The Nizhny Novgorod regional social-patriotic organization actively participates in the life of civil society. Key areas of activity implementation of social policy towards older people, strengthening the moral values of youth that underlie patriotism, as well as improving the quality of intellectual education of schoolchildren.
At the general meeting, issues regarding the nomination of delegates to the regional reporting and election conference of the Council of Veterans on behalf of the generation of war children and the candidate for the post of chairman of the Nizhny Novgorod Regional Council of Veterans were considered. As a result, the meeting approved as delegates the Chairman of the public organization "Children of War" Alexander Fedorovich Sherstnev and Party member A JUST RUSSIA, former commander of the 22nd Guards Army General Alexey Alekseevich Merkuryev .
Also, A.A.Merkuryev by unanimous decision of the meeting he was recommended for the post of chairman of the Nizhny Novgorod Regional Council of Veterans. The final protocol contains the statement that today in the Nizhny Novgorod region alternatives Alexey Merkuryev no for this position. The biography, life and military path of the Russian general convincingly indicate that the Council of Veterans of the Nizhny Novgorod Region will be headed by a principled, honest and fair person.
Biographical information:
Merkuryev Alexey Alekseevich
He graduated from the Kazan Higher Tank Command School in 1972, from the BTV SA Military Academy in 1980, and from the General Staff Academy of the USSR Armed Forces in 1991. Specialty: AT equipment operation engineer. Command and staff room.
1972 – 1975 commander of a platoon of a company of a company of military unit 61563, Brest.
1975 – 1977 – chief of staff of the battalion of military unit 52820, Slonim, Brest region.
1980 – 1982 – Chief of Staff of military unit 53526, Prishib, Republic of Azerbaijan.
1982 – 1986 – commander of military unit 52332, Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan.
1986 – 1987 – commander of the military unit 39486 in Kirovabad, Republic of Azerbaijan.
1987 – 1989 commander of military unit 52829, Havana, Republic of Cuba.
1991 – 1995 commander of military unit 52495 in Sortoval, Republic of Karelia.
1995 – 1996 – commander of peacekeeping forces in the zone of armed conflict in Tskhinvali, Republic of South Ossetia.
1996 – 1999 Chief of Staff of the 58th Combined Arms Army in Vladikavkaz.
1999 – 2006 Commander of the 22nd Guards Combined Arms Army in Nizhny Novgorod.
2006 – 2008 – Deputy Director of the Odessa Oil Refinery.
Since 2008, Chairman of the Board of the Life After War Foundation.
Lieutenant General.
Awarded the Order of the Red Star, Order of Military Merit, medal of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 2nd class, Order of the Republic of Cuba "Ernesto Che Guevara" 2nd class, 16 medals, personalized firearms (PM pistol).
Member of the Council of Veterans of the 22nd Guards Army, member of the Committee of the Nizhny Novgorod regional branch of the all-Russian public organization of veterans of the armed forces of the Russian Federation.
Honored Military Specialist of the Russian Federation.
On the seventh anniversary of the entry of Russian border guards into South Ossetia, the head of the Border Department of the FSB of the Russian Federation in the Republic of South Ossetia, Valery Merkuryev, told Sputnik about the situation on the republic’s border with Georgia, the interaction of the Border Department with the leadership of the republic and local authorities, and the conditions of service of Russian border guards.
— What is the situation on the state border of South Ossetia with Georgia? What can you say about the dynamics of violations in recent months? Who most often violates it and for what reasons?
— Currently, the situation on the state border is characterized as stable. Although quite recently the Georgian opposition took provocative actions to destabilize the situation on the state border, mainly in the Tskhinvali direction near the village of Artseu. The provocations were related to the work being carried out by the border authorities of South Ossetia and Russia to develop a firebreak along the state border with Georgia.
In the summer of last year, grass fires with fires crossing the state border were recorded in the Znaur and Tskhinvali directions. In this regard, together with the leadership of the Border Service of the State Security Committee of the Republic, a decision was made to carry out the above work in anticipation of the onset of hot weather. As far as I know, the Georgian side was informed in advance about the planned implementation of these works during meetings in the format of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism, or IPRM for short.
As for the dynamics of violations of legal regimes established on the state border of South Ossetia with Georgia, the analysis shows that their number in the 1st quarter of 2016, compared to the same period in 2015, decreased slightly. Violations are also predominantly of a domestic nature. At the same time, the border is more often violated by residents of Georgian border settlements.
— Does the border department carry out any work to prevent violations of the state border and border regime?
