In the summer of 1992, in Moldova, which recently became an independent country, events took place that even today, after more than two decades, they prefer not to recall. Apart from the inhabitants of Transnistria, only Odessa residents remember how large-scale this large-scale war was, except for those who saw the aftermath of the massacre and on local television channels (these frames were never repeated later), and personally witnessing the refugees from Tiraspol and Bender who were massively coming to suddenly became a border town. As in the war, they traveled in freight cars.
Soon it became known the name of the hero who resolutely ended this massacre. According to eyewitnesses, General Lebed covered the Moldavian troops with artillery fire, who were preparing to force the Dniester, and then threatened to enter Chisinau and restore order there.
Paratroopers rarely occupy high army posts. They are not taught strategies; the fate of the “winged infantry” is the solution of tactical tasks. At the turn of the last decades of the existence of the USSR, landings began to be used to resolve ethnic conflicts. General Swan commanded the dispersal of the Tbilisi rally in April 1989, then 18 of its participants died. After he ridiculed the attempt to pass off these acts of protest as extremely peaceful, asking simple questions about the sports training of the old woman, which the paratrooper could not catch up, they started talking about him.
A veteran of Afghanistan, a knight of four orders, he really stood out among the "parquet generals." The courageous appearance was combined with the aphoristic manner of controversy and a gloomy, but subtle sense of humor, which someone mistakenly considered soldierly rude. The ability to express the essence of the situation figuratively and clearly, neglecting the norms of political correctness, has become the feature that distinguished General Alexander Lebed.
At the same time, there was reasonable caution behind external directness, shown in 1991 during the events of the August coup and two years later, when tanks shot the Supreme Council building. Then it was easy to be among the "stranglers of freedom", "satraps" and put a fat cross on your career. No, General Lebed did not refuse to carry out the order, but he also did not show a special initiative, so characteristic of his character.
But in 1996, when the entire Kremlin leadership had withdrawn from solving the Chechen problem, he signed an agreement with militant leaders, which at first many understood as a betrayal. In fact, as a true military man, General Lebed understood that it was impossible to achieve victory by the methods used to wage the war, a respite was required to make the right decisions.
Of course, such a colorful figure could not remain without the attention of the then political strategists. In the hope of taming the charismatic military, popular among the troops and among the people, the then leaders of the country's fate made him a tempting offer, the essence of which was to distract the votes from some presidential candidates. General Swan agreed.
His political career brought him to the governorship in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. And in this process, Boris Berezovsky’s desire to observe his interests was seen, financing the campaign in black cash. However, expectations did not quite come true.
Swan was not a very successful leader. It turned out to be more difficult to control the edge than a landing regiment. The fight against criminal authority Bykov ended in a tactical victory, but in general the economic successes of the region left much to be desired.
The death of General Lebed in a plane crash caused a wide public outcry. Most Russian citizens refused to believe in its coincidence. It seemed to many that a very real candidate for the presidency had been eliminated, which would have brought the real order in the country militarily.
Facts rather disprove such an opinion.