| Cadet creativity
They looked death in the face | Cadet notes of Suvorov soldier N***

Hero of the Russian Federation

Kozhemyakin Dmitry Sergeevich

(1977-2000)

That's the kind of guy he was

Remained this way in the hearts of the paratroopers

It was the end of April. I was waiting for two platoon commanders from the Ryazan Airborne Forces Institute to join the company. In the middle of the day there was a knock on the office door. A broad-shouldered, tall lieutenant with blue eyes stood on the threshold. He reported: “Lieutenant Kozhemyakin has arrived for further service.” I asked him a number of standard questions: name, patronymic, family composition, whether he is married or not, what problems are in the family, why he came to serve in the reconnaissance company.

The lieutenant answered clearly and competently. This is how my first meeting with Dmitry took place. I gave him three days to get settled. Imagine my surprise when he came on the second day and reported that he had resolved all the issues and was ready to begin his official duties. After that I introduced him to the company. And a little later it turned out that he went to work on his birthday. On April 30 he turned 22 years old.

From the memoirs of a company commander

Guard Captain Sergei Goryachev

Arriving in Chechnya on April 29 and starting to carry out combat missions, already on February 2, the platoon commander of a separate reconnaissance company of the guard, Lieutenant Dmitry Kozhemyakin, showed courage and bravery in battle. While conducting reconnaissance of the area to ensure access to the line with marks 662.0, 702.0, the officer noticed a group of militants and immediately decided to destroy them. A well-organized ambush ensured the completion of the task. Fourteen dead militants remained on the battlefield, three of whom were killed by Kozhemyakin.

On February 19, while conducting reconnaissance of the crossing site, Guard Lieutenant Kozhemyakin promptly reported to the command about the accumulation of militants. Using the terrain, the platoon commander reached a position convenient for battle and organized an ambush. During the short-lived battle, the bandits suffered heavy losses and were scattered throughout the area.

On March 1, Guard Lieutenant Kozhemyakin conducted reconnaissance along the eastern slopes of Mount Istyvkor, ensuring the advancement of the 6th parachute company to occupy the dominant heights. When the battle began, the platoon commander, secretly walking around the mountain, entered the clearing on the south side. Having immediately entered the battle, the scouts supported the defense of the 6th company, which was fighting at that time with superior enemy forces. Under continuous pressure from the bandits, the units retreated to level 776.0 and took up defensive positions. At a critical moment, when the militants tried to surround the unit, Guard Lieutenant Kozhemyakin, with quick and decisive actions, stopped their attempt to bypass the paratroopers from the left flank.

During the last avalanche attack by the militants, the already wounded Guard Lieutenant Kozhemyakin tried to drag the wounded paratrooper to a safe place. These were the final moments of the brave officer's life. While covering a soldier, he was mortally wounded.

For the courage and heroism shown in battles with terrorists, Guard Lieutenant Dmitry Sergeevich Kozhemyakin was nominated for the title of Hero of Russia (posthumously).

Lieutenant Kozhemyakin Dmitry Sergeevich died a heroic death on March 1, 2000, fulfilling his military duty to protect the integrity of the Russian Federation, participating in an anti-terrorist operation in the Chechen Republic.

Dmitry Kozhemyakin was born on April 30, 1977 in Ulyanovsk in the family of a military man.

He graduated from the St. Petersburg Suvorov Military School in 1994. The commander of the 1st company is Lieutenant Colonel Filareev Andrey Alekseevich, the officer-educator is Major Borisov Dmitry Germanovich. After graduating from the St. Petersburg Airborne Forces, Dmitry continued his studies at the Ryazan Airborne School, which he graduated in 1998. Champion of Ryazan in sambo.

On March 14, 2000, within the walls of his native Suvorov Military School, the entire team said goodbye to Dmitry. His parents and two brothers, also former graduates of the Suvorov Military School, were present at the farewell.

The funeral was attended by the chief of intelligence of the Pskov military unit of the Airborne Forces. The St. Petersburg SVU and representatives of the district commandant’s office took part in organizing the funeral. The honor guard consisted of cadets of the Leningrad garrison.

Dmitry's funeral service took place in the St. Nicholas Cathedral of the Epiphany, and he was buried at the Serafimovskoe cemetery.

On September 1, 2000, a bust of Hero of Russia Dmitry Kozhemyakin was unveiled in the column hall of the St. Petersburg SVU.

In memory of the fallen, for the sake of the living, in the name of truth

Hero of the Russian Federation

Guard Lieutenant Kozhemyakin Dmitry Sergeevich - platoon commander of a separate reconnaissance company of the 76th Guards Airborne Chernigov Red Banner Division. Born on April 30, 1977 in Ulyanovsk. After graduating from high school, he entered the Ryazan Higher Command School of the Airborne Forces.

At the end of January 2000, D.S. Kozhemyakin arrived with a group of paratroopers in the Chechen Republic.

On February 2, while conducting reconnaissance, paratroopers discovered and destroyed 14 militants. On February 19, while conducting reconnaissance of the crossing, guardsmen under the command of Lieutenant Kozhemyakin discovered a concentration of bandits and organized an ambush. During the battle, the Wahhabis suffered significant losses.

On February 29, a group of reconnaissance guards of Lieutenant D.S. Kozhemyakin ensured the advancement of the 6th parachute company. When the battle began, the scouts entered into it without delay. They repelled the furious attacks of the Cheches. The forces were unequal. The paratroopers concentrated at height 776.0. There was no help except for the native artillery, the fire of which was called by the commander of the guard battalion, Lieutenant Colonel M.N. Evtyukhin, “On himself!” The screams of the dead and the groans of the wounded complemented the deadly chorus. The militants wanted to take him alive, but the master of sports in hand-to-hand combat did not give in and crushed his enemies with a sapper's shovel. Kozhemyakin rushed to the wounded paratrooper and wanted to drag him to a safe place, but received a fatal shot from a grenade launcher. Near the brave warrior, 11 killed mercenaries were counted.

For the courage and heroism shown in battles with terrorists, Guard Lieutenant Dmitry Sergeevich Kozhemyakin was awarded the title Hero of Russia (posthumously).

Dmitry Sergeevich Kozhemyakin(April 30, 1977, Ulyanovsk - March 1, 2000, height 776, Chechnya) - guard lieutenant, commander of a reconnaissance platoon of the 175th separate reconnaissance company of the 76th Guards Airborne Chernigov Red Banner Division, Hero of the Russian Federation.

Biography

Born on April 30, 1977 in the city of Ulyanovsk in the family of a military man, Russian by nationality. In 1994 he graduated from the St. Petersburg Suvorov Military School, and in 1999 from the Ryazan Institute of Airborne Forces named after Army General V.F. Margelov. Then he was sent for further service to the 76th Guards Airborne Division, stationed in the city of Pskov. He had a wife, Elena Mikhailovna Kozhemyakina, from the city of Ryazan. Currently she lives in Ryazan with her daughter.