— The Border Department and the Border Service of the State Security Committee regularly work together with residents of border settlements in order to maintain South Ossetian border legislation and explain the rules of the border regime and the need to comply with them. We carry out this work in close cooperation with the heads of administrations of border regions and settlements, who, at our request, organize gatherings of citizens living in border villages.
In this regard, I would like to take the opportunity to thank the leadership of the republic, the KGB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the heads of administrations of border regions and settlements and, of course, our South Ossetian colleagues for their joint work and support for the border management in protecting and guarding the state border of South Ossetia.
— Many stores in the republic sell fruits and vegetables produced in Georgia. Could you tell us how these goods get to South Ossetia? How do Russian border guards control their movement across the state border? What measures, in your opinion, need to be taken to reduce or eliminate altogether the appearance of Georgian products in South Ossetia?
“I can assure you that these goods enter South Ossetia only in accordance with the procedure established by law, that is, through certain crossing points of the state border. We control the state border regime; attempts to illegally move goods across the state border outside the established crossing points are suppressed. As for the functioning of the border crossing points with Georgia, there are now four of them in the republic: two in Dzau “Peru” and “Sinagur”, one in Leningor “Razdahan” and one, recently opened, in the village of Khelchua in the Tskhinvali region. The procedure for their work is determined by a number of decrees of the government of the republic, and we are strictly guided by them when carrying out the passage of citizens and consumer goods transported by them for personal purposes.
Here I would like to note that, in accordance with the legislation of the republic, citizens who are allowed to travel to Georgia for humanitarian purposes have the right to carry cargo weighing no more than 50 kg per person for personal purposes. Thus, goods produced in Georgia end up in South Ossetia. In addition, issues related to the control of cargo as such are not within the competence of border guards. These are customs functions. Although we now have to partially fulfill them.
In my opinion, a measure that would help increase control over the transportation of Georgian goods would be the organization of the work of the customs authorities of South Ossetia at the points of intersection of the state border with Georgia. After all, the state border of the republic exists unilaterally, therefore, the issues of organizing customs control could be worked out in the same way.
— The border department has been in South Ossetia for seven years. During this time, all conditions were created for border guards and members of their families. How did this affect the service and life of employees?
- Yes you are right. Today, all conditions have been created for a comfortable life for border control officers and family members. In their free time, in addition to relaxing, border guards actively engage in sports, read books, and each unit has gyms and libraries.
The life of border guards is no different from the life of other people. The wives of employees who live with them, as a rule, are engaged in raising children and providing a reliable rear for their husbands. There are also entire families of border guards, in which the wives are also border guard servicemen. School-age children study in secondary schools in South Ossetia.
All this has a positive effect on official work, because if there is a reliable and secure rear, then the border guard does not have to think about anything other than the border security service.
— Could you briefly tell us about how the state border of South Ossetia with Georgia is guarded and what happens to violators after they are detained by your employees?
— In accordance with the Agreement between Russia and South Ossetia on joint efforts to protect the state border of the republic, the border department guards the state border together with the border service of the State Security Committee of the Republic of South Ossetia.
Based on the joint plans of the head of the border service and the head of the border department, border guards consisting of Russian and South Ossetian border guards are sent to guard the state border. The number of outfits depends on the current situation and time of year.
If we talk about procedural actions in relation to violators of the state border regime or border regime, then after the violators have been detained by Russian border guards, they are transferred in accordance with the legislation of South Ossetia to representatives of the Border Service of the State Security Committee for further proceedings.
— How are the relations between representatives of the Russian border service and the administration and population of border settlements?
— I would characterize the relations between border control officers and representatives of the administrations of border areas and settlements as fruitful. For example, the heads of units directly guarding the state border constantly maintain friendly and good neighborly relations with both the authorities and the residents of the settlements in which their units are located. In matters of ensuring border security and protecting the state border, you simply cannot do without their help. It’s not for nothing that they say: “The border is guarded by all the people!” We try to adhere to this professional wisdom in our activities. Therefore, any help from the local population in protecting the border is welcome.
Moreover, given the fact that the state border of South Ossetia is not marked on the ground, and technical means will never be able to completely replace humans. The help that residents of border villages often provide is truly invaluable. Violators have already been detained many times based on information from local residents.
In conclusion, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the employees of the Border Department, as well as those who, since 2009, in difficult conditions, have organized and carried out the border service to protect the borders of South Ossetia. We wish you peace on the border, family well-being and success in serving for the benefit of the Fatherland!
M Erkuryev Valerian Antonovich - artillery commander of the 399th Infantry Novozybkov Order of Suvorov 2nd degree division (42nd Rifle Corps, 48th Army, 1st Belorussian Front), colonel.
