Anatoly Vyacheslavovich Lebed – officer of the 45th Separate Guards Order of Alexander Nevsky Reconnaissance Regiment of the Airborne Forces, guard captain.

Born on May 10, 1963 in the city of Valga, Estonian SSR (now Estonia). Russian. He graduated from high school, a vocational construction school in the city of Kohtla-Jarve, and a DOSAAF parachute school.

IN Soviet army since 1981. He served in the Airborne Forces: in the 44th Airborne Training Division in the village of Gaizhunai (Lithuanian SSR) and in the 57th separate air assault brigade in the village of Aktogay (Taldy-Kurgan region of the Kazakh SSR). From the troops in 1983 he entered a military school. In 1986 he graduated from the Lomonosov Military Aviation Technical School (Leningrad).

In 1986–1987, as part of a limited contingent of the group Soviet troops took part in hostilities in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, as part of a helicopter regiment he made combat missions as a helicopter flight technician in the crew of Hero Soviet Union N.S.Maidanova. Then he served in the 329th transport and combat helicopter regiment and in the 337th separate helicopter regiment in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. In 1994, together with his helicopter regiment, he was transferred from Germany to the city of Berdsk Novosibirsk region. Since 1994 - in reserve. In the 1990s, he traveled to Serbia and took part in hostilities in the territory of the former Yugoslavia on the side of government forces.

Immediately after the attack by Chechen militants and foreign mercenaries on the Republic of Dagestan in August 1999, A.V. Lebed own initiative I bought all the necessary equipment and flew to Makhachkala as a volunteer. He took part in hostilities as part of a detachment of the Dagestan militia, then in a combined police detachment.

In October 1999, he entered into a contract with the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and went to the Chechen Republic to participate in the counter-terrorism operation. Served as deputy commander of the reconnaissance group of the 45th separate reconnaissance regiment of the Airborne Forces. In 1999–2007, he made over 10 business trips to the Chechen Republic, participated in special operations in the areas of the cities of Gudermes and Argun, as well as in the suburbs of Grozny and the Vedeno region.

In the summer of 2003, during one of the operations in the mountains near the village of Ulus-Kert, he was blown up by a mine. As a result of this injury, his foot was amputated. He received the second group of disability, but refused to leave the Armed Forces, first mastered the prosthesis, then parachute jumping(had over 840 jumps) and hand-to-hand combat on a prosthesis. Already in December 2003 - January 2004, he participated in a winter operation in the mountains of the Republic of Dagestan to destroy the gang of field commander Ruslan Gelayev.

Since 2004 - commander of a reconnaissance group, since 2005 - deputy commander of a detachment in the 45th separate reconnaissance regiment. In a battle on January 9, 2005, on the territory of the Chechen Republic, a group of guards of senior lieutenant A.V. Lebed was ambushed. Two fighters were injured. When the militants tried to capture them, A.V. Lebed entered into an unequal battle and personally destroyed three militants. By his actions, he saved the lives of his subordinates. In a battle on January 24, 2005, he protected a wounded private from a grenade launcher shot with his own body. Having received a blind shrapnel wound in the lower back, he continued to command the lead patrol. Personally destroyed the grenade launcher and machine gun crew of the militants. As a result of that battle, the militants' base was captured and Shamil Basayev's contact was destroyed.

By Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of April 6, 2005, for courage and heroism shown in the performance of military duty in the North Caucasus region, guard captain Lebed Anatoly Vyacheslavovich awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation with a special distinction - the Gold Star medal.

In August 2008, as an officer of the 45th Separate Guards Order of Alexander Nevsky Guard Reconnaissance Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel A.V. Lebed took part in hostilities against the Georgian Armed Forces, which committed genocide of civilians in South Ossetia. At the head of the unit, he made a daring raid on the port of Poti, sinking several combat boats of the Georgian Navy at the piers and dispersing the Georgian special forces guarding the base. For the valor and courage shown in this operation, he was one of the first in Russia to be awarded the Order of St. George, 4th degree.

Continued to serve in Russian Army. Since 2008 - operational duty officer of the operational directorate of the headquarters of the Airborne Forces.

