Senior Sergeant Alexander Mironenko was among the first to be awarded the highest combat award in Afghanistan - the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Posthumously.
We served with him in the same 317th parachute regiment, only I was in the 2nd battalion, and he was in a reconnaissance company. The number of the regiment at that time was almost 800 people, so I personally did not know him - I found out about him, however, like all the other paratroopers of the regiment, only two months after his death, on the day when an official message was read before the whole formation about conferring the title of Hero to our brother-soldier.
The feat that Mironenko accomplished was known to everyone in our regiment, but only in general terms: that while performing a combat mission, he and two other scouts were surrounded, fired back for a long time, and at the end of the battle, when his comrades died and the cartridges ran out, Mironenko, so as not to to be captured, blew himself up and the approaching enemies with an F-1 grenade. No more details, no details - even the names of the comrades who died with him - and they were also our fellow soldiers - were never mentioned.
… Years passed. Soviet troops were withdrawn from Afghanistan, and later the Soviet Union itself collapsed. At this time, I just started writing the novel "Soldiers of the Afghan War", where I shared my memories of service in the airborne troops and Afghanistan. About the death of Art. I mentioned Sergeant Mironenko there only briefly, outlining the well-known story in the chapter "Kunar operation", because I knew nothing more.
Twenty-five years have passed since the death of Mironenko. It would seem that nothing foretold that I would have to stir up long-past events, when one day a message from a former countryman and friend Mironenko came to the guest book of my novel, published on the Internet. He asked me if I knew Mironenko and asked me to write everything that I know about him. Since it was about the Hero, I took this request with all responsibility. At first, I collected all the information about Mironenko on the Internet - but there were no memories of his colleagues, and the description of his last fight was clearly fiction. Therefore, in order to make the answer more complete and reliable, I decided to find those who, together with Mironenko, served in the reconnaissance company, and write memoirs about the first Hero of Afghanistan from their words.
I was lucky from the very beginning: several former colleagues of Mironenko lived just in my city - Novosibirsk - and it was not difficult to find them. Meetings have begun. From colleagues, I learned the names of the two soldiers who were part of Mironenko's troika: they were the gunner, corporal Viktor Zadvorny, and the driver, corporal Nikolai Sergeev. Both served in a reconnaissance company in the Mironenko squad and were drafted into the army in November 1978.
But in the course of the conversations, quite unexpectedly, other, very strange, circumstances of Mironenko's last fight began to open up. The most surprising thing was that not everyone in the Mironenko group died at all: one of this trio still managed to survive. He was found in the mountains a day after the battle, alive and unharmed. The survivor was Nikolai Sergeev. Since there were no other eyewitnesses to the death of Mironenko, in the future, the whole feat of Mironenko was described only from his words. After demobilization, Sergeev went to his home in Nizhny Novgorod. I tried to get in touch with him, but unfortunately I was not able to talk to Sergeev: I was informed that ten years ago (in 1997) he drowned. It was a pity, because he was the only eyewitness to the feat of Mironenko and no one except him could tell all the details of that battle.
But I kept looking and got lucky again. Another eyewitness of those events responded to my ad on the Internet - the deputy platoon commander of the 6th company, Sergeant Alexander Zotov, who was sent to reconnaissance for the duration of that military operation. He saw Mironenko alive one of the last. Here are his memoirs:
"Early in the morning of February 29, 1980, we were brought to the Kabul airfield, given an additional set of ammunition, built and determined a combat mission, which was to" clear "the area in the landing area. They also said that there should not be any serious resistance , since aviation will "work" the entire territory well beforehand, we only need to go down and finish off those who survive.
We got into helicopters and flew. I flew in a helicopter with Mironenko. There were seven of us: my four, where I was the eldest, and Mironenko's troika, in which he was the eldest.
After about an hour of flight, our Mi-8 descended and hovered a meter above the ground. We quickly jumped down. None of us were around. Unexpectedly, Mironenko, without even saying a word to me, immediately ran with his group along the path, which was going down. Realizing that in this situation it would be better to stick together, I led my group after them. But the Mironenko group ran very fast and we were constantly lagging behind. So we ran down almost half a mountain, when an order came over the radio - everyone urgently returned to the landing site and helped the paratroopers who were ambushed, which were already seriously wounded. Mironenko and I, like the older groups, had Zvezdochka walkie-talkies, which worked only for reception. I turned my group around and we went back, and Mironenko's group at that moment was 200 meters away from us and continued to move down. I never saw Mironenko alive again."
Everything that happened to the Mironenko troika further was already memories from the words of the only survivor of that group, Sergeev. Here is what Sergeev said from the words of his colleagues:
“Mironenko heard the order to go upstairs on the radio, but still ordered us to go down. We went down and saw a small village consisting of 5-6 duvals (the soldiers called the primitive adobe dwellings of the Afghans the duvals). As soon as we entered it, as for us opened heavy fire. We realized that we were surrounded. Mironenko and Zadvorny ran into one duval and began to shoot back, and I lay down outside and began to cover.
The fight went on for a long time. I hear Zadvorny shouting to Mironenko: "I'm wounded! Bandage it!", and Mironenko shouted back: "I'm also wounded!" The shootout continued. Then the fire from the duval stopped. I look - the Afghans entered this duval, and immediately an explosion was heard.
Realizing that everything was over there, I crawled away and hid behind the stones. Of course, the Afghans saw that there were three of us, but they did not comb the area - apparently they were afraid to stumble upon my fire, and decided to wait until I showed myself when I tried to go back. They climbed up and hid. I saw it and therefore began to wait for the night.
Finally it got dark, and I already wanted to go upstairs, but suddenly, a little further away, by the light of the moon, I saw the shadow of an Afghan and realized that they were still guarding me. At night, the Afghans made an attempt to find out where I was - they drove cattle at me, hoping that I would get scared and start shooting. And so I lay behind the stone until the morning. And when it dawned, I see - 5-6 people who were tracking me, got up and left. After waiting, I went to make my way to my own."
A day later, Sergeyev is found. A helicopter is sent to the place of Mironenko's death. Alexander Zotov recalls:
"A total of 10 people flew, including myself and Sergeev. Soon the village was found. The helicopter descended, landed troops and flew away. Sergeev showed the duval where Mironenko and Zadvorny took the fight. But their bodies were not there. Nothing was found in others They began to look around and found the body of Zadvorny not far away. There were three deep stab wounds on his neck. Then, lower in the bushes, they found the body of Mironenko. One arm was torn off from him, and only the back of the head remained from his head. We went to the duval, brought two wooden beds, wrapped the bodies in blankets, laid them on the beds, and carried them down to the base."
But one of the scouts, who was in that village, remembered some other details: in addition to stab wounds, Zadvorny's legs were shot through his neck. He also noticed that there were few spent cartridges at the battlefield. And most importantly, Mironenko had a wound under his jaw from a 5.45 caliber bullet. A participant in that Kunar operation, a gunner from the reconnaissance company, Corporal Vladimir Kondalov, told me about this.
All this was said in a general conversation, without any further conclusions. However, when analyzing these details, I found that they contradict other basic facts and do not fit into the well-known picture of the battle. Indeed, if Mironenko had a fatal bullet wound to the head, this meant that he died not from a grenade explosion at all, but from a bullet. Moreover, someone of their own shot, since the Afghans did not yet have our captured 5.45 caliber assault rifles (only two months had passed after the troops were brought in, and that Kunar military operation was the first). Of course, if Mironenko had blown up a grenade that had blown off part of his head, then there would have been no point in shooting him in the head after that.
Bayonet knifefrom AK-74
Yes, and Viktor Zadvorny, who died along with Mironenko, judging by the description of his injuries, did not die at all from bullets (since wounds in the legs are not fatal) and not from a knife (since the throat is cut with a knife) - he received a mortal blow with a bayonet-knife. The bayonet-knife from the machine gun that every paratrooper had was so blunt that it was impossible to cut anything with it - you can only stab - it was the stab wounds that were on Zadvorny's throat.
