An annual holiday was held in the Separate Operational Brigade (OBON) of the Central Regional Command of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in Sofrino near Moscow. OBON TsRK VV MIA of Russia celebrated 24 years from the date of formation.

Perestroika that swept across the expanses Soviet Union caused bloody internecine conflicts. In this regard, in 1988, the Government of the USSR decided to create two operational brigades to perform special tasks to protect public order, counteract the spread of ethnic conflicts and eliminate hotbeds of tension in the regions of the country. One of these brigades was formed on October 10 on the basis of the 504 training regiment of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs near Moscow. On December 27, 1988, young soldiers from Sofrins took the oath for the first time. And on February 12, 1989, an order followed: forward, to Baku! From this city - the capital of Azerbaijan - the combat chronicle of the Sofri brigade began. As the former commander of the 21st OBRON, Major General Simachkov, noted at the celebrations on the occasion of the fifteenth anniversary of the brigade, all the difficult days for Russia can be traced through the history of the military path of the unit.

Then there was Georgia. It was the Sofrino brigade that was in Tbilisi on the night of April 9 near the Gruzteleradio building, where a crowd of five to six thousand people, unpredictable in their actions, went wild. Almost immediately after those hot events from June 4 to August 21, the officers and sergeants of the brigade literally separated the warring Meskhetian Turks and Uzbeks with their bodies during the riots in the Ferghana Valley of the Uzbek SSR. Further, like a snowball, - Nagorno-Karabakh, Dushanbe, Armenia, the Nakhichevan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, the performance of service and combat missions in Vilnius, Kabardino-Balkaria ...

Then, in 1991, the brigade suffered its first losses. In a firefight, covering the retreat of civilians and their subordinates in the vicinity of the village of Yukhara Jibikli in Karabakh, firing back to the last bullet, Lieutenant Oleg Babak and Private Maksimov were killed. Oleg Babak was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Further, following the rapidly unfolding events of the 90s: the implementation of combat missions in Makhachkala, the Mozdok and Allagir regions of North Ossetia, Nazran, the maintenance of the state of emergency in the villages of Brut and Kurtat, the village of Tarskoye, the North Ossetian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic ... During the bloody events of October 93 On the 1st near the White House, contrary to orders, the Sofrino brigade, led by deputy commander Vladimir Enyagin and brigade commander Vladimir Vasiliev, refused to participate in the siege of the Supreme Council and did not lead a column of armored vehicles to the Ostankino television center. The soldiers and officers of the brigade remained true to their oath and did not shed the blood of their brethren.

And two years later, the first Chechen campaign began (1995). And the Sofrints, as always, solve the tasks assigned to them: they participate in a special operation in the Staropromyslovsky district of Grozny, Argun, Gudermes, storm the settlements of Samashki, Bamut, Orekhovo. So in the battle on Bald Mountain near Bamut, a detachment of 34 military personnel was required to hold the height at any cost, while the main forces stormed the highland village. For five hours, the special forces held back the furious onslaught of the militants, who at the same time had an overwhelming numerical superiority. The distance between the opposing sides was reduced to 15-20 meters. When the unit, having completed the task, received the command to leave the battle, the unit commander was forced to call fire on himself. Breaking through, the fighters used almost all the ammunition, but each left one grenade - for himself.

In 1991, the last title of Hero of the Soviet Union (Gold Star No. 12772) was posthumously awarded to the lieutenant of the Internal Troops Russian Federation Oleg Yakovlevich Babak for courage and heroism in protecting the population in Nagorno-Karabakh.

After the Khasavyurt Agreement, the Sofri Brigade from 97 to 98 years. located in Dagestan. And on September 29, 1999, the 21st OBRON crossed the administrative border with the Chechen Republic and went on the offensive from the direction of Terekli - Mekteb - Kumili - Chervlenaya ... Special operations followed as part of the Northern United Group of Forces, the Eastern United Group of Forces, special operations in the settlements of Urus-Martan, Goity, Chechen-aul, Alkhan-Kala, Alkhan-Yurt... Already by this time, the command of the Joint Group of Federal Forces and the command of the VV and TFR had a firm opinion that the brigade reserve was one of the most combat-ready formations in the group. At this time, even Basayev, not inclined to compliment the Russian troops, said that "it is better not to fight with the Sofrino brigade."

