Magazine "Scout"

Photo: Corpse of “Brigadier General” of Ichkeria Ruslan (Khamzat) Gelaev

THE ENDING. START IN Nos. 2-3, 2015

Throughout the night from December 30 to 31, 2003, artillery shelling was carried out in the area of ​​the last battle. The wind picked up and a blizzard began. The group was alarmed. Everyone knew that a strong wind with snow overtakes snowdrifts up to two meters.

"Snow surges" are often the cause of the death of hunters or careless shepherds. Fortunately, the wind this time was not very strong, and the scouts managed to accommodate themselves in the barn, deploying tourist tents.

I replayed the events of the last two days in my mind. We were miraculously lucky, as if providence itself or the holy spirit moved into us and helped. Now there were no thoughts of failure. Looking again tomorrow.

During the night, they conducted an initial interrogation of the prisoners. The spirit of the militants was broken, and they willingly made contact. The information received from them was interesting. They reported that the gang included Ruslan Gelaev, who was wounded, the Ichkerian ideologist and singer Timur Mutsuraev, who was killed in the first battle. Abu al-Walid and the head of the Istanbul Bureau of Ichkeria Khozha Nukhaev were also there, but the militants could not know whether they were alive after the last battle.

The information needed to be verified.

In the morning, my determination to continue searching for the leaders of the militants was interrupted by the voice of Colonel Marcel Sakaev, heard from the radio station. He gave the order to urgently deliver the prisoners and personally arrive at the command post in the village of Khushet, leaving Lieutenant Rodny for himself. With ten scouts loaded with trophies and prisoners, I left for Khushet.

From the smallest to the elderly resident, the village of Khushet met us. Men, women and children stood on the flat roofs of Dagestan houses. A delegation of elders and respected people of the village came out to meet my escort group.

We were greeted as dear guests, we saw respect and admiration on the faces of the highlanders, we felt goodwill and friendly attitude. All my fighters were invited to visit. We felt like heroes.

THREE VERSIONS OF GELAEV'S DEATH

I no longer had to participate in hostilities of this intensity. The successes, which seemed great in the mountains, looked worthy against the background of the general results of the grouping. However, fate once again brought me back to these events. About a month later, the head of the POGOON, Colonel Gorshkov, set me a new task: to deliver three militants from the Vladikavkaz pre-trial detention center who were detained by the Georgian border police and handed over to the Russian side.

During the transfer, I learned from them that they had participated in that battle at the rock. The raid of the border guards was unexpected for them, they did not understand how we managed to capture the forward patrol and silently approach the military guard. In battle, they did not see the border guards and considered them to be ghosts.

The militants were sure that they were fighting with an officer sniper group from the army special forces GRU General Staff. After the fighting, they took refuge in the basement of a school in the village of Khushet, while Gelayev lived in the house of the school principal.

They also said that during the fighting, the border guards killed more than twelve militants, among them - Timur Mutsuraev, Khozh-Akhmed Nukhaev, Abu al-Walid. They had to throw several corpses into the Andean Koisu River so that the federal authorities could not identify them, they were very important and respected in their environment.

I learned a partial confirmation of this information and the version of Gelaev's death from several trusted people, including Magomed, when a month later I ended up in the places of past battles. Magomed said that the militants really took refuge in the basement of the school, and when the troops left, they also left.

As for Gelaev, he lived with the director of the school for several more weeks. At the end of January, he made an attempt to cross the state border of Russia with Georgia near the village of Khushet. He sent five militants to the village of Diklo in Georgia. Three of them were detained by the Georgian border police and handed over to Russia, and two of them safely reached the Pankisi Gorge, but did not get in touch.

After that, Gelayev, through local residents and, possibly, a police officer, was transferred to the village of Metrada, then by police vehicles to the village of Bezhta. This was evidenced by several local residents who saw how on February 27, 2004 a police car drove up to the village and three people got out of it, one of them was Ruslan Gelayev.

Everything was ready for the transition. Here they were expected. Light signals were periodically given from the pass. According to an unofficial version, when crossing the state border on the slope of the gorge of the Simbiriskhevi River, the Black Angel was shot dead by guides, possibly out of blood feud.

The death of Ruslan Gelaev in the Andean Koisu region did not fit into the plans of the bloodlines. Therefore, they took him away from the Andean Koisu - to the Avar. There he was executed according to the rites of blood feud.

In addition, he had the gang's cash desk with him, according to one source, Ruslan Gelaev alone had about $2 million. Some of the money was hidden in a cache in the area of ​​the Reho summer camp.

As I wrote at the beginning of the article, Gelayev was killed during a clash with a squad of "green caps" near the Bezhta outpost. Military journalist Alexander Sladkov told in sufficient detail about this battle in his documentary film - “The End of the Black Angel”.

Gelayev accidentally stumbled upon two border guards, whom he shot during a firefight, but he himself was seriously wounded - the arm bone was broken and hung on the tendons.

Bleeding, Gelayev overcame several hundred meters, sat down by a tree on the river bank and cut off his wounded hand. A few minutes later he died from blood loss and shock of pain. On February 29, Gelayev's body was discovered by a detachment of border guards.

The dead contractors Mukhtar Suleymanov and Abdulkhalik Kurbanov were posthumously awarded the title of Heroes of Russia. This is the official version.

According to the second version, the "Black Angel" died on December 29, 2003, coming under fire from a helicopter sent in search of missing fighters. Then he was buried under an avalanche. This version was voiced by Colonel and military expert Alexander Musienko.

According to forensic experts and pathologists, Ruslan Gelaev’s death was due to “multiple shrapnel wounds and six bullet wounds of 7.62 mm caliber, as well as fractures of the limbs, death from shock and blood loss as a result of traumatic amputation of the hand.”

In the film by military journalist Alexander Sladkov - “The End of the Black Angel”, a section of a 7.62 mm bullet on the forearm of Ruslan Gelaev is well shown.

The militants, like the highlanders, do not like the 5.45 mm machine gun, since it is ineffective in the mountains. They prefer the AKM-7.62mm. The border service is armed with AK-74 (5.45 mm caliber) and AKS-5.45 mm, with the exception of special forces.

But this is not the main thing, the main thing is that the bandit got what he deserved.

TIMUR MUTSURAYEV

The fate of Timur Mutsuraev remained a mystery to everyone. The militants captured at the rock, Lechi Magomedov and Sultan (Magomed) Umashev, among the corpses that were at the battlefield, identified the body of Timur Mutsuraev. I allowed them to say goodbye to him and pray.

As a memento of these events, Lechi gave me an audio player and an audio cassette with the recordings of Timur Mutsuraev.

He said:

- He is a very talented singer. The power of his poems and songs was enormous, he was loved in the detachment. He died very early, his name was Timur ...

Then I did not know who Timur Mutsuraev was, and did not attach any importance to this.

But after listening to his songs, I found in them a lot close to our souls. They are understandable to both Russians and Chechens. And if it was he who died, then I am bitter and offended. After listening to his songs, I found that the action movies are not devoid of human feelings. Despite the Islamism alien to us, the songs are built on understandable metaphors and images close to all the inhabitants of Russia, in terms of tempo they are bard songs.

In addition, Mutsuraev sings in Russian, bringing together the warring parties with the general concepts of good and evil. Even if, for ideological reasons, his songs are recognized as extremist, they do not lose their artistic value. In any case, this is better than the absurd muttering of Arab henchmen in a language incomprehensible to the inhabitants of the Caucasus or one-time empty songs on the monotonous motive of the Lezginka, with which all Caucasian markets of musical products are overflowing.

Currently, information about the artist is contradictory. It is said that in the mountains of the Andean Koisu he remained alive. After he was in exile in Turkey. Then in Ukraine during the presidential elections. According to some rumors, with the permission of Kadyrov, he returned to Chechnya. He stopped his solo career as incompatible with religious beliefs.

I have rechecked these rumors for a long time. Now I am inclined to believe that he nevertheless died, and another person lives under his name. There is a long tradition in the Caucasus, if a talented and gifted person dies in his youth, then his close relative or friend takes his place.

In 2008, the double of Timur Mutsuraev swore on the Koran that he would no longer write and perform songs with a guitar. The real Mutsuraev would hardly have been able to do such a thing. Such talent will always prove stronger than any religious belief.