And the last thing: a small number of spent cartridges indicates that the battle was short, in any case, the paratroopers did not run out of ammunition - after all, everyone had more than 1000 rounds of ammunition in stores and in a backpack.
Now the story of the death of Mironenko began to take on the form of a real detective story. All my suspicions about the death of Mironenko and Zadvorny fell on Sergeyev, who miraculously survived. Hazing could well have been the motive.
Indeed, Sergeev was younger than Mironenko, and Mironenko, according to the recollections of his colleagues, was a very stern "grandfather". Strong, and also having a sports rank in boxing (candidate for master of sports), Mironenko was a zealous guardian of wild army traditions - hazing - and planted cruelty and "hazing" not only in his platoon, where he was deputy platoon commander, but and in all intelligence.
This is how Vladimir Kondalov recalls one "conversation" with Mironenko (in the reconnaissance company he was called "Mammoth", since Kondalov was the tallest and largest in build):
“We served in different reconnaissance platoons: I served in the first, and Mironenko was a “castle” in the second. Somehow Mironenko and another sergeant took me to a room where there was no one. Mironenko moved forward, squeezed my tunic at the throat : "Mammoth! When are you going to fuck young people?! - and struck me in the jaw with an elbow.
In the foreground on the left is Vladimir Kondalov, on the right is Nikolai Sergeev, the only surviving paratrooper from the group of Alexander Mironenko. Afghanistan, Kabul, summer 1980.
Yes, due to hazing, Sergeyev could have accumulated resentment against Mironenko, but what motive could Sergeyev have to kill Zadvorny - after all, Zadvorny was of the same call as Sergeyev? I found an explanation in a conversation with Pavel Antonenko, who then served as a driver in a reconnaissance company. He said that Mironenko's relationship with Zadvorny was the best, even more than that - they were real friends, which means that Sergeyev could have the same feelings for one-conscript Zadvorny as for "grandfather" Mironenko. Now it all fits together. Analyzing all the collected material, the following picture of events began to emerge in my mind.
When Mironenko's group moved far away from the landing site, Sergeyev approached Mironenko and shot him from below in the head - the bullet blows the upper part of the skull (bullets with a displaced center have a special characteristic wound - a large lacerated wound forms at the exit from the body). The only thing Zadvorny manages to do is turn around and run, but Sergeyev shoots at the most unprotected place - at the legs (since he was wearing a bulletproof vest on his body and a helmet on his head). Then he comes up to the fallen and still alive Zadvorny and plunges the bayonet-knife into his throat three times. After that, Sergeev hides the weapons and ammunition of the dead, and he himself hides in the mountains for a while. It is found only a day later by the paratroopers of the 357th regiment, who were located at the foot of the mountains.
But that is not all. One more important question remained unresolved - how, after all, to explain the incomprehensible behavior of Mironenko himself immediately after the landing? Indeed, why did Mironenko rush down so irresistibly? - after all, at that moment he had a completely different combat mission.
Colonel-General Viktor Merimsky, who led the entire Kunar operation, wrote in his memoirs “In Pursuit of the Panjshir Lion” that a capture group, a reconnaissance company of the regiment, was first landed in the landing area, which was supposed to take up defense around the landing sites and cover the landing of the main forces 3 th battalion. And since Mironenko was in the reconnaissance company, it means that for his group the first task was to gain a foothold and hold the defense at the place of their landing. And only after the helicopters landed the entire landing, it was necessary for everyone to move down in an organized manner under the leadership of the officers.
Moreover, why did Mironenko, having voluntarily left the landing site and hearing on the radio that fighting had begun upstairs, that there were wounded and that it was urgent to go upstairs and go to the aid of his comrades, despite everything, did not comply with this order?
I could find only one explanation for this - looting. He wanted to find a village and, using absolute impunity, inflict reprisals on its inhabitants: rob, rape or kill - there simply could not be other targets in the mountains, in the war zone. Mironenko ignores all orders, finds a village, but then events began to develop not at all according to his plan ...
April 2008
continued ... Mironenko submachine gun.
material about Mironenko (descriptions of his feat) >>
Simultaneously with Alexander Mironenko, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was posthumously awarded to another fellow soldier of ours - senior sergeant Nikolai Chepik, who served in a sapper company. Some of the circumstances under which they died were very similar. Chepik, like Mironenko, was a "grandfather" - he was only two months away from home, they were both senior in their groups, the groups consisted of three soldiers, and they died on the very first day of the Kunar operation - February 29, 1980. As officially reported, their groups were surrounded, and at the end of the battle, in order not to be captured, they blew themselves up, only Chepik blew himself up with a MON-100 directional mine. And just like in the story with Mironenko, there are no details of the last fight. Also, the names of the soldiers who died with Chepik were never mentioned.
The little that I managed to learn about the death of Chepik was told to me by a participant in the Kunar operation, sapper Nikolai Zuev. I learned from him that Chepik's group included two paratroopers from a sapper company: this is Private Kerim Kerimov, an Avar, wrestler from Dagestan (recruitment November-78) and Private Alexander Rassokhin (conscription November-79). They all died.
Zuev did not hear that there were eyewitnesses of how Chepik blew himself up, but he described the nature of the injuries established during the identification of the bodies of the dead: both old-timers, Chepik and Kerimov, had their heads crushed with stones (Kerimov had almost nothing left of his head), and young Rassokhin, who had not served for half a year, had his head intact.
It seemed very strange to me: in fact, why was it necessary to break the head of Chepik, who blew himself up with a mine stuffed with two kilograms of TNT? After such an explosion, nothing should have remained from Chepik's body. It also seemed strange that Rassokhin had no head injuries: how could he have been killed if he was wearing a bulletproof vest? - All these paradoxes, I could find only one explanation.
When the group was in a remote place, Rassokhin shot his offenders-old-timers from a machine gun - and he had to shoot only in the face - there was nowhere else: the body was protected by a bulletproof vest, a helmet was on his head. 5.45 caliber off-center bullets blow their heads to pieces: outwardly it looked like they had been smashed with stones.
But the paratroopers who came to the place of death immediately discovered that it was Rassokhin himself who killed his colleagues. A lynching was arranged right there on the spot: Rassokhin was ordered to take off his bulletproof vest and shot. They shot in the chest, so Rassokhon's head remained intact.
material about Chepik (descriptions of his feat) >>
* * *
Here are two stories. Both are written from the words of eyewitnesses, and I gave my own explanations for some strange facts. So far, the pictures of those events have turned out only in the most general terms, but I would like to know the details. Perhaps there are other eyewitnesses of those events that could shed light on these, in many respects still dark stories of their death. But living witnesses can also be cunning so as not to spoil the prevailing bright image of the heroes. Therefore, in an investigation, it is always necessary to rely on physical evidence, and they are. Mironenko and Chepik (and those who died with them) themselves keep the keys to unraveling the mystery of their death - these are bullets and traces of wounds in their bodies.
The version that they were killed by their own colleagues will be confirmed only if Zadvorny has traces of wounds only from a bayonet-knife in his throat, and all the rest have traces of wounds characteristic of 5.45 caliber bullets. If Rassokhin is found to have wounds only in the chest, this will be confirmation that his colleagues shot him.
Biographies of the Heroes of the Soviet Union - participants in the war in Afghanistan
ARSENOV Valery Viktorovich
Private, senior reconnaissance grenade launcher of the 173rd separate special forces detachment, Hero of the Soviet Union.
Born on June 24, 1966 in the regional center of the Donetsk region of Ukraine, the city of Donetsk, in a working class family.
From the fourth to the eighth grade I studied at a boarding school.
