The first-line airborne troops were at the forefront of the strategic echelon of the Soviet Armed Forces. The geopolitical situation changed in the early 1990s, which led to a change in the deployment of paratroopers. The divisions located in the Baltic States, Transcaucasia, and Central Asia, which returned to Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union, had to start settling down almost in a bare place. Today, the Airborne Forces have more than 60 percent of such units.

But those paratroopers who remained in the same place had, as it turned out, even more difficult. The meager financial " trickles "were redistributed primarily in the interests of those who became"homeless". The solution is certainly correct. But what an extremely difficult situation it put, for example, the command and personnel of the Guards Airborne Chernihiv Red Banner Division, stationed in Pskov!

"What's the problem?" Funding is extremely weak, - Guards Lieutenant Colonel Vitaly Zamakhaev, acting deputy division commander for educational work, began to count on his fingers. - Compensation in return for food rations is not paid for several years. Airlines consider documents for free travel to be Filkin's diploma, and you can't send your family to the near abroad on vacation at your own expense either. The fuel limit is constantly being cut... And the housing problem? There are 700 apartment-less families in our compound, while there are four thousand of them in the entire district.

Feeling that the fingers on my hands are not enough to list all the troubles, I clarify whether there is at least some gap in something. Fortunately, there is one. As a result of the current reorganization in the Airborne Forces and the reduction of support units, the division is fully staffed. With officers in primary positions, the problem will also be practically solved after the arrival of young lieutenants. And, most importantly, combat training is carried out no matter what: field exits, firing, driving, jumping.

- The first place in the Airborne division in discipline, the second in combat training, the first in airborne training. We also have the greatest number of jumps on the troops. Including with the IL-76, " continued Zamakhaev.

Colonel-General Georgy Shpak gave a high assessment of the Pskov people's skills after a thorough check of the division. The commander was pleased that not a single complaint was filed at the review. Although Georgy Ivanovich probably understood: there are plenty of reasons. But the wishes about the need to save the division - then the earth was filled with rumors about its reduction-he heard from many. And from veterans who have long since retired, and from lieutenants.

Although in fact the issue of reducing the formation was practically not considered, the situation was later clarified by the first deputy commander of the Airborne Forces for combat training, Lieutenant General Alexey Sigutkin:"There are not so many truly combat-ready divisions left in the Armed Forces to put them under the knife." But the rumors themselves and the reaction to them are quite revealing. After all, it's no secret that in some parts they can't wait for such a reduction, so that you can quit according to the organizational standards.

"We are still holding on to the beret and vest, our traditions are strong," Lieutenant Colonel Vitaly Zamakhaev concluded, summing up the preliminary conversation about the state of affairs in the division. - This is especially noticeable in the shelves. However, you'll see for yourself, " the deputy mayor admonished me.

"Special" regiment

Captain Sergey Shevelev, Deputy commander of the Paratrooper Regiment for educational work of the Guard, showed with undisguised pride the museum recently opened in the military unit. The regiment is truly unique. Judge for yourself.

TV and movies were made and books were written about the soldiers who served under the banner of this unit. And the first one - "Iron Stream" - was published in 1924. Yes, today's paratroopers consider their progenitors (which, however, is also documented) to be the fighters of the very Taman army, whose 500-kilometer crossing was described in his novel by A. S. Serafimovich.

From the "iron stream", which had no military organization, the 22nd Krasnodar Rifle Division was formed, which became the Taman Division. During the Great Patriotic War, the ancestors of paratroopers defended Anapa, Odessa, Crimea, participated in the Kerch-Feodosia naval operation and the defense of Feodosia. And then there was Stalingrad. On the outskirts of this city, heroism and courage were shown by machine gunner Afanasy Ermakov, who opened the regimental list of Heroes of the Soviet Union with his name. For the Battle of Stalingrad on March 1, 1943, the regiment received the name "Guards", was transformed into the 234th Guards Black Sea Rifle Regiment, remaining part of the same rifle division, but already called the Guards.

And ahead were the battles for the liberation of Belarus and Poland, the defeat of the Nazi troops in Germany and the meeting in Wismar with parts of the 6th Airborne Division of Great Britain.

After the war, there was a question of reducing the army. The 234th Guards Black Sea Rifle Regiment was also being prepared for disbandment. Front-line soldiers asked to keep the legendary military unit. After all, only the title of Hero of the Soviet Union in the battles for the Motherland was awarded to thirty-three guards. In addition, the guards banner of the regiment was decorated with a ribbon and the Order of Kutuzov III degree - for the liberation of Danzig (Gdansk).

The regiment was preserved. And for more than half a century, the paratroopers have been successfully mastering military equipment, tactics, and competently performing exercises. The regiment landed and performed its assigned tasks at training grounds near Magdeburg and Dresden, Odessa and Nikolaev, Minsk and Brest, Moscow and Murmansk.

