General Lapin Alexander Pavlovich reviews. The bloody and criminal "legacy" of General Alexei Lapin

The more time passes since the resignation of the leadership of the Don police headquarters, the more factual information about the consequences of the "work" of the Krasnodar-Khabarovsk police group on the Don land will come out.

At present, we can only operate with open information and information received by us from our sources in the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

A man with a biography

Actually, the entire career path of General Lapin can only hardly be called the path of a Russian officer. The black list of his merits can be started from the moment when Lapin was already admitted to high police positions. Being transferred from Krasnodar to Karachay-Cherkessia, Lapin left behind the fact of the most serious republican conflict with the massacre and subsequent seizure by the relatives of the murdered of the government building of the republic in 2004. The conflict that arose then had to be settled personally by the presidential envoy to the Southern Federal District Dmitry Kozak. And the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Alexei Lapin, disappeared after that for three years, leaving a "hole" in his biography, in order to emerge in Khabarovsk in 2007 as head of the regional police department. And from there Lapin after some time was expelled with a big scandal, as they say, with the "surrender" of some of his entourage.

Already at the end of his career, the "illustrious general" was appointed head of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Rostov Region.

"Good start"

The first appearance of the new chief of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in 2010 was accompanied by "pogroms" at traffic police posts, where police officers did not know their job descriptions and regulations.

At that time, it seemed to many that a chief had arrived in Rostov, who from the threshold set about restoring order in the department subordinate to him. And soon the expectations began, it seems, to be justified. Many of those who did not work very well began to be ousted from the police, and the personnel began to be gradually updated. However, hopes for an improvement in the situation were immediately destined not to come true. The cadres that replaced the former ones turned out to be completely unprepared for the performance of their direct duties.

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

Together with the new chief, a team of subordinates arrived in Rostov, who first settled in hotels on the left bank of the Don, and then began to spread through the districts and cities of the region. They say that the last check revealed about 118 police leaders, who were disinterestedly brought from Khabarovsk and Krasnodar by the new bosses of the central office in order to “rob Rostov”.

It is known that specifically for the purposes of the great resettlement of close “nomad law enforcement officers”, six houses were bought in the fashionable countryside village of Kamyshevakha and about thirty apartments in the Severny Bataysky district. Some of the nomads who arrived were accommodated in the hotel of the Rowing Canal sports complex.

Already at the beginning of work in the field of the new leadership of the central office, there were statements on the forums that, to replace the dismissed local personnel, the new police authorities had brought a "gang of robbers" with them. At the same time, according to our experts, some new police leaders generally turned out to be henchmen of Krasnodar criminal groups.

Conflict with prosecutors

The prosecutor's office of the region, headed at that time by Valery Kuznetsov, pointed out that about 70 police officers were illegally attested to the new police structure. The actions of the prosecutor were not subsequently abandoned by the police authorities just like that. It is alleged that along with representatives of the shadow criminal business and relatives of criminals known throughout Rostov, the Rostov police also took all possible financial part in the campaign to dismiss the prosecutor of the Rostov region Kuznetsov from the supervisory department.

What was happening in the police structure, many Rostov policemen described nothing more than a "raider seizure of the regional department" with the promotion of temporary workers to senior positions, focused on extracting quick profits and an early departure to new places of "service".
“We will set up Rostov,” the police officers quoted their seconded colleagues as saying.

Beginning of the production

Already in the fall of 2010, a wave of "robbings" of respected houses of influential Rostovites swept across Rostov. The movement took on such a massive character that at some point they even tried to block the city, bringing to the streets almost the entire personnel of the regional administration. At the same time, Law Firm experts expressed the opinion that the imaginary "robbers", doing their old craft, along the way tritely installed listening equipment in the homes of "respectable people" in order to further police development of "objects".

The beginning of the "staging" of the police Rostov was also not long in coming. During the first half of the year, the heads of key departments and services were replaced by "their own" or local personnel loyal to the new authorities. Around the same period, a rumor spread around the city that all Rostov markets were reoriented to new "curators from the Ministry of Internal Affairs." Around the same time, a scandal erupted with the "Krasnodar" head of the regional OEB and PC Igor Boychenko, who was charged with abuse of office during special operations with "market stalls".

The heads of the district police departments were partially knocked out by an unfair certification, partially summoned to the central office and inclined to write letters of resignation. Soon, all local leaders of the regional level were withdrawn from the region, and the structure began to be sharpened to bring monthly profits.

Those who refused to voluntarily write letters of resignation were prosecuted, as was the case in Volgodonsk, or compromising evidence was found, as was the case in Rostov with the discovery of a police cache with weapons and drugs in the Pervomaisky Department of Internal Affairs in district opera houses.

Say whatever

You can say whatever you want about Belozerov, the previous head of the headquarters, but I never once brought him money. We could somehow get together, give something for a birthday, but in principle we could not imagine such a situation in order to carry money to the central office every month. And even more so, to carry money to the central office for every month, - one of the dismissed Rostov policemen told the author of these lines.