Lived in the city of Moscow. Died on April 27, 2012 as a result of a traffic accident. The accident occurred in front of the gate to the territory of Sokolniki Park, at the intersection of Bogorodskoye Highway with Maysky Prospekt and Oleny Proezd. He lost control of his motorcycle and crashed into a curb. He died on the spot from his injuries. He was buried at the Preobrazhenskoye Cemetery in Moscow.

Lieutenant colonel. Awarded the Order of St. George, 4th degree (2008, No. 3), 3 Orders of Courage (04/28/2000; 02/02/2004, 01/26/2007), 3 Soviet Orders of the Red Star, Order “For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR” 3- 1st degree, medals, including “For Military Merit,” and personalized edged weapons.

Anatoly Vyacheslavovich Lebed was born on May 10, 1963 in the city of Valga, Estonian USSR. Studied at high school, then at the construction vocational school of the city of Kohtla-Jarve. At the same time, the young man was engaged in parachuting in the local DOSAAF section.

In 1981, Anatoly was drafted into the army. He served in the Airborne Forces in Lithuania (44th training division), then in Kazakhstan (57th separate air assault brigade). Military specialty - commander of an airborne combat vehicle (BMD). In 1983, Lebed entered the Lomonosov Military Aviation Technical School, which he graduated in 1986 with a degree in Mi-8 helicopter flight technician.

Immediately after graduating from college, Lieutenant Lebed submits a report on being sent to the Republic of Afghanistan. The report was satisfied and Anatoly was seconded to the 239th separate helicopter squadron of the Air Force, where the young officer was sent as a flight technician to the crew of the future Hero of the Soviet Union Nikolai Maidanov.

The main purpose of the Mi-8 during the Afghan war was the landing of mobile landing groups. And the helicopter flight technician is entrusted with many responsibilities: general monitoring of instruments, monitoring fuel consumption, temperature, speed, engine pressure sensor readings, etc. But flight engineer Lebed did not limit himself to this: during the landing of paratroopers, the lieutenant landed with them and took part in assaults, sweeps, and reconnaissance operations, surprising his colleagues with his composure, accuracy and masterly use of all types of weapons. During his service in the Republic of Afghanistan, Lebed, as part of reconnaissance groups, took direct part in more than 200 combat clashes; from his comrades, the lieutenant received a nickname that stuck for many years - “Rambo”.

After the end of the Afghan war, Lebed received the rank of captain and was sent to Western group troops in Germany. However, the service there was short-lived - the USSR soon collapsed, and Russia, under an agreement with Germany, withdrew its troops from the Western Military District. In 1993, Lebed was transferred to the 337th helicopter regiment (city of Berdsk, Siberian Military District). A new time had come - the 90s, the army was slowly but surely falling into decay. What kind of combat training can we talk about when there was no fuel for helicopters for months, and the runway was overgrown with waist-deep grass. Reluctantly, Lebed resigned from armed forces and together with his wife and son moved to the Moscow region.

New times beckoned with new opportunities - a former officer with combat experience would certainly have found a place in the numerous “brigades” or “security services” of that time. But Anatoly Vyacheslavovich categorically rejected such proposals, contenting himself with a modest position in the Afghanistan Veterans Committee.

Meanwhile, the political situation was changing radically: in the 90s, a conflict broke out in the Balkans: Serbia, friendly to Russia, suddenly found itself surrounded by hostile Muslim enclaves, incited from outside, and blood was shed. At the same time, a stream of thousands of Russian volunteers - mostly former military personnel - literally poured into Serbia. Among them was “Rimbaud” - the Swan. Anatoly Vyacheslavovich never told the details of that war; when asked “why did you go to someone else’s war?” He answered briefly and clearly: “The Serbs are not strangers to us, I fought for Russia.”

By the end of the 90s, the war in Yugoslavia gradually faded away, but it became hot in Russia itself. In 1999, militant groups from Chechnya, which is not controlled by the federal government, attempted to establish their power in Dagestan. A. V. Lebed, who was retired at that time, bought a uniform and the necessary equipment with his own money and volunteered to go to war. At first, Lebed served with the militia in a combined police detachment, and three months later he signed a contract with the army. In less than four years of service, Lebed personally destroyed more than a hundred militants and revealed the location of many warehouses and caches. It was in Chechnya that the experience gained in fighting in mountainous areas came in handy.

