Many saw strong Russian guys camouflaged by "the very eyebrows", brave fighters with a huge patch on their back - SOBR. "What's this?" - random passersby asked each other at the very beginning of the dashing nineties. The appearance of these Russian rangers was so unusual and gloomy that the consciousness, accustomed to the Soviet baggy military uniform, refused to accept the new information transmitted by the organ of vision.
Slender and fit robust ladies as a selection, in a dapper uniform and masks evoked mixed feelings among the population. From curiosity to fear. People whispered: "SOBR - who is this?"
Wreck
The end of the last century. The dream of the Western world came true. The death sentence for the USSR was carried out. The Russian colossus, which terrified the advanced overseas continent, collapsed, shaking nearby lands, disturbing the minds of the newly-minted neighbors, as well as yesterday's residents of a single multi-apartment and multinational house - the USSR.
Who's guilty? There will be no descriptive events of those times. There are many theories. All of them have a right to exist. Let us leave this work to true pros - historians. This they have to find answers to specific questions of posterity. The purpose of the article is different. It was at that time that a special unit was born - SOBR. Deciphering abbreviations - Special Rapid Response Team.
To answer the next question “for what?”, You need to go back to the past, back in 1992, on February 10, the birthday of this special squad. Initially, the formation had a different name - GRT as part of the GUOP of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. Six months later, the newborn found a new name, by which he is still recognized. This is SOBR.
Mayhem as a norm of life
To the great shame, but in very recent Russia there was a period when open chaos was the norm. The nineties of the last century left their indelible mark, smelling of gunpowder, and blood, and suffering, and devastation.
Government chaos and household chaos went hand in hand. Now we will not judge and understand the details, this will require a separate story. So it was, it is a fact. The percentage of crime is off scale. There was a lot of spilled blood. About domestic offenses and random skirmishes, brawls, and even we are not talking. Serious guys appeared, thoughtful, with connections in all levels of power, armed to the teeth, insidious and arrogant.
They did more serious business than taking a hat from a passerby or robbing a shopping stall to get drunk right there. We are talking about real gangster formations. Not somewhere in the distant cinematic Asia of the twenties, but in the center of the capital, large cities, openly, in plain sight. What can I say? Everywhere. In every village. The situation got out of hand. The authorities had to do something about it. Then SOBR was born. Deciphering the abbreviations of this unit initially became a real rebus for ordinary residents.
Elimination of gangs
In those years, organized crime bloomed violently. So much so that ordinary operatives could not physically fight it. Fortunately, law enforcement agencies found a worthy response to the overtaking crime. This is SOBR.
Already the first operations to remove a malignant tumor from a weakened organism of Russian society made the flagships of criminal gangs cringe. And the medical instruments used for this are far from being painless (where should he get to in a country flying into the abyss?) Using the “tear” method rather than the “carefully cut and darn” method caused shock and awe. Well, who definitely didn’t like the word SOBR. No spelling was required. Not until then.
By the spring of 1993, similar special forces had been created in all regions of the country. The battle went on. Cemeteries expanded due to VIP-burial places of yesterday’s authorities and new “masters” of life, prisoners crowded in overcrowded cells of pre-trial detention centers, correctional colonies met new guests every day.
One way or another, those who managed to sit "on the bunk" or managed to slip away abroad saved their lives. Most of the large gangs on themselves learned that SOBR are those guys who are not worth joking with. They are not disposed to a humorous manner of communication.
It is clear that quickly only a fairy tale affects. It took time to remove the interspersed wormholes throughout the state. But the task assigned to the SOBR was completed. The omnipotent "brothers" receded into the shadows, and afterwards simply disappeared. This does not mean that the guys from SOBR lost work. They are still at the epicenter of the fight against organized crime.
SOBR. Explanation of the word in an unusual way
There is the usual decoding of this abbreviation, well-known to everyone, universally applied. Special Rapid Response Team. It can be said simply, SOBR is special forces.
Since there is a usual interpretation of the meaning of a word, then why not be unusual? Indeed, behind each of the four letters there is a deep meaning, meaningfulness, not a random choice.
