Farewell Germany! Unknown details of the withdrawal of the Western Group of Forces. Withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan: beginning and end

The last Commander-in-Chief of the Western Group of Forces, Colonel-General Matvey Burlakov:

AT East Germany The Soviet Union had the most developed infrastructure among all the socialist countries. In a conversation with me, Gorbachev suggested that our real estate was valued at 30 billion West German marks. A colossal figure, although no one has ever fully specified it.

But on the other hand - nothing surprising. The group of troops was located in 777 military camps. They numbered 36,290 buildings and structures. More than 21 thousand objects were built with funds Soviet Union. The current value of real estate owned by the USSR was about ten and a half billion marks.

During the sale of our real estate, conflicts and sometimes deadlocks often arose. Under a bonded agreement, the sale of all the property of the group was entrusted to the German Ministry of Finance. It is quite natural that the Germans were not interested in a profitable sale of our objects.
Moscow, represented by Gorbachev and Yeltsin, did not show the proper political will in this matter. But for the unification of Germany and the withdrawal of troops, the Germans were ready to pay tens of billions in hard currency. But Gorbachev was content with 12 billion "compensation". Yeltsin needed $500 million to speed up the withdrawal of the Western Group of Forces.
According to interstate agreements dated December 16, 1992, all Russian real estate in the Western Group of Companies became the property of Germany. Thus, all our real estate was practically presented to the Germans. On the other hand, the German media subjected us to harsh criticism for dismantling prefabricated buildings for further transportation to Russia.

Mikhail Sergeevich himself achieved world popularity due to the fact that, for the sake of foreign policy dividends, he forgot about internal problems ah country. For the sake of the friendly smiles of the Western man in the street and the nickname Gorby, he waved his hand at the interests of the country.
Boris Yeltsin continued a similar policy with no less cynicism. To please his friend, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, he reduced the already unthinkable period for the withdrawal of our troops by four months. We were forced to withdraw formations and units into the open field, since most of the military infrastructure of the Soviet Union was concentrated in the border areas - in Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic states.
The same Americans withdrew their troops only after the appropriate conditions were created for them. In 1992, the US 7th Corps left Germany for their homeland. The Yankees returned home without any problems, in good spirits, happy and contented.

I don't want to indiscriminately blame entire peoples and label them, but the new "democratic" rulers of Poland and Czechoslovakia decided to improve their financial affairs at the expense of the troops withdrawn from Germany.
For example, in Poland, the leadership of Solidarity demanded to repair the bridges along which our echelons were supposed to move. Warsaw presented us with truly enslaving, clearly unfeasible demands for payment. The passage of each axle of a railway car through the territory of the country was estimated at four thousand West German marks. Of course, ZGV did not have such finances to pay for transportation. The German side, on the other hand, allocated only 1 billion marks to cover our transport costs. There was only one way - by sea.

The Western group was surrounded by hundreds of different firms and firms, the owners of which were located in Moscow, Bonn and Berlin and occupied by no means the last positions. We were offered to purchase food, fuel and other materiel at astronomical prices. In February 1991, we learned that we would not receive money from the 2.5 billion interest-free loan provided by Germany. I had to save on literally everything.

The capitulation of Nazi Germany came at 01:01 on May 9, 1945 Moscow time or at 23:01 on May 8 CET. Three weeks later, on May 29, a Directive was issued to rename the Soviet front into the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany. The Soviet army, with heavy losses, reached recent months war before Berlin, remained in East Germany for the next almost half a century. final conclusion Russian troops Came from Germany on August 31, 1994.

My father was one of the Soviet conscripts sent to serve in Germany (1978-1980, Bad Freienwalde, East Germany). In this post I will show some photos from the time of his service and tell general facts about Soviet troops ah in Germany.

Potsdam

At first, the unit was called GSOVG - Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (1945-1954). The head of the GSOVG was at the same time the head of the Soviet military administration in Germany (SVAG) - that is, he had full power in the territory of Germany occupied by the Soviet Union. The first Commander-in-Chief of the GSOVG was Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov. After the formation of the GDR on October 7, 1949, the head of the GSOVG carried out control functions in the new state for several more years as chairman of the Soviet Control Commission in Germany.

