"Ghost": "Borisych's death did not divide us"
Kirovsk is a small town of the Lugansk People’s Republic, currently it is actually on the front line. Often subjected to attacks from punitive APU, but bravely opposes them. In this city, we met with the commander of the First Kirov Separate Battalion of the Ghost Brigade Sergei Ivanovich, the call sign "77" and his deputy Sergey Fedorovich, the call sign "Seda". It should be noted that sometimes their position is somewhat different from the position of the official leadership of the LC, and they are not afraid to talk about it openly.
On the basis of the battalion, in addition to portraits of the commander Alexei Borisovich Brain and other fallen heroes, are posters dedicated to the “Young Guard” and the Pioneers-heroes.
And this is no accident - in addition to the defense of the city, the fighters are also engaged in the education of the younger generation. In addition, they perform another important task - they participate in the delivery and distribution of humanitarian aid.
At the entrance to Kirovsk
Our conversation was devoted to the creation of the Ghost Brigade, the events in the LC, as well as the memory of AB Brain.
- Tell us how the ghost brigade was created.
"77": From the very beginning, we urged people to democracy, to fight the oligarchy, so that the people would have, above all, the right to vote. There was communication with peaceful people, there were trips to different cities. Sergey Fedorovich will tell more than me, because from the very first days he was with Alexey Borisovich.
"Gray": Personally, I started from December 2013 of the year. Participated in the campaign "Antimaydan" on the European Square in Kiev. Then he returned back to his city.
In February, 2014, I saw Alexey Borisovich, first on video. He then took off his mask and said, turning to Lyashko: “Here, look, it's me, Alexey Brainstones, I'm not afraid of you. My tent is in Lugansk on Taras Shevchenko Square. Come, take me. ” The guys then even arrested one official. Mozgovoy said: “How long will we stand before the oligarchs on our knees?” It was necessary to defend the conscience, honor, human dignity. For 23, Ukraine has grown a public that the people turned into nothing. And Alexey Borisovich called for democracy. He said: “Stop being afraid.” So the roots of the “Ghost” originated at the beginning of 2014.
I began to raise people in Kirovsk. We organized rallies here. At one of them came Alexey Borisovich. He communicated with people. That's where I met him. One meeting was enough to believe in a person.
"77": Yes, after the arrival of Alexey Borisovich to our city, I did not doubt. I have not doubted the need for struggle for a long time, I just could not at first decide who is who, who has what goals. I wanted to understand who is honest with the people, who is really fighting for the people. The ideology of Alexei Borisovich came to my liking. She became close not only to me, but to all those who stand next to me, who are on the front line, who are fighting, protecting the people.
We organized a tent camp in Lugansk. Planned to take the RSA peacefully. We had an agreement about this with "Berkut".
"Gray": Yes. But I think that here we were ahead of the structure of the SBU. We planned to start the uprising on April 9, and suddenly on April 6 the crowd led by Bolotov took the SBU. And taking the SBU for 9 minutes is not an easy task. Try it, take it. At least go here - we will at least fight all day, with ours weapons. And there, in the SBU, there was very good weaponry. And after that - for a month no one did anything. People even began to disperse.
"77": There was a seizure of the building. People believed the speakers who spoke there. A large crowd of people was on the square - you probably saw this on television if you were watching. The tent city has developed. Residents of Lugansk and other cities supported the children, brought food. People believed in the idea of a referendum. They were ready to defend themselves with sticks. That is what we did originally. We had no weapons. We didn’t plan bloodshed or kill anyone. Everyone has the right to their opinion. Someone said that Ukraine would be better, someone thought it would be better with Russia. We did not pursue anyone, we just defended their opinions.
"Gray": And not just defended, but also brought the opinion of the people to the new Lugansk leaders. We were a mouthpiece. People came to us, we communicated with the people and, without fear, passed on their opinion to higher leaders, simply speaking, to bureaucrats.
Then there were people who did not like our activities. The provocations began. Aleksei Borisovich was accused of sabotage and other sins, attributed to him membership in some organizations.
He is a calm, balanced, kind person by nature. And always expressed his opinion. He was deprived of excessive pathos, self-advertisement was alien to him. Never yulil, spoke openly and honestly. I heard the opinion of people — for example, in Sverdlovsk — came to Lugansk and conveyed this opinion to those who took the SBU: “Guys, the people want this.” But not everyone understood him.
I am addressing the question "77":
- Can you tell about your first meeting with Alexey Borisovich Mozgov?
- My first meeting with him took place in our city of Kirovsk, where we are now. It was on the square where Sergey Fedorovich held rallies. By that time, I had already watched videos of people in masks saying: “We have two thousand soldiers, we have weapons, we will defend our lands”. I am a military man myself.
I went to the rally, where was Alexey Borisovich. And he asked him: “On that video, in a mask, are you or someone else?” He answered: “No, it was not me. I don’t want bloodshed. ” He wanted to solve everything peacefully.
