The center was formed in 1998 on the initiative of the director of the Federal Security Service Vladimir Putin by combining departments into a single monolithic group special purpose security agencies, the RG correspondent was told by the FSB Central Operations Center.
The decision to create the Center was due to the growing threat of the spread of international terrorism and extremism. The situation in the country was difficult. Greatest danger represented the activities of international terrorist organizations, their emissaries and collaborators in the North Caucasus, especially in the Chechen Republic. It is enough to recall only the terrorist acts committed at that time: the seizure of a maternity hospital in Kizlyar, terrorist attacks in the Moscow metro, explosions of a bus in Nalchik and a residential building in Kaspiysk.
In 1998, the already difficult situation in the North Caucasus worsened even more. Thus, on May 1, Chechen militants captured the representative of the Russian President in the Chechen Republic, Valentin Vlasov, and on October 3, three British citizens and one New Zealand citizen were kidnapped and brutally killed in Grozny. Under these conditions, the country's leadership and the Federal Security Service developed a number of measures aimed at suppressing terrorist threats. One of them was the creation of a single powerful special forces structure.
The center was not created out of nowhere - its basis was the legendary FSB departments "A" and "B" - known throughout the world as "Alpha" and "Vympel". It’s true that fifteen years ago, specialists had certain fears that management “A” and “B”, united into one team, would lose their individuality, and their professional growth would stop. Time has shown that these fears were in vain.
As noted in the leadership of the TsSN itself, thanks to the creation of a unified leadership, optimization of combat training programs, and streamlined exchange of personnel and experience, the best traditions and achievements were preserved and enhanced. Each of the departments had its own tasks and specifics before, and still has them now. At the same time, despite the unity of command between the units, an unspoken healthy competition has remained, which, as the special forces themselves admit, does not interfere, but rather stimulates movement forward.
A few months after its creation, the center was replenished with a special operations service under the letter “C”. It was created on the basis of the 12th department of the FSB Economic Counterintelligence Directorate and the 3rd department of the Service for Combating Illegal Armed Groups and Banditry of the FSB Directorate for Moscow and the Moscow Region.
Over the 15 years of its existence, employees of the FSB TsSN were awarded more than two thousand times state awards.
August 1999 can be considered the CSN’s baptism of fire. This was in the Botlikh and Tsumadinsky regions of Dagestan, where large gangs of Basayev and Khattab, with almost open support from foreign terrorist organizations, captured several settlements, declaring them a territory with a “Sharia” form of government. It was during the military operation in Botlikh that the baptism of fire center. FSB snipers made a significant contribution to the success of the operation. In those areas where they operated, the terrorists suffered heavy losses and retreated. In addition, special forces carried out fire raids and helped remove individual military units blocked by militants from encirclement.
The events in Botlikh were followed by a special operation in the village of Novolakskoye, Khasavyurt district of Dagestan, and with late autumn the same year, the center became an active and permanent participant in the counter-terrorism operation in Chechnya.
Since then, TsSN employees have independently and in collaboration with operational units conducted many operational combat operations. As a result, hundreds of hostages were freed and a large number of weapons, ammunition and explosives were confiscated. Active members of gangs have been neutralized, including such odious leaders as Salman Raduev, Arbi Baraev, Aslan Maskhadov, Rappani Khalilov, Anzor Astemirov, emissaries of the international terrorist organization"Al-Qaeda" in the North Caucasus Abu-Umar, Abu-Havs, Seif Islam and others.
Events at the Moscow Theater Complex on Dubrovka in October 2002 and at Secondary School No. 1 in Beslan in September 2004 tested the strength, professionalism and fortitude of the Center’s employees. The experience of hostage release operations carried out there has no analogues in the world practice of combating terrorism. Beslan also became the most tragic page in the history of the FSB special forces - then 10 special forces died while saving children and adult hostages.
The activities of the Center’s employees are highly appreciated by the country’s leadership and the Federal Security Service. Over the 15 years of its existence, state awards were presented to employees more than two thousand times, 20 servicemen were awarded the title of Hero of Russia - 11 of which were posthumous, the FSB Central Election Commission reported.
As for the employees of the elite special forces of the FSB themselves, in ordinary life they are not at all like the muscled special forces from American militants. Rather, on the contrary - these are quite dry, fit and not very tall guys. Although they are physically prepared, of course, very seriously. Among the officers of the Center there are many masters of sports, champions and prize-winners of Russian, European and World championships. Moreover, all of them, as they say, masterfully shoot everything that shoots and drive everything that drives. When selecting for the CSN, candidates undergo a very serious selection process - not only physical fitness and professional skills are checked, but also the intellectual level and psychophysiological qualities of the candidate. Testing is carried out on the basis that after enrollment a person will have to act in extreme situations, make accurate and verified decisions in conditions associated with a risk to life.
For the first three years of service, the new employee is under constant attention commanders and senior comrades. He is assigned a mentor from among the most experienced colleagues. Weapons skills are improved to the point of automaticity, and tactics of action on objects that could be captured by terrorists are practiced. They are also trained in shooting from all main types small arms, installation and overcoming mine-explosive barriers, parachute jumping and diving, industrial mountaineering, military topography, special tactical, mountain, military medical, operational and legal training. In the process of training newcomers, there is a process of education and transmission combat experience, which are aimed at developing the ability of a Center employee to think outside the box when performing a task, realistically assess the degree of threat, and adequately respond to a rapidly changing situation. In general, very high demands are placed on FSB special forces officers. In fact, all official activities of employees consist of two equivalent components - participation in operational combat activities and constant preparation for their implementation.
The center is part of the Service for the Protection of the Constitutional Order and Combating Terrorism.
The head is Lieutenant General Alexander Tikhonov, before him - Major General Valery Andreev.
Structure:
- Control "A"
- Control "B"
- Directorate (formerly Service) of Special Operations (MTR)
The base of the Special Purpose Center is located in Balashikha-2, Military Unit № 35690. Contact phone numbers: 523-63-43, 523-90-60. The Alpha group training center has been called “Priboy” for twenty-five years. ().
Below brief information about losses, problems and battle path all three Directorates.
From a letter that came to Shchekochikhin’s department in Novaya Gazeta from the fighters of group “A” (March 2004):
- “At the end of last year, the chief of staff of the TsSN, Lieutenant General A.M., was forced to retire from the center - a legendary personality, a man who went through the path from ensign to general in group “A”, through Afghanistan and Chechnya. One of latest transactions, which he led - the capture of Salman Raduev. By the way, after the capture of Raduev, the staff colonel, who was the first to report by telephone to Moscow about the successful completion of the operation, received the star of the Hero of Russia, and M., the man who personally carried out the capture, was awarded a medal.
Many of our military officers, whose contracts expire this year, are leaving for civilian life, not wanting to serve under the command of “parquet” generals. With the arrival of Colonel V. (the current commander of group “A” - Ed.), his former colleagues, their children, and relatives followed him to us.
And due to the fact that professionals began to leave the TsSN, they began to take us according to the limit.
For this purpose, a third dormitory is already being built on the basis of the center in B. After signing the contract, soldiers are awarded the rank of ensign and are first temporarily and then permanently registered in Moscow. For the guys from the provinces, this is the ultimate dream. For our leadership, such people are very convenient; they look their bosses in the mouth and carry out the most ridiculous, illiterate orders.”