Feat

On February 29, 2000, a platoon of Guard Lieutenant D.S. Kozhemyakin conducted reconnaissance in the area of ​​the eastern slope of Mount Istykort, ensuring the advancement of the 6th parachute company to occupy the dominant heights. Having discovered the advance group of the enemy, the 6th parachute company entered into battle with it. At this time, Guard Lieutenant D.S. Kozhemyakin, together with his subordinates, secretly bypassed the militants and supported the company’s actions with fire. The enemy, having brought up the main forces and created multiple superiority, pushed back the paratroopers. In connection with this, the 6th parachute company was forced to gain a foothold at an altitude of 776.0.

The militants tried to surround the Pskov paratroopers. Dmitry Kozhemyakin's scouts stopped this attempt with quick and decisive actions. During a guard firefight, Lieutenant D.S. Kozhemyakin was wounded, but remained in service.

The next morning, March 1, 2000, the militants resumed their assault on height 776.0. At the beginning of the guard battle, Lieutenant D.S. Kozhemyakin hurried to the aid of the wounded paratrooper in order to take him out from under fire. While covering a soldier, the officer was mortally wounded and died.

Memory

He was buried with military honors on the Walk of Fame of the Serafimovsky Cemetery in St. Petersburg.

A street is named after D.S. Kozhemyakin in the city of Sertolovo, Leningrad Region, where the Hero lived and his family continues to live.

Secondary school No. 48 (where Dmitry studied) is named after the Hero in Ulyanovsk; part of Amurskaya Street was renamed D. S. Kozhemyakin Passage.

At the end of December 2013, the Golden Star of the Hero was stolen in the village of Bugry, Leningrad Region, as a result of a robbery in the apartment of Kozhemyakin’s relatives.

In the winter of 2000, two thousand Chechen fighters brazenly marched from Shatoy to the Argun Gorge. The battalions of the “white angels” - Khattab and Basayev - pulled up to them. A group of paratroopers from the 104th Regiment of the 76th Guards Airborne Chernigov Red Banner Division did not know about this. On February 29, they were ordered to move to height 776.0. The maneuver of the guards was ensured by the scouts of the Guard of Senior Lieutenant Alexei Vorobyov and the Guard of Lieutenant Dmitry Kozhemyakin. They were the first to stand in the way of the militants.

Meeting with my son
Two days after the battle in the Argun Gorge, Guard Colonel Sergei Kozhemyakin flew from St. Petersburg and was already in Rostov, where the bodies of the dead paratroopers were taken for identification. He found his Dimka immediately, as if he felt what was in this black plastic bag...
The officer felt with his fingers the body, powerful, cold, lifeless, but so familiar and close, which, it seemed, just recently fit in his father’s arms. Counted five bullet wounds. But the brain realized that none of them touched vital organs. There is a huge hematoma on the shoulder - a direct hit from a VOG-25 grenade. Only the paratrooper could not withstand this blow.
Sergei Ivanovich did not look at his son’s face: in his memory he should remain alive, with a kind look, a soft smile.
My father never had any problems with Dmitry: he grew up as an independent, inquisitive, athletic boy. Therefore, his decision to enter the St. Petersburg Suvorov Military School was received with a bang. Moreover, Sergei Ivanovich himself graduated from it in 1972. He did not dissuade his son when he did not want, like his father, to become a tank driver, but went to the Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School. And it was his choice.

Said and done
Guard Major Vasily Sobolev recalls: “In Ryazan, Roman Breus, my fellow countryman, introduced me to Dima. He studied with Kozhemyakin in St. Petersburg, at SVU. After the credentials committee, we were distributed among units, and I ended up in the 1st squad of the 4th platoon of the 13th company. He quickly found a common language with both his colleagues and commanders.
Even in his first year, Kozhemyakin expressed a desire to create his own gym in the company. The cadet’s initiative was supported by both the company commander and the battalion commander; sports training is very necessary for a paratrooper. We started from scratch. Within a month, we obtained the necessary sports equipment in the city. The decommissioned bars, horse, and crossbar were taken from the warehouse at the school. We restored them ourselves. Soon all the school’s athletes, with whom Dima had become friends, began to go to the company gym. And for the tatami, for example, he asked to go home to St. Petersburg, and when he brought it, even the head of the school’s physical training came to look and express his satisfaction with Kozhemyakin’s initiative. The gym became so popular that scheduled physical training classes began to be held there. I’ll say more: our platoon even celebrated the New Year there, 1995.
Dima always completed any business he took on to the end.
In the barracks our beds were next to each other. After lights out, he often talked about his dreams, talked about his future service as a paratrooper officer...

Who wants to go into intelligence?
Guard reserve major Vyacheslav Panchenko:
– 1999 turned out to be a busy year. There were many tasks, but not enough people. In April, we were looking forward to graduating from the Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School. I then remained as the chief of intelligence of the 76th Guards Airborne Division, and I was worried about the lack of officers in a separate reconnaissance company.
I had a hard time getting two young officers out of the head of the division's personnel department. Lieutenant Lebedev introduced himself first. I asked which classmates he would like to serve with, who he could rely on and who would always help. And then for the first time I heard the name Kozhemyakin.
I spoke with three more graduates of RVVDKU. I told them about my service in the reconnaissance company in the darkest tones. Then he asked directly which of them wanted to go into reconnaissance. The school graduates were silent for about five minutes, and then one said: “Comrade Major, take Lieutenant Kozhemyakin, he’s a fan of ours, he can handle it.”
The next day, he turned to the command to have Dmitry assigned to a reconnaissance company. And literally after lunch, Lieutenant Kozhemyakin arrived with an order to the 175th separate reconnaissance company (ORR) to guard captain Sergei Goryachev (now a lieutenant colonel, a student at the military academy).
There was a knock on the office door. A broad-shouldered, tall, blue-eyed lieutenant stood on the threshold. A sign indicating graduation from the Suvorov Military School gleamed on his chest. He reported: “Lieutenant Kozhemyakin has arrived for further service.”
The last time I saw Dmitry was on the division parade ground before being sent to Chechnya. The drill review ended, and Kozhemyakin’s reconnaissance platoon was recognized as the best in readiness. I walked up to this big, handsome guy with blue eyes and saw confidence and strength in them. And it seemed to me that he was able to pass on these qualities to his scouts. They all had the same twinkle in their eyes.
We said goodbye. I said: “Dimka, take care of people and yourself, don’t go into hell with your hot head. We are waiting for you all!”
“Everything will be fine, Comrade Major,” came the response.

