Biography. Former Colonel Yuri Budanov

After graduating from college, he served in the military for three years as part of the units of the Southern Group of Forces on the territory of Hungary, after that - in the Byelorussian SSR; after the collapse of the USSR, he continued to serve in the Russian Federation.

In October 1998, he was appointed commander of the 160th Guards Armored Regiment stationed on the territory of the Trans-Baikal Military District (since December 1998 - the united Siberian Military District).

Since September 1999, together with the regiment, he took part in hostilities on the territory of the Chechen Republic.

In January 2000 he was awarded the Order of Courage and received (early) the rank of colonel.

On March 30, 2000, Yuri Budanov was arrested by military prosecutors on charges of kidnapping, rape and murder of 18-year-old Chechen woman Elza Kungayeva.

During the investigation, Budanov testified that, considering Kungaeva, a resident of the village of Tangshi-Chu, to be a sniper of one of the gangs, he ordered his subordinates to deliver the girl to the location of the regiment, after which, during interrogation, he strangled her, since Kungaeva allegedly resisted and tried to take possession of the weapon. Subsequently, Budanov, without denying the fact of the murder, insisted that he acted in a state of passion.

On February 28, 2001, in the North Caucasus District Military Court (Rostov-on-Don), the trial of the Budanov case began, which was charged with crimes under articles 126 (kidnapping), 105 (murder) and 286 (abuse of power) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation .

In July 2001, the North Caucasian District Military Court announced a break in court hearings in connection with the psychiatric examination of Budanov at the State Scientific Center for Social and Forensic Psychiatry. V.P. Serbsky (Moscow). In October of the same year - after passing the examination - Budanov was transferred back to Rostov-on-Don.

On December 16, 2002, an expert opinion was announced in the North Caucasian District Military Court, according to which Budanov was declared insane due to the consequences of a shell shock.

On December 31, 2002, the North Caucasian District Military Court ruled to release Budanov from criminal liability and send him to compulsory treatment, but on February 28, 2003, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation recognized such a decision as unfounded and made in violation of substantive and procedural law and sent the case for a new trial (at the same time, the preventive measure against Budanov remained the same - detention in a pre-trial detention center in Rostov-on-Don).

On July 25, 2003, the North Caucasus District Military Court found Budanov guilty of abuse of office, as well as the kidnapping and murder of Kungayeva. According to the court decision, Budanov was deprived of his military rank and the Order of Courage and sentenced to ten years in prison with a term in a strict regime colony (when sentencing, the court took into account Budanov's participation in the counter-terrorist operation and the presence of minor children), after which he was transferred to a colony YuI 78/3 (city of Dimitrovgrad, Ulyanovsk region).

On May 17, 2004, Budanov filed a petition for clemency addressed to the President of Russia, but on May 19 he withdrew it. The reason for the recall was the uncertainty with Budanov's citizenship, since he was drafted into the Armed Forces of the USSR back in 1982 from the Ukrainian SSR (on May 21, 2004, Budanov was given a passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation).

On September 15, 2004, the Ulyanovsk Regional Pardon Commission granted Budanov's new petition for pardon, but this decision led to protests from the Chechen public, as well as a statement by the head of the government of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, that if Budanov is released, "we will find an opportunity to reward him on merit", and on September 21 the convict was forced to withdraw the petition.

In the future, the courts several more times - on January 23, August 21, 2007, April 1 and October 23, 2008 - refused to release Budanov on parole until December 24, 2008, the Dimitrovgrad court of the Ulyanovsk region ruled on his conditional - early release.

In Chechnya, this decision of the court caused numerous protests.

On June 9, 2009, it became known that Yuri Budanov had been interrogated as a suspect in a criminal case on the murder of residents of Chechnya. According to the RF Investigative Committee, in 2000 18 residents of the Chechen Republic were illegally deprived of their liberty at a checkpoint located near the settlement of Duba-Yurt in the Shali District of the Chechen Republic. Three of them were subsequently found dead. A number of local residents claimed that Yury Budanov was involved in the commission of this crime.

