In modern society, we often talk about the need for examples of highly moral and selfless actions for the benefit of mankind. But is it possible, in the cynical attitude of society to those few individuals who risk themselves to save these people? Will the noble actions of brave people be repeated in the absence of due honor from the public? Do not others think: Why should we take such risks for these ungrateful people?
For the first time, I open this publication publicly. It is known to live participants, to my father, Muslu Avturkhanov and I. I do this also so that you know how much my father and I really love you people.
There is such a village in Chechnya, called Staraya-Sunzha. This is the village closest to the city of Grozny. Inhabitants of Staraya-Sunzha are in many ways brave and respectable people. Many bright personalities of the All-Russian and international level have roots from this village. For example, the mother of a well-known political figure, scholar and publicist, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation, Ruslan Khasbulatov comes from the village of Staraya-Sunzha. Originally from Staraya-Sunzha is the famous Aslanbek Bisultanov - the world champion among the representatives of Chechen nationality.
1995 year. The first months of heavy occupation of the capital of the Chechen Republic - the city of Grozny - were in progress. Behind was the inglorious New Year assault on the city of Grozny, when the then Russian Defense Minister Grachev boasted to the whole world that he would capture the city of Grozny within 2 hours. The minister's bravado cost to Russian people dearly and turned it all into a widely known disgrace and defeat of the Russian offensive forces on December 31, 1994. And this despite the cynical and criminal order to shoot at all life, command given to the soldiers who stormed the city of Grozny. The criminal direction of the Russian leadership was told in this time to the one of those who refused to do it and avoided participation in a bloody massacre. He was demoted. But fortunately for him, he was left to live and became a successful businessman, unlike his dead colleagues on New Year's Eve.
After the unsuccessful storming of the city of Grozny, Russian federal troops changed their tactics and began to take the city gradually, house by house. In practice, from long distances, heavy artillery fired first, equaling everything to the ground, including people, buildings and structures. And when this place had not seen anything alive, the infantry troops were approaching.
The so-called "sweeps" were practiced. This was often done with numerous casualties among civilians. I will give an example. Federal troops from the riot police (called OMON in Russia) began to clean up the apartment building. The cellars were cleaned by shooting from submachine-guns and fighting grenades. Apartments were cleaned by explosive. With them was running a small stature, a performer who wearing a hat for tankmen in the form of a fur hat. So this performer came to the door of the apartment, put explosives and went out into the street. All riot policemen closed their ears, and the perpetrator in the hat for the tankmen was undermining. From the explosion of the window, the shock wave flew outside. It is clear that all the sick or simply fear-stricken peaceful people most likely lost their livelihood.
Federal troops dropped on the residential quarters of the city of Grozny various types of lethal weapons, including needle bombs, which are prohibited by the 1980 UN Convention. The stuffing of such a bomb is hundreds of needles that explode in the bomb blast, damaging everything around them. These "fragments" are poorly visible even on X-ray images, making it difficult to provide medical care to the wounded. Such fragments scattered from the explosions I saw myself.
Grozny in these times was like a terrible museum - a testing ground for death with corpses and remnants of bombs. Walking through the city during this period was every second dangerous for life.
I want to speak well of our neighbors. And this despite some inconvenience), which we had to feel because of them. On New Year's Eve our car was parked next to the house. Hidden from the bombing neighbors began to complain, told that it is dangerous for them. That the car, as a means of transportation can be bombed by Russian aircraft-bombers flying in the multitude and bombing. That because of this bomb can hurt their dwelling and them. They asked to take the car away. And all this at the time of the world-famous bloody New Year's storm of the city of Grozny. My father said to me: Let's take the car away, the neighbors ask. And we went. I switched off the lights of car for safety. Russian aircraft-bombers flew low and carried out intensive bombardments of the localities of the city of Grozny. And here I am driving, and we're going with my father. It was so dark that nothing was visible. Light at this time in the city was not. Power plants were destroyed by Russian bomber aircrafts before the storming of Grozny. There is also smoke and dust from the explosions of shells. And now we go in such a blindly environment. I tell my father, let me turn on the lights for a while, to see something and not crash into anything. I turned the lights on. And as it turned out on time. We nearly crashed. Before us was as now I remember a motor vehicle Volvo 740 or 940. In front they are very similar. Who has seen these models will understand. In general, we avoided collision. I switched off the lights again on the car. We with father drove the car further with the sound of explosions and bends of Russian fighter-bombers.