So we met with him. I heard him understand. I talked with other organizations, including the Communists.
I have a family, three grandchildren, there is land. We can say that I left Ukraine in the nineties - I went to the market except for salt, matches and cigarettes. And so he grew everything himself. Sometimes I went to work in Russia. And this time my family convinced me to go to Moscow. Moreover, we then had another grandson. And I went to earn money to provide for my family.
"Gray": And during this period of time, while Sergei Ivanovich was in Moscow, we had a tent camp near the SBU. There we began to collect the militia. About seven hundred people registered there pretty quickly.
Those who took the SBU, tried to arrest the Brain twice. Once he was immediately released, the other was held for quite a long time. But still the mind triumphed, and they let him go.
After that we went to the village of Lugansk. Looking at all the events around, we realized that we need to arm. We started to stop convoys with armed men who came here from Dill to pacify the rallies. We stopped them. They tried to bring weapons to Lugansk.
"77": All the weapons that we have today have been obtained from those who first took it in their hands. We did not take it - they came to us with a weapon. We had to select him or even ask him politely - some gave him themselves. There are also people there, they also have flesh and blood. Some, however, have a dope in their blood, but they are a minority.
“Well, yes, there are conscripts, there are fanatics ...”
- Yes. And they also want to live, they also have mothers, children. They poured into their ears, as if Russia is trying to seize the Donbass. But we have long been - in fact, the territory of Russia. Here the majority are Russian speakers. We are closer to the Russian people than Western Ukraine.
I have nothing against the Ukrainian language. I taught him at school, but successfully or not - to teachers to judge. I don’t mind German speaks German, French speaks French. But no one has the right to forbid me to speak the language in which my mother sang a song, putting me to sleep, told fairy tales. No one has the right to say how I should live, what I should do and how I should raise my children. Look, for example, what Farion creates, who divided children into friends and foes on the air. Look - people who served time for murder and robbery are now in the Ukrainian government. And they are trying to lead us here. What can they teach our children? What will the Fahrion teach them?
They were trained by 20 for years in the Carpathian mountains and in the woods, they were taught that Russian is the enemy. But there is our omission. The omission of those leaders who were in power, who dismissed the patriotic circles, canceled the campaigns ... When I was in school, we went on campaigns, were October-members, pioneers. We went to Krasnodon every year. We were told about how our grandfathers fought. And all this was suddenly canceled.
And they were told that Bandera is a hero, they were taught the slogans “Moskalyaku Gilyaku”, they suggested that fascism is good.
- Let's go back to current events. So, you went to Russia. What made you return to the Donbass?
"77": Only one SMS message: “Come urgently, we are advancing to Slavyansk”. It came in early May. After the events in Odessa.
- That is, the events in Odessa also served as a stimulus?
"77": Yes, and they, too. This message was sent to me by Sergey Fedorovich. So I worked 10 days in Moscow, and then said to my superiors: “Sorry, but I need it there more.” Gathered and left.
But I did not get to Slavyansk. Arrived in the city of Stakhanov, got off the bus. My friend brought me to Kirovsk, and I saw barricades and roadblocks here. I saw a badly grouped team. There were just people who rushed forward, took sticks, stood at roadblocks and did not really know why they went there.
- That is, there was a spontaneous, unorganized protest?
"77": Yes, there were leaders who did not understand what was happening. There were young guys, there were even adults who thought like this: “We stood at roadblocks. People come, feed us, and we protect the city. ” In fact, the defense was not prepared here. There were no observation points. There were just people who thought: "We are standing, which means we are fighting." And I with my friend, who is also a military man, began to create a military unit.
- So, you planned to go to Slavyansk, but, having seen such a situation, you decided to stay here?
"77": Yes, I saw that the guys risk becoming just cannon fodder.
"Gray": While Sergei Ivanovich was in Moscow, the guys and I changed the power in the village of Lugansk. The Cossacks asked us about this because there, let's say, a bad man came to power. From there we moved to a training base in the city of Yatsena, Sverdlovsk region. Began to prepare for the referendum.
Together with Alexey Borisovich, we toured the entire region, visited each city, talked to people. It happened that people themselves came to the Brain, especially from such cities as Rovenki, Sverdovsk, Anthracite, Krasny Luch.
- How was the referendum 11 May 2014 year?
"77": The referendum was almost spontaneous. Nobody really prepared. It took place under conditions of extreme pressure from the enemies. They tried to hurt us in every way, tried to intimidate us. Great propaganda among the people. But people did not listen to them, - they believed their heart. All went voluntarily. Approximately 95-98 percent expressed their will. We provided security. Because our opponents tried to fill the boxes with brilliant green and create other dirty tricks. We did not punish anyone for this. They simply deduced and explained that we have our own opinion, and we have our own.
The referendum was held in due form. Representatives of other states came. They saw that everything here is honest and honest.
- How did the junta respond specifically to the will of the residents of Kirovsk? We, passing, saw the shelled houses ...