From 1982 to 1985 he studied at the Donetsk Construction Vocational School. After graduation, he worked as a fitter-assembler of metal structures at one of the factories in Donetsk.
Since October 1985 in the ranks of the Soviet Army. He served as part of a limited contingent of Soviet troops in Afghanistan. Participated in 15 combat exits.
February 28, 1986, participating in a battle with superior enemy forces 80 kilometers east of Kandahar, a senior reconnaissance grenade launcher, being seriously wounded, continued to fire. At the critical moment of the battle, the brave warrior, at the cost of his life, covered the company commander from enemy bullets and saved his life. He died on the battlefield from his wounds.
GOROSHKO Yaroslav Pavlovich
Captain, company commander of the 22nd separate special forces brigade, Hero of the Soviet Union.
Born on October 4, 1957 in the village of Borschevka, Lanovetsky district, Ternopil region of Ukraine, in a working class family.
In 1974 he graduated from 10 classes, worked at an electrical repair plant.
Since 1976 - in the Soviet Army.
In 1981 he graduated from the Khmelnytsky Higher Military Artillery Command School.
From September 1981 to November 1983 he served in Afghanistan as commander of a mortar platoon and an air assault company.
After returning to the USSR, he served in one of the special forces formations.
In 1986, at his personal request, he was sent to Afghanistan.
On October 31, 1987, a group under his command departed to help the group of Senior Lieutenant Onishchuk O.P. As a result of the battle, 18 Mujahideen were destroyed. Scouts from the Goroshko Ya.P. picked up the bodies of the dead scouts from the group of O.P. Onishchuk. and under enemy fire carried them to the place of evacuation.
In 1988 he became a student of the Military Academy named after M.V. Frunze, and at the end of it he continued to serve as deputy commander of the 8th separate special forces brigade, stationed in the city of Izyaslav, Khmelnytsky region of Ukraine.
After the collapse of the USSR since 1992, Ya.P. Goroshko stood at the origins of the creation of military intelligence of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He served in the 1464th Special Purpose Regiment of the Black Sea Fleet of Ukraine.
ISLAMOV Yuri Verikovich
Junior sergeant, soldier of the 22nd separate special forces brigade, Hero of the Soviet Union.
Born on April 5, 1968 in the village of Arslanbob, Bazar-Korgon district, Osh region, Kyrgyzstan, in the family of a forester.
After graduating from elementary school, he moved to the city of Talitsa, Sverdlovsk Region, where in 1985 he graduated from 10 classes.
In 1986 he graduated from the 1st year of the Sverdlovsk Forestry Institute and completed a course in the parachute section.
Since October 1986 in the Soviet Army.
From May 1987, he served as part of a limited contingent of Soviet troops in Afghanistan as a squad leader in one of the special forces units.
On October 31, 1987, the group in which he was engaged engaged in battle with superior enemy forces near the village of Duri in the province of Zabol, near the border with Pakistan. Voluntarily volunteered to cover the retreat of his comrades. During the battle he was wounded twice. Despite this, he continued to fight until the last bullet. Engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy and blew himself up along with six Mujahideen.
KOLESNIK Vasily Vasilievich
Major General, Hero of the Soviet Union.
Born on December 13, 1935 in the village of Slavyanskaya (now the city of Slavyansk-on-Kuban) of the Slavyansk region of the Krasnodar Territory in a family of employees - the chief agronomist and teacher (she taught Russian language and literature). My father studied rice growing in China and Korea for more than five years. Fluent in Chinese and Korean. In 1934, after completing his studies abroad, he began breaking the first checks for rice cultivation in the Kuban.
In 1939, my father was sent to work in Ukraine, in the Mirgorod district of the Poltava region, to organize the cultivation of rice. Here the family was caught in the war. Father and mother went to the partisan detachment, leaving four children in the arms of grandparents.
On November 6, 1941, having come to the village to the children, the parents and another partisan were betrayed by a traitor and fell into the hands of the Germans. The next day they were shot in front of the children. Four children were left in the care of their grandparents. In the occupation, the family survived thanks to the grandmother, who was well-versed in folk medicine and treated the villagers. People paid for her services with products.
In 1943, when the Mirgorod region was liberated, the two sisters Vasily were taken in by their mother's middle sister, and little Vasya and his brother were taken by the younger one. The sister's husband was the deputy head of the Armavir flight school. In 1944 he was transferred to Maykop.
In 1945 he entered the Krasnodar Suvorov Military School (Maikop), and graduated from the Caucasian Suvorov Military School in 1953 (transferred to the city of Ordzhonikidze in 1947).
In 1956, after graduating from the Caucasian Red Banner Suvorov Officers' School, he connected his fate with the special forces. He served as commander of the 1st (reconnaissance) platoon of the 92nd separate special forces company of the 25th Army (Far Eastern Military District), company commander of the 27th separate special forces battalion in Poland (Northern Group of Forces).
In 1966, after graduating from the Academy. M.V. Frunze, successively held the positions of head of intelligence of the brigade, head of the operational intelligence department and chief of staff of the brigade (Far Eastern Military District, Turkestan Military District).
Since 1975, he was the commander of a special forces brigade, and subsequently served in the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR.
With the introduction of a limited contingent of Soviet troops into Afghanistan in 1979, it was in the combat area. On December 27, 1979, a battalion with a staff strength of more than 500 people, formed and trained by him under a special program, took a direct part in the assault on Amin's palace. Despite the five-fold numerical superiority of the palace guard brigade, the battalion under the command of V.V. Kolesnik captured the palace in just 15 minutes. For the preparation and exemplary performance of a special task - Operation Storm-333 - and the courage and courage shown at the same time, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of April 28, 1980, he, one of the first "Afghans", was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. He was awarded the Orders of Lenin, "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" 3rd degree, medals, as well as the Order of the Red Banner and two medals of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. He had 349 parachute jumps to his credit.
In 1982 he graduated from the Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR. Under the leadership of V.V. Kolesnik consistently and purposefully improved the organizational structure and the system of combat training of military units and special forces.
Being in the reserve, until the last days of his life he was the chairman of the Council of Special Forces Veterans. He took an active part in the patriotic education of the Suvorovites of the newly created North Caucasian Suvorov Military School in the city of Vladikavkaz.
KUZNETSOV Nikolai Anatolievich
Guard lieutenant, soldier of the 15th separate special forces brigade, Hero of the Soviet Union.
Born on June 29, 1962 in the village of 1st Piterka, Morshansky District, Tambov Region. With a four-year-old sister, after the death of their parents, they remained in the upbringing of their grandmother.
In 1976 he entered the Leningrad Suvorov Military School.
In 1979 he graduated from college with a commendable diploma.
In 1983 he graduated from the Higher Combined Arms Command School. Kirov with a gold medal.
After graduating from college, Lieutenant N. Kuznetsov was sent to the airborne division in the city of Pskov as commander of a special forces group. He repeatedly asked to be sent to a limited contingent of Soviet troops in Afghanistan.
In 1984 he was sent to Afghanistan.
On April 23, 1985, a platoon of Lieutenant Kuznetsov N.A. received the task - as part of a company to reconnoiter the location and destroy a gang of Mujahideen, who settled in one of the villages of the Kunar province.
In the course of carrying out the assigned task, the platoon of Lieutenant Kuznetsov was cut off from the main forces of the company. A fight ensued. Having ordered the platoon to break through to their own, Lieutenant Kuznetsov N.A. together with the rear patrol remained to ensure the withdrawal. Left alone with the dushmans, Lieutenant Kuznetsov N.A. fought to the last bullet. With the last, sixth grenade, letting the dushmans come closer, Lieutenant N. Kuznetsov blew them up along with him.