And it is right. There cannot be a second Timur Mutsuraev, just like a second Vladimir Vysotsky. Timur had many good neutral songs that he could easily perform today.

Mutsuraev was a close friend of Ruslan Gelaev. He wrote a song about "Gelaevsky special forces", but after the events described, not a single collection of songs was published and there was no song about his friend Gelaev and his "feat" and death in his performance.

KHOZH-AKHMED NUKHAEV

The death of Khozh-Akhmed Nukhaev is shrouded in mystery, the media write a lot about him.

"Brigadier General" Khozh-Akhmed Nukhaev was the ideologist and sponsor of both Chechen campaigns. He constantly provided financial assistance to the militants of Ruslan Gelaev and Aslanbek Abdulkhadzhiev (known as "Big Aslanbek").

Khozha developed friendly relations with Ruslan Gelaev, and it was he, as stated in the media, who persuaded Ruslan to escort Arab mercenaries to the Middle East, pass through Dagestan and was part of his detachment blocked in the mountains of Dagestan in the winter of 2003. According to a number of media outlets, Nukhaev was among those killed in Dagestan.

An indirect confirmation of this was considered the fact that the newspapers Ichkeria and Mekhk-Khel, sponsored by Nukhaev, have since ceased to be published.

Nukhaev's new publications on the topics of Russian-Chechen and international relations did not appear either.

Khozh-Ahmed Nukhaev had a secret relationship with the Turkish National Action Party and the underground terrorist organization "Grey Wolves", controlled by the Turkish General Staff and the intelligence service of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Khozh-Ahmed Nukhaev at that time headed the Istanbul Bureau of Ichkeria, stationed in Turkey. He actively cooperated with the Islamist organization Hizb ut-Tahrir, operating in the territory of the former USSR. The bureau had about a hundred employees and agents. The sources of funding were Saudi Arabia, the Chechen diasporas in the Middle East, in Turkey the organization was self-financing.

The Istanbul Bureau worked mainly through the Chechen diasporas. Most of the employees were directly in the diasporas of Russia, the CIS countries, Europe and the Middle East.

The bureau used two old representative offices of military private companies in Tehran and Kabul, where not Chechens, but Iranians and Afghans worked, and with the knowledge of local special services. Their main profile is drug and arms trafficking.

In addition, the Bureau had operational communication with the Tatars of the Volga, Tyumen, Astrakhan and Crimea, members of the underground organization Hizb ut-Tahrir.

The communication channel is through the office in Qatar. According to media reports, Saudi Arabia allocated several million dollars for the implementation of the above operation, while the performers received 500 thousand dollars. About 300 thousand dollars were allocated for bribery, because without cover it was impossible to safely cross the administrative and state border to Russia.

Abu al-Walid

The death of the commander of the Arab mercenaries generally looks mysterious and contradictory. Of course, you can't go against the official version, but I'm sure that the captured militants told the truth. And that Abu al-Walid died before the official version, there are many direct and indirect facts about this.

There are many versions of the death of Abu al-Walid. According to one of them, he died as a "shahid" during prayer. And the blame for everything is a crazy Russian shell, the fragments of which allegedly rained down on the back of a good friend of Osama bin Laden.

According to another, death overtook him during a special operation in the southeast of Chechnya - at the junction of the Nozhai-Yurt and Vedeno regions.

According to the third version, Khattab's successor died in December 2003 during the transfer of mercenaries to Saudi Arabia.

This version looks like this. Colonel Aziz bin Saeed bin Ali al Ghamdi, better known as Abu al-Walid, a career Saudi intelligence officer, was ordered by his bosses in December 2003 to arrange for the transfer of mercenaries and militants to Saudi Arabia.

For the past thirty years, Saudi Arabia's intelligence services (General Intelligence Service - COR) for various reasons have been participants in the most important world events. They were assigned the most important role in organizing the Mujahideen movement in Afghanistan.

In the 1980s, the Saudis were in very close contact with the Taliban. At the end of the last century, the SOR was increasingly mentioned as a central player in organizing the export of Arab mercenaries, including to Chechnya.

Controlling Islamic shrines in Mecca, Medina, and almost a quarter of the world's oil reserves, Saudi Arabia aggressively claimed leadership in the Muslim world. The implementation of her geopolitical ambitions was greatly facilitated by the internal stability of the regime of the royal family.

The transfer of mercenaries from the Caucasus region to the Middle East was undoubtedly in the hands of the chief of Saudi intelligence, Prince Naif ibn Abdulaziz. In the Middle East, a new card was being played for the redivision of the world. Where, in turn, the "orange" revolutions, the change of power in the ranks of states, chaos and war were to take place.

Therefore, at the end of autumn 2003, the "Supreme Council" planned to conduct "strategic reconnaissance" in the Tsuntinsky and Tsumadinsky regions and the transfer of most of the mercenaries and militants, led by an Arab mercenary, Colonel Abu al-Walid al-Hamadi, to Saudi Arabia.

All the prominent leaders of the gangs were invited, except for the unrecognized President of Ichkeria Maskhadov, who had previously opposed the transfer of mercenaries to Saudi Arabia, and Doku Umarov, during the Shura period, he was detained by the Chechen police in the Tuskhoroy region.

Almost all field commanders took part in this meeting: Shamil Basaev, Ruslan Gelaev, Abu al-Valid, Dadaev, Gaziev, Geshi, Isa Makasharipov, Khozh-Akhmed Nukhaev, Sadulaev and others.

The transfer of Arab mercenaries and militants was decided to be carried out in two streams. The area of ​​the village of Kenkhi was determined as the gathering place for the militants.

The detachment of Doku Umarov was the head patrol of the group, consisted of representatives of the Chechen teips of the Shatoi region and the mountainous regions of the Republic of Dagestan.

The detachment of Ruslan Gelaev - the outpost of Arab mercenaries, was a so-called. "Gelaevsky special forces", which included mercenaries from the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan, representatives of the Khimoi and Deyshtinsky teips, as well as the Khasavyurt, Tsuntinsky and Tsumadinsky regions of Dagestan. Members of the North Caucasian republics called themselves "murids".

The detachment of Abu al-Walid consisted of two streams, numbering several hundred militants, which included mercenaries from the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Shamil Basayev's detachment was a support and cover detachment. In case of failure of the operation, he ensured the withdrawal of illegal armed formations to Chechen territory. It also consisted of Arab and Afghan mercenaries from the second stream.

There were 250 militants in each stream. The total number of bandit formations being withdrawn is up to 500 militants (35-45 people in each group).

I must say that all these groups were quite well equipped: night vision devices, satellite stations, solar panels, professional scanners, each militant had a Kenwood radio station. They spared no expense in preparing financial resources.

DIFFICULT GAME

The CIA received timely information about the transfer of militants from Chechnya, Dagestan and the Pankisi Gorge to Saudi Arabia. The American intelligence services, in an effort to prevent the development of the above scenario, decided to discredit the participants in the operation in the eyes of the chief of Saudi intelligence, Prince Naif ibn Abdel Aziz, and also decided to frame Abu al-Walid for liquidation.

Through Muslim organizations, US intelligence agencies have financed private military companies with contacts in the North Caucasus, whose leaders and employees are retired CIA. Through a special body - the command of special operations (SOCOM) was carried out the management and control of this operation.

Thus, the transfer of mercenaries to Saudi Arabia was disrupted. Not the last role was played by Doku Umarov, who skillfully organized an ambush on the border guards, thereby attracting the attention of federal forces to this region. At the same time, the colonel of the special services of Saudi Arabia, Abu al-Walid, died in that operation.

The hype surrounding the death of such a well-known odious leader is understandable. The liquidation of Abu al-Walid was announced several times. And every time he "resurrected".

Meanwhile, back in February 2004, Time magazine reported that al-Qaeda called on Chechen fighters to go to fight in Iraq.

In radical Islamic organizations around the world, audiocassettes were distributed with the corresponding appeals of Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, head of operations in Iraq, part of the al-Qaeda network. He stated that he intended to send 1,500-2,000 fighters to Iraq from Chechnya. This figure also indicates the composition of the withdrawn mercenaries and militants from Chechnya, Dagestan and the Pankisi Gorge.