Was rarely home
And the young paratrooper officer stopped with Taisiya Petrovna Alekseeva. Here's what she says:
– On the morning of April 28, my son Vasily says: “Mom, today my good friend Dima Kozhemyakin and his wife are arriving in Pskov. He and I studied together in Ryazan, in the same platoon. Let them stay with us until they find an apartment.”
Soon the doorbell rang. I open it. There is a tall, broad-shouldered, fashionably dressed guy standing. We met. I immediately liked him, although I was somewhat confused that my son had such a handsome, respectable friend.
They brought with them a lot of things at once, from which I concluded that Dima is a serious and thorough person, that he intends to live in Pskov and serve for a long time. And since my son was leaving to serve in Armenia, I invited Dima and Lena to stay with me. After all, I’m leaving soon for the dacha for the whole summer anyway, and the apartment is free. They agreed.
On the afternoon of April 28, he went to his unit to report his arrival. And on April 30, his birthday, he left for duty. He was appointed commander of a reconnaissance platoon.
Dima became for me instead of a son. From the first days I literally disappeared at work. He brought books on military training, read a lot, and wrote something in his notebook. He came home very late and was so tired that as soon as he sat down to watch the TV, he often fell asleep without waiting for dinner. He often talked about the upcoming business trip to Chechnya, so he wants to thoroughly prepare his guys for combat operations in the mountains. I worked almost seven days a week. During the whole summer I came to the dacha for an overnight stay only a few times.
I was very happy when he appeared, because at least for a little while I could take my mind off work. First of all, he asked: “Aunt Taya, how are you? How can I help? He was very hardworking. He helped dig the ground, saw and chop wood for the bathhouse. Dima was known and respected by all my neighbors in the dacha. In July - August I literally restored my son's motorcycle from spare parts. I dreamed of riding it in the fall to pick mushrooms.
I still can’t believe that this bright, kind boy, a real officer, is no longer with us. Dima was like a ray of sunshine - it was so easy, simple and reliable with him! It is difficult to find another such sensitive and responsible guy in our time. This is how he will remain forever in my memory!

Trip to war
At the end of September 1999, the commander of the guard division, Major General Stanislav Semenyuta, flew to the Caucasus, where the fighting was taking place. Guard Lieutenant Kozhemyakin with three scouts left with the general to ensure his safety.
The first thing the division commander said to the personnel officers upon returning from a business trip was:
– There is a lieutenant in the reconnaissance company, the likes of which I have not seen in recent years. Don't forget him, he must be a company commander.
In November, the platoon of Kozhemyakin’s reconnaissance company was finally formed for a business trip to Chechnya. At first, even experienced reconnaissance soldiers whined from the stress and stress of training. But the authority they had already earned, as well as the “do as I do” principle, did not allow the paratroopers to lag behind the commander.
Even the soldiers who were about to retire unanimously declared that they should go to war with this commander: “He prepared us, we trust him.”
During this period, Dmitry received a tempting offer. Guard Major General Semenyuta unexpectedly summoned a young officer and invited him to apply for a foreign passport and prepare for a business trip to Yugoslavia. To which Kozhemyakin, thanking the division commander, replied:
“I prepare my intelligence officers for war, they trust me.” How will I look them in the eye after this?
He refused. The general did not insist.

Fights without a single loss
At the end of January 2000, paratroopers from Pskov arrived on board in Chechnya. The situation was difficult, there was no time to adapt. Literally from the first days, Kozhemyakin’s platoon entered into battle. He only fought for a month. February. That year it had 29 days.
Here is a chronicle of the combat operations of the guard platoon of Lieutenant Dmitry Kozhemyakin (according to notes in his notebook).
February 2. Baptism of fire. The platoon conducted reconnaissance of the area so that the main units could reach a given line. We noticed a group of militants and decided to destroy them. The organized ambush ensured success: 14 militants were killed.
February 16. The reconnaissance group ensured the exit of the 2nd parachute company to the height of Alistanji. When approaching it, they discovered an advanced outpost and militant firing points. They attacked the enemy with a sharp throw. The outpost was destroyed, trophies were captured: ZU-23 and DShK, small arms.
February 17-18. At 10.00 we set out to reconnoiter the area. At 11.00 a militant fortified area was discovered. At 16.00 the task was received - together with the parachute landing platoon, to capture height 1579.0. At 17.45, after artillery barrage, we stormed the heights. A KPVT, a 30-mm cannon, small arms, ammunition, a security system (traffic alarm), and food supplies for a month were captured at the position. At night, from 21.00 to 22.00, the militants made three attempts to take control of the height, but all were repulsed.
February 19. We were given the task of conducting reconnaissance of the area and ensuring the crossing of the 2nd parachute company across the Abazul River. Moving along the river, we discovered a fresh cache on the western outskirts of the Elistanzhi village. They organized an ambush and blocked the escape route. Suspecting nothing, a group of militants approached the river. A quick battle broke out. The bandits suffered losses. Weapons, equipment, and ammunition were seized.
February 27. They ensured the setting up of roadblocks of the 1st parachute company. A group of militants was found in one of the areas. During the battle, the gang was destroyed.
All these operations were carried out by Guard Lieutenant Kozhemyakin without a single loss.

Step into immortality
On February 29, scouts inspected the eastern slopes of Mount Istykort. They ensured the advancement of paratroopers to occupy the height at 776.0. It was there that Dmitry's subordinates encountered an advanced detachment of militants. A fight ensued. The scouts retreated to the main forces.
The militants brought up reinforcements and began to fire at the units from several directions, firing from mortars and small arms. They hoped to crush the fighters and throw them from a height. They advanced in waves, using river beds and open flanks.
According to the recollections of the surviving senior sergeant Suponinsky, they met the last onslaught of the militants with only four machine guns: the battalion commander, Alexander Dostavalov (deputy battalion commander, major), Lieutenant Dmitry Kozhemyakin and him. Mark Evtyukhin (lieutenant colonel, battalion commander) died first... Then the major will die. And then Dima Kozhemyakin (he will not live exactly one month before his twenty-fourth birthday) will order the senior sergeant and the crawling private Porshnev to retreat. He will cover his soldiers until the last bullet...
Guard Lieutenant Dmitry Kozhemyakin was the first to enter the battle and the last to leave it.

By decree of the President of Russia, for the courage and heroism shown in battles with terrorists in the North Caucasus, Guard Lieutenant Dmitry Sergeevich Kozhemyakin was awarded the title of Hero of Russia. The paratrooper was buried at the Serafimovskoye cemetery in St. Petersburg. His name is forever included in the lists of the 1st company of the St. Petersburg Suvorov Military School, the school in Ulyanovsk, where he studied, and a street in the village of Sertolovo, Leningrad Region, are named. Every year in February, the All-Russian Youth Sambo Tournament is held in St. Petersburg, dedicated to the memory of the feat of the guardsmen of the 6th Airborne Company.

