Military unit 27210 Dagestan 2004. 77th Brigade Brigade.1 part.

Military unit 27210 Dagestan 2004. 77th Brigade Brigade.2 part.

The fate of the 77th Separate Guards Moscow-Chernigov Order of Lenin, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov 2nd Degree Marine Brigade repeated in all its twists and turns the soldier’s difficult path of the Army of our Motherland. In the fire of the July battles for Moscow in 1941, the militias of the Kyiv region of the capital joined the truly popular 21st division. Moreover, the fighting spirit and training of those heirs of the warriors Pozharsky and Minin turned out to be so high that in September the 173rd rifle division was created on the basis of the militia formation. For successful battles to destroy enemy troops near Stalingrad on March 1, 1943, they became the 77th Guards Rifle Division. Chernigov and Kovel, Warsaw and Magdeburg - the military path of the guards was glorious, many of them laid down their lives on the battlefields. 18 thousand soldiers of the division were awarded orders and medals, 68 were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The formation included both the “Company of Heroes of the Soviet Union” and the “Battalion of Knights of the Order of Glory.” After the war, the unit stood guard over the Fatherland with honor. In 1994, the 163rd separate marine brigade of the Northern Fleet was formed on its base. But in 1996 the connection was disbanded.

Clouds were gathering over the gray peaks of the Caucasus. After the shameful retreat of 1996, the Russian military silently, with pain, swallowed the bitterness of defeat, without words they endured the pain of unavenged losses. But just like their ancestors from the Caucasian corps, with natural Russian patience, prepared for the upcoming battle. It became too late to judge what they managed to do and what they didn’t manage to do at the beginning of August 1999. A stream of thousands and thousands of motley militants, excellently trained, armed and equipped, flowed through the mountain “gate” and with fiery and merciless lava began to sweep away all living things from its path.

Once again, as in 1941, as if out of oblivion, Russian soldiers “made of iron and steel” stood in the way of the enemies.

On December 1, the 77th Separate Guards Moscow-Chernigov Order of Lenin, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov 2nd Class Marine Brigade of the Caspian Flotilla was revived. By that time, the “black berets” were already waging their battle, holding their line of defense invisible in the mountains. In 1999, from a separate company, the marine infantry of the Caspian Flotilla was urgently deployed to a full-fledged brigade. Such a rush was far from accidental. After the departure of federal troops from Chechnya, the mountainous republic finally turned into a territory not subject to laws, where they dreamed of creating the notorious Ichkeria - “from sea to sea.” In the Russian air North Caucasus There was already a threat of military conflict. A young lieutenant, a platoon commander from a marine regiment of the Black Sea Fleet, was on a business trip in Kaspiysk for several months. What did you do? We established the organization of service, built barracks, settled in, trained, conducted classes…. In a word, they created a truly powerful organism of units of constant combat readiness.

The old-timers, the Caspians, were quietly cursing. In 1994, shortly after the redeployment of ships and flotilla forces from Baku near Astrakhan, in the village of Novolesnoy, they recreated the 725th battalion of “black berets”. Then, through the pain of being cut alive, the full-blooded unit was reduced to a company. Soon the following truth became clear. In the troubled region of Russia, there are simply no “extra” battalions and “first strike” regiments capable of stopping the separatists in nature. And the company had to be turned into a brigade in the shortest possible time. Marine paratroopers arrived in Kaspiysk from all fleets, including the Black Sea.

Attention to the part was shown at the highest level. The chief visited the brigade General Staff Army General Anatoly Kvashnin of the Russian Armed Forces. Ordinary Marines, of course, did not know where, after his inspection, the funds were found for the construction of barracks and for the excellent decoration of the premises. The then commander of the Caspian Flotilla, Vice Admiral Vladimir Masorin, worked in the brigade, of course, more often than the high Moscow authorities.

The heat of the Caspian region drove us almost to madness. No matter how much water you drank, it immediately came out in streams of sweat. Those who tried to quench their incredible thirst with ice water risked contracting pneumonia. And there were few people willing to drink the boiling water recommended by doctors when the temperature in the shade rose above forty degrees. The Marines, either someone suggested it or they guessed it themselves, came up with one “recipe” from the soldier’s survival school. On the shores of the Caspian Sea, among the endless beaches, there was a small, wave-polished, pellet pebble. And, when the thirst was no longer bearable, it was placed under the tongue. Oddly enough, such a remedy helped to last until the evening, until the temperature subsided a little. And there was no refreshing breeze from the sea.

For some officers and warrant officers, acclimatization came with “side effects”: blood pressure increased and temperature rose. Andrei, being a strong-willed man, tolerated his new climate quite tolerably. He also joked. They say that the “striped devil” must fight at all latitudes where he is ordered.

At the beginning of August 1999, gangs invaded Dagestan because of the Terek. The small town was filled almost overnight with thousands of soldiers and officers. Up to 26 “aircraft” with airborne paratroopers, motorized riflemen, reconnaissance officers, special forces, with equipment, weapons and equipment arrived at the airfield nearby. Local residents took up arms. A militia was created. The Dagestanis, although united by blood ties with the conquerors, treated the Chechen thugs with hatred.

There, in their mountains, they live only by robberies, robbery, ransoms for prisoners, and murders. But let them just try to establish their own rules with us. “The indignation of the militia was sincere.

Black Sea lieutenant Klyuev, together with his platoon, almost immediately entered the checkpoint. Several months passed in patrols, on guard and on duty. That same year he was not destined to meet the enemy in battle. The reconnaissance group of the namesake and Lieutenant Andrei Klyuev was ambushed. Not a single scout was left alive... The sad news was broadcast on ORT, and someone mistakenly reported it to Sevastopol.

At his own wake, Andrei drank “front-line hundred grams” for the blessed memory of another Andrei, another lieutenant Klyuev.

The tragic story with the newspaper error had its final point. In May 2000, in Chechnya, comrades showed a newspaper of the Caspian Flotilla, where they published... an obituary with his portrait. Something was mixed up in the footage again, a photograph was sent to the newspaper from the wrong personal file of the namesake, the deceased intelligence officer. Andrei, of course, did not keep that newspaper issue. And it's not a matter of superstition. He was then barely 22 years old, he wanted to live - for himself. And for that Andrey.

But first we had to fight for two.

You know, Andrey, that’s what they say about lucky people in Rus'. Like, they were born wearing a shirt. But your “shirt” looks like it’s made from parachute silk. - The senior warrant officer, parachute jumping instructor, has seen everyone during his years of service. But as a cadet at the Ryazan Military Institute of Airborne Forces, Klyuev managed to get out of most dangerous situation– I saw it for the first time.

An absurd accident. During the landing, the parachute line got caught on the equipment. And the dome could not be filled with saving air currents. Andrei almost fell headfirst to the ground like a stone. They say that in the face of mortal danger, pictures of his life flash through a person’s memory. May be…. But in that rapid fall for Andrey, the whole world concentrated on the edge of the knife - the sling cutter. He twisted like a snake, reaching the sling, an obstacle to further life. The piece of nylon rope was completely indifferent to the fate of a man named Klyuev. The soulless tackle did not care at all about his fate - the son of a submarine officer, a great athlete - an athlete and hand-to-hand fighter, who even had a tattoo “For the Airborne Forces” on the edge of his palm, the father of a baby daughter.

How he reached the sling still remains a mystery to Andrey. The joy of staying alive did not in the least diminish the pain in the twisted joints. Certainly, “if only there were bones, the meat would grow”!