On June 25, 2003, near the village of Ust-Kert, while performing a combat mission, Anatoly Vyacheslavovich was blown up by an anti-personnel mine. The foot of the right leg was torn off, the left leg was severely cut by shrapnel. The treatment lasted more than two months, then another three months - prosthetics and rehabilitation. And six months later, Lebed arrived in Khankala: “the prosthesis is as if it were alive, I’m ready to continue serving,” the captain said to his slightly taken aback superiors. Despite being seriously wounded, Anatoly Vyacheslavovich returned to duty, and not just somewhere in a warehouse, but in a reconnaissance company of the Airborne Forces. On April 6, 2005, for the courage and heroism shown during the hostilities in the Caucasus, Anatoly Vyacheslavovich Lebed was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation.

Peace gradually returned to the Caucasus, but a new challenge for Russia was not long in coming: on August 8, 2008, without declaring war, Georgia attacked South Ossetia, and the very next day, on August 9, Anatoly Lebed was in the conflict zone. Active hostilities lasted only a week, but during this time the officer, at that time a lieutenant colonel, managed to prove himself. An example of brilliant military operation was the attack on the Georgian port of Poti planned and carried out by Lebed. On August 14, 2008, a small detachment of paratroopers under the command of Lebed captured the port with a lightning strike. 8 enemy ships were blown up in the roadstead, their outposts fled in panic. The paratroopers captured 15 speedboats, 4 thousand small arms and 5 armored headquarters Hummers equipped with satellite special communications equipment. The jeeps were handed over to counterintelligence officers and, as General Staff representative Anatoly Nogovitsyn said on August 28, they found “a lot of interesting things”: evidence confirming the execution by the Georgian military leadership of direct instructions from the NATO command. For the operation in Poti, Lebed was awarded the Order of St. George, IV degree; the lieutenant colonel became the first active officer, and not a staff general, to receive this award.

Anatoly dreamed of heaven. And he began his journey with parachuting. He made 300 jumps even before joining the army. The guy was assigned to the Airborne Forces. Starting his service in Estonia, he continued...

Anatoly dreamed of heaven. And he began his journey with parachuting. He made 300 jumps even before joining the army. The guy was assigned to the Airborne Forces. Starting his service in Estonia, he continued in Kazakhstan. A serious landing school came in handy in life.

IN school years Anatoly was fond of parachuting

First from left is A. Lebed, second from left is N. Maidanov.

The guy was from a family of a front-line soldier. He liked it in the army. But the sky beckoned and he entered the military aviation technical school, where they trained helicopter pilots for Afghanistan. “Beyond the River” was in dire need of such specialists.

Lebed chose a non-shooting specialty. But war changes the rules of the game. And during combat operations, various troops often depend on each other. The young officer wanted to get into the sky and he did. He was a persistent man.

The flight mechanic will tell you about the condition of the helicopter by the sound of the engine. Each rotorcraft has its own character. The flight mechanic is obliged to respect her no worse than the mood of his beloved wife or, even more so, his mother-in-law.

Swan in Afghanistan.

An experienced flight technician sees all sensor changes. He doesn’t wait for questions, but tells the commander the status of fuel consumption, temperature conditions and other flight parameters. “Bortach” loves his car like his own child and listens to it carefully.

1987 Already Afghanistan. He recalled that these years were the best in his service. Lebed made seven hundred flights in Afghanistan. They were shot down several times, sometimes they returned home at an altitude of 20 meters, they were shot at point-blank range by spooks, the blades and the car were shot through. But we got there.

The young officer was lucky. He ended up in the crew of Nikolai Maidanov. Maidanov became famous when he ended up in Afghanistan. His name was “Kolya the lucky one.” He is the only Hero of the Soviet Union and Hero of Russia in military aviation. Died in Chechnya. How many worthy guys died there.