Born on January 21, 1907 in the village of Kosya, now Nizhneturinsky urban district, Sverdlovsk region. Russian.
I was left without parents early. He worked in an asbestos mine and in logging. Since October 1929 in the ranks of the Red Army. He graduated from the artillery department of the Kremlin United Military School named after the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. He served in the Far East. Participated in the battles near Lake Khasan.
On the fronts of the Great Patriotic War since 1942. He took part in hostilities on the Volkhov, North-Western, Steppe, Central, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Belorussian fronts. In battles he was wounded four times.
At the beginning of the war, he commanded the 294th artillery regiment of the 170th Ural Rifle Division. In battle on December 28, 1942, Lieutenant Colonel V.A. Merkuryev personally checked the installation of artillery batteries at firing positions. During the battle, he personally stood behind the gun and fired at the enemy.
On December 30, 1942, while adjusting battery fire, he achieved the destruction of the enemy resistance center. This allowed the rifle units to move far forward. For his actions he was nominated for the Order of the Red Banner. By order of the troops of the North-Western Front of January 27, 1943 No. 019/n he was awarded the Order of the Red Star.
On July 20, 1943, he was appointed to the post of artillery commander of the 399th Infantry Division, which received the honorary name “Novozybkovskaya” for its distinction in subsequent battles.
By December 1943, Colonel V.A. Merkuryev, commanding the division's artillery and assigned forces, showed himself to be a competent and brave officer. In battles he personally commanded artillery from an observation post. During the pursuit of the enemy, he was always in the combat formations of the troops, as a result of which the division’s artillery did not have a single lag behind the infantry. Thanks to timely artillery support, up to 200 settlements were liberated. Using improvised means, the artillerymen successfully crossed the Desna, Sozh, and Berezina rivers. When repelling one of the enemy’s attacks, the division’s artillery, under the personal command of Colonel V.A. Merkuryev, knocked out 8 tanks and destroyed up to a regiment of enemy infantry. By order of the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front of April 3, 1944 No. 037/n he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
In the battles from June 24 to June 30, 1944, to break through the enemy’s defenses in the area of the village of Kostyushevo (Rogachevsky district, Gomel region of Belarus), Colonel V.A. Merkuryev showed high results in carrying out assigned combat missions. The artillery led by him inflicted great damage on the enemy in manpower and equipment, clearing the passage for the infantry. As a result, the division's units advanced far forward, destroying and capturing several hundred enemy soldiers and officers. By order of the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front of August 8, 1944 No. 065/n, he was awarded the Order of Suvorov, 3rd degree.
Especially Colonel V.A. Merkuryev distinguished himself in early September 1944. On September 3, 1944, the 399th Infantry Division began an offensive by breaking through enemy defenses in the area of the village of Rynek (northwest of the city of Ostrow Mozowiecki, (Poland). Thanks to the correct and skillful placement of artillery weapons, specific assignment of tasks based on accurate reconnaissance, the fire system The enemy was immediately suppressed and upset.During the fire raid, 38 guns of various calibers with servants and 6 mortar batteries were destroyed.
On September 4, 1944, units of the division approached the Narew River. Colonel V.A. Merkuriev personally headed the leadership of the artillery crossing of the river. At 4 o'clock in the morning, he was the first to cross to the west bank with a battery of an anti-tank battalion and organized artillery cover for the crossing. I personally discovered a ford along which all the 45-mm and regimental artillery was transported.
On September 5, 1944, the enemy launched a counteroffensive. Colonel V.A. Merkuryev personally directed the fire of the artillery battery, as a result of which 15 tanks, 8 armored personnel carriers and 2 armored vehicles were destroyed. Personally destroyed the guns with fire, killing the entire crew, 4 tanks and 2 armored personnel carriers.
On the same day, during an organized artillery preparation, the barriers of six enemy tank divisions were overturned and the bridgehead was expanded by 3.5 - 4 kilometers. As a result of the successful operation of artillery under the leadership of Colonel V.A. Merkuryev caused great damage to the enemy in manpower and equipment.
U of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on November 18, 1944, for courage, bravery and heroism shown on the front of the fight against the Nazi invaders, Colonel Merkuryev Valerian Antonovich awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin (No. 23719) and the Gold Star medal (No. 4724).
On January 14, 1945, the division, in an offensive battle, began to break through the enemy's deeply layered defenses in the Glotkovo - Dzerzhanovo area (Poland). In the rapid advancement of units forward, artillery under the command of Colonel V.A. played a decisive role. Merkuryeva. Thanks to pre-conducted reconnaissance and detection of enemy fire weapons, during the offensive, artillery immediately suppressed and disrupted the entire enemy defense system.