Potsdam

The headquarters of the Soviet troops in Germany since 1946 was located in Wünsdorf - where the High Command was based during Nazi Germany ground forces Wehrmacht. Due to the special nature of the town, the territory of Wünsdorf was closed to ordinary citizens of the GDR. Along with 2,700 German residents, 50-60 thousand Soviet military personnel and members of their families lived in the city.

Bad Freienwalde

About half a million Soviet citizens lived permanently in East Germany. GSVG - a group of Soviet troops in Germany (1954-1989) - had own factories, Russian schools, sanatoriums, shops, houses of officers and other infrastructure. For crimes stipulated by the criminal legislation of the USSR, Soviet citizens were tried according to Soviet legislation in special institutions. I have already written about one Soviet pre-trial detention center in Potsdam.

Chernyakhovsk (former Insterburg), educational part(my father is on the right)

The GSVG was a kind of state within a state. Its main task was to protect the western borders of the USSR from possible threats. In the context of the Cold War, the GSVG was the front line unit Soviet army, so she was equipped with the most modern technology and weapons (including nuclear). In the event of a military conflict with NATO member countries, the group of troops had to stay on the border line until full mobilization armed forces USSR and its allies.

Potsdam

The group owned 777 military camps throughout the German Democratic Republic- more than 36,000 buildings were on the balance sheet. 21,000 objects were built with the money of the USSR. However, in many cases, barracks and other premises that once belonged to the Wehrmacht were also used to house Soviet troops.

Potsdam

Conscript soldiers received monetary allowances in GDR stamps, so service in the GSVG was considered prestigious. My dad remembers how he used the saved money to buy last days his stay in Germany before being sent home. Among the purchases were, for example, jeans that were rare at that time. In total, eight and a half million citizens of the USSR have served in the Group for the entire time of its existence.

Bad Freienwalde

In 1989, the Group was renamed again - from now on it was called Western group troops (ZGV). After the unification of the FRG and the GDR, the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Germany became inevitable. Due to the scale and complexity of the operation, the withdrawal of troops continued until August 31, 1994. A huge amount of equipment and weapons was taken out. More than half a million people returned to the territory of the Soviet Union that had collapsed at that time. A farewell parade in honor of the withdrawal of Russian troops took place in Treptow Park in Berlin with the participation of Russian President Boris Yeltsin and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl.

Potsdam

About 25 years ago, without a single shot, East Germany either ceased to exist. The group of Soviet troops in Germany (GSVG) located in the GDR was prepared for any situation, even taking into account the enemy’s nuclear attack. But the USSR lost cold war", which led to the humiliating withdrawal of Soviet troops from Germany.

post-war period

Approximately one month after the victory of the USSR over Germany in World War II, the high command of the USSR decided to create a contingent of occupation troops in Germany, the commander of which was the hero of the war, Marshal Georgy Zhukov. This happened on July 9, 1945. The number of Soviet soldiers stationed at first was 1.5 million.

The mission in Germany of the Soviet troops, whose main headquarters was in the city of Potsdam, neighboring Berlin, was to ensure the administration of the German occupation zone, as well as the restoration of a peaceful life for citizens in it. At the same time, the command of the USSR did not believe that these troops would long time be in Germany. In addition, the policy of the USSR in the post-war period was focused on the unification of Germany, since after the destruction of the ruling fascist party in this country, the communists and socialists became the main political forces. Thus, the Soviet Union viewed Germany as a potential strong ally in the center of Europe.

The GSVG was established on March 26, 1954, this date is considered the end of the occupation of Germany by Soviet troops. Between 1957 and 1958, about 70,000 Soviet soldiers were stationed on the territory of the GDR.

This group of troops was created to ensure the implementation of the decisions taken on Potsdam conference and also to secure the western border. Further, on September 20, 1955, the GDR signed an agreement with the USSR and became one of the countries of the Warsaw Pact. In 1957, a new pact was signed between and the GDR, according to which the number and location of Soviet troops in Germany were established. According to this agreement, Soviet troops did not have the right to interfere in the internal affairs of the GDR.

In 1963, the GSVG had about 386,000 soldiers, of which 46,000 belonged to the air force. The armament of the GSVG included:

• 7500 tanks;
• 100 tactical missiles;
• 484 self-propelled military installations;
• 146 bombers;
• 101 reconnaissance aircraft;
• 80 helicopters.

