Directorate "A" of the KGB of the Soviet Union is better known throughout the world under the name "Alpha". The main task that was set before the unit was to conduct operations aimed at preventing terrorist attacks. To date, the soldiers of the unit, which is under the control of the FSB of the Russian Federation, are involved in operations carried out in "hot spots".
Group "A" was created on July 29, 1974 by order of Yuri Andropov, who served as chairman of the KGB. The main task that Andropov set before the head of the Seventh Directorate of the KGB of the USSR, Mikhail Milyutin, was to create a unit that would be able to resist terrorism. And such a bright and memorable name - "Alpha" - did not appear immediately, but much later thanks to journalists. And at the beginning of its formation, the group bore a much more modest name - "A".
The activity on the formation of the unit began immediately after receiving Andropov's order. The original group consisted of 30 people. These were the best shots available to the KGB at that time. It should be noted that they were not only in good physical and combat shape, but also distinguished by a good education, it is enough to recall that among the fighters of the first composition of the unit there was one graduate of the law faculty, as well as graduates of the pedagogical institute and the aviation technical school.
Initially, the group was conceived as a very narrow-profile anti-terrorist unit that specialized in preventing aircraft theft. Gradually, however, their functions expanded, and the group became a powerful structure in the fight against terrorism.
Once the unit was formed, the fighters began training. The first years turned out to be quite difficult, because the world was just beginning to fight terrorists, so much was new and incomprehensible. A lot of problems arose with the equipment, since it was necessary to take into account such factors as noiselessness, comfort and durability. Much time was devoted to the development of special means with which it was possible to neutralize the militants without risking the hostages. A huge number of training operations were carried out, during which a variety of tactics and methods of behavior in extreme situations were worked out. In addition, parachute jumping, orienteering, mine-blasting operations were practiced. As for the weapons, in the first period of their existence the fighters were armed with Czech-made Scorpions. In the structure of the group, a unit was also formed, which was trained to fight against underwater saboteurs and terrorists. In addition, the fighters were trained in Cuba and the Baltic.
Over time, the headquarters of "Alpha" accumulated a large number of plans for strategic objects that existed not only in the capital, but throughout the country: embassies, airports, train stations, and for each of these objects there were certain developments. The members of the unit also studied the principles of the structure of various vehicles. Since the fighters most often had to deal with people who were unbalanced, unpredictable, so much attention was paid to psychological preparation. And very often it was thanks to her that it was possible to neutralize the terrorists without firing a single shot.
The first commander of the unit was V. Bubenin, but after 4 years he asked for his former duty station. Colonel R. Yvon performed his duties for several months, and then Major General G. Zaitsev headed the group, who led it for 10 years. In subsequent years, the department was headed by Major General V. Karpukhin and Colonel M. Golovatov. Then, in 1992, this position was again in the hands of Zaitsev. In the last years of the last century and up to the present, the group was led by Lieutenant Generals A. Gusev and A. Miroshnichenko, as well as V. Andreev. Since 2003, this position has been held by V. Vinokurov.
Today, there are several versions of which operation was the first in the history of Alpha's activities. Some experts are confident that the group's activities began almost immediately after its formation, when students staged a demonstration outside the Togo office and blocked the Ethiopian embassy with demands for higher scholarships. But this first operation ended peacefully, without the use of weapons. According to other experts, the unit's first operation was carried out only in December 1976, when the Alpha fighters accompanied the dissident V. Bukovsky to Zurich, where he was to be exchanged for the Chilean Communist Party Secretary General Corvalan. Despite the fact that the situation was tense to the extreme, on the whole everything ended successfully, and Corvalan was taken to Moscow.
And, finally, the third version of the beginning of the activities of the "A" group is an operation to neutralize an unknown person who, in March 1979, entered the American embassy with demands to be allowed to leave for America. If the requirements were not met, he threatened to blow up the building. The fighters began negotiations with the terrorist, and, despite the fact that they had no result, they still managed to lull the intruder's vigilance for a certain time. Nevertheless, the explosion could not be avoided, as a result of which the terrorist himself died from his injuries on the way to the hospital.
Perhaps one of the most striking and famous operations of the special forces is the assault on Amin's palace in Afghanistan in December 1979, after which Soviet troops occupied the country. As a result of the assault, only five members of the "Alpha" were killed, but almost all other special forces had wounds of varying severity. It was this operation that became the first real baptism of fire of the group "A", which she passed "perfectly", having done the almost impossible.
After the unit returned to Moscow in 1980, its fighters were assigned to guard the Olympic facilities (the Olympic Games were held in the capital that year). The main tasks of the group included checking the ships, as well as guarding Yasser Arafat, one of the most honored guests of the Moscow Olympics.
In December 1981, in Sarapul, two soldiers took 25 schoolchildren hostage along with a teacher. Negotiations were immediately started with the terrorists, and before the arrival of the Alpha fighters it was even possible to persuade them to let the girls and the teacher go. And since the terrorists demanded departure to any of the capitalist countries, this made it possible to gain time supposedly for the paperwork, but in fact for the preparation of the operation. Several Alpha fighters made their way into the building and were ready to storm. But there was no need to shoot, because the terrorists, having received their passports, released all the remaining hostages. After that, there was nothing to prevent the alphas from breaking into the premises and disarming the terrorists.
The next operation was carried out in November 1983, when terrorists hijacked a Tbilisi-Leningrad plane and demanded to fly to Turkey. To intimidate, they shot the flight mechanic and the pilot, beat the flight attendants. And since the crew members had weapons, there was a shootout, during which one of the terrorists was wounded. In response, two passengers were shot. The crew managed to return the plane back to Tbilisi, where the Alpha unit carried out another brilliant operation without losing a single hostage. The soldiers entered the cabin and disarmed the terrorists.
