After the higher headquarters managed to establish control over the troops on January 3, the tactics of the battle were changed (refusal of the assault and the transition to the classic scheme of street fighting - "Stalingrad" tactics): the creation of strongholds in multi-storey buildings; conducting an offensive using small mobile assault groups; the massive use of snipers and, most importantly, the effective use of artillery, the fire of which is corrected directly by the units engaged in street combat. When Chechen fighters tried to surround and capture the strongholds of federal troops, artillery batteries deployed in the suburbs began to methodically destroy the detected Chechen gangs.

Realizing the danger of losing key facilities in the city, Dudayev threw his best forces there - the "Abkhazian" and "Muslim" battalions, as well as a special forces brigade. Around the presidential palace there were solid knots of resistance, hidden in capital buildings. Positions were set up along the avenues and streets for direct fire from tanks and artillery.

Mercenary snipers were widely used. Well-prepared for defense, the network of underground city communications allowed the militants to freely maneuver and penetrate into the rear of the federal troops. However, despite the resistance, in the first half of January, the federal troops managed to advance deep into Grozny.

Surroundings of the presidential palace

After the capture of the main post office, the last line of defense of the militants was the city center and the presidential palace located there and the buildings of the regional committee adjacent to it and the hotel "Caucasus". On the night of January 17-18, the 68th separate reconnaissance battalion under the command of Captain Shadrin (the future Hero of Russia, major general and chief of staff of the Russian Peacekeeping Forces in South Ossetia) made his way to the rear of the militants defending the regional committee building and hotels. There, the battalion was surrounded for two days until the main forces approached, diverting the forces of the militants. On January 18, together with the approaching federal troops, the 68th reconnaissance battalion participated in the assault on the regional committee, and a little later on the presidential palace of Dudayev.

On the night of January 19, a group of 27 scouts led by battalion commander Shadrin, having captured the building of the local history museum, repelled 11 militant attacks, including hand-to-hand combat. The battalion, despite the losses suffered, did not give up its positions and ensured the capture of the neighboring Kavkaz hotel by the assault units.

From the description of the fight:

“Moving from building to building, the scouts of the 68th orb took up positions in the building next to the Kavkaz hotel. They already had about forty wounded. Communication with them was lost. Rokhlin was exhausted: what happened? Where are they? He was noisy, swearing at everyone who came to hand. But the connection did not appear. He could not leave someone else to complete the task assigned to the scouts.<…>And soon the scouts showed up. It turned out that batteries were dead in the battalion commander's radio.

He was pulling up new forces in order to level the front line to Pobedy Avenue and, as a result of this, to take full control of the bridge over the Sunzha. The Chief of Staff of the 61st Marine Brigade, Lieutenant Colonel A.V. Chernov, led the parachute company of the 876th separate airborne assault battalion to the Council of Ministers area, and “a little later, he came out to the frequency of the Wizard (A.V. Chernov) with a proposal to cease fire and conclude a truce to collect the bodies of the dead, to provide assistance to the wounded and their evacuation.

It would have been foolish to take such a step when there were only a few houses left before the exit to the palace, the tanks had reached the range of a direct shot, and for the first time in many days clear weather had set in, which made it possible to use ground attack aircraft. Naturally, no one was going to give rest to the militants ... Late in the evening, the special forces group, which worked together with the "Wizard" and "Monk" [commander of the PDR 876 odshb senior lieutenant O. G. Dyachenko], received a new task from the command "(173 ooSpN departed on vacation at a cannery).

Recalls Lieutenant General Lev Rokhlin:

“When it came to the presidential palace, Maskhadov got in touch with me and said: “We can’t come to an agreement with the politicians, let’s come to an agreement with you as a commander with a commander: we need to cease fire and take out the corpses and the wounded.” I answer him: "Come on." He offers:

“Let’s wait until the deputies come up - yours and ours, the clergy ...” - “You yourself said that it’s impossible to agree with politicians,” I answer, “let’s talk about something else: how many cars are coming from your side and from my side, what areas of separation. You take out all yours and mine. So do I. And then we exchange all for all. Are we going out with weapons or without?” He replies, "It doesn't suit me." I continue: “But you understand that you are finished. As a commander, I say to the commander: Pravda Street [probably Ordzhonikidze Avenue] I blocked you with a neighbor from the west. Hotel "Caucasus" is blocked. I have a council. The bridge is closed. There are 100 meters left. A neighbor from the south will block, and you will not leave. You don't have any ammo." “I have everything,” he shouts. "But I can hear your negotiations ... Your deeds are bad." He didn't talk anymore."

