Photo: Don't let yourself be a weapon in the hands of impostors acting on behalf of intelligence agencies

COVERING IN THE NETWORK BY THE LUBYANKA SPECIAL FORCE

Recently, a scandal erupted: the Center for Public Relations of the FSB of Russia, after publications in the foreign press, issued a refutation and said that the group operating on Facebook called “TsSN FSB of Russia” has nothing to do with the department.

FSB DISCLAIMER

It’s amazing, but we still have to explain the obvious, in general, things: only two resources representing state security are “registered” on the Internet: these are the official websites of the Federal Security Service and the National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAC).

Yes, there are active groups and sites on the Web that cover the activities of special services, law enforcement agencies or talk about the activities of specific special forces. But these are public, voluntary and not official matters.

The military-patriotic newspaper "Special Forces of Russia", which has been published since the spring of 1994, stands apart here. But it is by no means the official publication of the FSB, but of the International Association of Veterans of the Alpha anti-terror unit (headed by a member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, retired colonel Sergei Alekseevich Goncharov).

Another publication founded by spetsnaz veterans is the popular maroon beret magazine Bratishka, headed by Hero of Russia Sergei Lysyuk. However, a few years ago its publication was suspended.

That, in fact, is all.

But here is another matter. There is a group on Facebook that calls itself the "Special Purpose Center of the FSB of Russia." No more, no less. It is clear to anyone who is in the subject that these are stickies, however, the servers of this social network are located in the United States, which predetermined the choice of impostors "from the FSB".

At the same time, the “Pokemons” on the blue eye indicate their address: Bolshaya Lubyanka Street, house number 1 / 3, 2 / 3 and 3 / 3. The FSB reception phone is also there. And even modestly, without fanfare, the status of the Internet resource is marked: “state organization”.

It would seem that even more - you do not need to be a specialist to diagnose what you see on the Web. Moreover, the CSN itself is not deployed at Lubyanka, but in one of the districts of Moscow.

However, the People hides everything, doesn't it? And - hawala, hawah ...

And another stroke.

On the avatar of this "left" community is placed the emblem of the CSN with the characteristic letter "B", i.e. "Vympel". Well, we're really picking on that, aren't we? People believe, especially foreign subscribers - here they are, they say, secret fighters of the FSB and GRU special forces who decided to go online. And not by themselves, but by the whole combat structure of the Lubyanka.

However, the Lubyanka is tracking the sticky people.

And then (in fact, at the beginning of March 2017) a refutation appeared in the press, clear and concise: actions of Russian special forces during the liberation of Palmyra from terrorists.

The Special Purpose Center has nothing to do with this information, ”the FSB Public Relations Center told RIA Novosti.

Do you think the video was removed after this? Or was there a comment? Not at all.

So, dear readers, if you have friends who are members of this group, warn them what's what. And say that every like they have, every participation is work not just for sticky people, but work for the Enemy. Exactly. So that there are no illusions. You should not be mistaken.

THE PHENOMENON OF "ORLOV"

The world is going crazy hunting Pokémon with smartphones. For those who have not heard about this newfangled game, we explain. The map in the phone leads the player to the right place, the user rotates the camera and sees and catches funny cartoon animals against the background of the real situation.

The real situation, people and virtual characters controlled by extraneous will are mixed on the screen. The unknown owner of the game places the animals anywhere - in your apartment or at the dacha, at a secret facility, in a war zone, and the players point their phone cameras at the objects themselves - transferring the desired video to invisible hands.

Similarly, in social networks, we are dealing with "Pokemon" in the guise of fake heroes. It is not difficult for a Pokémon to disguise itself as a veteran of a large power structure, because current employees do not shine on social networks (strictly prohibited!), And veterans do not know newcomers. However, in the case of Alpha, this is difficult to imagine, since those who left the service still remain part of their native unit. Veterans are connected with him through a powerful public organization.

... A year ago, a character appeared on Facebook knocking on me and several of my friends at once. Photos of the character hinted that we were dealing with ... hmm, as if not a general, a “Hero of Russia”, related to the Alpha anti-terror unit and going on the social network under the nickname “Alexey Orlov”. By the beginning of the year, he had accumulated 2 thousand friends.

Then there was a personal correspondence. Orlov spoke little about who he was and where he came from, but he made it clear that he served in the GRU, then was in Alfa, and now he is a sniper instructor at the Special Forces Center of the FSB of Russia.

As a result, the first doubts about the reality of the character crept in, as it turned out, I was not the only one. After discussing with comrades, they found out that no one knows the newly appeared “friend”. Then they made inquiries at Directorate "A" of the Central Security Service of the FSB of Russia and the International Association of Veterans of the Alpha anti-terror unit. And we made sure that we have a virtual pokemon character that has never had anything to do with special forces and exists on Facebook, surrounded by other similar fictional “heroes”.

As it was possible to establish, his avatar is an old photograph of a real person - holder of the Order of Courage, reserve lieutenant colonel Ruslan Tsvetkov, who lives in Samara. He served in the Airborne Forces and the GRU special forces. Fought in the North Caucasus. It has nothing to do with Pokemon.

Began to refine the list of characters and their relationships, methods of work. The information was checked, and meanwhile the Pokémon were fed with fakes, humorously discussing the new exploits of the “elusive”, with which the ersatz heroes plentifully regaled their audience in private correspondence.

The promoted pokemon "Alexey Orlov" already had more than 3.5 thousand friends and one thousand subscribers on Facebook. Things were going uphill. Until all the “raspberries” were spoiled for him by the veterans of “Alpha” and the newspaper “Special Forces of Russia”. As a result of the high-profile exposure, Orlov's page was deleted. However, his accomplices remained, as well as the TsSN FSB of Russia group itself.

"I AM THE FIGHTER OF THE INVISIBLE FRONT"

Before ingloriously merging from the Web, the senior Pokémon Orlov at the end of October 2016 posted a simply heartbreaking post about his injury and being in the Burdenko military hospital.

Well, in VKontakte the people are savvy, such fables would not work here, but on Facebook the people, in general, are different. And a lot of foreigners. And a flurry of condolences rained down (including entries in English, Italian, etc.) to the wounded Internet fighter of the invisible front.

"Orlov" reported that "the bullet passed a few centimeters from the kidneys" (obviously, both at once!) And those "who wished him death can rejoice."

Then the stickman pressed on a tear: “I served in Group A for 8 unforgettable years, I left due to a wound. After being wounded, I recovered for a long time, and I was offered to continue my service in another unit of the army.

Well, this is strong, right!

Not a single officer of the special forces of state security will write like that by definition. "Spetsnaz Lubyanka" is one thing, the army is another! It's like "Our Father".

And then “Orlov” continued: “I created this page only for the sake of interest, I wanted to know how people relate to the army team (again, he is for his own!) and not only. Who closely followed my page (and there are many of them), I made posts about special forces, posted photos and showed Russia and Russians only from the good side. "Consumor aliis inserviendo" - shining on others, you burn yourself. I'm not going to make excuses, I just don't have the strength, and my head is full of painkillers. So excuse who I offended, I am a fighter of the invisible front and did not come here to promote myself, but to talk about my service in Group A.

... In short, it was a message in the spirit: “I am a poet, my name is Tsvetik. Hello from me to all of you!”

Readers of the "Special Forces of Russia" had a good laugh at the two photographs of the "injury" of the older Pokemon, and we quickly found out that no Orlov, of course, was admitted to the Burdenko military hospital. As no other patient with this kind of wounds did at all. A run designed for an absolutely inexperienced audience.

"Orlov" deleted the page, along with it another Pokémon from the special forces - "Aleksey Petrov", obviously looking for other guises, biographies and approaches to new persons of interest. Others in the Facebook group stayed and, after waiting, continued their activities (however, it is possible that these are the same persons under different surnames).