In the winter of 2000, two thousand Chechen militants brazenly marched from Shatoy to the Argun Gorge. The battalions of the “white angels” - Khattab and Basayev - pulled up to them. A group of paratroopers from the 104th Regiment of the 76th Guards Airborne Chernigov Red Banner Division did not know about this. On February 29, they were ordered to move to height 776.0. The maneuver of the guardsmen was ensured by the scouts of the Guard of Senior Lieutenant Alexei Vorobyov and the Guard of Lieutenant Dmitry Kozhemyakin. They were the first to stand in the way of the militants. Meeting with my son

Two days after the battle in the Argun Gorge, Guard Colonel Sergei Kozhemyakin flew from St. Petersburg and was already in Rostov, where the bodies of the dead paratroopers were taken for identification. He found his Dimka immediately, as if he felt what was in this black plastic bag...
The officer felt with his fingers the body, powerful, cold, lifeless, but so familiar and close, which, it seemed, just recently fit in his father’s arms. Counted five bullet wounds. But the brain realized that none of them touched vital organs. There is a huge hematoma on the shoulder - a direct hit from a VOG-25 grenade. Only the paratrooper could not withstand this blow.
Sergei Ivanovich did not look at his son’s face: in his memory he should remain alive, with a kind look, a soft smile.
My father never had any problems with Dmitry: he grew up as an independent, inquisitive, athletic boy. Therefore, his decision to enter the St. Petersburg Suvorov Military School was received with a bang. Moreover, Sergei Ivanovich himself graduated from it in 1972. He did not dissuade his son when he did not want, like his father, to become a tank driver, but went to the Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School. And it was his choice.
Said and done

Guard Major Vasily Sobolev recalls: “In Ryazan, Roman Breus, my fellow countryman, introduced me to Dima. He studied with Kozhemyakin in St. Petersburg, at SVU. After the credentials committee, we were distributed among units, and I ended up in the 1st squad of the 4th platoon of the 13th company. He quickly found a common language with both his colleagues and commanders.
Even in his first year, Kozhemyakin expressed a desire to create his own gym in the company. The cadet’s initiative was supported by both the company commander and the battalion commander; sports training is very necessary for a paratrooper. We started from scratch. Within a month, we obtained the necessary sports equipment in the city. The decommissioned bars, horse, and crossbar were taken from the warehouse at the school. We restored them ourselves. Soon all the school’s athletes, with whom Dima had become friends, began to go to the company gym. And for the tatami, for example, he asked to go home to St. Petersburg, and when he brought it, even the head of the school’s physical training came to look and express his satisfaction with Kozhemyakin’s initiative. The gym became so popular that scheduled physical training classes began to be held there. I’ll say more: our platoon even celebrated the New Year there, 1995.
Dima always completed any business he took on to the end.
In the barracks our beds were next to each other. After lights out, he often talked about his dreams, talked about his future service as a paratrooper officer...

Who wants to go into intelligence?

Guard reserve major Vyacheslav Panchenko:
– 1999 turned out to be a busy year. There were many tasks, but not enough people. In April, we were looking forward to graduating from the Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School. I then remained as the chief of intelligence of the 76th Guards Airborne Division, and I was worried about the lack of officers in a separate reconnaissance company.
I had a hard time getting two young officers out of the head of the division's personnel department. Lieutenant Lebedev introduced himself first. I asked which classmates he would like to serve with, who he could rely on and who would always help. And then for the first time I heard the name Kozhemyakin.
I spoke with three more graduates of RVVDKU. I told them about my service in the reconnaissance company in the darkest tones. Then he asked directly which of them wanted to go into reconnaissance. The school graduates were silent for about five minutes, and then one said: “Comrade Major, take Lieutenant Kozhemyakin, he’s a fan of ours, he can handle it.”
The next day, he appealed to the command to have Dmitry assigned to a reconnaissance company. And literally after lunch, Lieutenant Kozhemyakin arrived with an order to the 175th separate reconnaissance company (ORR) to guard captain Sergei Goryachev (now a lieutenant colonel, a student at the military academy).
There was a knock on the office door. A broad-shouldered, tall, blue-eyed lieutenant stood on the threshold. A sign indicating graduation from the Suvorov Military School gleamed on his chest. He reported: “Lieutenant Kozhemyakin has arrived for further service.”
The last time I saw Dmitry was on the division parade ground before being sent to Chechnya. The drill review ended, and Kozhemyakin’s reconnaissance platoon was recognized as the best in readiness. I walked up to this big, handsome guy with blue eyes and saw confidence and strength in them. And it seemed to me that he was able to convey these qualities to his scouts. They all had the same twinkle in their eyes.
We said goodbye. I said: “Dimka, take care of people and yourself, don’t go into hell with your hot head. We are waiting for you all!”
“Everything will be fine, Comrade Major,” came the response.

Was rarely home

And the young paratrooper officer stopped with Taisiya Petrovna Alekseeva. Here's what she says:
– On the morning of April 28, my son Vasily says: “Mom, today my good friend Dima Kozhemyakin and his wife are arriving in Pskov. He and I studied together in Ryazan, in the same platoon. Let them stay with us until they find an apartment.”
Soon the doorbell rang. I open it. There is a tall, broad-shouldered, fashionably dressed guy standing. We met. I immediately liked him, although I was somewhat confused that my son had such a handsome, respectable friend.
They brought with them a lot of things at once, from which I concluded that Dima is a serious and thorough person, that he intends to live in Pskov and serve for a long time. And since my son was leaving to serve in Armenia, I invited Dima and Lena to stay with me. After all, I’m leaving soon for the dacha for the whole summer anyway, and the apartment is free. They agreed.
On the afternoon of April 28, he went to his unit to report his arrival. And on April 30, his birthday, he left for duty. He was appointed commander of a reconnaissance platoon.
Dima became for me instead of a son. From the first days I literally disappeared at work. He brought books on military training, read a lot, and wrote something in his notebook. He came home very late and was so tired that as soon as he sat down to watch the TV, he often fell asleep without waiting for dinner. He often talked about the upcoming business trip to Chechnya, so he wants to thoroughly prepare his guys for combat operations in the mountains. I worked almost seven days a week. During the whole summer I came to the dacha for an overnight stay only a few times.
I was very happy when he appeared, because at least for a little while I could take my mind off work. First of all, he asked: “Aunt Taya, how are you? How can I help? He was very hardworking. He helped dig the ground, saw and chop wood for the bathhouse. Dima was known and respected by all my neighbors in the dacha. In July - August I literally restored my son's motorcycle from spare parts. I dreamed of riding it in the fall to pick mushrooms.
I still can’t believe that this bright, kind boy, a real officer, is no longer with us. Dima was like a ray of sunshine - it was so easy, simple and reliable with him! It is difficult to find another such sensitive and responsible guy in our time. This is how he will remain forever in my memory!