On December 25, the Sofrintsy, as part of the Western United Group, advanced to the area of ​​​​the Staropromyslovsky district and on December 26 proceeded to storm Grozny. The brigade was attacking on a wide front with 4 battalions in one echelon. "Sofrintsy" were looking for weak spots in the defense of the enemy, ways of bypassing him. However, on the night of December 28, not yet knowing about it, they approached the main defensive line of the enemy and intuitively, also by the fire resistance of the enemy, felt that it was necessary to stop, prepare and proceed to the assault in the morning. And so it turned out. On December 29, from dawn until 11 p.m., a fierce battle did not stop along the entire front of the brigade. This fight did not stop until January 3, 2000. During these days, 33 soldiers of the brigade were killed. This terrible sacrifice of the war forced everyone to regroup their forces and means to defeat the bandits. It was during this period that information was received that the Sofrino brigade was no longer there, it had all died. During the period of restoring constitutional order in Chechnya, the Gold Star of the Hero of the Russian Federation was awarded to Major General G.D. Fomenko and Private Bushmelev.

On March 11, 2003, the personnel was withdrawn from Grozny to the place of permanent deployment in the village of Sofrino near Moscow.

In memory of a hero

On September 27, 2012, in the Pushkinsky district of the Moscow region, at the Ashukinskaya station in the park in memory of the soldiers of the Sofrino brigade of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, a monument to the Hero of the Soviet Union, Lieutenant Oleg Babak, was unveiled. The monument was designed by Honored Artist of Russia Elena Bezborodova. On the memorial stele of black granite there is a bronze bas-relief: the strong hands of a soldier, a tragically courageous look and childishly disheveled curls.

The opening ceremony was attended by the head of the Pushkinsky district Viktor Lisin, the command, military personnel and veterans of the Sofrino Brigade, representatives of the clergy of the Pushkinsky church district, teachers and students of schools in the Pushkinsky district, Oleg Babak's parents - Nadezhda Ivanovna and Yakov Andreevich.

Oleg Babak was born in 1967 in the village of Victoria, Poltava region of Ukraine. After graduating from the Leningrad Higher Political School, he served in the Sofrino brigade of the Internal Troops of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs as a deputy company commander for political affairs. The servicemen of this unit participated in all, without exception, hostilities on the territory of the Fatherland: Baku, Ferghana, Tbilisi, Nagorno-Karabakh, Dagestan, Ossetia, the Chechen Republic and others.

In 1991 Soviet troops carried out a peacekeeping mission in Nagorno-Karabakh. In April 1991, a unit commanded by 24-year-old Oleg Babak controlled the area of ​​the Azerbaijani village of Yukhari Jibikli on the border with Armenia, near the Goris-Kafan highway.

On April 7, on the day of Holy Easter, a hundred Armenian militants burst into the village. To prevent the death of civilians, Oleg and the soldiers of his unit entered into battle with the militants. The forces were unequal. Then the lieutenant ordered everyone to retreat, while he himself remained to cover the retreat of civilians and his comrades. When he ran out of ammunition, Oleg Babak was killed by militants.
For courage and heroism shown in the performance of military duty, by the Decree of the President of the USSR of September 17, 1991, Oleg Babak was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously).

The rector of the churches of the Holy Icon of the Mother of God in the village of Artyomovo, the Savior of the Muranovo estate not made by hands, the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky of the Sofrinsky brigade of the Interior Ministry, responsible for interaction with military units and law enforcement agencies in the Pushkinsky district, hegumen Feofan (Zamesov) and parishioners have long dreamed of creating monument to Oleg Babak. Funds for its manufacture were collected by the whole world, part of the money was contributed by veterans of the Sofrino brigade of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.

It is symbolic that the opening and consecration of the monument took place on the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord. All those gathered at the monument to Oleg Babak felt themselves involved in the triumph of love, courage and the strength of the human spirit over the satanic plans for the destruction of peaceful people. There were words of memory and gratitude to Oleg Babak for his feat, words of consolation and gratitude to the parents of the hero.

For 20 years of serving the Fatherland, the Sofrino brigade of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia lost 109 servicemen. The opening of the monument to the Hero confirms that the people of multinational Russia remember and keep the memory of their defenders.

“There is no greater love than a man who lays down his life for his friends” (Gospel of John 15.13.)