On June 10, 2009, the Investigative Committee at the Prosecutor's Office reported that Budanov had been cleared of suspicion of killing residents of Chechnya. According to the materials of the UPC, Budanov testified that he could not physically be at the checkpoint located near the settlement of Duba-Yurt in the Shali district of the Chechen Republic during the periods of time when 18 residents of Chechnya disappeared there without a trace. Budanov's testimony was confirmed by the materials of the criminal case.

On June 10, 2011, Yuri Budanov was shot dead on Komsomolsky Prospekt in Moscow.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources

It was hot July 2010 outside... My friends and I met on Poklonnaya Hill near the Monument to the Warrior - Internationalist. The meeting of combatants was organized by young guys - veterans and invalids of wars in South Ossetia and Chechnya. We signed up online and agreed to meet. There were not many of us - about a hundred people, but from all over Russia. There were also Afghans - guys of our age, and very young boys ... Two front-line priests were preparing to serve a memorial service for the dead at the Monument. The weather was perfect and everyone was in a great mood. Many knew each other, but had not seen each other for a long time, hugging, laughing, talking. There were also wives and children. I was told that Yury Budanov could come to the meeting. I really wanted to get to know him. He approached somehow unexpectedly and immediately to our group. I recognized him. "Budanov Yury Dmitrievich!" he said simply and with dignity, and held out his hand. So he said to each of us, shaking hands. Then he took off his dark glasses and smiled broadly. We made eye contact and I saw his eyes. Blue, amazingly beautiful eyes that I will never forget. It seemed to me that I looked into those eyes for so long that in that short moment I managed to look into his soul, as bright and pure as these eyes, capable of neither lying nor betraying. Never and for nothing in the world. So Yura Budanov entered my heart and my life and stayed there, deep in my heart and soul forever ...

FATHER...

I was in the hospital preparing for the operation. The hospital is specialized, workers of the nuclear industry, nuclear weapons testers and liquidators of various accidents at nuclear power plants operated here. The men are mostly middle-aged, well-educated and experienced in life, with high intelligence and a sense of humor. Fate gathered them in one place and with one misfortune. There was no time to lose heart - everyone was fighting for life. Who took a session of chemistry, who went under the surgeon's knife, who departed from the operation. Strange, but in this institution there was a positive and cheerful spirit in the atmosphere, although most of the diagnoses sounded like a sentence - cancer. These were amazing guys! How many long intimate conversations there were at night, it was not possible to sleep, these stories about youth, life and work were so fascinating - the very essence of which is the Feat. In the morning, Yura Khabarov came to see me - a surgeon from God, with golden hands and a heart, who saved the life of me and a huge number of people not for the first time. "Dmitry Ivanovich Budanov, the father of Colonel Budanov, entered our surgery. I will operate on him. Do you want to go to him?" Dmitry Ivanovich turned out to be a tall, gray-haired man with intelligent and lively eyes. I told him about my attitude towards his son Yuri, and we easily became friends. It was evident how severe his illness was, but he laughed, joked and behaved well. Only when it came to Yura, he grew gloomy and dark from pain for his son, but everyone, literally everyone around him so unconditionally told him that his son Yuri was a real Hero, to which Dmitry Ivanovich quietly smiled, feeling great moral support, and it was clear - it's better than not saying anything about Yura. "Oh, I would have to wait for Yurka, drink a hundred grams with him and die in peace!" "Wait, Dmitry Ivanovich! You have no other choice. Yura is also waiting," we told him. Then he waited for another two long years, fading away, but his voice on the phone was cheerful even through the pain. Yura got out of prison and hugged his father in his home. "There was a man of amazing will, Batya ... - Yura told me later - He drank exactly one hundred grams and died a week later." How much pain and suffering did the father endure during the years of his son's captivity? ", like a real military man, he completed this task. He did not want to go on a date and see his son behind bars. There was something aristocratic in him, despite the simplicity and military directness of the tanker. May his memory be blessed!