It is possible that Al-Qaeda became aware of the withdrawal of mercenaries to Saudi Arabia, as well as the defeat of Ruslan Gelaev's gang from the media. Which testified to the subtle game not only of Al-Qaeda, but also of a number of foreign intelligence services, where they deftly used this fact to their advantage.

Therefore, Al-Qaeda urgently needed to make public the fact of the death of Abu al-Walid, so that the flow of mercenaries to Iraq began.

In connection with the above, we are not talking about the real place of the death of Abu al-Walid in April 2004, but about the cover operation for Doku Umarov.

GELAEV HEADING TO IRAQ?

For a long time, the place of the battle on the “Reho” (Jirbak Pass) was considered holy, there were several revered graves that were visited by the Wahhabis, one of them is associated with Abu al-Walid.

In the Eastern tradition there is a certain belief in immortality. Why, in the twenties of the last century, were the corpses of prominent Basmachi given to relatives after being shot? Because otherwise a legend arose that he was not killed, and many people appeared who wanted to take his name and use his charisma.

According to 2004 data from the Cantonrep.Com news site and representatives of the US Army Intelligence, Ichkerian militants and Afghan Taliban shared their experience with Iraqi guerrillas. In Iraq, they observed resistance fighters employing techniques known from Chechnya and Afghanistan, such as using road-laying tactics and rocket-propelled grenades against military convoys, as well as cell phones as remote controls for explosive devices.

On April 21, 2004, the Italian news agency ANSA, citing data from British intelligence services, reported that three hundred Chechen fighters crossed from Afghanistan to Iraq on the night of Thursday to Friday. According to agency sources, the militants are linked to the international terrorist organization Al-Qaeda. They arrived in Iraq with the aim of attacking units of the coalition forces.

The agency also reported that before being sent to Iraq, the militants underwent special training in Afghanistan. The transfer is carried out through the Iraqi-Syrian border with the active participation of Iran.

Italian media, in particular the Corriere Della Sera newspaper of June 2004, reported that the Jordanian terrorist Abu Musaba al-Zarqawi became close to Osama bin Laden, taking advantage of the crisis in the Caucasus to create his own movement. Many of his fighters were trained in Chechnya and in the Pankisi Gorge of Georgia.

From the report of Doku Umarov, sent to the editorial office of the Kavkaz-Center, timed to coincide with the fourth anniversary of the proclamation of the Caucasus Emirate on August 30, 2011, it follows that in December 2003 Ruslan Gelaev went with his group to Iraq.

Also, the presence of the above individuals in this operation is evidenced by trophy photographs and various records.

Of course, I can be accused of bias, but I trust the information that became known during interrogations and my confidential contacts for operational work.

But it doesn't matter anymore...

EPILOGUE

The operation in the mountains of Dagestan demonstrated a clear coordination of the actions of all law enforcement agencies. The Ministry of Internal Affairs provided reliable protection of civilian facilities and infrastructure. The border troops tightly covered the border, the units of the Defense Ministry, including aviation, acted in a coordinated manner.

Everything is extremely simple, everything is extremely clear. They worked clearly.

More than eleven years have passed since the events that took place, but the memory has preserved everything to the smallest detail. The received practice of fighting rescued more than once.

The main thing that I gained in those events is faith in the courage and resilience of Russian soldiers. The fact that young guys can defeat seasoned bandits requires only military skill, tactical calculation and fortitude.

“My Leuctra and Mantinea, my immortal daughters,” said the great commander Epaminondas, summing up the long and hard work.

All of the above is a personal view of the events and the personal opinion of the author. All names and surnames of participants in combat events have been changed.

