35 years under the sign of "Alpha"
Secret operations of special forces in the fight against terror
29 July 1974, the chairman of the KGB under the USSR Council of Ministers, Yu.V. Andropov signed Order No. 0089 / OV on the change in the staff of the 7 administration and the approval of the Regulation on Group “A” of the 5 administration department.
The Regulations state: “Group A is a structural unit of the 5 Division of the 7 Directorate of the KGB under the USSR Council of Ministers and performs special tasks of the Chairman of the State Security Committee under the USSR Council of Ministers or his deputy in suppressing terrorist, sabotage and other special dangerous criminal acts carried out by hostile extremist elements from among foreigners and Soviet citizens in order to seize foreign missions, their employees, especially important and other important objects, as well as crew members and passenger vehicles at airfields, train stations, sea and river ports on the territory of the USSR ".
What is Group "A"
By personal order of Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov, the commander of Group "A" was appointed border officer of the Hero of the Soviet Union Vitaly Dmitrievich Bubenin. In two months, 28 people were selected, 17 of them were masters of sports, many in 2-3 types. Already on October 1, the group took up combat duty, while continuing combat training.
Later, a unit was created within Alpha to combat underwater saboteurs and terrorists. Special Forces were trained in the Baltic, in Cuba. Developed their programs, something borrowed from the Cubans.
Every year the number of fighters increased, and taking into account the regional divisions created in Khabarovsk, Kiev, Minsk, Almaty, Krasnodar and Sverdlovsk, by the summer of 1991, it was more than five hundred people.
When the KGB ceased to exist, the unit transferred to the Office of the Main Directorate for the Protection of the Russian Federation. And in August 1995 of the year, Alpha became part of the Federal Security Service.
Today, Alpha is officially called the A Department and, together with the B Office (the former legendary Vympel), is part of the Anti-Terrorism Department of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation. In Moscow, there are more than two hundred alfovtsev, in addition, there are separate units in Krasnodar, Yekaterinburg, Khabarovsk and Sochi.
From the battle chronicles of "Alpha"
DECEMBER 1979 of the year. The assault on Amin’s palace (Taj Bek) in Afghanistan by the groups “Thunder” (“Alpha”) and “Zenith” (refresher courses for the KGB operational staff) - all 48 people, with the support of the “Muslim battalion” of paratroopers (154 of the GRU). After committing a series of preliminary acts of sabotage, the groups advanced on several infantry fighting vehicles directly to the palace, where they were met with fierce resistance from well-armed and trained guards of the president - only about 250 fighters.
Officers and soldiers of Amin’s personal security, his bodyguards resisted desperately, not surrendering to captivity. Special Forces attacked violently and tough. Indiscriminately fired from machine guns and threw grenades into all the rooms on the way.
When a group of special forces broke into the second floor of the palace, everyone saw a bar lying in front of the bar in Adidas shorts and Amin's shirt.
This operation was the first truly combat task of the special group, which, moreover, Alpha did brilliantly, having accomplished the almost impossible. For six months after the storming of the Amin Palace, the Alpha fighters worked in Afghanistan as bodyguards for the members of the new government.
NOVEMBER 1983 of the year. A group of criminals armed with pistols seized the Tu-134 plane (57 passengers, crew members 7) following the route Tbilisi-Batumi-Kiev-Leningrad, and demanded to change course, land the plane in Turkey. The terrorists acted very quickly and aggressively: they managed to shoot the flight mechanic, one pilot point-blank, brutally beat two flight attendants (one of whom later became disabled). The crew members had weaponso a quick firefight ensued, and one terrorist even managed to hurt: he grabbed his shoulder and jumped back to the salon, the crew managed to close the cabin door behind him.
Immediately the terrorists shot two passengers. The pilots first sent a distress signal and turned around to land in Tbilisi. There already hurried detachment "Alpha". Then negotiations began, officers of the special forces, posing as technicians, leaked all the fuel, reconnoitered the situation inside the aircraft. All night the special forces were waiting for an order to storm, the situation inside the aircraft was intensified with each passing hour. Then finally came the moment of assault. On command, at the same time from all sides, the special forces infiltrated the plane through the hatches and the cockpit, several terrorists were immediately killed, one of them shot himself, and one more had time to twist. During the assault, none of the hostages was hurt.
DECEMBER 1988 of the year. Several armed gangsters - hardened criminals - seized a bus with children, students of 4 class, in Ordzhonikidze. A gang of criminals demanded the filing of the aircraft and departure to any foreign country that does not issue them. Later it turned out that the bandits of the bus window were tightly shuttered, they placed jars of gasoline in the cabin. One spark, and the death of thirty children is inevitable.
At that moment, no one yet knew how many gangsters — three, four or five. And for the first time there was a formidable demand to issue weapons and body armor. After long negotiations, they were given out to the criminals after all; instead, the terrorists released all the girls. Eleven boys and a teacher were still held hostage. Then the gangsters boarded the plane, releasing the remaining children, but instead took one KGB officer hostage, who was released just before the flight to Israel.
The plane took off and landed at one of the military bases near Tel Aviv, where the bandits were arrested. Alfa fighters flew in for Russian criminals. The gangsters were handcuffed and blindfolded, Israel’s security officials set up a living corridor, escorted the arrested people over it. At the door of the plane of terrorists took two employees of the Alpha. A few hours later, the Il-76 had already landed at Sheremetyevo Airport.