From a letter sent to Yu. Shchekochikhin in Novaya Gazeta from the fighters of group “A” (TsSN) (July 2003):
- “At the headquarters of the FSB TsSN, led by General Tikhonov, there is a legendary figure in the center - Colonel S. By profession, this gentleman is the main sniper of the center. With a modest officer’s salary, while still a captain, he managed to build a three-story cottage outside the city with a whole fleet of luxury foreign cars , in his garage there are about five cars and several motorcycles from the best Japanese companies. Calculate how much just one motorcycle can cost. Together with members of one of the criminal groups, he owns his own car service center and restaurant in the center of Moscow. At some point, the prosecutor's office had him questions, but thanks to the patronage higher powers The leadership of the FSB managed to solve all the problems.
Now - about one of the sponsors of the FSB TsSN. Once upon a time, a modest officer Eduard Bendersky served in the center. He retired with the rank of senior lieutenant. In civilian life, he created a private security company (private security company) “Vympel-A” under the “roof” of our center. It is personally supervised by our General Tikhonov.
Bendersky drives a Gelendvagen jeep and has both a special ticket and a cover certificate. Almost all banquets, concerts, and competitions are paid for by his private security company. Mr. Bendersky himself regularly comes to the sauna to take a steam bath, despite the fact that this sauna is located on the territory of a special security facility of the Central Social Security Center. He prefers to steam in the company of the center's management.
Now let’s talk about something more painful.
Taking advantage of the fact that we are a secret agency, all appointments are leadership positions happen in secret from everyone, including us.
Recently, Colonel V. was appointed commander of the Alpha group. Alpha is combat unit, one hundred percent of our personnel went through Chechnya, many went through Afghanistan, participated in combat operations, and our commander was a man who spent his entire life in various positions in the personnel department - a professional clerk. His last position was the head of the personnel department of the Center for Social Security. This is a person who has no experience of combat operations, not even simple experience of operational work.
And this is already the second commander imposed on us from the outside. His predecessor was also a personnel officer. He came to us as a colonel, received a general - and rushed higher.
A similar situation is in the Vympel group. Group commander U. spent his entire service in the personnel department.
All these appointments only lead to an even greater outflow of truly competent military officers from the bodies. What remains are mostly opportunists who look their bosses in the face.”
See also on "Agentura":
Special forces: Special forces of the security agencies of the USSR and Russia Interview with the deputy head of the operational-combat department of Directorate "B" of the Special Purpose Center (the famous "Vympel") S.I. Shavrina. During the storming of the theater on Dubrovka, he commanded one of the assault groupsDirectorate "A" TsSN FSB of Russia (Alpha Group)
Chief - Major General Vladimir Vinokurov, assistant - participant in the liquidation of the terrorist attack on Dubrovka, captain 1st rank - O. Pilshchikov ()Created on July 29, 1974 on the initiative of the Chairman of the KGB of the USSR Yu. Andropov and the Head of the Seventh Directorate of the KGB of the USSR General Alexei Beschastny. Until 1985, the top-secret Alpha unit was under the personal subordination of the General Secretary and the KGB leadership. The full name of the unit until August 1991 was Group “A” of the ODP service of the 7th Directorate of the KGB of the USSR. Initially, the number of employees did not exceed 40 people. It was staffed mainly by USSR KGB officers who had undergone special training and were fit for health reasons to serve in the Airborne Forces.
Special purpose group "A" - the fight against terrorism and other "extremist" actions that are associated with the taking of hostages, vehicles, government facilities on the territory of the USSR and abroad.
By the time the USSR collapsed, there were about 500 officers. (Branches in Kyiv, Minsk, Krasnodar, Yekaterinburg, Alma-Ata). At the moment, about 250 people serve in Moscow, not counting three regional divisions (Krasnodar, Yekaterinburg, Khabarovsk).
After the collapse of the USSR, group "A" was part of the Main Directorate of Security (GUO) of the Russian Federation. Among other tasks, "A" until 1993 provided security for the President of the Russian Federation. In 1993, Alpha refused to storm The White house. In August 1995, after M. Barsukov headed the FSB of the Russian Federation, the Alpha group was transferred from the jurisdiction of the Main Directorate of the Russian Federation to the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation.
In 1998, Putin, when he was director of the FSB, remembered Alpha. He issued an order on the “reorganization of departments “A” and “B”. According to it, “in order to reduce redundant structures” in “Alpha” and “Vympel” the headquarters and management were disbanded, as well as support units - snipers, explosives, communications. The remaining ones alone battle groups were reduced to an “anti-terrorist center”, the brainchild of Savostyanov, renamed the department for combating terrorism. At the same time, reports appeared that as a result of the reorganization, about a third of the officers of the Alpha and Vympel special groups were forced to leave the service, since the state does not have the funds to maintain highly qualified specialists in the fight against terrorism.
Leaders:
- From 1974 to 1978, the group leader was Hero Soviet Union(for Damansky Island) Colonel Vitaly Bubenin. (From border guards. In 1978 he returned to PoV)
- From 1978 to 1988, the commander of group “A” was Major General, Hero of the Soviet Union Gennady Nikolaevich Zaitsev.
- From 1988 to August 1991 - Major General, Hero of the Soviet Union Viktor Fedorovich Karpukhin
- From 1991 to 1992 - Colonel Mikhail Golovatov.
- From 1992 to March 1995 - again Gennady Zaitsev.
- From March 1995 to 1999, the group was headed by Major General Alexander Gusev
- From 1999 to 2000 - Major General Alexander Miroshnichenko
- Currently - Vladimir Vinokurov
Stock:
- December 1979 - "A" employees take part in the storming of the Presidential Palace of Afghan President Hafizullah Amin. In three columns, in armored personnel carriers, the attackers broke through to the palace along a bombarded road. Then the attackers burst into the palace under heavy fire. Result - Afghan President H. Amin was killed. Four attackers were killed, including two Alpha employees: Dmitry Zudin and Gennady Volkov.
- 12/18/1981-Sarapul-hostage-taking at school. Two armed criminals kidnapped twenty-five students.
- 02.031982 - neutralization of gr. Ushakova on the territory of the US Embassy, armed with an improvised explosive device
- November 18-19, 1983 - hijacking of a Tu-134 aircraft in Tbilisi.
- 09/20/1988 - release of passengers of the Tu-134 aircraft seized by military personnel internal troops
- 1988 - Yakshiyants’ group seizes a bus with schoolchildren in Mineralnye Vody. Group "A" conducts Operation "Thunder": at the invitation of the Israeli government, "A" "met" the terrorists in Tel Aviv and "returned" them to Moscow.
- 08/13/1990 - operation to free hostages captured in the detention center in Sukhumi
- January 1991 - Group "A" takes part in the capture of the Vilnius television center. Employee “A” Viktor Shatskikh died during the capture. According to the former deputy head of "A" Sergei Goncharov, Shatskikh was shot in the back "from the crowd."
- August 1991 - during the coup d'etat, an unofficial meeting of Alpha fighters took place, at which they decided not to participate in the storming of the RSFSR parliament. Major General Viktor Karpukhin, commander of Group A, denied versions of the participation of his subordinates in the events in Moscow and Foros. He stated that “he personally did not receive any orders from Kryuchkov and, accordingly, did not carry them out. The group worked as usual.”
- October 4, 1993 - the Alpha group receives an order to storm the House of Soviets of the Russian Federation ("White House"). "Alpha" arrived at the White House and entered into negotiations with the leadership of the Russian Armed Forces and the defenders of the database. “Senior Lieutenant Seryozha,” who arrived at the meeting with the deputies, promised to take out all the people sitting in the DB and ensure their safety. He also stated that “it is not their place to deal with the political aspects of what is happening.” During the assault, employee “A” Gennady Sergeev, who was carrying a wounded man out of the building, was killed. According to the Alpha fighters, the bullet that hit the Alpha fighter between his helmet and body armor was fired from the building opposite the White House.
