CHRONICLE OF THE ACTIONS OF MILITARY UNITS AND SUBUNITS OF FEDERAL TROOPS DURING THE COUNTER-TERRORIST OPERATION TO LIBERATE THE CAPITAL OF THE CHECHEN REPUBLIC FROM ILLEGAL ARMED FORMATIONS. DECEMBER 1999-FEBRUARY 2000, MOSCOW: "Novosti" Printing House, 2011. 416 p., ill.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union, bloody events unfolded in a number of regions of the once unified country, which will be the subject of close attention of historians, politicians and military researchers for many years to come. The situation was most dramatic in the North Caucasus of the Russian Federation. Two so-called Chechen campaigns have claimed thousands and thousands of lives, both among the civilian population and among military personnel of various federal agencies.

Numerous scientific studies, memoirs and memoirs, and works of art are devoted to these cruel events. A peer-reviewed book, in my opinion, occupies a special place in this series.

First, it tells about the events that took place during the second campaign, or rather at its final stage. If enough work is devoted to the first campaign, then the second one may be considered somewhat deprived in this regard. Secondly, its authors are people who can be considered not only eyewitnesses, but also active participants in the events described. Third, a peer-reviewed study, according to the authors, is an experience of documentary reconstruction based on numerous documents, eyewitness accounts, and their own observations. Finally, fourthly, on the pages of the book, the views of different parties are presented and analyzed: both supporters and dissenters, which significantly enriches the study.

The authors of the book set themselves the goal of" recreating the chronicle of the special operation to liberate the Chechen capital from illegal armed formations in as much detail as possible and on a documentary basis " (p.39). And this, in my opinion, they have succeeded to the full extent. After reading the book, the reader will be able to see that it was the Grozny operation that, in its significance, extreme tension and drama, became the turning point of the second Chechen campaign.

It is important to note that the authors, in addition to the actual military aspect of the operation, also took into account the socio-political resonance that the storming of Grozny caused in Russia and abroad. The press at that time wrote a lot about the events that took place in Chechnya. But, as usual, correspondents-some intentionally, and some due to lack of information-often gave unverified and therefore often inaccurate data.

From this point of view, the authors managed, as it seems to me (the reviewer himself repeatedly visited Chechnya during the described period), to understand the sources and restore the vicissitudes of those days, which allowed them to systematize materials about one of the largest operations in which formations of other security forces took part in addition to army units with a high degree of reliability and objectivity. structures.

The undoubted merit of the authors was the provision of a podium for speaking to direct participants in combat operations, not only commanders, but also ordinary soldiers. The heroes of the book are soldiers, officers and generals, whose daily work is described in the book. Of course, the main actors were the military units and divisions of the internal troops, who took on a significant part of all the hardships of the battles for the city and the bitterness of losses. But other law enforcement agencies that participated in the special operation were not ignored: military units of the Ministry of Defense, police units, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the FSB and the Ministry of Justice.

The book consists of an essay titled "instead of a preface", three chapters, a conclusion, and an appendix.

In the essay, the reader immediately finds himself on the streets of the capital of Chechnya, where a military doctor was killed, rushing to the aid of a wounded soldier... At the very beginning of their work, the authors promise readers to draw a complete picture of the combat life of such military doctors and other soldiers who performed difficult combat work in Grozny in December 1999 - January and February 2000...

In chapter I, " To take or not to take?" The article examines the political aspect of the need for a special operation to capture the Chechen capital.

Chapter II of "Death in Spite of" is devoted to the preparatory and first stages of the special operation in Grozny. The authors track the situation in the city day after day, making extensive use of the diaries of fighters, their correspondence with their parents, and letters from their parents to the command of the group of troops in Chechnya. A lot of material is devoted to the description of tactics of actions of gangs.

Chapter III, "We have Come here Forever," describes the final stage of the special operation. The authors managed to objectively characterize the morale of the militants who suffered a crushing defeat, as well as to highlight the feat of soldiers and officers of our country without too much pathos on the basis of facts and documents.

The conclusion of the book " After the Battle "is filled with the authors 'optimistic hopes that" the rebuilt Grozny will no longer hear the cannonade", because peace is needed not only for the Chechen people, but also for the entire North Caucasus and all of Russia.

The appendix "The heart does not hurt" provides a list of internal troops who died during the counter-terrorist operation to liberate Grozny from illegal armed formations 26.12.1999-7.02.2000.

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