The soldiers called him "Batya." This is the highest assessment of the authority of the commander. Households - "the sun." He was the main man surrounded by his beloved women - his mother, wife and two daughters. Colleagues and enemies - “cunning fox” for an unusual diplomatic gift. And General Troshev called himself a "trench general."
The heart of the Hero of Russia stopped in 2008 along with the hearts of eighty-seven more people. What path did the general take and how did he meet his death?
The beginning of the biography
In the family of Nikolai Troshev, a military pilot, and a resident of Grozny, Nadezhda Mikhailovna, in March 1947, the first-born was born, who was named Gennady. The boy was born in Germany, but all his childhood will pass in the Caucasus - the motherland. In addition to him, two girls were born in the family, whose upbringing Nadezhda Mikhailovna was engaged in alone after the death of her husband at the age of 43. This was preceded by his reduction from the army under the law of Nikita Khrushchev from 1960. More than a million soldiers and officers were fired from the Armed Forces, with which Nikolai Troshev could not reconcile until the end of his life, bequeathing to his son not to connect his life with the military profession.
Being a leader by nature, the future General Troshev, whose biography began with the leadership in the game “Cossacks-robbers” on the streets of Grozny, was a creative person. He was fond of music, appreciated beauty and harmony, deciding to become an architect in the future. He even entered the institute, which he dropped out to go to work and help his mother, who pulled three children for 80 rubles. He went to the tank school of the city of Kazan in order to be on full state support and not to depend on outside help. The desire to be the best in everything led him to the Academy of Armored Forces, and then to the Academy of the General Staff.
Army career
While serving in the tank troops, the future general Gennady Troshev did not have time to count the stars on uniform. So rapidly developed his army career. All of it is connected exclusively with the North Caucasian Military District (North Caucasian Military District). In 1994, Troshev rose to the rank of commander of the army corps, becoming the commander of the 58th army during the First Chechen (1994-1996) , gradually leading the United Group of Forces and receiving the rank of lieutenant general. After graduation, he became deputy commander of the North Caucasus Military District.
In the CTO (counter-terrorist operation in the North Caucasus) since August 1999, he led the federal forces that repelled the attack on Dagestan by militants. Then he headed the Vostok group, under the command of Viktor Kazantsev, commander of the United Federal Forces in the North Caucasus, replacing him in this post in April 2000, having received the rank of Colonel-General the day before. Until December 2002 he was commander of the North Caucasian Military District.
Play with death
There were legends about the courage of Troshev. During the fighting, he flew by helicopter, showing personal courage. During the battle for Argun, he called on soldiers and commanders to rise on the offensive, controlling the battle from the window of the porthole. They hit the machine with heavy machine guns. Already in 2000, it was knocked out during the flight of the Basayevites. The helicopter crashed directly into the cemetery at the grave of close relatives. He only said aloud: “Apparently, their souls protected us. Death is not the time. ”
The general never thought that he would have to fight in his native land, where Armenians and Chechens, Russians and Ingush were friends with each other since childhood. He reassured himself that he was not at war with the people, but with bandits. The state of emergency pursued him constantly: in 1999 a helicopter in the fog almost ran into high-voltage wires, and only the art of the pilot Alexander Dziuba, who passed Afghanistan, saved the commander's life. During the fighting, the military uniform became the second skin, General Troshev did not sleep for days, sharing with the soldiers all the hardships of military service. Playing with death, he emerged from the war without a scratch.
Hero of Russia
Brought up on Chechen soil, the general did everything to avoid bloodshed. His efforts were especially pronounced during the active phase of the CTO (1999–2000). He led the group "East" often took the settlements without a fight. An example is the capture of the second largest city in the republic - Gudermes. While Shamanov with the Zapad group broke through to the capital with fierce battles, the support of future president Akhmad Kadyrov and other leaders contributed to the unification of the constructive forces of Chechnya, which is worthy of all respect.
For the operation in Dagestan, which marked the beginning of the CTO, and the courage shown during the hostilities in Chechnya, General Troshev was introduced to the title of Hero of Russia. The award was personally presented by President Yeltsin three days before the announcement of his resignation. He showed particular respect for the legendary commander, allowing himself to speak to himself with the words "my President."