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THE END OF THE "BLACK ANGEL" - 1... Ruslan (Khamzat) Gelaev is one of the top commanders of the Chechen separatists, who occupied the third position in the unspoken table of ranks after the head of the CRI, Aslan Maskhadov, and terrorist No. 1 Shamil Basayev. Field commander Gelaev (who changed his name "Ruslan" to "Khamzat") held high positions in the Armed Forces of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria and the subsequent, after the defeat of the CRI, the armed underground up to the commander-in-chief (from May 2002 until his death). "Divisional General". Member of the war in Abkhazia in 1992-1993 (together with Shamil Basayev). The creator of the Ichkerian special forces detachment "Borz" (i.e. "Wolf"), which included both veterans of the war in Abkhazia and criminal elements. He had radio call signs "Angel", "Black Angel" and "Old Man". In the Russian press of that period, he was often referred to as the "Chechen Robin Hood." Until the death of Ruslan Gelayev, the head of Chechnya, Akhmat-hadji Kadyrov, did not lose hope of winning him over to his side, and along with him the warring Ichkeria. “I am ready to meet even the devil for the sake of peace in our republic,” he said. ... On the night of December 15, 2003, a detachment of thirty-six militants personally led by Gelayev from the territory of Chechnya entered the Dagestan village of Shauri. Having received a message about this from local residents, a reconnaissance and search group of the Mokok border outpost, consisting of nine military personnel, under the command of the head of the outpost, Captain Radim Khalikov, advanced there in a jeep. Gelaev himself, setting an example for his militants, went out onto the road and opened fire on the car either from a Degtyarev machine gun or from a sniper rifle. Finishing off the wounded, Gelaev simultaneously shot his fighter: “The tenth victim of this massacre was a young Avar fighter. Gelayev gave him a bayonet-knife and ordered to cut off the head of his fellow countryman - the wounded captain Khalikov. The militant refused ... "- the Kommersant newspaper reported. A large-scale military operation was launched against the militants, involving artillery, aviation (army and border) and armored vehicles. The Gelayevites split up and tried to hide, but during the fierce battles that lasted several weeks, most of the detachment was destroyed, some were captured, some managed to escape through the passes to Georgia and Chechnya. ... On February 28, 2004, according to the prevailing version, Gelayev was killed during a clash with a squad of "green caps" near the Bezhta outpost. Having separated, Gelaev went to the village of Nizhniye Khvarshini. There, in one of the kosharas not far from the village, he healed his wounds for almost two months. Due to the fact that he would not have mastered the main route along which Gelaev planned to leave for Georgia, he was offered an easier way - along the Avaro-Kakheti road, which has long connected the inhabitants of Bezht with the Avar villages of Georgia - Saruso, Chantles -Kure. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, local activists began to build a road to the border of Georgia for the passage of motor vehicles in the hope that a border guard checkpoint would be opened there. Thus, almost to the border there was a good and passable (even in winter) road. Regarding the border guards, Gelaev was assured that they were not on this road in winter. However, the "Black Angel" still stumbled upon two fighters sent to check on the unknown (official version) or who went AWOL (unofficial version). Gelayev shot them during a short-lived battle, but he himself was seriously wounded - the arm bone was broken and hung on the tendons. Bleeding, Gelayev overcame several hundred meters, sat down by a tree on the river bank and cut off his wounded hand. A few minutes later he died from blood loss and shock of pain. “The picture of the last minutes of Gelaev’s life was restored in detail by experts and described in great detail,” then our newspaper Special Forces of Russia reported. It was getting harder and harder for him to take each step as blood gushed from his shattered left arm. The commander, who decided to sacrifice part of himself rather than lose everything, stopped about fifty meters from the battlefield, cut off his left hand and threw it on the snow along with a knife. Then he took out a rubber tourniquet, put it on a piece of his arm, took a few more steps and fell. He managed to get up with great difficulty. After walking a few dozen steps, Gelayev stopped, took out a jar of Nescafe instant coffee from his pocket and, opening it with all his might, began to chew the granules, hoping that the coffee would invigorate him and help him reach the cherished border. Then Ruslan Gelaev took out and bit into a bar of Alyonka chocolate, after which he again fell and crawled. On February 29, 2004, at about 3 pm local time, Gelayev's body was discovered by a detachment of border guards. “I was the first to see Gelaev dead,” said Lieutenant A. Nechaev, deputy commander of the Bezhtinskaya Zastava. - True, then I did not know that it was Gelaev. On the morning of February 29, with the soldiers of our outpost, I went out in search of Kurbanov and Suleymanov, who had not returned from the mission. We followed their tracks for several kilometers when I saw a stranger leaning back against a tree. Dressed in a warm civilian jacket, warm trousers and rubber boots, he did not move. I ordered one of the soldiers to take aim at him and began to slowly approach. The first thing I noticed when I got closer was that the stranger's eyes were wide open, the pupils rolled up, but they were visible. He looked very neat, it was noticeable that he spent the last days of his life in contentment, then it turned out that even his chest was completely shaved, and he himself was completely shaved, and his beard was neatly trimmed, clean warm woolen socks were on his feet. Under the unbuttoned jacket one could see the unloading with five magazines. Nearby lay a machine gun and a grenade. There was nothing else, at least not at first glance. I called the emergency group on the radio. She has already discovered the dead of our guys.” The dead contractors Mukhtar Suleymanov and Abdulkhalik Kurbanov were posthumously awarded the title of Heroes of Russia. As already noted, this is the official version. According to the second version, Gelayev died on February 29, either when he came under fire from a helicopter sent to search for the missing fighters, or he was buried by a snow avalanche. The version that Gelaev was swept away by an avalanche, oddly enough, began to be supported by the "Ichkerians", "Imaratchi" and other radicals themselves. At the same time, the last minutes of Gelaev’s life were described with ridiculous details, including how he stood, resting against a rock, and firing from a light machine gun at Russian aviation ... Reserve Major Alexander Egorov, author of an article in Russian Special Forces, in three extensive publications in February -April 2015 outlined the third version in the context of everything that was happening then in the North Caucasus. The title of the publication is “The End of the Black Angel”. Operation in the mountains of the "Andean Koisu". At the time of the events described, Alexander Egorov had the military rank of “senior lieutenant” and served as commander of an intelligence unit (commander of a detachment reconnaissance platoon - non-standard company commander) in the 487th Zheleznovodsk border special purpose detachment (POGOON). In the most difficult conditions of winter mountains, Yegorov’s group struck serious damage to the Gelaevites. And most importantly, as the prisoners later told Yegorov, three iconic figures were killed in that battle, and Gelayev himself was wounded. The first person killed was the commander of the Arab mercenaries Abu al-Walid and the successor in this capacity of the "Black Arab" Khattab. Staff member of one of the Saudi intelligence services. Professional miner, saboteur-bomber. One of the most dangerous enemies of Russia in the North Caucasus. It was he who was among those who planned and paid for the explosion of a military hospital in Mozdok in the summer of 2003. An acquaintance of Osama bin Laden from the war in Afghanistan against the Kabul authorities and Soviet troops. The second is the criminal "authority" and colleague of Dzhokhar Dudayev, foreign emissary and propagandist Khozh-Akhmed Nukhaev. The hero of the book of the editor-in-chief of the Russian version of Forbes magazine Paul Khlebnikov "A Conversation with a Barbarian", published in the summer of 2003, and he, Nukhaev, ordered the murder of this American journalist. Indirect confirmation of the death of Nukhaev is the fact that the newspapers Ichkeria and Mekhk-Khel sponsored by him, which were published underground in Chechnya, have since ceased to appear. Nukhaev’s new publications on the topics of Russian-Chechen and international relations did not appear either. The popular Ichkerian bard performer Timur Mutsuraev, who sang of the “Gelaev special forces” and the armed struggle of Chechen separatists against Russia, also found his death at the hands of the border special forces. According to some sources, the place of the battle on the summer farm "Reho" for some time it was even considered a saint among the Wahhabis, there were several revered graves that were visited by the Islamists, one of them is associated with Abu al-Walid. EGOROV'S VERSION A month after the special operation in the mountains, the head of the POGOON, Colonel Valery Gorshkov, set the task for Yegorov: to deliver three militants from the Vladikavkaz pre-trial detention center who were detained by the Georgian border police and handed over to the Russian side. “During the transfer, I learned from them that they had participated in that battle near the cliff,” recalls Alexander Egorov. - The raid of the border guards was unexpected for them, they did not understand how we managed to capture the head patrol and silently approach the military guard. In battle, they did not see the border guards and considered them to be ghosts. The militants were sure that they were fighting with an officer sniper group from the army special forces GRU General Staff. After the fighting, they took refuge in the basement of a school in the village of Khushet, and Gelaev lived in the house of the director of the school. They also said that during the fighting, the border guards killed more than twelve militants, among them Timur Mutsuraev, Khozh-Akhmed Nukhaev, Abu al-Walid. They had to throw several corpses into the Andiyskoye Koisu River so that the federal authorities could not identify them: they were very important and respected in their environment. I learned a partial confirmation of this information and the version of Gelaev’s death from several trusted people, including Magomed, when a month later he ended up in the places of past battles. Magomed said that the militants really took refuge in the basement of the school, and when the troops left, they left too. As for Gelaev, he lived with the director of the school for several more weeks. At the end of January, he made an attempt to cross the state border of Russia with Georgia near the village of Khushet. He sent five militants to the village of Diklo in Georgia. Three of them were detained by the Georgian border police and handed over to Russia, and two of them safely reached the Pankisi Gorge, but did not get in touch. After that, Gelayev, through local residents and, possibly, a police officer, was transferred to the village of Metrada, then by police vehicles to the village of Bezhta. This was evidenced by several local residents who saw how on February 27, 2004 a police car drove up to the village, and three people got out of it, one of them was Ruslan Gelaev. Everything was prepared for the transition. Here they were expected. Light signals were periodically given from the pass. According to an unofficial version, while crossing the state border on the slope of the gorge of the Simbiriskhevi River, the Black Angel was shot dead by guides, possibly out of blood feud. The death of Ruslan Gelaev in the Andean Koisu region did not fit into the plans of the bloodlines. Therefore, they took him away from the Andean Koisu - to the Avar. There he was executed according to the rites of blood feud. In addition, he had the gang's cash desk with him, according to one source, Ruslan Gelaev alone had about $2 million. Some of the money was hidden in a cache in the area of ​​the Reho summer camp.” Here is such a version. By the way, in the film by military journalist Alexander Sladkov “The End of the Black Angel”, a section of a 7.62 mm bullet on the forearm of Ruslan Gelaev is well shown. The militants, like the highlanders, do not like the 5.45 mm machine gun, since it is ineffective in the mountains. They prefer the AKM-7.62mm. The border service is armed with AK-74 (5.45 mm caliber) and AKS-5.45 mm, with the exception of special forces. All participants in the battle at the rock were presented with the Order of Courage, and some of them, according to Alexander Yegorov, were to receive Heroes of Russia. However, this did not happen. Author: FYODOR BARMIN

Chechnya. January 2000 Federal troops took Grozny. With huge losses, the remnants of the militants escaped from the encirclement. Basayev was seriously wounded. A month later, large rebel bases were destroyed in the Shatoi region. High military officials of the Russian army are in a hurry to report to the Kremlin that the terrorists in Chechnya are finished, and the fighting is about to end. The bold statement is replicated in all media. But this was a cruel delusion. The forces of the enemy were clearly underestimated.

In early March, one of the bloodiest military operations was carried out in the village of Komsomolskoye, which turned the tide of the second Chechen campaign. It was from that moment that it was publicly recognized that well-trained international terrorists were fighting on the side of the gangs. While preparations for the election of a new president are in full swing in Moscow, field commander Ruslan Gelaev is gathering more than 1,500 thugs in his native village. He chose the call sign Black Angel. It was here, in his family nest, that he decided to prove that the authorities did not control the situation in the country.

March 5, 2000 Units of the special forces detachment "Rosich" of the internal troops are preparing for a scheduled check of the passport regime in the village of Komsomolskoye. According to counterintelligence, about 30 militants entered here. They are commanded by one of the most bloodthirsty and cruel field commanders - Ruslan Gelaev. His hands are up to the elbows in blood. They say that with one blow of the family dagger, he cuts off the heads of prisoners, for which he earned the nickname Executioner.

Back in the first campaign, Gelayev commanded the western front of the militants. Became a Wahhabi. Changed his name to Khamzat. Flew to Pakistan twice. There were many similar bases for training terrorists in this country. Gelayev signed a lucrative contract with Pakistani military intelligence and returned home. The special forces had to deal not with ordinary bandits, but with experienced mercenaries.

Having captured Komsomolskoye, the militants were going to take revenge for the defeats in Grozny and Shatoi and radically change the course of the war.