MIROLYUBOV Yuri Nikolaevich
Private, BMP-70 driver of the 667th separate special forces detachment of the 15th separate special forces brigade, Hero of the Soviet Union
Born on May 8, 1967 in the village of Ryadovichi, Shablykinsky District, Oryol Region, into a peasant family.
In 1984 he graduated from high school in the village of Chistopolsky, Saratov Region, worked as a driver at the Krasnoe Znamya state farm in the Krasnopartizansky district.
In the Soviet Army since autumn 1985. He served as part of a limited contingent of Soviet troops in Afghanistan. He took part in many military operations; was wounded in one of the battles, but remained in the ranks, successfully completing a combat mission.
During the performance of combat missions, he destroyed ten Mujahideen.
In one of the battles, risking his life, he carried out the wounded chief of staff of one of the special forces units from under enemy fire.
In one of the combat exits, he made a detour of the enemy caravan and thereby cut off the escape route. During the ensuing battle, he replaced the wounded machine gunner, suppressed the resistance of the Mujahideen with fire.
In 1987 he was demobilized. He worked as a driver on a farm. Lived in the village of Chistopolsky, Krasnopartizansky district, Saratov region.
ONISCHUK Oleg Petrovich
Senior Lieutenant, Deputy Company Commander of the 22nd Separate Special Forces Brigade, Hero of the Soviet Union.
Born on August 12, 1961 in the village of Putrintsy, Izyaslavsky district, Khmelnitsky region of Ukraine, in a working class family.
Graduated from 10 classes.
Since 1978 - in the Soviet Army.
In 1982 he graduated from the Kiev Higher Combined Arms Command School named after M.V. Frunze.
Since April 1987 - in Afghanistan.
“Deputy company commander, candidate member of the CPSU, Senior Lieutenant Oleg Onishchuk, heading a reconnaissance group, successfully completing assignments to provide international assistance to the Republic of Afghanistan, showing courage and heroism, died a heroic death in battle on October 31, 1987 near the village of Duri in the province of Zabol, near the border with Pakistan…” is the official description of the cause of his death.
Everything in life was more difficult. The group of Oleg Onischuk sat in ambush for several days - they were waiting for the caravan. Finally, late in the evening of October 30, 1987, three cars appeared. The driver of the first was eliminated by the group commander from a distance of 700 meters, the other two cars disappeared. The escort and cover group of the caravan, which tried to recapture the car, was dispersed with the help of two Mi-24 helicopters that arrived. At half past five in the morning on October 31, in violation of the order of the command, Oleg Onishchuk decided on his own, without waiting for the arrival of helicopters with an inspection team, to inspect the truck. At six in the morning, he, along with part of the group, went out to the truck and was attacked by more than two hundred Mujahideen. According to the testimony of the special forces who survived that battle, the "inspection" group died within fifteen minutes. It is impossible to fight in an open area against an anti-aircraft gun and a heavy machine gun (they were in the village of Dari). According to the hero's colleagues, in that situation, the group had to fight in the early morning, even if Onishchenko had not started to inspect the truck. More than two thousand Mujahideen were deployed in this area. Although the losses would be much less. The main blame for the death of the commandos is laid by their colleagues on the command. An armored group and helicopters were supposed to arrive by six in the morning. The column with equipment did not arrive at all, and the helicopters arrived only at 6:45.
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A nineteen-year-old boy from the Ural town of Talitsa, Yuri Islamov, repeated in Afghanistan the feat of his fellow countryman, scout Nikolai Kuznetsov. On October 31, 1987, senior sergeant Islamov, ensuring the withdrawal of his surrounded comrades, blew himself up and a group of dushmans with a grenade. On February 15, on the day of the 25th anniversary of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, Hero of the Soviet Union Yury Islamov was commemorated in Yekaterinburg.
The price of victory
For seven months of service in Afghanistan, Islamov took part in ten successful military exits. The eleventh was the last, tragic ...
On the evening of October 23, a group of senior lieutenant Onishchuk, which included Yuri, was supposed to arrive by Mi-8 helicopter in the area where a caravan with weapons was expected to be delivered to the dushmans from behind the cordon. However, the helicopter, taking off into the air, immediately went to land. There was a problem and the repair was delayed. The group was unable to take off either on 24 or 25 October. Then Onischuk turned to the battalion commander with a request to advance in armored vehicles.
The group successfully reached the caravan trail and took up a position on the hill. Three days patiently waiting for transport, but he did not appear. By order, after three days, the special forces were to return to the location of the unit. But Onischuk convinces the battalion commander to stay for another day. And just on the fourth day, a caravan of three trucks appears on the road. Onischuk decides to attack the first vehicle, a three-axle Mercedes. First, the special forces put the Mujahideen in an all-terrain vehicle, and then destroyed the cover group.
It happened on the evening of October 30, from 20.00 to 21.30. But the "spirits" did not want to give up so easily. From the village of Duri, which was nearby, they began to fire at the group. Moreover, they tried to recapture the Mercedes. Then at 22.30 Onishchuk called on the radio for fire support helicopters - two Mi-24s. They dealt a powerful blow to the dushmans and the village of Duri. It seemed that all the "spirits" were killed.
In theory, at that moment our soldiers should have been taken out on "turntables" to the location of the unit. But the command underestimated the situation, the more night approached, and the decision was postponed until morning.
Around 1 am on October 31, under cover of darkness, Onishchuk with several soldiers made his way to the "Mercedes" and took away part of the trophies. The catch turned out to be rich - recoilless rifles, heavy machine guns, mortars, ammunition.
The special forces decided to make the next trip to the wrecked all-terrain vehicle at dawn. At about 5.45, as soon as Onischuk and the soldiers approached the Mercedes, the dushmans opened heavy fire on them. It turned out that the bandits were hiding very close. At night, they tracked down the special forces and realized that they would return for the rest of the trophies. And they set up an ambush. Moreover, by the morning to this place, the commander of the DIRA front - the Movement of the Islamic Revolution of Afghanistan - Mullah Madad, under whose arms there were two and a half thousand militants, managed to pull over a hundred Mujahideen. He was furious that under his nose, near his fortified area, Soviet soldiers behave so freely. And ordered to destroy them.
A fierce battle ensued. Unequal fight. Senior Lieutenant Onishchuk realized that he had to urgently retreat to the hill, but how to do this under a hail of bullets? He leaves Islamov and private Khrolenko at the "Mercedes" for cover, and he himself, with the rest of the fighters, begins to make his way to the saving rocks. But almost immediately, three soldiers are injured, but continue to shoot back. Meanwhile, Islamov and Khrolenko notice that the ring of bandits is shrinking. It seems that their guttural cries of "Allah Akbar" are already heard from all sides. Some daredevils in turbans rush to the attack, but run into long bursts of "Kalash". And then our fighters are covered with a shot from a grenade launcher. Khrolenko dies, and Yuri is wounded. But, bleeding, he continues to scribble from the machine gun.
We ran out of ammo. Yuri began to beat with short bursts. Finally, the machine stopped completely. Dushmans decided: everything, now the fighter is in their hands. They approached with apprehension, stopped, looking at the swarthy, covered in blood and dust, soldier. But Yuri was still alive. Overcoming the pain, he put his hand under him and felt for the grenade. Imperceptibly pulled out the ring with his teeth and again hid the "lemon" under the hem of his pea coat. I waited for the bandits to come quite close. Now he saw one of them, well-dressed and well-armed, stop a few paces away. Probably the commander of the Mujahideen. “It’s time,” Yuri decided, and pulled out his hand with a grenade from under him ...
19 years old and all my life
The Urals became Yuri's second home. And he was born in Kyrgyzstan. His father is Verik Ergashevich Islamov, a forester of the Arslanbobsky reserve, spread out on the spurs of the Tien Shan. Thanks to his father and grandfather, Yura began to learn about nature from early childhood. At the age of ten, he could already accurately shoot from his father's hunting rifle, "read" the tracks of animals, recognize them by the voices of birds. Yura's mother, Lyubov Ignatievna Koryakina, is a Ural girl from the city of Talitsa, Sverdlovsk Region.