Luck, luck, lucky star, some kind of “conspiracy” or talisman-amulet? Now, for some reason, Captain Klyuev has identified one very conditional explanation for himself. We must live with faith in our hearts. And it doesn’t matter what this faith is in - in God, in oneself. There, in Chechnya, when his thin thread of his life’s path could have been cut off more than once or twice by a bullet, a stray shrapnel, or the explosion of a tripwire mine, he believed in his mother, in his sister, in his daughter. "And this faith from the death of me dark night kept."

Two weeks before his second return to Sevastopol, Andrei got into a real mess and was on the verge of death. In the mountains, the lieutenant was literally squeezed between our tank and an armored personnel carrier. “Escaped” with a leg injury. Although….

It wasn’t a shame to remain unharmed in dozens of reconnaissance missions. And I almost went “with a load of 200” thanks to the “courtesy” of our own tank,” I ask the company commander of the airborne assault battalion.

Andrey was silent for a while, thinking about something of his own.

In war, death awaits a soldier not only from the enemy. Being in an extreme combat zone is dangerous in itself. Here, a truly satanic force of combat metal and explosives is concentrated in a relatively small space. Armored vehicles and vehicles are being used to the limit of their design capabilities, and the number of accidents is growing. And, as a result, people die and are injured - in war, but not in direct combat. Constant violation of sanitary standards of peaceful life leads to the emergence of forgotten diseases. One morning, the platoon commander discovered that he had a “beast” well known to many front-line soldiers - a louse. To begin with, I lit a blowtorch and burned out the infection. Then, I built a platoon. And, not particularly shy in his expressions, he said to his Marines: here are two blowtorches for you. God forbid, the next day at least someone finds an insect - he himself will envy its fate...

During the entire time I was in Chechnya, I saw the enemy only a few times. Stupid, is he a “Czech” to shine? Like, here I am, shoot! And all the time, the unattractive soldier’s work, exhausting all his strength, routine everyday life, and worries about a more or less tolerable existence occupied him to the limit. After the business trip, we all returned to the regiment skin to bone. During the medical examination I was weighed. With his own height of 177 centimeters, he “pulled” as much as fifty-odd kilos. After all, when you go to the mountains, you are carrying more than half a hundredweight. And if the question arises of what to take with you, food or ammunition, then the alternative is not considered.

Ammunition in a hostile environment is more valuable to a scout than all the gold in the world. The unpretentious heirs of the legendary Plastuns will be able to survive on pasture. The same snake meat for a hungry paratrooper tastes no different from the most tender chicken. And hunting may well please you with successful prey. At the Andean Pass we had to live for several days on a decoction of rose hips; there was no food supply due to bad weather. The only exception was that the scouts tried not to collect or eat mushrooms in the mountains. But only a madman can hope to “find” zinc and ammunition in the formidable rocks. Ammunition here was obtained only in battle. So they mercilessly swapped canned goods with cartridges in the “unloading” and duffel bags.

I don’t care about fat, I wish I could live.

After the war, Andrei returned to service and life without explosions and shots for a long time. Sometimes, it was simply a careless word or question from others, without a negative connotation, that hurt - about the army, about why our troops are in the mountainous republic. After all, those who have not experienced the feeling of every second danger of those who are used to walking tensely, looking at their feet to see if there is a stretch mark, cannot understand. The time before and after the war was divided into two incomparable halves for the young officer.

The Marine Corps regiment is combat not only for its “regular” purpose. The “Black Berets” have walked the fiery roads of many conflicts. Lieutenant Colonels Alexey Zezyulya (he was recently awarded the rank of colonel) and Andrey Maklashev, whose officer youth was spent in Afghanistan, served in the unit.

They were lieutenants different wars. And, sometimes, the crucible of their battles cannot be compared. In Afghanistan and Chechnya, the army solved largely different problems in completely different conditions. Only…. “Funerals” with painfully similar words came to Russia from the Caucasus and the Hindu Kush, from the Pandshir Valley and the Andean Pass:

“Your son (husband, brother) died while fulfilling his international duty (while restoring constitutional order).”

Lieutenant Zezyulya fought as a platoon commander in Afghanistan, in a regiment commanded by the legendary Lev Rokhlin. He experienced much, much of the “post-war syndrome” through the prism of his own pain and feelings. For the “Chechen” Klyuev, the experienced officer found both the time and the mental strength to explain: for you, Andrey, the war is over. We must live, serve, think about the prospect of “stellar” growth. Combat episodes in the service record today will surprise few people in Russian army. And if you don’t strive to make an officer’s career, then why did you enter a military school or institute? Wouldn't it be easier to serve as a warrant officer or contract sergeant? Therefore, Andrey, control yourself, manage the service as it should be. But NEVER forget those sleepless nights on the passes, slimy with soldiers’ blood.

Test to the limit

From the memoirs of officer Alexander Gorin.

When in July 1999, Lieutenant Alexander Gorin learned of his appointment to the Marine Corps of the Caspian Flotilla, he felt as if a stone had been lifted from his soul. At my previous duty station I had to do more painting and unloading work. For a graduate of the “Black Berets” platoon of the St. Petersburg General Military School, such economic activity was real hard labor. “Buyers” from an even larger unit that existed on paper promised, under good living conditions, and service to the limit of human capabilities.

“But this suits me, a test to the limit,” thought Sasha and submitted a report, as expected, for a transfer to a new place of application of his, as he believed, exhaustive knowledge of an officer - a naval paratrooper.

Major Vyacheslav Andrianov, commander of the 414th separate marine battalion, kept a tight rein on his officers and taught them conscientiously. All individual training was practiced by platoon and company officers along with the sailors. Only lieutenants were obliged to do all this head and shoulders above their subordinates. Anrianov instilled in them that you are an example in everything for your subordinates. Even your appearance, your way of controlling the sailors. You have no right to appear in front of your subordinates in a bad mood, with a sad expression on your face, or with eyes red from lack of sleep. If you feel bad, it is better not to show yourself in front of the sailors and sergeants. In their eyes, the commander must look confident, cheerful and tireless, arouse admiration - they say, our platoon leader must be strong.

In the fall, the Caspian landing force went to Chechnya. The platoon commander received command of two dozen Marines, a signalman with a bulky walkie-talkie and a communications call sign - “Raven”. Then he did not yet know that he would have to fly on his own two feet on the non-air line Chechen-aul, Shali, Andisky Pass - Andisky Gate, Tsa-Vedeno, Beno-Vedeno, Kharachoy, Agishbatoy...

The work was very difficult, at the limit of physical survival. He who sleeps a lot lives little. At night, from mortal fatigue, the soldiers used to fall asleep in their positions. They were taught cruelly, they sneaked up unnoticed, threw a bag over their head and left them tied for a day. Then, neither alive nor dead from fear, the sailor greedily swallowed air to the laughter of his comrades and was immensely glad that he remained alive.

At the Andean Pass, Gorin experienced hunger like everyone else. After all, they took with them only enough dry food for three days; they couldn’t take it away anymore. And we sat in the chilly wind and snow for a month. The helicopter pilots refused to go up to the level of 2500 meters - the crews did not have the necessary permits to fly at such altitudes. At first, the “black berets” melted the snow from the mountain slopes. The water turned out to be distilled, so much so that it was impossible to drink; it had to be added with salt. Here, on the free summer pastures, not a single tree grew, not even such a mountain dweller as juniper could survive. Only here and there rose hips grew. To prevent scurvy, they drank its decoction. We must pay tribute to the doctors; they provided the Marines with pills with vitamins. Dry dung served as fuel in these parts. Down in the villages, we managed to buy some of it. Then, when the stomach began to stick to the spine, we decided to start looking for food.

