A decision, unique for modern Russia, was recently made by the Lyubertsy garrison military court. Lieutenant Colonel Viktor Biront was reinstated in his post (on Wednesday he received an acquittal) and his fellow officers - the leadership of the naval supply base that burned down in the Moscow region during the summer fires. Meanwhile, President Dmitry Medvedev instructed the Minister of Defense to punish those responsible for this fire.
The correspondent met with Lieutenant Colonel Biront, who dared to challenge the decision of the high command.
Recall that a fire at the base of the logistics of the Navy near Kolomna occurred on July 29. The damage caused by the disaster was estimated by the Ministry of Defense at about 4 billion rubles. The President issued an incomplete official compliance with the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy and ordered the dismissal of a number of high-ranking officers, including the commander of the directly burnt-out unit No. 13180.
But the commander is still in the ranks.
Lieutenant Colonel Biront meets me in his "five" on the outskirts of Kolomna, and we go to his unit. The scale is striking - the area is 115 hectares. Along the perimeter, burnt-out tall trees, 20-30 meters high, ditches were dug on the ground, which were dug in the summer to stop the grassroots fire. Now they are covered with snow.
Part No. 13180 is responsible for sending by railroad trains to all four Russian fleets everything necessary for the functioning of naval aviation: that is, spare parts for aircraft, uniforms for pilots, etc. Before the fire, both parts for old brands of aircraft, which have already been decommissioned and are not in service with our troops, and new expensive equipment were stored here. For example, a few days before the fire, two state-of-the-art, expensive aircraft engines arrived here from a defense plant through the purchase of the Ministry of Defense. The cost of each is estimated at about 50 million rubles.
“Since July 19, we, together with all the personnel, have taken part in extinguishing forest fires in the Kolomensky district,” says Lieutenant Colonel Viktor Biront. - We had 14 knapsacks with fire extinguishing sprays. No more equipment - no respirators, no protective suits.
Dangerous pockets near the naval base were found on July 29 at 6 am. For 10 days, officers and sailors have been working on irregular schedules, helping rescuers and volunteers to put out fires. By the way, there were only 40 personnel in the unit - 8 officers, 11 contract soldiers and 21 conscript sailors. This is how many people, according to the new post-reform staffing table, were supposed to ensure the functioning of the naval base. And it turns out that this is how many people had to fight with the fiery element.
- We coped with the work, I think, well. During the year, about 70 echelons were sent to the fleet, - says Victor Biront. - Before the fire, I was in office for only two months and 25 days. Nevertheless, we had a close-knit, good team, competent officers.
We examine the objects of the military unit. The barracks, the headquarters, the boiler room, the dull, shabby, dilapidated building, where the officers' service apartments are located, were defended. In addition, the military managed to protect the fuel and lubricants warehouse from fire, there were four tanks with fuel. 25 thousand liters each. If these 100 thousand liters of fuel were to explode, the scale of casualties and destruction would be hard to imagine.
There is no fire-fighting equipment at the naval base. There was one old, decommissioned fire engine, after vain requests for help, when the fire was already very close, Lieutenant Colonel Biront ordered his subordinates to start it. Although it was illegal, there was no choice (on the basis of the instructions of the General Staff No. 314/4572, the fire brigade consisting of 12 people and two fire trucks was disbanded). When the fire had already gone on horseback and the tragedy became obvious and inevitable, the regional authorities decided to disconnect the military unit from gas in order to avoid an explosion, and at the same time from electricity and water.
A week before the fire, Lieutenant Colonel Biront called the naval headquarters, reported on the situation and sent faxgrams. Zero reaction. Meanwhile, it was forbidden to cut down even the forest on the territory of the unit. The previous commander tried to cut down trees on the territory, but he was fined 540 thousand rubles. However, the court softened the requirements and decided that the commander should buy and plant as many saplings as the trees were cut down for his own money. And also to pay the state a fine of about 30 thousand rubles. In addition, trees could not be cut due to camouflage reasons.
By 16.00 on July 29, a hurricane began, a powerful wind spreading fire at a speed of 18 meters per second. The flame was already on top, and the burnt branches began to fall to the ground and buildings. A viewing wooden house caught fire right on the water tower. Biront decided to first evacuate weapons, "secret", civilian personnel and family members of military personnel.
“At some point, three of ours ended up in a sack of fire, they managed to escape from there,” says sailor Yevgeny Novosyolov. - Sailor Nikipelov was only slightly burned, our company commander then took him to the "district". In general, it was very wild. It's scary when the temperature is 1200 degrees and you see with your own eyes how the metal melts. Then for another week we spat some black mucus all over. The officers made us drink milk three times a day.
Two officers, including Lieutenant Colonel Biront, had their legs burned during extinguishing. By nine in the evening, of the 89 property storage facilities, 16 had already burned down.
- At that time, during a fire at a contract soldier's car, our car burned down. And it contained a suit, a salary and two wedding rings. The next day he was supposed to get married, - says the company commander, Major Alexei Ermolov. - He extinguished the fire with us. The wedding had to be canceled.
Everything burned out by midnight. It was then that the Deputy Minister of Defense, General Bulgakov, came to the unit with his retinue.
“The first thing that General Bulgakov told me was:“It would be better if you, Biront, burned down here yourself,”says the lieutenant colonel. - He also demanded to dial the head of the regional Ministry of Emergency Situations from my phone, but he sent him away with shouts, did not know that the general was calling him, and there were fires all around after all. I thought Bulgakov would break my phone. Then he began to call Shoigu from his telephone and confer. And he ordered us to provide him with a certificate-report, and we pored over the pieces of paper all night. We went to bed at 6 in the morning.
By the way, Major Storchak arrived with General Bulgakov from the headquarters of the Navy. And the most interesting thing is that after some time, for his heroic actions while saving military property from the fire, he received the Order of Courage.
After the fire, investigators opened a criminal case. The guilt of Biront and other officers was not established. But they were kicked out anyway, and one of the dismissed soldiers was in office for only a week. Lieutenant Colonel Biront served in the army for 26 years, and during all this time he did not have a single penalty. After all this story, he was admitted to the hospital for the first time in his life. Heart, nerves.
- The city administration of Kolomna awarded the entire personnel for the courage shown during the extinguishing of fires in the summer of 2010. They just saw what hell it was and what really everyone had to go through. After all, it was we who were on fire, and not those who fired us,”sighs Major Ermolov. - I, for example, intend to seek full reinstatement in the service. I want to command the company again.
Victor Biront and his colleagues were held hostage to circumstances. Except for the officers of the burned-out base, who defended it to the last, no one was hurt in terms of personnel. They were made scapegoats. But the court decided otherwise. The acquittal was given to the lieutenant colonel on December 8. The military justice is now tasked with filing a cassation within 10 days. And then, with the included administrative resource, the repeated decision may not be in favor of Biront and his colleagues. I asked the officer what he expects from the future.
- Justice. I just want to get my name back. We are not criminals, we did our job from start to finish. Thank God that everyone survived, not a single zinc was sent. But after all this I will not stay in the army anyway. I want to quit my job normally, but they just kicked us out into the street. This apartment, where we live, is a service apartment, they can be thrown out of here at any time. At least I was entitled to a pension, but from here Major Gidayatov was also dismissed without trial or investigation, who had only 5 months to retire, he has 19, 5 years of service. And what should he do now? All my life to waste … And I have to start looking for work in civilian life.
- Fearfully?
- There is some. But I can handle it.