And the closer the presidential elections in Russia are, the more "fighters of the invisible front" will emerge from various cracks, which - which is by no means excluded! - will make stuffing and give comments on behalf of the Russian special services.

Forewarned is forearmed.

WHO NEED A NETWORK OF VIRTUAL HEROES?

What to do with this group of impostors, for what purposes do they work? Who are the faces on Facebook that the Pokémon Orlov calls his commanders, mentors, colleagues?

There are three options for which the network of virtual heroes is needed by the hosts of Pokémon.

The first is work for foreign intelligence. This is the most likely option, aimed at obtaining information about veterans and current employees, about the organization of Russian special forces, their combat and daily activities. How this is done - we will tell below.

But in addition to collecting information, the owners have extensive opportunities for manipulating real people and even for provocations. For example, a well-known Pokemon officer, not the first year on the Web, will suddenly tell his blogger friends in secret that he is fighting in some country, share another important insider. And now the correspondence with the special forces officer appears on the front pages of newspapers as proof of "Russia's treachery."

Further, even more fun - imagine that following such a revelation, the “veteran” disappears from the social network, and his friends “go on the run”, along the way spreading reports about how their own acting officer of the Mordor intelligence service was killed for the truth.

Of course, the FSB of Russia will expose the "whistleblowers", but the deed is done - these will be just unsubstantiated words of the special services against the words of "heroes", "fighters for the truth", well known to the Internet community. The new virtual traitor Alexander Litvinenko is straight (the one who fled to London and died from a dose of polonium)! And everything is ready for such a provocation. I wonder when, according to the scenario, the virtual Orlov should die? After all, the “assassination attempt” on him had already taken place.

The second option is pure scam. A publicly respected SWAT officer will one day be approached privately to resolve business or legal problems. He will ask for money for solving problems. And they will give him, maybe even a lot, without ever seeing the officer in the eye and not being able to find his traces later.

Or one day, a Pokémon officer will publicly ask for help in an operation due to an injury. Reposts, money flowing into fake accounts - with such authority and the number of fans of the character, its owners can earn a fortune in a week, while no one has time to understand what is happening and sound the alarm.

The third option is the game of scouts and special forces, the game of "lightning". It is possible that we are dealing with an attempt to realize in the virtual world our aspirations, aspirations and ambitions that have not been realized in life, however, the likelihood of this is small - there is a group acting professionally, harmoniously, purposefully. In addition, we are not aware of the existence of manuals on the Web, with which the actions of this group can be compared.

In general, as experience shows, social networks have become an ideal environment for breeding Pokemon. You can launch a fictional character in the guise of a special agent, the hero of all wars, and there will be those who will believe in him, and then they will make others believe. The photo of the Pokemon is someone else's, stolen or processed.

When communicating on behalf of the Pokemon, the owners hide their gaps in knowledge and experience, while not answering uncomfortable questions - the Pokemon is positioned as a secret person, and its work and personality are shrouded in mystery, about which - how could it be otherwise! - you can’t talk on social networks even with your own.

The only ones who could help figure out Pokemon breeders are the owners and moderators of social networks. But Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, is based in the US with his servers. Please note that in the largest social network VKontakte, whose servers are located in Russia, the Pokemon group we are studying does not work, which once again suggests the professional actions of foreign intelligence services.

HOW TO BECOME OWN POKÉMON IN THE REAL WORLD?

First, the impostor must be "born". They come up with a name and a legend for him, make an avatar by processing a photo of another person. They create a profile on the social network and fill it with patriotic materials, photographs pulled from other people's pages.

Then they create a company of virtual characters just like him, also “heroes”, but only on a smaller scale. Pokémon repost each other's materials, communicate and interact in the feeds of other users - objects of interest, and ask to be friends with them. As a result, "followers" of the virtual sect appear, and with them live people, hands that fulfill someone else's will, requests, commands in the real world.

“Have you seen Orlov live?” - "No, but a man came from him, brought money for a sick boy." And the man, it turns out, didn’t see Orlov either, but he received a request from him to find money for a good cause, he fulfilled it, collected it, handed it over.

A real boy, real money, real help and… a virtual hero who laid another brick in the foundation of his own legalization with someone else's hands.

Or a girl, a living friend of the virtual hero Orlov. Having tagged along to the front line, she once took part in the civil war in the Donbass. Was wounded. She is for the truth, for freedom, actively posts materials on social networks, does not have a soul in the Internet idol ... And at the same time, she is not wiser with experience.

It is difficult to overestimate the degree of her involvement in the events in the Donbass, but once, as it was said, she received a real injury - she caught fragments as a result of an explosion. As a result, other real people, at the suggestion of Orlov, met a compatriot in Moscow, assigned her to expensive treatment, and provided her with money.

Pokémon makes women fall in love with him, arranges romantic meetings under public webcams, and then says that he urgently flew to the war, but sent his friend to the meeting place, who was too shy to approach his beloved.

There are other examples of how the virtual group we are studying acts with proxy in the real world. Sometimes he does good deeds. However, the purpose of these cases is not to help people, but to legalize a group of Pokémon.

HOW DO POKÉMON COLLECT INFORMATION?

Much of the above more or less corresponds to the techniques of the so-called "seeding" (in terms of Public Relations) used to promote goods and services by advertising agencies. In the case of the legalization of the Pokemon-hero, its owners have to go through a more difficult path, interact on the Web with real veterans of the special services.

A Pokémon can jump off an uncomfortable conversation, secrecy will write it off, but this is too easy and does not correspond to its goal of "becoming one". And here we see know-how, a technique that, by analogy with "sowing", we will call "cross-pollination".

“Have you worked in staff? Do you know where the documents go after the dismissal?

“Hi, is there a new boss in the N department, do you know?”

"Hello. What kind of nonsense they write, they say, Filatov (vice-president of the International Association "Alpha", editor-in-chief of the "Special Forces of Russia" - Auth.) and Sokolov (veteran of "Alpha" - Auth.) died in the Crimea? No? Here I am about this ... And then they tell me that their photos were shown on TV. And who then died there?

Let's add that there are at least two people behind our main character. The one that started to spin the main Pokemon was smarter, better oriented in the environment. The second made many mistakes, caused a flurry of suspicions even among purely civilians. Apparently, a more expensive specialist was attracted for the period of legalization, and then, when the strategic task was solved, cheaper moderators and collectors of the invoice, which they swipe from wherever possible, joined in.

So, for example, the good guys from the "TsSN FSB of Russia" were repeatedly caught for stealing publications (without references, of course) from the "Special Forces of Russia", the most striking example is Alexei Filatov's essay entitled "Berserk", dedicated to the legendary " Alfovets" Viktor Ivanovich Blinov.

At the same time, by posting the publication on Blinov in two parts, they stupidly cut off both posts, because otherwise they would have to give links to the basic publication of the essay on the website of Spetsnaz Russia".

Personal correspondence with veterans is not all that the intelligence community does to gather information. Further more. Pokemon creates groups and pages on the social network, drags his friends and subscribers into them. Pages are created with obviously incorrect names or their spelling, but this does not bother visitors: “Spetsnaz grru rf (spn gr grsh vs rf)”, “Special Purpose Center of the FSB of Russia” and so on.

Everyone knows, but for some reason forgets that it is in the films that villains and scammers look and behave like villains and scammers, but in real life they are often pleasant and respectable people. In social networks, it is even easier for attackers - there is no need to look into the eyes of those whom you are deceiving. Their pages and groups contain beautiful, patriotic, often interesting and up-to-date information. How can one not believe in virtue?

And visitors believe the villains, ask questions on social networks to anonymous page and group administrators, believing that they are related to the relevant special services. The military personnel of the Ministry of Defense are interested in how to get into the service in the Central Security Service of the FSB of Russia, the widows of the dead employees - how to get benefits, and the veterans of the units - help in finding a job.

In return, users abundantly share with the owners of the intelligence network information about their participation in hostilities, photographs from the scene of events, not only their own, but also friends, including those still serving in the military.