The main problem in the city of Grozny during the war was drinking water. There was no electricity, the water-supply stations were destroyed and did not work. The water was literally worth like a gold. Peaceful residents of the city of Grozny naturally were afraid to go out into the streets and hide from bombing of federal troops in the cellars. It was then that I, according to the explanation of our Russian neighbor, a very intelligent person and a former military man, began to distinguish a kind of weapon from heavy artillery shots. I remember even when, a Russian neighbor, a military man explained that a missile launcher had fired. And when I was confused between shots of various shock installations the neighbor explained - listen.
Many Grozny residents drank sewage water. They explained to each other that it is desirable to pre-defend this "water". We also wanted to drink. However, we could not psychologically internally overpower ourselves. So, next to the city of Grozny, is the village of Staraya Sunzha, where I was born. My father and I almost every day went there for water. There were water hand pumps, in everyday life are called "kachalki".
Coming with water, we brought with us the news "from the other world." And it's not just words, but real living truth. After all, many residents of the village of Staraya-Sunzha, as well as the cities of Grozny and other settlements of the Chechen Republic, were hiding from bombing in the cellars. Occasionally they would go out into the white world. For natural needs or to know what is the situation around. After all, every civilian in Grozny sincerely wanted to end the murders.
These days the streets of the city of Grozny and the village of Staraya-Sunzha were so desolate that they resembled a dead city and the outskirts after bombardment with bacteriological weapons. A case that clearly demonstrates the situation around the time is noteworthy. One day, my father and I used to walk with water along a completely deserted street. The next bombing began. And suddenly we see a large dog running towards us. There were rumors that the surviving dogs because of hunger eat corpses lying on the streets of Grozny. It was said that after such a "diet" these hungry dogs can also attack live people. My father and I were on the alert. We prepared to repel the attack. As the dog approached, we noticed that the dog was absolutely not aggressive. And when the dog has already come very close, my father and I saw the dog wagging its tail, showing its friendliness and at the same time a strong fear. It looks like the dog asked to go near us. It was evident that the dog was very glad to see the living people in the deserted streets. And then we went together.
The shelling of the village of Staraya-Sunzha began. The most unpleasant and terrible was when the village of Staraya-Sunzha began to be subjected to mortar fire. In the street there was a winter of the beginning of 1995. Once, when my father and I once again went home with the water along Staraya-Sunzha, another mortar shelling began. Bombs began to fall very close. And now we heard the approaching sound of another mine running. My father and I realized that this mine would fall very close. A little boy, a village boy, was walking ahead of us. The first thought was to quickly go for the concrete wall of a nearby house. But it's only in the movies that you have time to do something, bend or close. And the mine exploded. The boy who was in front of us fell straight face in the snow with mud and did not get up. My father and I already knew that this was a series of mortar shelling and that this explosion would be followed by others. I quickly went to the boy, who was lying face in the snow with mud. I told him to get up quickly, until the next mine falls and explodes. But the boy did not rise, apparently dumb with fear. I made an effort and quickly raised him to get him out of the mortar fire and save his life.
The very next day, passing next to yesterday's shooting site, my father and I saw its consequences. The gates of the house were turned into a sieve from many fragments.
In the village of Staraya-Sunzha, a commander of troops stationed in the Kalinin settlement of the city of Grozny arrived in the column of escorting military vehicles. Surrounded by numerous guards with sniper rifles, BTRs, the commander began to listen to a small part of the audience. They can be counted on the fingers of one hand. It was on the territory of the former colony. We came there with my father. People began to ask not to shell the village, because peaceful people live here.
The commander of the troops stationed in the Kalinin settlement in Grozny said: As you can see I came here to listen to you. Now you, to confirm your request words, come tomorrow to me to the location of the Russian military troops in the village of Kalinin.
After the departure of the commander, it was decided that tomorrow would go someone who dared. Specially to gather in order to go will not. Everyone understood that this was a true death in the conditions of military operations. Moreover, the Chechens already had examples of such a rash approach to the location of Russian troops with a fatal outcome. In one of the episodes, the corpses of young residents of the village of Staraya-Sunzha were thrown into the Sunzha River after the murder near a military post near Kalinin. And they gave these bodies for burial only after a few days. The soldiers who replaced the murderers in the post were pitied and they allowed to pick up the dead bodies caught on the snags near the river bank.