WAR…

Guard Colonel Yuri Budanov participated in two Chechen campaigns. No, he participated - this is not about him, Yura fought in Chechnya. He fought well, for real. When a soldier or an officer is REAL, this manifests itself especially in war ... As well as vice versa. Yura Budanov was real. Man, soldier, commander, friend. A real warrior who was loved by his own and feared by strangers. Yes, his enemies were afraid of him, hated him, but respected him. It was a very rare combination of directly opposite feelings, but it was real! What is war? War is an extreme degree of social evil in which all its participants suffer, all without exception. How did the Chechen war begin and was it fair? There is no unequivocal answer to this question, though everyone has their own, but I advise you to find and read the Report of the Parliamentary Commission's investigation on the events in Chechnya from 1991 to 1994, preceding the start of the first Chechen war. This commission was led by an honest and respected man, director and deputy of the State Duma deservedly loved by the people - Stanislav Govorukhin. He later published this Report in the form of a small book. The blood runs cold from the atrocities committed by Chechen bandits in Grozny, Bamut, Shali, Urus-Martan, Tolstoy-Yurt and other settlements of Chechnya ... They killed and raped, took away cars and property, expelled Russians and Armenians from their homes and took Russians and Armenians into slavery , Jews - there was no mercy for either the elderly or the children. Chechens, normal people, who tried to stand up for their neighbors, with whom they lived side by side for many years, also got it. They were also killed, and their property was taken away. But, of course, the Russians suffered most of all... The war in Chechnya began in 1991 from the moment these terrible crimes began, for which many criminals never received any punishment. Now they prefer to keep silent about it, this is understandable and understandable, but the truth does not cease to be true, even if someone does not recognize it. The first Chechen war was a direct consequence of atrocities that could not but be stopped, both from a legal and human point of view, but only through the military operations of the army in Chechnya and the destruction of armed gangs that grew like a cancerous tumor inside Russia ... Is it possible was there an agreement? Do not know. But would you like to negotiate anything with murderers of people and rapists of children? I think there would be no sense from these conversations and agreements. It happened, exactly what happened. Then there was the New Year's assault on Grozny, for the sake of the idiotic ambitions of stupid armchair false generals. Our boys and commanders fought heroically, dying in brigades in the crucible of Grozny avenues ablaze from bombardments. Then there were stubborn bloody battles for the cities and villages of Chechnya. There was heroism and cowardice, high deeds and betrayal, victories and defeats. Then there was a real war - where the grief and pain of each individual person, like small tears, merge into a cruel mountain river of tears, sweeping away in its path all the good and good that remains in a past, peaceful life. It was in this fierce real war (just and unfair at the same time, like any civil war on the territory of any state) that the real Colonel Yuri Budanov fought. He commanded a tank regiment, personally went into reconnaissance and hand-to-hand combat, took care of the life of each of his soldiers and officers like the apple of his eye, was a father commander and a brilliant commander, awarded by the Motherland with two Orders of Courage - the highest military awards after the Star of the Hero of Russia, up to which he there was very little left. For the feat of rescuing almost two hundred GRU special forces, when, contrary to the orders of the command, he jumped into a tank and, together with his deputy, recaptured an entire company of special forces from militants from an ambush in the mountains, giving the guys salvation from certain death, Colonel Budanov, no doubt, deservedly received Gold Star of the Hero of Russia.

And although at the moment when Yura made a decision and accomplished this feat, he least of all thought about the Star of the Hero and about his life, his life would certainly have turned out differently if that terrible tragedy had not happened in the mountain village of Tangi-chu, Urus-Martan district of Chechnya in the spring of 2000…

TRAGEDY…

This tragedy is known to all. Guards Colonel Yuri Budanov lost several of his soldiers and officers killed just shortly before the end of the Chechen mission and the return of the 160th Guards Tank Regiment home. Young guys died from a sniper's bullet near the mountain village of Tangi. Yura fought so skillfully that he very rarely lost his fighters.