At the same time, our publication reported that the heads of the district police departments were given a plan to collect and monthly pay about 300,000 rubles to the headquarters. The CSS officers at the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Republic of Kazakhstan who called the newspaper were more interested not in the published invoice, but in the personality of the author who wrote the note.

In this regard, I recall the case of the arrival of one of the CSS operatives in the neighboring city of Rostov in a new BMW of the seventh series and his answer to the question to a surprised greeter - is this your personal car? The answer of the employee was concise - no, what are you, this is a service ...

Structure collapse

There is no doubt that sooner or later the structure, sharpened by making money, had to “crumble”.

Increasingly, the police themselves began to get into reports of offenses. The most glaring are the cases of the detention of the Novocherkassk investigator, who, according to the stories of the police, brought people to IK No. 14 who were transferring drugs to the territory of the correctional institution. With the conviction of the Deputy Head of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Voroshilovsky District under the article for selling drugs. Moreover, in the verdict itself, it was indicated that there were no traces of the policeman’s fingerprints or fatty secretions from his hands on the “withdrawn”, which did not prevent the court from soldering the nine-year term to the policeman.

Later, operatives from Shakhty were convicted of selling narcotic drugs. And this is only the visible part of the hidden iceberg.

A vivid illustration of what has been happening in the Don police in recent years could be the story of how one of the detained operatives of the Pervomaisky district, who made a deal with the investigation, began to write confessions and added to the fact that he almost executed contract killings on the instructions of higher authorities. They say that the employees of the Investigative Department of the region almost persuaded him to stop writing ...

It is better not to write about how many traffic offenses while intoxicated by the Don police officers. Only about fixed ones it will be possible to write several articles. And how many of them were hidden?!

image is everything

In conditions when the structure turned out to be completely inoperative, and it was somehow necessary to illustrate the appearance of success, the leadership of the regional central office took care of “image projects”.

These include the initiation of a criminal case against State Duma deputy Vladimir Bessonov, who allegedly "stuffed his head" with the head of the regional police Anton Grachev to a concussion. And allegedly an order from thieves in relation to the former Khabarovsk policeman - the deputy head of the Department of Internal Affairs of Rostov Vyacheslav Chuprunov. And the kidnapping of the Rostov schoolgirl Dasha Popova with a happy finding and a tragic ending to the story in the Kirov temporary detention facility.
Now about everything in order.

"Ordered by Thieves"

The tale that some thieves “ordered” the deputy head of the Rostov Internal Affairs Directorate, Vyacheslav Chuprunov, due to the fact that with the arrival of a group of Khabarovsk residents from Rostov, the flow of money decreased, appeared on one of the non-Rostov Internet sites. By the way, compromising materials against the prosecutor of the Rostov region Valery Kuznetsov, with whom Khabarovsk residents have developed mutually exclusive relations, were previously published on the same site.

And the very recording of the conversation of the "thieves" was more like a cheap staging by the artists of the student theater of the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. As a result, as they say, the police "played a joke". And allegedly "ordered by thieves" Chuprunov died in an accident, crashing his motorcycle into KAMAZ.

It is known that the motorcycle was presented to Chuprunov for his birthday by employees of the Rostov OEB and PC. This gave rise to a wave of jokes that "the thieves ordered Chuprunov and gave him a motorcycle" ...

After death

Chuprunov's death itself raised many questions. It is known that he was returning from some event. Traffic police officers claim that the police were traveling in a group, on two motorcycles and the Sonata following them. Chuprunov was riding a motorcycle with his girlfriend (and these are two corpses). The police say that three people (plus three corpses) were also driving in the overturned KAMAZ.

According to the police report, only three people died in the accident (Chuprunov and two people from Kamaz). Arriving soon at the scene of an accident, the head of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Republic of Belarus Alexei Lapin confidently told reporters that Vyacheslav Chuprunov was sober. However, in medical circles, they say that a blood test of the deceased in the morgue showed the presence of alcohol. Whom to believe - the chief of police who arrived at the scene, who determined the sobriety of his deceased subordinate by eye, or the mortuary staff, who made a blood test?

One more question. Some time before his death, Vyacheslav Chuprunov told his colleagues that his personal life in Rostov was beginning to improve, that he had a girlfriend. Wasn't that girl who died with him on a motorcycle in a drunken accident? Police officers say that some "Chuprunov's girl" was not at the funeral. And the traffic police officers claim that their colleagues, who were following the motorcyclists in the Sonata, hid the extra traces of the accident, and the girl, most likely, is listed as “missing” in the city of Shakhty and is wanted in connection with this.

Some details of this incident are revealed by a letter received by the central office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs from the relatives of the KAMAZ driver who died in this accident. The letter partially repeats the invoice we have given above. More details about the scandal with the imaginary "order" and the imaginary "conflict between the police and the deputies from the Communist Party" can be read at the link.