At that time my father and I had our own fatal "adventures", urging us not to believe the word of a stranger before. Once, one day in the war, my father and I were walking along the street of the village of Staraya-Sunzha for water. It was evening. Suddenly, a woman appeared in front of us. Apparently seeing us she appeared from the corner of building. The woman took a quick step toward us. She was wearing a blue shawl. And this woman starts begging and speaking in pure Chechen language. She says that in the area of the 6th microdistrict lies a wounded boy. That he was wounded by Russian soldiers. He says that the boy is so wounded that he cannot get up. And so, if we were helped to this boy, this boy would be taken out from the fire. In general, somewhere in begging requests to help the boy. But with all the appearance of this woman, wearing a scarf, purely Chechen, a lie was felt. It was felt that this woman was not Chechen. Hard to explain. But this is just an internal feeling when a Chechen recognizes a Chechen.
Despite the internal understanding of the lies of this woman, we told her: We are ready. Let's go, show us where the wounded boy is lying. Then the woman changed in her face and in behavior and refused. On the move she says: No. I'll go. I'll tell anyone else if I see anyone. And this is in the deserted streets. And she quickly walked away.
There was an obvious lie of a woman. However, my father and I thought. But what if contrary to internal doubts, there really is a severely wounded little boy and he cannot rise without help? What if the boy's life really is in danger? And we went to this place with my father. When my father and I came to this place it turned out that this was a villainy with the aim of murder. There was no boy injured or lying on the ground. However, there was shooting and furious drunken Russian soldiers, including on the BTR (armored military vehicle). We were saved only by the fact that they were all turned back to us and did not see us. Over time, it became understood that this "Chechen" woman acted as a provider of potential future corpses. The main thing was that the Chechens would maximally believe to her staging entreaties and go to the slaughter. And then in the Russian news, as usual, would be reported about the next destroyed militants ...
However, tomorrow has come. And my father and I, despite the previous unsuccessful and life-threatening experience of believing in people's words, decided to believe again. My father and I moved on foot towards the location of the Russian military troops in the Kalinin settlement. And as it turned out, we were completely alone in our actions. It is now, perhaps after this revelation, as in the famous story "Lenin with a log", many unscrupulous participants may appear.
When my father and I began to approach the location of the military unit in the village of Kalinin, at each crossroad there was an armed group of Russian soldiers. As soon as we were in their field of vision, the military looked at us as on aliens. It was like a very dangerous movie. But it was in reality. As we approached, the soldiers, dumbfounded by this action, gazed intently. It was clear that such a brave act was something out of the ordinary for the Russian military. My father and I passed by the military, because we went to the commander. As was suggested the day before, by the commander of a part of the Russian troops stationed in Kalinin's settlement, my father and I wanted to confirm our words and request not to bomb the peaceful village of Staraya-Sunzha and not kill the inhabitants. We have not put this extremely life-threatening condition. But my father and I were going to do it.
Coming closer, we noticed a cluster of various motorized vehicles. We realized that the headquarters were already close. At that moment, the military men who were there began to study us by their eyes directly. There was a strong psychoemotional tension in the air. It was something. Probably, the same feelings are experienced by the stars from the ardent fans.
I remember the episode with the military KAMAZ. The truck is stuck. Soldier-driver was enthusiastically busy, trying to get truck out of the mud. As soon as he saw us, he immediately forgot about his stuck KAMAZ and joined the group of watchers.
When we have already approached and found ourselves at the headquarters, the father said: Tell the commander that we have come. As the commander suggested, we, unarmed, by our arrival in the location of the armed part of the Russian troops, confirm that we are peaceful people and we reaffirm our words-a request not to bomb the village of Staraya-Sunzha and not kill the Old Sons.
To the credit of the commander, he kept his word and in many ways mortar shelling, and other bombardments of the village of Staraya-Sunzha went to naught. It was felt that the commander was greatly impressed when the unarmed father and son, performing deliberately dangerous conditions and risking their lives, asking for the inhabitants of the whole village.
Leaving the location of the military unit, we again experienced the numerous views of soldiers and officers. It was clear that this was something extraordinary for them.
Already when I and my father returned from, two of the residents of the village of Staraya-Sunzha met us at a distance from the location of the military unit in the Kalinin settlement. Apparently, naturally fearing for their lives, they decided to observe our actions from afar, to see how this self-destructive campaign ends.
Residents of the village of Staraya-Sunzha probably think that the fact that they remained alive and the buildings of the majority of the villagers have remained intact this way, it just happened so. Today, seeing ingratitude, the baseness of the part of the modern residents of the village of Staraya-Sunzha and the passivity of the others, sometimes I think about it. Did they deserve to risk my father's and my life so as to save their lives?
Elan Avturkhanov, www.elanby.com