TsSN FSB of Russia (35 photos). How to get into the FSB special forces

Developed in the late 1990s on the basis of a biathlon rifle for arming riot police and FSB special forces. At low for sniper weapons ballistic characteristics it has very high shooting accuracy and a quiet shot sound.
Reloading is done manually. The magazine is detachable and holds 10 rounds.
The stock is symmetrically shaped (equally comfortable for shooting from the left and right hand), consists of two parts. The stock is detachable, of skeletal design, equipped with a butt plate and cheek piece. At the bottom of the butt under the hinged lid there is space for two spare magazines. Instead of a buttstock, a pistol grip can be installed. The forend has a groove for attaching a height-adjustable bipod.
On the rifles of the first years of production, the stock and butt were made of varnished wood, but in 2007 the SV-99 received a stock and butt made of durable aircraft multi-layer plywood dark green according to the SV-98 type, and in 2009 - an improved version of the stock and butt made of black plastic.
There are no open sights, but the rifle has a " dovetail" to install an optical sight.
What special tasks do the units perform? special purpose with the help of such a weak and short-ranged (what a word!), almost toy weapon?
1. Covert destruction of enemy personnel not protected by personal protective equipment. The .22 LR caliber cartridge used gives a very quiet and accurate shot at short distances. “The accuracy of a shot with such a cartridge at 20-30 meters is simply amazing, and the low recoil allows you to make two or three very accurate shots in a row. When combined with a silencer, the sound of a shot can no longer be heard even from two steps away under normal background noise on a city street, and correctly selected ammunition can inflict quite serious injury on a criminal.” By the way, a shot from this weapon at a distance of up to 100 m affects not only people, but also service dogs.
2. Covert destruction of enemy technical means. True, not all technical means, but only those that are affected by such a weak cartridge as .22 LR. Lighting equipment, video cameras, alarm units, electrical distribution boxes, radio communications, car wheels... That is, in other words, small-caliber sniper rifle with a muffler - it's almost ideal remedy preparing a bridgehead for the assault on those objects that are technically possible to approach within direct shot range from a small-caliber rifle (50−70 m)
It must be said that when ordering the development of such a unique weapon as the “small sniper,” the Russian military was not a pioneer in this area. American special forces have been using small-caliber weapons of .22 LR caliber since such weapons were invented, since the end of the 19th century. And, apparently, they are not going to give it up just yet.

The FSB Special Purpose Center was created in 1998 to combat terrorism in Russia and beyond. Its structural units are the special unit "Alpha", the special unit "Vympel" and the Directorate special operations.

The center accepts officers and warrant officers, as well as cadets from military schools as candidates for officer positions. 97% of positions in the FSB special forces are officer positions. Warrant officers are given 3%; if admitted to the TsSN, they serve as drivers or instructors.

In addition, each candidate must provide a recommendation from either a current or former employee of Alpha or Vympel. The Center is also engaged in an independent search for the most promising youth. Why do the center's employees visit universities of the Ministry of Defense in order to study the personal files of cadets and conduct interviews with the most suitable of them for service in the FSB special forces. The most productive in this regard are the Novosibirsk Higher Combined Arms School, where there is a special forces department, and the Moscow Higher Military Command School.

There is an age limit - no older than 28 years. Also, height must be at least 175 cm so that the body armor does not hit the knees. However, these requirements are not dogma. If the candidate has any unique abilities or has combat experience, then they turn a blind eye.

A healthy body has a healthy spirit

Having accepted the documents required for admission from candidates, they begin to check their physical fitness. Testing is carried out within one day. Everything is done dynamically with minimal breaks between exercises. The requirements for applicants for service in Alpha are a little stricter than for candidates for Vympel. Below are the standards for Alpha.

You must run 3 kilometers at the stadium within 10 minutes 30 seconds.

After a 5-minute rest - 100 meters, control standard - 12.7 seconds.

Pull-ups on the bar - 25 times. This is followed by a 3-minute rest after each exercise.

Within 2 minutes, you need to do 90 flexions and extensions of the torso in a lying position.

90 push-ups.

