
I'm tired of eating too much
Only pain lives in me
My son, little blood
So many years have passed
My leaf, blade of grass
You are still not there.
Poem “I was killed in the Chechen war”
I was a smart and lively boy
I was buzzing in the hallway with my friends
Got both A's and D's
But I loved my native school
Don't rush, wait guys
Talk quietly to me
And say: “What fun it was
And how young he is!”
Wait girls laugh
Look at this portrait
I just turned 19
And I’m no longer there, I’m just not there...
I saw this terrible war
I went into battle with a machine gun
So that no one here offends you!
So that no one kills you here
I would like to run across the football field
And meet a friend in the spring
I didn’t return from battle in winter
I was killed in the Chechen war
The mother is crying, grieving, suffering,
Over my early grave.
Yes, he sings in the spring, pouring out
Ostrovsky is our crazy nightingale
Visit your mother's apartment,
Visit my dear
So that she knows what about her son
Someone remembers in their native land
You too are sad over the grave
Bring wild flowers
To make me smell like my dear homeland
On my unearthly roads.
Misha was buried on March 3. The day turned out to be truly spring, the bright sun was shining, drops were ringing, birds were chirping.
How wonderful life is! And my heart is heavy. There is mourning in Ostrovskaya today. The whole village was in motion.
All young and old are moving in the same direction. And here is the house where Misha lived. And all around there are people, people, people, different - those who knew and did not know him.
A beautiful lifeless face with marks of shrapnel, the faces of mother, father, grandmother, sister, black with grief... flowers, wreaths, wreaths, wreaths.
In 2-3 minutes the guard of cadets from the Kamyshinki Military School, the leaders of the district, the village, and friends change. At 12 noon, to the sounds of a military orchestra, Misha leaves his home forever. Many hundreds of people see off Misha on his last journey.
Students take the stage with candles in their hands.
1st. I don't know why and who needs it
who sent them to death with an unshaking hand
just so useless, so evil and unnecessary
released them to eternal rest.
2nd. Cautious spectators silently wrapped themselves in fur coats
and some woman with a distorted face
kissed the dead man on his blue lips
and threw her wedding ring at the priest.
3rd. showered them with fir trees, kneaded them with mud
and went home to talk quietly,
that it's time to put an end to the disgrace,
that soon we will begin to starve
4th. And no one thought to just kneel
and tell these boys that in a mediocre country
even bright feats are just steps
into endless abysses in an incomprehensible war.
A girl wearing a black scarf comes on stage and reads a poem.
N. Nekrasova “Hearing the horrors of war.”
Listening to the horrors of war
With each new battle response
I feel sorry for neither my friend nor my wife,
I'm sorry not for the hero himself
Alas, the wife will be consoled
And the best friend will forget the friend
But there is only one soul in the world
She will remember until death
Among our peaceful affairs
And all sorts of vulgarity and prose
I saw some in the world
Holy, sincere tears
Those are the tears of our mothers
They won't forget their children
Those killed in the bloody field
How not to pick up a weeping willow
Of its drooping branches.
A minute of silence.
1st Presenter.
Russian soldiers returning from the Chechen war bring with them a renewed love for the Motherland. They to some extent returned to us the high concept of patriotism, courage, military and human duty.
Years will pass. Much will be forgotten over time. But there will remain poems and songs that tell about the strength of spirit and courage of the Russian people.
2nd Presenter.
Life is like a spiral going upward. Walk firmly on the ground, soldier, the path is not yet close. Walk harder, because your enemies want trials to knock you down more often. There will still be a lot of them on your way and you need to learn to overcome them. Step by step, and the kilometers run back. The soldier does not count how many of these kilometers have been covered. As long as it takes, as long as it takes.
M. Ischeim's song “No, son!”
Against the backdrop of Schumann's "Reverie" music, children leave fresh flowers on geometric decorations resembling exploding bullet casings. A girl in a black headscarf lowers herself onto a small dais (cube) next to the portrait of the deceased, remaining seated until the curtain closes.