In the mountain shepherds, according to custom, local shepherds left small supplies for random travelers just in case. They prepared for the exits as if for a combat operation. One platoon commander and ten marines with full equipment went on the search. The second officer remained in position. With luck, two platoons will survive for several days on such “pasture” food. Then the next group of mountain marines goes on the “hunt”. So we survived for a month. Then the passes opened and food was brought in.

Dirt, sweat, unsanitary conditions. This is the other and, it seems, the real side of any war. The eternal soldier's companion, the louse, appeared on everyone almost simultaneously. Later, when they began to organize life in the company household, light prefabricated bathhouses made from shell boxes appeared. Petty Officer Senior Sergeant, contract soldier, with an easy-to-remember surname Krymsky, villager from somewhere in the Siberian outback, he even acquired a farmstead with the inevitable turkeys and sheep. However, the sergeant-major had a combative character and felt very confident when going on missions and in reconnaissance searches. And he conscientiously handled dinners and baths for his colleagues. Alexander spent almost a year with his guys on two missions to the war. Twelve months of combat were less like a parade or a victory march to the sounds of a regimental orchestra.

Shootings, short and fleeting skirmishes. Such an unromantic war went to the lieutenant. Yes, and to the devil of a romantic, the task would be completed, but people would not be lost. And then we’ll remember about glory and orders when we return.

During the year of the war, not a single marine paratrooper of Lieutenant Gorin was killed or seriously wounded. The commander's luck never became a traitor for Alexander.

One day, after another “unpresentable” shootout, we came across the body of a militant in the bushes. Then we sweated a lot when, under fire and on the ground slippery from recent rains, we dragged the “find” to our stronghold. They searched as expected and found one identification card of a people's representative and two notebooks. The first contains telephone numbers and addresses of representatives of the fair sex throughout Russia. In the second, poems in English. Who it was, where it came from, how it ended up on the path of the heirs of the legendary Plastuns, one can only guess. The “prey” was then taken over by intelligence pros.

In war, a lieutenant is the very workhorse of an officer, bearing the entire unsightly burden of military work. And Sasha didn’t ask unnecessary questions there. Incomprehensible events were happening all around. Just yesterday he was shooting at the “Czechs”. And today the first amnesty is being announced. A column of bearded fighters for the freedom of Ichkeria drove past his checkpoint. Alexander looked into the UAZ; their commander was sitting there, accompanied by an FSB officer. For the rest of your life, you will remember the coldly polite smile of the militant who did not kill you yesterday. Then some of the amnestied were seen in the villages in police uniform. Politics is not for a soldier to judge.

Lieutenant of a war without a front line

From the memoirs of Guard Major Pyotr Pinchuk

When the due date of the first contract after Major Peter Pinchuk’s college expired, he first seriously thought about his life’s path, about the right choice, quite recently. Five years of officer service flew by like one day. Although, if you tell everything how it all happened, just a day will not be enough.

Then, in the summer of 2002, the Guards Marine Brigade of the Caspian Flotilla was expecting a large replacement of lieutenants. The time had come for some of the platoon commanders to take over the companies, for others to be written off “outright” for health reasons - the “black berets” had already been irrigating the mountain slopes of the North Caucasus for three years with the blood of others and their own. The explosion at the parade in Kaspiysk in honor of Victory Day - vile, outside the laws of war and morality - added vacancies to the lists of officers of the combat brigade. In a word, take over the platoon, lieutenant, whose sergeant is in command.

Life and service do not stop for a moment. The fallen, as expected, will be remembered by friends, the wounded and sick will be sent to the hospital. Those who want a promotion, a course or an academy, will be told good words as a parting word. Hide the pain of loss deep in your heart, you have to do your job, which no one will do for you.

lists of military personnel, children and civilians killed in Kaspiysk as a result of the terrorist attack on May 9, 2002.

List of dead military personnel:

1. Kravchenko Alexander Anatolyevich, born in 1969, lieutenant colonel, head of the operations department, deputy chief of staff.

2. Shkarpitko Valery Anatolyevich, born in 1970, lieutenant colonel, chief of artillery.

3. Nazvanov Vyacheslav Alekseevich, born in 1970, lieutenant colonel, head of OOMIK, deputy chief of staff.

4. Zhuravlev Alexey Alexandrovich, born in 1976, senior lieutenant, commander of the 2nd RDR military unit 20339.

5. Mikheev Andrey Sergeevich, born in 1978, senior Lieutenant, assistant brigade commander for FER.

6. Bass Sergey Vasilievich, born in 1977, senior Lieutenant, Assistant Chief of the Food Service.

7. Romanov Maxim Valentinovich, born in 1978, lieutenant, FER assistant, military unit 20339.

8. Vyazmetinov Alexey Sergeevich, born in 1978, senior lieutenant, deputy head of the financial service.

9. Magomedov Makhmud Magomedovich, born in 1979, lieutenant, deputy company commander for educational work military unit 95152.

10. Khasbulatov Khasbulat Janilovich, born in 1962, lieutenant, chief of a combat unit.

11. Bokhan Sergey Anatolyevich, born in 1970, senior warrant officer, medical technician companies.

12. Pavel Borisovich Goryaev, born in 1981, sailor, musician, military unit 27210.

13. Aliev Shamil Magomedovich, born in 1963, contract sergeant, soloist of military unit 27210.

14. Magomedov Ibragim Ramazanovich, born in 1964, sergeant of the military unit 27210, soloist of the orchestra.

15. Trosnyansky Denis Yurievich, born in 1982, sailor, soloist of military unit 27210.

16. Ivan Vladimirovich Maksimovsky, born in 1980, sailor, musician, military unit 27210.

17. Rychin Alexander Viktorovich, born in 1981, sergeant, soloist of the orchestra of military unit 27210.

18. Chizhikov Nikolay Mikhailovich, born in 1963, major.

19. Temirov Denis Yakovlevich, born in 1982, sailor, orchestra musician.

20. Bogitov Vladimir Gennadievich.

Alexander Ivliev February 15, 2009 at 7:49 pm

List of civilian deaths:

1. Saniyat Gebekovna Ibragimova, born in 1988, secondary school #1, 8th grade.

2. Abdulmanapov Gusein Kamaludinovich, born in 1987, secondary school #1, grade 7-1.

3. Guseev Kamil Abdurakhmanovich, born in 1987, secondary school #6, 9th grade.

4. Amir Sagidovich Magomedov, born in 1958, Dagdizel plant, workshop #1, turner.

5. Kurbanaliev Zavir Shakhlarovich, born in 1988, secondary school #1, 7th grade.

6. Magomedov Shali Abdulgamidovich, born in 1988, secondary school #1, 8th grade.

7. Balabekov Zaur, born in 1992, secondary school #1, 3rd grade.

8. Balabekov Arthur, born in 1996, d/s #28.

9. Ali Babaev, born in 1990, secondary school #1, 6th grade.

10. Sagidov Kurban Akhmedovich, ZTM worker.

11. Telman Kamilovich Magamderov, born in 1958, worker at the Dagdizel plant.

Alexander Ivliev February 15, 2009 at 7:49 pm

12. Ramazan Rabadanov, born in 1986, secondary school #1 (orphanage).

13. Shmelev Valery Viktorovich, 28 years old, worked in Makhachkala.

14. Kravchenko Anton, born in 1990

15. Murtuzaliev Rashid Murtuzovich, born in 1990, gymnasium, 5th grade.

16. Balauglanov Fekret Omarovich.

17. Kurbanov Kurban Abdulmedzhidovich, born in 1984

18. Gadzhimuradova Shirin Mutalimovna, born in 1940, pensioner.

19. Mustafaev Magomed-Said Akhmedovich, 69 years old, pensioner.

20. Gabibov Ramazan, secondary school #1.

21. Magomed Abduragimov, born in 1987, secondary school #4.

Voronezh residents said goodbye to their fellow countryman
2002/13/05 | 15:40
Vladimir Foshenko (staff correspondent in Voronezh)
Today Voronezh residents said goodbye to their fellow countryman Alexander Rychin, a sergeant of the Marine Corps of the 77th Guards Brigade, who took part in the Victory Parade on May 9 in Kaspiysk. Our correspondent Vladimir Foshenko reports from Voronezh.

