After the collapse of the Soviet Union, organizations that were nationalistic in nature formed in many former republics of the USSR. Among them was the association "National Congress of the Chechen People", which was formed on the territory of Chechnya. The purpose of the organization was to secede from the USSR and Russia. The leader of the movement was Dzhokhar Dudaev, who under the Union bore the rank of general of the Soviet Air Force. But the militants opposed a powerful army led by Russian generals. In the Chechen war, their fates were intertwined, but for the most part they were tragic ..
Anatoly Romanov
The first who was awarded the title Hero of Russia for participating in the first Chechen war was Colonel General Anatoly Romanov. He served as commander of the internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation and led the federal troops in Chechnya during the war. Unfortunately, the service did not last long, less than 3 months - from July to October 1995.
In October of this year, the convoy was blown up on a radio-controlled landmine. The general survived, but his injuries were so severe that he still cannot be rehabilitated. To this day, he is surrounded not only by medical personnel, but also by close friends and relatives. His wife Larisa has been caring for her hero husband for more than a dozen years.
The main merit of Anatoly Romanov is a diplomatic gift, thanks to which he splendidly negotiated. Romanov tried to resolve the conflict in the North Caucasus by peaceful means. Anatoly Aleksandrovich received the heroic title for his service in this region a month after he was seriously wounded.
In addition, in 1994 he received the Order of Military Merit. He has many awards, including the Krapovy Beret, the Order of the Red Star, received before participating in the Chechen conflict, the Order for Personal Courage and the Medal for Impeccable Service. Romanov has many anniversary medals.
Nikolay Skrypnik
Anatoly Romanov was replaced by Major General Skrypnik. He was also awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. He led the so-called tactical grouping of the internal troops of the Russian Federation in Chechnya. But Nikolai Skrypnik did not survive in this war: in 1996 in one of the villages he carried out a mopping-up operation of a fairly large gang led by Doku Makhayev.
The APC on which Skrypnik was riding also blew up on a radio-controlled landmine. After being injured, the general lived only an hour. He was awarded the title of Hero of Russia posthumously after the end of the First Chechen campaign in November 1996.
Leo Rokhlin
Another general, who went through almost the entire military campaign in Chechnya, participated in battles in Afghanistan and Karabakh. Lev Rokhlin refused the title of Hero of Russia for participating in the Chechen war. But it can be included in the list of heroes generals of the Chechen war. The media say that his refusal is connected with the fact that he considered the Chechen campaign not glorious, but a mournful period in the life of his country.
Gennady Troshev
The famous trench general who went through the entire Chechen war. This is Gennady Troshev. His life ended tragically in 2008. But he died not in hostilities, but as a result of a plane crash. Gennady Troshev was a hereditary military. The future general of the Chechen war Troshev was born in 1947 in Berlin. His childhood passed in the Caucasus, in the city of Grozny. Father died early and Gennady, along with two sisters, raised her mother.
Education Gennady Troshev received at the Kazan Higher Tank Command School and the Military Academy of the General Staff. He graduated from the Military Academy of Armored Forces. General’s career was going well. By the beginning of the First Chechen campaign, he was the commander of the 58th army, and then - the commander in chief of the combined force grouping. Soon he was awarded the rank of lieutenant general.
In the Second Chechen campaign, Troshev held the post of commander of the Federal troops who fought with militants in Dagestan. He headed the Vostok group; in 2000, he earned the title of Colonel General. At the same time, he led the United Federal Forces in Chechnya and Dagestan, and commanded the North Caucasian Military District troops until the end of 2002. Troshev was a legendary general, he did not hide behind the backs of soldiers, he was respected for this. He fully shared all the hardships of those who were subordinate to him, personally participated in the hostilities, controlled them.
He was a wise man who tried to solve problems without bloodshed, to take settlements in the North Caucasus without a fight. Unfortunately, this was not always possible. The legendary Chechen war general Troshev earned the Hero of Russia award, which was handed to him by Boris Yeltsin. In addition, he never hid from the media, actively contacted with them.
During the Chechen campaign, a talent for writing was revealed in him. One of the most popular books by Gennady Troshev “My war. Chechen diary of a trench general ”was published in 2001. After the end of hostilities in Chechnya, they wanted to transfer him to the Siberian Military District. But since he gave his whole life to the North Caucasus, he did not transfer from these places that became his family, he resigned.
Later, he dealt with issues of the Cossacks, worked in the North Caucasus until 2008. He was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree, but literally 2.5 months after the award he died as a result of the crash of the Boeing 737. Rumor has it that the death of Troshev was not just a fatal accident, but a planned operation, but this version has not yet been confirmed.
Human losses
Losses of human lives among both the military and civilians during both Chechen wars amount to hundreds of thousands. The generals who died in the Chechen war, there are 14 people. And these are those who fought on the Russian side. But on the side of the militants fought Chechens who previously served their country - the USSR.
During the First Chechen campaign, 2 generals were killed. During the Second - 10, and between them - 2 generals. They served in various divisions: the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the FSB, military justice and the main special building.
The dead Russian generals in the Chechen war
In the ranks of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation was Major General Viktor Vorobyov, who died on January 7, 1995. His death came due to the explosion of a mortar mine.
Another major general of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Gennady Shpigun, was abducted in March 1999 in the city of Grozny. His body was found in March 2000 near the village of Duba-Yurt.
In the winter of 2002, the MI-8 helicopter was shot down. The generals of the Chechen war died in it:
- Lieutenant General Mikhail Rudenko;
- Major General of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Nikolaev Goridov.
The first served as Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation and was the head of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior. The second was the deputy commander of the internal affairs of the troops of the Ministry of the Interior of the Russian Federation and commanded a group of internal troops in Chechnya.
In November 2001, Gaydar Gadzhiev, a major general and military commandant of the Urus-Martan district of Chechnya, was mortally wounded. He did not die immediately - he died in the hospital a few days later.
On September 17, 2001, two high-ranking military men died at once:
- Major General Anatoly Pozdnyakov;
- Major General Pavel Varfolomeev.
Both of them served in the General Staff. Pozdnyakov was the head of the second department. Varfolomeev was the deputy head of the personnel department.
Mikhail Malofeev - deputy commander of the North group. He died from a bullet wound in a battle on January 18, 2000 in one of the regions of Grozny.
Closes the list of Chechen war generals who died as a result of hostilities, Major General Viktor Prokopenko, Deputy Chief of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff. In April 1998, he was killed as a result of shelling of a convoy.
Generals whose heart could not stand it
A few more generals of the Chechen war died from the fact that their health was undermined as a result of this bloody war. Heart could not stand the Major General Stanislav Korovinsky. He died on December 29, 99. From heart problems in March 2000, Major General Alexander Otrakovsky, the commander of the Marine Corps, died.
Vice Admiral German Ugryumov died in May 2001 from acute heart failure. He served as the head of the Regional Headquarters for the Counter-Terrorism Operation in the North Caucasus.