After the capture of these buildings, groups of 10-12 people were formed from each unit, who led them to the captured lines: motorized riflemen of 276 infantry regiments - to the museum of local lore, marines of 876 odshb - to a group of houses in front of the Kavkaz hotel, paratroopers - to the Kavkaz hotel ".

On the morning of January 13, units of the 98th Airborne Division launched an assault on the building of the former Council of Ministers of the CHI ASSR. The fighting for the building lasted several days and was extremely intense.

General Lev Rokhlin recalls:

“On the eve of the assault, the militants hung out the corpses of our soldiers (probably executed prisoners-?) in the windows of the Council of Ministers. It was hard to watch. But by that time, this was not the first time we had encountered the brutality of the militants ...

The fight was very hard. Then the 33rd regiment and the marines of the Northern Fleet went to the rescue. The capture of the Council of Ministers practically predetermined the fate of the presidential palace. The thick walls of the Council of Ministers hung over the bridge, along which aid was sent to the palace. Therefore, at dawn, the Dudaev artillery, mortars and tanks brought down all their might on the Council of Ministers.

The last groups of militants were driven out of the building of the Council of Ministers only by the morning of January 19th. With the loss of the Council of Ministers, the fate of Dudayev's Presidential Palace was practically a foregone conclusion.

Capture of the presidential palace

On the eve of the assault on the presidential palace, Rokhlin, answering the question of Izvestia correspondent Boris Vinogradov about whether the capture of the palace would have any military and political significance, replied that “this event should be regarded as an unconditional victory at one of the stages of the Chechen war, but by no means its end. It is unlikely that the Dudaevites will lay down their arms ... "

On the morning of January 19, soldiers of the 68th separate reconnaissance battalion (the best avant-garde unit of Lieutenant-General L. Rokhlin), in cooperation with 276 infantry regiments of the 34 motor infantry division of the Ural Military District, captured the presidential palace, destroying the two snipers remaining there. This became possible after the successful use of concrete-piercing high-explosive bombs, which pierced all the floors of the palace, including the basement. Dudayev, who was wounded in the arm, later called it the use of low-yield nuclear weapons by Russia in a video recording.

Marine group commander ensign Grigory Mikhailovich Zamyshlyak:

“On January 18, our bombers “hollowed out” Dudaev’s palace. Dropped 4 bombs. One got ours. 8 people died. Everything collapsed at once. Although they say there was a command to go into hiding. We didn't hear. The radio operator was next to me. Most likely, the Dudaevites jammed the connection.

Radio interception data:

14:20 Cyclone [Maskhadov] to Pantera: “They are hitting us with airplane bombs. They are stitching the building down to the basement.”

Panther: “We urgently need to withdraw troops beyond the Sunzha. Otherwise, they will bury you."

Cyclone: ​​[Maskhadov]: “The second line of defense will be at Minutka. There are many wounded and dead in the palace. They don't have time to do it. We have to get out. If it doesn’t work out now, you have to endure until dark and leave.”

15:30 Cyclone [Maskhadov]: “Everyone, everyone, everyone! In the dark, everyone should cross over to Sunzha. We will move to where the Pioneer store is, near the new hotel.

Rokhlin tried to block the militants from withdrawing. He set the task for the new commander of the reconnaissance battalion, Captain Roman Shadrin: to go to Pobeda Avenue and try to connect with the paratroopers attacking from Rosa Luxembourg Street. Shadrin, together with a group of scouts of 60 people, went to Pobeda Avenue, but came under heavy fire. It was impossible to break through. The quarters between Victory Avenue and Rosa Luxembourg Street were firmly held by the militants.

Paratroopers from Ivan Babichev's group got bogged down in the battle closer to the presidential palace. The quarters that were a little apart continued to be a corridor for the retreat of those who defended the presidential palace. Moving from building to building, Shadrin's scouts took up positions in a building next to the Kavkaz Hotel. By this time they already had about forty wounded. Communication with them was lost. Intense fighting was going on everywhere. The paratroopers couldn't do anything either. The militants firmly held the corridor between Pobeda Avenue and st. Rosa Luxembourg. As a result, Dudayev's detachments failed to block the retreat from the presidential palace.

Lieutenant General L. Ya. Rokhlin:

“There was actually no assault on the presidential palace. True, the command offered to inflict an air strike on him. I replied that aviation had already helped ... Enough. Then they offered to break the palace with tanks. I asked how they imagine it: tanks hit from all sides and hit each other? They asked me: “What do you offer?” I answer: “Give it to me, I will take it in my own way.”

