On May 8, 1989, in the internal troops of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs, following the Omsdon "nine", a second full-time special forces unit appeared - a special-purpose training company of the Sofrino brigade.

The company commander was senior lieutenant Valery Chernyshev, who received a fourth star on his shoulder straps after the Fergana events of the same year. Senior Lieutenant Vadim Suvorov and Lieutenant Shakir Akhmedov were appointed the first platoon commanders. A little later, even before the participation of the Sofrino special forces in the Karabakh operations, Lieutenant Pavel Yashchuk arrived as a platoon commander in the URSN. The “commissioner” position was entrusted to Lieutenant Oleg Sulima, who became “part-time” the unofficial chronicler of the new special forces unit...

Already in June of the same year, fighters of the Sofrino URSN carried out combat missions to suppress unrest and prevent massacres of Meskhetian Turks in the Fergana region of the Uzbek SSR. The first milestones of their military journey were the cities of Andijan, Kokand, Yaipan, Gulistan, and the villages of Gorsky and Komsomolskoye. According to the most conservative estimates, in the Fergana region, Valery Chernyshev’s company in those days saved more than three thousand civilians from certain death.
I cannot help but draw attention to the fact that during the Fergana epic, the young, essentially newly formed unit had only two officers - senior lieutenant Chernyshev and lieutenant Akhmedov. Sergeant Andrei Makarov often took on officer duties. And he coped with them beyond all praise. Despite the fact that on some days the company’s soldiers had to work out four to six combat missions!

During the Fergana events, the best qualities of special forces soldiers were shown by the Sofrino “urses” of the first set - Sergeant Alexander Narozhny, privates Alexander Doroshenko, Pavel Leshchenko, Alexander Petrovsky, Roman Velichko, Sergei Safronov, Vitaly Nalimov, Mikhail Kalinin, Vladimir Gornostaev (later became a sergeant), Anatoly Andreev, Sergey Astapenko, who came to us from URSN OMSDON. It was they who laid the traditions of the highest professionalism, masculinity and dedication, mutual assistance and military brotherhood, on which all the service and combat activities of the special unit of the Sofrino brigade were subsequently built.

Subsequently, in 1989-1991, the personnel of our URSN in various regions of the country took part in more than 50 special operations, in twelve of which the situation developed and developed in such a way that it was necessary to use firearms. Naturally, with full compliance with the requirements of the laws and the Combat Regulations of the Internal Troops. Thanks to the high level of training of its fighters, the Sofrino URSN had no losses at that time.
One of the pinnacles of the combat skills of the Sofrintsy during that period was the operation in the village of Shurnukh, Goris region of the Armenian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, carried out on April 6, 1990 under the leadership of the same Shakir Akhmedov. The officer, who by this time had become the deputy commander of the URSN for special training, so competently planned and talentedly carried out all the actions with his subordinates that they were even included in the collections of educational and methodological materials of the internal troops and were recommended for study. And no wonder: as a result of the Shurnukh operation, the Sofrintsy captured a large group of militants, who, according to captured documents, were listed as “Armenian special forces.”

This operation turned out to be indicative in another way: after its successful implementation, the company received nine awards, but the direct participants received only two. The rest settled with representatives of higher headquarters. Unfortunately, this happened in the future.

We, who did our job not for rubles and awards, but for the glory of our country and special forces, continued to increase the list of successfully completed combat missions. It included an operation to neutralize and disarm a gang that had settled between the villages of Upper Farajan and Spitakshen. By the way, it was for this matter that the commander of the Sofrino URSN, Captain Valery Chernyshev, who not only directly commanded one of the groups, but also went to the blocked militants as a parliamentarian with a proposal to surrender in order to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, was presented with the Order “For Personal Courage.” And I finally got it!
Then there was the seizure of the extremist headquarters in Jebrail, after which we handed over fifty active participants in armed actions against civilians to law enforcement agencies.

In Hadrut, the Sophrans freed more than two dozen families of border guards whom the militants were holding as hostages. Women, children, and several elderly parents of border guards were then taken in a convoy from the military camp outside the state of emergency zone. After this, the command of the border detachment, in gratitude for what they had done, awarded many of our soldiers the “Excellence in Border Troops” badge. As they say: “Everything I can!” But our soldiers who participated in that operation wore these signs with special pride.
Remembering the first years of the Sofrin special forces, we should also mention the qualification tests for the right to wear a maroon beret.
The final stage of the first “beret exam” did not take place in the native part. The Sofrints felt that they did not have the moral right to independently assess the level of preparedness of their candidates. And they turned for help to the luminaries of the military special forces, which even then were considered to be the officers and warrant officers-instructors of the URSN division named after F. Dzerzhinsky, the future “Vityaz” detachment.
The surrender turned out to be very serious: only a few of the twenty best hand-to-hand fighters of the Sofrino company were able to survive to the end and receive the special forces shrine. But all the candidates received a master class in hand-to-hand combat, experiencing for themselves what they need to focus on in this type of combat training.
In addition to passing qualifying tests in the Moscow region, which took place, so to speak, according to the classical scheme and rules, we twice organized such exams under unusual conditions. The first took place during a business trip to the NKAO and took place near the city of Kubatly, located high in the mountains. The second is near the village of Mardakan, located on the Caspian coast. In both cases, a whole series of actions and standards were added to the test program, taking into account the specifics of the tasks that URSN personnel performed during that period.

In the first case, it was a forced march in high altitude conditions, and therefore a clear lack of oxygen. In addition, we included (perhaps for the first time in the history of special forces) elements of mountain training in the exam: candidates overcame turbulent river flows and rockfall areas that pose a real danger. Additionally, they learned a whole set of conventional signs that help to communicate in the mountains within visual contact without means of communication, and demonstrated the ability to navigate in mountainous terrain. We practiced various introductory instructions during the march.
Those who fought for the right to wear a beret near Mardakan also had a hard time. The forced march took place at temperatures above thirty degrees. Ten kilometers ran along the sandy coast of the Caspian Sea. But two more had to be overcome directly by sea - sometimes waist-deep, and sometimes chest-deep in water, while keeping your own weapons intact. There was a little roughness at sea that day. And while moving, the special forces had to not only hold machine guns, machine guns, sniper rifles, grenade launchers over their heads, but also regularly jump, jumping out over the crest of the oncoming wave in order to avoid being covered over their heads.