After this, the candidate must perform a complex strength exercise 7 times:

15 push-ups;

15 flexions and extensions of the torso in a lying position;

15 transitions from the position “crouched” to “lying” and back;

15 jumps from a crouched position.

Each cycle is given 40 seconds. There are no rest periods between cycles.

Barbell press own weight(but not more than 100 kg) lying down - 10 times.

The main thing is to take the blow and move forward

Three minutes after the physical test, you must demonstrate hand-to-hand martial arts skills. In this case, the candidate performs in a helmet, gloves and protective pads on the legs and groin. He is opposed by an instructor or a CSN employee well trained in hand-to-hand combat. The fight lasts 3 rounds.

In the allotted time, it is not at all necessary to defeat the instructor. During the battle, the instructor evaluates the candidate's potential capabilities: fighting qualities, ability to take a blow, will to win, focus on attacking in conditions of physical fatigue, ability to change battle tactics depending on the prevailing circumstances, reaction speed.

Of course, the instructor does not seek to “beat” the subject. During the fight, he gives him the initiative to better understand what he is worth. The more active a candidate is in the ring, the higher the score he receives, even in the event of significant errors in technique. Subsequently, during training, the recruit will learn all the techniques and skills necessary to conduct effective hand-to-hand combat. Therefore, the main task of the instructor is to find out whether the candidate is capable of learning.

Those who are passive in the fight are immediately rejected, going into deep defense.

Major tests ahead

At the next stage, the candidate is placed at the disposal of doctors for the purpose of undergoing in-depth studies of his health status. And here the requirements are higher than for cadets of military universities, since the future special forces officer must endure enormous physical activity. And they should not interfere with the effective execution of combat missions. At the same time, one of the primary tasks that the medical commission solves is to determine suitability for airborne training.

In parallel with these studies, a special check is carried out, during which it is revealed that the candidate has undesirable connections. And not only from him, but also from his closest relatives. Relatives are checked for criminal records.

The next stage of the competitive marathon is an examination by a psychologist. It is necessary to study the candidate’s personality - character, temperament, interests and passions, moral attitudes, reactions to certain stimuli and other characteristics important for service in the FSB special forces. All this information is entered into your personal file.

This is followed by a polygraph test of the candidate’s veracity. First of all, moments are identified that he would like to hide, “ dark spots» his past and present: connections with crime, addiction to alcohol and drugs, corruption tendencies, antisocial lifestyle.

In the summer of 1996, by presidential decree, the FSB Anti-Terrorism Center (ATC FSB) was created. The creation of this center was one of the first steps of Mikhail Barsukov after his appointment as director of the FSB. Viktor Zorin, first deputy director of the FSB, was appointed head of the Center.

Formally, the need for its creation was caused by the extreme lack of coordination of domestic anti-terrorist services, which was especially clearly manifested during the operation in Budennovsk in June 1995.

“Vremya MN” 01/23/01: “The Department for Combating Terrorism includes a Special Purpose Center, consisting of the Alpha and Vympel detachments ( former special forces foreign intelligence). The daily work of Alpha Squad employees is to neutralize terrorists who hijack aircraft, watercraft, ground transportation, and hold hostages in buildings. Vympel employees have a “nuclear” specialization: in peacetime- neutralization of terrorists at nuclear facilities, in pre-war and wartime their task is reversed - they must destroy nuclear power plants, rocket launchers With nuclear warheads and other special objects on enemy territory. However, this specificity is not taken into account in the current conditions; Vympel fighters are capable of operating in Chechnya."

The base of the Special Forces Center is located in Balashikha-2, military unit No. 35690. Contact numbers: 523-63-43, 523-90-60. The Alpha group training center has been called “Priboy” for twenty-five years.

The selection system for anti-terrorism special forces is carried out in several stages. To serve in the special forces of the FSB Special Purpose Center, as a rule, officers and warrant officers are selected, as well as cadets of military schools as candidates for officer positions. Physical testing is divided into two stages, which take place on the same day. During the first, candidates pass physical training standards, followed by sparring in hand-to-hand combat.