- June 17, 1995 - Group A takes part in the storming of the city hospital in Budenovsk, in which terrorists led by Sh. Basayev held more than 1 thousand people. During the storming of the hospital building, employees of “A”, officers Dmitry Burdyaev, Dmitry Ryabinkin and Vladimir Solovov, were killed, fifteen Alpha fighters were wounded. Commander “A” A. Gusev regards the actions of his unit as a victory over the terrorists, because after the actions of the unit, Basayev “released 300 hostages without any negotiations, in fact, a turning point came in the situation, peace negotiations became possible” (MN, N44, June 25 - July 2, 1995). According to Gusev, the enemy lost approx. during the operation. 20 people killed.
- September 20, 1995 - operation to free hostages captured on a bus. The terrorists demanded a helicopter to Makhachkala.
- October 1995 - fighters from Group A neutralized a terrorist who had seized a bus with passengers on Vasilyevsky Spusk in Moscow. The terrorist was killed during the assault.
The group's veterans' association is headed by former deputy group commander Sergei Goncharov. Press Secretary of the Association - Dmitry Lysenkov.
Alpha traditions:
- Goncharov: “Every year on December 27, we all come to the graves of all our fallen guys and celebrate Remembrance Day. The unit suffered the greatest losses in Budennovsk and Kizlyar. Five officers died there.”
Directorate "B" (formerly "Vympel")
The most famous security unit foreign intelligence The KGB of the USSR was the Vympel group. Created on August 19, 1981 for special operations, the Vympel group was part of the “S” directorate (illegal intelligence) of the First Main Directorate (PGU) of the KGB of the USSR. Organizationally, Vympel was divided into squads (in combat conditions - groups) of 10 to 20 people.
The predecessors of Vympel were the Zenit and Cascade detachments. The official name is “Separate training center of the KGB of the USSR”. Over the 20 years (completion this year) of the unit’s history, Vympel fighters carried out special operations outside the USSR (Afghanistan) and accumulated unique experience in reconnaissance and sabotage work, fought terrorists and freed hostages .
By order of the chairman of the KGB of the USSR, the group was created by the head of department “C”, Major General Drozdov Yuri Ivanovich. He was also her mentor. The first commander of the "Vympel" was the Hero of the Soviet Union (for Amin's palace) Kozlov Evald Grigorievich. Vympel consisted of about a thousand people. The fighter knew at least one foreign language, features of the country where you had to work.
Vympel fighters mastered light diving training at the 17th Special Forces brigade in Ochakov, studied shooting with Nicaraguan instructors, and underwent training in Cuba. We learned mountain training, trained in flying SLLA (ultra-light aircraft) and learned a lot more. According to Yu.I. Drozdov, previously training one Vympel fighter cost 100,000 rubles a year. It took up to five years to prepare. “Vympel” was given a small territory on the twenty-fifth kilometer of the Gorky Highway, on the territory of the 101st intelligence school of the KGB of the USSR near Balashikha near Moscow in 1981. Now this is the territory of the FSO.
The training of the first groups was completed by the beginning of 1982. And “Vympel” received its baptism of fire in Afghanistan.
According to the deputy head of the Department for Combating Terrorism, Lieutenant General Vladimir Kozlov (former Vympel soldier), at that time the unit’s work was carried out in three directions: operational (obtaining intelligence information), operational-combat (implementation of received intelligence information and training special forces from military personnel Afghan Army for joint participation in combat operations) and conducting “operational games” with the aim of pitting the leaders of enemy armed formations against each other.
IN Peaceful time unit was used to search weak points in the protection of strategic objects. Saboteurs were sent to nuclear power plants and military factories with the aim of “seizing objects and carrying out sabotage.” At the same time, the security of the facilities was notified in advance about “the possible penetration of saboteurs for the purpose of carrying out terrorist attacks.” Some of the fighters were specially “exposed” so that the rest would carry out the task in the absence of group members or any links of the operation.
But nevertheless, all the tasks without exception were completed by the Vympelov team with a “5”. They managed to get into atomic object"Arzamas-16", where nuclear weapons were produced and stored. They were able to determine the schedule and time of passage of the railway missile complex With nuclear warheads near one of the largest Russian cities.
When performing all these operations, the Vympelovites simulated the laying of demolition charges in the most vulnerable places"attacked" objects. With the beginning of the collapse of the USSR, Vympel began to be used on its territory. The soldiers visited all the hot spots former Union: Baku, Yerevan, Nakhichevan, Karabakh, Abkhazia, Transnistria, Chechnya, Moscow.
In 1991, after the putsch, Vympel came under the control of the Russian Ministry of Security. Since May 1991, the group was headed by Boris Petrovich Beskov (in the KGB system from the age of 12 - from the moment of enrollment in the Suvorov School at the USSR Ministry of State Security in 1952, he served in the 9th Directorate of the KGB, in the First Main Directorate, worked abroad. Fought in Afghanistan, in the "Cascade" group, has military awards).
In 1993, the group became part of the Presidential Security Service. Vympel was reoriented to new tasks: liberating nuclear facilities from terrorists, fighting drug trafficking, armed criminal groups or illegal armed groups. The Vympelov team had to work out options for various operations to liberate Russian nuclear power plants and ships with nuclear power from terrorists. power plants and nuclear weapons production centers.
In July 1993 nuclear icebreaker"Sibir", conditionally captured by terrorists, the Vympelov team of 25 people attacked from three directions simultaneously: from land, from under water and from the air. Within seven minutes after the start of the operation, the command was informed of its successful completion. The destruction of terrorists was practiced at the Beloyarsk, Kalinin and Kursk nuclear power plants, the Novopolotsk petrochemical plant and in Arzamas-16.
During the October events, Vympel, like Alpha, refused to storm parliament. At this time, the unit was headed by Lieutenant General Dmitry Gerasimov. As a result, the unit was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. There "Vympel" received the name "Vega". Out of several hundred people, fifty agreed to wear police stripes. Having learned about the collapse of Vympel, representatives of the largest security agency in the United States came to Moscow and offered a job. The special forces refused and decided that they could find a use for themselves here too. Some went to the foreign intelligence service, helping to smuggle our people out of hot spots in Africa. Five work in the Ministry of emergency situations. Twenty returned to the FSK, to the newly created Directorate of Special Operations (now TsSN FSB).
Only in August 1995, by presidential decree, Vympel was returned to the Department for Combating Terrorism under the FSB of Russia. Today the legal successor of Vympel is Directorate B of the FSB Department for Combating Terrorism.
During the existence of Vympel, several dozen people died: mainly in Afghanistan, and then in operations inside the USSR. During the events near the White House in 1993, a sniper killed Gennady Sergeev, an Alpha fighter who had previously served in Vympel. The last person killed, Andrei Chirikhin, died in Chechnya in 2000. Meanwhile, Vladimir Kozlov, at a press conference dedicated to the 20th anniversary of Vympel, said “in the entire history of its existence, the unit has lost only four employees. One died in Afghanistan in Kandahar, one died in August 1996 while defending a FSB dormitory in Chechnya, and another two were lost in this Chechen campaign."
Currently, the bulk of the Vympel group, according to her former boss Anatoly Isaikin, consists of people from counterintelligence who were previously involved in intelligence. They are all well trained, but each has a specialization. On average, training a fighter in an anti-terrorism group takes five years. Vladimir Kozlov also noted that the salary of employees of the special unit is higher than that of ordinary FSB employees - six thousand rubles plus bonuses for special operations.