Trip to war

At the end of September 1999, the commander of the guard division, Major General Stanislav Semenyuta, flew to the Caucasus, where the fighting was taking place. Guard Lieutenant Kozhemyakin with three scouts left with the general to ensure his safety.
The first thing the division commander said to the personnel officers upon returning from a business trip was:
– There is a lieutenant in the reconnaissance company, the likes of which I have not seen in recent years. Don't forget him, he must be a company commander.
In November, the platoon of Kozhemyakin’s reconnaissance company was finally formed for a business trip to Chechnya. At first, even experienced reconnaissance soldiers whined from the stress and stress of training. But the authority they had already earned, as well as the “do as I do” principle, did not allow the paratroopers to lag behind the commander.
Even the soldiers who were about to retire unanimously declared that they should go to war with this commander: “He prepared us, we trust him.”
During this period, Dmitry received a tempting offer. Guard Major General Semenyuta unexpectedly summoned a young officer and invited him to apply for a foreign passport and prepare for a business trip to Yugoslavia. To which Kozhemyakin, thanking the division commander, replied:
“I prepare my intelligence officers for war, they trust me.” How will I look them in the eye after this?
He refused. The general did not insist.

Fights without a single loss

At the end of January 2000, paratroopers from Pskov arrived on board in Chechnya. The situation was difficult, there was no time to adapt. Literally from the first days, Kozhemyakin’s platoon entered into battle. He only fought for a month. February. That year it had 29 days.
Here is a chronicle of the combat operations of the guard platoon of Lieutenant Dmitry Kozhemyakin (according to notes in his notebook).
February 2. Baptism of fire. The platoon conducted reconnaissance of the area so that the main units could reach a given line. We noticed a group of militants and decided to destroy them. The organized ambush ensured success: 14 militants were killed.
February 16. The reconnaissance group ensured the exit of the 2nd parachute company to the height of Alistanji. When approaching it, they discovered an advanced outpost and militant firing points. They attacked the enemy with a sharp throw. The outpost was destroyed, trophies were captured: ZU-23 and DShK, small arms.
February 17-18. At 10.00 we set out to reconnoiter the area. At 11.00 a militant fortified area was discovered. At 16.00 the task was received - together with the parachute landing platoon, to capture height 1579.0. At 17.45, after artillery barrage, we stormed the heights. A KPVT, a 30-mm cannon, small arms, ammunition, a security system (traffic alarm), and food supplies for a month were captured at the position. At night, from 21.00 to 22.00, the militants made three attempts to take control of the height, but all were repulsed.
February 19. We received the task of conducting reconnaissance of the area and ensuring the crossing of the 2nd parachute company across the Abazul River. Moving along the river, we discovered a fresh cache on the western outskirts of the Elistanzhi village. They organized an ambush and blocked the escape route. Suspecting nothing, a group of militants approached the river. A quick battle broke out. The bandits suffered losses. Weapons, equipment, and ammunition were seized.
February 27. They ensured the setting up of roadblocks of the 1st parachute company. A group of militants was found in one of the areas. During the battle, the gang was destroyed.
All these operations were carried out by Guard Lieutenant Kozhemyakin without a single loss.

Step into immortality

On February 29, scouts inspected the eastern slopes of Mount Istykort. They ensured the advancement of paratroopers to occupy the height at 776.0. It was there that Dmitry's subordinates encountered an advanced detachment of militants. A fight ensued. The scouts retreated to the main forces.
The militants brought up reinforcements and began to fire at the units from several directions, firing from mortars and small arms. They hoped to crush the fighters and throw them from a height. They advanced in waves, using river beds and open flanks.
According to the memoirs of the surviving senior sergeant Suponinsky, they met the last onslaught of the militants with only four machine guns: the battalion commander, Alexander Dostavalov (deputy battalion commander, major), Lieutenant Dmitry Kozhemyakin and him. Mark Evtyukhin (lieutenant colonel, battalion commander) died first... Then the major will die. And then Dima Kozhemyakin (he will not live exactly one month before his twenty-fourth birthday) will order the senior sergeant and the crawling private Porshnev to retreat. Until the last bullet he will cover his soldiers...
Guard Lieutenant Dmitry Kozhemyakin was the first to enter the battle and the last to leave it.

By decree of the President of Russia, for the courage and heroism shown in battles with terrorists in the North Caucasus, Guard Lieutenant Dmitry Sergeevich Kozhemyakin was awarded the title of Hero of Russia. The paratrooper was buried at the Serafimovskoye cemetery in St. Petersburg. His name is forever included in the lists of the 1st company of the St. Petersburg Suvorov Military School, the school in Ulyanovsk, where he studied, and a street in the village of Sertolovo, Leningrad Region, are named. Every year in February, the All-Russian Youth Sambo Tournament is held in St. Petersburg, dedicated to the memory of the feat of the guardsmen of the 6th Airborne Company.