In the mountains, the bandits had the main forces and bases with weapons and ammunition. After the capture of Komsomolsky, Gelaev had to fight his way to Urus-Martan and Achkhoy-Martan. From there head north of Grozny. At the same time, Chechen terrorists Khattab and Shamil Basayev began to operate in the east of the republic in the direction of Argun and Gudermes. They were going to unite with Gelayev north of Grozny and deliver a joint strike on the Grozny grouping of federal troops.

True, the information that the Black Angel in Komsomolskoye was not confirmed and the special forces were given the task of identifying the militants, detaining them or destroying them.

Gelaev was a cunning and dodgy opponent. Among the militants, he was known as the most successful field commander. A recidivist thief, he was convicted three times. Escaped death several times. At first, back in Soviet times, he was almost stabbed to death by criminals. Then, during the first Chechen campaign, he received several severe wounds. Due to a wound in the throat, Gelaev's voice was very muffled and hoarse. Maybe that's why he avoided interviews. He felt the danger. Even in February 2000, the Black Angel was one of the few who managed to slip out unscathed from the encircled Grozny.

Gelayev knew how to quietly bring his people to Komsomolskoye and how to make sure that the federal troops did not even guess about their true number. As it turned out, by March 5, more than a thousand terrorists were secretly pulled into Komsomolskoye. The successful outcome of the terrorist operation promised huge profits and high places in the terrorist table of ranks for the Black Angel. And this is the best reward for the power-hungry, cynical and treacherous Gelayev. Here, in Komsomolskoye, there were many foreign mercenaries. Federal troops were opposed by professional assassins.

The fact that a very large bandit formation had settled in Komsomolskoye was clear to everyone. The assault on the village began on the morning of March 6. It was carried out by the fighters of the Rosich detachment.

On the morning of March 7, the residents who remained in Komsomolskoye were asked to leave the village. People carried everything they could carry with them, drove cattle. In the crowd were visible young men of strange behavior. They hid their faces. Thus, the mercenaries tried to leave the village, who were immediately detained. Among them were Chinese and even one Czech. During interrogations, the prisoners did not hide the fact that they were commanded by Gelayev. An insidious and bloodthirsty enemy, a sadist and a murderer, he even caused awe in his own people. The executioner seemed to be intoxicated by the sight of human blood. When, after serving another term, this criminal went to the Abkhazian war, he personally cut the throats of 24 captured Georgians. Returning to Chechnya, he quickly put together a gang of released criminals. Later they served in the Gelaevsky special forces detachment “Borz.

The special operation in Komsomolskoye went on for more than two weeks. The village was tightly blocked. With each passing day, the ring of federal troops narrowed. Gelaevtsy desperately and skillfully resisted. Positions changed hands several times.

The confrontation has reached extreme bitterness. Nobody took out the bodies of militants. There was simply no one. Both militants and fighters of the federal forces were sitting under heavy fire. I even had to punch loopholes in the walls. Losses grew, there were many wounded.

On March 20, the special operation in Komsomolskoye was almost completed. In Komsomolsk, there is practically not a single surviving house left. But in the concrete cellars there were still many groups that put up fierce resistance. Those who were smoked out of their hiding places burrowed into the ground. However, after artillery and air strikes, the number of dead militants of the Borz detachment was in the hundreds. Such was the inglorious end of this host. True, neither among the prisoners nor among the dead was Ruslan Gelaev. During interrogations, many bandits claimed that there was no Black Angel in the village. According to some reports, on March 12 or 13, he managed to break through the cordon. According to other sources, Gelayev left the village almost immediately - two days after the start of the special operation on March 9. By that time, they had not yet managed to pull up reserves in order to reliably block the village of Komsomolskoye. The black angel apparently decided not to risk it.

Gelayev was on a special account with the Russian special services. He has been hunted for a long time. Throughout 2003, he and his gang rushed around Chechnya. On December 2, the Black Angel and about 60 other terrorists decided to leave through the Dagestan highlands to Georgia. They were found two weeks later. The special forces of the Ministry of Defense and the border troops pursued the gang and hit them daily. By January 2, 2004, the Gelayevites were finished - some were destroyed, the rest surrendered. Only Gelaev was not among them.

He hid until the end of February, and then again decided to make his way to Georgia. He put a sleeping bag, several packages of instant noodles, a piece of lamb fat and a family dagger into a bag, with which he beheaded dozens of people. He hid a machine gun, magazines and a grenade under his jacket. But soon the Executioner stumbled upon a border outfit. For almost five hours, Gelayev, confusing his tracks, tried to break away from the chase. On the bank of the river, he set up an ambush. He seriously wounded two border guards in bursts in the back, one of them was shot in the head. But he himself could not leave - in a shootout, a bullet tore off his hand. He died from loss of blood. Gelayev took with him many secrets of the ten-year war. So the Black Angel ended his bloody stay on earth.

Ruslan (Khamzat) Gelaev is one of the top commanders of the Chechen separatists, who occupied the third position in the unspoken table of ranks after the head of the CRI Aslan Maskhadov and terrorist No. 1 Shamil Basaev.

In the photo: Ruslan Gelaev and the future leader of the Caucasus Emirate Doku Umarov

REACH THE GREAT BORDER

Field commander Gelaev (who changed his name "Ruslan" to "Khamzat") held high positions in the Armed Forces of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria and the subsequent, after the defeat of the CRI, the armed underground up to the commander-in-chief (from May 2002 until his death).

"Divisional General". Member of the war in Abkhazia in 1992-1993 (together with Shamil Basayev). The creator of the Ichkerian special forces detachment "Borz" (i.e. "Wolf"), which included both veterans of the war in Abkhazia and criminal elements. He had radio call signs "Angel", "Black Angel" and "Old Man".

In the Russian press of that period, he was often referred to as the "Chechen Robin Hood."

Until the death of Ruslan Gelayev, the head of Chechnya, Akhmat-hadji Kadyrov, did not lose hope of winning him over to his side, and along with him the warring Ichkeria. “I am ready to meet even the devil for the sake of peace in our republic,” he said.

... On the night of December 15, 2003, a detachment of thirty-six militants personally led by Gelayev from the territory of Chechnya entered the Dagestan village of Shauri. Having received a message about this from local residents, a reconnaissance and search group of the Mokok border outpost, consisting of nine military personnel, under the command of the head of the outpost, Captain Radim Khalikov, advanced there in a jeep.

Photo: Romance of militants by Timur Mutsuraev

Gelaev himself, setting an example for his militants, went out onto the road and opened fire on the car either from a Degtyarev machine gun or from a sniper rifle. Finishing off the wounded, Gelaev simultaneously shot his fighter: “The tenth victim of this massacre was a young Avar fighter. Gelayev gave him a bayonet-knife and ordered to cut off the head of his fellow countryman - the wounded captain Khalikov. The militant refused ... "- the Kommersant newspaper reported.

A large-scale military operation was launched against the militants, involving artillery, aviation (army and border) and armored vehicles. The Gelayevites split up and tried to hide, but during the fierce battles that lasted several weeks, most of the detachment was destroyed, some were captured, some managed to escape through the passes to Georgia and Chechnya.

... On February 28, 2004, according to the prevailing version, Gelayev was killed during a clash with a squad of "green caps" near the Bezhta outpost.

Having separated, Gelaev went to the village of Nizhniye Khvarshini. There, in one of the kosharas not far from the village, he healed his wounds for almost two months. Due to the fact that he would not have mastered the main route along which Gelaev planned to leave for Georgia, he was offered an easier way - along the Avaro-Kakheti road, which has long connected the inhabitants of Bezht with the Avar villages of Georgia - Saruso, Chantles -Kure.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, local activists began to build a road to the border of Georgia for the passage of motor vehicles in the hope that a border guard checkpoint would be opened there. Thus, almost to the border there was a good and passable (even in winter) road.

Regarding the border guards, Gelaev was assured that they were not on this road in winter. However, the "Black Angel" still stumbled upon two fighters sent to check on the unknown (official version) or who went AWOL (unofficial version). Gelayev shot them during a short-lived battle, but he himself was seriously wounded - the arm bone was broken and hung on the tendons.

Photo: Under such conditions, the persecution and destruction of Gelaev's gang took place

Bleeding, Gelayev overcame several hundred meters, sat down by a tree on the river bank and cut off his wounded hand. A few minutes later he died from blood loss and shock of pain.