In 1968, German Soviet troops took part in the suppression of the uprising in Prague. In the late 70s and early 80s, the Soviet military contingent in Germany was reduced. Thus, 1,000 tanks and other military vehicles and about 20,000 soldiers were withdrawn from the territory of the GDR. During perestroika in the USSR, the GSVG had a defensive character in accordance with its structure and armament. In 1989, the number of armored Soviet technology on the territory of the GDR was significantly reduced.

In the late 1980s, Mikhail Gorbachev was the head of the USSR ( general secretary Central Committee of the CPSU). In 1989, he decided on the unilateral withdrawal of Soviet troops from Germany. The military power of the GSVG was greatly weakened, since 8 battalions of soldiers and 4 tank divisions were immediately disbanded. It should be noted that the number of GSVG has been constantly decreasing since the year of their formation in the GDR, however, a major withdrawal of troops began in 1989. Therefore, answering the question of when the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Germany began, it should be called 1989.

On September 2, 1990, the foreign ministers of the FRG, Great Britain, the GDR, the USA, the USSR and France signed an agreement concerning the fate of Germany, which in practice meant that the borders of the FRG would expand, absorbing the GDR completely.

It is interesting to note that the United States did not plan to withdraw its troops from the territory of the FRG, while the USSR agreed to carry out a complete withdrawal of Soviet and Russian troops from East Germany before 1994. this name replaced the previous GSVG) at the time of withdrawal included:

• 546,200 soldiers;
• 115,000 units of military equipment;
• 667,000 tons of ammunition;
• 36,290 buildings and structures in 777 military camps.

The withdrawal of such a huge number of troops meant for the USSR a shameful retreat to nowhere.

Troop withdrawal

In 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev announced the withdrawal from Germany of 4 divisions of armored vehicles attacking the air force, as well as short-range nuclear missiles. Starting from that date, the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Germany became the most full-scale transfer of military forces in the history of mankind. Despite the enormous difficulties in transferring such a quantity of military and military equipment from the GDR to the USSR, the withdrawal deadlines were not violated, and the plan was completed by August 1994. The German government pledged to allocate DM 15 million to cover the costs required by the withdrawal of troops.

The withdrawal of Soviet troops from Germany was carried out mainly by sea, in particular, through the ports of the German city of Rostock and the island of Rügen, as well as railroad tracks through Poland.

Problems during the withdrawal of troops

One of the main problems during the years of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Germany was the issue of housing. Initially, it was planned to withdraw troops as housing was built for them at home. However, according to the last commander-in-chief of the Western Group of Forces, Matvey Burlakov, "the country's government did not think about its own army." Moreover, the president of Russia at that time, Boris Yeltsin, in order to meet the requirements of the Western authorities, spoke in favor of reducing the withdrawal period by 4 months.

Of the promised 15 million marks for the construction of housing for soldiers, Germany paid only 8 million. As a result, only 45,000 houses were built for Soviet soldiers in Ukraine and Belarus. More than 170,000 Soviet officers and 160,000 soldiers were left homeless.

The withdrawal of Soviet troops from Germany was also a personal disaster for many thousands of soldiers. Their wives and children were sent to their parents' houses, many soldiers remained to live in tents and tents. Most of the families were never able to reunite again.

Another important question was to compensate the USSR for the property they left in Germany. The total value of this property at that time was estimated at $28 billion. Only $385 million was paid to Russia as compensation.

Most of Soviet military units were disbanded after their withdrawal from Germany. Many Germans sympathized with the Soviet soldiers, because they understood that there was not even housing for them in their homeland. The famous historian Werner Borchert said that Soviet soldiers were friends for many Germans.

Many East Germans were in good relations with Soviet soldiers, since they had been on German territory for several decades. During the withdrawal of Soviet troops, the German people saw off the soldiers with rallies and flowers.

Completion of the withdrawal of troops

The Russian ground forces left German soil on June 25, 1994. Withdrawal celebrations were held on June 11, 1994 in the city of Wünsdorf and in Treptow Park on August 31, 1994. The last date is considered the official date when the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Germany was completed. The festive ceremony in Treptow Park was attended by (German chancellor) and Russian President Boris Yeltsin. Matvey Burlakov - Commander-in-Chief of the Western Group of Forces left Germany by plane on September 1, 1994.