KOZHEMYAKINS: FATHER AND SON

The feat of the sixth company of Pskov paratroopers, accomplished on February 29 - March 1, 2000 in Chechnya, near Ulus-Kert, during the defense of height 776.0, became a symbol of the courage and perseverance of today’s generation of soldiers and officers. Showing massive heroism, the paratroopers did not allow more than two thousand well-armed and trained Chechen terrorists, who were planning to capture cities and villages, to enter the plain.
There is an opinion that the Chechens, inviting the paratroopers to let them through, said, “We know for sure that no one will come to your aid.” If help had come, one could say that it was a simple bluff aimed at demoralizing the paratroopers and forcing them to retreat. But no one really came to the aid of the dying company. For the meeting with Sergei Ivanovich Kozhemyakin, the father of the Hero of Russia, senior lieutenant Dmitry Kozhemyakin, who died in 2000 near Ulus-Kert, I tried to prepare thoroughly.
On the Internet I found a map of the movement of the 6th company, literally an hourly diagram of the battle itself. But imagine my amazement when Colonel Kozhemyakin laid out on the table a huge map of the entire area of ​​​​the last battle of the Pskov paratroopers. It showed the movements of the detachments not only in those three days, but also a week before the tragedy.
From his detailed story, I understood that he piece by piece collected and reconstructed many of the circumstances of those terrible days. I listened to the colonel’s story and understood more and more how much Sergei Ivanovich loves his son, how proud he is of him. He decided to perpetuate the memory of his son by restoring the truth about the circumstances of the death of not only Dima, but also the other eighty-three soldiers and officers. With their unbending resilience, they reminded us of the true traditions of the Russian army, forever inscribing themselves in the history of the Chechen wars.
Sergey Ivanovich Kozhemyakin tells...
“I’m trying to understand everything...”
On February 29, 2000, in Pskov they began to bury the intelligence officers from the army special forces who died on February 21 near the village of Kharsenoy. And suddenly the paratroopers of the 76th Guards Airborne Division began to leave the funeral. They ask: “What is it?” And they answer: “Ours started such a battle that there will be more losses.”
On March 2, I was in my office planning combat training classes. The bell rings: “Ivanovich, are you there?”  - "I". Goryachev called (S.V. Goryachev - commander of the 175th separate reconnaissance company of the 76th division - Ed.).  - “Dimka was killed.” I hung up.
I’m trying to understand everything, I call the division in Pskov (76th Airborne Division - Ed.), no one answers - the connection was completely blocked. I guessed they were calling from my home phone. I called Pskov again, and Sergei Goryachev explained to me: “A terrible battle has been going on for the second day, there are almost no survivors, Dimka is dead.”
I'm going to Pskov, spending the night there and returning to St. Petersburg on March 3. On March 4, I arrived in Rostov to fly to Khankala (the headquarters of the Joint Group of Forces in Chechnya is located in Khankala—Ed.). But they tell me that there is no need to fly, the dead were taken by large helicopters to Khankala to be loaded onto planes and sent to Rostov. At that time, no one knew about the death of the paratroopers; I was the first to rush. During the day we visited both the hospital and the medical and forensic laboratory of the Ministry of Defense, but the dead paratroopers were nowhere to be found.
At night the hotel rang: “Ivanovich, look out the window.” My comrade, Colonel Starostin, picked me up in a car with flashing lights and took me to the hospital. There a major in mountain gear stood up to meet me; we didn’t know each other before, but he had met me somewhere.
This major says, with tears in his eyes: “Comrade Colonel, I brought Dima.” I asked, “What happened there?”  - “The battle went on for more than a day, the sky was clear, blue, but there was no help from aviation, the artillery died” - “Did you even eat anything?”  “We haven’t eaten almost anything for three days now; I can’t fit a bite into my throat.”
At this time a man came with the keys to the hangar. We go in, there are forty-seven stretchers, with the dead lying on them in black bags. I ask: “Do you know where Dima is?” He replied that he knew, but he still got it wrong. We approach the stretcher, which is labeled “Senior Lieutenant,” and I see Dimkina’s legs, size forty-four and a half. As it turned out later, he was identified by the shoe covers from the chemical protection kit of the GDR army, in which he walked in the mountains.
I say: “He’s a lieutenant.” And they answered me: “Dad, he has already been nominated for Hero of Russia for other battles, and his rank is already senior lieutenant.” I say: “Well, open it,” and begin to count the holes on the body. I got to the head, didn’t look any further, I told the guys: “Look at the head, there should be a stain there. Grandma was frying pancakes and gave it to him when he was little.”
Dimka had three bullet wounds in his right side, a hole near the shoulder, above the heart area, and a hole below the heart area. Only five bullets. All wounds were non-fatal. But on the left side of his chest everything was black—he was shot at point-blank range from a VOG-25 grenade launcher. The head was crushed. I asked the doctors: “What did they beat with, rifle butts?” “No,” they say, “with their feet.” When they prepared Dimka for the funeral, they had to put a church towel on his head.
Then I approached Mark Evtyukhin (battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Mark Evtyukhin—Ed.). Mark has one bullet in his right side, the second above his heart. And there was also a hole in the top of the head, either from a shrapnel or a bullet. Corporal Lebedev, Dimkin's machine gunner, was completely pierced by bullets, but his face was intact. Sergeant Kozlov, judging by his wounds, blew himself up with a grenade.
I had lists of all the reconnaissance officers, and by lunchtime on March 5, the dead were ready for departure —The An-12 stood to fly through Smolensk to Levashovo (military airfield near St. Petersburg —Ed.), the crew commander gave the go-ahead. The plane was supposed to deliver the dead from the Internal Troops to Smolensk and fly home. But the officers responsible for the dispatch told me: “Seryozha, don’t touch them yet. They all died together, let them be sent to Pskov together.”
I returned to St. Petersburg on Monday morning, and on Tuesday Colonel Starostin called from Rostov: “The order has been given to scatter the dead throughout the country so that no one knows.” On Friday they report to me that the first twelve coffins were sent to Pskov. I was going to Pskov, and there the IL-76 circled and circled, and it was landed at a military airfield in Ostrov, because the elections for the city governor were scheduled for Sunday.
We decided to do nothing until the elections are over. The guys tell me: “Let’s deliver Dimka to Levashovo.” I answered: “For more than a week now, the guys have been lying in coffins for as long as possible. Died on the 1st, how many days passed. I’ll take you there by car myself.”
On March 14, the Veche Square of the Pskov Kremlin could not accommodate everyone who came to say goodbye to the fallen paratroopers. No one expected that several thousand people would want to say goodbye to those killed in Chechnya. Among the officials who arrived in Pskov were the Minister of Defense Igor Sergeev, the commander of the Airborne Forces Georgy Shpak, the acting assistant. President Sergei Yastrzhembsky.
Four reconnaissance officers were taken to the 234th Parachute Regiment, which also houses the 175th separate reconnaissance company. None of the military authorities came to see off the heroes on their final journey; only officers and soldiers of the regiment, reconnaissance company, artillery regiment and other units were able to calmly say goodbye to their comrades.
Start
In February 2000, the base camp of the 1st parachute battalion was located on Mount Dembayirzy. The 1st and 3rd parachute companies were on the blocks (the block is the strong point of the unit - Ed.), while the main part of the regiment was stationed in Khatuni. Khatuni translated into Russian means “Queen”. According to the latest FSB data, it was only in the seventies that the last bandit, who had been hiding in the forests since the Great Patriotic War, was killed in these parts.