The chief of staff, lieutenant colonel A. V. Chernov, formed a group of volunteers of 4 people: himself, 2 machine gunners and a shooter. Together with them, a group of scouts of the 276th MRR operated, which included the commander of the reconnaissance company Andrei Yurchenko, the commander of the squad, senior sergeant Igor Smirnov and private D. Knyazev.

Around 7 am on January 19, the group began advancing to the presidential palace. A distance of eight hundred meters was overcome for almost an hour due to the incessant cross-fire. At 8 am the group entered the building of the presidential palace. At 8:40, having been discovered, after a clash with a group of militants inside the building, Chernov's group left the presidential palace. At the same time, the Marines left the inscription “Marine Corps. Satellite".

The reconnaissance commander of the 276th SME decided not to leave an advantageous position until the main forces approached. They could not report the situation due to the lack of radio communications. Returning to their original positions, a group of the 61st Marine Brigade under Lieutenant Colonel Chernov, reinforced by a detachment of the 3rd Airborne Assault Company, enters the building of the presidential palace for a second time for a more detailed examination. By this time, most of the militants defending the presidential palace left the building at night, taking advantage of the darkness.

Recalls Lieutenant General L. Ya. Rokhlin:

“Tunguska” demolished several snipers remaining in it, and the units entered the building without a fight. There was only one problem: they lost the flag that was supposed to be hoisted over the palace. Been looking for two hours...

At about 3 pm, a sufficient number of officers from the command of the group gathered in the area of ​​​​the presidential palace. They brought the Russian flag. The right to hoist the Russian flag over Dudayev's presidential palace was entrusted to the chief of staff of the 61st separate marine brigade A. V. Chernov.

“The building of the palace, every window, every floor was methodically treated with all means of fire destruction. By order of Major General Otrakovsky, grenade launchers were gathered from all units of the Northern Fleet to the Kavkaz Hotel. There were twenty people. Their task is to conduct a kind of preparation for the actions of the "banner group". For quite a long time, the grenades of the Marines exploded in the building, ensuring the fulfillment of the mission entrusted to the next group of Lieutenant Colonel Chernov.

At 15:35 a banner group consisting of the commander of the reconnaissance company, Lieutenant Andrey Yurchenko, Art. Sergeant Igor Smirnov, Jr. Sergeant D. Ivanov, privates D. Knyazev and D. Shmakov entered the building of the presidential palace to hoist the Russian flag over it.

From B.A. Chaliapin’s book “Faithful to the Traditions of the Svir!”: On January 19, the flag was hoisted over the building of the Council of Ministers in Grozny by the sanitary instructor of the 217th RAP of the 98th Airborne Division (Ivanovo) Guards Sergeant Palagin Vasily Ivanovich.

At about 12.00, the battalion commander Lieutenant Colonel Yu.V. Pshenov arrived on the 3rd floor of the Council of Ministers and assigned the task to Lieutenant B.A.

Recalls acting. commander of the 2nd company, Lieutenant B.A. Chaliapin:

“A group of soldiers climbed onto the roof of the Council of Ministers under my leadership. One of the representatives of the new Chechen government was with us. The sanitary instructor of the combined battalion of the 217th RAP of the 98th Airborne Division, Vasily Palagin, sat on top of the wall of the building and began to move along it to the upper point of the facade.

Having reached the top, he received the Russian tricolor from my hands and installed it over the building of the Council of Ministers ... ..

On the same day, the signs from the facade of the building were removed as a trophy.

Private Knyazev (from the banner group):

“It was scary when they entered the building itself. After all, there are so many rooms, all sorts of nooks and crannies. Where the danger lies, you don't know. And the broken stone creaks treacherously underfoot. Every step echoed like that. But we followed orders...

After the fall of Dudayev's presidential palace, the State Defense Committee of Chechnya decided to transfer its headquarters to a reserve point, and Lieutenant General A. Kvashnin reported to Minister of Defense P. Grachev about the hoisting of the Russian flag over the presidential palace in Grozny.

Presidential Palace after the capture

On the same day, January 19, 1995, the marines, together with the sappers of the 276th motorized rifle regiment, carried out a partial, surface cleaning and demining of part of the premises of the first floors of the building, in which there were a lot of weapons and ammunition abandoned and stockpiled by militants.

Since September 1995, this place has been repeatedly used for protests. On February 4, 1996, a rally of supporters of independence began on the square near the skeleton of the presidential palace, demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops. This time the confrontation dragged on for a week. On February 7-8, the rally was blocked by police, trucks and armored personnel carriers, clashes took place.