Control "A" is structural unit Center for Special Operations of the Federal Security Service of Russia.
The main function of Alpha is to conduct urban anti-terrorist operations under direct sanctions and under the control of the political leadership of Russia.
Story
“Alpha” was created on July 28, 1974 in the First Main Directorate of the KGB on the instructions of Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov, at that time the chairman of the KGB of the USSR. It was intended for counter-terrorism operations throughout the Soviet Union. However, from the very beginning the range of its tasks was much wider.
The most famous operation outside the USSR was the storming of Amin’s palace in Afghanistan on December 27, 1979. According to the recollections of Alpha employees who took part in the capture, the assault groups encountered fierce resistance, but Alpha’s losses were lower (two employees) than in other departments.
During the 1991 coup d'etat, the Alpha Group, under the command of Major General Viktor Karpukhin, was tasked with seizing the Russian Parliament building and assassinating Russian leaders. The group unanimously refused to carry out this order. According to statements made by participants in the events later, they could have completed the task in 20-25 minutes, but this would have led to hundreds, if not thousands of civilian casualties.
After the collapse of the USSR and the coming to power of Boris Yeltsin (according to some Russian and foreign military sources), the unit was completely demoralized due to political manipulation. The KGB sought to use him in the 1991 plot against Mikhail Gorbachev. Boris Yeltsin also wanted to use the group as an instrument of power when attacking the Government House during the constitutional crisis of 1993. A little later, Alpha and Vympel were transferred to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for a while. It was during this period that many of the group's officers resigned.
The group continued to exist after the collapse of the Soviet Union and participated in the resolution of many crisis situations, such as the release of hostages at the Dubrovka Theater Center in 2002 and at a school in Beslan in 2004. Alpha fighters are now involved in operations against separatists in Chechnya and in the North Caucasus.
Known operations
1976 - Zurich, Switzerland. Exchange of the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Chile, Luis Corvalan, for the Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovsky.
1978 - Havana, Cuba. Ensuring safety (together with combat swimmers Black Sea Fleet) the underwater part of the motor ships "Georgia" and "Leonid Sobinov", chartered to accommodate delegates of the XI World Festival of Youth and Students.
1979 - Moscow, US Embassy. Kherson resident Yuriy Vlasenko, accompanied by the second secretary of the US Embassy R. Pringle, went to the consular section and demanded immediate travel abroad. If he refused, he threatened to detonate an improvised explosive device. Negotiations conducted with the terrorist by the commander of group “A” G.I. Zaitsev, and then his deputy R.P. Ivon, did not lead to positive result. By order of KGB Chairman Yu. V. Andropov, weapons were used, but the terrorist was still able to detonate the explosive device and soon died from his wounds.
1979 - New York Airport, USA. Exchange of two Soviet intelligence officers (Vladimir Enger and Rudolf Chernyaev), sentenced to long prison terms, for five Soviet dissidents.
1979 - Tashkent - Bagram Air Force Base, Kabul. Providing physical protection for the future head of the PDPA and DRA Babrak Karmal and his closest associates on the eve of the coup d'etat.
December 27, 1979 - Kabul, Afghanistan. As part of the non-standard combat group "Thunder" (24 people), members of the unit, together with fighters of the Zenit Special Forces of the First Main Directorate of the KGB of the USSR (30 people), captured the Taj Beg Palace, the residence of Hafizullah Amin, in the Dar-ul-Aman area. Active support for the KGB special forces was provided by the “Muslim battalion” of the GRU and the 9th company of paratroopers of the 345th separate regiment Airborne Forces Simultaneously with Operation Storm-333, special forces soldiers were used to capture strategically important objects located in different parts of the Afghan capital - the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Air Force headquarters and the central telegraph office.
1980 - Moscow. Ensuring the safety of the Games of the XXII Olympiad in Moscow. In addition to performing assigned tasks in the capital, they were sent to Tallinn and Estonia combat swimmers groups. Their duties included periodic inspection of the bottom of the water area where the regatta competitions took place.
1981 - Afghanistan. 15 employees of group “A” as part of “Cascade-2” provided force cover for operational search activities and collected information about gangs operating in Kabul and its environs, seized weapons from hiding places and ensured the safety of propaganda detachments, and also guarded the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary USSR F. A. Tabeeva.
1981 - Ordzhonikidze, North Ossetia. Ensuring the safety of citizens in connection with the riots that took place.
1981 - Sarapul, Udmurt Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Two armed deserters from the 248th motorized rifle division 25 10th grade students were taken hostage high school No. 12. Requirement: issue visas and send by plane to Germany or another capitalist country. During the actions taken, the terrorists were neutralized and none of the hostages were injured.
1983 - Tbilisi. The Tu-134A plane, flying along the Tbilisi-Leningrad route with 57 passengers and 7 crew members, was hijacked by a group of “golden youth” of 7 people. During the hijacking, the pilots, flight attendant V. Krutikova and two passengers were killed. The navigator and flight attendant were seriously injured and left disabled. The bandits' demand: set a course for Turkey. As a result of a shootout in the pilot's cabin and the organization of overloads, the pilots managed to repel the terrorist attack, killing one of them, and block the door. The commander of the ship, A. Gardaphadze, landed the plane at Tbilisi airport. On November 19, the plane was freed during a combined assault undertaken by members of Group A. None of the passengers were injured.
1985-1986 - forceful capture of twelve agents recruited by foreign intelligence services.
1986 - Ufa. Three soldiers from the regiment of the Ministry of Internal Affairs took possession of weapons (AKM assault rifle, light machine gun RPK-47 and sniper rifle Dragunov) and seized a taxi. On the way they shot two policemen. Frightened by what he had done, one of them, A. Konoval, disappeared; the other two headed to the airfield, where they broke into a Tu-134A plane that was landing with 76 passengers (among them eight women and six children) and 5 crew members, flying along the route Lvov-Kiev-Ufa-Nizhnevartovsk. During the capture, deserters killed 2 passengers. Terrorists' demand: go to Pakistan. The operation itself was led by G.N. Zaitsev. As a result of the assault carried out by Alpha employees, one terrorist was killed and the second was wounded.
1988 - Ordzhonikidze-Mineralnye Vody-Tel Aviv. A gang of four people seized a LAZ-687 passenger bus, in which, after an excursion to the printing house, the 4th “G” class of school No. 42 was returning with a teacher. The terrorists drove the bus to the Mineralnye Vody airport, where they were ahead of Group A, which had taken off from Moscow. During grueling negotiations, which were conducted by G.N. Zaitsev over the radio for almost seven hours, all the children, the teacher and the driver were released in exchange for an AKS-74 assault rifle with two loaded magazines, four Makarov pistols with ammunition, body armor and drugs. After the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel, with which diplomatic relations were not maintained at that time, gave the go-ahead for the extradition of the criminals, the Il-7bT transport plane (crew commander A. Bozhko) headed for the Middle East. Upon arrival at Ben Gurion airport, the bandits were arrested. The employees of group “A”, led by G.N. Zaitsev, who arrived next, after an agreement on the non-application of capital punishment against terrorists (the Israeli side insisted on this), deported the gang to the Soviet Union.
March 30-31, 1989 - Baku, Native of Kerch, previously committed grand theft and was on the All-Union wanted list, reported that there were allegedly two of his accomplices in the cabin of the Tu-134 (flight Voronezh-Astrakhan-Baku), and an explosive device in the cargo compartment. He threatened to activate the device with remote control, if his conditions - half a million dollars and the possibility of flying abroad - are not met. The terrorist was neutralized by Alpha employees.