But “beyond the river”, luck smiled on him. He went out to the caravan with amazing precision, regularly, as if on schedule. Lebed knew that luck is a prepared situation, carefully calculated by the pilot and crew.

Airborne special forces in Poti.

Maidanov made one and a half thousand flights in Afghanistan. Our hero took part in most of them. The landing in the movies does not happen the same way as in life. There, trained paratroopers pour into the open hatch, and in life the flight mechanic is the first to jump.

He must see where the “pinwheel” lands - what if it lands on its belly, or the ground floats? Anatoly was always the first to jump. And he often left with the landing force to work on the ground. In Afghanistan his name was Rimbaud. He took part in the destruction of a large caravan with 203 pack places and weapons.

There were 4 helicopters in the sky, then 8. The battle went on for ten hours. And Lebed received the first military Order of the Red Star. Later there were more awards, more fights. Returning to his homeland, he was sent to Germany, where our troops were stationed.

Swan shows off his car.

With my beloved dog.

The troops stationed on German soil were considered the elite. Everyone was rushing there. But the demand was also great. Daily combat training, training, dropping paratroopers, your own jumps. There were often training exercises with the Germans. But all good things come to an end quickly.

In 1994 the troops were withdrawn from Germany. The regiment was stationed in Berdsk, where the grass is waist-deep and there is no room for helicopters. And Anatoly realized that the service, the one to which he had given all of himself, was over. No fuel, no flights, no salaries, no housing.

In a country where “democracy” was gaining strength, there is no longer an army. He was entitled to a military pension. And he left the army. Little is known about our hero’s life in civilian life. He liked to just work - to fight or prepare for war.

Lebed leaves for Yugoslavia. They made the decision themselves. Who are they? Russian officers. Brothers in arms. It is not vertical, but friendly ties that create the microclimate of military brotherhood.

He is respected by everyone who has made his mark in the Balkans. For what? Nobody reveals the details. They know how to keep their secrets. But a reservation in an interview for Ogonyok can clarify a lot: Military reconnaissance is capable of working in mountainous forest areas, in the desert, in the Balkans and in Chechnya.

Who was our hero in the war? The business trip in the Balkan War ended - he flew to mountainous Dagestan. Why did he do this? And again he is busy with his work. After a five-year break, he is taken into the airborne special forces. You have to understand that the doors are never closed for him.

He stayed in the Chechen Republic until 2005. Dozens of special operations in the warring republic. In battle, he stepped on a mine. Half the shoe was torn off along with the foot. But I've seen worse from others. Consider yourself lucky. The helicopter was unable to pick him up from the battlefield.

The friends carried their comrade on a cape for several hours to the ambulance turntable. An operation was performed at the Khankala hospital. The foot was amputated. Already in the Moscow hospital, the leg was cut, sewn, and altered. They taught me how to walk on a prosthesis.

The forty-year-old officer continued his journey in the mountains of Chechnya. He ran with everyone else and descended by parachute. No one noticed that the fighter was one-legged.

He took part in the liquidation of Ruslan Gelayev’s gang. The scouts searched for the gang for two weeks. They found the detachment and destroyed it. Two weeks later, Anatoly was wounded in the lower back, but his spine was not hit. He didn't leave the fight. The Lord protected him during the war.

He often said that he rarely gave orders. He is more interested in participating with the group in battles. In 2005, Lebed became a Hero of Russia. And again he left for the war zone. A peace enforcement operation was underway in Tskhinvali. In the face of loss of communication, thanks to American jammers, Airborne reconnaissance officers were forced to make the right decision.

They disarmed the Georgian unit, captured the airfield, port, and ships at the pier. The infrastructure of the Georgian military was almost completely destroyed. He believed that any enemy underestimates a Russian soldier when he has a Kalashnikov assault rifle, a convenient close-combat weapon, in his hands.

Anatoly looked a little like the devil. He is short in stature, his figure is all muscle, a characteristic kink in the eyebrows, a shaved skull and a goatee. A black Mazda 6 completes the look. There was something attractive about this one-legged man. He could not be a peaceful man. Russian Rimbaud, man-war.

Anatoly Lebed died in Moscow, near Sokolniki Park, after losing control of his bike. How strange...