On February 9, around 12:00, three shots from a grenade launcher were fired at the protesters. Three people died and seven were injured. On February 10, the protesters dispersed. On February 15, by order of the President of the Chechen Republic D. Zavgaev, the skeleton of the Presidential Palace - a symbol of resistance for anti-Russian Chechens - was destroyed by explosions

Fierce battles for the palace and the quarter adjacent to it continued for four days. The closer the Marines approached the palace, the more fierce was the resistance of the militants. One of the participants in that fight told AiF.ru how it was.

The Chechen war for the "black berets" from the Baltic began on the night of January 7-8, 1995. The 879th separate airborne assault battalion of the brigade, led by commander Alexander Darkovich, was alerted. March to the airfield and loading. Turbine hum. Spotlight light. Near the runway, relatives of the Marines: wives, parents. Many came by taxi. Long farewells are not allowed in the army, but then the command understood that the trip was dangerous, not everyone could return.

The IL-76 was loaded on time. We flew to Mozdok. But for most of the equipment there was not enough space. The armored personnel carriers were sent back to the regiment. Some time later, the equipment was loaded onto ships and sent to St. Petersburg. From there, by military train to Chechnya.

From Mozdok to Grozny the battalion was transferred in parts. The battalion headquarters, the first and second companies, mortar and anti-tank batteries - on cars, a parachute company - on helicopters, a third air assault company and a platoon of material support - on a train.

Together, the "black berets" gathered in the Andreevskaya Valley area - a place adjacent to the Chechen capital, where two ridges separate: Groznensky and Sunzhensky. The main forces of the Russian army were based there. Thus began the military life of the Baltic marines.

War of sailors on land

The battles for Grozny were in full swing. The fighting did not stop day or night. Therefore, the Marines, who had no experience of war in hot spots, had only a few days to learn the rules of this war.

Communicating already with the fighting soldiers, the sailors learned the most elementary things: where to expect dangers, how to storm buildings, how to move along the street and act in the dark.

On January 14, 1995, the battalion was ordered to change the paratroopers of the 19th motorized rifle brigade, who were in the central market area and suffered heavy losses, and capture the Green Quarter in Grozny (a place adjacent to the administrative buildings of the republic and Dudayev's palace - ed.). This quarter was a corridor for the militants, allowing them to deliver ammunition, food, and fresh forces. Therefore, the militants were not going to retreat.

To keep battalion casualties to a minimum, commander of the "black berets" Alexander Darkovich decides to form several assault groups. And when he asked the Marines who wants to go into the thick of the war, no one was left in the ranks. The entire battalion took a step forward.

It is worth noting that the quarter that had to be occupied was small in itself, but densely built up with five-story buildings. Almost every one of them is a well-fortified militant position. The assault on the Green Quarter by the Marines began at three in the morning on January 15. The task of the operation is to close the encirclement around the quarter and break through the corridor from the city center to the main forces of the group of Russian troops.

Losses and exploits

The principle of war in the city resembles a wave. The fighters act in stages, capturing building after building. The first company of the Marine Battalion operates on the left flank. Her task is to capture a five-story building and prevent the attack of militants from the left flank. The second - goes in the center of the battle formation, captures a kindergarten and a three-story house in the center of the quarter. Soldiers of the third company are fighting on the right flank. Their task is to capture a five-story building near the palace and prevent the militants from breaking through.

The 4th Airborne Company was ordered to occupy and hold the defense of two five-story buildings. The main thing for the paratroopers is to prevent the militants from breaking through to the battalion command post. The company was also entrusted with the provision and delivery of ammunition and food to the rest of the assault groups and the organization of the evacuation of the wounded. The reconnaissance group is to conduct reconnaissance, capture a distant three-story house and destroy the retreating enemy.

The sailors moved in short dashes, a few meters apart, using any fold in the terrain as shelters. With each step of the Marines in the Green Quarter, the resistance of the militants became more and more fierce. The fight didn't stop for a minute. The militants, realizing that the ring was shrinking, tried to break out of the encirclement.

Group Captain Sergei Sheiko captured four entrances in two houses. There, for two days, the sailors repelled the counterattacks of the militants from the side of the palace. Sergei Sheiko was wounded and shell-shocked, but refused to leave the battlefield. The officer continued to lead the platoon and give instructions to the artillery. At some point in the battle, the situation among the sailors escalated to the limit, and Sergei Sheiko was forced to call artillery fire on himself.