He deeply, precisely as a personal tragedy, experienced the loss of each of his people. Having received information about a sniper point in the village of Tangi, Yuri Budanov brought the alleged sniper, the girl Elza Kungaeva, for interrogation to the location of the regiment. During the interrogation, Elsa died as a result of strangulation. There is no doubt that this is precisely the deepest tragedy and a terrible combination of circumstances. A tragedy for the Kungaev family. A tragedy for the Budanov family. A tragedy for relations between the Russian and Chechen people. A tragedy for all people who do not want hatred and war, but want peace and harmony. For everyone, except for some scum, sowing evil and hatred, as well as making personal PR and political capital on this human tragedy. “If I had known what would happen there that evening, I would have left that same day, sailed away, would have gone on foot through the mountains from there ...” - Yura later told us bitterly. But it was already too late. Politics intervened in this matter. And there was a trial, a sentence and a long prison term. Streams of lies, slander and dirt in newspapers and on television began to pour out in tons on Yura Budanov. Dozens of examinations, even with all their bias, could not prove the fact of rape, although with the capabilities of modern forensic science it is impossible to hide this fact if it really were in reality. Hundreds of corrupt journalists and "human rights activists" continued to stubbornly squeal about this violence, as if Yuri Budanov, among other things, defended them from terrorists, bandits and murderers who, with explosions, grief and pain, came to our homes in Moscow, Beslan, Stavropol, Makhachkala and in many other Russian cities. Yura Budanov drank his cup to the bottom, although it is difficult to imagine what kind of human strength and will you need to have in order to survive all this and not break. Two brutal wars, blood and death on both sides, many years of captivity in prison, strong psychological pressure and a huge mental breakdown. What kind of person can stand such a test? Too much for one person. But he came back and won again. His father, mother, wife and children were waiting for him at home. Yura now just wanted to live, because so many trials had already fallen to his lot. The enemies could not defeat him. And then they decided to kill him insidiously and revealingly ...

MEMORY…

On June 10, 2010, in the center of Moscow, at noon, in the courtyard near the playground, where children were walking carelessly, a killer terrorist shot Yura Budanov in the back and head six times. Face to face to meet with Colonel Yuri Budanov vile killer was afraid. Warriors don't shoot in the back. Jackals and terrorists shoot in the back, just as they shot in the backs of men, women and children at the Beslan school, the Budenov hospital and the Dubrovka Theater Center in Moscow. The terrorists managed to kill Guards Colonel Yuri Budanov, but they failed to defeat him and will never win again. Like George the Victorious, the warrior Yuri (in baptism Georgy) Budanov defeated the forces of evil and ascended to heaven in order, together with the Holy Warriors in the Kingdom of Heaven, to protect his Russia, which he selflessly loved, fought for her with enemies and died in battle for her . "Sleep well, Hero", "Russian Colonel - Eternal Memory", "Yuri Budanov - Hero of Russia!" - Huge posters with these words appeared at football stadiums in the hands of fans of the Spartak and CSKA clubs, and on the streets of Russian cities immediately after the murder of Yuri Budanov. Photos of posters with these sincere words of gratitude to Yuri Budanov and recognition of his services to the Fatherland and people are on the Internet. This is what the people say, but you cannot deceive the people, the people are always right. It is no coincidence that in Russia they say: "The voice of the people is the voice of God!" The people themselves returned to Yuri Budanov the Colonel's shoulder straps, military awards - two Orders of Courage and awarded the title of Hero of Russia ... People's Hero is perhaps the most important and worthy title of Colonel Yuri Budanov.

Sleep well, Hero! Your Russia will never forget you. Eternal memory to the warrior Georgy Budanov!!!

Vadim Savateev - Chairman of the Board of the Fund for Assistance to Veterans of Combat Operations "Faith and Valor", Head of the working group of the Council for the Disabled under the President of the Russian Federation

Colonel Yuri Budanov (biography is presented in the article) is one of the most controversial figures of our time. Someone perceives him as a hero, dedicating poems and songs, and someone as a rapist and murderer who mocked a defenseless Chechen girl on his daughter's birthday. What is known about this person today?

The path to the army

Yuri Dmitrievich Budanov, whose biography is devoted to the article, is a native of Ukraine. His homeland is the small town of Khartsyzsk, which is located on the territory of the Donetsk region. The boy was born in 1963, on November 24, in a military family. He was engaged in sambo, received the title of CCM. He grew up as an ordinary teenager who dreamed of serving in the army. He was called up in 1981, passing urgently on the territory of Poland.

Not finding himself in civilian life, in 1987 he entered a military school. I chose tank, which is located in the Ukrainian Kharkov. The tanker was Dmitry Ivanovich, Budanov's father. Upon graduation, the young man served in Hungary. The collapse of the USSR found him in Belarus, where the officer made a difficult decision for himself - not to swear allegiance to the newly appeared republic, but to return to Russia.