Alexander Rychin graduated from school No. 22 in Voronezh, and therefore the farewell civil service took place here. His classmates and teachers still remember him well. This is how he remained in the memory of school director Valentina Petrovna Latynina.

LATYNINA: Alexander studied diligently and conscientiously. And today the whole class organized the funeral of their friend, who could lend his shoulder in the most difficult moment. These are not just words today, because he died, these are words that he really deserves. Apparently, the foundation of decency was laid in the family, which became the main feature of this person.

On May 9th was his last solemn march among his colleagues. There was already a ticket for the evening train in my pocket. He left the army and went home. And suddenly this nightmare, which his colleague Alexander Kuzmin recalls.

KUZMIN: Of course, at first everything was incomprehensible, it felt like there was a wave that had already moved us from our place. Then there was the explosion itself. Sasha, as I know him, he was always a friendly person, he always helped in any way he could.

Guard Sergeant Alexander Rychin was buried today on the Alley of Heroes of the Voronezh city cemetery. After the explosion in Kaspiysk, only three guys from the group survived, one could not save his leg, it was amputated.... he played the drums..

There, in the mountains of Chechnya, there is a permanent “mountain-naval” battalion. Here, in the Caspian Sea, combat training is constantly taking place, as intended by the forces of the first attack. For the fight against bandits, the naval paratroopers receive honor and glory and awards on their chests. And all sections on Marine Corps tactics will have to be reported at the highest level. Loading and unloading of armored vehicles onto landing ships on an air cushion, combat landing on an unequipped coast and hundreds of other “fads”, without which a marine paratrooper is an ordinary infantryman.

During the first year, Lieutenant Pyotr Pinchuk unmistakably, from his own experience, learned to distinguish between the Jeyran and Kalmar type DKVP, and took part in several exercises. Or, as older and experienced comrades said, he underwent complete acclimatization. In the spring of 2003, it was his turn to go to replace the amphibious assault companies straddling the mountain passes. Everything looked extremely ordinary. First they brought the order, then the required 24 days of intensive combat training for 10-12 hours, day and night.

It’s a pristine region, the southeast of Chechnya... Mountains, forests, incredibly sticky mud. In the east there is a border with Dagestan, in the south – with Georgia. Thousands of invisible paths lead from here in all directions. If desired, an entire army can easily hide here. And several thousand trained in all the rules of sabotage militant art will be able to fight against federal forces that are many times superior.

The reality was much more prosaic than historical miniatures. At first, the first thing we did was take over the situation from our predecessors. Lieutenant Pinchuk, as the commander of a grenade launcher and machine gun platoon, determined his crews for all outposts and strong points. Another platoon commander was assigned to be his partner - Lieutenant Valerik Suleymanov, yesterday’s graduate of a civil institute. The command immediately warned that yesterday’s student was not a timid guy, but his officer training was clearly weak. In a word, teach a lieutenant, another lieutenant. So they harnessed themselves to one team. The nights were divided in half, one resting, the other checking posts. And the next morning, grueling combat work began.

The brotherhood of lieutenants in war is outwardly discreet, here they provided backup in the service, here they helped in battle. They were strong friends, cemented by the same danger for all. His friends, Evgeny Zhigun, Evgeny Baranov, Dmitry Gavrilenko, Vitaly Tregubov, have long been majors and captains. Doctor, Alexander Datsuk, they still joked about him - they say, Sasha, with your heroic build, you should have joined the special forces, and not the aesculapians, now in the postgraduate course of the military medical academy in St. Petersburg.

Military labor is devoid of external effect; the fumes of gunpowder in war are more than overcome by the smell of soldiers' sweat. Columns of equipment could not be sent without engineering reconnaissance. Tanks, cars, and armored personnel carriers move slowly behind the Marines on foot. The black beret's gaze is fixed, he catches all the little things - either a thin blade of grass lies on the road, or a remote control wire for a landmine. Fifteen kilometers one way at the limit of attention, fifteen kilometers back. Every moment the forest can shoot out the fire of a hidden ambush. To prevent attacks, the Caspian paratroopers themselves combed trails, gorges, thickets, and mountain slopes in search of enemy “entrenchments” and positions for a surprise attack. I can’t count how many miles have been covered like this.

The commander of the engineering platoon, Lieutenant Alexander Sannikov, sometimes complained. Mine detectors are designed to search for hidden death at depths of up to 20-30 centimeters. They say more advanced equipment has been developed. Where is it? By the time they find the money and order it into production for the army, we will still lose so many people. Sasha came up with a simpler way to increase the “sensitivity” of the technique. Nearby, police brought with them sniffer dogs trained to sniff out explosives. The sapper, through great connections and for a universal “present,” begged a puppy from a shepherd dog trained in the intricacies of cynology. But I just didn’t have time to raise and train him. The militants started a real hunt for him. Sannikov and his sapper were blown up on one of the radio-controlled booby traps.

The last point in the fate of the lieutenant and the sailor turned out to be one between them.

We have already started to settle down in our own way. The benefit of the forest - magnificent beech - was in abundance. A Marine, originally from the Russian North, used materials at hand that grew in abundance here and lined the inside of dugouts and a steam room in a makeshift bathhouse with poles. We learned to cook in the field kitchens so well that guests from neighboring units were kindly envious. Why be jealous? Everything turned out just like in that joke, just tea leaves for good tea no need to feel sorry.

The war here goes on without a front line, on patience and attentiveness, on military happiness. The militants sent groups of experienced demolitions against the Caspians. And they knew their business. You shouldn't rely too much on technology. The same equipment for suppressing the signal to detonate a radio-controlled landmine is very capricious, in field conditions often crashes. One of the lightly armored tractors, equipped with similar equipment, was the first to be blown up by such a mine. The explosion tore off the tower, and the driver, sailor Podsosov, was thrown many meters to the side by the blast wave. The guy was burned beyond recognition and died hard. It's a shame, because back in school they talked about the latest development, a thermal protective suit for tank crews that can withstand colossal temperatures. They will never reach the troops. Later, the Marines will build a small monument with their own hands.

And so the year of a quiet war ended, where in response to the explosion and death of comrades there was no answer with a machine gun burst - there was only a forest around a green wall. The time has come for a replacement. Then another life began. All the required vacations added up, it turned out to be almost five months. First of all, I went to my homeland, to the Amur region. The father, by that time he was already the deputy head of the district administration, was worried about his son. He’s not even twenty-five yet, but Peter’s hair is already gray. Lieutenants in war grow up early, white snow covered Peter’s head after a soldier lost his leg before his eyes...

After the vacation, other trials began for him and his friends. Many young officers were promoted. One of my friends couldn’t stand it and started drinking. Others turned to civilian life when their contract expired. An officer, a Marine, with combat experience is in demand in the security service of any company. Pyotr Pinchuk served in Kaspiysk for some time. Then, overnight, the command decided, you, comrade senior lieutenant, have been too long in the platoon, have overripe in your primary position, it’s time to get a taste of real responsibility. In a word, take over the company in a separate battalion, but in Astrakhan.