Conclusion: the work of the studied group on Facebook bears little resemblance to pranks and petty fraud. Rather - on the operation of the special services, is not it?

WHAT TO DO?

We have what we have. We are not going to refuse to communicate in social networks, and this intelligence community is not the first and not the last that every user has to deal with on the Internet every day. Let's take at least some precautions.

First. Check your social media friends, find and remove those you don't know yourself or your real friends don't know in the real world. You will not only save yourself from unnecessary contacts, but also save your friends from the troubles, in front of whom scammers will hide behind "friendship" with you.

Second. Never add as a friend someone you doubt exists. And don't be put off by pretty faces on avatars, fiery texts, or the fact that these characters are already friends with those who enjoy your respect.

And fourth. Send someone you know in the real world a link to this material, repost it. For those who want to protect themselves from manipulation, to learn more about fraud technologies similar to those practiced by the Orlova Pokemon group, we recommend reading the book by Kevin Mitnick (an iconic figure in the field of information security) "The Art of Deception" - very informative.

If in life you, dear readers, have come across some people who position themselves as veterans of the FSB special forces, or firms operating under the brands of legendary units, then this issue is easily resolved.

If it is claimed that a person served in Group A of the KGB-FSB, then the necessary information will be prompted to you by the International Association of Veterans of the Alpha anti-terror unit, which has accumulated rich experience in exposing sticky people and impostors for a quarter of a century.

They talk about Vympel - contact the Association of Veterans and Employees of the Vympel Special Purpose Group (headed by Valery Popov), and they will explain whether it is true or not.

The Fund for Veterans of the Smerch Special Operations Unit of the State Security Bodies can also clarify its profile.

So do not allow yourself to be a weapon in the hands of impostors acting on behalf of the special services, because you create a much-needed extras for them to carry out the activities mentioned above.

In the conditions of the Cold War, when the Internet and the press became a weapon of mass disinformation and conducting active information events, working, albeit passively, for the enemy is infantilism and an unaffordable luxury that diverts people's attention to unusable objects.

The author is a reserve lieutenant colonel, a veteran of Directorate "A" of the Central Security Service of the FSB of Russia. Participant of special operations on Dubrovka ("Nord-Ost") and in Beslan. Deputy Head of the Kolomna Municipal District of the Moscow Region

The newspaper "SPETSNAZ RUSSIA" and the magazine "SCOUT"

In connection with requests regarding the opportunity to serve in Alfa, Vympel, and regional anti-terror units, we are posting this information, which will allow us to remove initial typical questions and realistically assess our physical and psychological capabilities.

Primary selection

The selection system for anti-terror special forces is carried out in several stages. For service in the special forces of the Special Purpose Center of the FSB of Russia, as a rule, officers and ensigns, as well as cadets of military schools, are selected as candidates for officer positions.

97% of positions in special forces are officer positions, and only 3% are ensign positions. Accordingly, an officer must have a higher education, an ensign - not lower than secondary. Ensigns are usually appointed to the positions of drivers and instructors.

Firstly, a candidate for special forces must be recommended either by an active employee of the TsSN, or by a veteran who previously served in Alfa, Vympel, or Directorate C. The selection is also carried out from cadets of universities of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation or from border institutes of the FSB.

Preference is given to those who are already studying at the Faculty of Special Forces, which is in the Novosibirsk Higher Combined Arms Command School. The selection of children from the Moscow VOKU is also being made. Employees of the Center regularly come to all these educational institutions and carry out the initial selection. First, the personal files of cadets are studied, and then potential candidates are interviewed.

For candidates, there is one serious limitation on physical data - height must be at least 175 cm. This is due to the fact that in operations, employees often use heavy armored shields of impressive size. For undersized employees, these protective equipment is dragged along the ground.

An exception may be made for a candidate whose professional merit outweighs the lack of growth and can be used during a special operation when penetrating the hatches of an aircraft (as an example).

Another limitation is age. Applicant must be no older than 28 years old. True, for those who come to the CSN from other power structures and have combat experience, an exception may be made.

Physical testing

Physical testing is divided into two stages, which take place on the same day. During the first, candidates pass physical fitness standards, followed by hand-to-hand combat sparring.

The candidate arrives at the “object”, changes into a sports uniform for the season. He must run a distance of three kilometers in 10 minutes 30 seconds. After the finish, he is given 5 minutes to rest, and then his sprinting qualities are tested in overcoming the hundred meters for a while. The credit result is about 12 seconds.

Then, with a light run, you need to climb to the gym, where the candidate is waiting for the crossbar. A candidate for Department "A" must pull himself up 25 times, for Department "B" - 20. Here and below, after each exercise, 3 minutes of rest are given between exercises.

Next, you need to complete 90 flexions and extensions of the torso in two minutes. This is followed by push-ups from the floor. The offset for Control "A" is 90 times, for Control "B" - 75. Sometimes push-ups from the floor can be replaced with push-ups on the uneven bars. In this case, the required amount is 30 times.

The execution time is not strictly limited, but the candidate is not allowed to rest during the execution. They are also quite strict about how the exercise is performed. If the candidate, in the opinion of the receiving employee, does not clearly perform this or that exercise, it is not counted to him.

After that, the candidate is invited to perform a complex strength exercise. For "A" and "B" - 7 and 5 times, respectively. The complex exercise includes 15 push-ups from the floor, 15 flexions and extensions of the torso (checking the abdominals), then 15 times the transition from the “crouching emphasis” position to the “lying emphasis” and back, then 15 jumps from the “crouching” position up.

Each exercise is given 10 seconds. The described cycle is a single execution of a complex exercise. There is no rest break between each exercise. Sometimes in Office "A" it is proposed to perform an endurance test - jump up 100 times.

hand-to-hand combat

Having completed physical testing, the candidate rests for 3 minutes, after which, putting on protection on his legs, on his groin, a helmet on his head, gloves on his hands, he enters the wrestling mat. The candidate's rival is an instructor or a well-trained employee. At the same time, the weight category of the candidate is not taken into account, and an employee weighing under 100 kg can go against him, weighing, for example, 75 kilograms. The fight consists of three rounds.

In the ring, the candidate is required to be active, passive defense is not welcome. It is very difficult to do this, given the loads that the candidate has overcome during the physical tests. Against him comes a completely fresh employee. Here, first of all, fighting qualities, the ability to attack, the ability to take a hit and, of course, the will are tested. There were cases when the masters of sports did not stand in the ring, and the guys who did not have any serious sports titles, on the contrary, stubbornly attacked and rushed at the enemy.

To some extent, the hand-to-hand combat phase resembles the similar phase of testing candidates during the maroon beret examination. True, I must say that in the CSN they approach the test in a more balanced way, without trying to score a candidate. The instructor often lets the candidate work on his own, take the initiative to understand what he can do. Although there were cases when during sparring they broke their arms and noses. Sometimes, to test the ability to beat with hands and feet, the candidate is allowed to work on the bag.

This completes this testing phase. Preference is given to candidates with sporting merit in martial arts, as well as in boxing and wrestling. Although accept and runners.

If a candidate for a special unit comes from other units of the Special Purpose Center, he may be subject to additional requirements. Shooting skills should be checked or the ability to swim (100 meters for a while and 25 meters underwater without any equipment).

Special check

This is followed by the so-called special check, during which even all relatives are thoroughly checked. While this process is going on, the candidate undergoes an initial examination by a psychologist, who, with the help of tests, studies the personality of the subject, his character, temperament, moral attitudes, etc. During the interview, the psychologist also tries to identify the characteristics of the candidate’s personality, clarifies some unclear points for himself. It happens that candidates do not say something or lie.

Based on the results of the initial selection, the psychologist compiles the psychological characteristics of the candidate. She is filed in the case of a special inspection. This document is necessary for the future chief to understand what kind of person came to serve in the unit.