May 10, 1989 - Saratov. During the walk, four criminals from detention center No. 1 of the UITU Department of Internal Affairs of the Saratov Regional Executive Committee, armed with sharpening points and “grenades” (painted dummies made of bread crumb), attacked the inspectors. They presented an ultimatum: two machine guns, four pistols with ammunition, grenades, 10 thousand rubles and a car. A condition was put forward - to ensure unhindered travel from the prison outside the region. In house No. 20 on Zhukovsky Street, the terrorists took the Prosvirins and their two-year-old daughter hostage and made new demands: a plane to fly abroad, a large sum of money, drugs and vodka. The operation to free the hostages was carried out by group “A” (senior - Hero of the Soviet Union V.F. Karpukhin, deputy - M.V. Golovatov). At 3:25 a.m., the soldiers, using special equipment, descended from the roof and literally flew into the windows of the captured apartment. At the same time, the second group knocked down the door and also broke into the apartment. The bandit, armed with a Makarov pistol, managed to fire two shots. Taking advantage of the factor of surprise, the group neutralized the bandits. None of the hostages were injured. An Alpha employee was wounded.
1990 - Azerbaijan. "Alpha" and "Vympel" together with the special forces training battalion "Vityaz" were transferred to Baku. The combined group was headed by Hero of the Soviet Union G. N. Zaitsev. Objective: neutralize leaders Popular Front Azerbaijan, preventing the overthrow of the legitimate government of the republic, suppressing mass unrest, identifying and detaining persons suspected of subversive activities. Employees of group “A” ensured the safety of the first secretary of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan A. Vizirov.
1990 - Operation "Trap". Infiltration of underground arms dealers and capture of persons involved in this criminal business.
1990 - Yerevan, Armenian SSR. Alpha fighters took part in neutralizing a particularly dangerous armed group - the Gray gang. During the operation, three criminals were killed, two were wounded, and six were detained.
1990 - Sukhumi, Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. 22 employees of group “A” under the command of V.F. Karpukhin, as well as 31 soldiers of the special forces training battalion of the separate special purpose motorized rifle division named after. F.E. Dzerzhinsky were urgently transferred to Sukhumi, where 75 criminals took hostages and a temporary detention center. During the negotiations, the leaders put forward a demand: to provide them with an RAF minibus so that they could travel outside the detention center to the mountains. When the armed bandits loaded into the minibus with the hostages, the capture team began an operation to neutralize them. At the same time, two groups began storming the detention center. In a matter of seconds, the criminals in the minibus were neutralized and the hostages were freed. The bandits in the detention center also surrendered after a short resistance. During the operation, an Alpha employee and one of the Vityaz fighters were slightly wounded. This special operation has no analogues in the domestic and world practice of using special forces units to free hostages captured by bandits in institutions of the penitentiary system.
1991 - Vilnius, Lithuanian SSR. On the evening of January 11, 65 officers of group “A”, led by deputy group commander M.V. Golovatov and department commander Lieutenant Colonel E.N. Chudesnov, were sent to the capital of the Lithuanian SSR. In Vilnius, the unit was tasked with taking control of the Committee on Television and Radio Broadcasting, a television tower and a radio transmission center. The buildings were surrounded by numerous supporters of the Lithuanian Sąjūdis movement. Group “A” took control of all three objects and held them until the internal troops arrived. During the seizure of the building of the Committee on Television and Radio Broadcasting, Lieutenant Viktor Viktorovich Shatskikh was killed.
1991 - Moscow, Vasilyevsky Spusk. A criminal armed with a knife captured 7-year-old Masha Ponomarenko on an Ikarus excursion bus that left Komsomolskaya Square (the area of three train stations). State Duma deputy Aman Tuleyev took part in the negotiations. As a result of a lightning-fast operation, the terrorist was neutralized.
1991 - Moscow. By order of the KGB chairman, employees of group “A” blocked the dacha in the village of Arkhangelskoye-2 near Moscow, in which the President of Russia B.I. Yeltsin and people from his entourage were located. Subsequently, following the orders of the leadership, they carried out reconnaissance around the White House. On August 20, the commander of group “A”, Hero of the Soviet Union V.F. Karpukhin, was verbally tasked with seizing the White House and interning the government and leadership of Russia. For this purpose, Alpha was assigned the Vympel group and the forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It was impossible to take the White House without heavy casualties among the civilian population. It was main reason refusal of Group A officers to participate in the assault.
1992 - Moscow, Vnukovo airport. The release of 347 passengers on the Mineralnye Vody-Moscow flight, captured by the lone terrorist Zakharyev.
1993 - Moscow, White House. Employees of group “A” (senior - group commander Hero of the Soviet Union G.I. Zaitsev), together with Vympel fighters, took part in resolving the most acute political crisis that led to mass actions disobedience and hostilities in the center of the Russian capital. Refusing to storm the White House, representatives of Alpha, on their own initiative, entered into negotiations with the leadership Supreme Council and the opposition, which were successful and then ensured the evacuation of people from the burning building. While rescuing a wounded soldier near the walls of the White House, junior lieutenant Gennady Nikolaevich Sergeev was mortally wounded - he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Russia.
1993 - Rostov-on-Don-Krasnodar-Mineralnye Vody-Makhachkala. Four terrorists took hostage a teacher and 15 students of the 9th grade “B” of secondary school No. 25 in Rostov-on-Don. 53 Alpha employees, led by commander Hero of the Soviet Union G.N. Zaitsev, flew to Rostov-on-Don on a Tu-134 plane. By the time they arrived, the bandits, having released three hostages, were already in the Mi-8 helicopter. In the evening the helicopter landed in Krasnodar. Following them, Alpha landed on the An-12. On the night of December 24, the helicopter took off, heading for Mineralnye Vody. Following him, a helicopter with special forces flew out, while the main part of the Alpha went there by An-12 plane. On the evening of December 25, the criminals released one of the hostages. After handing over the money, they released the teacher and seven schoolgirls. The bandits refused to release the remaining hostages - four schoolchildren, a bus driver and two pilots. On the evening of December 27, the bandits freed three schoolchildren and a bus driver and took off, ordering the pilots to head for Ichkeria. However, the pilots, risking their lives, directed the car towards Makhachkala. A helicopter carrying criminals landed on the northern outskirts of Makhachkala. The bandits split into pairs and tried to hide in the forest belt. However, the area where they were located was cordoned off by special forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Dagestan, who soon neutralized all the criminals.
1994 - Makhachkala-Bachi-Yurt. Near settlement Dagger Stavropol Territory four armed bandits hijacked an Ikarus excursion bus carrying schoolchildren, their parents and teachers. The hostages were 33 bus passengers and three teenagers who were captured by bandits on the way. On the same day, Group A, led by commander Hero of the Soviet Union G.N. Zaitsev, received an order to urgently fly from Moscow to Mineralnye Vody. The same order was given to the Krasnodar branch of Alpha. In the evening, 64 special forces soldiers were flown to Minvody. The general management of the operation was carried out by the commander of the internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Colonel General A. Kulikov. On May 27, the helicopter took off and headed for Ichkeria. Following him, six helicopters took off, carrying 38 Alpha fighters, 24 employees of the GUOP Ministry of Internal Affairs and 20 special forces soldiers. As a result of a lack of fuel, the flight route was changed and a landing was made in the area of the village of Bachi-Yurt. The fighters under the command of Alpha officer Lieutenant Colonel A.E. Starikov began pursuit. Helicopters monitored the forest area from the air. An hour later the terrorists were neutralized. Only one bandit managed to escape, taking away two machine guns and $47,400; a year later he was arrested and convicted.