Training can be completed at the Budokan sports club; programs include general physical training, sports training in aikido, and karate.

In the ring, the candidate is required to be active; passive defense is not encouraged. This is very difficult to do, given the loads that the candidate overcame during the physical tests. A completely fresh employee goes against him. Here, first of all, fighting qualities, the ability to attack, the ability to take a blow and, of course, will are tested. There were cases when aikido masters did not stand in the ring, and guys who did not have any serious sports titles, on the contrary, stubbornly attacked and rushed at the enemy.

There is an unspoken rule at the Center that after enlisting in the special forces, an employee is required to serve in it for at least five years. This is exactly the period needed to prepare a great anti-terror “action film.” The vast majority continue to serve.

The center was founded in 1998 on the initiative of the director Federal service security of Vladimir Putin by uniting into a single monolithic team of special-purpose units of the security agencies, the RG correspondent was told at the FSB Central Operations Center.

The decision to create the Center was due to the growing threat of the spread of international terrorism and extremism. The situation in the country was difficult. The greatest danger was posed by the activities of international terrorist organizations, their emissaries and collaborators in the North Caucasus, especially in the Chechen Republic. It is enough to remember only terrorist attacks committed at that time: the seizure of a maternity hospital in Kizlyar, terrorist attacks in the Moscow metro, explosions of a bus in Nalchik and a residential building in Kaspiysk.

In 1998, the already difficult situation in the North Caucasus worsened even more. Yes, May 1st Chechen fighters Valentin Vlasov, the representative of the President of Russia in the Chechen Republic, was captured; on October 3, three British citizens and one New Zealand citizen were kidnapped and brutally killed in Grozny. Under these conditions, the country's leadership and the Federal Security Service developed a number of measures aimed at suppressing terrorist threats. One of them was the creation of a single powerful special forces structure.

The center was not created out of nowhere - its basis was the legendary FSB departments "A" and "B" - known throughout the world as "Alpha" and "Vympel". It’s true that fifteen years ago, specialists had certain fears that management “A” and “B”, united into one team, would lose their individuality, and their professional growth would stop. Time has shown that these fears were in vain.

As noted in the leadership of the TsSN itself, thanks to the creation of a unified leadership, optimization of combat training programs, and streamlined exchange of personnel and experience, the best traditions and achievements were preserved and enhanced. Each of the departments had its own tasks and specifics before, and still has them now. At the same time, despite the unity of command between the units, an unspoken healthy competition has remained, which, as the special forces themselves admit, does not interfere, but rather stimulates movement forward.

A few months after its creation, the center was replenished with a special operations service under the letter “C”. It was created on the basis of the 12th department of the FSB Economic Counterintelligence Directorate and the 3rd department of the Service for Combating Illegal Armed Groups and Banditry of the FSB Directorate for Moscow and the Moscow Region.

Over the 15 years of its existence, employees of the FSB TsSN were awarded more than two thousand times state awards.

August 1999 can be considered the CSN’s baptism of fire. This was in the Botlikh and Tsumadinsky regions of Dagestan, where large gangs of Basayev and Khattab, with almost open support from foreign terrorist organizations, captured several settlements, declaring them a territory with a “Sharia” form of government. It was during the military operation in Botlikh that the center’s baptism of fire took place. FSB snipers made a significant contribution to the success of the operation. In those areas where they operated, the terrorists carried big losses and retreated. In addition, special forces carried out fire raids and helped remove individual military units blocked by militants from encirclement.

The events in Botlikh were followed by a special operation in the village of Novolakskoye, Khasavyurt district of Dagestan, and with late autumn the same year, the center became an active and permanent participant in the counter-terrorism operation in Chechnya.

Since then, TsSN employees have independently and in collaboration with operational units conducted many operational combat operations. As a result, hundreds of hostages were freed and large number weapons, ammunition and explosives. Active members of gangs were neutralized, including such odious leaders as Salman Raduev, Arbi Barayev, Aslan Maskhadov, Rappani Khalilov, Anzor Astemirov, emissaries of the international terrorist organization Al-Qaeda in the North Caucasus Abu-Umar, Abu-Havs, Seif Islam and other.