Then the candidate undergoes an in-depth medical examination, during which his suitability for airborne training is revealed. Here he is also waiting for a mandatory polygraph test.

The polygraph (aka “lie detector”) is designed primarily to identify “dark spots of biography”, such as addiction to alcohol and drugs, connections with the underworld, corrupt motives, antisocial inclinations and other aspects.

Based on the results of the survey, a certificate is drawn up. The assessment of the candidate is compiled in points, which gives a visible picture of how successfully he passed the tests. For example, the total number of possible points in physical fitness is 900. The minimum number of points from which a candidate is considered for admission to the CSN is 700. The average passing score is 800.

Family conversation

After the candidate is recognized as having successfully passed the selection tests and his verification, an interview with his parents and his wife is mandatory. During the conversation, they are explained the nature and characteristics of service in special forces.

The result of this interview should be the written consent of the parents and wife with the admission of the candidate to serve in the special unit. This procedure is primarily due to the fact that special forces perform tasks with an increased risk to life.

If the candidate has successfully passed all the stages and the relatives are not against his service in the CSN, he is enlisted in the special forces as a young employee. Those undergo an initiation ritual with the presentation of black berets and special knives "Antiterror", which are officially adopted by the special forces. They are also presented with gifts from the International Association of Veterans of the Alpha anti-terror unit (watches).

If the selected candidate does not perform well, he may be expelled from the special forces.

Further preparation

In September-October, the Center conducts a training course for young employees, during which they are engaged in mountain and airborne training and other special disciplines. By the way, absolutely all employees of combat departments jump with a parachute.

Upon completion of this stage, young employees return to their units again, where they undergo training as part of the units for three years. Already there is a division into full-time and non-staff positions.

Specialization training is a separate program that requires a long time and perseverance of an employee in order to become a true professional in his field. At the end of each year, the professional qualities and physical fitness of all employees of the Center are checked.

If young employees are taken on combat missions, then only to perform some supporting functions. Only those who have served in the unit for at least two years, or employees who previously had combat experience, take part in special operations.

There is an unspoken rule at the Center that after enrolling in special forces, an employee is required to serve in it for at least five years. This is exactly the period that is necessary for the preparation of a classy "action movie" of anti-terror. The vast majority continue to serve further.

The FSB Special Purpose Center was established in 1998 to combat terrorism in Russia and abroad. Its structural units are the Alpha special unit, the Vympel special unit and the Special Operations Directorate.

The center accepts officers and ensigns, as well as cadets of military schools as candidates for officer positions. 97% of the positions in the FSB special forces are officers. Ensigns are given 3%, in case of admission to the CSN, they serve as drivers or instructors.

In addition, each candidate must provide a recommendation of either a current or former employee of Alfa or Vympel. The CSN is also engaged in an independent search for the most promising young people. Why do employees of the center visit the universities of the Ministry of Defense in order to study the personal files of cadets and conduct interviews with the most suitable of them for service in the FSB special forces. The most “productive” in this regard are the Novosibirsk Higher Combined Arms School, where there is a special forces faculty, and the Moscow Higher Military Command School.

At the same time, there is an age limit - no older than 28 years. And also the height must be at least 175 cm so that the body armor does not hit the knees. However, these requirements are not dogma. If the candidate has any unique abilities or has combat experience, then they turn a blind eye to them.

A healthy mind in a healthy body

Having accepted from the candidates the documents necessary for admission, they begin to check their physical fitness. Testing is carried out within one day. Everything is done in dynamics with minimal breaks between exercises. The requirements for applicants for service in Alpha are a little stricter than for candidates for Vympel. Below are the standards for Alpha.

3 kilometers at the stadium must be run within 10 minutes 30 seconds.

After a 5-minute rest - 100 meters, the control standard - 12.7 seconds.

Pull-ups on the crossbar - 25 times. This is followed by a 3-minute rest after each exercise.

Within 2 minutes, it is necessary to do 90 flexions and extensions of the torso in the prone position.

90 push-ups from the floor.

After that, the candidate needs to perform a complex strength exercise 7 times:

15 push-ups from the floor;

15 flexion and extension of the torso in the prone position;

15 transitions from the “crouching emphasis” to “lying emphasis” and vice versa;

15 jumps from the "crouching" position.

40 seconds are given for each cycle. Rest between cycles is not provided.

Bench press of a barbell of its own weight (but not more than 100 kg) lying down - 10 times.

The main thing is to keep the beat and go forward

Three minutes after physical testing, it is necessary to demonstrate hand-to-hand martial arts skills. At the same time, the candidate speaks in a helmet, gloves and protective pads on the legs and in the groin. He is opposed by an instructor or an employee of the TsSN who is well trained in the field of hand-to-hand combat. The fight continues for 3 rounds.

In the allotted time, it is not at all required to defeat the instructor. During the fight, the instructor assesses the potential capabilities of the candidate: fighting qualities, ability to take a hit, the will to win, focus on attacking in conditions of physical fatigue, the ability to change combat tactics depending on the circumstances, reaction speed.

Of course, the instructor does not seek to “beat” the subject. During the fight, he gives him the initiative to better understand what he is worth. The more active the candidate is in the ring, the higher the score he receives even in the case of significant errors in technique. Subsequently, during training, the recruit will learn all the techniques and skills necessary for effective hand-to-hand combat. Therefore, the main task of the instructor is to find out whether the candidate is capable of learning.

Those who are passive in combat are immediately culled, going on the defensive.

Major tests ahead

At the next stage, the candidate is placed at the disposal of doctors in order to undergo in-depth studies of his state of health. And here the requirements are higher than for cadets of military universities, since the future special forces officer must endure enormous physical exertion. And they should not interfere with the effective implementation of combat missions. At the same time, one of the primary tasks that the medical board solves is to determine the suitability for airborne training.

In parallel with these studies, a special check is carried out, during which the presence of undesirable connections in the candidate is revealed. And not only with him, but also with his closest relatives. Relatives are checked for criminal records.

The next stage of the competitive marathon is an examination by a psychologist. It is necessary to study the candidate's personality - character, temperament, interests and predilections, moral attitudes, reactions to certain stimuli and other characteristics that are important for service in the FSB special forces. All this information is entered into a personal file.

This is followed by verification on the polygraph of the veracity of the candidate. First of all, the moments that he would like to hide, the “dark spots” of his past and present are revealed: connections with crime, addiction to alcohol and drugs, corruption tendencies, antisocial lifestyle.

Developed in the late 1990s on the basis of a biathlon rifle for arming OMON and FSB special forces. With low ballistic characteristics for a sniper weapon, it has a very high firing accuracy and a quiet sound of a shot.
Reloading is done manually. Detachable magazine holds 10 rounds.
The stock is symmetrical in shape (equally convenient for shooting from the left and right hand), consists of two parts. The buttstock is detachable, of skeletal construction, equipped with a recoil pad and a cheek piece. In the lower part of the butt, under the hinged cover, there is room for two spare magazines. Instead of a butt, a pistol grip can be installed. The forearm has a groove for attaching a height-adjustable bipod.
On rifles of the first years of production, the stock and stock were made of lacquered wood, however, in 2007, the SV-99 received a stock and stock made of durable aviation plywood in a dark green color of the SV-98 type, and in 2009, an improved version of the stock and stock from black plastic.
There are no open sights, but the rifle has a dovetail mount for mounting an optical sight.
What special tasks are performed by special forces units with the help of such a weak and short-range (what a word!), Almost toy weapon?
1. Covert destruction of enemy manpower not protected by personal protective equipment. The .22 LR cartridge used gives a very quiet and accurate shot at short distances. “The accuracy of a shot with such a cartridge at 20-30 meters is simply amazing, and the weak recoil allows you to make two or three very accurate shots in a row. When combined with a silencer, the sound of a shot is no longer heard even from two steps with the usual noise background on a city street, and a properly selected ammunition can inflict a rather serious injury to a criminal. By the way, a shot from this weapon at a distance of up to 100 m affects not only people, but also service dogs.
2. Covert destruction of enemy technical means. True, not any technical means, but only those that are affected by such a weak cartridge as the .22 LR. Lighting equipment, video cameras, signaling units, electrical distribution boxes, radio communications equipment, car wheels ... That is, in other words, a small-caliber sniper rifle with a silencer is an almost ideal means of preparing a bridgehead for assaulting those objects that are technically possible to approach at a direct shot range from a small-caliber rifle (50-70 m.)
I must say that when ordering the development of such a peculiar weapon as a "sniper small thing", the Russian military were not pioneers in this area. American special forces have been using small-caliber .22 LR weapons ever since such weapons were born, from the end of the 19th century. And, apparently, they are not going to refuse it yet.