"77": It would be wrong to say that this is the answer to the referendum. At the will of the people, at the opinion of the people, at the word of the people they spat before the war, when they destroyed our mines. When an official sits in Kiev and signs a document on the liquidation of the mine, when the miners are still not there to the surface.
I think that the shelling of the city would have been without a referendum. They had a task - I am constantly convinced of this - the destruction of the inhabitants of Donbass, the destruction of the entire infrastructure, the entire industry.
Look: at our checkpoint, not a single shell has fallen on our fortifications. And the planes did not bomb us, but the giant plant, bombed the mines, bombed the civilian population of the outskirts of the city. There are no our fortifications. People live there, children live. So I think that the referendum was just a reason: they say, we decided to disconnect. Even if we didn’t have a referendum, they would just go in and cut all the unwanted ones.
- Is it known how many dead and injured civilians?
"77": The “200th” is our 28. More than 150 people were injured by fragmentation. In our city, we worked with all types of weapons, all types of projectiles - there was phosphorus, there was a vacuum, there was ballistics, there were prohibited cluster bombs. In principle, this is all - a prohibited weapon. We have killed people, children. The city center was shelled in a chaotic manner.
Losses of fighters - only on the front lines and already recently. And before that, they just bombarded the civilian population. There are supporting documents, there is video evidence. It happened that they simply drafted lots, where to shoot - in Kirovsk or in the village of Frunze. Or just where it flies. They were played like crazy children.
- “Onizhedeti” ...
"77": Yes, "onizhedeti."
- How did you meet the sad news of 23 this May? [About the death of A. Brain]
"77": At that time I was on a business trip on behalf of the command of the Ghost Brigade. This news was met on the road. Immediately had to return.
To this day, it is hard to believe that he is not with us ... As if he just drove off somewhere ... many of us still cannot perceive that he has died.
Place of death of A. B. Brain
Alexey Borisovich and I were more than comrades. We were friends. 15 May he was at my house, we celebrated my wife's birthday. There were all the fighters who died with him later. Only Anechka [Samelyuk] was not with us, and the guys were all.
We celebrated together his birthday too. Communicated, were friends. It can be said, not one piece of bread was divided for two. Together they solved problems ...
- Have you been parting with him?
"77": Yes. I carried his coffin.
- What atmosphere reigned at the funeral? We know that there were a lot of people ...
"77": For the whole existence of the city of Alchevsk, not a single plant director, not a single mayor was escorted like that. There were not so many people. This is said by the locals.
From the headquarters, where the procession began, and to the cemetery - everything was filled with people, and the distance there was 7-8 kilometers. We will not count all the people. I will say only that they did not just say goodbye to a person — they said goodbye to a loved one, to a relative ...
In some cities - in Dnepropetrovsk, in Kharkov, in spite of everything, people also honored his memory. Even the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine gave a volley in honor of Alexei Borisovich, at the moment when he was buried. We received condolences from that side. I personally received several condolences from the soldiers in the trenches. Sometimes they even go on the air. And thus expressed sympathy.
In addition, I participated in the teleconference, which started Brainstorming. Although he preferred to give them up, but sometimes he had to. And these teleconferences also called and condoled. So you can imagine how many people honored the memory of Alexei Borisovich, and from here to conclude what kind of person he is. But ideas don't die.
- Do you see the future of the Ghost Brigade in an optimistic light?
"77": The Ghost Brigade is one of the few units that continue to move towards the construction of Novorossia. It fights in the diplomatic field, fulfilling the Minsk agreements. Although gritting his teeth, because the guys are dying, but we can not answer. Recently, Donetsk settlement was shelled. OSCE monitors arrived in 20 minutes. That is, we were specifically provoked to otvetku.
We now have four people who from the first days were with the Brain. The further growth of the brigade continues ... The death of Borisych did not divide us, but, on the contrary, rallied us. Even those guys who had previously left are now returning. Because the idea is still embedded in our souls, in our hearts, in our thoughts.
- And the last question. I saw in your corridor an announcement that those who have children can bring them to summer camps. I noticed a boy here at the base. That is, the team, in addition to military operations, is working with children?
"77": Yes, we have children in the battalion. This is the son of one of the fighters, this is my son, and others. Children come here with pleasure. They communicate, they see here sincere, open adults. They are keenly interested in everything. That is, they do not just run around the streets, not knowing what to do, but they come to where they are interested.
Now we are planning to organize patriotic circles so that the children know about the “Young Guard”, know what their great-grandfathers fought for, how the first aircraft carrier was built, on which plane Chkalov flew and what feat he performed. We have a girl Bogdanka in the brigade, she writes poetry.
- Is this the same girl who read poems to the Brain in a well-known video?
"77": Yes, it is she. He met her by chance. She is also in our team. Then she will come to school, tell the guys. Some of them will be interested, come to us. We want to restore the patriotic education of our children.
Grave of A. B. Brain in Alchevsk
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