Terrorism is the greatest evil that has claimed thousands of human lives. Our country had to face this phenomenon in its most terrible and massive manifestations in the 90s of the last century. Until now, millions of Russians have fresh memories of events in and around Chechnya, such as the terrorist attack in the Budennovsk hospital.
Background
At the end of 1994, the Russian army launched an operation to disarm the gangs operating in Chechnya. In response to these actions, the militants created a group led by Basayev, and also purchased explosives and firearms.
The aim was to conduct a series of attacks on organizations and local residents. Specific Russian cities were chosen for attacks. The group was divided into small units, each of which received its task.
The militants, using as a tool of pressure on the federal authorities the capture of a large number of hostages, thus wanted to achieve independence of the Chechen Republic and its complete separation from Russia. The city of Budennovsk was chosen as one of the main targets for the attack. The attack (photos taken from the scene, see below) was carefully prepared, and all the actions of the militants are well thought out.
Assault on the police department
On June 14, 1995, well before dawn, more than 160 militants in three KamAZ vehicles set off towards Budennovsk. They were accompanied by a VAZ-2106 car, repainted and converted into a police car. The group of bandits was led by Basayev.
When the column passed Budennovsk, the last KamAZ stopped at the intersection of Stavropolskaya and Internatsionalnaya streets, not far from the police building. Having shot two traffic police officers, the bandits moved to the Budennovsky District Department of Internal Affairs. The rest of the terrorists' cars arrived there. They opened fire on the building with automatic weapons and grenade launchers, and then entered it and began to shoot along the corridors and at the doors of cabinets. As a result, several policemen, a lawyer and a local resident were killed. Two police officers were injured. The fight lasted about a quarter of an hour, and then the militants returned to their cars, taking several hostages from the civilian passport and visa department, a buffet, and visitors to the regional department as hostages.
Attack on the administration building
At that moment, when Moscow received the first information about the events, which later became known as the “terrorist attack in Budennovsk,” Basayev’s group was already capturing the city. Having dispersed along the streets, the militants moved to the square at the intersection of Pushkinskaya and Oktyabrskaya streets, where the city hall was located. Most of the bandits broke into him and took hostages of officials and visitors who were there. The remaining terrorists attacked the fire department, the House of Children's Creativity, as well as the collection building, Promstroibank, Sberbank, medical schools and other organizations located near the city administration. Moving along the streets of Budennovsk in a VAZ-2106 car camouflaged as a traffic police car, the bandits fired intensively at administrative buildings, vehicles, private households and casual passers-by.
So, at 13:30 in the area of intersection of Leninskaya and Krasnaya Streets with bursts of machine gun and Kalashnikov light machine gun, terrorists killed two police officers and wounded another police officer.
Hospital capture
By 3 p.m., the bandits carrying out the terrorist attack in Budennovsk managed to capture 600 hostages. They were placed around a fuel tank, threatening to blow it up in the event of any attempt to free the captives.
Having lined up the hostages, the militants moved towards the city hospital. At that time, there were 1,100 people in it - patients, as well as doctors and workers from among the attendants.
Along the column, the militants killed those who tried to resist. Total killed 100 people.
Having seized the hospital, the terrorists mined the basements under the premises where the hostages were placed, as well as the oxygen station.
In order to stop all kinds of attempts at disobedience, the militants selected 6 men from among those whom they held by force, and staged a demonstrative execution in the courtyard of the medical facility.
Terrorist attack in Budennovsk: situation by the evening of June 15, 1995
As a result of the actions of the Basaev’s gang in the city, water and gas supply was interrupted, telephone communications ceased to function, the streets were empty, food and industrial enterprises, schools, administrative institutions and kindergartens suspended their work.
The hardest hit were young and adult patients in the hospital. They were not able to provide the necessary medical care. As a result, even several cases of death and birth in pregnant women who were at that time in the hospital, dead children were recorded.
Claims put forward by Shamil Basayev
As already mentioned, the terrorist attack in Budennovsk was intended to put pressure on the federal authorities of the Russian Federation. The main demands put forward by Basayev were the cessation of hostilities in the territory of Chechnya and the start of negotiations with D. Dudaev. Most likely, he believed that he was doing a good deed for his people, but nothing he could and could not justify the methods he chose.