One of the Muslim battalions “Brandenburg” was based in these places during the Great Patriotic War. There was also an airfield for transporting German saboteurs to the territory of the entire North Caucasus.
It’s a rotten place, which is why, until recently, units of the 45th Airborne Reconnaissance Regiment and a regiment of internal troops were stationed in this area. It has always been a quiet sleeping area for militants.
On the morning of February 29, units of the 2nd parachute battalion and reconnaissance patrol, under the general leadership of Guard Lieutenant Colonel Mark Evtyukhin, began moving to carry out the combat mission - creating strongholds in the area of ​​​​height 776.0. The first to leave early in the morning was the reconnaissance patrol, which, after completing the task, was supposed to return to its permanent location.
They chose the most difficult route - along the ridges of heights, so as not to run into an ambush.
What was this reconnaissance patrol like? There was Dima, Sergeant Khamatov, Corporal Lebedev, Senior Sergeant Aranson, Junior Sergeant Kozlov, Junior Sergeant Ivanov - 2nd reconnaissance platoon of the 175th separate reconnaissance company of the 76th division. Plus senior lieutenant Vorobyov, deputy commander of the reconnaissance company of the 104th parachute regiment.
With them were junior sergeant Shchemlev and senior sergeant Medvedev, captain Romanov, commander of the artillery battery of the 104th regiment, artillery spotter, radio operator Sergeant Strebin, senior lieutenant Kolgatin, commander of the engineer platoon of the 104th regiment. This was such a strong reconnaissance patrol, twelve people.
Following the scouts, Major Dostavalov and Lieutenant Ermakov began to move with the soldiers of the 1st platoon of the 4th parachute company of the 104th regiment, seventeen people in total. And then Lieutenant Colonel Evtyukhin began moving with the 6th company. The commander of this company was Major Molodov, a very good officer. Before that, he served in Buinaksk as the commander of a reconnaissance company, but after the first Chechen war, a hunt began for him and his family, and he had to terminate the contract and leave.
Molodov lived in Tyumen for some time, returned and signed a contract again in Pskov in the 76th Airborne Division. He was temporarily appointed commander of the 6th company of the 104th parachute regiment. The battalion commander was accompanied by Senior Lieutenant Sherstyannikov, commander of an anti-aircraft missile platoon, which is part of the regiment, and Lieutenant Ryazantsev, commander of an artillery platoon —this is already the second artillery spotter.
The scouts arrived at height 766.0 on February 29 at about 11.00 and stood up. Finally, the deputy commander of the 2nd parachute battalion, Major Dostavalov, approached, who, due to the complexity of the task, was appointed senior at the strong point. They tell him: “Comrade Major, here is your height 787.0, take up defensive positions.” He replies: “Thank you, guys, the 6th company is still moving out there, it won’t be soon.” After this, Major Dostavalov began to take up defensive positions at altitude 787.0. The scouts are waiting for the approach of the 6th company, constantly asking over radio stations: “Where are you?” They are answered: “We are in motion.”
Finally the battalion commander with the 1st platoon arrives. The scouts report to Lieutenant Colonel Evtyukhin: “Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, your height is there, Dostavalov is taking up defensive positions at height 787.0. We will now move forward five to seven hundred meters, to where the 3rd company was deployed, turn around and go back to rest.” Evtyukhin answers them: “That’s it, guys, thank you! I’m taking up defensive positions here, and I’ll go back along my route.” The reconnaissance went further and at 12.30 reached the advanced detachment of “spirits” who were waiting for their own.
Last Stand
I think they saw each other almost simultaneously and collided head-on. But our scouts were more ready for battle - after all, when you walk, your finger is always on the trigger. They instantly made the decision to destroy them; there were twelve of us. They enter into battle and kill the spirits. The scouts report to the battalion commander: “We have entered the battle, we have “three hundred” (wounded —Ed.) and “five hundred” (prisoners —Ed.), we are retreating to a height.” They are heard both in the regiment and here.
Before this, federal forces drove the militants down the Argun Gorge, but, as General Troshev recalls in his book “My War,” “we could not then imagine that the enemy would risk breaking through to the east in large forces. The gangs united. Gangs of other field commanders—Shamil Basayev, Vakha Arsanov, Baudi Bakuev, and the “Jamaat” detachment—attached to the detachments of Arab mercenaries. They went to Vedeno, where warmth and food awaited them, and then they were going to move to Dagestan. This whole mass fell on the paratroopers, who did not even have time to dig in.”
The same book by General Troshev contains a table of negotiations between Basayev and Khattab at the moment when the intelligence officers entered the battle.
“Basayev: “If there are dogs ahead (as the militants called representatives of the internal troops), we can come to an agreement.”
Khattab: “No, these are goblins (i.e. paratroopers, in bandit jargon).”
Then Basayev advises the Black Arab (Khattab), who led the breakthrough:
— Listen, maybe let’s go around? They won’t let us in, we’ll only reveal ourselves...
“No,” Khattab answers, “we will cut them off.”
When the battle began, Khattab sent forward several detachments, horse and foot. Dima and the scouts began to retreat to a height from which no one was covering them. The battalion commander did not have time to dig in at height 776.0 and ordered to take up defense in the saddle. He had all the officers of the 1st platoon and part of the 2nd platoon here. Major Molodov comes out to meet the scouts to take them to an unoccupied height, to where the battalion commander manages to take up defense in the saddle. At this time, the 3rd platoon and part of the 2nd were still on the move. And then an equestrian group of spirits begins to move along the road. She catches the 3rd platoon on this rise and destroys it.
We must take into account the situation in which this platoon of the 6th company was marching. Every thirty to forty minutes the cannons fire, machine gun fire has begun, and the echoes in the mountains go back and forth. The picture we get is this: we are walking and walking, dragging and dragging, they are shooting somewhere. Everyone was calm, as there was reconnaissance ahead. And therefore, when the horse spirits came out, no one expected to see them. The 3rd platoon was almost completely killed, without even having time to engage in battle.
Major Molodov reached the scouts, and they began to retreat together. I understand that it was then that Dimka caught a couple of bullets. For his figure of one hundred and ninety-four centimeters in height, these wounds are nothing, they are too tight and you can’t feel them. But when Molodov pulled out the scouts, the spirits had already pulled up the snipers. It is then that he is wounded in the neck, where he was not protected by a “rapier” (a type of body armor —Ed.), and dies. During the retreat, the scouts destroy the prisoners, pull out the dead Molodov and their wounded. Command of the 6th company is assumed by Captain Sokolov, deputy commander of the 6th company.
One squad of spirits tried to go around. But there was a stronghold of the 2nd platoon of the 3rd parachute company, set up by Dimka on February 27. Their trenches were dug in full profile and minefields were laid. Therefore, the spirits did not climb further and decided to attack ours head-on - through the saddle between the heights.
By 16-17 hours on February 29, the general situation around the battle site was as follows: the checkpoints of the 1st parachute company had already been removed, people were concentrated below, near the village of Selmentauzen. And then they report: “Our guys are fighting, we need to climb Mount Dembayirzy again.” And by evening they had to climb this mountain again. It's hard: up and down.