“The picture of the last minutes of Gelaev’s life was restored in detail by experts and described in great detail,” then our newspaper Special Forces of Russia reported. It was getting harder and harder for him to take each step as blood gushed from his shattered left arm. The commander, who decided to sacrifice part of himself rather than lose everything, stopped about fifty meters from the battlefield, cut off his left hand and threw it on the snow along with a knife. Then he took out a rubber tourniquet, put it on a piece of arm, took a few more steps and fell.

He managed to get up with great difficulty. After walking a few dozen steps, Gelayev stopped, took out a jar of Nescafe instant coffee from his pocket and, opening it with all his might, began to chew the granules, hoping that the coffee would invigorate him and help him reach the cherished border. Then Ruslan Gelaev took out and bit into a bar of Alyonka chocolate, after which he again fell and crawled.

On February 29, 2004, at about 3 pm local time, Gelayev's body was discovered by a detachment of border guards.

Photo: Timur Mutsuraev, who sang the "Gelaev special forces"

“I was the first to see Gelaev dead,” said Lieutenant A. Nechaev, deputy commander of the Bezhtinskaya Zastava. - True, then I did not know that it was Gelaev. On the morning of February 29, with the soldiers of our outpost, I went out in search of Kurbanov and Suleymanov, who had not returned from the mission. We followed their tracks for several kilometers when I saw a stranger leaning back against a tree. Dressed in a warm civilian jacket, warm trousers and rubber boots, he did not move. I ordered one of the soldiers to take aim at him and began to slowly approach.

The first thing I noticed when I got closer was that the stranger's eyes were wide open, the pupils rolled up, but they were visible. He looked very neat, it was noticeable that he spent the last days of his life in contentment, then it turned out that even his chest was completely shaved, and he himself was completely shaved, and his beard was neatly trimmed, clean warm woolen socks were on his feet. Under the unbuttoned jacket one could see the unloading with five magazines.

Nearby lay a machine gun and a grenade. There was nothing else, at least not at first glance. I called the emergency group on the radio. She has already discovered the dead of our guys.”

The dead contractors Mukhtar Suleymanov and Abdulkhalik Kurbanov were posthumously awarded the title of Heroes of Russia.

Photo: In 1993, Ruslan Gelaev created the Ichkerian special forces detachment "Borz" ("Wolf")

As already noted, this is the official version.

According to the second version, Gelayev died on February 29, either when he came under fire from a helicopter sent to search for the missing fighters, or he was buried by a snow avalanche.

The version that Gelaev was swept away by an avalanche, oddly enough, began to be supported by the "Ichkerians", "Imaratchi" and other radicals themselves. At the same time, the last minutes of Gelaev’s life were described with ridiculous details, including how he stood, leaning against a rock, and firing from a light machine gun at Russian aviation ...

Reserve Major Alexander Egorov, the author of an article in Russian Special Forces, in three extensive publications for February-April 2015, outlined the third version in the context of everything that was happening then in the North Caucasus. The title of the publication is “The End of the Black Angel”. Operation in the mountains of the "Andean Koisu".

At the time of the events described, Alexander Egorov had the military rank of "senior lieutenant" and served as commander of an intelligence unit (commander of a detachment reconnaissance platoon - non-regular company commander) in the 487th Zheleznovodsk Border Special Purpose Detachment (POGOON).

In the most difficult conditions of the winter mountains, Yegorov's group inflicted serious damage on the Gelayevites. And most importantly, as the prisoners later told Yegorov, three iconic figures were killed in that battle, and Gelayev himself was wounded.

The first person killed was the commander of the Arab mercenaries Abu al-Walid and the successor in this capacity of the "Black Arab" Khattab. Staff member of one of the Saudi intelligence services. Professional miner, saboteur-bomber. One of the most dangerous enemies of Russia in the North Caucasus. It was he who was among those who planned and paid for the explosion of a military hospital in Mozdok in the summer of 2003. An acquaintance of Osama bin Laden from the war in Afghanistan against the Kabul authorities and Soviet troops.

The second is the criminal "authority" and colleague of Dzhokhar Dudayev, foreign emissary and propagandist Khozh-Akhmed Nukhaev. The hero of the book of the editor-in-chief of the Russian version of Forbes magazine Paul Khlebnikov "A Conversation with a Barbarian", published in the summer of 2003, and he, Nukhaev, ordered the murder of this American journalist.

Indirect confirmation of the death of Nukhaev is the fact that the newspapers Ichkeria and Mekhk-Khel sponsored by him, which were published underground in Chechnya, have since ceased to appear. Nukhaev's new publications on the topics of Russian-Chechen and international relations did not appear either.

The popular Ichkerian bard performer Timur Mutsuraev also found his death at the hands of the border special forces, who sang the "Gelaev special forces" and the armed struggle of Chechen separatists against Russia.

According to some reports, the place of the battle on the summer farm "Reho" was even considered holy among the Wahhabis for some time, there were several revered graves visited by the Islamists, one of them is associated with Abu al-Walid.

Photo: Khozh-Akhmed Nukhaev, allegedly killed in that battle

EGOROV'S VERSION

A month after the special operation in the mountains, the head of the POGOON, Colonel Valery Gorshkov, set Yegorov the task of delivering three militants from the Vladikavkaz pre-trial detention center who were detained by the Georgian border police and handed over to the Russian side.

“During the transfer, I learned from them that they had participated in that battle near the cliff,” recalls Alexander Egorov. - The raid of the border guards was unexpected for them, they did not understand how we managed to capture the head patrol and silently approach the military guard. In battle, they did not see the border guards and considered them to be ghosts.

The militants were sure that they were fighting with an officer sniper group from the army special forces GRU General Staff. After the fighting, they took refuge in the basement of a school in the village of Khushet, while Gelayev lived in the house of the school principal.

They also said that during the fighting, the border guards killed more than twelve militants, among them - Timur Mutsuraev, Khozh-Akhmed Nukhaev, Abu al-Walid. They had to throw several corpses into the Andean Koisu River so that the federal authorities could not identify them: they were very important and respected in their environment.

I learned a partial confirmation of this information and the version of Gelaev's death from several trusted people, including Magomed, when a month later I ended up in the places of past battles. Magomed said that the militants really took refuge in the basement of the school, and when the troops left, they also left.

As for Gelaev, he lived with the director of the school for several more weeks. At the end of January, he made an attempt to cross the state border of Russia with Georgia near the village of Khushet. He sent five militants to the village of Diklo in Georgia. Three of them were detained by the Georgian border police and handed over to Russia, and two of them safely reached the Pankisi Gorge, but did not get in touch.

After that, Gelayev, through local residents and, possibly, a police officer, was transferred to the village of Metrada, then by police vehicles to the village of Bezhta. This was evidenced by several local residents who saw how on February 27, 2004 a police car drove up to the village and three people got out of it, one of them was Ruslan Gelayev.

Photo: Pursued by special forces Ruslan Gelaev in the mountains of Dagestan

Everything was ready for the transition. Here they were expected. Light signals were periodically given from the pass. According to an unofficial version, while crossing the state border on the slope of the gorge of the Simbiriskhevi River, the Black Angel was shot dead by guides, possibly out of blood feud.

The death of Ruslan Gelaev in the Andean Koisu region did not fit into the plans of the bloodlines. Therefore, they took him away from the Andean Koisu - to the Avar. There he was executed according to the rites of blood feud.

In addition, he had the gang's cash desk with him, according to one source, Ruslan Gelaev alone had about $2 million. Some of the money was hidden in a cache in the area of ​​the Reho summer camp.”

Here is such a version.

By the way, in the film by military journalist Alexander Sladkov “The End of the Black Angel”, a section of a 7.62 mm bullet on the forearm of Ruslan Gelaev is well shown.

The militants, like the highlanders, do not like the 5.45 mm machine gun, since it is ineffective in the mountains. They prefer the AKM-7.62mm. The border service is armed with AK-74 (5.45 mm caliber) and AKS-5.45 mm, with the exception of special forces.

All participants in the battle at the rock were presented with the Order of Courage, and some of them, according to Alexander Yegorov, were to receive Heroes of Russia. However, this did not happen.