After the end of the fourth grade, the parents seriously thought about the future of their son. In order to get an education, Yuri must go to a good school.
There was only one way out - to send him to the Urals, to his grandmother Agrippina Nikanorovna. Yuri went to the fifth grade already in Talitsa.
It was here that Yura turned from a shy boy into a confident and purposeful young man, he became interested in sports. And, which is not quite typical for a southerner, skiing!
Those who achieve high results in skiing are more industrious than they are able, - says Islamov's coach Alexander Alekseevich Babinov. - Yuri was just very hardworking and stubborn. Physical data - strength, growth - he did not stand out. But endurance - yes, it was.
Few people knew that Yuri kept a kind of diary. But he made notes not about what happened to him, but about what needs to be done, what to achieve. So, once he wrote down: "I undertake to grow by 8 centimeters over the summer." I shared my goal with my grandmother. She just laughed in response. However, later she was amazed at the persistence of her grandson: having tied weights to his feet, he hung on the horizontal bar for hours.
Yuri, it seemed, was scheduled not only every day, but his whole life. Here are more lines from his diary: "After school - to enter the Forestry Institute. Then go to my parents. Help them. Protect the forest ..."
Talitsky district is a protected area. Here Yuri first saw centuries-old pine forests. In those years, a school forestry worked at the local forestry. In one of the letters to his parents, Yuri told with admiration that he had planted dozens of pines, firs and even several cedars with his own hands!
Once in a chest of drawers, Yuri found front-line photographs of his grandfather, Ignatius Nikandrovich Koryakin. Unfortunately, the grandfather did not live to see his grandson appear in his house. Right there, in the chest of drawers, Yura found evidence that his grandfather was awarded the Order of the Red Star, medals "For Courage" and "Defense of Moscow", as well as letters of thanks from the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. From them it followed that the squad leader senior sergeant Koryakin fought bravely, defending Moscow, in battles near the Western Bug River, on the banks of the Vistula, and participated in the battle for Berlin.
The young man deliberately prepared himself for military service. And he soon realized that he was faced with a choice: on the one hand, he wanted to become a forester, and on the other, military service beckoned.
And it was not just a boyish whim. This thought gripped Yuri more and more. Moreover, he already knew for sure that he wanted to serve not just anywhere, but in the Airborne Forces.
In the eighth grade, Yuri, along with his classmates, was summoned to the military registration and enlistment office to pass the registration commission. And then Islamov, a pre-conscript, heard a terrible verdict: "Not fit for service!" This conclusion was made by the doctors, having discovered that he had flat feet.
Probably someone else would be okay with it. But Yuri was not like that. He decided to correct the mistake made by nature: he tore off the heels from the old shoes and nailed them from the inside, right to the insoles, of the new ones. It was uncomfortable to walk, sometimes he rubbed his legs in the blood, but he endured. I attached the same heels to the inside of the sneakers.
It is true what they say: perseverance and work will grind everything. Over time, Yuri managed to form the correct feet, in short, by the age of eighteen, and he eliminated this shortcoming that prevented him from going to the army!
In 1985, Yuri successfully graduated from high school and entered the forest engineering department of the Forestry Engineering Institute. Studying at the university was easy for Islamov. The first session, as well as the second, he passed without any problems. At the same time, he did not forget about sports.
In the winter of 1986, Islamov entered the DOSAAF aviation sports club. Yuri successfully graduated from the DOSAAF school, having received the third category of a skydiver.
And in the fall, Islamov was drafted into the army. He got into the Airborne Forces! And where! From the Urals, he was sent to training not far from his native Kyrgyzstan - in neighboring Uzbekistan, in the city of Chirchik, where special forces soldiers were trained. After graduating, Islamov, as an excellent student in combat and political training, was awarded the rank of junior sergeant and offered to remain an instructor in the training unit. But he refused. I asked the unit commander to be sent to Afghanistan.
Editorial
Unfortunately, today there are those who claim that the war in Afghanistan was in vain, and the heroism of our soldiers and officers, their sacrifices were meaningless. Society is still trying to deprive the past. And the most innocuous explanation for this may be that these people do not know the history of their country. In the conditions of confrontation between the two systems, the leadership of the USSR could not allow the Americans to enter Afghanistan, with which the USSR had too large a border. Our army defended the southern borders of the Fatherland, and Pakistan, which had nuclear weapons, also objectively fell under control.
The USSR in Afghanistan trained and educated a whole generation of Afghan intelligentsia: doctors, engineers, teachers, in fact, created the economy of this country by building 142 large facilities in the republic: schools, kindergartens, hospitals, power plants, gas pipelines, dams, three airports, a polytechnic institute and much more. Many locals still remember with gratitude the years that some call "Soviet occupation".
For our country, the Afghan war, in addition to geopolitical, had another important meaning, which is usually not talked about: in fact, it delayed for decades the influx of Afghan heroin, which today kills twice as many Russians in a year than died in all 10 years of the war, thereby preserving life for a generation - hundreds of thousands of young people.
February 23, 2013 marks the 50th anniversary of the birth of a graduate (1984) of the Alma-Ata Higher Combined Arms Command School named after Marshal of the Soviet Union I.S. Konev, Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously) Lieutenant Andrey Shakhvorostov.
He lived a short but bright life, flashed like a star in the sky, left a good memory of himself and bright memories in the hearts of those with whom he happened to live, study, serve and defend the Motherland.
Loyalty to a dream
Andrey Evgenyevich Shakhvorostov was born on February 23, 1963 in the city of Taldy-Kurgan, a regional center in the southeast of the Kazakh SSR, in a large working-class family of Evgeny Ivanovich and Zinaida Klementyevna Shakhvorostov.
Andrei grew up as a simple ordinary boy. In his early school years, he did not stand out among his peers in any way: neither in appearance, nor in manners. He helped parents raise younger children, read a lot and enthusiastically.
Since childhood, Andrey had a dream of becoming an officer, which only strengthened over the years. He drew examples for himself from books and films about the war, stories of veterans of the Great Patriotic War, relatives and older brother Yevgeny - a Suvorovite, and then a cadet of the Alma-Ata Higher Combined Arms Command School.
School teachers and classmates recalled that already in the seventh or eighth grades, Andrey was distinguished from his peers by incredible diligence, perseverance in learning and achieving his goal - to become an officer, moreover, a highly educated, seasoned, fearless officer, corresponding to his youthful ideal. That is why, after graduating from eight classes of secondary school in 1978, Andrei, without any hesitation, took his first independent step towards realizing his dream - he went to enter the Kalinin Suvorov Military School, which his elder brother Evgeny successfully graduated in the same year.
However, the attempt to enter the SVU was not successful, according to the results of the entrance exams, Andrey could not score the required number of points. The unsuccessful attempt did not discourage the young man, it became a serious lesson for him and only tempered his character. Upon returning home, Andrey analyzed the mistakes, critically assessed his knowledge and physical capabilities. Having clearly understood that for admission to a higher military school, one desire to be an officer is clearly not enough, he took up his studies, began to temper himself physically, engaged in comprehensive preparation for entering a higher military educational institution and the upcoming military service. Parents anxiously followed their son's passion, tried to dissuade him, but Andrei was firm in his choice, besides, he had an example of his older brother.
... That's the end of schooling. Behind the exams and graduation party. With a high school diploma and a great desire to study in early July 1980, Andrei arrived at the Alma-Ata Higher Combined Arms Command School, successfully passed the entrance exams and became a cadet. I was assigned to study in the 4th platoon of the 7th company of the 4th battalion. An important event in the life of cadet A. Shakhvorostov was the adoption on August 24, 1980 of the Military oath in the capital's park by 28 Panfilov guardsmen.