Captain Evgeny Kolesnikov, who fought in Afghanistan, with his scouts blocked the kindergarten building, where the militants equipped a stronghold. The separatists were not going to hand it over to the Marines. Therefore, they fought furiously, pouring heavy fire on Kolesnikov's group. The "black berets" had no escape route, and then Captain Kolesnikov raised his guys to attack. In this battle, Kolesnikov was killed by a sniper. The battle with the militants in the kindergarten lasted more than 6 hours. As a result, they managed to capture the kindergarten and take out the body of their commander from under fire.

Died in this battle major Oleg Silkunov. When the houses on the right flank of the quarter were liberated between the groups of Captain Sergei Sheiko and Senior Lieutenant Dmitry Polkovnikov the entrances were not occupied. Oleg Silkunov had to take the first entrance and from there go towards the "black berets". Oleg spent the first group without losses; leaving her at the entrance, he went after the second group and, returning with her to the busy entrance, was met by machine-gun fire. From the fire, the "black berets" took cover behind the trees and in the craters from exploding mines. The major understood perfectly well that his sailors would not last long in their shelters. Silkunov returned a little back to pick up the group and lead them to the entrance. Here he was overtaken by a machine gunner's shell. Together with Oleg, his signalman died.

St. Andrew's flag over the palace

The fight was gaining momentum. The militants were crushed, they never managed to recapture a single floor from the Marines, not a single entrance in these five-story buildings.

At 5 am on January 19, the Marines moved towards the palace. Secretly approached the wall of the building. There is no movement inside. Walked around the palace. The enemy was nowhere to be seen. Up to a dozen corpses lay on the floor. Apparently, the militants left through the underground passages with which the palace building was stuffed. To indicate their presence, the "black berets" decided to hang the St. Andrew's flag over the palace. They wanted to raise it above the roof, but the flights of stairs were destroyed at the level of the sixth floor. The flag was hung out the window.

Iconic place. During the assault on Grozny, fierce battles broke out here. The palace changed hands several times. It was heavily damaged, and in 1996 the decision was made to demolish the remains of the building. Now on the square there is a monument to police officers who died in the fight against terrorists.

On the other side of the avenue, the "Heart of Chechnya" mosque, which we

Around the memorial there is a square with marble slabs with statements by Kadyrov, Putin and Medvedev

In the center of the memorial there is a black stone weighing 70 tons, on which the words of Kadyrov are carved: "Let justice prevail." Around it are several stone slabs with the names of the dead employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Old tombstones and gravestones. They were found after the war in different regions of the republic and brought to one place.

This place impressed me. I visited the memorial several times.

Grozny City. There is no observation deck, but there is a restaurant in one of the buildings under the dome. I went there to drink coffee and enjoy the views. Check it out tomorrow, I'll show you pictures. The banner with hearts is a protest against cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. There are many such posters hung around the city. Many even print flyers and put them under the rear window of the car.

Now let's move to the very beginning of the avenue. On the square of Friendship of Peoples, such a monument was erected. The grand opening took place in 1973. Chechen Aslanbek Sheripov, Ingush Gapur Akhriev and Russian Nikolai Gikalo symbolized the brotherhood of Chechnya, Igushetia and Russia.

While I was preparing the post, I read the following details: there was a market on the square during the war... I don’t know what to call it... slaves or something. They sold the prisoners: soldiers, their mothers who came for their sons, Russians who lived in Chechnya. The hostages-businessmen and journalists cost the most. In this photo, Mayakovsky Square is visible behind the monument. In the opposite direction there is another one - the square of journalists.

Monument to journalists who died for freedom of speech. Initially, there was a monument to the fighters for Soviet power, established in 1973. Since 2007, the memorial has received a new semantic load. The inscription reads: "Journalists who died for freedom of speech." Nearby in the Chechen language "Shine metta daha ash ditina dosh ..." Translation: "Instead of you, your words remained."

The square of journalists leads to the very House of the Press, which became famous on December 4, 2014. The only thing, I don’t understand, is the numbers on the flowerbed calendar really changing every day?

Renovated Printing House, which was attacked by militants. If you remember, they held the defense there for several hours. During the assault, heavy weapons were used, the terrorists were destroyed, the building was badly damaged by fire. The House of Printing was restored at an accelerated pace in three weeks! Kadyrov ordered to repair it by the New Year. Here's how you want it, do it. We did.

Another newly built facility in Grozny is the Coliseum sports arena. The complex is designed for 5000 seats. It was opened just last year. Spectacular professional fights take place there, and the Colosseum can also be used as a platform for variety and circus performances. Nearby there is also a Soviet-built stadium.