No less of a challenge – physical and psychological – was the encounter on this section of the route with sea snakes, which were found in abundance in the plantations of coastal algae. So they walked: they made their way through dense clumps of stems, as if through a viscous swamp, every thirty to forty meters with the butt of a machine gun or simply with their hands, throwing aside a vile green creature almost a meter long that was floating nearby or that emerged from under their feet.
In general, the command of the Sofrino URSN never had to blush for the level of preparedness of its fighters. This is evidenced not only by successfully carried out special operations, but also by the results of professional competitions. For example, at the first and, alas, only combined arms training of special forces of the internal troops of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs, held in the summer of 1990 in the city of Rustavi, Georgian SSR, the Sofrintsy were the best in hand-to-hand combat and fire training.
The traditions established in the early years were subsequently strengthened by all generations of Sofrin special forces...

The 21st separate operational brigade of the Moscow District of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, stationed in the city of Sofrino, Moscow Region, returned from another business trip from the North Caucasus. For more than two and a half years, military personnel of the battalion tactical group carried out special tasks to restore constitutional order in the Chechen Republic. During this time, Sofrintsy held several thousand special events. The main ones are the search, capture and destruction of members of the bandit underground, ambush operations, engineering reconnaissance, ensuring the safety of the movement of convoys, targeted checks, inspection of vehicles, etc. The result is dozens of killed bandits and those detained on suspicion of involvement in illegal armed groups, many discovered and seized illegally stored small arms and grenade launchers, hundreds of neutralized improvised explosive devices, tens of thousands of ammunition found in bandit caches. All this is more than one saved life not only of military personnel, but also of civilians...

Based on the results of their service activities on the territory of the Chechen Republic, the Sofrints are recognized as one of the best among all formations and military units of the Internal Troops that participated in the counter-terrorist operation in the North Caucasus. During their stay in the Kurchaloevsky district, the brigade took an active part in establishing social and political life. It was thanks to the militant, and sometimes simply explanatory work of the Sofrintsy, that the bandit rabble here could not raise their heads, while the people of Chechnya adopted their own Constitution, elected their president, and elected deputies to the State Duma of the Russian Federation. They also ensured law and order during the elections of the President of the Russian Federation, as well as the parliament of the Chechen Republic. What the relative calm in the area of ​​responsibility of a separate operational brigade was worth is a separate conversation, but behind all this are sleepless nights, sweat and blood of law enforcement soldiers.
This, by the way, was discussed during the solemn meeting, which was organized in connection with the withdrawal and transfer of service and combat missions to units and units of the Ministry of Defense. The Deputy Commander of the Moscow Military District for Emergency Circumstances, Lieutenant General Vasily Bykadorov, expressed his deep gratitude to all the personnel of the unit for their service and work, especially noting that during the entire period of the Sofrintsy’s deployment in the Kurchaloevsky district, no complaints were received from the local population.
After this, the commandant of the Chechen Republic, Lieutenant General Grigory Fomenko, took the floor. He highly appreciated the level of professionalism of all personnel in the performance of military duty. Warm words of gratitude and appreciation also came from the mouth of the head of the Kurchaloevsky district administration, Alli Abdullaev: “Thank you so much for the peace and tranquility that you gave us, repeatedly showing willpower and courage, loyalty to the oath and the Constitution. We will be glad to see you on our land, since the Chechen people have always been united with Russia.”

REFERENCE
April 7 is celebrated as Memorial Day in the 21st operational brigade of the Moscow District of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. On this tragic day for the unit in 1991, the first in the Hero brigade, Lieutenant Oleg Babak, died, and four years later - April 7, 1995 - 11 servicemen of the brigade did not return from the battle for the village of Samashki in the Chechen Republic.