In the late 80s, ethnic strife was growing in the country, and paratroopers were being recruited to perform special government tasks. Vilnius, Tskhinval, Vladikavkaz, Transdniestria, Yugoslavia, Abkhazia, and Chechnya appear in the historical part form...

In peacetime (if this definition does not seem blasphemous), only in Chechnya, the Black Sea paratroopers lost forty-five people killed and 130 wounded. The heroes of Russia were Majors V. Kolybabinsky and V. Yanin, Captain Yu. Nikitich (posthumously).

On April 18, 1996, by Decree of the President of Russia, the regiment was given the honorary name of the Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky.

The historical path of the 234th Guards Black Sea Order of Kutuzov, III class of the St. Alexander Nevsky Parachute Regiment is truly unique. And in terms of the number of Heroes, it's probably hard to find his equal. But, like others, the regiment is not deprived of either combat tasks, or everyday problems, or sudden introductory ones.

There would be a backbone!

The room of the regimental officers ' assembly is consecrated by an icon depicting the Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky, presented by Metropolitan Eusebius of Pskov and Velikiye Luki. I wonder what the Grand Duke would say, looking from the depths of the past centuries at the current situation of the Russian land and his army? I would reproach him for bringing the state to ruin, the people to poverty. "God is not in power, but in Truth" - with these words, the Grand Duke called upon his numerous squad to defend the Fatherland and won. But what is the Truth today? To fulfill your duty? To save your traditions?

In their meeting, the full officers of the regiment had not seen each other for a long time. Unless it's a tag-by-tag. One unit serves in Abkhazia, the other in Yugoslavia, then vacations and new business trips, training camps, and studies. In 1994, the unit simultaneously carried out missions in four hot spots. Even now, the regiment lives as if in several "apartments". The commander of the guard regiment, Colonel Gevorg Isakhanyan, with a parachute battalion reinforced with scouts, signalmen, anti-tankers, anti-aircraft gunners, sappers, is in Abkhazia. He heads the Airborne task force in the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict zone. His deputy Guards Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Chernenko leads the remaining units of the regiment in Pskov. Some soldiers and officers are also taking part in a peacekeeping mission in Bosnia,

What is happening in the field of service in the regiment is closely monitored. The media are the fastest to report on a dramatic change in the situation there. And such news is always perceived with alarm. They cannot get used to the fact that the dispassionate reports of news agencies about the wounded and dead very often affect the fate of friends and acquaintances. No one wants new names to be added to the memorial list for the Regimental Day of Remembrance and Mourning - it is celebrated on December 28, the anniversary of the fateful day in 1994, when an artillery shell hit GAZ-66 in Chechnya and 16 people were killed immediately.

Many people had to look into the face of eternity. And not only because paratroopers, due to the specifics of their service, rise to the sky, closer to God. Just on your fingers, you can count those who have not yet been baptized with fire. Unless conscripts who have not yet managed to visit hot spots. Graduates of colleges in the regiment receive "crosses" on the chest, wounds and contusions faster than regular stars on shoulder straps.

So it turned out with the guard Captain Eduard Sokolov, who found himself in that ill-fated car at the end of 1994. But the will of fate averted death from the then platoon commander, shook only a strong concussion. You could quit. However, Sokolov proved that the landing without him (or he without the landing) can not do. After all, he once came to the school of his own free will, having passed the airborne "training" and the brigade reconnaissance company. And he never shirked from the service. It was as if charged with the indestructible spirit of Margelov. For him, the regiment found the position of senior officer for public and state training and information. And now Sokolov, who on duty communicates with all officers and ensigns, knows their mood perfectly well.

"Everyone wants to serve. Without the Airborne Forces, most simply do not think of themselves, " Captain Sokolov explains to the Guards.

- Random people get to us as well. But as a rule, they cannot serve here, - Major Vetislav Prokhorov, deputy battalion commander for educational work of the Guard, believes that difficulties clear the troops of ballast, from those who do not feel enthusiastic, who do not have the spirit of an amphibious assault, but only count on benefits and benefits. This is not a very good excuse for the hardships and hardships that the army faced as a result of unsatisfactory funding. But there's something to it, too.

Major Vetislav Prokhorov of the Guards himself was preoccupied with two problems at that time. First, how to reward soldiers for conscientious service in the complete absence of funds. And secondly, how to get into the crew that will be landing inside the combat vehicle during the upcoming tactical exercise. The issue of incentives is almost resolved - letters have been prepared to the military enlistment offices at the place of conscription of Guards senior sergeant E. Maslov, junior sergeants G. Rakitin and M. Nemykin, Lance Corporal R. Selyukov, privates O. Zayarny, V. Zakharov and D. Noginov; forms of diplomas and letters to the motherland have been prepared, officers from their libraries have brought "valuable gifts". There was an agreement with the Philharmonic that they would give tickets for one or two families of officers. But with the landing inside the combat vehicle, things are more complicated.