Despite the disastrous perestroika, the collapse of the USSR and the beginning of the collapse of the Russian Federation, despite the destroyers of the army, mediocrity and hatred of the Yeltsins-Grachevs, despite the blows in the back of the liberal media and Russophobic "human rights activists", despite the unreasonable losses at the beginning of hostilities to capture the city of Grozny, in January 1995, the Russian army smashed the criminal-separatist forces.

The separatists and bandits who carried out an armed coup in the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991 (often both in one person) inflicted enormous damage on both Russia as a whole and Chechnya.

The genocide of non-Chechchens, primarily Russians, by the ruling Ichkerian regime and the multiplied gangs armed to the teeth, violence and robberies of the unarmed population, led to a mass exodus of Russians and other ethnic groups from the territory of Chechnya. Most of the refugees have not yet returned to Chechnya.

The Russian people, humiliated and robbed by the ruling regime, the oligarchy, corrupt officials and bandits, nevertheless, have not lost their national feeling, love for the Fatherland. The Russian people did not allow Chechnya to be torn off from Russia, just as they will not allow any part of Russia's territory to be torn off in spite of separatists, Islamists and other encroachers on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country.

Russian soldiers are, of course, primarily Russian people, the state-forming people. But Russian soldiers are also people of all ethnic groups (including some Chechens), who fought shoulder to shoulder with ethnic Russians and are fighting for a united Russia.

And in 1994, a Russian soldier came to the lair of the enemy - the separatist bandit regime of Dudayev, in the Russian city of Grozny.

After three weeks of bloody stubborn battles, on January 19, 1995, the Russian flag flew over the presidential palace ("Dudaev's Palace").

Glory to the Russian soldier!

Glory to Russia!

Capture of the presidential palace

Commander of the "North" grouping, Lieutenant General L.Ya. Rokhlin: “When it came to the presidential palace, Maskhadov got in touch with me and said: “We can’t agree with the politicians, let’s agree with you as a commander with a commander: we need to stop firing and take out the corpses and the wounded.” I answer him: "Come on." He suggests: "Let's wait until the deputies come up - yours and ours, the clergy..." division areas. You take out all yours and mine. So do I. And then we exchange all for all. Are we going out with weapons or without?” He replies, "It doesn't suit me." I continue: “But you understand that you are finished. As a commander, I say to the commander: Pravda Street [probably Ordzhonikidze Avenue] I blocked you with a neighbor from the west. Hotel "Caucasus" is blocked. I have a council. The bridge is closed. There are 100 meters left. A neighbor from the south will block, and you will not leave. You don't have any ammo." “I have everything,” he shouts. "But I can hear your negotiations ... Your deeds are bad." He didn't talk anymore."

« 14:20 . Radio interception:
Cyclone [Maskhadov] to Panthera: “They are hitting us with airplane bombs. They are stitching the building down to the basement.”
Panther: “We urgently need to withdraw troops beyond the Sunzha. Otherwise, they will bury you."
Cyclone: ​​“The second line of defense will be on Minutka. There are many wounded and dead in the palace. They don't have time to do it. We have to get out. If it doesn’t work out now, you have to endure until dark and leave.”2

The commander of a group of marines 876 odshb senior warrant officer Grigory Mikhailovich Zamyshlyak: “On January 18, our bombers “hollowed out” Dudaev’s palace. Dropped 4 bombs. One got ours. 8 people died. Everything collapsed at once. Although they say there was a command to go into hiding. We didn't hear. The radio operator was next to me. Most likely, the Dudaevites jammed the connection. ”3

« 15:30 . Radio interception:
Cyclone [Maskhadov]: “Everyone, everyone, everyone! In the dark, everyone should cross over to Sunzha. We will move to where the Pioneer store is, near the new hotel. 4

Rokhlin was pulling up new forces to level the front line to Pobeda Avenue and, as a result, take full control of the bridge over the Sunzha. NSh 61 obrmp lieutenant colonel A.V. Chernov brought the PDR 876 odshb to the area of ​​​​the Council of Ministers, and “a little later to the frequency "Magician" [Chernov] Maskhadov came out with a proposal to cease fire and conclude a truce to collect the bodies of the dead, provide assistance to the wounded and evacuate them. It would have been foolish to take such a step when there were only a few houses left before the exit to the palace, the tanks had reached the range of a direct shot, and for the first time in many days clear weather had set in, which made it possible to use ground attack aircraft. Naturally, no one was going to give rest to the militants ... Late evening a special forces group that worked together with the "Wizard" and "Monk" [commander of the PDR 876 odshb senior lieutenant O.G. Dyachenko], received a new task from the command. "5 (173 oSpN went on vacation to a cannery. 6)