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

Name today ancient city Tbilisi is again on the lips of the whole world, the Yankees seriously believe that Caucasian Georgia and their state of Georgia are twin relatives.
The events in Tbilisi in April 1989 were also unique in their dramaturgy. It was after them that the ominously depressing term “Tbilisi Syndrome” appeared (a terrible mixture: ignorance of who and why the true enemy is, how to fight against him, will you have to blame and justify yourself for the use of force?).
The Sofrinsky battalion, which performed tasks in the capital of Georgia, was lucky that it was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel V. Elovsky, who had recently served in Tbilisi and knew well not only the poem "The Knight in the Panther's Skin", but, more importantly, the psychology of Georgians.
Sofrintsy fell to protect public order in the Gruzteleradio area - a strategically important object. Brought up in the spirit of respect for the law, our soldiers and commanders, clenching their teeth, looked at the raging crowd: they threw insults in their faces, shook their fists in their direction, and spat. Then, dangerously close to the military chain, cars began to rush about with their headlights on and screaming horns. Behind the wheel, as it turned out later, were stoned and "data" thugs-instigators.
The cold-blooded and wise Transcaucasian Elovsky decided to arrange a “demonstration of muscles” in front of the raging crowd - our soldiers alternately, in order to warm up after a long standing in a chain, did several expressive special forces “pas” with machine guns, with shields, with rubber truncheons. The crowd of Georgians at first fell silent. Then some provocateur yelled: “They're scaring you, goats! Yes, we will make them!
But the Sofrints were the first to do their job, they worked ahead of the curve - the trained soldiers not only dodged the Zhiguli rushing at them, but also managed to hit the windshield with a rubber club, so much so that the hot southern guys instantly cooled down. Here, in the zone of responsibility of the Sofrins, no massacre was allowed...
Tbilisi was followed by Dushanbe, Baku, NKAR... After street fights, hand-to-hand skirmishes, armed provocations, explosions took place more and more often. The confrontations became wider along the front, deeper, more fierce.
On the border of Azerbaijan and Armenia, Lieutenant Oleg Babak, the political officer of the company, accomplished his feat. (To this day, many Azerbaijanis call him Babek - after the name of the hero of the national liberation of the 9th century.)
The Sofrinsky battalion, then commanded by Major V. Burdukov (later - Colonel, Brigade Commander), stood in the Azerbaijani regional center of Kubatly. The outpost, where Lieutenant O. Babak was in charge, is twenty kilometers away, in the mountain village of Yukhar Dzhibikli. The ups and downs of the unequal battle fought by Lieutenant Babak and Sergeants Loginov and Bochkov are still sitting in us like torn fragments. Three Sofrins fought off an attack by a company of militants who were trying to capture civilians. The last words of Oleg Babak, thrown to his subordinates, were the order: “Take people away! Back off! I'll cover!"
The day of the death of a brave officer - April 7 (in that year 1991 it was the Bright Resurrection of Christ, Easter) - became the Day of Remembrance of the Sofrino brigade. Lieutenant Oleg Yakovlevich Babak was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on September 17, 1991 (posthumously). Two sergeants, two Alexei - Loginov and Bochkov - were awarded the Order "For Personal Courage" ...
And there were also heartfelt letters sent to the parents of Oleg Babak in the Poltava village of Victoria from Moscow and Sakhalin, from Kazakhstan and Estonia, from Moldova and Tyumen... our time of peace, and it is even more painful to know that this is happening in my native land, in my native republic. Your son showed heroism by protecting civilians from the massacre of militants. Oleg was only 24 years old, he did not even have time to enjoy the joys of life. Let everyone know how many young lives this merciless war takes. Will evil triumph over truth? No, this will not happen as long as there are warriors like your son. You should be proud of your son. A good memory of him will forever remain in the hearts of people "...
The first and second Chechen campaigns confirmed the high authority of the Sofrins. The command sent the brigade to where it was most difficult. More than a thousand soldiers, sergeants, ensigns and officers were awarded military orders and medals. The brigade commander, Major General Gennady Fomenko, and the BMP driver, Corporal Yevgeny Bushmelev became Heroes of Russia.
In January 1995, they entered Grozny. There were fights in Samashki, in Bamut. There were many fights, few respite ...
The second campaign began with a heavy march from Dagestan, went through the Nogai steppes, sands ... And again there was Grozny, returning to its own circle, to the circles of hell - the Staropromyslovsky district, Zavodskoy ...
A conversation with Private Yuri Konshin took place in Grozny on the night of January 14, 1995:
“I really believe in God. Before the business trip, I asked the company commander (he is a good man) to leave. We live in Sofrino, and Zagorsk (Sergiev Posad. - B.K.) is thirty minutes away from us, there is a laurel. I went there and lit candles for my health, for the health of my parents. I now believe that I will live until I am 87 and nothing will happen to me here. And although I go on assignments here, I walk carefully, I believe that I will live to be 87 years old.
- Well, God forbid!
- So it will be, Comrade Colonel, so it will be! I have a sweetheart at home ... In a Christian way, we are married to her in the church (my grandmother advised me to marry a sweetheart before the army), she is now my beloved wife. He writes to me every day, every day. “I don’t know anymore, my dear, what to write to you ...” She writes what she did during the day, where she was. And still, every day you receive a letter, where “my dear” is joy! She came to my unit and said: “God forbid, fool, where will you go!”