I have nothing to complain about fate, everything, even if it is difficult, not easy, will take its course. A family appeared, a son was born in December, they named him Vasily. Joy is joy, but having children is not a cheap thing these days. Now I understand my friends who retired to the reserves after the birth of their second child. You just had to make money. “He was recently appointed deputy battalion commander,” Major Pyotr Pinchuk speaks calmly, outwardly hiding his worries.

Everything is fine. Only I still dream about THAT mountain region.

The last soldiers of Russia

From the memoirs of captain 2nd rank Igor Sidorov.

None of our soldiers in those August days, when in the sweltering Caspian heat it seemed that steel helmets and body armor would melt a little longer, and it was possible to bake cakes on the armor of combat vehicles, wondered how many “of them” there were, and how many of us. In war you have to fight. Moreover, rhetoric in the style of, like, who needs these victims, goes into oblivion with the very first shots.

In the meantime, the command post of Lieutenant General Vladimir Shamanov is located just a kilometer from here. Behind the swamps there are militants, trained, experienced, armed to the teeth. Soon, this is where our scouts will be ambushed and the first naval paratrooper will die.

Exactly, everything is like in the song. Russia is great, and on a narrow strip of land from the edge of the swamp to that sandy seashore, “we are its last soldiers.” And to retreat, the heart of the Marines bleeds. Since the time of Peter the Great, an enemy has not set foot in this part of Russia. Hitler’s grandfathers and great-grandfathers did not let him in, just as he was not eager for Caspian oil. It was not we who started the bloody mess in the Caucasus. It's up to us to sort it out. After all, “where we are, there is victory.”

An experienced military general himself walks around the positions of the infantrymen, meticulously inspects every trench, every trench, and makes the remark: “If the tanks come, your defenses, the “striped devils,” will not withstand them.” Judging by the first Chechen campaign, the “spirits” had up to two hundred armored vehicles. They seemed to have bought everything back then, but who knows, they could have bought some more, somewhere on a “sale”. What did they teach you at school, elder?”

“What, Comrade General, was taught, to search for submarines using a hydroacoustic station,” Igor will answer.

After graduating from the Pacific Higher Naval School three years before the start of the war, Lieutenant Sidorov joined a brigade of ships that had not yet been equipped in a new place. Makhachkala, for all its problems, is not the worst place to work. But the proximity of war was always felt here. And when the time came, I had to remember the experience of the Great Patriotic War and staff the Marine Corps unit with sailors-shipbuilders. As the last soldiers of Russia here, on her the last frontier, almost no time on the coast inland sea, when there was nowhere else to retreat.

Road through the Andean Pass

From the memoirs of senior warrant officer Yuri Okorochkov .

Recipient of the Order of Courage, senior warrant officer Yuri Okorochkov spent seven months as part of the Caspian Marine Battalion during the most fierce period of the Chechen fighting. On the twentieth of November 1999, they will remember the date for the rest of their lives, the battalion of Major Vyacheslav Andrianov crossed the stormy Terek, sung in Cossack songs. A company technician repaired combat vehicles under difficult conditions.

The titanic work of repairmen was prohibitive by peacetime standards. At the Andean Pass, the “black beret” infantry supported their fighting brothers from a high-mountain outpost. The armored personnel carriers were produced in the 70-80s. By an incredible coincidence, they came to the Caspian Sea after the disbandment of Yuri’s native coastal defense unit of the Black Sea Fleet. It is clear that the armored personnel carriers, having “run” quite a bit along the mountain slopes, apparently on roads, often broke down. Night-midnight, wind, snow, piercing to the bones - no matter what you put on - the wind was not taken into account when you had to put into operation your only hope for life and victory - the armored personnel carrier armor. Standards, technology, all kinds of rules and repair criteria seemed to be forgotten until “better times.” The concept of “equipment in service” only stated the following: a combat vehicle is obliged to fight.

War is impossible without losses... The names of the Caspians did not escape the mournful lists of those killed in that campaign. The Ural was blown up by a mine. The driver was killed and two others were seriously injured. The militants were afraid to meet the “black infantry” face to face. Local residents, when the naval paratroopers were serving at a checkpoint near Serzhen-Yurt, said this: the militants don’t want to mess with you. They say they are now waiting for the Marines to be replaced by soldiers of the internal troops. And they even named the exact replacement date. The Czechs' intelligence service worked like a Swiss watch. Later, already at the new location, Yuri accidentally read the report. That checkpoint was attacked. Several of our soldiers and officers were killed and wounded.

People, it hurts to remember, were sometimes lost in absurdly stupid ways. One of the conscript sailors, forgetting about caution, ran into a tripwire in the “calm” camp. It was trivial that before this I consumed nothing at all, seemingly intoxicating. His sense of danger had dulled a little. Just enough for death... After all, militants are masters; don’t go to a fortune teller for such surprises. In early spring, before the grass began to grow, such a doc placed a mine in the forest. And a little later, forbs covered it naturally. Without even the slightest hint of the presence of a hidden death.

Another death is still beyond Yuri’s understanding. In April or May, the battalion received an order to transfer several sailors to the reserve. One day of fighting was counted as two. And the conscripts went home much earlier than their fellow conscripts. One of those being dismissed already after dark decided to go to a neighboring company, to see his fellow countrymen. In my joy, I forgot the strictest order - do not go beyond the position line, the military guards shoot to kill without warning. The sentry, when he heard footsteps, fired a burst from a Kalashnikov. The movement stopped. In the morning, at dawn, we saw who had been hit by bullets... During those few months of the war, the Marines learned to shoot perfectly, almost without aiming. The military prosecutor's office conducted an investigation into the death. And she determined that the weapon was used correctly. That sailor sentry successfully served his term in the unit. I was worried, understandably. But there were no conflicts with colleagues because of the death of that guy. Everyone understood that anyone would have acted in his place in exactly the same way.

War is full of absurdities. And for the first time, Yuri and his convoy came under fire from their own motorized riflemen. The infantry accepted combat vehicle with paratroopers for the militants. From a distance, go and tell who is who. The shape is the same. And after another week on a combat mission in the mountains, you can’t even read the Slavic features on their unshaven, smoke-stained faces near the fires. Both Chechen militants and Russian soldiers look like twin brothers.