Photo: Cover of Paul Klebnikov's book "A Conversation with a Barbarian" (Nukhaev)

“I TOOK PART IN THESE EVENTS…”

As expected, the publication in the Russian Spetsnaz caused a lively response, first of all, from the direct participants in those events, those who were in Yegorov’s group and were left without deserved awards.

In general, I must say, the topic itself, connected with the liquidation of Gelayev, is acute, painful. It caused fierce controversy on the forums both after the release of the documentary film by Alexander Sladkov “The End of the Black Angel” and after the publication of Colonel Alexander Musienko (an interview with the Russian Reporter in 2010).

Photo: The stiffened corpse of "divisional general" Ruslan Gelaev

We offer some assessments and judgments that were made during the discussion after three publications in the "Special Forces of Russia".

Alexander Blagodatskikh: “I also participated in those events of the past years, I had the honor to serve with Alexander Nikolaevich Egorov. A hardened, stubborn, seasoned, fair Russian man ... He taught a lot how to survive in such situations, he conveyed invaluable experience with all his heart. Special thanks to our father-commander for saving our human lives... This is the highest award. And the fact that we were not awarded, not only that the entry in the “military man” was crossed out, is already a sediment of the past.

Yes, I am a participant in the hostilities of 2003-2004 in the Republic of Dagestan, at the Zhirbak Pass in the Tsumadinsky District. On December 29, 2003, we, the scouts of the Zheleznovodsk Special Purpose Border Detachment (POGOON) of the FSB of Russia (military unit 3810, Zheleznovodsk), were the first to fight the Wahhabis of Ruslan Gelaev's group on December 29, 2003. And they destroyed more than twelve militants of the gang. During the two-day battle, the unit did not lose a single fighter.

Among the killed militants were citizens of foreign states. Five were taken prisoner. A large number of weapons and ammunition were seized, many documents, photographic materials, maps, notepads with records of telephone addresses in the republics of Georgia, Abkhazia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and in the countries of the Middle East were confiscated.

According to operational information, as well as during interrogations, it became known that we destroyed Abu al-Walid, Khozh-Akhmed Nukhaev, Timur Mutsuraev, wounded Ruslan Gelaev on the Reho pilot.

No one could have thought that everything would turn out so well, without a hitch ... We all hoped for well-deserved awards, but - no, it was necessary to make sure that according to the documents we were absolutely not there, the award was presented to other guys (GRU) .

In early January 2004, the Russian media reported that in Dagestan on December 31, 2003, in a mountainous area (in a cave), an alleged bandit group of Ruslan Gelaev of fifteen people was destroyed. That the gang was destroyed by the special forces of the GRU General Staff of the Russian Ministry of Defense. Subsequently, forty-four servicemen of the Russian Defense Ministry were awarded the Order of Courage.

And what is the result? As a result, our commander Alexander Yegorov and we, the scouts for military service, became "liars" and "scoundrels."

The higher leadership of the border detachment told us directly: “You were not there, and be silent, forget ...” I want the truth to triumph ...”

"Small": "All events have already been jumbled up" to no "! Many thanks to the commander for the discipline, endurance, coherence of the guys in a combat situation.

Photo: Sergeant Major Mukhtar Suleymanov and Senior Sergeant Abdukhalik Kurbanov, who killed Gelayev

Personally, I myself am a participant in this combat scrape. Many of my fellow countrymen in training (who, after training, spent the rest of their military service in the Itumkalinsky border detachment at the outpost and receive compensation for hostilities in which they did not even participate at all) are amazed that the battle was without losses and wounded with us, but only there were corpses of Wahhabis and prisoners.

How so? .. Apparently, this happens. It could have been different. Our subgroup of cover was distributed on a snowy hill, Ensign Pobedinsky sent one sniper to another hill higher on the right side of the mountain, during the battle, turntables flew in from the Khushet outpost.

No one could have imagined that the MI-8 would come at us on alert, and even start firing at us in a burst ... Miraculously, the burst passed over our heads, thanks to the conscript radio operator, who transmitted by radio to the "turntables" what kind of turn they were for us with gave me a machine gun!!

Apparently, the helicopter pilots didn’t immediately see that there was uninterrupted shooting in the gorge, then I don’t know what they transmitted on the radio, but they deployed the “turntables” and began to hammer in the right direction, at Gelaev’s gang - they helped a lot, thanks !!!

After some time, the sniper, who was on another hill, began to descend towards us, respectively, everything was already there, they forgot about him. From the "turntables" everyone is in shock, we point all the barrels at this person, and if the second sniper of our group had not said that this was our sniper, they would have made a "sieve" out of Vovchik. Now it’s funny to remember, at that time it was not a laughing matter ... And we were prepared for the award, we made entries in military tickets, after which they crossed out.

Photo: “We either sweated or froze from the wind, and ahead was a tedious stay on a cold pass”

Thanks to Alexander Nikolaevich Egorov!!! It is very difficult to restore the picture and prove true past events, many guys, including me, have already given up on all this, and the commander is seeking the truth ... I support you, Alexander Nikolaevich !!! ”

Denis: “Hello, “Small”! I largely agree with you. I'm not sure that our reviews will help someone, but now there is nothing to lose. When they left for demobilization, there were talks that it would be possible to make a request to the Central Border Archive, and according to these documents, everything could be returned to its place. But it seems that someone is still blocking oxygen in our case - and specifically!

The fact that we all returned alive and healthy is, of course, thanks to our Alexander Egorov. And the fact that we were all thrown, to whom we can now prove!

Skif: Good afternoon, colleagues! I served with Alexander Nikolaevich (call sign "Elbrus") in the OGSpR. I know him personally. Orthodox Christian, with Faith in God, Tsar and Fatherland. Strong in spirit, speaks the truth in person, is not afraid to answer any questions and complete the most difficult and dangerous tasks.

Photo: Part of the trophies after that operation, obtained by the border special forces

He constantly improves his physical training, has categories in parachuting, mountain training, and masters hand-to-hand combat at the highest level. Educated and well-read, competent Commander. The fighters have always enjoyed well-deserved respect.

Sergey “Bolshoy”: “The article is interesting in its details, especially after so many years. He did not have a chance to take part in the events described (at that time he was already a civilian), but for some time he served under the command of A.N. Egorov.

An extraordinary person, he taught us things that did not seem to fit into the conservative army (borderline) system of life and would not take root. One VDP is worth something! And many said: “Why does a border guard need a parachute?” But, in the end, life makes its own adjustments, and the result is important, and the guys showed this result, largely due to the preparation and competent leadership of the unit commander. Well, maybe a bit of luck.

Few commanding fathers can boast of brilliantly conducted operations without loss of personnel. And the fact that in the “military men” they wrote down details about CTO, and then crossed it out with the final verdict: “The record is erroneous, Nach. Headquarters P / PK Krasko, ”is the greed of some officials for other people's merits and the connivance of superiors ... Thank you, Alexander Nikolaevich, for the article. Separately, THANK YOU for the lives and health of the guys who were THERE.”

Denis Pavlov: “There will be a continuation if all the conscripts who were on this business trip are given well-deserved awards, and not a letter for the destruction of the bandit formation - the Gelaev group. Alexander Egorov was my commander, like all the other guys in this unit. I am very glad that I served with such a person, he taught us a lot in two years of military service. If anyone has any questions, write, I will be happy to answer.

Andrei Musalov: “As far as I understand, the author wants to present himself as the only “hero” of this operation. Diligently denigrating the merits of the other participants in the operation, including the three Heroes of Russia who died during the liquidation of Gelaev - Abdulkhalik Kurbanov, Mukhtar Suleymanov and Radim Khalikov ... Somehow it’s not good.

Alexander Mirgorod: “Hello, friends, colleagues! Andrey Musalov! You are wrong, the author does not want to present himself as the only "hero" of this operation. And he does not denigrate the merits of the other participants in the operation, he defends the interests of his fellow soldiers and his soldiers!

I won’t write much, a lot of things have been told here even without me, but I’ll tell you this: Alexander Egorov is a good person, a commander and an officer who will share the last with his soldier and try to teach a lot how to survive in battle. Unfortunately, there are fewer and fewer such people!”

Artur: “Couldn't resist commenting on the article. Yes, rather, I just want to say hello to the author. As I remember now, I was sitting with Alexander on an awake shift in the guard “on the lip” of the Zheleznovodsk border detachment. He talked about his service and about this operation as well.