That's what all women say...
We flew back to Chechnya on May 23rd. Minesweeper Yura Konshin died on the 22nd ...
From the "second Chechnya" I remember a conversation with soldiers in the ruins of Grozny. With the Hero of Russia, Colonel G. Fomenko, they came to the positions. The mood on that February day in 2000 rose noticeably: the Sofrino brigade completed the task, knocking out the "spirits" from the Zavodskoy district in heavy battles. The main thing that pleased the brigade commander was that there were no losses in recent days. Even the sun finally peeped through the smoke, fumes, fog. But a couple of days ago everything was pretty bad ...
– Is it true that there was an order to fight to the last soldier?
The question of Corporal Anokhin - to the brigade commander in the forehead. We stand in front of two dozen grimy, smoked "demobilization" in the ruins of the house. The window openings are blocked by fragments of the same walls, the wind blows into the gaps and crumbles plaster flies when the “spiritual” bullets and VOGs fall into the jambs. The floor under the fire, lit right there, in an impenetrable nook, is almost burned out, and it is covered with black grainy snow brought from the street in a leaky bucket.
We are not the last soldiers. - The brigade commander, who knows how to conduct a dialogue with the minister, and with the commanders, and with the Chechens, is now choosing a few right words for an honest answer to his comfrey heroes. “We Sophrins have always been first, haven’t we? And the first is more difficult. There was only one order for us - to drive the bandits out of the Zavodskoy district. And we will follow orders. I won’t force you to storm, but you will sit on the “blocks” - the enemy should not hit us on the flanks and rear. You have done too much for me to speak rudely and disrespectfully to you. But if you go against the law, then I will step over myself - you will leave without state awards, without "combat" money, in disgrace. That's all I can tell you...
The brigade commander spoke quietly, but distinctly, pausing only during the gasps from the left and right of the breaks. Colonel Fomenko faced a difficult dilemma. His brigade is fighting in Grozny, suffering losses. There are not enough people. For several dozen soldiers and sergeants, the term for transfer to the reserve has come. And according to the unspoken rule established back in Afghanistan, “demobilizations” were not sent into battle - they were taken care of. Although the “old” soldiers themselves had the opposite opinion on this matter: they rushed to the front line, teaching the young with an example of courage ...
The next day, the Sofrino brigade will go out into the bend of the muddy, gray-turquoise Sunzha, where the TV crews will interrogate the brigade commander among the grimy, but obviously cheered up fighters. The reporter will sum up the interview with a beautiful ambiguous phrase: “The commander led his brigade into the city. To a city that doesn't exist.
It's like the rhetorical "What are we fighting for? .."
It was not for the answer to this sacramental question that journalists went to war with the Sofrins. The brethren writing and filming felt that where this brigade is, there are the hottest fights, there is the epicenter of events, there are feats, there are heroes. In search of the origins of courage and heroism, journalists sought to be close to the fighters of the brigade. Under Samashki, having fallen into an ambush, a war correspondent for the magazine “On a combat post”, senior lieutenant Anatoly Yagodin, who loved the Sofrins very much, and wrote a lot about them, died.
In the second war near the village of Chervlennaya, photojournalist Oleg Smirnov was seriously wounded;
We will remember all this. We will remember the joy of victories, the faces of heroes. Let us remember the bitter days of loss, the tears of inconsolable widows and mothers, the monuments that were erected in honor of the dead. As long as we ourselves are alive, we will say: “Hello, Sofrians!”
... The retired commander of the internal troops, Colonel-General Yuri Vasilyevich Shatalin, chose a "village for residence" for himself - he was tired of the noisy capital, and besides, "who fought has the right to sit by a quiet river."
Remembering the proverb “where he was born, he came in handy there,” he traveled around and around his native Dmitrov, from Moscow to Sergiev Posad, knowing that he could find complete peace here after all his wars and military campaigns.
A suitable house with a garden-garden was found in Khotkovo, near Radonezh, where the miracle worker Sergius, the mourner of the Russian land, all Russia, lived.
The abbot of Radonezh lived here in ancient times, but as if yesterday he set off from here on foot across Russia, gathering it together with deed and word.
According to contemporaries, amazing purity, modesty and strength distinguished the lad Bartholomew (the future Sergius). Is it not these virtues that are so characteristic of many brave Sophrins - who fell in battle and live ?!
It was he, Sergius of Radonezh, who blessed the Russian army for a right fight before the Battle of Kulikovo, sent the monks and warriors of Peresvet and Oslyabya into a deadly battle with the Horde.
Sofrino always stopped pilgrims going to Sergius, to the Lavra.
So Yuri Vasilyevich Shatalin, who created the front line brigade in 1988, when retiring, decided unambiguously firmly: “I will be next to my Sofrints!”
... In 1992, when there was no longer a state with the name of the USSR, on the parade ground of the Sofrino brigade, three flags fluttered on high flagpoles - Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian. The brigade commander explained: “There is no union, and the soldiers called up from Belarus and Ukraine remained to serve until the end of their term. Until then, the flags will be here. Politics is politics, but no one will cancel our Sofrino brotherhood by any decree ... "