- Where did so many applicants come from? - the officer is annoyed. - The contest is just like in cosmonauts. The division commander personally takes exams and tests.

So the paratroopers complain. For what else? And on the lack of time. Since the units that are located in Abzakhia, you have to perform service. And classes do not stop, even though they are held according to reduced programs, taking into account the fuel limit. And they are also dissatisfied with the changeable, often non-flying Pskov weather. But they are encouraged whenever forecasters "agree" with the weather and the operational duty officer notifies them about this.:

"Make changes to the schedule. Jumps are assigned."..

"Honorary Paratroopers"

In the regimental museum in the most prominent place is the Book of Honor of the unit. It was established in 1957 and opens with an order to include all thirty-three regimental Heroes of the Soviet Union in it. The latest entries about the Heroes of Russia Guard Majors V. Kolybabinsky and V. Yanin, Guard Captain Yu. Nikitich. And the last person in this row was a civilian. The title of "Honorary Paratrooper of the regiment" and entry in the Book of Honor was awarded to Tumanov Vladislav Nikolaevich. Here is what is written about his merits:

"While serving as head of the Pskov Region administration, he took an active part in preserving the regiment and naming it after the Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky. When the regiment was performing combat missions in Chechnya and performing peacekeeping tasks in Bosnia, it organized material assistance to the families of fallen servicemen. In the absence of funding, I invested a lot of effort and energy in improving the life and daily life of the Black Sea Guards. With his help, a club, a museum of military glory were built in the regiment, and the barracks fund was renovated."

The local authorities help the guards a lot, but the paratroopers do not go with an outstretched hand. They try to solve their own problems. And, in general, it turns out. Vegetable storehouses are never empty. The subsidiary farm is not bad, there is an apple orchard. At their own expense, they even managed to organize a second full-fledged dinner for those serving in the guards. But not all issues can be solved with your daily bread. For example, soldiers were sent to Abkhazia, but there was no money even for notebooks, pens,envelopes, and toothpaste. The city administration helped out by transferring 10 thousand rubles.

Former colleagues do not forget the division. Some of them quit and become heads of industrial and commercial structures, veterans ' organizations. Hero of Russia Valery Yanin is one of the leaders of the St. Petersburg Union of veterans of the war in Afghanistan "Afganvet", Reserve Colonel Valery Nikitin heads its Pskov organization.

With the help of veterans of the division, a monument was erected near the Officers ' House "To the Soldiers of the Pskov Garrison and Pskov residents who died while performing combat and special tasks in the second half of the XX century". During the days of military glory, on August 2, the Day of the Airborne Forces, soldiers of the division, veterans, and citizens come to pay tribute to the monument.

Not guests in their native land

From the coat of arms of Pskov to the emblem of the Guards Airborne Chernihiv Red Banner Division, the northern leopard "migrated". This symbol of the division reflects the specifics of the northernmost Airborne unit-strength, tempering, endurance of soldiers. The division became related to the Pskov region and thus emphasizes its responsibility to the city and region that sheltered it immediately after the war.

Pskov residents go to serve in the division. Officers retire to the reserve and settle down here, tying their fate firmly with the northern region. Paratroopers also live under his care. And not a single significant event can be imagined without soldiers in blue berets. Sports events, city improvement, help with harvesting. Often only soldiers can help. To eliminate the consequences of natural disasters - forest fires, floods, hurricanes-it was necessary to leave as part of divisions, or even parts. There is also work for sappers - the land of Pskov region stores a lot of deadly "gifts" of the Great Patriotic War. You have to respond to all the troubles of the region. And one of them today is the growing neglect of children.

In the division, in coordination with the headquarters of the Airborne Forces, they are preparing to create platoons in each regiment, staffed by pupils from among street children.

Perhaps these guys will have to continue the traditions of the famous connection.

* * *

This is how Russia's northernmost amphibious division lives. A division that emerged from the "iron stream" of the civil War and passed a glorious and difficult combat path. And looking back, the paratroopers understand that it was not always easy. There were, are and will be problems. But it is possible to overcome difficulties if people act, make informed decisions and bring them to the end.

These people who get out of the fire and into the fire have a significant advantage over the others. Those who fought, who risked their lives to protect the interests of the state, it is easier to put everything in its place. And so they are ready to serve: not for the sake of self-interest, not for the sake of glory, not for the sake of rewards... To serve, for in this service to the Fatherland is their main life truth.

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