From the high banks of the Amur...
From the memoirs of officer Vladimir Dankiv
In the spring of 2000, Astrakhan was somewhat reminiscent of the front-line Moscow region of the terrible autumn of 1941. Additional units were hastily deployed on the basis of a separate marine battalion to form a formation in Dagestan. Reinforcement - akin to a military march, arrived from all over vast Russia. Again, as in those distant years, reserves for the Active Army came with Far East. Young lieutenants also arrived, early graduation, akin to the war years, from the Higher Combined Arms Command School in Blagoveshchensk. Among those Far Easterners - early conscripts was Lieutenant Vladimir Dankiv.
At the very first conversations, the command set tasks for the lieutenants: to prepare for war,
Lieutenant Dankiv's first combat test was performing combat missions in the Tsumadinsky region of Dagestan. A rural boy with Far Eastern training, he immediately got involved in the difficult rhythm of service. After all, it was here that the Marines had to keep a huge section of mountainous terrain under cover, blocking countless trails along which militants transferred forces from underground bases in Dagestan to Chechnya and back. Then, almost a year later, Chechnya was waiting for him...
Everything was as sudden as always. At four in the morning the battalion was alerted and Vladimir's superiors congratulated him on his appointment to the position of company commander. After. The order was read, his company was waiting for Dzhane-Vedeno, Dyshne-Vedeno, along with other geographical names, which then often flashed in news channel reports in the context of hostilities with the separatists.
Platoon and company commander in war, the main officer's driving force, workhorse. A lieutenant or senior lieutenant is only 23 or 25 years old. And he is responsible for dozens of lives. And the slightest commander’s mistake sometimes costs lives. To this day, the Guard Major considers it his success as a commander that not a single one of his subordinates was wounded or killed where fierce battles took place on the mountain slopes.
In that battle near Tezen-Kala, for which Guard Colonel Vladimir Belyavsky was awarded the title of Hero of Russia, his company held the defense of a brigade stronghold. Somewhere on a February night in 2003, in a fever, the company commander did not notice how an icy wind blew through him on the “armor”. The next morning, a wild pain pierced my body; I caught a mercilessly cold, so much so that the doctors had to give me painkilling injections. The doctors rushed Vladimir to the hospital, saying, why endure this inhuman pain? But his commander’s conscience did not allow him to leave his positions, his missions, even though you are limited, commander, physically, your head is working, you can’t just throw your guys at inexperienced and unfired platoon commanders. The lieutenants will become real officers. In the meantime, we need to “lead” them, teach them, as his first battalion commander did. There are no trifles in war. The pain plagued him for another six months. Then, involuntarily you are amazed at the willpower of this man, Vladimir, on the advice of one of the doctors, began to stretch his spine on the crossbar. It helped. Now in his office there is a simulator, for the deputy battalion commander there is a 120-kilogram barbell, a normal “working” weight.
Years in the mountainous region passed in outwardly inconspicuous combat work. After all, war is not a parade or a movie. The company's main task was to ensure safety during the convoys. Why did his fighters walk ahead of the intended route and check to see if there were any mines or hidden ambushes? It was possible to walk dozens of kilometers a day at the limit of attention, in heat and cold, in rain and snow. Moreover, his company had the opportunity to fully experience the infantry science of digging in full height, and even in rocky ground, around a kilometer and a half, around the stronghold. Then, when they came under fire, they realized how well all their efforts had been spent and their palms were rubbed bloody by the entrenching tool.

Each generation of Russian Soldiers has its own passes, battlefields, and heights. The current lieutenants bear little resemblance in appearance to their predecessors, those who walked the roads of defeats and victories of the Great Patriotic War, who performed their duty in Afghanistan and other “hot spots”. There is the main thing, that Russian spirit is unshakable, that military science of winning, that incredible core of courage and bravery, thanks to which the enemy said about our warrior: “It is not enough to kill a Russian marine, he must be pinned to the ground with a bayonet. Then there is a possibility that it will not rise.” IN new history The “Moscow” Guard has its own Hero of Russia Guard, Colonel Vladimir Belyavsky, hundreds and hundreds of soldiers of the “Black Beret Infantry” have been awarded high state awards.

Senior sailor KERIMOV Gadzhi Bozgitovich ( December 31, 1999).

6. sailor PAVLIKHIN Sergey Anatolievich ( December 31, 1999).

Eternal memory to the LOST HEROES...

The Guard again, already in the 21st century, coped with the combat mission in the North Caucasus with honor. But God forbid another enemy should test her fighting qualities again.

Formed in February-March 1953 in the village of Kapustin Yar, Astrakhan region.

The brigade was armed with six R-2 launchers.

On October 16, 1953, it was redeployed to Belokorovichi, Zhitomir region. Carpathian Military District.

On June 27, 1955, the Chief of the General Staff - First Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR, Marshal of the USSR Vasily Sokolovsky, issued directive No. 38051 ss, which stated: “...to redeploy the 77th Brigade RVGK in 1955-1956. to the territory of NIIP-5, subordinating it to the head of the test site. In July 1955, the 1st division was redeployed. The remaining divisions of the engineering brigade will be redeployed as the barracks stock is ready."(Archive of the Strategic Missile Forces f. 10, ogg, 739807, d. 167, l. 25-26).

NIIP-5, Tyura-Tam, was then called the Taiga base in more “open” documents. The redeployment was aimed at organizing the reception, unloading, and protection of equipment and property of the Taiga base.

In accordance with the decision, on July 28, 1955, the first echelon of the 232nd separate engineering division of the 77th rocket engineering brigade from Belokorovichi (military unit 46342) arrived at Tyuratam station. Division commander Lieutenant Colonel Fedor Vladimirovich Bondarev. According to the memoirs of Major General V.I. Kataev, who was then the lieutenant head of the data preparation department of this division, was met at the station by the head of the training ground, Nesterenko, with a group of officers. There were no ramps or cranes at the station; everything was unloaded by hand. The second echelon of the division arrived on August 3, 1955. The division was located in a tent camp on the banks of the Syrdarya River (in the area of ​​the current state farm) and remained there all summer and winter.

Further personnel This division was subsequently used to staff the IPs (measuring points) of the active section of the launch vehicle trajectory. But the fate of military unit 46342 as a separate unit of missile units cannot be traced.

In July 1956, another one arrived at the training ground - the 229th separate division of the 77th engineering brigade of the RVGK from Belokorovichi (military unit 55831), commander - sub. I.I. Cherenkov. By early 1957, the division was relocated to Site 2 as a test unit for the R-7 missile. There he was located in barracks and dugouts (for 4-5 years). During July-November, about 100 officers, sergeants and soldiers of this division were sent to factories and the Kapustin Yar training ground to master new equipment, where they remained for 4-5 months.

There are also references to the third - 234th separate division of the 77th engineering brigade of the RVGK (military unit 46290). I did not find any additional information about this division.

Even before the first tests of the R-7, the 229th separate division of the 77th engineering brigade, commander Lieutenant Colonel I.I. Cherenkov, and the assembly team (testing the warhead missile), chief B.A. Shpanov entered the "Experimental Testing Service" of the test site.

Before the start of testing the R-7 missile, the 229th separate division included:

• command and staff
• 1st battery - comprehensive testing and launch (commander Major N.D. Golovanov),
• 2nd battery - ground equipment (Major V.G. Kozlov),
• 3rd battery - DBK, located at RUP "B" (Major V.I. Nesterenko),
• The 4th battery - processing experimental data, was located on site 10 (Major V.S. Belyaev).

The division's strength is 583 military personnel.

The first launch of the "seven" was carried out by the launch team of the test site, consisting of officers from the testing departments and the 229th separate engineering division. Emergency start.

On July 1, 1957, on the basis of a directive from the General Staff, the 32nd separate engineering test unit (OIIT-32) was formed on the basis of the division, commander Lieutenant Colonel O.I. May.

On August 21, 1957, already in a reorganized composition (OIICH-32), the first successful launch of the R-7 was carried out.

OIICH-32 (military unit 25741) had a strength of 889 military personnel and 9 workers and employees. The unit included three engineering and testing groups: the product complex (Mr. A.G. Agafonov), the ground equipment complex (Mr. Kozlov V.G.), measurement services (Mr. Belyaev V.S.) and the division service.

It is unclear whether the 77th engineering brigade in Belokorovichi was formed anew or just replenished with personnel, but in 1955 the new brigade personnel received the P-11.

In August 1958, a brigade subordinate to the USSR Deputy Minister of Defense for Special Weapons and Missile Technology was transferred to the Ground Forces and in October 1958 redeployed to the GSVG military unit 38534. Headquarters - Koenigsbrück (US - “Cradle”), divisions:

• Königsbruck - 3rd order (273rd order, military unit 82494);
• Maysen - 1st order (106th order of military unit 36477 call sign - “Masan”);
• Bischofswerda - 2nd order (military unit 66513 call sign - “Nadoy”)

BRIGADE COMMANDERS:

Sources:

1. Tasks of special national importance[...] Collection of documents. - Moscow, 2010.

2. Poroshkov V.V. Rocket and space feat of Baikonur - 2007.

The 77th separate Moscow-Chernigov marine brigade of the Caspian flotilla is the southernmost in terms of location, the youngest in date of birth and the very last of the marine formations whose units left the Chechen Republic. In addition, the Caspian brigade is “the best” in that it was formed in strict accordance with the new requirements of the Federal target program(FTP) on the transition to a contract method of recruiting military personnel. That is why the “seventy-seventh” can also be called experimental. These features of the brigade are easily discernible both in the first successes of the “black berets” and in the difficult problems that one of the most combat-ready branches of the Russian Navy is “fighting” today.