He is quickly drawn into his studies, trying to absorb everything that the commanders and teachers of the school teach. According to the results of the first examination session, he becomes an excellent student. After the first course, the battalion command transfers Andrei from the fourth to the second, "mountain platoon" of the 7th company, where the platoon commander was an experienced teacher, an excellent methodologist and athlete, as they say, an officer from God - Captain Plachkovsky Viktor Vladimirovich. A new stage began in Andrei's life.
In the new team, Andrei quickly established relationships with all the cadets of the platoon, in a short time he managed to gain authority and respect from commanders and classmates. The cadets were simply drawn to this short, light-eyed boy, and he reciprocated, valued friendship, opinion and respect of his comrades. Andrei was a consultant in the platoon on any issue. To any question, even the most difficult, he answered in detail and with readiness. But at the same time, he never boasted of knowledge, did not emphasize that he knew more than anyone else.
Andrey develops leadership qualities. In all cases, he tries to be the first, to be in time everywhere. At the same time, he is distinguished by extraordinary modesty and adherence to principles, he could, regardless of faces, tell the truth in his eyes. The commanders are amazed by his inexhaustible energy - he is fond of sports and photography, military history and literature, a foreign language and the basics of etiquette. Andrey is closely within the company, school, within the framework of the training course program. Already in the third year, he knows much more than he should. He always carries some super-program book in his field bag and studies it in his spare time. It is characteristic that Andrei does not mindlessly accumulate knowledge. He perfectly understands that not only the outcome of the battle, but also the lives of people will depend on his knowledge, skills and practical skills. And that he will have to join the battle, Andrei understands already in his third year, since it was at this time that he firmly decided after graduating from college to go to serve in Afghanistan.
This understanding was strengthened after military training in the Osh mountain brigade of the Central Asian military district as a commander of a motorized rifle platoon, when cadet A. Shakhvorostov had a chance to "feel" all the delights of the military profession in the course of carrying out activities of daily service and combat training at the head of his first military team. Andrey pays great attention to the memories of Afghan officers serving nearby in the military unit. In the course of conversations with them, he tries to find answers to his questions, writes down a lot.
When the head of the school, Major General Nekrasov A.I. returned from his first trip to Afghanistan, Andrei eagerly listened to his stories about the actions of Soviet soldiers and graduates of the school in a real battle. The general's stories seemed to spur Andrei on. He began to study even more diligently, to study everything that a combined arms commander might need in modern combat, that is, he really prepared himself for war. The commanders and teachers of the school tried in every possible way to help the graduate, to prepare him more thoroughly for the upcoming service.
A major role in the formation of the future officer was played by the commanders and teachers of the school, in the first place - the platoon commander Captain Plachkovsky Viktor Vladimirovich, the company commander Captain Seregin Nikolai Grigorievich, the battalion commander Colonel Chepil Vasily Ivanovich, senior lecturer in the Department of Tactics Colonel Geiger Vladimir Nikolaevich, senior lecturer in the Department of Fire Colonel Aleksey Vasilievich Belousov, head of the school, Major General Anatoly Ivanovich Nekrasov.
On July 19, 1984, at a solemn formation on the occasion of graduation from the school, Andrei, among the four best graduates, receives a gold medal, a diploma with honors and the long-awaited officer shoulder straps. As he decided, he was sent for further service to one of the military units of the Red Banner Turkestan Military District - a kind of transit point, from which he leaves "across the river" in November - to Afghanistan, towards fate, into immortality ...
Panjshir hell
It was the fifth year of the Afghan war. A limited contingent of Soviet troops in Afghanistan conducted active large-scale military operations. The Panjshir operations carried out by that time against the formations of Ahmad Shah Massoud showed that in order to partially control the Panjshir Gorge, a large military unit must be redeployed to it. The 682nd motorized rifle regiment of the 108th motorized rifle division, formed in March 1984 in the city of Termez, later redeployed by the command of the 40th combined arms army from the city of Bagram to a small mountain plateau, surrounded on all sides by mountains, became such a military unit. place of the abandoned village Rukh. The task of the regiment was to pin down the enemy forces and prevent him from reaching the Kabul-Hairatan highway.
Lieutenant Andrei Shakhvorostov arrived in this regiment in November 1984 to serve. First, he was appointed to the post of commander of a motorized rifle platoon, then, a few months later, deputy commander of the third motorized rifle company.
To better understand the situation of that time, surrounding the young lieutenant during his service in the regiment, you need to know the following. The 682nd motorized rifle regiment, after being redeployed to Rukha, found itself in a very difficult tactical situation. In fact, the regiment lived in a stone bag, and the conditions for its existence were extremely harsh. It was possible to move around without risking one's life only in the trenches, an extensive network of which covered the entire settlement. From afar, only an abandoned village could be seen, and no movement. Every day from six o'clock in the evening Moscow time, when the heat subsided, the Mujahideen began shelling the regiment, so life in the trenches for the Soviet guys became familiar. In order to protect themselves from shelling, more than 60% of the regiment's units were dispersed by outposts and outposts within a radius of two to three kilometers from the regiment's headquarters.
At one of these guard posts, Andrey also performed a combat mission with his personnel. Fire contacts with the enemy at guard posts took place daily. The territory of the regiment was also often shelled with rocket and mortar shells. The perimeter of the military camp, in fact, the regiment was the front line of defense. The losses of the 682nd motorized rifle regiment in the current situation will be the largest among the regiments and brigades of the limited contingent of Soviet troops in Afghanistan.
... Nevertheless, the regiment successfully completed the combat mission of the command. During his stay in the Panjshir Gorge, most of the formations of Ahmad Shah Massoud really turned out to be pinned down by motorized riflemen, who completely blocked the through passage through the gorge. Moreover, all this time, gang formations significantly prevailed in numbers over the personnel of the 682nd motorized rifle regiment. If at the beginning of the introduction of the regiment, Ahmad Shah Massoud had about 3.5 thousand fighters, then by 1988 their number had reached 13 thousand.
Path to immortality
In November 1985, Lieutenant Andrei Shakhvorostov spent a year in Afghanistan, a year of service in the 682nd motorized rifle regiment in extremely harsh conditions of daily fire contact with the enemy.
From the memoirs of a school graduate in 1983, Lieutenant Neutratov Alexander Viktorovich, who served with Andrey as the commander of a motorized rifle platoon in the 682nd motorized rifle regiment: “... Open, honest, attentive to people, smart and erudite, he really attracted officers and soldiers to him. Well, as for the service, he continued to be an excellent student. Built new trenches, trenches. In a protected place, he equipped a sports ground. In short, the commander was in his place. He wrote home, to his wife Tatyana, almost daily. And looking forward to vacation. Eagerly. You know how it is when a vacation is just around the corner. Moreover, my daughter Yulia is already five months old, and I saw her only in photographs ... ”
And how many positive emotions the young officer experienced after a conversation with the head of the school, Lieutenant General Anatoly Ivanovich Nekrasov, who arrived in Afghanistan with a group of school teachers to meet with graduates participating in hostilities and their commanders. The conversation was thorough. Andrei shared his impressions about the positive and negative aspects in the training of cadets, which, in his opinion, should be given more attention. The head of the school listened attentively to his graduate, constantly making notes in a notebook. At the end of the conversation, Andrey asked the general, if possible, to convey the letter to his wife Tatyana, who had long been waiting for her beloved to go home on vacation. Anatoly Ivanovich complied with Andrei's request, brought a letter to his wife Tatyana and gave it personally, telling about the meeting with Andrei and his impressions. ... Lieutenant Shakhvorostov did not live to see his relatives.