Directorate "A" is a structural subdivision of the Center for Special Operations of the Federal Security Service of Russia.
The main function of Alpha is to conduct urban anti-terrorist operations under direct sanction and under the control of the political leadership of Russia.

Story
"Alpha" was created on July 28, 1974 in the First Main Directorate of the KGB at the direction of Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov, at that time - the chairman of the KGB of the USSR. It was intended for counter-terrorist operations throughout the Soviet Union. However, from the very beginning, the scope of its tasks was much wider.
The most famous operation outside the USSR was the storming of Amin's palace in Afghanistan on December 27, 1979. According to the memoirs of the Alpha employees who took part in the capture, the assault groups encountered fierce resistance, but Alpha's losses were lower (two employees) than in other divisions.
During the 1991 coup d'état, the Alpha group, under the command of Major General Viktor Karpukhin, was tasked with seizing the Russian parliament building and assassinating Russian leaders. The group unanimously refused to carry out this order. According to the statements of the participants in the events, made later, they could complete the task in 20-25 minutes, but this would lead to hundreds, if not thousands of civilian casualties.
After the collapse of the USSR and the coming to power of Boris Yeltsin (according to some Russian and foreign military sources), due to political manipulations, the unit was completely demoralized. The KGB sought to use him in a 1991 plot against Mikhail Gorbachev. Boris Yeltsin also wanted to use the group as an instrument of power in attacking Government House during the constitutional crisis of 1993. A little later, Alfa and Vympel were transferred to the Ministry of the Interior for a while. It was during this period that many of the group's officers resigned.
The group continued to exist after the collapse of the Soviet Union and participated in the resolution of many crisis situations, for example, in the release of hostages at the Theater Center on Dubrovka in 2002 and at a school in Beslan in 2004. Alfa fighters are now involved in operations against separatists in Chechnya and in the North Caucasus.

Notable Operations
1976 - Zurich, Switzerland. Exchange of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Chile Luis Corvalan for Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovsky.

1978 - Havana, Cuba. Ensuring the safety (together with the combat swimmers of the Black Sea Fleet) of the underwater part of the motor ships "Georgia" and "Leonid Sobinov", chartered to accommodate delegates of the XI World Festival of Youth and Students.

1979 - Moscow, US Embassy. Kherson resident Yury Vlasenko, accompanied by the second secretary of the US Embassy R. Pringle, went to the consular department and demanded an immediate departure abroad. In case of refusal, he threatened to set off an improvised explosive device. Negotiations conducted with the terrorist by the commander of group "A" G.I. Zaitsev, and then his deputy R.P. Yvon, did not lead to a positive result. By order of the KGB chairman Yu. V. Andropov, weapons were used, but the terrorist was still able to set off the explosive device and soon died from his wounds.

1979 - New York Airport, USA. The exchange of two Soviet intelligence agents (Vladimir Enger and Rudolf Chernyaev), sentenced to long prison terms, for five Soviet dissidents.

1979 - Tashkent - Bagram Air Force Base, Kabul. Ensuring the physical protection of the future head of the PDPA and the DRA Babrak Karmal and his closest associates on the eve of the coup.

December 27, 1979 - Kabul, Afghanistan As part of the emergency combat group "Thunder" (24 people), the unit's employees, together with the fighters of the OSN "Zenith" of the First Main Directorate of the KGB of the USSR (30 people), captured the Taj Beck Palace, the residence of Hafizullah Amin, in the Dar-ul-Aman area. Active support for the KGB special forces was provided by the “Muslim battalion” of the GRU and the 9th company of paratroopers of the 345th separate airborne regiment. Simultaneously with the operation "Storm-333", special forces soldiers were involved in capturing strategically important facilities located in different parts of the Afghan capital - the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Air Force headquarters and the central telegraph office.

1980 - Moscow. Ensuring the security of the Games of the XXII Olympiad in Moscow. In addition to fulfilling the assigned tasks in the capital, combat swimmers of the group were sent to Tallinn and Estonia. Their duties included periodic inspection of the bottom of the water area where the regatta competitions were held.

1981 - Afghanistan. 15 employees of group "A" as part of "Cascade-2" provided security cover for operational search activities and collected information about gangs operating in Kabul and its environs, seized weapons from caches and ensured the safety of propaganda detachments, and also guarded the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary USSR F. A. Tabeeva.

1981 - Ordzhonikidze, North Ossetia. Ensuring the safety of citizens in connection with the mass riots that took place.

1981 - Sarapul, Udmurt ASSR. Two armed deserters from the 248th motorized rifle division took hostage 25 students of the 10th grade of secondary school No. 12. Demand: to issue visas and send them by plane to the FRG or another capitalist country. In the course of the actions taken, the terrorists were neutralized, none of the hostages was injured.

1983 - Tbilisi. The Tu-134A aircraft, flying along the Tbilisi-Leningrad route with 57 passengers and 7 crew members, was hijacked by a group of "golden youth" of 7 people. During the capture, the pilots, the stewardess V. Krutikova and two passengers were killed. The navigator and flight attendant were seriously injured and remained disabled. The demand of the bandits: to head for Turkey. As a result of a firefight in the pilot's cabin and the organization of reloading, the pilots managed to repulse the attack of the terrorists, killing one of them, and block the door. The commander of the ship, A. Gardapkhadze, landed the liner at the Tbilisi airport. On November 19, the aircraft was liberated during a combined assault undertaken by members of the "A" group. None of the passengers were injured.

1985-1986 - forcible capture of twelve agents recruited by foreign intelligence services.

1986 - Ufa. Three soldiers from the MIA regiment seized weapons (AKM assault rifle, RPK-47 light machine gun and Dragunov sniper rifle) and seized a taxi. On the way, they shot two policemen. Frightened by what they had done, one of them, A. Konoval, disappeared; two others went to the airfield, where they broke into a landing Tu-134A aircraft with 76 passengers (among them eight women and six children) and 5 crew members, following the route Lvov-Kiev-Ufa-Nizhnevartovsk. During the capture, deserters killed 2 passengers. The demand of the terrorists: to go to Pakistan. The operation itself was headed by G. N. Zaitsev. As a result of the assault carried out by Alpha employees, one terrorist was killed, the second was wounded.

1988 - Ordzhonikidze-Mineralnye Vody-Tel Aviv. A gang of four seized a passenger bus LAZ-687, in which, after an excursion to the printing house, the 4th "G" class of school No. 42 was returning along with the teacher. The terrorists drove the bus to the airport of Mineralnye Vody, where they were overtaken by Group A, which had taken off from Moscow. During grueling negotiations, which were conducted by G. N. Zaitsev for almost seven hours on the radio, all the children, the teacher and the driver were released in exchange for an AKS-74 assault rifle with two equipped magazines, four Makarov pistols with ammunition, bulletproof vests and drugs. After, through the channels of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Israel, with which there were no diplomatic relations at that time, gave the go-ahead to extradite the criminals, the Il-7bT transport aircraft (crew commander A. Bozh-ko) headed for the Middle East. Upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, the bandits were arrested. The employees of group "A", headed by G.N. Zaitsev, who arrived next, after an agreement on the non-application of capital punishment against terrorists (the Israeli side insisted on this), deported the gang to the Soviet Union.