Needless to say, the last two and a half years have become a real school of courage for many Sofrintsy. But it all began for the 21st Defense Forces back in 1988, when the leadership of the country (then the USSR) decided to create operational brigades of the Internal Troops - formations capable of acting in an organized and skillful manner to eliminate hotbeds of tension in various regions of the country.
Out of the frying pan into the fire
One of these brigades was formed on October 10 on the basis of the 504th training regiment of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs near Moscow. On December 27, 1988, young Sofrintsy soldiers took the oath for the first time. And already on February 12, 1989, the order followed: “Forward to Baku!” The combat chronicle of the Sofrin brigade began from the capital of Azerbaijan. As the former commander of the 21st Defense Forces, Major General Simachkov, once noted a decade and a half later, then no one knew that all the difficult days for the country could be traced through the history of the unit’s combat path.
...Then there was Georgia. It was the Sofrin brigade that on the night of April 9, 1989 was in Tbilisi near the Gruzteleradio building, where a crowd of several thousand people, unpredictable in their actions, was going crazy. Before they had time to rest and visit their families, all summer the “foremen” had to literally use their bodies to separate the warring Meskhetian Turks and Uzbeks during mass riots in the Fergana Valley of Uzbekistan.
Further, like a snowball, - Nagorno-Karabakh, Dushanbe, Armenia, Nakhichevan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, carrying out service and combat missions in Vilnius, Kabardino-Balkaria...
Then, in 1991, the brigade suffered its first losses. Four Sofrintsy under the command of Lieutenant Oleg Babak in one of the gorges of Nagorno-Karabakh in the vicinity of the village of Yukhari-Jibikli gave battle to eighty militants, who were also covered by an armored personnel carrier. The lieutenant ordered his subordinates to retreat, while he himself spent two and a half hours shooting until the last bullet. The young officer was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Further, following the rapidly unfolding events of the 90s, there were the implementation of combat missions in Makhachkala, Mozdok and Allagir regions of North Ossetia, Nazran, maintaining a state of emergency in the administrative border area...
And few people know that during the tragic events of October 1993 in Moscow for all Russians, the Sofrin brigade, commanded by Colonel Vladimir Vasiliev, refused to participate in the siege of the Supreme Council building and did not lead a column of armored vehicles to the Ostankino television center. “We may not have acted according to the law, but we acted according to our conscience,” and today the old-timers of the unit are sure...
When the stones bloom
And two years later the first Chechen campaign began. And the Sofrintsy, as always, adequately solved the tasks assigned to them: they participated in special operations in the Staropromyslovsky district of Grozny, Argun, Gudermes, and stormed the settlements of Samashki, Bamut, and Orekhovo. Thus, in the battle on Bald Mountain near Bamut, a detachment of 34 military personnel was required to hold the height at any cost. While the main forces stormed the high-mountain village, the special forces held back the frantic onslaught of the militants, who had an overwhelming numerical superiority, for five hours. The distance between the Sofrintsy and the irreconcilable ones trying to throw them off the hill was sometimes reduced to 15-20 meters. When the unit, having completed the task, received the command to leave the battle, the detachment commander was forced to call fire on himself. While breaking through, the fighters used almost all the ammunition, but after retreating it became clear that each left one grenade. For myself...
After the Khasavyurt agreements, the brigade was stationed in Dagestan for two years. But the peaceful (how peaceful it is!) life did not last long. On September 29, 1999, the 21st Defense Forces again crossed the administrative border of the Chechen Republic and went to destroy terrorists and mercenaries from the direction Terekli - Mekteb - Kumily - Chervlenaya... Special operations followed as part of the Northern United Group of Forces, the Eastern United Group of Forces, special operations in populated areas points Urus-Martan, Goyty, Chechen-aul, Alkhan-Kala, Alkhan-Yurt...
By this time, the command of the United Group of Federal Troops (forces) had a firm opinion that the brigade was one of the most combat-ready units in the group. The unit was then nicknamed “special purpose ambulance.” What about your own! Even Basayev, who is not inclined to compliment the federal troops, once said that it was better not to fight with the Sofrinsky brigade.
On December 25, 1999, the Sofrintsy, as part of the Western group, advanced to the Staropromyslovsky district and the next day, together with other units, began the assault on Grozny. The brigade led an offensive on a wide front with 4 battalions in one echelon. The “foremen” looked for weak points in the enemy’s defenses and ways to bypass them. However, on the night of December 28, without knowing it yet, we approached the enemy’s main defensive line. Based on the intense fire resistance of the enemy, we felt that it was necessary to stop, regroup and launch an assault in the morning. On December 29, the fierce battle along the entire front of the brigade did not stop from dawn until almost midnight. But in general, the fierce battle on the streets, in the courtyards and in the basements of the Chechen capital did not subside until January 3, 2000.
During these days, 33 servicemen of the unit were killed. It was then that information came out that the Sofrinsky brigade was no more, they say, all of it had been killed. But the “foremen” proved with every battle: they are alive and ready to avenge their dead brothers!
They fought really desperately. Here's just one example. On October 15, 1999, near Chervlenaya, a company of Sofrintsy, while conducting a special operation, ran into an ambush of militants. They took up defensive positions, but could not move further - the militants pressed hard. Private Evgeny Bushmelev, maneuvering on his infantry fighting vehicle, covered the infantry. He came out of a three-hour battle as if he had been born with his shirt on: not a single one of the grenades fired at his “penny” (BMP-1) hit the target. He managed to pick up and take wounded fellow soldiers to the concentration area, and after that the rest of his comrades...
On October 30, 1999, in a battle near Novoshchedrinskaya, his combat vehicle unexpectedly lost control - a “Dukhovskaya” grenade hit the right track. The driver was not at a loss and, under heavy fire from the militants, managed to repair the damage. Meanwhile, combat groups of Sofrintsy approached the village and began to knock out the bandits from their strongholds. A difficult situation has arisen in the neighboring platoon - now their “beha” has stopped dead in its tracks. The militants surrounded the guys tightly. Bushmelev's crew arrived on time. Cutting off the bandits with cannon and machine gun fire, the BMP came close to the stopped vehicle. Evgeny jumped out of his “penny”, hooked it with a cable and pulled it out from under the fire.

REFERENCE
In 2000, Shamil Basayev gave the order to capture anyone, but not the “foremen.” Later, the then still living “terrorist No. 1” changed his mind and appointed a reward of 2,000 dollars for each ordinary special forces soldier from Sofrino, for officers - from 10 to 50 thousand “greens”.

