Don't look for it on the map of Chechnya. I made it up myself. An archipelago is not a group of islands, as interpreted by the encyclopedia. An archipelago of the fates and deeds of the Northern Fleet Marines, with whom I was brought together by a recent business trip to the North Caucasus. Units of the amphibious assault battalion were located around the small village of Benoy. at the entrance to the Vedenskoe Gorge, like islands in a raging sea. There, the Marines held a kind of "front line," although there was no such thing. This was because the insurgents were everywhere—in the mountains, in the villages, hiding their beards and weapons in secret places. As a result, the "Black Berets" were forced to fight in a defensive manner. More than once, during my travels and crossings of the Benoy "archipelago", I heard from the marines: "We have come. To give this land peace!" In the name of this, Major General Alexander Ivanovich Otrakovsky gave his life. Captain Alexey Miloshevich, Lieutenant Yuri Kuryagin, and Sergeant Vladimir Tatashvili were killed. Posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Russia by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 565 dated March 24, 2000, for his courage and heroism in the performance of his military duty. The bandits call them "infidels" and scare the civilians with "black berets." The battalion's medical personnel have provided assistance to ordinary people on numerous occasions, even bringing some back from the brink of death. The Marines have shared their food with the local residents. I have witnessed Chechen women approaching the Marine headquarters in Benoi. Khattab and Basayev called them "the black death," and they said, "Sons, we haven't eaten in two days." The Marines generously shared whatever they could... They came to bring peace to this long-suffering land and its people. The Benoi Archipelago is an archipelago of destinies and actions. It is an archipelago of military duty, honor, and everyday heroism. What d ... Читать далее