1995-1996 - Chechnya. Employees of group “A” participated in the fighting in Grozny, were recruited for night reinforcement as mobile anti-terrorism groups and additional security Government houses and FSB buildings in the Chechen capital. They also ensured the personal safety of the Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation O.I. Lobov, who was in the combat zone, captured armed bandits, and accompanied convoys with classified communications equipment, ammunition and food.
1995 - Budennovsk. A well-armed gang of Sh. Basayev burst into the city in two KamAZ trucks. The militants captured the city hospital with medical staff and patients, including women in labor and mothers with infants. On the morning of June 17, Alpha employees stormed the hospital. Despite the difficult conditions, the assault was successful; the terrorists suffered heavy losses, which forced them to change their plans. Sh. Basayev contacted the Chairman of the Government by mobile phone Russian Federation V. Chernomyrdin. Taking with them more than two hundred people, the militants boarded buses and headed towards Chechnya in a column. Not far from the mountain village of Zandak, all the hostages were freed. As a result of the bandit action in Budennovsk, 130 civilians, 18 police officers, 18 military personnel were killed, including three Alpha employees - Major Vladimir Vladimirovich Solovov, lieutenants Dmitry Valerievich Ryabinkin and Dmitry Yuryevich Burdyaev. Over 400 people were injured of varying degrees of severity. About 2,000 people were held hostage.
1995 - Makhachkala, Republic of Dagestan. Terrorists hijacked a passenger bus heading along the Makhachkala-Nalchik route. Some time later, the terrorists released one woman from the bus, who said that nine men, seven women and two children were on bail. The terrorists holding the hostages were neutralized by special forces. The eldest is the commander of Alpha, Lieutenant General A. V. Gusev.
1995 - Moscow, Vasilyevsky Spusk. Just outside the Kremlin, a masked man armed with a Makarov pistol entered a bus carrying 25 South Korean tourists and declared them hostages. If the conditions were not met, the criminal threatened to blow up the bus. At 20:00, FSB special forces officers took up their starting positions. The eldest is the commander of Alpha, Lieutenant General A.V. Gusev. Lengthy negotiations were held with the criminal, in which Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov participated. At about 10 p.m., the terrorist released all the detained women and three men. At 22.38, at the command of the head of the operation, FSB Director M.I. Barsukov, the assault began. The terrorist opened fire with a pistol and was killed. None of the hostages were injured.
1996 - village of Pervomaiskoye, Republic of Dagestan. Detachments led by Satshan Raduev, Khunkar Pasha Israpilov and Turpal-Ali Atgeriev made a foray into the territory of Dagestan, attacking the local Airfield and the military camp of the battalion of internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The main attack was on the helicopter base Russian troops near the city of Kizlyar - two Mi-8 helicopters and one tanker were destroyed. The militants entered the city, where they captured a hospital and maternity ward, as well as a nearby 9-story residential building. About 2,000 people were taken hostage. On January 11, the terrorists, having released most of the hostages, left for Ichkeria on provided buses, using more than a hundred people as human shields. The column was stopped federal forces near the village of Pervomaiskoe. On January 13-15, special forces, using artillery and helicopters, stormed the village, trying to free the hostages. The operation to destroy the terrorists was completed on January 18, but most of the bandits broke out of the encirclement and went to Chechnya. In Pervomaisky, fighters of group “A” (the senior commander of “Alpha”, Lieutenant General A.V. Gusev), together with “Vityaz”, carried out reconnaissance in force on the south-eastern outskirts of the village, identified and suppressed enemy firing points, and provided fire cover for units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs , provided medical care and evacuated the wounded from the battlefield. After the completion of the mine clearance operation, two Alpha employees died - Major Andrei Viktorovich Kiselev and Major Viktor Mikhailovich Vorontsov.
1997 - Moscow, Swedish Embassy. A terrorist armed with a pistol and a grenade captured Swedish trade representative Jan-Olof Nuström in his car. As a result of negotiations, he was released, and his place was taken by Colonel A.N. Savelyev, who offered himself as a hostage. After he suffered an acute heart attack, which ultimately led to death, it was decided to immediately begin the active phase of the operation. As a result of the shootout, the criminal was killed. Posthumously, the chief of staff of the Alpha group, Colonel Anatoly Nikolaevich Savelyev, was awarded the title of Hero of Russia.
2000 - Novogroznensky, Chechnya. The capture of Salman Raduev, the leader of the “army of Dzhokhar Dudayev”, was carried out by employees of group “A” as part of the combined operational-combat group of the FSB Special Purpose Center. Thanks to the coordinated actions of intelligence and special forces, the guards of “terrorist No. 2” were disarmed, and he himself was arrested.
2001 -Alkhan-Kala, Chechnya. Alpha employees participated in a full-scale special operation to destroy the gang of one of the bloodiest field commanders, Arbi Barayev, who was distinguished by manic cruelty and specialized in kidnapping and slave trading. Price employees, intelligence officers from the 46th brigade of internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and units of the Ministry of Defense were involved in the operation. As a result of a short but brutal battle, the bandit and his guards were destroyed. In this case, Private Evgeny Zolotukhin died (posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Russia).
July 11, 2001 - Mayrtup, Chechnya. The destruction of one of Khattab's closest henchmen - the field commander Abu Umar, who led in the 1990s. a training camp for training saboteurs and bombers on the outskirts of Serzhen-Yurt at the so-called Caucasus Institute. The victim was one of the organizers of the explosions of residential buildings in September 1999 in Moscow and Volgodonsk and many other terrorist attacks. The initial search of the house where the terrorist was hiding yielded nothing. The Alpha fighters were already ready to move to another courtyard, when one of them glanced at a step that seemed suspicious to him wooden stairs. The special forces took up positions around the house. When one of the officers tore off the floorboard, machine gun fire came from under the stairs. An Alpha employee was wounded, but his comrades destroyed Abu Umar, who had holed up in a hideout. A big role in the success of the operation was played by the fighters of the “Rus” detachment, who in two groups landed in a village in the immediate vicinity of the place where the bandit was located and did not allow him to escape into the mountains.
2001 - Mineralnye Vody. Terrorist Sultan Said Ediev, a Chechen by nationality, seized the Ikarus bus en route Nevinno-Myssk-Stavropol. The terrorist demanded the release of more than thirty passengers in exchange for five criminals convicted in 1994 of hijacking passenger plane in Mineralnye Vody. In the breast pocket of his shirt, the terrorist placed a glass with an F-1 live grenade with the pin pulled out and inserted with the fuse down. In addition, wires were seen leading to a belt on his stomach. As it turned out, there was one and a half kilograms of cast TNT. As a result of a flawlessly executed sniper attack, the terrorist was destroyed. During the storming of the bus, none of the hostages were injured.
October 23-26, 2002 - Moscow, Dubrovka Theater Center. A group of terrorists led by M. Barayev, having gathered in Moscow, took about 800 spectators, actors and workers of the Dubrovka Theater Center hostage. The bandits demanded an end to hostilities in Chechnya and threatened to bring down the building using powerful explosive devices placed in the hall. Thanks to the actions taken, even before the active phase, several dozen people from among the hostages were rescued by FSB special forces. The criminals behaved extremely aggressively, and several people in the hall died at their hands. In order to avoid mass casualties, it was decided to conduct a special operation using the FSB Special Purpose Center. As a result of the operation, 41 terrorists were killed, including the leader of the group, Movsar Barayev, and more than 750 hostages, including 60 foreigners, were freed. More than 120 people could not be saved.