Something similar happened in September 1986, when the Tu-134A Lvov-Nizhnevartovsk plane was hijacked. During the seizure, the terrorists (two soldiers-deserters) opened fire and immediately killed several passengers. They demanded to fly to Pakistan. Negotiations were started with them, but they did not bring any results. In addition, the terrorists damaged the tightness of the plane, which turned out to be in the hands of the special services, since they were able to gain 12 hours for repairs. This time was far from superfluous, since the terrorists were not amateurs at all, they served in the internal troops to free aircraft from terrorists, so they knew very well how to get into the plane and could easily guess the moves of the Alpha. And it is not known how the situation would have developed further if the terrorists had not demanded drugs. They received what they wanted, but at the same time they received a potent sleeping pill. One of the terrorists fell asleep, and the second agreed to release the hostages. After that, the commandos immediately proceeded to the assault, as a result of which one terrorist was killed and the second was wounded.
Then there were operations to free the children, who were taken hostage in December 1988 in Ordzhonikidze, and in August 1990 in Yerevan by the "Gray" gang.
In the 1990s, Alpha had about 500 fighters. After the KGB sank into oblivion, the unit came under the control of the Main Directorate of Security of Russia. A little later, in 1995, it became part of the FSB and transformed into Directorate "A".
The modern history of Group A began in 1991 with the seizure of a television tower in Vilnius. Then, in August of the same year, the well-known events took place in Moscow, when the city was, in fact, under martial law (the "alphas" then refused to participate in the storming of the White House). A similar situation was repeated in October 1993, but this time the "Alpha" fighters went to the liberation of the government building. After this operation, significant changes took place in the fate of the unit, its fighters were removed from the protection of the head of state.
No less famous is the tragedy in Budennovsk in July 1995, when Shamil Basayev's terrorists seized a hospital with hostages. It was during the operation in Budennovsk that Alpha suffered the greatest losses in the entire history of its existence.
Alpha carried out successful operations in August 1995 in Moscow to detain illegal arms dealers, in October 1995 to release hostages-tourists from South Korea in Moscow, in January 1996 in Kizlyar, in December 1997 in Sweden, in 1999 -2004 in Chechnya and Dagestan (during local armed conflicts), in July 2001 in Mineralnye Vody.
One of the most significant and tragic events of the beginning of the new century was the seizure of the Moscow theater "Nord-Ost" by terrorists. The terrorists demanded that the Russian government withdraw its troops from Chechnya. Despite the fact that all the militants were killed, 129 hostages were killed as a result of the use of gas. Several Alpha fighters were wounded of varying severity and concussion.
Today "Alpha" continues its activities in the fight against terrorism. This unit is rightfully recognized as elite. It always receives the latest weapons and equipment, and the fighters are constantly improving their skills at training bases. They have a unique experience that makes them a formidable opponent.
The Alpha subdivision is recognized as one of the best in the fight against terrorism, and this is confirmed not only by Russian experts, but also by the majority of anti-terrorism specialists around the world.
Yartsev Vyacheslav Ivanovich. Captain of the special forces of the KGB of the USSR, group "A", from 1980 to 1991. Veteran of the Afghan campaign, participant in several anti-terrorist operations. Karate, kickboxing and hand-to-hand fighting trainer. Graduated from the Orthodox St. Tikhon University for the Humanities, the center for the spiritual education of military personnel.
Emyshev Valery Petrovich. Colonel of the special forces of the KGB of the USSR, group "A". He worked in the KGB from February 1966 to 1988. As part of the first set of group "A" since July 1974. Operational cover - a locksmith at a housing maintenance office. He took part in many top secret and special operations. A participant in the Kabul operation, during the assault on the Taj Bek palace, he lost his right arm; he received the Order of the Red Banner personally from the hands of Yuri Andropov. After being wounded, he held the post of party organizer of group "A" in the rank of deputy commander.
Colonel Vladimir Tarasenko, was a member of the Alpha group of the KGB special forces. Participated in the Kabul operation in 79. Several months after the coup, he was busy ensuring the security of pro-Soviet President Babrak Karmal. Later he was a member of the hostage rescue group that worked during the terrorist attacks in Budennovsk and Pervomaiskiy. Resigned as a member of the security service of President Yeltsin.
Lutsev Viktor - Major in special forces in the KGB. From 1982 to 1992 he served at Alpha. He completed an internship in Afghanistan, after which he participated in the Saratov, as well as in the Sukhum and Ufa operations related to the release of hostages. In 1991 he took part in the events that took place in Vilnius, namely in the storming of the city's television center, during which an officer of "Alpha" was tragically killed. In 1992, together with a group of veterans, due to his refusal to swear allegiance to Russian President Boris Yeltsin, he was fired.
Mikhailov Alexander, colonel in the special forces of the KGB-FSB, where he worked since 1973, worked at Alpha from 1982 to 2005. He underwent an internship in Afghanistan, where he took part in the destruction of the "Bald" gang - the commander of Kudduz-Kale. He took part in the Sukhum operation (the award is the Order of the Red Banner of the Battle), as well as in the Saratov and Ufa special operations. He took part in the storming of a hospital in the city of Budenovsk, and in 2002 he took an active part in the anti-terrorist operation at Dubrovka in Moscow.
Repin Alexander, in the past - a colonel in the KGB of the USSR, where he worked from 1974 to 1998, served as an operative among Group "A" from 1978 under operational cover - "instructor of physical culture of the Scientific Research Institute" Luch ". He took part in the Kabul operation, in the storming of the presidential palace, where he received several severe shrapnel wounds at once.