March 30-31, 1989 - Baku, a native of Kerch, who had previously committed a major theft and was on the All-Union wanted list, reported that two of his accomplices were allegedly in the cabin of the Tu-134 (flight Voronezh-Astrakhan-Baku), and in the cargo compartment there was an explosive device. He threatened to power the device by remote control if his conditions - half a million dollars and the possibility of flying abroad - were not met. The terrorist was neutralized by Alpha employees.

May 10, 1989 - Saratov. During a walk, four criminals of the detention center No. 1 of the Department of Internal Affairs of the Saratov Regional Executive Committee, armed with sharpeners and “grenades” (painted models of bread crumb), attacked the controllers. They presented an ultimatum: two machine guns, four pistols with ammunition, grenades, 10,000 rubles and a car. A condition was put forward - to ensure unhindered exit from the prison outside the region. In house number 20 on Zhukovsky Street, the terrorists took the Prosvirins and their two-year-old daughter hostage and put forward new demands: a plane to fly abroad, a large sum of money, drugs and vodka. The operation to free the hostages was carried out by group "A" (senior - Hero of the Soviet Union V.F. Karpukhin, deputy - M.V. Golovatov). At 3:25 a.m., with the help of special equipment, the soldiers descended from the roof and literally flew into the windows of the occupied apartment. At the same time, the second group kicked down the door and also broke into the apartment. The bandit, armed with a Makarov pistol, managed to fire two shots. Taking advantage of the surprise factor, the group neutralized the bandits. None of the hostages were hurt. An Alpha employee was wounded.

1990 - Azerbaijan. "Alpha" and "Vympel" together with the special forces training battalion "Vityaz" were transferred to Baku. The consolidated group was headed by the Hero of the Soviet Union G. N. Zaitsev. Task: neutralization of the leaders of the Popular Front of Azerbaijan, prevention of the overthrow of the legitimate government of the republic, suppression of riots, identification and detention of persons suspected of subversive activities. Employees of group "A" ensured the safety of the first secretary of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan A. Vizirov.

1990 - operation "Trap". The introduction of underground arms dealers into the environment and the capture of persons involved in this criminal business.

1990 - Yerevan, Armenian SSR. The Alpha fighters took part in the neutralization of a particularly dangerous armed group - the Gray gang. During the operation, three criminals were killed, two were wounded, six were detained.

1990 - Sukhumi, Abkhaz ASSR. 22 employees of group "A" under the command of V.F. Karpukhin, as well as 31 fighters of the special forces training battalion of a separate motorized rifle division of special purpose named after. F. E. Dzerzhinsky were urgently transferred to Sukhumi, where 75 criminals took hostages and a temporary detention center. During the negotiations, the leaders put forward a demand: to provide them with a RAF minibus so that they could travel outside the isolation ward, into the mountains. When the armed bandits, together with the hostages, got into the minibus, the capture group began an operation to neutralize them. At the same time, two groups launched an assault on the isolation ward. In a matter of seconds, the criminals in the minibus were neutralized, the hostages were released. The bandits in the isolation ward also surrendered after a short resistance. During the operation, an Alpha employee and one of the Vityaz fighters were slightly injured. This special operation has no analogues in the domestic and world practice of using special forces units to free hostages taken by bandits in the institutions of the penitentiary system.

1991 - Vilnius, Lithuanian SSR. On the evening of January 11, 65 officers of the "A" group, headed by the deputy group commander M.V. Golovatov and the department commander, Lieutenant Colonel E.N. Chudesnov, were sent to the capital of the Lithuanian SSR. In Vilnius, the unit was given the task of taking control of the Committee on Television and Radio Broadcasting, a television tower and a radio transmission center. The buildings were surrounded by numerous supporters of the Lithuanian Sąjūdis movement. Group "A" took control of all three objects and held them until the approach of the internal troops. During the seizure of the building of the Committee on Television and Radio Broadcasting, Lieutenant Viktor Viktorovich Shatskikh died.

1991 - Moscow, Vasilyevsky Spusk. Armed with a knife, the criminal captured 7-year-old Masha Ponomarenko in the Ikarus sightseeing bus, which left Komsomolskaya Square (the square of three stations). State Duma deputy Aman Tuleyev took part in the talks. As a result of the lightning-fast operation, the terrorist was neutralized.

1991 - Moscow. By order of the chairman of the KGB, employees of group "A" blocked the dacha in the village of Arkhangelskoye-2 near Moscow, in which the President of Russia B. I. Yeltsin and people from his entourage were. In the future, following the order of the leadership, they carried out reconnaissance around the White House. On August 20, the commander of Group A, Hero of the Soviet Union V.F. Karpukhin, was verbally tasked with capturing the White House, interning the government and leadership of Russia. To do this, "Alpha" was attached to the group "Vympel" and the forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It was impossible to take the White House without great loss of life among the civilian population. This was the main reason for the refusal of the officers of group "A" to participate in the assault.

1992 - Moscow, Vnukovo airport. Release of 347 passengers of the Mineralnye Vody-Moscow flight, captured by a lone terrorist Zakharyev.

1993 - Moscow, White House. Group A employees (senior - group commander Hero of the Soviet Union G. I. Zaitsev), together with Vympel fighters, took part in resolving the most acute political crisis that led to mass actions of disobedience and hostilities in the center of the Russian capital. Refusing to storm the White House, representatives of Alpha, on their own initiative, entered into negotiations with the leadership of the Supreme Council and the opposition, which were crowned with success, and then ensured the evacuation of people from the burning building. Rescuing a wounded soldier near the walls of the White House, junior lieutenant Gennady Nikolaevich Sergeev was mortally wounded - he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Russia.

1993 - Rostov-on-Don-Krasnodar-Mineralnye Vody-Makhachkala. Four terrorists took hostage a teacher and 15 students of the 9th grade "B" of secondary school No. 25 in Rostov-on-Don. 53 employees of Alpha, led by commander Hero of the Soviet Union G. N. Zaitsev, flew to Rostov-on-Don on a Tu-134 plane. By the time they arrived, the bandits, having released three hostages, were already in the Mi-8 helicopter. In the evening the helicopter landed in Krasnodar. Alfa landed behind them on the An-12. On the night of December 24, the helicopter took off, heading for Mineralnye Vody. Behind him, a helicopter with special forces flew out, while the main part of Alpha went there by An-12 aircraft. On the evening of December 25, the criminals released one of the hostages. After transferring the money, they released the teacher and seven schoolgirls. The remaining hostages - four schoolchildren, a bus driver and two pilots - the bandits refused to let go. On the evening of December 27, the bandits freed three schoolchildren, the bus driver and took to the air, ordering the pilots to head for Ichkeria. However, the pilots, risking their lives, directed the car towards Makhachkala. The helicopter with the criminals landed on the northern outskirts of Makhachkala. The bandits split into pairs and tried to hide in the forest belt. However, the area of ​​their location was cordoned off by the special forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Dagestan, which soon neutralized all the criminals.

1994 - Makhachkala-Bachi-Yurt. In the area of ​​​​the village of Dagger in the Stavropol Territory, four armed bandits seized an Ikarus excursion bus with schoolchildren, their parents and teachers. The hostages were 33 bus passengers and three teenagers, whom the bandits captured on the way. On the same day, Group A, led by commander Hero of the Soviet Union G.N. Zaitsev, received an order to urgently fly from Moscow to Mineralnye Vody. The same order was given to the Krasnodar branch of Alpha. In the evening, 64 commandos were delivered to the Minvody by planes. The general management of the operation was carried out by the commander of the internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Colonel-General A. Kulikov. On May 27, the helicopter took off and headed for Ichkeria. Behind him, six helicopters took off, carrying 38 Alpha fighters, 24 employees of the Main Directorate of Organized Crime of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and 20 special forces military personnel. As a result of a shortage of fuel, the flight route was changed and a landing was made near the village of Bachi-Yurt. The soldiers under the command of the officer "Alpha" Lieutenant Colonel A. E. Starikov began the pursuit. Helicopters were observing the forested area from the air. An hour later, the terrorists were neutralized. Only one bandit managed to escape, who took away two machine guns and 47,400 dollars - a year later he was arrested and convicted.