April 8, 2004 - Shelkovskaya village, Chechnya. Elimination of Khattab's student and one of Sh. Basayev's closest henchmen - Abu-Bakar Visimbaev. Among other things this field commander was responsible for recruiting “black widows” to carry out the action on Dubrovka. During the operation, Alpha employee Major Yuri Nikolaevich Danilin died. He was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Russia.
2004 - Beslan. Well-armed terrorists of “Colonel” Ortskhoev, on the orders of the terrorist leaders, captured over 1,300 hostages in the building of school No. 1 on September 1 and shot some of them. In total, as a result of this monstrous terrorist attack, about 350 people died, half of them were children. Over five hundred were wounded. During the assault by Alpha fighters (senior - head of department "A" V.N. Vinokurov) 31 terrorists were destroyed and one bandit was captured alive. On September 3, at 1:05 p.m., two sounds were heard in the school building. powerful explosion. Showing exceptional courage and heroism, the price employees began to save the hostages under bullets, covering them with themselves, and only then began to methodically destroy the terrorists who had settled in the school, who offered fierce resistance.
As a result of the battle, all the bandits were destroyed on the spot. While rescuing the hostages, three Alpha employees died - Major Alexander Valentinovich Perov, Major Vyacheslav Vladimirovich Malyarov, warrant officer Oleg Vyacheslavovich Loskov, as well as seven Vympel fighters.
2005 - Tolstoy-Yurt, Chechnya. Destruction of the leader of Ichkeria Aslan Maskhadov. The operation to detain the separatist leader, as well as his inner circle, was planned long and carefully. At the beginning of March 2005, information was received that made it possible to determine the address where the terrorist and his guards were hiding. Despite all the tricks, the bunker with the terrorist leader was discovered. The terrorists inside were asked to surrender, to which they responded with a categorical refusal. After which the operational combat groups carried out an event to detain them.
2006 - Khasavyurt, Republic of Dagestan. Elimination of the representative of Al-Qaeda and the leader of all foreign fighters, one of the leaders and financiers of the “jihad” in Chechnya and adjacent regions, Abu Haws. Four militants were killed along with him. The force phase of the operation began with the fact that at dawn one of the groups deliberately revealed itself. The two militants were immediately killed by snipers. A shot was fired at the gate from a grenade launcher, and after this an assault group burst in in an armored KamAZ vehicle. The surviving bandits took up defensive positions. They rejected the offer to surrender. Half an hour later it was all over.
Organization
Initially the group consisted of 30 people.
From November 10, 1977 - 52, from January 10, 1980 - 122, from December 21, 1981 - 222 people.
On June 30, 1984, by order of the KGB chairman No. 0085, the first regional division of group “A” was formed - the 7th department in Khabarovsk (21 employees). On March 3, 1990, by order No. 0031 it was deployed to the 7th group, and the 10th group (Kiev), 11th group (Minsk), 12th group (Alma-Ata), 13th group were created (Krasnodar) and 14th group (Sverdlovsk). The regional group had a staff of 45 people.
After the collapse of the USSR, the 10th, 11th and 12th groups went to Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan, respectively, and served as the basis for the formation of national special forces units.
Currently, Directorate “A” is part of the Special Purpose Center of the FSB of Russia and includes:
- headquarters;
- five departments (one department is constantly on a business trip to Chechnya);
- regional departments and special forces;
- organizational group.
Losses
Volkov Dmitry Vasilievich, captain. He died on December 27, 1979 during the operation to storm Amin’s palace. Awarded the Order of the Red Banner (posthumously).
Zudin Gennady Egorovich, captain. He died on December 27, 1979 during the operation to storm Amin’s palace. Awarded the Order of the Red Banner (posthumously).
Shatskikh Viktor Viktorovich, lieutenant, Died on January 13, 1991 during a combat operation in Vilnius. Awarded the Order of the Red Banner (posthumously).
Kravchuk Viktor Dmitrievich, senior lieutenant. Employee of the regional division (Ekaterinburg). Died on August 1, 1993, guarding the head of the Provisional Administration in the zone of the Ossetian-Ingush conflict. Victor Polyanichko. Awarded the Order "For Personal Courage" (posthumously).
Sergeev Gennady Nikolaevich, junior lieutenant. Died on October 4, 1993 during an operation near the building of the Supreme Soviet of Russia in Moscow. Awarded the title of Hero of Russia (posthumously).
Solovov Vladimir Viktorovich, major. Died on June 17, 1995 during an operation in Budennovsk. Awarded the Order of Courage (posthumously).
Burdyaev Dmitry Yuryevich, lieutenant. Died on June 17, 1995 during an operation in Budennovsk. Awarded the Order of Courage (posthumously).
Ryabinkin Dmitry Valerievich, lieutenant. Died on June 17, 1995 during an operation in Budennovsk. Awarded the Order of Courage (posthumously).
Kiselev Andrey Viktorovich, major. Died on January 18, 1996 during an operation in the village of Pervomaisky. Awarded the Order of Courage (posthumously).
Vorontsov Viktor Mikhailovich, major. Died on January 18, 1996 during an operation in the village of Pervomaisky. Awarded the Order of Courage (posthumously).
Demin Alexander Vladimirovich, warrant officer. Employee of the regional division (Krasnodar). Died on May 29, 1997 during an operation to detain a special dangerous criminal. Awarded the Order of Courage (posthumously).
Savelyev Anatoly Nikolaevich, colonel, chief of staff of department “A”. Died on December 19, 1997 during the operation to free a Swedish diplomat. Awarded the title of Hero of Russia (posthumously).
Shchekochikhin Nikolai Nikolaevich, captain. Died on March 30, 2000 in Chechnya during a special operation. Awarded the Order of Courage (posthumously).
Kurdibansky Boris Borisovich, major. Died on February 12, 2002 in the village of Starye Atagi in the North Caucasus.
Perov, Alexander Valentinovich, major. Died on September 3, 2004 during a special operation in Beslan. Awarded the title of Hero of Russia (posthumously).
Malyarov Vyacheslav Vladimirovich, major. Died on September 3, 2004 during a special operation in Beslan. Presented to the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, fourth degree (posthumously).
Loskov Oleg Vyacheslavovich, warrant officer. Died on September 3, 2004 during a special operation in Beslan.
Kholban Ruslan Konstantinovich, captain. Died on May 13, 2009 on the territory of the Republic of Dagestan. Awarded the Suvorov and Zhukov medals, the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 4th degree with swords (posthumously).
Shatunov Maxim Yurievich, major. Died on July 7, 2009 in Chechen Republic. Awarded the Order of Courage, Suvorov medals, “For saving the dead.”
Unit commanders
1974-1977 - Bubenin Vitaly Dmitrievich (retired major general. Hero of the Soviet Union). The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded for courage and heroism shown in defending the USSR border on Damansky Island in March 1969.
1977 - Yvon Robert Petrovich (retired colonel).
1977-1988 - Zaitsev Gennady Nikolaevich (retired major general. Hero of the Soviet Union).
1988-1991 - Karpukhin Viktor Fedorovich (reserve major general. Hero of the Soviet Union).
1991-1992 - Mikhail Vasilievich Golovatov (reserve colonel).
1992-1995 - Zaitsev Gennady Nikolaevich.
1995-1998 - Alexander Vladimirovich Gusev (reserve lieutenant general).
1998-1999 - Miroshnichenko Alexander Ivanovich (Lieutenant General).
1999-2003 - Andreev Valentin Grigorievich.