From Afghanistan (date - May 15, 1988) and its completion (date - February 15, 1989). But first, let's find out what Afghanistan was like in these years.

In this country, in 1987, the policy of national reconciliation began to be implemented. According to it, the PDPA officially renounced the monopoly on power. In 1987, in July, the law on political parties was published, which was approved by the Presidium of the DRA Revolutionary Council. He regulated the activities and creation of various political parties. It was only in October that a resolution was approved and signed at the PDPA conference, which indicated the tasks of strengthening unity. After all, the split into "Parcham" and "Khalk" - two wings of one party - continued to operate.

Constitution and President of Afghanistan

On November 29, the Supreme Council (Loya Jirga) was held in Kabul. It approved the country's constitution, elected the president of the state, Najibullah, who announced to the parliamentary delegates that the policy aimed at a ceasefire would continue until July 15, 1988. The withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan was supposed to be carried out by agreement of the parties within 12 months.

Cessation of major hostilities

From the beginning of 1987, the Soviet troops stopped conducting offensive hostilities. They entered into clashes only in the event of an attack on their places of deployment. According to B.V. Gromov, Colonel General who commanded the 40th Army, the commander should carry out retaliatory or preemptive actions, depending on the situation, only in order to exclude the possibility mass death of people.

The offensive of the opposition

Already in January 1987, from the second half of the month, a decisive offensive was carried out by the opposition against the Afghan and Soviet garrisons. Peaceful villages were also not left without attention. For the Mujahideen, the presence of the 40th Army prevented the achievement of the goals they set to overthrow the government of the DRA. At the same time, the opposition parties regarded the policy of national reconciliation as a sign of weakness. state power, therefore, intensified the struggle aimed at its overthrow. The combat activity of the Mujahideen increased in the conditions of a ceasefire by government and Soviet troops.

Operation "Highway"

In November-December of the same year, the operation "Magistral" was carried out, aimed at unblocking Khost. Dushmans, taking advantage of the fact that there were no Soviet units in the Khosta district, restored by the fall of 1987 one of the largest transshipment bases called Javara. She managed to defeat the Soviet troops in the spring of 1986. There was a danger of creating a provisional government of opposition forces in Khost. Therefore, it was decided to carry out a major military operation of the Soviet and Afghan troops, provide the population with food and other necessities, frustrate the opposition's plans aimed at forming its own government in Afghanistan.

Preparing for the operation

The forces of the 201st and 108th motorized rifle divisions from the 40th Army and others. The means and forces of five infantry divisions, several special forces units, one tank brigade. In addition, more than 10 state security battalions and tsarandoy participated in the operation.

The situation was difficult. At first it was supposed to take possession of the Seti-Kandav pass. It is located at an altitude of about 3 thousand meters. In this area, the opposition group consisted mainly of the Jadran tribe, which was not subject to any government at all. The tribe acted as its leaders saw fit. Jalaluddin, one of his descendants, led the Mujahideen in the 1980s.

Operation "Magistral"

Since the negotiations with Jalaluddin did not bring any results, on November 23 it was decided to start the operation "Magistral". On November 28, advanced units captured the Seti-Kandav pass. After that, negotiations began again with the leadership of the Jadran tribe. However, on December 16, the troops were forced to continue fighting. On the highway on December 30, trucks with food moved to Khost.

Geneva Accords

MS Gorbachev in December 1987, during his visit to the United States, announced that the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan was planned to begin soon. In Geneva, the delegations of the USSR, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the USA soon sat down at the negotiating table. The goal was to develop an optimal political solution regarding the Afghan problem. In 1988, on April 14, 5 main documents were signed on the issues of stabilizing the situation in Afghanistan. They came into force a month later - on May 15. According to these agreements, the Soviet troops undertook to leave Afghanistan, and Pakistan and the United States - to completely stop helping the Afghan rebels.