The test of strength, professionalism and fortitude for the Center’s employees was the events at the Moscow Theater Complex on Dubrovka in October 2002 and in high school No. 1 in Beslan in September 2004. The experience of hostage release operations carried out there has no analogues in the world practice of combating terrorism. Beslan also became the most tragic page in the history of the FSB special forces - then 10 special forces died while saving children and adult hostages.

The activities of the Center’s employees are highly appreciated by the country’s leadership and the Federal Security Service. Over the 15 years of its existence, state awards were presented to employees more than two thousand times, 20 servicemen were awarded the title of Hero of Russia - 11 of which were posthumous, the FSB Central Election Commission reported.

As for the employees of the elite special forces of the FSB themselves, in ordinary life they are not at all like the muscled special forces from American militants. Rather, on the contrary - these are quite dry, fit and not very tall guys. Although they are physically prepared, of course, very seriously. Among the officers of the Center there are many masters of sports, champions and prize-winners of Russian, European and World championships. Moreover, all of them, as they say, masterfully shoot everything that shoots and drive everything that drives. When selecting for the TsSN, candidates undergo a very serious selection process - not only are they checked physical training and professional skills, but also the intellectual level and psychophysiological qualities of the candidate. Testing is carried out on the basis that after enrollment a person will have to act in extreme situations, make accurate and verified decisions in conditions associated with risk to life.

During the first three years of service, a new employee is under the constant attention of commanders and senior comrades. He is assigned a mentor from among the most experienced colleagues. Weapons skills are improved to the point of automaticity, and tactics of action on objects that could be captured by terrorists are practiced. They are also trained in shooting from all main types of small arms, installing and overcoming mine-explosive barriers, parachute jumping and diving, industrial mountaineering, military topography, special tactical, mountain, military medical, operational and legal training. In the process of training beginners the process is underway education and transmission combat experience, which are aimed at developing the ability of a Center employee to think outside the box when performing a task, realistically assess the degree of threat, and adequately respond to a rapidly changing situation. In general, very high demands are placed on FSB special forces officers. In fact, all official activities of employees consist of two equivalent components - participation in operational combat activities and constant preparation for their implementation.