It's time to grow up and lose
A new round of the glorious chronicle of the Caspian Marines began in August 1994, when the 332nd Separate Marine Battalion was formed as part of the Caspian Flotilla, renamed in 1998 into the 600th Guards Battalion, and a year later into the 414th Separate Battalion. In September 2000, the 77th Separate Guards Moscow-Chernigov Order of Lenin and Suvorov, Red Banner Brigade, was deployed at its base.
The formation of a new connection was difficult. Since 1999, the Caspians have taken an active part in the counter-terrorist operation in the North Caucasus. In the most difficult confrontation with the militants, Belgatoy, Chechen-Aul, Kharachoy, Benoy-Vedeno, Agishbatoy, Dargo, Benoy, Bachi-Yurt, Serzhen-Yurt, Zandag, Tsentoroy, Engenoy were liberated. It is clear that during the “Chechen” period all the forces of the battalion, and then the brigade, were directed to solving combat missions.
The arrangement of the military camp was done in the second place; in the foreground were the high-quality equipment of tactical groups, their weapons, and logistics. Everyone, and even the kids with their demanding mothers, understood: there, in war, it is a hundred times more difficult, but here we will endure, not for the first time.
On the other hand, the Chechen campaign predetermined the future fate of the Caspians. Armed conflicts on the southern borders clearly showed that here, on Dagestan soil, it was necessary to create a serious formation capable of quickly responding to changes in the situation in the region. This was the Marine Brigade.
The official end of the second Chechen campaign, which slightly changed the military way of life of the Black Berets, once again confirmed the correctness of the decision to deploy such a large formation in Kaspiysk. In April 2001, the Marines took over the troubled North Caucasus direction from the border guards and for six months carried out tasks in the mountains to close the administrative border between Chechnya and Dagestan and the Russian state border with Georgia. Here, too, we had to repeatedly resist gangs.
When performing combat missions in Chechen Republic 25 were killed and 105 Caspians were wounded. On May 9, 2002, during a parade of troops in honor of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, another 23 servicemen of the 77th Brigade were killed as a result of a terrorist attack. 54 were injured or seriously injured.
48 human lives. Fifty real men who will forever remain in the fiery history of the young unit.
"Black Berets" make up the majority...
Today the Marine Brigade town is really good. It will greet you with new dormitory buildings, well-groomed alleys... Just five years ago, everything was different here. The Marines were essentially built on a bare wasteland. The tall southern sedge, in some places and now making its way through the marshy tongues to the outer barracks, makes this clearly clear.
In the first years, the town didn’t even have its own fence. Not to say that everything looked like a passage yard, but for a military unit it was nonsense. Chefs from Moscow came to the rescue. The funds allocated by the capital's authorities were enough for both a multi-kilometer fence and security systems.
For the last two years, the permanent combat readiness units of the brigade have been staffed with contract soldiers. Conditions corresponding to their status are also provided for professionals. The hotel-type block, designed for four people, has a TV, air conditioning, and a bathroom. In a word, the minimum that is necessary for relaxation after a busy day.
High-quality arrangement brigade - a great merit to its deputy commander for logistics support, Colonel Emirula Nasrulaev. A lot has been done under his leadership. But even more, as Colonel Nasrulaev says, remains to be done. For example, today there is already a need to build another dormitory for contract soldiers. Until now, the brigade does not have its own kindergarten, gym, or club. There are not enough trade enterprises. But in terms of catering, everything is fine. And here the head of the canteen, warrant officer Ratidin Muradov, did not let his rear leader down.
“Today, two units of permanent combat readiness are staffed with contract soldiers,” says the commander of the 77th brigade, Major General Grigory Semenov. – I think that by the end of the year the transition to the contract method of manning two more units will be completed. I must note that not everything is debugged here yet. Today's contract soldiers mostly come from the poorest segments of the population. And only a few of them are going to devote their lives to military service. Therefore, most people sign a contract, as a rule, for 3 years during the period of military service. There are few people willing to sign a second contract.
Nevertheless, a lot is being done to attract new professionals, and some success has been achieved in this direction. Success is largely due to the painstaking work of staff officers. First of all, the chief of staff, Colonel Vasily Kravtsov, the deputy brigade commander for educational work, Colonel Konstantin Shulikov, the senior officer for social work and prevention of crimes by Major Rasim Murtazaliev.
The presence of experienced military specialists allowed the brigade to significantly increase the level of combat readiness. Moreover, the organization of classes is based on the experience accumulated during the fighting in the North Caucasus.
- We regularly improve mountain training, combat in twos and threes, as well as other issues of special training. Taking into account the experience of military operations on the territory of the Chechen Republic, it is organized and engineering training sapper units,” says Hero of Russia Colonel Vladimir Belyavsky. – All our classes are viewed through the lens recent wars. Main principle Marine training is to teach what is needed in war.
Large-scale counter-terrorism exercises also help the Caspian marines improve their training. Big practical experience military personnel received this in August of this year during the joint integrated operational-tactical exercise “Rubezh-2006” on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan. During the exercises, the brigade was represented by a reinforced company.
This year, we managed to hold an airborne training camp at a high level. By the end of October, the jumping program was 103 percent completed with an overall rating of “good.”
At the same time, according to the brigade commander, problems in organizing full-fledged combat training still exist. First of all, these are the eternally insufficient fuel limits. Diesel fuel is allocated in volumes of 40-50 percent of the actual needs of the brigade.
- Combat training organized exclusively at the expense of the federal target program,” complains Major General Semenov. - Besides, cash There are practically no applications for the article “Combat training”. The educational material and technical base is being created practically from scratch, and if it were not for funds from the federal program, it is unlikely that we would have been able to create it at all.
There is a shortage of a number of items of clothing property. Even the berets for the Marines are supplied at 30-40 percent less than required.
The list of problematic issues also includes one subjective one.
- The difference in cash payments to military personnel serving in units covered by the federal program and military personnel of regular units is significant. This, of course, does not find understanding among sergeants and officers who are deprived of such an increase, and is a factor in growing discontent. People serve side by side, perform the same tasks, and their work is assessed differently... - notes Colonel Shulikov, deputy brigade commander for educational work.
Two KamAZ trucks instead of a club
Problems are problems, as they say, but the assigned tasks must be solved. Everyone in the brigade understands this, and therefore the Caspians try to resolve all objective and subjective difficulties quickly.
“In total, today there are three thousand trained soldiers in the brigade,” Colonel Kravtsov, the chief of staff of the brigade, continues the conversation. – The number fully corresponds to the volume of combat training tasks that we face at this stage. And we can carry them out both as part of a formation and autonomously in the mountains, on the coast, during amphibious landings. In general, the functions and tasks of the brigade depend on the specific military-political situation in the Caspian region.
Today everything is calm on Dagestan soil. Including, as the Dagestanis themselves note, and thanks to that military force, which is represented by the 77th Marine Brigade and the Caspian Flotilla as a whole. This factor determined the already strong interaction between civil and military authorities in the area.
The “black berets” have complete mutual understanding with representatives of the Moscow authorities. And in general, everything is correct - the brigade traces its history back to the 21st People's Militia Division, which was formed in the Kievsky district of Moscow.
The first experience with the construction of a fence around the town did not turn out to be the last. With enviable regularity, representatives capital city hall from year to year they came to the brigade, systematically helping its formation.
“Our first meeting with the marines was, in military terms, a reconnaissance mission,” recalls Moscow City Duma deputy Alexander Kovalev, who traditionally heads patronage “landing forces” from Moscow. “But we quickly realized that we needed to establish close ties. And things went on: as we organized treatment for the wounded in the Rus sanatorium near Moscow, financed the construction of a security and defense system for the brigade, provided assistance in prosthetics for injured military personnel, and purchased automotive equipment for the needs of the brigade, our contacts strengthened. By the way, we also donated a set of the latest musical equipment to the local ensemble “Black Berets”.
Largely thanks to the Moscow deputy Kovalev, a business trip to Kaspiysk for the Red Star correspondent took place. I often have to fly with Alexander Mikhailovich to military units. We have been together more than once in troubled Tajikistan, with our motorized riflemen and border guards, and in Kyrgyz Kant, at a Russian air base, and in the distant Pacific Fleet. The current flight to Kaspiysk, like all previous ones, can be figuratively called a flight “on boxes and crates” - the inside of the cargo plane, as usual, was filled to capacity with all kinds of equipment.
This time, the artists of the show group “Kolye” experienced all the “comfort” of the flight from Moscow to Kaspiysk with us. As they say, man does not live by bread alone. Therefore, along with material gifts, this time the Marines also received a creative “bonus” - a concert of a popular group.
Let me note that the long flight did not affect the quality of the “Necklace” performance. Yulia Samsonova, Alexandra Belikova, Alesya Shepelevich and Maya Chikunaeva - professionals in the creative department - gave an enchanting performance to military professionals. The absence of a club, and therefore the usual scene, did not bother the girls at all. Two military KamAZ trucks, side-by-side, were the kind of paramilitary stage where the capital’s female artists performed. And their reward was symbolic acceptance into the ranks of the Marines - black berets and vests were personally presented to the Muscovites by the brigade commander.
“The current visit confirmed that our relations have developed correctly, and today they have reached a higher quality, truly trusting level,” says Alexander Mikhailovich. “Together with the brigade command, we walked through the barracks, jointly discussed and outlined a plan for the refurbishment of specific rest rooms, change rooms, and sleeping quarters. In other words, our idea “Specific assistance to a specific officer and soldier,” with which we, in fact, originally went to the Marines, is now actively being implemented.
“Such help is very important for us,” says the brigade commander in turn. – And above all in moral terms. But we are trying to organize the life of the brigade using our own forces and reserves. After all, the brigade has great potential not only in combat terms.
Marines celebrate their professional holiday at the end of the school year, and this is a good reason to take stock. As expected, connection rates went up. At the same time, there is no time to rest on our laurels: in three days the new 2006/2007 academic year starts. And in it, the southernmost and youngest Marine brigade will again face both objective difficulties and, of course, success.
In the photos: Deputy of the Moscow City Duma Alexander KOVALEV awards the best servicemen of the brigade.
Brigade commander Grigory SEMENOV and the girls of the Kolye group after the symbolic initiation into the Marines.