Beginning of the withdrawal of troops in accordance with the Geneva Agreement

The USSR strictly fulfilled all the obligations assumed. Already in 1988, on August 15, about half of the troops of the Limited Contingent were withdrawn. The following directions were determined along which the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan was to be carried out: in the west - Kushka, Shindand, Kandahar, in the east, the routes were combined in Kabul for troops from Jalalabad, Gardez and Ghazni, then they were sent through Salang to Termez and Puli -Humri.

Opposition resumes its activity

From May 15 to August 15, 1888, Soviet troops were withdrawn from such garrisons as Ghazni, Jalalabad, Kandahar, Gardez, Faizabad, Lashkargah and Kunduz. At the same time, the battles with the opposition did not stop. Of course, the opposition would be mediocre if it did not take advantage of this opportunity. The beginning of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan was marked by the fact that the opposition began to act with even greater assertiveness at that time. Since mid-May, rocket attacks on Kabul have become regular. Previously cut paths came to life. According to them military equipment supplied to the Mujahideen. revived in urgently and were created in the zones bordering with Iran and Pakistan, warehouses, bases, fortified areas. Deliveries of weapons increased sharply, including ground-to-ground missiles (their range reached up to 30 km), Stingers, and others.

Capture of the cities of Maidanshahr and Kalat

Of course, the result of this immediately affected. The activity of the Afghan aviation has been significantly reduced. From May 15 to October 14, armed opposition groups shot down 36 helicopters and 14 aircraft belonging to the Afghan Air Force. Attempts were also made to seize the provincial centers. On June 24, detachments of the Mujahideen managed to capture the city of Maidanshahr, which is the center of the province of Wardak, for some time. More than 2 thousand people took part in the battles for the city from the side of the opposition. Kalat, the center of the Zabol province, underwent a long siege and assault in July. The troops brought here from other regions defeated the besiegers, but Kalat - locality, whose inhabitants were approximately 7 thousand people, was badly destroyed.

Results of the activities of the 40th Army in 1988

The year of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan is 1989. However, before the army left, it was done big job. B. V. Gromov (pictured below), Colonel General, summed up the results for 1988 in a book called "Limited Contingent".

He said that during 1988 the activities of the 40th Army led to a significant weakening of the opposition detachments. Together with units of the Afghan forces, work was carried out to clear the areas located along the highways. During the operations, after unsuccessful negotiations with the opposition, impressive damage was done to the Mujahideen. Soviet troops captured more than a thousand mountain anti-aircraft installations, as well as more than 30 thousand rockets, about 700 mortars and 25 thousand mines. The forces of the 40th Army in 1988, in the second half of it, captured 417 caravans belonging to the opposition. They followed from Iran and Pakistan. The Mujahideen, however, still posed some danger to the government.

Preventing a coup in Kandahar

After the withdrawal of troops in November, the opposition conspired with officials of the 2nd Army Corps and tried to jointly seize power in Kandahar. This revolution was prevented. However, the situation did not calm down. As there were fewer and fewer Soviet units left in the DRA, the situation continued to escalate in some provinces.

40th Army leaves Afghanistan

The Geneva Accords were implemented by the USSR. The withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan was completed on February 15, 1989. It was then that the 40th Army left the country. The events that took place after the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan confirmed that the status quo in the state was maintained only thanks to their presence.

final operation

On January 23, 1989, Soviet troops began the final operation - the capture of the Salang pass. About 600 Mujahideen and 3 Soviet soldier were killed in 2 days of fighting. South Salang was thus cleared of the troops of Ahmad Shah Massoud, after which it was transferred to the troops of Afghanistan.

End of Najibullah resistance

In 1989, on February 15, in accordance with the previously signed Geneva agreements, the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan was completed. This in many ways meant the end of Najibullah's resistance. However, the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan did not lead to an immediate collapse of the pro-Soviet regime in the country. For three more years, M. Najibullah not only controlled Largest cities but also inflicted on the opposition strong blows. An example is the defeat of the opposition troops, which took place in April 1989 near Jalalabad. Najibula simultaneously successfully reincarnated as a national leader, anticipating further events after the collapse of the USSR.

The day of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, as you remember, is February 15, 1989. However, the leaders of the USA and the USSR only at the end of 1991 announced the termination of military supplies to the Mujahideen and the government of Najibullah from January 1, 1992. If Najibullah had not been left to the mercy of fate by Moscow, it is likely that power in a significant part of Afghanistan would still be in the hands of pro-Russian politicians today. Further patronage of the communists of Afghanistan, of course, would hardly have been received with understanding in the world. In addition, the support after 1991 of the former communists was contrary to the tasks of the foreign policy of the then Russia. Therefore, Najibullah was doomed.