And after some time near Gudermes, Bushmelev managed to successfully drive the vehicle into the flank of a large group of militants breaking out of the encirclement. In Alkhan-Yurt, in a fierce battle, he helped the army men, whom the “spirits” were pressing hard, and took the wounded army battalion commander from under the crossfire to the rear...
By decree of the President of the Russian Federation, Corporal Evgeny Bushmelev was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation.
Another person awarded this title was the then brigade commander, Major General Gennady Fomenko. In total, more than 700 military personnel were awarded orders and medals for the courage and heroism shown during the counter-terrorist operation in the North Caucasus region.
But victories for the “foremen” came at the cost of considerable blood - more than 100 military personnel gave their lives while performing service and combat missions, about 470 were wounded and shell-shocked...
The memory is alive
They returned “from there”, but did not forget anything. They remember the assault on Samashki, where 10 brothers were killed. They remember how, bloodied, burned, shell-shocked, but surviving under the fire of mortars called “at themselves,” they rolled down Bald Mountain. As warrant officer Sergei Pchelin carried his murdered friend, warrant officer Gennady Romanov. How captain Georgy Strelnik, risking his life, carried two wounded soldiers from under fire. How…
Probably, it can hardly be considered a coincidence that two events - the withdrawal of the brigade from Chechnya and the opening of a monument dedicated to the servicemen of the brigade who died in the performance of military duty - practically coincided in time. Because this is how it should be so that all of them - living and fallen - one day return home to Sofrino...
The idea of ​​erecting a monument on the territory of the 21st OBRON has been brewing for a long time. The idea for the monument was suggested by the commander of the Moscow District of the Internal Troops of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Lieutenant General Alexander Lvov. And it was brought to life by the sculptor Vladimir Nikolaevich Matyukhin. Funds for the creation were found thanks to the Governor of the Moscow Region Boris Gromov, the Minister of Industry of the Government of the Moscow Region Vladimir Kozyrev, as well as the Chairman of the All-Russian Union of Disabled Persons of the Internal Troops, Armed Forces, Border Troops, Security Services, Sports and Law Enforcement Agencies, Colonel General of the Reserve Anatoly Shkirko and many others .
In the center of the large-scale composition is a bronze soldier as a symbol of the Armed Forces - the guarantor of the existence of the Russian state. Behind the fighter is a ten-meter stele and a huge banner made of granite slabs. Around there are 12 steles located in the plane of the inverted dome, like a half-blooming flower - a symbol of life interrupted in its prime. On the steles are the names of the dead soldiers of the brigade...
The opening ceremony of the monument was attended by Minister of Internal Affairs Rashid Nurgaliev, Commander-in-Chief of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation Nikolai Rogozhkin, Governor of the Moscow Region Boris Gromov, deputies of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, veterans of the Internal Troops, and students of the Alexander Nevsky Cadet Corps.

The material was prepared with the assistance of the press service of the Moscow District Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation.

To the commander of the internal troops of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs, Colonel General Yu.V. Shatalin received a telegram in the summer of 1989:
“We express our gratitude to the servicemen of the internal troops who selflessly defended the lives of thousands of Meskhetian Turks in the Fergana events in the summer of 1989. Our people will never forget the courage of privates Viktor Shelets, Sergei Burov, Alexander Dedushenkov, Viktor Gnedets, Vladimir Neznanov, Alexander Lazarenko, and their commanders - Viktor Elovsky, Vladimir Vasiliev, Vladimir Enyagin. We honor their names along with the names of national heroes.
Chairman of the board of the collective farm “Adygyun” Bayragdarov, refugees from the Fergana region Rizaev, Aslanov, Kambirov and others.”
After the Ferghana events, distinguished soldiers were awarded military awards. The Order of the Red Star was received by Lieutenant Colonels V. Vasilyev and V. Elovsky, who freed a hostage from the hands of terrorists. The Order “For Personal Courage” (one of the first in the internal troops) was awarded to Corporal V. Neznanov, who selflessly and courageously acted against the angry crowd.
It was a baptism of fire for the young Sofrino battalions. In a short time, the brigade command managed to prepare soldiers and officers to carry out complex, large-scale tasks that no one had encountered before in their service. “Mass inter-ethnic clashes” - this is how the bloody massacres and massacres in the cities of Central Asia were called in politically correct language.
There had never been such a brigade as the Sofrinsky brigade in the army. The commander of the troops, General Yu.V. Shatalin, carefully selected officers for this unit, knowing full well that none of them would have time for any kind of probationary period. Colonel Vladimir Maltsev, the first Sofrino brigade commander (later the General of the Main Command), was not the first to form, unite, and train new, unusual units. It was he, Maltsev, who was at one time the first commander of the special forces company of the division named after F. Dzerzhinsky, the same URSN, which later became the famous “Vityaz” detachment.
The combat training of the 21st OBRON was closely involved with a fan of military special forces, a competent methodologist-innovator and master practitioner, Lieutenant Colonel Viktor Elovsky. The chief of staff, Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Vasiliev (soon to become a brigade commander, colonel), the head of the political department, Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Enyagin, and the deputy commander, Lieutenant Colonel Boris Chugurov, each in his own department, worked day and night to create and work hard. Before our eyes, their brigade was becoming a unique unit - powerful, combat-ready, mobile, disciplined, well-trained. The standards for Sofrintsy were very strict, extremely compressed, the brigade was like a strong spring, ready to unwind with an outburst of hidden energy - rising on alarm, “in the cars”, marching to the airfield, loading into the wombs of the “seventy-sixth Ilov”, a short flight nap and - into a battle with a very real enemy, whom you won’t let go of, but from whom you shouldn’t expect mercy...
It was a difficult time for them. In Fergana they thanked, in Tbilisi they cursed, in NKAO they asked not to leave, in Vilnius they called them fascists... And before Chechnya, there were Baku, Dushanbe, North Ossetia and Ingushetia...
But “a husband should not kill himself in a clash with fate. A husband in trouble is obliged to stand as an impregnable wall...” Shota Rustaveli once uttered wise words primarily for his fellow countrymen, but the Sofrints Slavs heeded them more quickly. It was they who stood as an impregnable wall between the warring parties, until the treacherous betrayal of the statesmen occurred, whose signatures on paper became a cord laid along the sovereign borders. There were explosions. Trouble was all around.