MAY 1989 of the year. A group of persons under investigation at the detention center No. 1 UITU ATC of the Saratov Regional Executive Committee, threatening with improvised cold weapons, while walking in the courtyard of the detention center, took two prison workers as hostages. Having seized the keys to the third floor of the building, the criminals opened one of the cells and additionally took two juvenile defendants as hostages. Having barricaded themselves on the floor, the criminals demanded a meeting with the management of UITU, representatives of the prosecutor's office and the police department. They also demanded a 4 pistol, ten thousand rubles, transportation and the ability to leave the region. After several hours of negotiations, the demands of the criminals were partially satisfied: they were given one PM pistol with 24 live ammunition and part of the money, for which they freed the woman and the teenager.
Then a minibus was fitted, where the criminals and hostages themselves sat down. They were given the opportunity to leave, but established surveillance. As a result of operational measures, the next day, the location of a persecuted group of criminals who had already managed to seize the apartment owner with his wife and two-year-old daughter was established in one of the residential buildings. In total, the apartment was eleven people. Group A was sent to the place of detection. At three o'clock in the morning an order was given to storm. It should be immediately noted that the special forces were armed only with blank cartridges. The fighters of "Alpha" with the help of special mountaineering equipment flew into the windows from the roof, smashing windows and throwing the whole room with imitation grenades. The second group of special forces rammer knocked out the front door and burst into the room. One gangster managed to make two shots, but both bullets hit an Alpha employee in a bulletproof vest. At the same instant, the assault group twisted all the bandits. No one was taken hostage.
AUGUST 1990 of the year. In Sukhumi, seven arrested criminals who were in the temporary detention center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Abkhaz ASSR, took three guards as hostages. With the keys, they released the prisoners from the 68 cells. After a few more minutes, the rebellious inmates took possession of the weapon. It turned out that in an insulator, in one of the premises there were 28 thousands of units of various ammunition and more than three thousand rifled and smooth-bore weapons: rifles, hunting rifles, pistols.
A group of 22 Alpha employees and 31 fighters from the Vityaz special squad flew out of Moscow from Sukhumi.
All night long they equipped the rafik pyrotechnics, which had to be submitted to the terrorists, an additional distracting explosive device was laid in the yard of the isolator. Finally, the RAF drove into the yard, the criminals pulled black stockings with slits for the eyes, with weapons and backpacks, and threw themselves into a minibus, not forgetting to take two hostages with them. Exit gate tightly blocked taxiing armored personnel carrier.
The first assault group, after the distracting explosions, went to the storming of the "Rafiq", the second group of special forces penetrated the isolator at the same time, and the third - into the side door of the isolator. “Rafik” was taken by storm, one employee of “Alpha” was injured, but all the criminals were detained. At the same time, another special forces group landed the hatch and penetrated inside the prison.
There they were met by armed gangsters with hurricane firing, but the special forces used some kind of secret “psychological weapon” (to explain what exactly, until we were), and one shot was enough for all resisting convicts to surrender.
JULY 1995 of the year. A large detachment of Chechen terrorists, about two hundred armed militants in total, under the command of Sh. Basayev, entered Budennovsk, a small town in the Stavropol Territory. More than 1000 people they took hostage and drove to the hospital. Negotiations did not yield results. Then "Alpha" received an order to storm. The special forces fighters later recalled that the hail of bullets was like a lead rain. Many of those who went on the assault shook out several bullets from their body armor. On the paths leading to the hospital, potholes of bullets were located in 2-3 cm from each other. In the gang of Basayev, 21 of the terrorist was killed on the spot, and 37 later died from severe injuries. The terrorists were shocked by the superprofessional actions of Alpha, which, despite the hurricane fire of terrorists, was able to come close to the hospital and even occupied all the surrounding buildings. The 300 hostage was released by a stunned Basayev without any conditions. Then negotiations began with Chernomyrdin. What they led to - everyone knows.
MAY 2005 of the year. Fighters of the Alpha group and FSB operative officers prevented a large-scale terrorist act with the use of potent poisons. Through operational channels, information was received that a consignment of poisons destined for a large-scale sabotage was transferred from Chechnya to the Pankisi Gorge of Georgia. The customer of the crime was a foreign mercenary - a citizen of Jordan A. Mujaid, who organized the purchase and delivery of poisonous substances. The dangerous cargo was received by A. Daudov's gang.
May 17 FSB special forces surrounded the gang on the outskirts of Grozny in an abandoned house. During the short battle, three militants led by Daudov were destroyed. The house was able to detect the entire batch of poisons. Conducted rapid analysis confirmed their danger. A poisonous sabotage was supposed to be arranged in Grozny, Nazran and Nalchik - maps of these cities with the symbols of the places of poisoning were taken from militants.
These are just a few operations. Altogether, Alpha officers have more than 850 on their accounts, most of which are not known to the general public until now. No military unit can boast of having so many high-class professionals and such a constellation of awards. Dozens of Heroes of the Soviet Union, Heroes of Russia, hundreds of officers and ensigns were awarded the Orders of Lenin, the Red Banner, the Red Star, "For Personal Courage", the Orders of Courage, "For Military Merit" and medals.
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