Significance of the withdrawal

The date of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan is very important in the recent history of our country. The Afghan war, which lasted from 1979 to 1989, is a hot topic of discussion to this day. The withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan took place 2 years before the collapse of the USSR. This is one of the last significant events in the history of the state. After 1991, there is already another country - Russian Federation, life in which has changed significantly and continues to change to this day. However, the events that took place in 1989 are still remembered by the inhabitants of Russia today. In 2014, on February 15, the Russians celebrated important date- 25 years of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. On this day, Shoigu awarded the participants Afghan war medals, and other solemn events were held.

For the uninitiated, it turned out to be, frankly, unexpected. The decision on my appointment was made by the leadership of the Ministry of Defense and personally by Mikhail Gorbachev. Back in October 1990, I had a conversation with Defense Minister Marshal Dmitry Timofeevich Yazov. It was he who offered me in the spring of 1991 to head the Western Group of Forces. In Moscow, they noticed and, apparently, appreciated the successful withdrawal of the Southern Group of Forces, which I led.

But man proposes, but fate disposes... A month later I was urgently summoned to Moscow and ordered to take the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Western Group of Forces. But that was only the beginning. At that time, the regular plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU was held in the capital. Suddenly there was a telephone call from the General Staff: "The General Secretary is calling you!"

And how was the meeting with the first and last president USSR and general secretary Central Committee? Worried?

Not that word. After all, far from many, even considering the then democratization, had a chance to communicate with the leader of perestroika. The audience took place on the same day. During a break between sessions of the plenum of the Central Committee, Yazov and I approached Gorbachev. A little later, Nikolai Ivanovich Ryzhkov joined us.

The General Secretary began with a question: "Have we already met?" I answered in the affirmative. In his recommendations, Gorbachev touched on the economic and political problems associated with the withdrawal of troops from Germany. He advised to establish ties with the local and federal leadership of the Federal Republic of Germany and appealed Special attention for the sale of real estate owned by the USSR.

The press often mentioned fantastic figures for the value of Soviet property in Germany. How much was everything really valued?

In a conversation with me, Gorbachev suggested that our real estate was valued at 30 billion West German marks. A colossal number! However, there is nothing surprising in that. The group of troops was located in 777 military camps. They numbered 36290 buildings and structures. More than twenty-one thousand objects were built at the expense of the Soviet Union.

Unfortunately, during the sale of all the property of the Western Group, conflicts and sometimes deadlocks often arose. Under a servile agreement between the USSR and the FRG, the implementation was entrusted to the German Ministry of Finance. Therefore, the current value of real estate, which is the property of the USSR, at prices in 1990 was determined by a much smaller amount - about ten and a half billion marks. It is quite natural that the Germans were not interested in a profitable sale. Moscow, in the person of Gorbachev and Yeltsin, did not show the will of the state in this matter.

For the unification of Germany and the withdrawal of Soviet troops, the Germans were ready to pay tens of billions of marks. But Gorbachev was content with a small amount.

According to interstate agreements dated December 16, 1992, all our real estate in the Western Group of Companies became the property of Germany. It was practically given to the Germans. This decision of some leaders of the Soviet Union and Russia is akin to a betrayal of interests own people, tens of thousands of homeless families of officers and ensigns. This conclusion was made even by some Western media.

God be with them, with the Western media. Russian newspapers and magazines wrote that the withdrawal of the WGW was like a rush. The Americans carried out the redeployment of only one division from Europe to the United States for five to seven years. Who is to blame for the fact that dozens of our formations and units ended up in an open field?

The top leadership of the Soviet Union and Gorbachev's inner circle, who pursued an extremely short-sighted and irresponsible policy. Mikhail Sergeevich himself achieved world popularity, became the "best German" due to the fact that, for the sake of foreign policy dividends, he forgot about the country's internal problems. For the sake of the friendly smiles of a Western man in the street and the nickname "Gorby", he waved his hand at many things.