He continued his service in Transbaikalia, where for 10 years he had no complaints, on the contrary, he was ahead of schedule promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He entered the military academy, graduating in 1999.

Was there any participation in the First Chechen campaign?

Did Yuri Dmitrievich Budanov take part in the hostilities? The biography of the officer was collected by the press literally bit by bit. According to media reports, already in the First Chechen War, Budanov was wounded, having received a severe concussion. In 1999, two more will be added to it - already during the Second Chechen War.

Today, information has been published about the available documents, according to which Budanov did not take part in the first military campaign, and the information about the shell shock in January 1995 is false. At the moment, his medical book is lost, which could shed light on many things. According to the latest version, this is the work of Budanov himself, who tried to hide a certain diagnosis when submitting documents for admission to the military academy.

Yuri Budanov: the colonel saves the special forces

Since October 1998, the officer has been appointed commander of the 160th armored regiment, which since December was transferred to the united Siberian military district. Since the autumn of 1999, his regiment has been stationed in Chechnya, where it carried out orders regarding the neutralization of large gangs in the Argun Gorge and Khankala.

Why do many perceive Budanov as a hero? This is due to the battle near Duba-Yurt at the end of December 1999, where the reconnaissance group under the command of art. Lieutenant Shlykov ("Nara") was ambushed by militants. The special forces advanced to save the assault detachment "Taras", which allegedly came under fire at the Wolf's Gate. Subsequently, it turned out that the fighters of Art. Lieutenant Tarasov did not transmit any distress calls. It was an action radio game.

"Nara" could not help neither the artillery (there was poor visibility due to thick fog), nor the fighters of other assault brigades that came under fire. Having lost three units of armored vehicles, more than 10 people were killed and 40 wounded, the reconnaissance group could have been completely destroyed if it were not for the tanks of the battalion of V. Pakov from the 160th regiment of Yu. Budanov.

Details and consequences of the rescue

Vladimir Pakov in two cars (a third joined in the evening) headed for the Wolf's Gate, without a direct order. That is why the personnel of the crews consisted exclusively of officers. Subsequently, it turned out that other units could also provide assistance, but the commanders were afraid of punishment for unauthorized actions, unlike Yuri Budanov.

The colonel saves the dying reconnaissance group, taking responsibility for himself. It was with his consent that Vladimir Pakov, who learned about the tragedy, went to help the special forces. Tankers were stationed just three kilometers from the battlefield.

According to the participants in the battle, without the help of the T-62 and Budanov's officers, the remnants of the Nara would not have been able to get out of the ring of fire near the Argun Gorge on their own. The detachment of militants was completely destroyed only a few weeks later.

The special forces had the impression that the massacre became possible due to the betrayal of the command. This fact was not officially confirmed, but the savior was declared a service discrepancy. Be that as it may, in January 2000, Yu. Budanov was nevertheless awarded the Order of Courage. There is evidence that he was presented for this award twice, but the officer was not destined to receive it a second time.

Tragedy March 26, 2000

This ill-fated day radically changed the future of Yuri Budanov. The Colonel became a father for the second time. His little daughter was born, who was named Catherine. Alcohol appeared on the table of the regiment commander and his deputy I. Fedorov. The roaming officers first gave the command to shell the peaceful village, but Lieutenant Bagreev did not obey the order. Then Budanov decided to deal with Elza Kungayeva, a Chechen woman who turned 18 shortly before the incident.

She, according to the colonel himself, was suspected of allegedly fighting as a sniper on the side of the militants. The BMP crew was ordered to deliver the girl to the location of the regiment. During many hours of interrogation, Budanov strangled Kungaeva, breaking her back. After that, the body, according to him, was handed over to the soldiers. Those abused her, which was proven by a forensic examination.

Budanov's arrest

Already on the 27th it became known: Colonel Yuri Budanov was arrested. The biography of the hero ended there, the investigation began and a lengthy trial of the criminal, which he was recognized by the North Caucasian District Court. The ex-commander of the regiment was charged with three crimes:

• excess of official powers;
• kidnapping;
• murder.