Today, the name of the ancient city of Tbilisi is again on the lips of the whole world; the Yankees seriously believe that Caucasian Georgia and their state of Georgia are essentially twin relatives.
The Tbilisi events of April 1989 were also unique in their drama. It was after them that the ominously depressing term “Tbilisi syndrome” appeared (a terrible mixture: ignorance of who and why the true enemy is, how to fight against him, will you then have to blame and justify yourself for the use of force?).
The Sofrinsky battalion, which carried out tasks in the capital of Georgia, was lucky in that it was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel V. Elovsky, who had recently served in Tbilisi and knew well not only the poem “The Knight in the Skin of the Tiger,” but, more importantly, the psychology of the Georgians.
It fell to the Sofrintsy to protect public order in the Gruzteleradio area - a strategically important facility. Brought up in the spirit of observance of the law, our soldiers and commanders, gritting their teeth, looked at the raging crowd: they were thrown insults in their faces, they shook their fists in their direction, and spat on them. Then, cars with their headlights on and blaring horns began to rush dangerously close to the military line. At the wheel, as it later turned out, there were stoned and “dated” young instigators.
Cold-blooded and wise from Transcaucasia, Elovsky decided to arrange a “demonstration of muscles” in front of the raging crowd - our soldiers, one by one, to warm up after a long standing in a chain, performed several expressive special forces “steps” with machine guns, with shields, with rubber batons. The crowd of Georgians fell silent at first. Then some provocateur shouted: “They’re scaring you, you assholes! Yes, we will do them!”
But the Sofrits were the first to do their job, they worked ahead of the curve - the trained soldiers not only dodged the Zhiguli car rushing at them, but also managed to hit the windshield with a rubber baton, so much so that the hot southern guys instantly cooled down. Here, in the area of ​​​​responsibility of the Sofrintsy, there was no massacre...
Following Tbilisi were Dushanbe, Baku, NKAO... After hand-to-hand street fighting, shootouts, armed provocations, and explosions increasingly occurred. The confrontations became wider along the front, deeper, more fierce.
On the border of Azerbaijan and Armenia, the company's political officer, Lieutenant Oleg Babak, accomplished his feat. (To this day, many Azerbaijanis call him Babek - after the name of the hero of national liberation of the 9th century.)
The Sofrin battalion, then commanded by Major V. Burdukov (later colonel, brigade commander), was stationed in the Azerbaijani regional center of Kubatly. The outpost, where Lieutenant O. Babak was the senior officer, is twenty kilometers away, in the mountain village of Yukhary Dzhibikli. The vicissitudes of the unequal battle, which was waged by Lieutenant Babak and Sergeants Loginov and Bochkov, still sit in us like torn fragments. Three Sofrintsy fought off an attack by a company of militants who were trying to capture civilians. Oleg Babak’s last words to his subordinates were the order: “Take the people away! Move away! I'll cover you!"
The day of the death of the brave officer - April 7 (in 1991 it was the Holy Resurrection of Christ, Easter) - became the Day of Remembrance of the Sofrino brigade. On September 17, 1991, Lieutenant Oleg Yakovlevich Babak was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously). Two sergeants, two Alexei - Loginov and Bochkov - were awarded the Order “For Personal Courage”...
And there were also heartfelt letters sent to Oleg Babak’s parents in the Poltava village of Victoria from Moscow and Sakhalin, from Kazakhstan and Estonia, from Moldova and Tyumen... Here’s what Baku tenth-grader Sevinj Tagiyeva wrote: “I am very hurt and offended that such a nightmare is happening in our time of peace, and it’s even more painful to know that this is happening on my native land, in my native republic. Your son showed heroism by protecting civilians from the massacre of militants. Oleg was only 24 years old, he did not even have time to enjoy the joys of life. Let everyone know how many young lives this merciless war is taking. Will evil really triumph over truth? No, this will not happen as long as there are warriors like your son. You should be proud of your son. The good memory of him will forever remain in the hearts of people."
The first and second Chechen campaigns confirmed the high authority of the Sofrintsy. The command sent the brigade to where it was most difficult. More than a thousand soldiers, sergeants, warrant officers and officers were awarded military orders and medals. The brigade commander, Major General Gennady Fomenko, and the driver-mechanic of the BMP, Corporal Evgeny Bushmelev, became Heroes of Russia.
In January 1995, they entered Grozny. There were battles in Samashki and Bamut. There were many battles, little respite...
The second campaign began with a heavy march from Dagestan, walking through the Nogai steppes, sands... And again it was Grozny, a return to square one, to the circles of hell - Staropromyslovsky district, Zavodskoy...
The conversation with Private Yuri Konshin took place in Grozny on the night of January 14, 1995:
– I really believe in God. Before the business trip, I asked the company commander (he is a good man) for leave. We live in Sofrino, and Zagorsk (Sergiev Posad - B.K.) is thirty minutes from us, there is a monastery there. I went there and lit candles for my health and for the health of my parents. I now believe that I will live until I am 87 and nothing will happen to me here. And although I go here on missions, I walk carefully, I believe that I will live until I am 87 years old.
- Well, God forbid!
“So it will be, Comrade Colonel, so it will be!” I have a sweetheart at home... She and I got married in a Christian church (my grandmother advised me to marry my sweetheart before the army), she is now my beloved wife. He writes to me every day, every day. “I don’t know anymore, my dear, what to write to you...” She writes what she did that day, where she was. And still, every day you receive a letter with “my dear” - joy! She came to my unit and said: “God forbid, you fool, where do you go!”
- All women say that...
We flew to Chechnya again on May 23. Sapper Yura Konshin died on the 22nd...
From the “second Chechnya” I remember a conversation with soldiers in the ruins of Grozny. With the Hero of Russia, Colonel G. Fomenko, we arrived at the position. The mood on that February day in 2000 noticeably lifted: the Sofrin brigade completed its task, knocking out the “spirits” from the Zavodsky district in heavy battles. The main thing that pleased the brigade commander was that there were no losses in the last days. Even the sun finally peeked through the smoke, fumes, and fog. But just a couple of days ago everything was pretty bad...
– Is it true that there was an order to fight until the last soldier?
Corporal Anokhin's question is directed directly at the brigade commander. We are standing in front of two dozen grimy, smoke-stained demobilizers in the ruins of a house. The window openings are blocked with fragments of the same walls, the wind blows into the gaps and crumbles of plaster fly when “spirit” bullets and VOGs hit the jambs. The floor under the fire, lit right there, in a nook that is not subject to gunfire, is almost burnt out, and it is covered with black coarse snow brought from the street in a leaky bucket.
“We are not the last soldiers.” – The brigade commander, who knows how to conduct a dialogue with the minister, and with the commanders, and with the Chechens, is now choosing a few right words for an honest answer to his trench heroes. – We, the Sofrintsy, have always been the first, haven’t we? But the first one is more difficult. We had only one order - to drive out the bandits from the Zavodsky district. And we will carry out the order. I won’t force you to storm, but you will sit on the “blocks” - the enemy should not hit us on our flanks or rear. You have done too much for me to speak rudely and disrespectfully to you. But if you go against the law, then I will step over myself - you will leave without state awards, without “fighting” money, with shame. That's all I can tell you...
The brigade commander spoke quietly, but clearly, pausing only during explosions hooting from left and right. Colonel Fomenko found himself in a difficult dilemma. His brigade is fighting in Grozny and is suffering losses. There aren't enough people. For several dozen soldiers and sergeants, the time has come for transfer to the reserve. And according to the unspoken rule established back in Afghanistan, “demobes” were not sent into battle - they were taken care of. Although the “old” soldiers themselves had the opposite opinion on this matter: they rushed to the front line, teaching the young ones an example of courage...
The next day, the Sofrin brigade will go out into the bend of the muddy, gray-turquoise Sunzha, where television crews will interrogate the brigade commander among the grimy, but clearly cheerful, fighters. The reporter will sum up the interview with a beautiful ambiguous phrase: “The commander led his brigade into the city. To a city that doesn't exist."
It’s like a rhetorical “What are we fighting for?..”
Journalists did not go to war with the Sofrintsy for an answer to this sacramental question. The writing and filming brethren felt that where this brigade is, there are the hottest battles, there is the epicenter of events, there are feats, there are heroes. In search of the origins of courage and heroism, journalists sought to be close to the brigade fighters. Near Samashki, in an ambush, the military correspondent of the magazine “On a Combat Post,” senior lieutenant Anatoly Yagodin, who loved the Sofrintsy very much and wrote a lot about them, died.
During the second war, near the village of Chervlennaya, photojournalist Oleg Smirnov was seriously wounded, who walked his glorious path with his Sofrintsy friends, capturing both battle battles and everyday life in tents and trenches at the front...
We will remember all this. Let us remember the joy of victories, the faces of heroes. Let us remember the bitter days of loss, the tears of inconsolable widows and mothers, the monuments that were erected in honor of the dead. As long as we ourselves are alive, we will say: “Hello, Sofrintsy!”
... The retired commander of the internal troops, Colonel General Yuri Vasilyevich Shatalin, chose a “village to live in” - he was tired of the noisy capital, and besides, “those who fought have the right to sit by a quiet river.”
Remembering the proverb “where he was born, he was useful there,” he traveled around his native Dmitrov, from Moscow to Sergiev Posad, knowing that here he could find complete peace after all his wars and military campaigns.
A suitable house with a vegetable garden was found in Khotkovo, near Radonezh, where the wonderworker Sergius, the sad man of the Russian land, of all Rus', lived.
The abbot of Radonezh lived here in ancient times, but as if yesterday he set off from here on foot across Rus', gathering it together with deeds and words.
According to the testimony of contemporaries, amazing purity, modesty and strength distinguished the youth Bartholomew (the future Sergius). Isn’t it these virtues that are so characteristic of many brave Sofrintsy - those who fell in battle and are still living?!
It was he, Sergius of Radonezh, who blessed the Russian army for the right battle before the Battle of Kulikovo, and sent the monks and warriors of Peresvet and Oslyabya into mortal combat with the Horde.
Pilgrims going to Sergius, to the Lavra, always stopped in Sofrino.
So Yuri Vasilyevich Shatalin, who created the front line brigade in 1988, when retiring, decided unambiguously and firmly: “I will be next to my Sofrintsy!”
... In 1992, when there was no longer a state called the USSR, on the parade ground of the Sofrino brigade, three flags fluttered on high flagpoles - Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian. The brigade commander explained: “There is no union, and the soldiers called up from Belarus and Ukraine remained to serve until the end of their term. And until then the flags will be here. Politics is politics, but no one can cancel our Sofrino brotherhood by any decree..."