Boris KARPOV
Photo by Oleg SMIRNOV,
Vladimir NIKOLAICHUK
and author

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

The company commander was Senior Lieutenant Valery Chernyshev, who received a fourth star for shoulder straps after the Ferghana events in the summer of that year. Senior lieutenant Vadim Suvorov and lieutenant Shakir Akhmedov were appointed as the first platoon commanders. A little later, even before the participation of the Sofrinsky special forces in the Karabakh operations, Lieutenant Pavel Yashchuk arrived at the post of platoon commander in the URSN. The “commissar” position was entrusted to Lieutenant Oleg Sulima, who became “concurrently” an unofficial chronicler of the new special forces unit ...

Already in June of the same year, the fighters of the Sofrino URSN carried out combat missions to suppress riots and prevent the massacres of Meskhetian Turks in the Fergana region of the Uzbek SSR. The cities of Andijan, Kokand, Yaipan, Gulistan, the villages of Gorsky and Komsomolskoye became the first milestones of their military path. According to the most conservative estimates, in the Fergana region, Valery Chernyshev's company in those days saved more than three thousand civilians from certain death.
I cannot help but draw attention to the fact that during the Fergana epic, the young, in fact, just formed unit had only two officers - Senior Lieutenant Chernyshev and Lieutenant Akhmedov. Officer duties were often taken over by Sergeant Andrei Makarov. And dealt with them beyond praise. Despite the fact that on some days the fighters of the company had to work out four to six combat missions!

During the Fergana events best qualities special forces soldiers showed Sofrino "urses" of the first set - sergeant Alexander Narozhny, privates Alexander Doroshenko, Pavel Leshchenko, Alexander Petrovsky, Roman Velichko, Sergey Safronov, Vitaly Nalimov, Mikhail Kalinin, Vladimir Gornostaev (later becoming a sergeant), Anatoly Andreev, Sergey Astapenko, passed to us from URSN OMSDON. It was they who laid down those traditions of the highest professionalism, masculinity and selflessness, mutual assistance and military fraternity, on which all the service and combat activities of the special forces of the Sofri brigade were built in the future.

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

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

We, who did our job not for rubles and awards, but for the glory of our country and special forces, continued to increase the list of successfully conducted combat cases. It included an operation to neutralize and disarm a gang that settled between the villages of Upper Farajan and Spitakshen. By the way, it was for this case that the commander of the Sofrino URSN, Captain Valery Chernyshev, who not only directly commanded one of the groups, but also went to the blocked militants as a truce with a proposal to surrender in order to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, was presented to the order "For personal courage". And he did get it!
Then there was the capture of the headquarters of the extremists in Jebrail, after which we handed over fifty active participants in armed actions against the civilian population into the hands of law enforcement agencies.

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

In the first case, it was a forced march in high altitude conditions, and, consequently, a clear lack of oxygen. In addition, we included (perhaps for the first time in the history of special forces) elements of mountain training in the exam: candidates overcame a turbulent river stream and rockfall areas that threatened real danger. In addition, they learned a whole set of conventional signs that help to communicate in the mountains within visual contact without means of communication, and demonstrated the ability to navigate in mountainous areas. Worked out during the march various introductory.
Those who fought for the right to wear a beret near Mardakan also had a hard time. The forced march was carried out at a temperature of over thirty degrees. Ten kilometers ran along the sandy coast of the Caspian Sea. But two more had to be overcome directly by sea - where waist-deep, and where chest-deep in water, while keeping their own weapons intact. The sea was rough that day. And during the movement, the special forces had to not only hold machine guns, machine guns, sniper rifles, grenade launchers over their heads, but also regularly bounce, jumping out over the crest of the oncoming wave, in order to avoid covering them with their heads.

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

October 10, 1988 in the village. Ashukino, Sofrino, near Moscow, on the basis of the 504th training regiment of the explosives, an operational brigade of the 21st OBRON was formed, which became part of the units of the Internal Troops of the USSR. The reason for the creation of a new part was the increasing cases of interethnic conflicts that took place in the late 1980s in the Union republics. For almost thirty years of history, the personnel of the brigade took part in hostilities more than once, and also guarded important state facilities.

Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs

This type of troops in the Soviet Union has existed since the late 1930s. The tasks of the BB were responsible for the implementation of the protection of important government facilities and the maintenance of public safety. In the 1990s, dozens of paramilitary units were divided along territorial lines by the former republics.

The status of official explosives was acquired only in 1992, when the corresponding law was adopted by the president. During the first and second Chechen wars, brigades of internal troops were involved in establishing constitutional order in the zones of local armed conflicts. The Sofrino brigade was no exception. In the conditions of hostilities, the personnel of the brigade showed courage and courage. Many of the guys were awarded high awards, some posthumously.