Since the press did not arrive at the appointed time, the terrorists, as promised earlier, shot one of the hostages, and five more hours later.
By 20:00 on June 15, journalists were nevertheless taken to the hospital. After the press conference, Shamil Basayev released them all.
June 16th Events
At about 4 pm Moscow time, a statement by the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation V. Chernomyrdin was transmitted by radio, according to which an immediate ceasefire was guaranteed on the territory of the Chechen Republic. On the same day, a delegation flew to Grozny and began negotiations on the establishment of peace, as required by Basayev.
Assault June 17
Although more than 20 years have passed since the described events, disputes about the degree of guilt not only of those who carried out the terrorist attack in Budennovsk, but also of the Russian authorities and representatives of the law enforcement agencies that led the hostage-freeing operation, have still not subsided. In particular, there is an opinion that many victims could have been avoided if it had not been for the unsuccessful attempt to storm the hospital building by special units of the FSB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation early in the morning of June 17.
As a result of the assault, Major V. Solovov, commander of the Alpha task force, died. The only thing that was achieved was the release of some of the hostages held in the relatively poorly guarded terrorists trauma and neurological departments.
After making sure that it would not be possible to clear the hospital of the militants, the leaders of the special operation sent negotiators to Basayev, including Anatoly Kashpirovsky.
Negotiations on June 18
The terrorist attack in Budennovsk (1995) entered its final stage after Viktor Chernomyrdin personally contacted Basayev early in the morning . He made concessions on all counts, so by noon the terrorists released the first group of hostages.
At 19:00, Basayev demanded to bring six buses to the hospital building, on which he, together with his people, under the guise of hostages, was going to return to Chechnya.
June 19-20
At 5:15 in the morning, Basayev’s demand was fulfilled. In addition to three Ikarus buses, a refrigerator with food was brought to the building where the terrorists and hostages were. Four hours later, Basayev presented the negotiators with a list of journalists whom he invited to a press conference. The press group included correspondents for CBB and BBC, World Television News, ORT, NTV, Rossiyskaya Gazeta and Spiegel magazine.
At 11:30, the Basayevites invited these journalists to accompany them on their voluntary return to Chechnya. Twenty people agreed. They were joined by three people's deputies of the Russian Federation and several representatives of the local and regional administration. In addition, terrorists put 123 male hostages on buses. At 17:00, a motorcade led by Basayev left Budennovsk.
June 20, she reached the territory of Chechnya. The terrorists kept their word and released all the hostages. Then they disappeared, breaking into several groups.
Subsequently, it became known that the buses provided to the terrorists were mined by radio-controlled mines. It was supposed to bring them into action if the militants release the hostages along the road in Chechnya.
Terrorist attack in Budennovsk: consequences
The tragedy that occurred on June 14-19, 1995 shocked Russia. June 22 was declared the day of mourning for the dead, the number of which at that time was still being specified.
The attack caused the resignation of the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Minister of Nationalities N. Egorov, the head of the FSB S. Stepashin, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs V. Erin and the governor of the Stavropol Territory E. Kuznetsov.
According to various sources, the attack in Budennovsk (a brief chronology of events is presented above) claimed the lives of 129 to 147 civilians, three commandos, eighteen police officers, and five hospital employees. 415 people were injured. 198 cars were injured (burned and damaged), terrorists set fire to the Children's Creativity House, the buildings of the city hospital, police department and city administration suffered great damage. Damage was also caused to 107 private households. The total damage in monetary terms exceeded 95 billion undenominated rubles.
After the events described, the State Duma of the Russian Federation adopted the Law on Combating Terrorism. According to this document, regardless of the circumstances, local and federal authorities, as well as any other state bodies, are prohibited from satisfying the demands of bandits. At the same time, it remains controversial to claim that if the law were passed earlier, such a terrible crime as the terrorist attack in Budennovsk could have been avoided. When the hostage-taking took place on Dubrovka, its organizers already understood that they would not be able to leave alive. However, this did not stop them.
Now you know in which year the terrorist attack in Budennovsk took place and who committed it. One can only hope that this will never happen again and that changes in the political, social or social life of mankind will occur on the basis of its evolution, and not as a result of political blackmail and mass killings of innocent civilians.