Major Baran was appointed senior for the release; at that time he was the chief of intelligence of the 104th regiment. Major Velichenko, deputy commander of the 1st battalion, was appointed deputy. With them were five or six volunteer officers and about thirty soldiers. They went to help exactly along the route along which Dimka had led the paratroopers out the day before. Without encountering any fire resistance, they crossed the Abazulgol River, rose higher, and it began to get dark.
For some reason they only had one radio station. Major Baran got in touch with Mark Evtyukhin and, according to him, Evtyukhin’s voice was calm. He said that he was adjusting artillery fire, taking up defensive positions, and so on. Then Baran reports to the regiment commander that the “pencils” (soldiers —Ed.) have gotten their feet wet, and asks for a command to retreat in order to resume movement early in the morning. At Melentyev’s command (Colonel Sergei Yuryevich Melentyev, commander of the 104th regiment, led the battle from the command post), Major Baran’s group begins to retreat before reaching the battlefield. We decided to resume movement in the morning at four o'clock. My personal opinion is that they were scared. And there everything is roaring, the battle is in full swing.
Hero of Russia, Lieutenant Colonel Teplinsky, chief of staff of the 104th regiment, reassures everyone: “The spirits will not attack at night.” Everyone is waiting for the morning, and the spirits attack all night; there was only a respite from three to five o’clock. Dimka got in touch around one or two in the morning. On the radio he said: “So where is the help? They are like Chinese here, everything is teeming with them.”
At night at an altitude of 787.0, Lieutenant Ermakov was seriously wounded and several soldiers were killed. And here, in my opinion, a mistake is made—Major Dostavalov and his soldiers retreat from the heights. Some say it broke through. But there was nowhere to break through, he made a tactically wrong move - he left the heights and exposed the entire left flank. After all, the principle of defense, as it is written in the Battle Regulations: “Not a step back.” And it was necessary, on the contrary, to pull up from the saddle to a height and take up a perimeter defense on it.
Of course, the situation was very difficult - the losses were heavy, people were dying. Dostavalov could have assumed that he would approach Mark Evtyukhin and break through with him. But there are many wounded, not only by the enemy, but also by fragments of their shells. But they don’t abandon their own.
One of the surviving fighters, Sergeant Suponinsky, said that at night scout Kozhemyakin came to the saddle, threw off his weapon and said: “That’s it, everyone was killed.” By the morning of March 1, the surviving paratroopers fought the “spirits” hand-to-hand, cutting themselves with sapper blades and knives. But after 7.00 no one got in touch.
At about six in the morning it began to get light. Major Baran's group again begins to move to the rescue. They just approached the river, they haven’t crossed it yet, they see that two people are leaving, carrying a third, a wounded man. Major Baran gives the command to Private Golubev, Dimka’s sniper: “Take aim, suddenly the spirits leave.” The sniper replies: “They are ours.”
The retreating soldiers said: “There are a lot of spirits there, don’t even bother.” They started asking them what and how. They say: “Next to us lay a wounded intelligence officer in a white camouflage suit.” Only the scouts wore camouflage suits. They are asked: “Who was lying, Kozhemyakin or Vorobyov?” But they didn’t know the officers’ names. (It was later established that it was Alexey Vorobyov, who died from loss of blood. - Ed.).
The battle continued almost until lunchtime on March 1st. It then fell silent, then began again —someone wounded would wake up and enter the battle. In one place, as the prisoners testified, cries rose: “Allahu Akbar!”, and again the battle began to grind. At that moment Dimka made his last resistance. One of the officers of the 104th regiment said: “I climbed this hill up and down. On March 1, following fresh tracks, he climbed up, on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th, when all the dead were carried away from the heights. The battlefield says a lot. Kozhemyakin, the commander of the reconnaissance platoon, is a good hand-to-hand fighter and apparently put up a good fight. His face was completely smashed with rifle butts, and several stabbed militants were lying nearby. They probably wanted to take him alive as the last officer.”
On March 1, at lunchtime, two helicopters passed over the battle site. The pilots tell the paratroopers: “Why are you sitting there, the spirits are already dragging your dead into a pile.” After this message, Major Baran and Major Velichenko again began to move forward and finally, closer to night, arrived at the battlefield. They found our eighty-three people killed (the eighty-fourth, Private Timoshin, would be found later) and retreated. And the spirits took out their corpses all day on March 1st.
They say that there is a film that lasts about five hours, they play it in the West. The field commanders had Western television crews in their detachments, who filmed everything with special movie cameras. They say that our paratroopers were filmed in hand-to-hand combat. I can't find this movie yet. When we were on television, they called from Dagestan and offered to buy the film, he was walking around there somewhere.
Western filmmakers had to film what the spirits were going to do - how they enter Selmentauzen, Khatuni, Vedeno, calling their own hostages. After this, an Islamic republic is declared, and they advance to Dagestan. All this had to be done in order to introduce a state of emergency in this region.
According to the Constitution, if a state of emergency is declared in one of the regions, then the presidential elections, which were scheduled for March 26, 2000, are postponed indefinitely. If the elections were postponed, the money of Berezovsky, Gusinsky and other interested parties would play against Putin. I think that our paratroopers thwarted all these plans.
"Gross miscalculations"
One of the Vympel groups was located nearby on Mount Dembayirzy, but it did not come to the rescue. I met with its commander and asked him: “Dimka went to the mountains with you a couple of times, why didn’t you help him?” And he answers me: “There was no order.” At the same time, two groups of scouts from the 45th Airborne Reconnaissance Regiment were brought to the battlefield and also given the command to stand.
When on March 2 the paratroopers again came to the heights along with the Vympel and the scouts of the 45th regiment, the movement of spirits began again. Ours retreated once again. And only on March 3rd the evacuation of the dead paratroopers began. And Arabs and others remained lying around on the heights; no one needs them in Chechnya.
According to some estimates, there were about two and a half thousand spirits, even more. Wounded, bandaged, demoralized, they surrendered in batches. It was Khattab who gave the command to the militants to surrender, but only to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Among those who surrendered there were a lot of mercenaries; they were sent to Vedeno under heavy guard. And two or three days later they were free - the local Chechen self-defense forces recaptured them from ours.
At a press conference in Pskov on March 14, 2000, which lasted no more than five minutes, journalists asked Defense Minister Igor Sergeev: “How will the people of Russia react to such large-scale losses suffered by the federal troops in the first weeks of March, will they change the attitude of the population towards war? He, after a pause, answered directly in a military manner: “I don’t know.”
Acting Assistant Russian President Sergei Yastrzhembsky, who was also part of the official delegation that arrived in Pskov for the funeral of the fallen paratroopers, avoided communicating with the press.
Questions, questions, questions... They remain, keeping fathers, mothers, wives, and growing sons awake. During a meeting with the families of the dead children, President Vladimir Putin was forced to admit guilt “for gross miscalculations that have to pay for the lives of Russian soldiers.” However, none of the names of those people who made these “gross mistakes” have yet been named.
Sergey Galitsky