Initially, participation in rape was also presented. Subsequently, the charge was dropped, and the guilt of a soldier named Yegorov was proven. Surprisingly, by a lucky chance, he managed to avoid punishment, because the State Duma declared an amnesty. In January of the following year, Budanov's case was referred to a military court, and the hearing itself began in February.

Officer's testimony

What version of what happened is presented by Colonel Yury Budanov himself? The biography of his subsequent period of life is well described in the media. Both his testimony at the trial and the stories of eyewitnesses, including cellmate Oleg Margolin, with whom the former officer had been talking for a long time, were studied.

According to him, the owner of the house (Kungayeva's father) kept weapons, and his daughter repeatedly went to the mountains to shoot from a sniper rifle. It was hot during the interrogation, so Budanov unbuttoned and put his holster on the table. The girl confessed her hatred of the feds and confirmed the assumption of the regiment commander.

He was about to hand her over to the scouts, as she grabbed the pistol lying on the table. At the same time, she threatened Budanov that she would find his little daughter in order to "wind her guts on a machine gun." The combat commander, in a state of passion, later confirmed by an examination, strangled Kungaeva. When he came to his senses, the officer took the body out to the soldiers so that they would bury it. During the exhumation, it turned out that for some time the girl was still alive. During her lifetime, she was subjected to bullying and violence.

The court's decision

For many, Yuri Budanov is a hero of Russia. The biography of the ex-colonel testifies: in July 2003, he was found guilty on three counts and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

It must be admitted that during the proceedings, a commission of experts in December 2002 issued a verdict of the officer's insanity. The consequences of his shell shock, according to experts, could lead to a partial loss of control over his actions.

The case could have ended in compulsory treatment, but a few months later this decision was overturned by the Supreme Court of Russia. The colonel was stripped of his military ranks and government awards, and was banned from holding leadership positions for the next three years. The former officer was sent to the colony of the city of Dimitrovgrad (Ulyanovsk region) to serve his sentence.

Serving the sentence

In May 2004, former Colonel Yury Budanov filed a petition for pardon for the first time. He sent it personally to V. Putin, but soon withdrew. Presumably, because of the position of R. Kadyrov, the president of Chechnya, who called the former officer an enemy of his people.

In the same year, a second petition followed, submitted by Budanov to the regional commission. Under it was the signature of Vladimir Shamanov, the then governor, in the past - the commander of the grouping of troops of the RF Ministry of Defense in the Chechen Republic. The commission returned the military awards and military rank to the colonel. However, participation in the satisfaction of the petition for a pardon of the governor received publicity. This led to a scandal, after which the petition was again withdrawn.

In early 2007, Budanov filed a request for parole directly to the court. And he was refused, because he considered: "the prisoner did not repent of his deed." There were several more requests, but only in December 2008 a positive decision was made. The court of Dimitrovgrad finally admitted: the criminal repented and fully atoned for his deed. The release of Budanov took place in January 2009. He spent nearly 9 years in prison.

Life on the loose

Ex-Colonel Yuri Budanov arrived in Moscow, where his family was waiting for him. Thanks to the patronage of General Shamanov, he was given an apartment not just anywhere, but in one of the houses of the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation. He managed to meet with his father, who was seriously ill, but waited for his son to return from the colony. Soon he died.

Budanov got a good job, dealing with the passenger car fleet of the State Unitary Enterprise "EVAZHD". However, a month after his return, the Investigative Committee at the Chechen Prosecutor's Office announced an investigation into the involvement of the former colonel in the murder and abduction of three more people in the Shali region.

According to them, witnesses pointed to Budanov after stories about him on television. Subsequently, the number of victims in this criminal case increased to 18. It was only in June 2009 that it was announced that the involvement of the former officer in the disappearance of civilians was not confirmed.

Yuri Budanov: biography, cause of death

It was 2011. On the calendar - June 11. Together with his wife Svetlana Budanov, he approached the notary's office, where the spouses had to draw up documents for the 11-year-old Ekaterina to travel abroad. The couple has two children. The eldest Valery at that time was already 23.

Here, on Komsomolsky Prospekt, a bloody murder will be committed, which will be described in detail by CCTV footage. After a telephone conversation on the porch of the house, Budanov went to the central part of the courtyard, followed by a man whose identification mark was a baseball cap.