Mobile "fist"
BEFORE THE SECOND STARTS Chechen war There was less than a year left when, on October 8, 1998, on the initiative of the then FSB director Vladimir Putin, a decision was made to create a mobile “fist” in order to strengthen the FSB’s power bloc. Subsequent events in the country and the world fully confirmed the correctness and, most importantly, the timeliness of the decision made.
The center was formed on the basis of two combat directorates - “A” and “B”, or “Alpha” and “Vympel”. IN short term All the necessary structures were formed - headquarters, personnel department, secretariat, financial and economic department, security department and support service.
The specialization of Alpha employees, as before, is the neutralization of terrorists who hijack aircraft, watercraft, ground transport, and also hold hostages in buildings. Vympel employees have a slightly different task - neutralizing terrorists at nuclear and strategically important industrial facilities. After ten years, the Center emphasizes, each of the two departments managed to preserve its own style and established traditions within a single structure. This is especially true for Alpha, where there was no painful generation gap, unlike Vympel, which was transferred to the Ministry of Internal Affairs after the events of October 1993.
On July 16, 1999, shortly before the invasion of Dagestan by the gangs of Khattab and Sh. Basayev, by order of the director of the FSB, the Special Operations Service was created, which structurally became part of the TsSN. Its main purpose is to work on illegal armed groups, crime bosses, arms dealers and drug lords.
The head of the Special Purpose Center is Hero of Russia, Colonel General Alexander Evgenievich Tikhonov, appointed to this position by Decree of the President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin October 22, 1998.
For ten years, the TsSN employees have had the difficult task of combating international terrorism in the North Caucasus and beyond. Working on a rotational basis, from business trip to business trip, almost all of his personnel went through North Caucasian “universities.” Similarly, employees of Group “A”, by order of KGB Chairman V.M. Chebrikov was put through the crucible of Afghanistan in 1983–1987. True, back then it was called “combat training.”
The first operation in which the Center’s employees participated was to repel the aggression of the “Mujahideen” gangs that invaded Dagestan in the summer of 1999 from the territory of Ichkeria. Vympel fighters operated in Botlikh and other places, setting up sniper ambushes and inflicting fire on the militants. Well, then the second Chechen campaign began for the entire Center.
In addition, the FSB special forces have protected top officials on the territory of the Chechen Republic, as well as dozens of successfully carried out operations against bandit formations and specific field commanders of the “Chechen jihad”. Among them is the delicate detention of Salman Raduev, the leader of the “army of General Dudayev”, carried out by the combined operational-combat TsSN group in the village of Novogroznensky in 2000, and the liquidation of Aslan Maskhadov in March 2005 - in the regional center of Tolstoy-Yurt.
Outside Chechnya, a real classic was the “sniper assault” of the intercity regular bus “Ikarus”, carried out in the summer of 2001 at the airport Mineralnye Vody Alpha employees. The terrorist was killed and none of the hostages were injured.
Shortly before this, in September 2000, a successful special operation was carried out in the village of Lazarevskoye Krasnodar region, where armed bandits took hostage the builders of a private hotel. They threw grenades at the yard in front of the building and demanded a large amount money and a plane. The situation was resolved without the use of force thanks to the skill of the TsSN negotiators. As a result, the terrorists freed the hostages and surrendered. The operation was led by the head of the Center, Colonel General Tikhonov.
The events at the Theater Complex on Dubrovka became the highest test of strength, professionalism and fortitude. Thanks to the actions of the Alpha and Vympel fighters, who walked along the razor’s edge, the hostages were freed and the terrorists were eliminated.
The day after the release of the Nord-Ost hostages, employees of Alpha and Vympel were invited to the Kremlin by Vladimir Putin. The case is unprecedented: Yeltsin never - even during the crisis days of August 1991 and October 1993 - received ordinary special forces soldiers in his apartments. Gorbachev did not favor them either. Previous leaders preferred to communicate only with generals. The Center's fighters arrived to the President in in full force in suits and ties.
No one at that moment could, naturally, imagine that no less dramatic events awaited the FSB special forces and the country as a whole - the seizure of school No. 1 in the city of Beslan, carried out on the orders of Maskhadov and Sh. Basayev. And the self-sacrifice of fighters with the letters “A” and “B”.
Currently, the Special Forces Center, located in the south-west of Moscow (the Priboi facility) and the town of Balashikha near Moscow, consists of four combat structures. In addition to Directorates “A” and “B” and the Special Operations Service, a division was created with permanent place deployments in the North Caucasus. He carries out his operational and combat work in close cooperation with the FSB Aviation Directorate. A special article is the contribution of the Center’s doctors, whose skillful and courageous hands saved many lives and destinies.
Over ten years, the Center’s employees have carried out over 2,500 military operations to free hostages, neutralize the leaders of gangs, suppress channels of illegal sales of weapons and drugs, and protect the country’s leadership. Sixteen officers and warrant officers were awarded the title of Hero of Russia (eight of them posthumously), and they were awarded orders and medals more than 1,500 times.