1995-1996 - Chechnya. Employees of group "A" participated in the hostilities in Grozny, were recruited for night reinforcement as mobile anti-terror groups and additional protection of the Government House and the FSB building in the Chechen capital. They also ensured the personal security of the Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation O. I. Lobov, who was in the combat zone, carried out the captures of armed bandits, escorted columns with classified communications equipment, ammunition and food.

1995 - Budennovsk. A well-armed gang of Sh. Basaev broke into the city on two KamAZ trucks. The militants seized the city hospital with medical staff and patients, including women in labor and mothers with babies. On the morning of June 17, Alpha employees stormed the hospital. Despite the most difficult conditions, the assault was successful, the terrorists suffered heavy losses, which forced them to change their plans. Sh. Basayev contacted V. Chernomyrdin, Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, by mobile phone. Having taken with them more than two hundred people, the militants boarded buses and headed towards Chechnya in a column. Not far from the mountain village of Zandak, all the hostages were released. As a result of a bandit action in Budennovsk, 130 civilians, 18 police officers, 18 military personnel, including three employees of Alpha, Major Vladimir Vladimirovich Solovov, lieutenants Dmitry Valeryevich Ryabinkin and Dmitry Yuryevich Burdyaev, died. Over 400 people were injured of varying severity. About 2,000 people were held hostage.

1995 - Makhachkala, Republic of Dagestan. The terrorists seized a passenger bus heading along the Makhachkala-Nalchik route. Some time later, the terrorists released one woman from the bus, who said that nine men, seven women and two children were on bail. The terrorists holding the hostages were neutralized by the special forces. Senior - the commander of "Alpha" Lieutenant General A, V. Gusev.

1995 - Moscow, Vasilyevsky Spusk. In close proximity to the Kremlin, a masked man armed with a Makarov pistol entered a bus carrying 25 South Korean tourists and declared them hostages. If the conditions were not met, the offender threatened to blow up the bus. At 8 p.m., the FSB special forces took up their starting positions. The eldest is the commander of Alpha, Lieutenant General A. V. Gusev. Long negotiations were held with the criminal, in which Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov participated. At about 10 p.m., the terrorist released all the women and three men who were being held. At 22.38, at the command of the head of the operation, the director of the FSB, M. I. Barsukov, the assault began. The terrorist opened fire with a pistol and was killed. None of the hostages were hurt.

1996 - the village of Pervomaiskoe, the Republic of Dagestan. Detachments led by Satshan Raduev, Khunkar Pasha Israpilov and Turpal-Ali Atgeriev made a sortie into the territory of Dagestan, attacking the local airfield and the military camp of the battalion of internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The main blow was inflicted on the helicopter base of Russian troops near the city of Kizlyar - two Mi-8 helicopters and one tanker were destroyed. The militants entered the city, where they seized a hospital and a maternity ward, as well as a nearby 9-storey residential building. About 2,000 people were taken hostage. On January 11, the terrorists, having released most of the hostages, left for Ichkeria on the provided buses, using more than a hundred people as human shields. The column was stopped by federal forces near the village of Pervomaiskoye. On January 13-15, special forces, using artillery and helicopters, stormed the village, trying to free the hostages. The operation to destroy the terrorists was completed on January 18, but most of the bandits broke through the encirclement and went to Chechnya. In Pervomaisky, the fighters of Group A (senior - commander of Alpha, Lieutenant General A. V. Gusev), together with the Vityaz, conducted reconnaissance in force on the southeastern outskirts of the village, identified and suppressed enemy firing points, provided fire cover for units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs , provided medical assistance and evacuated the wounded from the battlefield. Already after the completion of the operation, two employees of Alpha were killed during mine clearance - Major Andrei Viktorovich Kiselev and Major Viktor Mikhailovich Vorontsov.

1997 - Moscow, Embassy of Sweden. A terrorist armed with a pistol and a grenade captured the Swedish trade representative Jan-Olof Nyström in a car. As a result of negotiations, he was released, and his place was taken by Colonel A.N. Savelyev, who offered himself as a hostage. After he had an acute heart attack, which eventually led to death, it was decided to immediately begin the active phase of the operation. As a result of the shootout, the offender was killed. Posthumously, the chief of staff of the Alpha group, Colonel Anatoly Nikolaevich Savelyev, was awarded the title of Hero of Russia.

2000 - Novogroznensky, Chechnya. The capture of Salman Raduev, the leader of the "army of Dzhokhar Dudayev", carried out by the employees of group "A" as part of the combined operational-combat group of the FSB Special Purpose Center. Thanks to the coordinated actions of intelligence and special forces, the guards of "terrorist No. 2" were disarmed, and he himself was arrested.

2001 - Alkhan-Kala, Chechnya. Alpha employees participated in a full-scale special operation to destroy the gang of one of the most bloody field commanders - Arbi Baraev, who was distinguished by manic cruelty and specialized in kidnapping and the slave trade. The operation involved price officers, scouts from the 46th brigade of the internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a subdivision of the Ministry of Defense. As a result of a fleeting but brutal battle, the bandit and his guards were destroyed. At the same time, Private Evgeny Zolotukhin died (posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Russia).

July 11, 2001 - Mairtup, Chechnya The destruction of one of Khattab's closest henchmen - field commander Abu Umar, who led in the 1990s. a training camp for the training of saboteurs-explosives on the outskirts of Serzhen-Yurt in the so-called Kavkaz Institute. The victim was one of the organizers of the apartment building explosions in September 1999 in Moscow and Volgodonsk and many other terrorist attacks. The initial inspection of the house where the terrorist was hiding yielded nothing. The Alpha fighters were already ready to move to another yard, as one of them glanced at the suspicious step of the wooden staircase that seemed to him suspicious. The commandos took up positions around the house. When one of the officers tore off the floorboard, automatic bursts fired from under the stairs. An Alpha employee was wounded, but his comrades destroyed Abu Umar, who had taken cover. A major role in the success of the operation was played by the fighters of the "Rus" detachment, who landed in two groups in the village in the immediate vicinity of the place where the bandit was and did not let him go to the mountains.

2001 - Mineralnye Vody. Terrorist Sultan Said Ediev, a Chechen by nationality, hijacked an Ikarus bus en route from Nevinno-myssk to Stavropol. The terrorist put forward a demand for the release of more than thirty passengers in exchange for five criminals convicted in 1994 for hijacking a passenger plane in Mineralnye Vody. In the breast pocket of his shirt, the terrorist placed a glass with an F-1 combat grenade with the pin pulled out and inserted with the fuse down. In addition, wires were seen running to the belt on the abdomen. As it turned out, there was one and a half kilograms of cast TNT. As a result of an impeccably executed sniper attack, the terrorist was destroyed. None of the hostages were injured during the assault on the bus.

October 23-26, 2002 - Moscow, Theater Center on Dubrovka. A group of terrorists led by M. Baraev gathered in Moscow and took hostage about 800 spectators, actors and employees of the Theater Center on Dubrovka. The bandits demanded an end to hostilities in Chechnya and threatened to bring down the building with the help of powerful explosive devices placed in the hall. Thanks to the actions taken, even before the active phase, several dozen people from among the hostages were rescued by the FSB special forces. The criminals behaved extremely aggressively, several people died at their hands in the hall. In order to avoid mass casualties, it was decided to conduct a special operation by the FSB Special Purpose Center. As a result of the operation, 41 terrorists were killed, including the leader of the group, Movsar Barayev, more than 750 hostages were released, including 60 foreigners. More than 120 people could not be saved.