Boris KARPOV
Photo by Oleg SMIRNOV,
Vladimir NIKOLAICHUK
and the author

21 OBRON is a separate operational brigade of the internal troops of the National Guard (military unit 3641). Located in the village of Ashukino, Moscow region.

There is no official website. Up-to-date information regarding conscription service and other information of concern to parents, including reviews, can be obtained here.

The 21st operational brigade is a unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. This connection appeared in 1988, at the same time the first call took place.

Soldiers of the Sofrino brigade took part in many military conflicts, including international ones: in Nagorno-Karabakh, Fergana, Vilnius, Baku. They also took part in both Chechen campaigns, which claimed the lives of many soldiers and officers.

Over the entire period of its existence, the brigade lost 109 soldiers who died while performing their duties. One of them, Lieutenant Oleg Yakovlevich Babak, was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the USSR and forever included in the list of unit personnel.

Service

The organization of the service, with the exception of some outfits, does not differ from the service in other units. Military personnel guard facilities in Moscow, and are especially often called upon to ensure order during holidays and other public events.

The outfits differ due to the fact that the unit belongs to the National Guard. There are orders for the canteen, cleaning barracks, bathrooms, and others. In addition to them, soldiers clear the territory of the unit from snow, which is what conscripts do in regular units of the Ministry of Defense.

Soldiers study regulations, take part in various exercises, and undergo physical training.

Accommodation

Accommodation in barracks-type dormitories. The premises are large, designed for 70 people. Each soldier is assigned his bedside table.

The barracks have sports corners, bathrooms, and rest rooms. Once a week there is a bath day.

Meals in the dining room. Due to the fact that the unit does not belong to the Ministry of Defense, there is a canteen outfit.

Many people get sick at the beginning of their service. This is largely due to natural stress. There is a sanitary unit, but the medicines in it are the most common. Severe cases are treated in a hospital, or they may also be sent for treatment to another military unit (6892).