With organized artillery preparation, our units fought 46 kilometers in four days, inflicting heavy damage on the enemy in manpower and equipment. During this time, 625 soldiers and officers, 30 machine guns, 6 cannons, 4 mortar batteries, 3 artillery batteries, 4 bunkers were destroyed, 2 tanks and 3 self-propelled guns were destroyed, and many trophies were captured. For his actions, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Colonel V.A. Merkuryev was awarded the Order of Kutuzov, 2nd degree.
After the war he continued to serve in the army. He was the commander of the artillery of the 49th Rifle Corps and the commander of the 5th Fighter Brigade of the 52nd Army of the Carpathian Military District (PrikVO).
During its existence, the Service has managed to establish not only business, but also warm friendly relations with everyone. Among the guests were veterans' organizations, heads and representatives of municipalities, urban settlements, the prosecutor of the Sretensky district, and the Sretensk and Nerchinsk Youth Unions sponsored by the detachment. Everyone had something to wish and something to say thank you for.
Today it seems unthinkable for the region to exist without the presence of military personnel on its territory. Their necessity and importance is confirmed by more than one page of history, including many heroic and glorious ones. And even though the Service is not located at the extreme borders of our country, the strategic tasks it performs cannot be overestimated. Militarist Japan, China, which at one time became unfriendly, and other threats asserted the right to the existence of border guards in Sretensky and neighboring areas. It should be noted that the Service in the village of Kokuy is the successor to previously existing military formations and has changed its name more than once over its long history, but the essence has remained unchanged - protecting the state border.
How it was? Based on the order of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, the formation of the 74th Shilkino border detachment of the NKVD troops began. The military commandant's office at that time was stationed on the territory of the Mogochinsky district in the village of Pokrovka. For the high vigilance, courage shown by the detachment’s border guards, and the detention of state border violators, on February 23, 1939, the detachment was awarded a red combat banner. On June 22, 1941, the detachment’s command received more than 400 notes and reports with a request to send them to the front, but not every such request was granted, because the threat to the country was not only on its western borders. In November 1942, 790 soldiers and officers of the Shilkinsky cavalry border detachment were included in the 106th Transbaikal Rifle Army, which managed to adequately defend the Motherland on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. In 1945, when the USSR became involved in hostilities against Japan, the Sretensky border guards also wrote their names in the chronicle of this victory. All units of the combat detachment were put on combat readiness and its forces liquidated two Japanese garrisons and three military groups in the rear. The heroic act of Mikhail Derevyanko and Pavel Nesovsky, who died a brave death in one of the battles with Japanese saboteurs, became a great feat. In September 1969, the border outpost where Derevianko served was named after him, and the hero himself was forever enlisted in the outpost’s personnel.
On July 19, 1950, the Red Banner Shilkinsky Cavalry Border Detachment was disbanded, but after the tragic events on Damansky Island in 1965, the country's leadership again took measures to strengthen the borders. And in April 1972, the detachment was restored with a location in the village of Nerchinsky Zavod. In September 1978, the detachment with a service and combat support unit was redeployed to the location of the village of Kokuy. It would seem that a peaceful and calm time had arrived, but this time did not last long - in 1979, the war broke out in Afghanistan... Again, “to the gun”, again in full combat readiness...
And so day after day, year after year, and in the near future century after century, the border detachment has proven and will continue to prove its necessity and relevance. 80 years is an old age for any person, but completely young for a military unit. As we have already noticed, many guests came to visit the detachment with congratulations. Among them, the presence of the head of the Border Department of the FSB of Russia for the Trans-Baikal Territory, Major General Valery Arsentievich Merkuryev, was especially honorable.
Comrade border guards, dear veterans! For eighty years, the border guards of Sretensk have served with honor on the Trans-Baikal border. The personnel have been entrusted with the most sacred thing - to protect Russia. This is, perhaps, the most priceless advantage of border guards. Their exploits echoed loudly through the pages of history. Your task is not to lose the honor of your predecessors and become an example for those who will serve after you. You have something to be proud of, someone to look up to. On your shoulders, along with your shoulder straps, lies the responsibility for the peaceful sleep of the peaceful citizens of our Motherland. Do everything in your power to ensure that the Russian border is under reliable protection. It is impossible not to remember the service veterans. Who else but them, who have studied all the intricacies of military affairs, can help a young employee in a difficult situation? Their experience is priceless, their advice is a storehouse of life wisdom. Everyday and painstaking work awaits you ahead. I am convinced that the illustrious team of the Service will cope with the assigned tasks. Border guards of Sretensk, continue to look up to the heroes, their readiness to defend every inch of their native land. Increase the military traditions of service, persistently master the skill. On my own behalf, from the leadership of the Russian border department for the Trans-Baikal Territory, I congratulate you on the 80th anniversary of the Red Banner Border Detachment! – the Major General addressed the heroes of the day with wishes of good health and all the best. He noted the important contribution of women - wives, mothers of military personnel, thanked everyone who interacts with the detachment, and expressed hope for the continuation and strengthening of such ties.