Boris Yeltsin continued his anti-army policy with no less cynicism. To please his friend, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, he reduced the already unthinkable period for the withdrawal of our troops by four months. Meanwhile, the overwhelming majority of the military infrastructure of the Soviet Union was concentrated in the border areas - in Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic states. So the Russian divisions and regiments had to be deployed in completely undeveloped places.

The same Americans withdrew their troops only after military camps were built for them in the States and appropriate living conditions were created. In 1992, the 7th Corps left Germany for their homeland, for the USA. The Yankees returned home without any problems, in good spirits, happy and contented.

During the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Germany, Western intelligence allegedly successfully carried out an operation code-named "Giraffe", the purpose of which was to acquire ultra-modern weapons. Is it a bluff?

Yes and no. They most likely carried out the operation, but I would not be so categorical about success.

The group of Soviet troops in Germany, later renamed the Western Group of Forces, has always been a testing ground for the capabilities of the latest military equipment, the level of training of command personnel and personnel. The most modern samples of weapons and military equipment first came here.

Prior to the outbreak of hostilities in Afghanistan, conclusions on the characteristics of weapons and military equipment, the possibilities of their use in extreme conditions were made in the Armed Forces of the USSR mainly on the basis of exercises and maneuvers of formations and formations stationed in Germany.

In 1990-1994 in German media"Sensational" information regularly appeared that the Russians were selling weapons and ammunition left and right. One of the Germans pecked at this "duck", who offered our soldier two thousand marks for a Kalashnikov assault rifle. This "merchant" was caught red-handed. And there were more than fifty such attempts to buy weapons from our servicemen in 1992 alone. None of them succeeded. Therefore, once again I allow myself to doubt the success of Operation Giraffe. Accounting for ammunition, weapons and military equipment in the Western Group of Forces was properly organized.

Especially for skeptics, I will give the following argument. For almost half a century of existence of the GSVG-ZGV, only 68 units were wanted small arms. One hundred percent of weapons and military equipment were taken to Russia.

Our military echelons were heading home through the territory of neighboring states, recent allies under the Warsaw Pact. Were there any problems?

I don't want to indiscriminately blame entire peoples and label them, but the new "democratic" leaders of Poland and Czechoslovakia decided to improve their financial affairs at the expense of the troops withdrawn from Germany. The leadership of the Polish "Solidarity", for example, demanded to repair the bridges on which our echelons were supposed to move. The "lords" presented us with truly enslaving, clearly unfeasible demands for payment. The passage of each axle of a railway car through the country was estimated as much as four thousand West German marks. It was about tens of millions.

These conditions were unacceptable for us. Apparently, even then, recent colleagues in the Warsaw Pact were trying to earn indulgences, foreseeing the imminent expansion of NATO to the east.

Of course, we did not have such money to pay for transportation. The German side allocated only 1 billion marks to cover our transportation costs. There was only one way - by sea. But decide this the most difficult task without the consent of the German state authorities was impossible.

To be honest, at first I had little faith in the reality of the idea of ​​transferring a huge group by sea. And there were objective reasons for that. Within two or three months, the entire withdrawal scheme and plan had to be revised, which in itself is quite problematic.

But the German side kept its promises and showed full political and financial support in sending our troops across the Baltic Sea.

Then, in your native Fatherland, you were not commemorated with a "quiet kind word" unless you were lazy. They were not accused of anything: use of official position, corruption, personal enrichment. Now it is clear that "puppeteers" were behind all this. Did you hurt someone?

Many! I think the time has not yet come when you can talk about everything in plain text. Although, there are no others, and those are far away.

First, it was necessary to distract Russian people from internal problems. Remember, there was not enough food, wages were not paid for months, plus rampant crime and all the "charms" of nascent capitalism.

The collapse of the Soviet Union buried the hopes of hundreds of millions of people for a stable and normal life. And here, the notorious piano in the bushes turned out to be very useful - the withdrawal of Russian troops from Germany. A topical, so to speak, socio-political topic, when one could talk about the mediocrity of the command, about theft and corruption, about deserters and monster officers. At the same time, it was transparently hinted that all these loafers were sitting on the neck of the common people. In my opinion, an excellent valve for bleeding off excess pressure in the country.