On the territory of the unit there is a store where you can buy food and other necessary things. It accepts cards.

Contentment

The salary for employees of unit 3641 is 1,100 rubles for 2017. This is almost 2 times less than in other parts. The difference is due to the fact that the unit does not belong to the Ministry of Defense, but is subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Other orders apply in this area, including those relating to allowances.

Telephone communications

Phones are not provided, so they are taken away. Issued once or twice a week at the discretion of the commander. However, if there is an urgent need to communicate, then there are soldiers who, due to their nature of service, must always be in touch.

Command telephone numbers can be taken at the oath. They are not publicly available. It is recommended to call in emergency situations; lack of communication with a soldier does not apply to this.

Parcel address

41250, Moscow region, Pushkinsky district, pos. Ashukino, st. Lesnaya, 1a, in h 3641, subdivision, full name.

The parcels are collected from the post office by the soldiers themselves, accompanied by an officer or contract soldier. They receive them not strictly when they arrive, but as it happens, so the parcel can lie in the mail for a long time.

Oath

The oath takes place on Saturday mornings. Usually it starts at 10 o’clock, but can be moved to 11. Units begin to be allowed into the territory 15 minutes before the start of the ceremony. Before this, everyone is registered, so you must have documents with you. After the oath, everyone is invited to the club, where the command answers questions from parents.

Dismissal may not be given. The issue is decided according to the situation: there were cases when, before the oath, there was information that there would be no dismissal, but the soldiers were released, but the opposite happened: communication took place only in the visiting room.

Since they may not be released on leave, you need to prepare food that the soldier will take with him. There is no need to put in perishable products; they will still be taken out during inspection.

Visits

You should find out about possible dismissals after taking the oath yourself. They are usually not practiced. The soldier can be seen at the checkpoint in the visiting room, and food can be given to him there. He will not be allowed to bring in medicines or alcohol, nor will he be allowed to carry perishable foodstuffs.

There is a schedule for dates: on Saturday from lunch to 6 pm, since it is before lunch in all parts of the PCB. On Sunday from 9 am to 4 pm.

The room has a kettle, microwave, tables and chairs.

How can I get to

Ashukino is located not far from Moscow (about 55 km). From there you can get there by train or bus and minibus.

• From Yaroslavsky station by train. Get off at Ashukinskaya station.
• From Art. VDNKh metro station by bus No. 388, get off at the Sofrinsky Post stop, then change to minibus No. 48 (get off at the Ashukinskaya platform stop).
• There is also a train from Sergiev Posad to Ashukino.

From the station you will need to walk a short distance to the checkpoint.

Where to stay

There are no hotels in either Ashukino or Sofrino. But there are in nearby settlements: Sofrino-1 (it is located away from Sofrino), in Mogiltsy and the village. Lesnoy. You can also stay directly in Moscow or Sergiev Posad. There is a train from Sergiev Posad to Ashukino.

Another option is to look for housing through advertisements for apartments for rent on Avito or other similar sites.

Vladimir Nikolaevich, what tasks are the brigade facing today?

Our main task today is to assist law enforcement agencies in maintaining law and order at their location and in surrounding areas. If any conflict arises on Russian territory, we are obliged to separate the warring parties. We must also resist terrorist attacks. At the same time, we have wartime tasks for territorial defense. In general, our tasks are broad.

Currently, all personnel are located here, at the place of permanent deployment, and serve in Moscow and the Moscow region. We patrol in the city of Pushkin, Mytishchi, Korolev, Sergiev Posad, Moscow. We go to Moscow for various large public events: football matches, celebrations of May 9, City Day... We are not special forces, but our units are well trained for specific actions to protect public order. For example, we have our own platoon of dog handlers. All sorts of dogs: mine-detecting dogs, tracking dogs, and guard dogs. On the eve of any mass event, first of all, specialists with dogs arrive at the venue, who first inspect it, and only then stand guard together with the police. We don’t take dogs with us to the capital - they have their own dog handlers there, but in the Moscow region we use our own dogs.

What is the assessment of the work of the brigade units in the Moscow region?

We met with the prosecutor of the Pushkinsky district, and he said that in the territory under his jurisdiction, for the period from January to September of this year, crime fell, if my memory serves me correctly, by 18%. He noted that our guys also contribute to this - their constant joint patrols with employees of internal affairs departments at the same stations and in especially dangerous places. Because there were cases when we detained someone for crimes.

Are your current resources and resources sufficient for you today?

Yes, today the brigade is fully provided with everything necessary, staffed with personnel, armored vehicles, and ready to carry out the tasks facing it. This, I believe, is a great merit of the high command. The brigade is ready to rise on alarm at any time, march and carry out any practical task that is assigned. Naturally, within the framework of the Constitution, within the framework of laws.

PRIVATE BUSSINESS SIMACHKOV Vladimir Nikolaevich Born in 1956 in the village of Novoselki, Buinsky district of the TASSR. In 1980 he graduated with honors from the Novosibirsk Higher Command School of the Internal Troops of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs, and in 1990 - from the Military Academy named after. Frunze. He went through all the steps of the career ladder from a private in conscript service to a brigade commander inclusive. Participated in eliminating unrest and restoring the constitutional order in all “hot spots” in Transcaucasia and the North Caucasus. Since February 2001, he has commanded the 21st separate operational brigade. Military rank - major general. Knight of the Order of Courage and "For Military Merit". Married, has two children.

- Could you give a frank description of the conscripts who come to you today: according to physical, psychological, educational and other data?

Unfortunately, we have now been moved to the third health group, so the military personnel come different. A lot of them come from single-parent families - and this is already a big minus; many military personnel do not have a general secondary education - this also leaves its mark on working with them. Well, regarding external data, I will say the following: those who served for a long time may, of course, think that some soldiers do not look good here, but I fight with them and see that short and frail guys sometimes hold up better and carry them on their shoulders. much more than those who seem healthier than them. However, it’s difficult to judge here, because a lot depends on the character of the person.