The ceremonial meeting was decorated with performances by military musical groups from the towns of Kokuy and the town of Priargunsk. As always, the performances from the song and dance ensemble of the Border Department of the Trans-Baikal Territory were enchanting. Children from art schools in the city of Sretensk and the town of Kokuy also contributed.
Well, what about without awards and encouragement? For the conscientious performance of official duties, diligence and diligence, employees of the now FSB were declared Gratitude, awarded titles one level higher than those stipulated by the state for personal merit, and were awarded certificates. We are sure that the number of those awarded could have been much larger, but everything has its time and awards will find their heroes, if not today, then definitely tomorrow.
For our part, we once again want to note that border guards are the shield of our state, the threat of all enemies. You stand at your post all the time, tirelessly and sleeplessly, defending our Motherland. We call you heroes, because only you the country trusts and hopes for. May good luck favor you every day, may your children laugh. May there always be prosperity in your home, and may the sun shine in a peaceful sky, warming you with its rays. Strive for your goals with dignity, avoid crooked paths, follow the right path you have chosen.
Prior to this, for six and a half years, Merkuryev served in Sochi, as deputy head of the Black Sea-Azov Border Department. And even earlier he served in the city of Volzhsky as chief of staff of the 38th border detachment, then first deputy head of the border department of the FSB of Russia for the Volgograd region.
“Therefore, this direction is not new for me,” explains Valery Arsentievich, “the section of the border is familiar.” Many employees who were familiar from their previous service there also remained in the department.
The situation on the border section over the past six and a half years, according to Merkuryev, has not changed significantly, there are no aggravations in it. Although there are issues that need to be worked on. They are determined, first of all, by the socio-economic situation of the border regions of both Russia and Kazakhstan. An analysis of the offenses that occurred on the border section in the first three months of this year shows that they are, as a rule, related to economic and domestic issues. Often this is just grazing of livestock that crosses the state border uncontrollably. Livestock owners, in this regard, are also forced to cross the border, thus becoming violators themselves.
In order to prevent such facts, explanatory conversations are regularly held with residents of border areas. However, in the coming period, experts predict a slight increase in the number of such violations due to the usual spring transfer of livestock from camps to pastures.
Valery Arsentievich also provided specific figures. Thus, over the past three months of this year, border control units guarding the state border have identified and detained twenty violators. Nineteen of these twenty cases are related to violations of the border crossing procedure, and another one is related to violation of the procedure for conducting business activities. Criminal cases were initiated against two violators, and fifteen more were fined in the amount of about forty thousand rubles. Twenty-five border violators were detained by border guards during the same period. The sanctions against them were less stringent; punishments were limited to fines in the amount of about four and a half thousand rubles. Forty-two thousand people were allowed through the section of the state border, thirteen thousand of whom were foreign citizens, as well as seven and a half thousand vehicles, including two and a half thousand foreign ones.
During checks of citizens intending to leave for Kazakhstan, seventy people were identified as having invalid documents, and another twenty had their right to leave Russia at the time of the check turned out to be temporarily limited.
More than fifty Russian citizens were not allowed to cross the border for various legal reasons.
Fifteen foreign citizens, in accordance with Russian legislation, were denied the right to enter the Russian Federation by border guards.
All checkpoints across the state border are equipped with telephones, through which you can always quickly understand the problems that citizens have when crossing it. Including the opportunity to seek advice directly from the management of the border department and its other officials.
There is no need to talk about the presence on the border section of stable channels for the transfer of drugs, weapons, and means of sabotage into the territory of the Russian Federation, as Major General Merkuryev assured us. Its peculiarity, which creates certain difficulties in protecting the state border, is the low population of the border territories. After all, local residents living near the state border, as a rule, actively assist border guards in protecting it.
Nevertheless, the border guards of the Volgograd region are well supported by the Cossack squads and voluntary people's squads created in the border areas.