Basic principles
There are a lot of people who want to join the Center. The selection is strict: first of all, the Center focuses on people who have already proven themselves to be professionals in one of the fields special training with combat experience and good military education, as well as graduates of universities of the Ministry of Defense, internal troops Ministry of Internal Affairs, Border Service of the FSB and Ryazan Airborne Forces School. At the same time, the Center trains professionals in categories that only they can train themselves - snipers, parachutists and combat swimmers.
In addition to physical data special attention draws on high moral and psychological qualities. When joining one of the Center’s structures, the candidate must be ready, if circumstances so require, to give his life saving the lives of hostages. The study process lasts at least a year and a half, and the dropout rate is very large.
The training of FSB officers is based on a fusion of martial arts elements selected by practice. It includes hand-to-hand combat, boxing, sambo, judo and some elements of karate. The Center's instructors carefully monitor current development trends and creatively use those that can provide the greatest effectiveness in operational combat work. In approximately half of the operations carried out by the Center's employees, success was determined precisely thanks to mastery of hand-to-hand combat techniques.
As for fire training, it has a clearly applied nature. The emphasis is on developing stable shooting skills in conditions that are as close as possible to real-life situations. The level of training of TsSN employees allows them to take prizes in all-Russian and international competitions, as well as effectively solve the entire range of operational and combat missions. In 2006 and 2007, the Center's employees won and became prize-winners of the World and European Championships in sniper rifle shooting.
The entire training system is aimed at developing young employees. It is carried out by managers at all levels and instructors. It includes, among other aspects, the institute of mentoring, completion of various training camps, classes and obtaining good operational training in training centers and FSB institutions. One of the main tasks set at the Center is not only to teach how to shoot well and master hand-to-hand combat techniques, but above all to consciously act as part of a unit.
One of the traditional questions asked to FSB special forces commanders is: how long does it take to develop a true professional from a beginner? In previous years the answer was: five years. Now professional development is happening much faster: this is the specificity! For the last ten years, the Center has been continuously participating in special operations in the North Caucasus, which affects the quality of its personnel.
Psychological preparation plays a decisive role when performing combat missions. During the Open Championship of the FSB of Russia in hand-to-hand combat, dedicated to the tenth anniversary of the TsSN, the head of the TsSN, Hero of Russia, Colonel General Alexander Tikhonov emphasized in an interview with the press: “Issues of psychology come first, even compared to issues of weapons and equipment. Psychological readiness"For a special forces officer to operate effectively in an environment that is constantly evolving and unpredictable is critical to the successful completion of the assigned mission."
“Over the years, a large number of special operations have been carried out, including the release of hostages. Among them are famous and little-known operations, in which the tempering of officers took place and where the Center gained its power. The most important thing is that all these years we have been improving the tactics of conducting special operations, raising the level of professionalism, including psychological preparation employees,” noted the head of the Center.
At Priboi and Balashikha, criteria for the combat readiness of both the Center as a whole and each unit separately were developed. They consist of staffing levels, the availability of the required amount of weapons, equipment, communications equipment, high professional training of employees and coherence of units, a healthy moral and psychological climate in teams, well-functioning sustainable management, and high mobility.

Combined assault
DURING major sporting competitions, militants from one of the international terrorist organizations seized the team and made unacceptable demands, threatening to exterminate the hostages. At the same time, a second group of terrorists took hostage passengers on a city bus in order to divert forces and resources. law enforcement agencies.
To accomplish the task, the FSB Special Purpose Center involved parachutists, high-altitude specialists, sniper units, engineering and other units, as well as armored vehicles and two Mi-8 helicopters of the FSB Aviation Directorate. The FSB leadership decided to storm an apartment on the fifth floor of a twelve-story building where the terrorists were holding hostages.
This was the legend for the demonstration performances of the FSB special forces in front of participants and guests VII International meetings of heads of intelligence services, security agencies and law enforcement agencies on issues of combating terrorism, as well as three international organizations: Counter-Terrorism Committee of the UN Security Council, Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure Shanghai organization cooperation and the CIS Anti-Terrorism Center. The meeting took place at the end of March 2008 in the capital of Ugra - the city of Khanty-Mansiysk. There really was something to see: it’s one thing to read the meager lines of newspaper reports about the release of hostages, and quite another to see with your own eyes how special forces operate in real conditions. And the conditions were as close as possible to combat conditions.
Paratroopers of the first group jumped from a Mi-8 helicopter from a height of one and a half kilometers onto the roof of a 12-story residential building and ensured the landing of the main assault group from the second helicopter hovering above the roof of the building. Spectators could watch how fighters with controlled parachutes approached the target and how difficult the jump itself and the landing accuracy were due to the strong gusty wind. In addition, the roof of the building had a large number of projections, which left the paratroopers with only two small landing areas.
At the same time, the second group descended directly to the roof using a rope ladder from the second Mi-8 helicopter. Representatives of the intelligence services of 54 states were shown the capabilities of high-altitude special forces, who moved along the walls to the lower floors. Such a spectacular element as a “living staircase” was also demonstrated: the special forces, having formed a human chain, climbed to the height of the fifth floor.
After the command “Storm!” At the same time, a combined assault on the captured apartment began from all sides. The windows in it were broken by targeted explosions and flew out along with the frames. As they later explained, no iron grille could withstand such explosions. As a result, in a matter of seconds the terrorists were destroyed and the hostages were freed. At the same time, at the other end of the city, an operation was carried out to free the passengers of the regular bus. It was unexpectedly blocked by armored vehicles, and masked soldiers poured out of the truck that appeared. A few moments - and this part of the terrorists shared the fate of their accomplices.