History of the Sofrino Brigade

Two months after the establishment of military unit 3641 in December 1988, the first oath of conscripts took place, and already in February 1989, the personnel were transferred to Azerbaijan. Thus began the path of glory for the Sofrino brigade, the military personnel participated in all serious conflicts that took place on the territory of the Russian Federation or the CIS from the late 1980s to the present day. Particularly frequent departures took place in the early - mid-1990s, when violent clashes for independence took place in almost all the former republics.

Today, the brigade provides assistance to law enforcement agencies during rallies, sports competitions, guards strategic military and medical facilities. Military personnel regularly patrol railway stations and have the right to detain suspicious persons. At the same time, in case of emergency, the personnel are always ready for prompt response and relocation to any point.

Participation in military conflicts

For two years (from 1989 to 1991), the 21st Sofrino brigade visited Georgia, where it held back an angry crowd during street rallies near Gruzteleradio, Uzbekistan, Nagorno-Karabakh, Dagestan, North Ossetia, and Armenia. Starting in 1995 Chechen war the personnel of the unit regularly took part in the liberation of the republic from radical Islamists. With the participation of explosives, several districts of the city were recaptured. The battle at when 34 servicemen were able to repulse an enemy that outnumbered them several times entered the brigade's history of glory.

After the end of the first Chechen war, the brigade was deployed in Dagestan, where it carried out law enforcement and was engaged in escorting columns of military equipment. From 1999 to 2003 the soldiers of the Sofrino unit were on the territory of Chechnya. After the liberation of Grozny, for several more years they participated in the liquidation of the remnants of terrorist groups.

In the late 1990s, the Sofrino brigade, as part of the Northern Joint Group of Forces, carried out special operations in many settlements of Chechnya. So, Urus-Martan was freed from terrorists. The personnel of the unit enjoyed fame not only among the Russian troops, but also among the terrorists who tried not to get involved with the Sofrinovites.

Targets and goals

Many years of military experience of the 21st OBRON VV of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation was not in vain. Today, this unit is considered one of the most prepared in terms of solving important state tasks. The main tasks of the VV are:

• security internal security the state and its interests;
• implementation of public security during mass events or in places of conflict;
• protection of the rights and freedoms of a citizen from criminal encroachments.

Internal troops have a good technical base that allows you to quickly and efficiently respond if necessary. At the disposal of explosives are armored vehicles, aircraft, ships and motor vehicles. Already since the 1990s, the troops have been operating their own intelligence, following the example of the army.

Heroes and rewards

Over the 29 years of its existence, 109 people have died and more than 500 have been injured. The most tragic and at the same time heroic moment in the history of the brigade was an unequal battle near Bald Mountain in Chechnya. The commandos courageously withstood for 5 hours the onslaught of the enemy, far superior in number. The detachment was able to complete the task, but during the withdrawal was forced to call fire on itself. Until now, the military merits of the Sofrinsky brigade in Chechnya are honored and remembered. Every year, commemorative rallies are held on the territory of the unit with the laying of flowers at the monument dedicated to the fallen soldiers.

One of the soldiers of the Sofrinsky brigade, Oleg Babak, was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously. He died in Azerbaijan, fulfilling the duty of an officer to the last. On April 7, 1991, together with a group of servicemen, he left for the village of Yukhari Dzhibikily, where a local resident was killed. Upon arrival at the place, the detachment was surrounded by Armenian militants. Babak did not lose his head and fired back until his death. Thanks to his heroic actions, his colleagues and civilians remained alive. In 2012, a monument to Oleg Babak was unveiled at the station of the Ashukinsky Moscow Region.

Scandal

Despite the well-deserved fame of the Sofrino brigade of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, scandals did not bypass it. In 2002, at the Sofrino station, two special forces soldiers who served in military unit 3641 got into a bloody fight with the seller of a commercial stall. As a result, two people died and one was injured. Opinions about this incident diverged in exactly the opposite way. The units claimed that civilians provoked the soldiers into a fight, while the media said that the brutalized military tried to forcefully take a bottle of vodka from the seller.

It is known that this evening several officers and soldiers who went through the war in Chechnya and other hot spots celebrated the birthday of one of their colleagues. And at night, in an army truck, they went to a neighboring village for liquor. According to one of the guards, the drunken servicemen began to molest the saleswoman, and a verbal skirmish and a fight ensued. Then the guard drew his rifle and fired first into the air and then at the officers. One died on the spot, the other was seriously injured. During the flight of the special forces, another soldier was crushed by a truck in a hurry. The security guard was detained on the same night, a criminal case was initiated. And in part passed serious disciplinary checks.

Passing service

Today, a separate operational brigade 21 includes: three battalions, a reconnaissance company and other additional units. It is considered an honor for a soldier to be here. There was an opinion about her as one of the safest and devoid of signs of hazing parts.