The capture of the local history museum and the hotel "Kavkaz"

Commander of the "North" grouping, Lieutenant General L.Ya. Rokhlin "set the task of the new commander of the reconnaissance battalion to Captain Roman Shadrin (now Major, Hero of Russia): go to Pobedy Avenue and try to connect with the paratroopers attacking from Rosa Luxembourg Street. Shadrin, together with a group of scouts of 60 people, went to Pobeda Avenue, but came under heavy fire. It was impossible to break through. The quarters between Pobeda Avenue and Rosa Luxembourg Street were packed with militants.”7

From the description of the battle: “Having captured the building [of the local history museum] at night On January 19, a group of 27 scouts led by the battalion commander repelled 11 attacks by Sh. Basayev's militants, including hand-to-hand combat. The battalion suffered losses, but did not give up positions - and ensured the capture by the assault units of the neighboring hotel "Caucasus", and subsequently - the center of Grozny.

From the description of the battle: “Moving from building to building, the scouts took up positions in the building next to the Kavkaz hotel. They already had about forty wounded. Communication with them was lost. Rokhlin was exhausted: what happened? Where are they? He was noisy, swearing at everyone who came to hand. But the connection did not appear. He could not leave someone else to complete the task assigned to the scouts.<…>And soon the scouts showed up. It turned out that the batteries were dead in the battalion commander's radio.”9

After the capture of these buildings, groups of 10-12 people were formed from each unit, which led them to the captured lines:

- Motorized Rifles 276 SMEs - to the Museum of Local Lore,
- marines 876 odshb - in a group of houses in front of the Kavkaz hotel,
- paratroopers - to the hotel "Caucasus".

TO 7:30 units have already occupied all these buildings.10

Advance to the palace

Commander of the "North" grouping, Lieutenant General L.Ya. Rokhlin: “In fact, there was no assault on the presidential palace. True, the command offered to inflict an air strike on him. I replied that aviation had already helped ... Enough. Then they offered to break the palace with tanks. I asked how they imagine it: tanks hit from all sides and hit each other? I was asked: "What do you offer?" I answer: “Give it to me, I will take it in my own way.”11

By the morning NSh 61 obrmp lieutenant colonel A.V. Chernov formed a group of volunteers of 4 people: himself, 2 machine gunners and a shooter. 12 Together with them, a group of scouts of 276 SMEs operated, which included the commander of the 276 SMEs Andrey Yurchenko, the squad leader Sergeant Igor Smirnov and Private D. Knyazev. thirteen

From the description of the fight: Around 7 am the group started moving. Some eight hundred meters overcame almost an hour. The shelling did not stop for a minute. Moreover, the fire was fired from all directions, both ours and the militants. It was possible to get a bullet at any moment. Where, crawling between piles of broken bricks, where, in short dashes from one wrecked vehicle to another, either hiding behind the armor of a burned-out infantry fighting vehicle, or clinging to the corpses of people stiffened with ashes and snow, a handful of brave men made their way to the building called the “target of the operation.”14

From the description of the battle: "In 8 ocloc'k they entered the building. But they were not allowed to look around. How a group of militants appeared from under the ground. Three. Marines were saved only by reaction. One was fired on the move, two other militants disappeared. They tried to pursue them, but they disappeared into the water.<…>But the "Wizard" did not have time to report to Rokhlin. While he was being called to the radio station, the connection was interrupted, artillery shelling began ... "15 (Perhaps, it was at that moment that the deputy commander of the 276th MRR, Lieutenant Colonel Sergei Vladimirovich Smolkin, at the cannery, informed the special forces of the 173rd Special Forces that the reconnaissance group with the call sign "Orion" had disappeared , who left at night "for the hotel" Kavkaz "and after an hour communication with them was lost"16.)

From the description of the battle: "In 8:40 fire training ceased and communications immediately resumed. The "Wizard" reported to the commander of the "North" grouping about the results of the sortie, that the group was inside the building. However, the group was still under cross fire, which did not stop for a minute, and Chernov decided to retreat before they became a tasty prey for the militants. 17 At the same time, the marines left the inscription “Marine. Satellite". ()