At 12:04, several men ran out to the sounds of gunfire. Five shots were fired. Three were aimed at the head, two at the body. Yuri Budanov had no chance to survive. The perpetrator was found on the identikit. It turned out to be a Chechen named Yusup Temirkhanov, whose father died at the hands of the Russian military. The man called the main motive for the murder - revenge. His photo is shown below.

The funeral of the ex-colonel

Surprisingly, experts do not really believe in the Chechen trace, although R. Kadyrov, with his statements, actually gave indulgence to anyone who would deal with the murderer of 18-year-old Kungayeva. Yuri Budanov himself warned about this (biography, cause of death are described in this article). The ex-colonel told his cellmate that he was not afraid of the revenge of the girl's relatives, but of those who want to erase the shameful pages of the events in Chechnya.

The former officer was buried at the Novoluzhinsky cemetery, located on the territory of Khimki. He was escorted on his last journey, paying military honors, although none of the official representatives of the Ministry of Defense was present at the coffin. Several thousand people, among whom were many former and current officers, accompanied their comrade-in-arms in complete silence, not allowing the funeral to turn into a political rally.

A few words about family

Until the end of her life, her wife Svetlana, who gave her husband two children, passed the whole way of life with her husband. When Budanov was in the Rostov-on-Don pre-trial detention center, she and her children visited him twice a month, although she was forced to move to Ukraine and live with relatives. Only in recent years has the family been provided with housing on a rental basis. Svetlana does not hide the fact that she had to accept the help of many people, including General Shamanov.

Having witnessed the crime, she was under the protection of the state. The colleagues of her ex-husband did not leave her in trouble, providing all kinds of support. They say: about people like Budanov, they say: "Soldiers are respected, enemies are afraid."

The eldest son Valery is a graduate of the Suvorov Military School. He received a law degree, works in the bar. Since 2011, he has been a member of the LDPR.

The youngest daughter Catherine is still ahead. In March, the girl celebrated her eighteenth birthday. For a family, an example of a real hero is their father, Colonel Yuri Budanov. His biography will be rewritten, they believe, and the name of the Russian officer will definitely be rehabilitated.

Colonel Yuri Budanov is a member of the Russian army, a participant in two Chechen wars. In 2003, he was convicted of the murder of a young Chechen girl. Colonel Budanov was sentenced to ten years in prison. In 2009, he was released on parole. In 2011, he was shot dead by unknown assailants.

Career

Colonel Budanov was born in 1963 in the Donetsk region. He studied at the Kharkov Tank School, after which he was sent to serve in Hungary. Colonel Budanov, whose biography is quite rich in relocations, after the collapse of the USSR, continued to serve in the Russian troops.

Participated in the First Chechen campaign. In 1995 he was wounded in the head. In the second, he commanded the 160th tank regiment. He was shell-shocked twice in the fall of 1999. In January 2000, Budanov became a colonel, and already in March he was arrested, accused of raping and murdering a Chechen girl.

The feat of Colonel Budanov: how it was

At the end of December 1999, in the vicinity of the village of Dubai-Yurt, 160 soldiers of the 84th reconnaissance battalion fell into a Wahhabi ambush. The scouts asked the headquarters for help, but they were denied this. A thousand Arab mercenaries of Khattab literally destroyed Russian soldiers with their fire.

Budanov's tank regiment was nearby. He was ordered to stand still and not get involved in the fight. The village was considered peaceful, and the authorities forbade the introduction of tanks there. Budanov heard the conversations of intelligence officers with the command. He decided to break the order and help the dying guys.

Budanov gathered a regiment and called for volunteers from among the officers. Having equipped the tanks with them, he personally led their battle. The enemy was sure that help for the scouts would not come, so the sudden attack of the tankers demoralized him. Khattab retreated and the scouts were saved. The next morning, the whole of Chechnya was already talking about this feat. Colonel Budanov received a severe reprimand from headquarters for his arbitrariness.

Court

In February 2001, hearings began on the case of Budanov, which had a great public outcry. The accused claimed that the girl he had killed was a sniper and killed several dozen of his soldiers in the Argun Gorge.