Photo: In the foreground, captured militants, in a white camouflage suit  - Alexander Egorov

This man and many other officers of military unit 3810 were for me an excellent example of masculinity, honesty and dignity. Alexander Egorov, Art. lieutenant Kharkovchuk, ensign Kolesnik and, of course, my commander Vyacheslav Orlov. I would like to shake hands with you all and say a big thank you!”

Sergei: “1) Not a single commander will send subordinates to pursue the offender (or check documents) of two fighters (there are no such border guards, at least three), especially without means of communication and with two magazines for each machine gun!

2) In search of the "sent" fighters went as much as a day later! And no one called this “commander” to account?! Discipline, as in a collective farm, and not at the BORDER!

3) The bullet holes really look more like 7.62 than 5.45. A light bullet with a higher speed and a displaced center of gravity does not leave even traces, at the entrance it is like an awl, but at the exit it changes its trajectory and takes out a piece.

4) Why does Khamzat, who is wounded in the arm, cut it off and hide (!) In the hollow of a tree, while for some reason “doesn’t know” to stop the bleeding in the first place? For a person who is on the verge of life and death, there are too many illogical "extra body movements", and this is not an 18-year-old conscript, a fighter with vast combat experience ...

In general, there are more questions than answers.”

Photo: "The fact that we returned all alive and healthy  is, of course, thanks to our Alexander Egorov"

"MY LEUCTRA AND MANTINEA"

That operation in the mountains of Dagestan demonstrated a clear coordination of the actions of all law enforcement agencies. The Ministry of Internal Affairs provided reliable protection of civilian facilities and infrastructure. The border troops tightly covered the border, the units of the Defense Ministry, including aviation, acted in a coordinated manner.

The main thing that Alexander Yegorov acquired in those events is faith in the courage and steadfastness of Russian soldiers. The fact that young guys can defeat seasoned bandits requires only military skill, tactical calculation and fortitude.

“The militants captured at the rock, Lechi Magomedov and Sultan (Magomed) Umashev, among the corpses that were at the battlefield, identified the body of Timur Mutsuraev,” says a special forces veteran. - I allowed them to say goodbye to him and pray. As a memento of these events, Lechi gave me an audio player and an audio cassette with the recordings of Timur Mutsuraev. He said, “He is a very talented singer. The power of his poems and songs was enormous, he was loved in the detachment. He died very early, his name was Timur ... "

Photo: Interrogation of captive Khasan Khadzhiev

Then I did not know who Timur Mutsuraev was, and did not attach any importance to this. But after listening to his songs, I found in them a lot close to our souls. They are understandable to both Russians and Chechens. And if it was he who died, then I am bitter and offended. After listening to his songs, I found that the action movies are not devoid of human feelings. Despite the Islamism alien to us, the songs are built on understandable metaphors and images close to all the inhabitants of Russia, in terms of tempo they are bard songs.

In addition, he sings in Russian, bringing together the warring parties with the general concepts of good and evil. Even if, for ideological reasons, his songs are recognized as extremist, they do not lose their artistic value. In any case, this is better than the absurd muttering of Arab henchmen in a language incomprehensible to the inhabitants of the Caucasus or one-time empty songs on the monotonous motive of the Lezginka, with which all Caucasian markets of musical products are overflowing.

Currently, information about the artist is contradictory. It is said that in the mountains of the Andean Koisu he remained alive. After he was in exile in Turkey. Then in Ukraine during the presidential elections. According to some rumors, with the permission of Kadyrov, he returned to Chechnya. He stopped his solo career as incompatible with religious beliefs.

I have rechecked these rumors for a long time. Now I am inclined to believe that he nevertheless died, and another person lives under his name. There is a long tradition in the Caucasus, if a talented and gifted person dies in his youth, then his close relative or friend takes his place.

In 2008, the double of Timur Mutsuraev swore on the Koran that he would no longer write and perform songs with a guitar. The real Mutsuraev would hardly have been able to do such a thing. Such talent will always prove stronger than any religious belief.

And it is right. There cannot be a second Timur Mutsuraev, just like a second Vladimir Vysotsky. Timur had many good neutral songs that he could easily perform today. He was a close friend of Ruslan Gelaev. He wrote a song about “Gelaevsky special forces”, but after the events described, not a single collection of songs was released, and there was no song in his performance about his friend Gelaev and his “feat” and death, ”concludes Yegorov.

By the way, in 2010, twenty compositions by Timur Mutsuraev were included in the Federal List of Extremist Materials.

Photo: Alexander Egorov with helicopter pilots after the operation in the mountains of the Andean Koisu

... So what is the major of the border special forces Alexander Yegorov trying to achieve? Glory, awards?

“My Leuctra and Mantinea, my immortal daughters,” said Epaminondas, the great commander of antiquity. After the victory over Sparta, he was dying, and since he had no children-heirs, the associates lamented that there would be no one to continue his glory. To this he replied that he left his fellow citizens "two of his daughters - Levktra and Mantinea", that is, his two victories - the main thing in his life. As long as their memory lives on, his name will also be remembered.

If desired, Alexander Yegorov can be accused of bias, but he believes the information that became known during the interrogation of captured Gelayevites and his confidential contacts for operational work.

And he also wants his former colleagues who participated in that operation to receive the assessment they deserve - no higher, but no lower, in fairness. Moreover, everything he speaks and writes about is easily verifiable - what and how it happened! And where did the leader of the mercenaries Abu al-Walid, along with the ideologist-mafia and emissary Khozh-Akhmed Nukhaev, find their death.

P.S. Gelayev's son Rustam, 24, who studied in the Middle East, was killed in Syria in the summer of 2012 while fighting for the Islamists against the Assad government.

That's all I wanted to say...

Today, the FSB officially announced the death of the most famous of the Chechen field commanders - Ruslan (Khamzat) Gelaev. According to the head of the Center for Public Relations of this organization, Sergei Ignatchenko, yesterday the body of the "Black Angel" was identified by members of his group - by scars on his body and personal belongings.

Reports of Gelaev's death have appeared in the press on several occasions in recent years, and each time they have subsequently been refuted by the Russian military itself. However, now in the biography of this "outstanding figure" you can finally put an end to it.

Recall that Gelayev led, which in December walked around the Tsuntinsky district of Dagestan, robbing civilians and capturing their villages. In addition, they killed ten fighters of the border detachment. The operation to neutralize this group lasted two weeks. In the course of it, information appeared that Gelayev, who was at the head of an international detachment of militants, however, the command of the Russian troops did not confirm it.

According to the testimonies of the captured militants, Gelayev was indeed among them, but immediately after the execution of the border guards, he left the gang. For more than two months he was hiding in an abandoned hut, and last Saturday he decided to leave the territory of Dagestan and go to his base in Georgia.

Two of his accomplices (they are now on the wanted list) drove the commander by car to the Chaekha gorge, leading to the Georgian border. Then he went alone. But he was not destined to get to his native Pankisi Gorge: on the way Gelaev met a detachment of two border guards - A. Kurbanov and M. Suleymanov.

The "Black Angel" was the first to open fire from a machine gun, killing Suleymanov on the spot and seriously injuring his comrade. However, Kurbanov, having gathered his last strength, fired at Gelaev, crushing his left arm. After that, the militant, bleeding, tried to continue on his way, but there was no strength left. To stop the bleeding, Gelayev cut off his wounded hand himself and bandaged the stump with a tourniquet. Then he tried to refresh himself: he ate a bag of instant coffee dry, opened it and took a bite of a chocolate bar. With her in the hand of the field commander, death found.

All the details of the tragedy that broke out in the mountains, the police officers read the footprints in the snow after the bodies of its participants were discovered. Gelaev's corpse was taken to Makhachkala, where his identity was finally established during a forensic medical examination and identification by former associates under arrest.

Ruslan Gelaev was born in 1964 in the village of Komsomolskoye, Urus-Martan district of Chechnya. For 30 years he had three convictions, and after the collapse of the USSR he joined the separatists, in particular, he participated in the Abkhazian conflict. In 1996, he was already a well-known commander; up to a thousand Chechen fighters fought under his command. In 1997-1998 he held high positions in the government of independent Ichkeria. The last major battle under the leadership of Gelaev was the capture of his native village in March 2000.