April 8, 2004 - the village of Shelkovskaya, Chechnya Liquidation of a student of Khattab and one of Sh. Basayev's closest henchmen - Abu-Bakar Visimbaev. Among other things, this field commander was responsible for recruiting "black widows" to carry out an action on Dubrovka. During the operation, an employee of Alpha, Major Yuri Nikolayevich Danilin, died. He was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Russia.

2004 - Beslan. The well-armed terrorists of “Colonel” Ortskhoev, on the orders of the leaders of the terrorists, seized on September 1 over 1,300 hostages in the building of school No. 1 and shot some of them. In total, as a result of this monstrous terrorist attack, about 350 people died, half of them were children. Over five hundred were wounded. During the assault, the Alpha fighters (the senior - the head of department "A" V.N. Vinokurov) killed 31 terrorists and one bandit was captured alive. On September 3, at 13:05, two powerful explosions sounded in the school building. Having shown exceptional courage and heroism, the employees of the prices began to rescue the hostages under bullets, covering them with themselves, and only then proceeded to the methodical destruction of the terrorists who had settled in the school, who put up fierce resistance.
As a result of the battle, all the bandits were destroyed on the spot. While rescuing the hostages, three employees of Alpha were killed - Major Alexander Valentinovich Perov, Major Vyacheslav Vladimirovich Malyarov, Ensign Oleg Vyacheslavovich Loskov, as well as seven Vympel fighters.

2005 - Tolstoy-Yurt, Chechnya. Destruction of the leader of Ichkeria Aslan Maskhadov. The operation to detain the leader of the separatists, as well as his inner circle, was planned for a long time and carefully. At the beginning of March 2005, information was received that made it possible to determine the address where the terrorist was hiding with his guards. Despite all the tricks, the bunker with the leader of the terrorists was discovered. The terrorists who were in it were asked to surrender, to which they responded with a categorical refusal. After that, the operational-combat groups held an event to detain them.

2006 - Khasavyurt, Republic of Dagestan. The liquidation of the representative of Al-Qaeda and the leader of all foreign fighters, one of the leaders and financiers of the "jihad" in Chechnya and adjacent regions of Abu Haws. Four militants were killed along with him. The power phase of the operation began with the fact that at dawn one of the groups deliberately discovered itself. Two militants were immediately destroyed by snipers. A shot from a grenade launcher was fired at the gate, and after that, an assault group burst in on an armored KamAZ vehicle. The surviving bandits took up defensive positions. They rejected the offer to surrender. In half an hour it was all over.

Organization
Initially, the group consisted of 30 people.
Since November 10, 1977 - 52, since January 10, 1980 - 122, since December 21, 1981 - 222 people.
On June 30, 1984, by order of the KGB chairman No. 0085, the first regional division of group "A" was formed - the 7th department in Khabarovsk (21 employees). On March 3, 1990, by order No. 0031, it was deployed to the 7th group, and the 10th group (Kiev), 11th group (Minsk), 12th group (Alma-Ata), 13th group (Krasnodar) and the 14th group (Sverdlovsk). The staff of the regional group was 45 people.
After the collapse of the USSR, the 10th, 11th and 12th groups went to Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan, respectively, and served as the basis for the formation of national special forces units.
Currently, Directorate "A" is part of the Special Purpose Center of the FSB of Russia and includes:
- headquarters;
- five departments (one department is constantly on a business trip in Chechnya);
- regional departments and special forces;
- organizational group.

Losses
Volkov Dmitry Vasilievich, captain. He died on December 27, 1979 during the operation to storm Amin's palace. Awarded the Order of the Red Banner (posthumously).
Zudin Gennady Egorovich, captain. He died on December 27, 1979 during the operation to storm Amin's palace. Awarded the Order of the Red Banner (posthumously).
Shatskikh Viktor Viktorovich, Lieutenant, Killed on January 13, 1991 during a military operation in Vilnius. Awarded the Order of the Red Banner (posthumously).
Kravchuk Viktor Dmitrievich, senior lieutenant. Employee of the regional division (Yekaterinburg). He died on August 1, 1993, guarding the head of the Provisional Administration in the zone of the Ossetian-Ingush conflict. Victor Polyanichko. Awarded the Order "For Personal Courage" (posthumously).
Sergeev Gennady Nikolaevich, junior lieutenant. He died on October 4, 1993 during an operation near the building of the Supreme Soviet of Russia in Moscow. He was awarded the title of Hero of Russia (posthumously).
Solovov Vladimir Viktorovich, major. He died on June 17, 1995 during an operation in Budyonnovsk. Awarded the Order of Courage (posthumously).
Burdyaev Dmitry Yurievich, lieutenant. He died on June 17, 1995 during an operation in Budyonnovsk. Awarded the Order of Courage (posthumously).
Ryabinkin Dmitry Valerievich, lieutenant. He died on June 17, 1995 during an operation in Budyonnovsk. Awarded the Order of Courage (posthumously).
Kiselev Andrei Viktorovich, major. He died on January 18, 1996 during an operation in the village of Pervomaisky. Awarded the Order of Courage (posthumously).
Vorontsov Viktor Mikhailovich, major. He died on January 18, 1996 during an operation in the village of Pervomaisky. Awarded the Order of Courage (posthumously).
Demin Alexander Vladimirovich, ensign. Employee of the regional division (Krasnodar). He died on May 29, 1997 during an operation to detain a particularly dangerous criminal. Awarded the Order of Courage (posthumously).
Savelyev Anatoly Nikolaevich, colonel, chief of staff of department "A". He died on December 19, 1997 during an operation to free a Swedish diplomat. He was awarded the title of Hero of Russia (posthumously).
Shchekochikhin Nikolai Nikolaevich, captain. He died on March 30, 2000 in Chechnya during a special operation. Awarded the Order of Courage (posthumously).
Kurdibansky Boris Borisovich, major. He died on February 12, 2002 in the village of Starye Atagi in the North Caucasus.
Perov, Alexander Valentinovich, major. He died on September 3, 2004 during a special operation in Beslan. He was awarded the title of Hero of Russia (posthumously).
Malyarov Vyacheslav Vladimirovich, major. He died on September 3, 2004 during a special operation in Beslan. Presented to the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, fourth degree (posthumously).
Loskov Oleg Vyacheslavovich, ensign. He died on September 3, 2004 during a special operation in Beslan.
Kholban Ruslan Konstantinovich, captain. He died on May 13, 2009 on the territory of the Republic of Dagestan. He was awarded the medals of Suvorov, Zhukov, the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 4th degree with swords (posthumously).
Shatunov Maxim Yurievich, major. He died on July 7, 2009 in the Chechen Republic. He was awarded the Order of Courage, medals of Suvorov, "For the salvation of the perishing".

Unit commanders
1974-1977 - Bubenin Vitaly Dmitrievich (Retired Major General. Hero of the Soviet Union). The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded for courage and heroism shown in the defense of the USSR border on Damansky Island in March 1969.
1977 - Yvon Robert Petrovich (retired colonel).
1977-1988 - Zaitsev Gennady Nikolaevich (Retired Major General. Hero of the Soviet Union).
1988-1991 - Viktor Fedorovich Karpukhin (Reserve Major General. Hero of the Soviet Union).
1991-1992 - Mikhail Vasilyevich Golovatov (Reserve Colonel).
1992-1995 - Zaitsev Gennady Nikolaevich.
1995-1998 - Gusev Alexander Vladimirovich (Lieutenant General of the reserve).
1998-1999 - Miroshnichenko Alexander Ivanovich (lieutenant general).
1999-2003 - Andreev Valentin Grigorievich.
Since 2003 - Major General Vinokurov Vladimir Nikolaevich.

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