A year later, the court ordered a medical examination. A total of four psychiatric examinations were carried out. One of them showed that the colonel was in an insane state at the time of the murder. For this reason, the court sent him for compulsory treatment in a psychiatric clinic. But already in 2003, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation overturned this decision and convicted Budanov.

Sentence

The soldier was found guilty and sentenced to nine years in prison for an article on rape, he was removed. He was also given six years for kidnapping and another five for abuse of power. In total, the court decided to deprive Budanov of freedom for 10 years. In addition, the colonel lost his officer rank and the

Liberty

In 2004, Budanov filed a petition for early release. It was approved by the assembled commission. However, frank threats rained down on Budanov, and he was forced to withdraw his petition. When the passions around this case subsided a little, Budanov filed a new petition for early release in 2008. The petition was granted, and in early 2009 he was released from prison.

The murder of Colonel Budanov: details

On the afternoon of June 10, 2011, he was shot dead. Who killed Colonel Budanov? The case has not yet been solved. They shot him in Moscow, on Komsomolsky Prospekt. The criminals fired six shots, four of which hit the victim exactly in the head. Those who did this have never been found. The investigating authorities believe that, perhaps, this was carried out by immigrants from Chechnya. Some of Budanov's friends claim that high-ranking officials are involved. One way or another, the killers could not be identified.

Funeral

Colonel Yuri Budanov, whose biography was extensive and diverse, was buried in the Moscow region. He was buried in the church of the holy unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian. The closed coffin with his body was taken out of the temple, carried around it, then loaded into a car. The funeral took place at the Novoluzhinsky cemetery in Khimki. Yuri Budanov rests next to the Soviet pilots who died during the war with the Nazis.

Memory

We do not undertake to assert who this person was - a hero or a monster, time will judge and put everything in its place. However, his comrades-in-arms honor his deeds and remember him as a hero. In memory of Colonel Budanov, Russia dedicated many poems through the hands of contemporary poets.

External ratings, track record and characteristics

His track record at first was not much different from other similar ones. Colonel Budanov gradually climbed the standard officer ladder. A sharp shift in his career occurred on the eve of the Second Chechen campaign. Lieutenant Colonel Budanov was then given command of a tank regiment, which consisted of almost a hundred combat vehicles.

Literally immediately he was sent to Chechnya. There he received the extraordinary rank of colonel. One of his main achievements is that Budanov went through half the war with virtually no losses. Lost only one driver. None of the other commanders had such indicators.

But at the same time, Colonel Budanov was a hot-tempered person. He could afford to yell at his subordinates, to throw at them everything that came to hand. Once he heard a contract soldier point a finger to a friend at Major Arzumanyan, who was walking nearby, and asked him to “shoot” a cigarette from the officer, calling him a “chock”. Budanov became furious and beat the impudent soldier. After that, he went to his tent, took a block of cigarettes and gave it to a contract soldier, explaining to him that it was impossible to call a combat officer a “chock”.

The colonel's lawyer said that he did not consider him a "thug". In his opinion, Budanov was a patriot for whom honor was of great importance. He often went against the orders of the command, if he believed that by his actions he could help comrades or civilians. These antics of his made the colonel many enemies and hidden ill-wishers from the highest command staff.

Budanov lost his nerve when enemy snipers killed many of his comrades. He would often sit for long periods in front of photographs of dead friends, swearing to them that he would find these snipers and deal with them. Such a case presented itself. One of the captured militants pointed to several houses, saying that a sniper girl was hiding in one of them. For her, the colonel took an 18-year-old Chechen woman, whom he killed by negligence during interrogation.

As we wrote above, the examination established that at the time of the murder Budanov was in a state of temporary mental disorder, and recognized him as insane. However, this decision was later repealed.

One way or another, Budanov was punished for his crime. Today, some citizens of our country consider him a cruel tyrant and a murderer. Others believe that he is a real hero of Russia. We do not undertake to judge him and give any assessment of his actions. Time will pass, everything will fall into place.

The deceased is survived by his wife Svetlana and two children. The son is Valery, a lieutenant in the reserve, a lawyer, and a schoolgirl daughter named Ekaterina.