Marine brigade in the Caspian Sea disbanded

ASTRAKHAN, March 2. The 77th Marine Brigade as part of the Caspian Flotilla (CF) of Russia has been disbanded, ITAR-TASS reports with reference to data from the headquarters of the RF CF.

According to a representative of the coastal forces of the Russian Navy, in accordance with the new states, the flotilla will include two separate battalions of marines located in Astrakhan and Kaspiysk.

At the same time, the Navy believes that “to carry out, if necessary, any amphibious landings on the coast of the Caspian Sea, two separate battalions of permanently ready Marine Corps, staffed by contract soldiers, are quite sufficient.”

The Caspian Flotilla believes that “the 77th Marine Brigade fully fulfilled its task as a formation.”

Until recently, the Marine Corps made up more than half of the KF's strength. The brigade was created in 2000 at the beginning of the anti-terrorist operation in the North Caucasus and carried out combat missions in the Chechen Republic, more typical of motorized rifle formations. After the deployment of several mountain rifle brigades in the North Caucasus, the need for it disappeared. To operate as part of a flotilla today, two separate battalions of marines are sufficient. The first, in Astrakhan, is planned to be used for operations in the Volga delta, in the conditions of numerous river barriers and steppe terrain. The second, in Dagestan, will specialize in operations in coastal mountainous areas. Parachute training of marines will, as before, be carried out in Astrakhan.

Marines to be cut from the Caspian brigade received offers to be transferred to Astrakhan, the Black Sea and Baltic fleets. “However, the majority of contract servicemen from among local residents refused to leave the region and submitted reports of transfer to the reserve,” noted a source at the headquarters. If it is necessary to strengthen marine units in the Caspian Sea, it is planned to use similar units of the Black Sea Fleet - a separate regiment in Sevastopol and a separate battalion in Kuban Temryuk.

Combat Veterans Day This is a day of remembrance for everyone who fought for Russia, no matter in what wars and armed conflicts, fulfilling their duty to defend the Motherland. As a tribute to them - the veterans who live next to us, and to the memory of those who are no longer alive. The idea of ​​creating a single holiday among combat veterans who took part in numerous wars and armed conflicts on the territory of the Russian Federation and other countries has been circulating for a long time. And they began to celebrate it informally at the beginning of the 21st century. This was caused by their desire to gather on one day, not tied to this or that event of the numerous wars in which they were destined to become participants (at present in our country there are separate memorable dates– Days military glory and other holidays dedicated to the history of specific military operations). And so, in 2009, July 1 was celebrated as a day of remembrance for all participants in hostilities that took place after 1945 (and this is fighting in Afghanistan and Chechnya, in many countries of Latin America, Asia and Africa), more than 3,000 veterans voted. This was recorded in a special document, and an appeal was sent to the Government of the Russian Federation with a request to officially establish such a Day. However this question has not yet been decided, since, according to the authorities, such a holiday already exists - its function is performed on February 15 (the Day of Remembrance of Russians who performed official duty outside the Fatherland). But the initiators of the new date are not giving up - they are confident that all veterans should have their own common date, not wanting to confuse the date of the end of the Afghan war and honoring other veterans. And, for example, unlike June 22 (the Day the Great Patriotic War began), it should be dedicated to local conflicts. This will allow you to maintain the specificity of the dates. We all remember and honor the veterans of the Great Patriotic War, of whom there are fewer and fewer every year. But in our country there remain many relatively young veterans who risked their lives and health in the interests of the Motherland after Great Victory above Nazi Germany. They also deserve recognition and respect. Therefore, a separate date will be an occasion to congratulate not only the military, but also employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the FSB, as well as other participants in combat operations who are not military personnel, on Combat Veterans Day, and for all of them to once again get together and remember their fallen comrades. It must be said that, despite the lack of official status, July 1, Combat Veterans Day is already celebrated in an organized manner in a number of Russian regions. For example, in Moscow, the traditional meeting place for veterans of all years, places, and countries of hostilities is Poklonnaya Hill, where commemorative events begin with laying flowers at the memorial to the internationalist soldier, and then organize The cultural program with the participation of famous artists. In other cities, event participants also begin this day by laying wreaths at the Eternal Flame, at monuments to internationalist soldiers and other memorials. In addition, recently this date has been receiving increasing attention from the media, which also contributes to the recognition and spread of the holiday. At the same time, regional authorities in a number of constituent entities of the Russian Federation also support the very idea of ​​holding the Day of Veterans of Combat Actions and Local Conflicts. #Navy #Fleet #CombatVeterans #Marines