Almost the entire personnel of the 21st Brigade went on business trips to Chechnya, including you. During what periods after the end of full-scale hostilities were militants most active?

The spring of 2001 was difficult. Especially because of high explosives and attacks. The shelling was more frequent.

And when did the brigade suffer the greatest losses?

During the storming of Grozny, in December 1999.

Can you give an example of some of the most successful military operations?

We have had many such operations. True, we didn’t take big leaders, but the middle ones, as they called themselves, “emirs” of this or that region - almost every six months. They were discovered by their call signs, and then handed over to the relevant authorities. I don’t know their names; the FSB has already established their real names. We took especially many demolitions: we set up ambushes, and when they went out onto the road to lay a landmine, my guys met them at that moment... We carried out engineering reconnaissance almost daily on routes with a total length of over 70 km, and for the entire period while we carried out these events, there were no explosions in these areas. Another thing is that there were shellings or something else, but this was not our fault. When my engineering reconnaissance took place, there were no losses. In terms of seizures, I can say something like this: in a day or two we removed one landmine.

What were the tasks of the units of the 21st Defense Forces located on the territory of Chechnya?

Our tasks were to assist the internal affairs bodies and ensure order in the Staropromyslovsky and Zavodsky districts of Grozny. What did this mean? We maintained our checkpoints, our outposts, carried out access control, carried out special measures to identify militants and persons involved in terrorist activities and, together with employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the FSB and other units, detained them.

What tactics did the militants follow during that period?

Mainly mine warfare tactics. Although the methods they used were different: from dressing up in our uniform and causing outrages in populated areas, ending with bribery, getting drunk - whatever. But the biggest obstacle to our work were the “mass demonstrations of citizens” provoked and paid for by militant emissaries: women came out, blocked the roads and, waving scarves, began shouting that our servicemen had stolen someone from them. The troops have no resistance to this.

Do you think it is possible to trust local police officers in Chechnya today? Were there any moments when you and your subordinates felt that at some point they might be stabbed in the back by their Chechen allies?

I think that if the president and the authorities have determined that it is necessary to provide assistance to the heads of local administrations, then there should be no doubts. There were minor skirmishes that were in no way dependent on the leaders - say, a policeman had a fight with my soldier, and a conflict arose between them on a domestic basis. But for part to part to go, and at the commander level to have to sort it out later - this did not happen.

What did you lack in terms of technical and other equipment?

A big obstacle was some lack of knowledge of the area in which we operated. We had in our hands topographic maps from old publications, which showed one thing, but in reality we saw something completely different, as a result of which it happened that we began to get lost. During this war, our radio communications became better - there were approximately the same compact radio stations that could fit in one hand that the militants had in the last war. However, even now they use more modern equipment compared to ours with “dialers”, decoders and closed communications. But we, too, when we take it from them, use it... The radio jammer installed on the armored personnel carrier, which “quenches” all radio signals arriving at landmines, has proven itself quite well, but the guaranteed distance that it provides (for me, the most modern one worked at 100 m) , - it’s small. Therefore, of course, I would like to have a more powerful system.

In your opinion, when will there be a need for counter-terrorism measures in Chechnya?

Everything is done purposefully and correctly, but the intensity of it all, for unknown reasons, is still too low. It is necessary to create jobs there, pay people money in the same amount that emissaries of gangs pay them, only for the restoration of housing, enterprises, factories - so that they are interested in the stability of the region. When people know that working in a village, at a factory in Grozny, they are guaranteed to get their money, they will stop supporting those who are hiding in the mountains. Otherwise, you will not defeat the militants either by force or by bombing - others will replace one. Yes, blood feud will remain, yes, someone else will go to the mountains, but every day there will be fewer and fewer of them. The faster the welfare of Chechnya grows, the sooner the situation there will stabilize. There is no other option.

How long were some of your servicemen on business trips in Chechnya? Have any rehabilitation measures been carried out with them?

They stayed there from a month to a year and two months maximum. After returning to their place of permanent deployment, they lived for three months according to a rehabilitation daily routine, which included daytime rest and trips to Moscow. Psychologists took part and sponsors helped. Almost all of the military personnel who needed deeper treatment went through a psychologist, psychiatrist, or medical school. Well, there were no such people for someone to return from there as a fool. Unfortunately, it turns out a little the other way around - more of these people come from civilian life.

Did your people get extra leave?

We are not entitled to it: this law applies only to military personnel serving in the Transcaucasus and on the territory of Tajikistan. We took advantage of other benefits. We were paid money there for completing tasks, including the soldiers. A soldier who served for a year in Chechnya took home on average 50-60 thousand rubles. The slobs, of course, took away only 10 thousand or less.

In what sense are they slobs? Those who received money and spent it there?

No, for each special operation we selected normal people who could carry out the tasks, and left those who were worse on the sidelines. And the so-called “combat” money was received only by those who participated in special operations. If a person participated in the operation, then together with daily allowance and other payments he was credited for that day with about 1 thousand rubles.

In recent years, the topic of recruiting troops through conscription has been very actively discussed. How many contract soldiers do you have in your brigade and what is your own opinion on this issue?

In my brigade, approximately every sixth person is a contract soldier. I am also a supporter of a contract army, it will be more professional and better, but it is a pity that the state does not yet have the money for this.

Are contract workers residents of the Moscow region?

Nobody comes to us from the Moscow region or Moscow. Mostly guys from the Urals, from the Tver province, from remote villages serve, then they marry girls near Moscow, there are already such cases.

Is the brigade experiencing a shortage of officers?

No, graduating from colleges allows you to be fully recruited, but another problem arises: lieutenants earn on average 4.5-5 thousand rubles and when they start families, they begin not only to break down, but to wonder whether it is worth continuing to put up with such a miserable existence ? It’s not that they perform their service poorly after this, but doubts arise, because go to any security agency, and they pay 700-800 rubles per night. So people begin to think: why do we serve here, invest so much effort?..