From the memoirs of war veterans in Afghanistan, participants in the events of December 14, 1985: “Almost every night, the Mujahideen made attempts to slip between the posts of Soviet soldiers. But the fight on December 14, 1985 was especially furious. The battalion, where Lieutenant Shakhvorostov served, was suddenly thrown to the aid of a regiment of the Afghan armed forces, which was in the ring. The fire did not stop even for a minute. The bandits managed to get close to the command post of the company of senior lieutenant Arutyunov, which was covered by the group of lieutenant Shakhvorostov. They did not spare the shells, hoping that no one would be able to raise their heads. But Lieutenant Shakhvorostov knew his business well. He skillfully directed the fire, constantly encouraged his subordinates, managing to crawl up to the wounded. He felt the turning point in the battle just in time. I jumped out onto the parapet, gave the order for a counterattack, but did not see its successful execution ... ".
Here is an extract from the award list of Lieutenant Shakhvorostov Andrey Evgenievich: “He served in Afghanistan since November 1984. During this time he has established himself exclusively on the positive side. A well-rounded, hard-working and honest officer. He was extremely conscientious in the performance of his duties. He took an active part in military operations to destroy rebel gangs, where he showed courage and bravery, steadfastness and heroism.
On December 14, 1985, in the area of the Pizgaran gorge, the place of deployment of the company was fired upon by the rebels from mortars and recoilless rifles, after which the enemy went on the offensive. During the shelling, confusion and confusion were observed among the personnel of the company. Lieutenant Shakhvorostov A.E. with his decisive actions, he restored order and ordered to take up a circular defense. With machine gun fire, he stopped the advancing chain of rebels. During the skirmish, the lieutenant was wounded, but continued to lead the battle, and when the cartridges ran out, he fought back with grenades. At a critical moment, he went on the attack, dragging his subordinates with him. The enemy was driven back, but during the attack, Lieutenant Shakhvorostov A.E. died. With his courageous and heroic deed, Lieutenant Shakhvorostov A.E. saved the unit from destruction, inspired the personnel to achieve victory.
For courage and personal heroism shown during the performance of a combat mission, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR No. 5244 - XI of July 31, 1986, Lieutenant Shakhvorostov Andrey Evgenievich was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously).
Fight in the gorge
From the memoirs of a veteran of the Afghan war Andrey Moiseev: “... The units of the Rukhinsky regiment captured the Pizgoran Gorge with a fight and turned around to repel possible attacks from the formations of Ahmad Shah Massoud. Around, on all the dominant heights, posts were set up to prevent shelling from the mountains. The connection was stable. All reported in a timely manner on their readiness for interaction. And only from one post, almost immediately after the landing of personnel by helicopter, a message was received that meant the following: "We are not alone here."
For some reason, aviation and artillery could not help fire the post without adjustment. And the senior group, Lieutenant Andrei Shakhvorostov, transmitted more and more disturbing news. Their meaning boiled down to the fact that the "bearded" accumulate strength for an attack. And their intentions, judging by how proud Ahmad treated those who allowed us into his territory (and he simply shot them, their corpses were seen closing in our column), were very serious. The military topographers missed something on the 1945 map of Afghanistan in the Panjshir Gorge section. Secret paths and a small difference in the heights of the terrain allowed the "spirits" to try to destroy a well-located post, from which an excellent view opened up in order to be able to fire at the positions of our regiment from a relatively close distance.
The staff understood this very well. Upon careful examination of the map of the area, it was revealed that nearby, three hundred meters away, there is a high-rise, which could be climbed unnoticed in two or three hours and provided real help to the post with fire and guidance of artillery.
The head of intelligence himself led the group. The group also included an artillery gunner. Armed personnel "Rock" and AGS. As soon as they began to rise, the sounds of battle were heard. It is simply impossible for us, for everyone who was there, to confuse them with something else. There was a combined arms battle with the use of firearms and hand grenade launchers. The commanders and heads of services knew about the situation. With the help of their subordinates, and with their own strength (everyone wants to live), they built SPSs from flat stones, oriented in height towards the ill-fated post, and looked with alarm and hope at the ever-decreasing soldiers who became climbers by order.
The enemy outnumbered the post by five times. And new forces were drawn to him. But not only the advantages of the terrain helped our motorized riflemen in the mountains repel attacks. And experience has nothing to do with it. But morale at that time was really high. Now even the most "inveterate" dushmans recognize this.
The course of the battle can be judged by the recording of the negotiations. The mortally wounded lieutenant constantly supported his soldiers with the fact that help was close. By the time the "support group" had reached its goal, the fight had turned into hand-to-hand combat. The arrivals deployed the AGS and began to sprinkle the enemy with grenades from above. The artillery gunner very successfully brought fire and three barrels of regimental "self-propelled guns" began to "work" on targets, at the same time taking secret paths under control.
Until the end of the operation, i.e. for a whole month, preventive shooting was carried out at them. Post losses amounted to three people "two hundredth", including Lieutenant A. Shakhvorostov, and eight people (all the rest) "three hundredth". These "dry" figures could be very "soaked". But, the combat situation demanded the sacrifice of the best. I knew Andrew. Normal man. Hero of the Soviet Union. Posthumously...
P.S. The bullet knocked out the eye of the lieutenant and turned the temporal bone ... And so the mortally wounded, but alive lieutenant Andrei Shakhvorostov met help. He died in the hands of doctors ... ".
Pisgaran cross
From the memoirs of Leonid Grigoryevich Moskalenko, a veteran of the Afghan war: “... And it all started with a layout on the ground, with a large sandbox. Namely - from the Panjshir Gorge. The military topographers worked out their bread... Immediately after dinner, all the commanders and chiefs were summoned to the headquarters. The regiment commander set the task, and the chief of staff read out the order.
The Panjshir Gorge crosses the Pizgaran Gorge, thus forming the Pizgaran Cross. Ahmad Shah Masud controlled the entire Hindu Kush mountain system. The regiment was faced with the task of overcoming 56 kilometers in three days and capturing this very “cross”, i.e. have full control over it.
In parallel with us, the troops of the “tsarandoi” were supposed to advance, but they did not even move. And when we went up the gorge, they saluted us, as if saying goodbye forever. The first tank ran into a radio-controlled mine. The tower, tumbling in the air for a few seconds, fell into the river. The driver-mechanic Private Smirnov died. All night the ammunition continued to explode inside the tank. It became clear that the entire road was mined. The commander decided to send all wheeled vehicles back to Rukha. We found a gentle descent into the Panjshir River and went up the pebbly channel ... The “spirits” did not expect this: you cannot lay a mine in the river ...
We overcame enemy positions, firing from regimental self-propelled artillery mounts. Down the river floated the corpses of the executed Mujahideen, who let us into their zone of responsibility. Ahmad Shah did not tolerate excuses and excuses for disobeying orders...
Despite stubborn resistance, by the end of the third day we captured the "cross" and set up posts in the mountains. ... And only in one place we did not take into account the peculiarities of the terrain: one of the posts, located directly above us, could be attacked and captured. The enemy took advantage of this.
Lieutenant Andrei Shakhvorostov with eleven soldiers repelled the attacks of hundreds of spooks. Help was sent to him, but she approached him only after three hours. By that time, the fight had turned into hand-to-hand combat. Approached at the last moment fired at the "spirits" from the rear with grenade launchers. The gunner directed the artillery and the outcome of the battle was decided. Shakhvorostov, mortally wounded, led the battle to the end. Andrey always stood out to me for the protection of "medicine ...
For a whole month we stood on the "cross" under fire from mortars and snipers. Many times they were put forward by separate groups to clean up, as they say now, “objects”. Several times they were subjected to attempts to knock us off the "cross", but each time we suppressed these attempts in the most cruel way both from the ground and from the air.
Ahmad Shah tried to create an advantage in manpower. But technically he was far from it. During the entire operation, we lost thirty-six people killed, up to one hundred and fifty wounded. All this was in December 1985…”.