Secondly, I did everything in my power to prevent unscrupulous businessmen from getting their hands on the withdrawal of troops. The Western group was surrounded by hundreds of different firms and firms, the owners of which were located in Moscow, Bonn and Berlin and occupied by no means the last positions. What we just did not offer. For example, to purchase food, coal, and other necessary material resources at astronomical prices.

In February 1991, we learned that we would not receive money from the 2.5 billion interest-free loan provided by Germany. I had to save on literally everything. Meanwhile, complaints about the objectionable and stubborn Burlakov were going to all instances. No one knows what it took to endure this pressure, except for me and the command of the Western Group of Forces. Naturally, I was not forgiven for such "willfulness". But I don't regret anything.

Many high-ranking military leaders at the end of their careers smoothly move to well-paid positions of consultants, advisers, heads of various firms and foundations. What is pensioner Burlakov doing today?

As befits a pensioner, I am raising children and grandchildren, but rather they are me. I do housework. I don’t get into politics and dubious commercial transactions.

On a voluntary basis, I lead the Union of Veterans of the Western Group of Forces - the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. Anticipating malicious questions, I will say that we do not use customs privileges and, unlike some, did not flood the country with imported alcohol and cigarettes. We provide all possible legal and medical care veterans military service and their families, meet with the younger generation.

I look people straight in the eye. If someone considers similar work " warm place"- I will not dissuade. Time will judge.

Is it true that the Germans attempted unauthorized entry into our nuclear arsenals?

Yes, it was. In 1992, in Altengrabow, three officers of the Bundeswehr tried to penetrate the territory of the missile base. Ignoring the warning shouts of the sentry and even a shot in the air, one of them overcame the fence. Our soldier opened fire to kill. As a result, a German major was seriously wounded, and the violators were detained. The Minister of Defense of Germany then officially apologized to us for the actions of his subordinates.

They say that our Western partners were shocked when they finally found themselves in ... empty storage facilities for nuclear weapons? They were so hoping to get acquainted with their contents!

I will not brag, but they could not figure out the time and place of the evacuation nuclear weapons. Together with the special services, we planned and successfully implemented a multi-way combination. At the same time, purposeful misinformation was carried out and a number of distracting actions were carried out ...

Since the beginning of the 1990s, the Western media have not tired of shouting about the so-called "Russian mafia". She did not cause problems to her compatriots in uniform?

In July 1992, the robbery of the century could have taken place. The publicity would be colossal, and the consequences would be unpredictable. On the way of transport with fifteen million German marks, Chechen criminal elements, already settled in Europe, ambushed. They calculated everything: traffic routes, departure time, security forces and much more. They did not take into account one thing - the professionalism of the Russian military and specialists from special detachment Criminal Police of Brandenburg. Thanks to coordinated and prompt actions, the robbery failed.

But this did not stop the mafia. The ZGV safe was a painfully tasty morsel. The gang was sent reinforcements from Chechnya. High-class "specialists" in robbery and robbery have come to Germany. In January 1993, the criminals repeated the robbery attempt. But the command and counterintelligence received on time necessary information... On the territory of the former GDR, by the way, at that time more than a dozen ethnic bandit groups operated. We realized that it is simply impossible to foresee everything. And the money was delivered by plane.

Alas, today experts' forecasts that with the collapse of the Soviet Union organized crime will rush to Western Europe have been confirmed.

Ten years since the withdrawal of the Western Group of Forces is more of a sad date than fun party. Who were we in Europe - occupiers, as some people sometimes say, or liberators?

For 49 years of our troops being in Germany, we have never frightened anyone, but we have not been afraid of anyone either. Being the most powerful grouping of the Soviet Armed Forces, the GSVG-ZGV faithfully carried out its historic mission to ensure peace and stability in Europe. It is not yet known how it will turn out post-war device peace, if there were no Soviet troops in Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland.

One of the military journalists, touching on this topic, aptly remarked:
In the ZGV were all for selection
And the orders of the fathers were honored sacredly,
If we were still there
It is not known where NATO would be!

I think there is a lot of truth in these words. Russian soldiers and the officers who served in the Western Group of Forces deserve only the respect and gratitude of their descendants. I am sure that after a short time, Mrs. History will put everything in its place and reward everyone according to their deserts.