Passing service is based on general principles specified in Art. 37 of the Law on Military Duty. The soldiers of the Sofrino brigade undergo a course of combat training, participate in exercises and carry out work on the internal support of the unit. Since the unit has recently been part of the National Guard, there are some differences in the assigned outfits.

Soldiers live in barracks designed for 70 people. Each conscript has his own sleeping place, nightstand. Once a week, a bath day is held in the unit. A medical unit operates on the territory of a paramilitary institution. However, in case of complex diseases or injuries, soldiers are transported to nearby hospitals of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Information for Parents of Recruits

As of 2017, the military unit established the amount of monthly allowance in the amount of 1100 rubles. Such small numbers are due to the fact that part is financed from the Ministry of the Interior, and not from the Ministry of Defense. Every soldier has the right to receive parcels from relatives or friends. Postal address of the Sofrino Brigade of the Interior Ministry: 41250, Moscow Region, pos. Ashukino, st. Lesnaya, d. 1a, military unit 3642 and full name of the soldier.

Wearing personal mobile phones is prohibited, the recruit can be contacted through the company command or officers who are allowed to carry a phone. You can come for a date only on Saturday before lunch, the schedule is drawn up in advance. When visiting, you can donate the necessary household items and food, with the exception of perishable ones.

Driving directions

Military unit 3641 is located 55 km from Moscow, you can get from the Yaroslavsky railway station by train or from the station. m. "VDNH" by bus number 388 with a transfer to the stop. "Sofrinsky bridge" to the minibus number 48. There is no parking for civilian cars near the part, so it's better to leave the cars in the village.

A meeting with a draftee is designed for several hours, there are no hotels in Ashukino, so if it is impossible to leave for Moscow, you can stay overnight in nearby settlements: Mogiltsy, Sofrino-1 or Sergiev Posad.

The Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation have always been at the forefront, participated in the settlement of many conflicts both on the territory of Russia and in neighboring states. The Sofrino brigade is in a special position in the Ministry of the Interior, it is considered one of the best in terms of combat training. The personnel earned the trust of the authorities back in 1993, when the command of the unit flatly refused to storm the building of the Supreme Council during the events. The officers and soldiers confirmed their loyalty to the oath.

In 2013, an experiment began on staffing 21 operational brigades with contract servicemen, the purpose of which was to create conditions for maintaining troops in constant combat readiness. According to the idea of ​​​​the command, the Sofrinsky brigade in the event of armed conflicts had to carry out combined arms combat, as well as be able to navigate and conduct reconnaissance operations in cities and mountainous terrain. Thus, within a year of the experiment, a team of professionals capable of performing the most important combat missions was formed.

Vladimir Nikolayevich, what are the tasks facing the brigade today?

Our main task today is to assist the internal affairs bodies in protecting law and order at the place of deployment and in the surrounding areas. In the event of any conflict on the territory of Russia, we are obliged to separate the warring parties. We must also resist terrorist attacks. At the same time, we have wartime tasks for territorial defense. In general, our tasks are broad.

At present, the entire personnel is here, at the place of permanent deployment, and is serving in Moscow and the Moscow region. We patrol in the city of Pushkin, Mytishchi, Korolev, Sergiev Posad, Moscow. We go to Moscow for various large public events: football matches, celebrations of May 9, City Day... We are not special forces, but our units are well prepared for specific actions to protect public order. For example, we have our own platoon of dog handlers. All sorts of dogs: mine-detecting, and working on the trail, and sentry. On the eve of any mass event, first of all, specialists with dogs arrive at the place of its holding, who first examine it, and only then they are on duty together with police officers. We do not take dogs with us to the capital - there are cynologists there, but in the Moscow region we use our own dogs.

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

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

Do you currently have enough available forces and means?

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

PRIVATE BUSSINESS SIMACHKOV Vladimir Nikolaevich Born in 1956 in the village of Novoselki, Buinsky District, TASSR. In 1980 he graduated with honors from the Novosibirsk Higher Command School of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR, and in 1990 - from the Military Academy. Frunze. He went through all the steps of the career ladder from an ordinary conscript to a brigade commander, inclusive. Participated in the elimination of unrest and the restoration of the constitutional order in all "hot spots" in the Transcaucasus and the North Caucasus. Since February 2001, he has been in command of the 21st separate operational brigade. Military rank- major general. Cavalier of the Orders of Courage and "For Military Merit". Married, has two children.

- Could you give a frank description of the recruiting staff that comes to you today: according to physical, psychological, educational and other data?

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

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

The spring of 2001 was a difficult one. Especially because of the explosives and attacks. The shootings were more frequent.

And when did the brigade suffer the greatest losses?

During the storming of Grozny, in December 1999.