“The commander [RR 276 SMEs] decided not to leave an advantageous position until the main forces approached. They could not report the situation due to the lack of radio communications, so they sat there waiting for dawn.”18 And the Marines “returned to their starting line. By that time, the parachute company had changed its position, and in its place was the 3rd airborne assault company, commanded by Senior Lieutenant Evgeny Chubrikov. Having recovered his breath a little, Lieutenant Colonel Chernov decided to enter the building again and examine it in more detail. As much as possible. And so a group of the 3rd dshr, led by Chernov, entered the palace along the path he had already traveled twice ... Who came up with the idea to hang a vest over the entrance to the building, it's hard to say. According to Alexander Vasilievich, it was some kind of impulse. The idea came as if out of thin air, under inner jubilation. "We're inside! We won!" Everything happened in a matter of seconds. While the fighters were looking for a "pole", platoon lieutenant Igor Borisevich literally tore off his equipment and equipment ... And now the Banner of Victory is ready - a piece of reinforcement and a North Sea Marine's vest. They tried to fix it as high as possible under fire, although not heavy, but in any case striking. And again retreat to his own ... "19

Commander of the "North" grouping, Lieutenant General L.Ya. Rokhlin: “The Tunguskas demolished a few snipers who remained in it, and the units entered the building without a fight. There was only one problem: they lost the flag that was supposed to be hoisted over the palace. They searched for two hours ... "20

Raising the flag

The commander of the rg 173 ooSpN captain Dmitry Kislitsin: “For the protection of the banner, we had to allocate part of the group. Senior Lieutenant Rakhin and three fighters left with the appropriate commanders to hoist it. ”21

« By 15 o'clock a sufficient number of officers from the command of the group gathered in this area. They brought the Russian flag. Chernov was called by Major General A. Otrakovsky. “Sasha, it has been decided to instruct you to hoist the flag over the palace. You've entered the building twice already. And in general, you were the first ... ”The building of the palace, every window, every floor was methodically processed from all means of fire destruction. By order of General Otrakovsky, grenade launchers were gathered from all units of the Northern Fleet to the Kavkaz Hotel. There were twenty people. Their task is to carry out a kind of preparation for the actions of the “banner group”. For quite a long time, the grenades of the Marines exploded in the building, ensuring the fulfillment of the mission entrusted to the next group of Lieutenant Colonel Chernov. ”22

« At 15 o'clock On January 19, 1995, the flag was fixed on the facade of the building. Naturally, the "spirits" did not like it. And the firepower on the Marines increased to the point where they had to find cover.”23

V 15:35 reconnaissance commander Lieutenant Andrey Yurchenko and a reconnaissance group consisting of: senior sergeant Igor Smirnov, junior sergeant D. Ivanov, privates D. Knyazev and D. Shmakov entered the building, Smirnov carried the flag of the Russian Federation. Private Knyazev recalled: “It was terrible when they entered the building itself. After all, there are so many rooms, all sorts of nooks and crannies. Where the danger lies, you don't know. And the broken stone creaks treacherously underfoot. Every step echoed like that. But we carried out the order…”.24

Commander 879 odshb guards. lieutenant colonel Alexander Vasilyevich Darkovich: “The naval flag and the Russian flag were hoisted over the presidential palace on January 19 to 18:00 deputy battalion commander Major Plushakov.”25

From the description of further actions: “On the same day, the marines, together with the sappers of the 276th motorized rifle regiment, carried out a partial, superficial cleaning and demining of part of the premises of the first floors of the building, in which there were a lot of weapons and ammunition abandoned and stockpiled by militants ... Only after the events described on the walls When the palace was taken, inscriptions began to appear, made by the fighters of the units and subunits that stormed Grozny in those terrible days .. "26

1 Antipov A. Lev Rokhlin. The Life and Death of a General. M., 1998. S. 194.
2 Antipov A. Lev Rokhlin. The Life and Death of a General. M., 1998. S. 194-195.
3 Remember ... . Book of memory of Astrakhan soldiers who died in Chechnya. Astrakhan, 2003, p. 158.
4 Antipov A. Lev Rokhlin. The Life and Death of a General. M., 1998. S. 195.
5 Levchuk V. Flag over the palace // Brother. 2002. October. ()
6 Dmitriev V. Grozny of the 95th // Kozlov S. et al. GRU Spetsnaz. M., 2002. S. 370. ()
7 Antipov A. Lev Rokhlin. The Life and Death of a General. M., 1998. S. 195.
8 Kulikov A., Lembik S. Chechen knot. M., 2000. S. 101. ()
9 Antipov A. Lev Rokhlin. The Life and Death of a General. M., 1998. S. 195-196.
10 Antipov A. Lev Rokhlin. The Life and Death of a General. M., 1998. S. 197.
11 Antipov A. Lev Rokhlin. The Life and Death of a General. M., 1998. S. 196.
12 Levchuk V. Flag over the palace // Brother. 2002. October. (