Since 2003 - Major General Vladimir Nikolaevich Vinokurov.
The country's shield against terrorism. The work of soldiers of the Special Purpose Center of the FSB of Russia. Photo report
First, briefly about the FSB Special Purpose Center. This is a unit of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, created on October 8, 1998 on the initiative of the Director of the FSB of Russia V.V. Putin by combining special-purpose units of security agencies into a single team.
The main task of the TsSN FSB of Russia is to combat international terrorism on the territory of the Russian Federation and beyond, including activities to identify, prevent, suppress, disclose and investigate terrorist acts through operational combat and other activities. It is especially worth noting that the Federal Security Service acts in strict accordance with the laws of the Russian Federation, even in cases where its activities may look illegal and immoral in the opinion of some uninitiated and incompetent citizens.
Over the fifteen years of its existence, employees of the TsSN FSB of Russia, independently or in collaboration with various units, carried out many operational combat activities, during which a significant amount of weapons, ammunition, and explosives were confiscated, hundreds of hostages captured by militants were freed, active members of gangs were neutralized, including such odious leaders such as Salman Raduev, Arbi Barayev, Aslan Maskhadov, Rappani Khalilov, Anzor Astemirov, emissaries of the international terrorist organization Al-Qaeda in the North Caucasus Abu-Umar, Abu-Havs, Seif Islam and others.
According to indirect data, over the years of work of the FSB TsSN, several hundred officers were killed in combat operations in the country and abroad, state awards were presented more than two thousand times, twenty military personnel were awarded honorary title"Hero of the Russian Federation".
Currently, the Federal Security Service is headed by Army General Alexander Vasilyevich Bortnikov.
TsSN FSB has the best and most modern equipment. This is its main difference from the army and other law enforcement agencies of the Russian Federation. In their work, the Center's officers use the best that Russian and foreign military science and industry can provide. In the fight against terrorism, any other approach would be inappropriate.
There are a lot of people who want to get into service at the Center. The selection is strict: first of all, the TsSN focuses on people who have already proven themselves to be professionals in one of the areas of special training, who have combat experience and a good military education, as well as graduates of universities of the Ministry of Defense, Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the FSB Border Service and the Ryazan School Airborne Forces At the same time, the Center trains professionals in categories that only they can train themselves - snipers, parachutists and combat swimmers.
Providing first aid to the wounded. Of the “Golden Hour” allotted for rescuing a wounded person, the first 15 minutes are considered the most important; the faster and more qualified assistance is provided, the greater the chance of salvation for the victim
In addition to physical data, special attention is paid to high moral and psychological qualities. When joining one of the Center’s structures, the candidate must be ready, if circumstances so require, to give his life saving the lives of hostages. The study process lasts at least a year and a half, and the dropout rate is very large.
As for fire training, it has a pronounced applied nature. The emphasis is on developing stable shooting skills in conditions that are as close as possible to real-life situations. The level of training of TsSN employees allows them to take prizes in all-Russian and international competitions, as well as effectively solve the entire range of operational and combat missions.
The entire training system is aimed at developing young employees. It is carried out by managers at all levels and instructors. It includes, among other aspects, a mentoring institute, various training camps, classes and receiving good operational training in training centers and FSB institutions. One of the main tasks set at the Center is not only to teach how to shoot well and master techniques hand-to-hand combat, but above all consciously act as part of the unit.
One of the traditional questions asked to FSB special forces commanders is: how long does it take to develop a true professional from a beginner? In previous years the answer was: five years. Now professional development is happening much faster: this is the specificity! For the last ten years, the Center has been continuously involved in special operations in the North Caucasus, which affects the quality of its personnel.
Alpha Group or Directorate "A" TsSN FSB- a special unit of the Federal Security Service of Russia, intended mainly for the release of hostages and anti-terrorist operations.
general information
Formed by order of the Chairman of the KGB Yu.V. Andropov in 1974 as a response to the terrorist attack at the Munich Olympics. Initially, it was a group of 30 people, subordinate first to the 5th and then to the 7th Main Directorate of the KGB. Currently subordinate to the Special Purpose Center of the FSB of Russia; special forces with the same name for a similar purpose are available in Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. The exact composition and size of the Alpha group is strictly classified.
Preparation of TsSN FSB "Alpha"
Initially, the Alpha group was staffed exclusively by officers and warrant officers (the latter are about 3% of the number, they occupy mainly auxiliary positions, for example, instructors). Age limit for candidates - 28 years old (for those who came from other special forces, there is no this limit). There is also one serious physical limitation for candidates - height must be at least 175 centimeters. This is due to the fact that during operations, employees often use heavy armored shields of impressive dimensions. For short employees, these protective equipment simply drag on the ground.
Physical fitness requirements:
- Running 100 meters in 12 seconds;
- 3000 meters in 10.5 minutes;
- Pull-ups on the bar - 25 times;
- Torso bending - 90 times in 2 minutes;
- Push-ups from the floor - 90 times;
- Push-ups on parallel bars - 30 times.
- Complex strength exercise(15 push-ups from the floor, 15 flexions and extensions of the torso (checking the abdominals), then 15 times moving from the “crouching” position to the “lying position” and back, then 15 jumping up from the “crouching” position) - 7 times in a row.
Candidates undergo special screening and psychological testing. The consent of the candidate's parents and spouse is mandatory for enrollment in Alpha. Those who successfully pass all these stages of selection are enlisted in the special forces, receiving black berets and Anti-Terror knives, after which they leave for their groups, where they undergo training in their specialty for 3 years.
Combat Operations Alpha
The first of Alpha's most high-profile operations was the storming of the palace of the Afghan dictator Kh. Amin on December 27, 1979. 24 special forces officers were part of the combined assault group together with the Zenit and Cascade groups. Alpha operated in Afghanistan throughout armed conflict, performing tasks for anti-sabotage protection of Kabul and direct protection of the Soviet embassy.
One of the types of tasks that only Alpha successfully handled in the USSR was the release of planes hijacked by terrorists, which happened very often in the 1980s. This special unit was also involved in the release of hostages when they turned out to be children. The last most high-profile success of “Alpha” was a joint assault with the “Vityaz” group on a pre-trial detention center seized by criminals in Sukhumi on August 11-15, 1990.
After the collapse of the USSR, Alpha came under the jurisdiction of the Special Purpose Center of the FSB of Russia. It was she who was involved in the release of hostages in Budyonnovsk, the theater on Dubrovka and Beslan. Also, Alpha officers serve on a permanent basis in Chechnya, where they are engaged in the capture and destruction of particularly important leaders of the terrorist underground.
Armament and equipment
At the time of the creation of the Alpha group, there were practically no specialized anti-terror weapons in the Soviet Union. The main weapons of the special forces were a Kalashnikov assault rifle with a silencer, Makarov and pistols, a Dragunov sniper rifle and edged weapons. There simply were no compact rapid-fire weapons, most suitable for combat at a very short distance. Nevertheless, the unit, even with weapons that were not very suitable for this, successfully freed hostages, including those captured on airplanes.
The situation with weapons began to change by the beginning of the 1980s, when the AS Val and . They were much better suited for anti-terrorism operations in urban environments, since a heavy 9-mm bullet transferred all the energy to the tissues when it hit the target human body, while piercing almost any body armor.
Alpha officers were also the first to receive the Grach and Gyurza pistols, loaded with reinforced cartridges capable of penetrating body armor. New models of submachine guns were also primarily adopted by this special forces unit.
Due to the need to fight in urban environments, FSB special forces are equipped with heavy body armor and titanium helmets.
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