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

We have had many such operations. True, we did not take big leaders, but the middle ones, as they called themselves, "emirs" of a particular region - almost every six months. Detected by their own call sign, and then handed over to the relevant authorities. I don’t know their names, their real names were already established by the FSB. Especially a lot of demolition men were taken: we set up ambushes, and when they went out on the road to lay a land mine, my guys met them at that moment ... We almost daily carried out engineering reconnaissance on routes with a total length of over 70 km, and for the entire period while we carried out these events, there were no explosions in these areas. Another thing is that there were shelling or something else, but it was not our fault. When my engineering reconnaissance took place, there were no losses. As for seizures, I can say something like this: in a day or two, we removed one landmine with iron.

And what were the tasks of the units of the 21st defense, located on the territory of Chechnya?

Our tasks were to assist the internal affairs bodies, to ensure order in the Staropromyslovsky and Zavodskoy districts of Grozny. What did it mean? We kept our checkpoints, our outposts, carried out access control, carried out special measures to identify militants and persons engaged in terrorist activities and, together with employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the FSB and other units, carried out their detention.

And what tactics did the militants adhere to at that time?

Basically, mine warfare tactics. Although the methods used by them were different: from dressing up in our uniform and outrages in settlements, ending with bribery, soldering - anything. But the biggest obstacle to our work was the “mass demonstrations of citizens” provoked and paid for by emissaries of the militants: women came out, blocked the roads and, waving their headscarves, began to shout that our servicemen had stolen someone from them there. The troops have no opposition to this.

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

I think that if the president and the authorities have determined that it is necessary to provide assistance to the heads of local administrations, then there should be no doubts. There were minor skirmishes that did not depend on the leaders in any way - for example, a police officer had a fight with my soldier, a conflict arose between them on a domestic basis. But in order for part to part to go, and then at the commander's level you had to figure it out later - this was not the case.

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

A big hindrance was some ignorance of the terrain in which we operated. We had in our hands topographic maps old editions, which depicted one thing, but in reality we saw something completely different, as a result of which it also happened that they began to stray. During this war, our radio communications became better - about the same compact radio stations that fit in one hand appeared that the militants had in the last war. However, even now they use more modern equipment compared to ours with "setters", decoders and closed communications. But we, too, when we seize them, use them ... The radio interference generator installed on the armored personnel carrier, which "extinguishes" all radio signals arriving at the land mines, has proven itself well, but the guaranteed distance that it provides (I had the most modern one worked at 100 m) , is small. Therefore, of course, I would like to have a more powerful system.

In your opinion, when will there be no need to carry out counterterrorist measures in Chechnya?

Everything is being done purposefully and correctly, only the intensity of this all, for unknown reasons, is still too low. It is necessary to create jobs there, to pay people money in the same amount that they are paid by the emissaries of gangs, only for the restoration of housing, enterprises, factories - so that they are interested in the stability of the region. When the people know that by working in the village, at the factory in Grozny, they are guaranteed to receive their money, they will stop supporting those who are hiding in the mountains. Otherwise, neither force nor bombing will defeat the militants - one will be replaced by another. Yes, blood feuds will remain, yes, someone else will go to the mountains, but there will be less and less of them every day. The faster the prosperity of Chechnya grows, the sooner the situation there will stabilize. There is no other option.

How long have some of your servicemen been on business trips in Chechnya? Have they been rehabilitated?

They were there from a month to a year and two months maximum. After returning to the place of permanent deployment, they lived for three months according to the rehabilitation daily routine, which included daytime rest, trips to Moscow. Psychologists participated, sponsors helped. The servicemen who needed deeper treatment, almost all went through a psychologist, psychiatrist, medical doctor. Well, for someone to return from there like a fool, there were no such people. Unfortunately, it turns out a little the other way around - these are more often from the "citizen".

Did your people get extra leave?

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

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

No, for each special operation we selected normal people who could perform tasks, and left those who were worse aside. And the so-called "combat" money was received only by those who participated in special operations. If a person participated in the operation, then, together with daily allowances and other payments, he was charged about 1 thousand rubles for that day.

In recent years, the topic of manning troops on a conscription contract has been very lively discussed. Are there many contract servicemen in your brigade and what is your own opinion on this issue?

In my brigade, about one in six is ​​a contract soldier. I am also a supporter of a contract army, it will be more professional and better, but it is a pity that the state does not yet have money for this.

Contractors are residents of the Moscow region?

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

Is the brigade experiencing a shortage of officers?

No, graduating from schools allows you to be fully completed, but another problem arises: lieutenants earn an average of 4.5-5 thousand rubles, and when they start families, they begin not only to break down, but to think - is it worth putting up with such a beggarly existence? ? It’s not that they serve badly after that, but doubts arise, because go to any security structure, and there they pay 700-800 rubles per night. So people begin to think: why do we serve here, invest so much effort? ..