I refuse the award
Many years after the end of the Afghan war, the former officer of the special department of the headquarters of the 682nd motorized rifle regiment, Yuri Alekseevich Karabo, spoke about the events of December 14, 1985, Lieutenant Andrey Shakhvorostov, deputy commander of the third motorized rifle company of the 682nd motorized rifle regiment of the 108th Nevelskaya Red Banner Motorized Rifle Division , at the cost of his own life with fire from a machine gun, who stopped the advancing chain of rebels during a fierce battle in the area of the Pizgaran gorge: “... Andrei really died heroically, at the cost of his life he saved many soldiers. But at the presentation for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union in the “highest circles” they signed with a bold red pencil: “Award posthumously with the Order of the Red Banner, since for the Star of the Hero he“ served little in Afghanistan. Such is the headquarters bureaucracy. The feat does not count, the main thing for bureaucrats is the service life. In general, the regiment commander, Lieutenant Colonel Petrov Nikolai Vasilievich, lined us up, showed us this paper and said that he was refusing his award, to which he was then presented. Then all the officers of the regiment, including myself, withdrew their reports for award lists for combat entry to the so-called "Pizgaran Cross" in Panjshir to Ahmad Shah Massoud. There was a huge scandal. Upstairs they understood this, and Andrei was nevertheless awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union. And we, the officers of the regiment who filed reports, were not awarded any orders or medals to anyone ... The commander of the regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Petrov Nikolai Vasilievich, a military officer and a man infinitely respected by us, left Afghanistan without a single award.
Our good memory
On the eve of Memorial Day - the 50th anniversary of the birth of the Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously) Lieutenant Andrey Shakhvorostov, we remember the years of studying together with him within the walls of the glorious school, we remember Andrey as he was, we honor the memory of him, our classmate, simple, honest a guy who fulfilled his military duty to the end, remained faithful to the Military Oath and the Motherland. In the fierce battles of the Afghan war, he showed unparalleled stamina and courage, unbending fighting spirit and courage, at the cost of his own life he saved the unit from destruction.
The feat of Lieutenant Andrei Shakhvorostov, heroes and ordinary soldiers of the Afghan war is timeless, it remains in our hearts. And so we will always remember the fallen sons of Russia, look up to them and pay tribute to them.
Low bow to them and our good memory!
the article was prepared by a graduate of the school in 1984.
Colonel Belozubov V.V.
Afghanistan has always been a bleeding point on the map. First, England in the 19th century claimed influence over this territory, and then America turned on its resources in order to resist the USSR in the 20th century.
The first operation of the border guards
To clean up the territory from the rebels in 1980, Soviet troops conducted a large-scale operation "Mountains-80". About 200 kilometers - this is the territory of the region, where secular border guards, with the support of the Afghan special services of the KhAD (AGSA) and the Afghan police (tsarandoy), entered with a swift march. The head of the operation, the chief of staff of the Central Asian border district, Colonel Valery Kharichev, was able to foresee everything. The victory was on the side of the Soviet troops, who were able to capture the main rebel Wakhoba and establish a control zone 150 kilometers wide. New border cordons were established. During 1981-1986, more than 800 successful operations were carried out by border guards. Major Alexander Bogdanov received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously. In mid-May 1984, he was surrounded and in hand-to-hand combat, having received three severe wounds, was killed by the Mujahideen.
Death of Valery Ukhabov
Lieutenant Colonel Valery Ukhabov was ordered to occupy a small foothold in the rear of the enemy's large defensive line. The whole night a small detachment of border guards held back the superior forces of the enemy. But by morning, the forces began to melt. There were no reinforcements. The scout sent with a report fell into the hands of the "spirits". He was killed. His body was laid out on the rocks. Valery Ukhabov, realizing that there was nowhere to retreat, made a desperate attempt to break out of the encirclement. She succeeded. But during the breakthrough, Lieutenant Colonel Ukhabov was mortally wounded and died when he was carried on a canvas cape by the soldiers he saved.
Salang pass
The main road of life passed through the pass with a height of 3878 meters, along which the Soviet troops received fuel, ammunition, transported the wounded and the dead. One fact speaks of how dangerous this route was: for each passage of the pass, the driver was awarded the medal "For Military Merit". Mujahideen constantly ambushed here. It was especially dangerous to serve as a driver on a fuel truck, when the whole car instantly exploded from any bullet. In November 1986, a terrible tragedy occurred here: 176 soldiers suffocated here from exhaust gases.
Private Maltsev rescued Afghan children in Salanga
Sergei Maltsev drove out of the tunnel when suddenly a heavy vehicle drove out towards his car. It was full of bags, and about 20 adults and children were sitting on top. Sergey sharply turned the steering wheel - the car crashed into a rock at full speed. He died. But peaceful Afghans survived. At the site of the tragedy, local residents erected a monument to the Soviet soldier, which has survived to this day and has been carefully cared for for several generations.
Aleksandr Mironenko was serving in the Parachute Regiment when they were ordered to reconnoiter the area and provide cover for the helicopters carrying the wounded. When they landed, their group of three soldiers, led by Mironenko, rushed down. The second support group followed them, but the gap between the fighters widened every minute. Suddenly, the order to withdraw came. But it was already too late. Mironenko was surrounded and, together with three of his comrades, fired back to the last bullet. When the paratroopers found them, they saw a terrible picture: the soldiers were stripped naked, they were wounded in the legs, all their bodies were stabbed with knives.
And looked death in the face
Vasily Vasilyevich was extremely lucky. Once in the mountains, Shcherbakov's Mi-8 helicopter came under fire from dushmans. In a narrow gorge, a fast maneuverable vehicle became a hostage of narrow rocks. You can't turn back - to the left and to the right are the cramped gray walls of one terrible stone grave. There is only one way out - to row the propeller forward and wait for a bullet in the "berry bush". And the "spirits" have already saluted all types of weapons to the Soviet suicide bombers. But they were able to escape. The helicopter, miraculously flying to its airfield, resembled a beetroot grater. Ten holes were counted in the gear compartment alone.
Once, flying over the mountains, Shcherbakov's crew felt a strong blow to the tail boom. The follower flew up, but saw nothing. Only after landing, Shcherbakov discovered that only a few "threads" remained in one of the tail rotor control cables. As soon as they break off - and remember your name.
Somehow examining the narrow gorge, Shcherbakov felt someone's gaze. And - measurement. A few meters from the helicopter, on a narrow ledge of rock, a dushman stood and calmly aimed at Shcherbakov's head. It was so close. That Vasily Vasilyevich physically felt the cold muzzle of the machine gun resting on his temple. He was waiting for a merciless, inevitable shot. And the helicopter was climbing too slowly. Why this strange mountaineer in a turban never fired remains a mystery. Shcherbakov survived. He received the star of the Hero of the Soviet Union for saving the crew of his comrade.
Shcherbakov saved his comrade
In Afghanistan, Mi-8 helicopters became a lifesaver for many Soviet soldiers, coming to their aid at the very last minute. Dushmans in Afghanistan have not seen helicopter pilots fiercely. They cut the wrecked car of Captain Kopchikov with knives at the moment when the crew of the wrecked helicopter was firing back and was already preparing for death. But they were saved. Major Vasily Shcherbakov on his Mi-8 helicopter made several covering attacks on the brutal "spirits". And then he landed and literally pulled out the wounded captain Kopchikov. There were many such cases in the war, and behind each of them stands an unparalleled heroism, which today, over the years, has begun to be forgotten.
Heroes are not forgotten
Unfortunately, during perestroika, the names of real war heroes began to be deliberately forgotten. There are slanderous publications in the press about the atrocities of Soviet soldiers. But time has put everything in its place today. Heroes are always heroes.