"C" - special
Emphasis on the letter "C" when decoding SOBR.
These special units were formed mainly from operating special forces groups - riot police, which did not cease to exist. There was only a separation of the “customer base”.
The OMON’s wards remained hooliganism, organizers and participants of unauthorized mass gatherings aimed at organizing mass riots, football fans, organizing pogroms and other overly “active” citizens. In those days, there were enough freethinkers, and pseudo-leaders, and outspoken adventurers, provocateurs, ready to gather a large crowd of people in the squares, to arrange a rally with a mandatory pogrom.
People, tired of the Soviet routine, were happy to make noise, thunder, shouting slogans. Naturally raged, plainly still not understanding what is allowed, what is prohibited. Riot police admonished and admonished. Where in a word, and where with a club, everything was.
The fraternal riot police of SOBR performed narrower, special tasks. Its regular customers are stable gangs, other organized criminal groups, terrorists, people incomprehensible and dangerous. Special tasks, special methods, special tools. Clients are also special, notorious, sophisticated and unprincipled, capable of openly resisting multi-barreled “artillery”.
The selection and enrollment in the SOBR was thorough, special. The highest indicators of psychological and physical preparation were taken into account. A rating of “good” was not recognized. The admission score is excellent. A prerequisite is the experience of military operations, participation in serious operations. A fighter must be a verified one, distinguished himself in hot events, have an excellent knowledge of the weapon and masterfully own it.
"O" - detachment
SOBR is a detachment. We focus on the letter "O" when decoding SOBR.
Candidates for this special unit were not specifically trained anywhere. Their teachers were military operations, hot events, military operations. What are the textbooks and manuals? One hundred percent combat experience. Kizlyar and Budennovsk, Afghanistan and Chechnya, Dagestan and Tajikistan - these are their classrooms and lecture halls.
SOBR - a detachment of fighters, without which not a single major operation, not a single arrest of terrorists, arms dealers, not a single liquidation of gangs.
The units received their own names. “Granite” and “Bars”, “Bulat” and “Viking”, “Vector” and “Terek” are all special forces groups (SOBR). Each regional detachment has its own fighting history, traditions, its heroes, and distinctive symbolism.
Special Forces detachments (SOBR) are elite units in the system of all power structures. Most SOBR officers deservedly wear "speckled" berets as a symbol of high distinction.
"B" - fast
Officers of the elite units of the SOBR are constantly in a state of full combat readiness. At any time, they are ready to be where their participation is necessary. We make another emphasis. On the letter "B" when decoding SOBR.
The task can be formed in any region, territorial remoteness does not matter. Modern transport special equipment will deliver fighters to positions as quickly as possible. And in cases where a quiet, silent approach is required, when the presence of equipment will attract unwanted attention of the enemy, elite fighters are able to independently overcome considerable distances and immediately enter into battle or perform another assigned task.
"P" - response
The last character in this abbreviation remains. We focus on the letter "P" when decoding SOBR. The response methods of the fighters of these elite units are different. It all depends on the task. Every SOBR officer is a universal soldier.
He is able to work effectively in an assault group, in a capture or cover group. This and the climber, and paratrooper, swimmer and sniper, demoman and sapper. Whoever he has to be. He is able to be an excellent actor and a pleasant conversationalist when the situation requires it. Role of bruisers and bouncers? No problem. Drive a vehicle? You are welcome. Anyone, mind you. The SOBR response methods and methods have been worked out for years, through trial and error, in the conditions of real hostilities.
Among the fighters of the detachment there are craftsmen who can improve weapons, items of equipment, make them as effective as possible. Each squad has its own branded "tricks", which are not customary to talk about outside the base.
In most cases, the guys act tough, without curtsy and nods. Those who dealt with the SOBR (on opposite sides of the barricades) are witnesses to this.
That's the whole decoding of SOBR.
Eternal memory of prematurely departed
Many fighters were awarded the highest government awards and were awarded the title of Hero of Russia. Among them are those who received awards posthumously. It should be noted that SOBR units do not allow massive losses, qualifications do not. But some cases, unfortunately, do occur. Eternal memory to these heroes who fell during the performance of a combat mission.