Obstinate general
Contemporaries speak of the general’s tremendous simplicity, both in communication with soldiers and with the President. He was honest and direct, writing several books about military operations in Chechnya, calling them "my war." This is the first part of the name of one of the most famous works. It was open to journalists and the press, took them on any, most important trip, including negotiations on hostage exchanges. Living with his family in Vladikavkaz, the general literally merged with the North Caucasian Military District. But for some reason, in December 2002, he receives an appointment to stand at the head of the Siberian Military District. As an officer, having no right to disobey the order of the military authorities, he suddenly shows obstinacy and resigns.
What is behind this decision, one can only guess, but already in February of next year he becomes an adviser to the President. He is entrusted with questions of the Cossacks. It seems that they wanted to keep the obstinate general under control. What has General Troshev been guilty of? The photo of the commandos who went into immortality of the sixth company, which got in the way of a large gang, trying to break through the Argun Gorge, is a living reproach to the commander who abandoned his soldiers.
Radio intercepts indicate talk of 500 thousand dollars that went into the formation of a corridor for the departure of bandits. Who was paid this money and why did such a terrible coincidence happen? The general did not believe that 90 commandos took an unequal battle with more than two thousand enemy groups, and did not organize assistance to conscripts who lasted 19 hours. Two-thirds of them will die from their own artillery, and the command will until the last hide the fact of the mass death of heroes. This and many more questions will remain on the conscience of the general.
Family of Gennady Troshev
Arriving somehow on a visit, the future general Troshev met the beautiful blonde Larisa Ivanova, whom he made an offer and immediately took to Germany, where he was appointed at that time. This marriage was happy. For Larisa, the family replaced the whole world. Following her husband everywhere, she bore him two daughters. Later, they presented the father with grandchildren, each of whom he met without fail from the maternity hospital.
Daughters recall that each father’s return from business trips was accompanied by a dance with his wife to Oleg Gazmanov’s song “My Only”. In civilian life, they generally tried not to be parted. Going to Perm for a sambo tournament, he and his wife went by car to Moscow, from where he was planning to get to Perm by plane. Larisa Trosheva recalls that he doubted until the last and did not want to fly, but the sense of responsibility played a role, and on the night of September 14, 2008, General Troshev boarded the Boeing 737 airliner among other passengers.
The death of the aircraft
At five in the morning, Larisa Trosheva woke up for some reason and decided to make herself coffee. Turning on the TV, she heard a message about the crash: the Boeing 737, which was carrying out flight 821, on which her husband was flying, crashed onto the railway track of the Industrial District of Perm. The wreckage of the airliner is scattered over an area of four square kilometers. Of 82 passengers and 6 crew members, no one survived.
The crash investigation was carried out by the IAC (Interstate Aviation Committee), which completed it by February next year. It will be recognized that ethyl alcohol has been found in the blood of the commander of the airliner Rodion Medvedev. When approaching, its inadequate actions will lead to inconsistent crew maneuvers and a loss of spatial orientation. The main reason will be called an insufficient level of preparation for flights on airliners of this class. Moreover, no one will be held criminally liable due to the death of a person to be brought to her.
Troshev’s family will be able to sue Aeroflot for 16 million rubles instead of the two, as the plaintiffs in court were not only the wife, but also the mother, sisters and daughters of the deceased. And that’s all that remains of the dear person.
Opinions of people about how General Troshev died
Thousands of people from all over the country gathered for the general’s funeral. The writer Prokhanov recognizes him as a man who preserved the integrity of the Russian state and saved him from collapse. Streets in six cities will be named after the hero, and a monument to the legendary commander will be erected at the burial place in the city of Krasnodar. Everyone agrees that his path of war turned out to be a road to peace.
However, with regard to his death, few people believe in the random nature of the crash and the official version of death. The negotiations of the pilots posted on the Network, transcribed in black boxes, do not convince, despite the slurred speech of the commander. When passing the examination on the eve of the departure from the side of the doctors, there were no comments to Medvedev. Assumptions are being made about testing a new type of weapon that paralyzes human activity. Be that as it may, time will put everything in its place.