Night fight
ONE of the operations carried out by the Center shortly before its tenth anniversary, unlike many other events, ended up in the central press. On the night of Wednesday, September 17, 2008, in the foothill Suleiman-Stalsky region of Dagestan, Zakir Novruzov’s gang was ambushed by TsSN employees. The terrorists traveled in a Gazelle minibus. FSB special forces soldiers took up positions on the highway near the village of Tsmur. As a result of the clash, the leader and ten bandits were killed. An employee of the Center’s branch from Dagestan was mortally wounded...
The hunt for Zakir Novruzov's group lasted for ten days. Since then, in the Magaramkent region of the republic, several gang leaders belonging to the Yuzhnaya group were ambushed by security officers. Among them is commander Ilgar Mollachiev, who has also held the title of Amir of Dagestan since October 2007. (He succeeded in this post field commander Rappani Khalilov, destroyed in September last year.) Shamil Basayev awarded him the highest order of Ichkeria for destroying a helicopter in Botlikh with an anti-tank guided missile. Then Hero of Russia pilot Yuri Naumov died.
Despite being introduced in several populated areas In the Tabasaran and Derbent regions, a counter-terrorism operation was in effect; some of the militants subordinate to Emir Mollachiev hid in the local forests. However, the militants, driven into a corner, had less and less room for maneuver.
On September 16, operatives received information that Novruzov’s group and the militants from Emirbek Ragimkhanov’s group who had joined him (he was killed in the city of Derbent along with Mollachiev) were going to change their location. At about one o'clock in the morning, at the junction of the borders of the Suleiman-Stal and Khiva regions of the republic, a Gazelle with militants was shot down by a grenade launcher. The remaining terrorists dispersed, firing back with machine guns. The battle lasted about an hour and a half.
When almost none of the passengers of the Gazelle were left alive, the wounded driver attracted the attention of the special forces by shouting - allegedly he was a hostage of the militants. However, when two fighters approached him and tried to find out who he was, he fired at them. One of the FSB officers was wounded in the chest, from which he died in the hospital, another was slightly wounded. The “sword of Allah” was destroyed by return fire.
Not only was it confiscated from the battle site small arms, ammunition (the passengers of the Gazelle had seven machine guns), a solid supply of food and religious literature, but also several improvised explosive devices. The plans of the militants, according to operational information, included the seizure of one of the rural secondary schools in the Suleiman-Stal district.
Since the creation of the Center, 32 people have suffered irreparable losses. In Directorate “A”, if we take the ten years of the TsSN’s existence, nine employees died, one died suddenly on combat duty. Colleagues from departments “B” and “C” have their own mournful martyrology.

FROM THE DOSSIER. On July 9, 2007, at the Special Purpose Center of the FSB of Russia, Metropolitan Yuvenaly of Krutitsky and Kolomna performed the rite of great consecration of the temple in the name of the Great Martyr George the Victorious. The temple was built on the initiative of veterans of special services in memory of employees who died heroically while performing service and combat missions. The names of the fallen soldiers are placed on marble plaques located in the side naves of the temple. For assistance in the construction of the Church of the Great Martyr George the Victorious His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus' awarded the Order of the Holy Blessed Prince Dmitry Donskoy II degree to the head of the Special Forces Center of the Hero of Russia, Colonel General Alexander Tikhonov and member of the Federation Council Rustem Shiyanov. Members of the Center's leadership and benefactors were awarded high church awards.

Pavel EVDOKIMOV
Photo from the TsSN archive