A less aggressive gift was presented by subordinates to the head of the regional OEB and PC, Sergei Basov. Wristwatch for half a million rubles. It is known that after our congratulations, Sergei Basov quietly cashed out the cost of the donated watches without scandal, returning them to the 18 Karat store, and canceled the festive banquet for 150 people at the Atamanskaya Usadba restaurant. Ataman changed his mind about arranging a banquet and thus took revenge on his traitorous employees for disclosing information about a secret gift.

Image against the background of impotence

Evidence of the impotence of police thought and the lack of necessary qualifications among law enforcement officers was the fact that victims increasingly promised rewards for obtaining information about criminals.

So it was in the case of the attempt on the life of the President of the Notary Chamber of the Rostov Region, Natalia Popova (the Chamber is already ready to pay 5 million rubles), and in the case of the kidnapping of the Rostov schoolgirl Dasha Popova.

However, there is a suspicion that in the case of Dasha Popova, the Don police again “played too much”.

Sources from the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs have hinted earlier that as part of the large-scale PR of the regional department, some heads of the central office were not against playing some kind of performance with a high-profile "kidnapping." And then play the finale with no less loud, throughout the country, "disclosure" of a resonant crime.

The whole staging of the tragic performance became visible when the “kidnapper” Maksimov, caught on September 27 and accompanied everywhere by SOBR fighters, suddenly found himself hanged on October 2 in a cell of a police detention center, at a time when he should have long been transferred to a detention center subordinate to the Main Directorate of the Federal Penitentiary Service. From the very beginning, this murder was accompanied by such oddities as “the escape of the prisoner on duty who noticed the suicide attempt to report to the authorities” instead of suppressing the suicide attempt by the detainees. Or, voiced by the head of the regional press service of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the “fracture of the cervical vertebrae” of an old man who, according to legend, strangled himself with a sheet tied to the wall. The control shot in the brains of all who watched this farce was Dasha Popova's statement that it was not the same person who was detained by the police who abducted her. The imaginary "kidnapper" himself, who is also a former policeman, dropped the phrase during the arrest - I do not hand over my people. They didn't give him anyone to "surrender" him, the witness was killed in the detention center.

blood trail

During the leadership of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Alexei Lapin in Rostov, as many officials were shot, killed and blown up as were not killed in all the nineties. This is the aforementioned Natalya Popova, and the chairman of the Myasnikovsky District Court Manukyan, and a retired judge - businessman Bardina, and the former mayor of the city of Shakhty, who was hiding from the Rostov lawlessness in Moscow. And, finally, the blown up official of the Ministry of Education, under which the police carried out an order to plant the director of the sports club "Fighting Gloves", ordered by the head of the city department of education, Alexander Uvarovsky. .
Perhaps the most daring murder was the incident in Novocherkassk. The execution of Novocherkassk police officers - three times leaving on an alarm call and, of course, the third time they arrived at the facility without heavy bulletproof vests.

Having discovered broken glass for the last time, they transmitted the appropriate code to the remote control and waited for the arrival of representatives of the administration of the protected facility.

Waiting and watching their actions during the two previous false calls, the killers shot the police at close range, after which they fired control shots, seized their weapons and left the scene of the crime, covering the group's retreat in turn.

Some details of the investigation were let out at one of the confrontations with State Duma deputy Bessonov by the first deputy head of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Republic of Belarus Anton Grachev, who said that the criminals who had taken possession of the weapons of the police were going to kill ...

The criminals were not caught, and the day before Russian Prime Minister Medvedev's visit to Novocherkassk, a former driver of the prosecutor of the Rostov region was killed from a stolen weapon.

They say that the deputy head of the regional homicide department, Oleg Ligay, threatened to find the criminals before the New Year. But things are still there. And only once, according to operational information, an operation was carried out in Novocherkassk to “capture suspects”. That evening, SOBR took out several doors in the entrance of one of the Novocherkassk houses (fortunately, not high-rise buildings) and found pensioners peacefully watching TV in the apartments.

The doors were later restored with apologies by the local OES and PC.

"Successes" of the police

At the same time, the main "successes" of the department were associated with the disclosure of "crimes", in many of which the operatives themselves would have to pass as accomplices. Sometimes, under the guise of some entrepreneurs interested in resolving a certain issue, officials themselves were approached with a bribe offer by the operatives of the regional OES and PC or their proxies. As it was in the same Belaya Kalitva during the “sale” by the deputy head of the administration of the monument - the T-44 tank. The provocation against the deputy head was organized by well-known employees of the regional OES and PC Vitalik and Volodya, who introduced themselves as entrepreneurs.

The successful implementation of this provocation prompted the resignation of the current head of the district.

"Planet of the Apes"

The deputy head of the regional headquarters, the head of the regional police, Anton Grachev, became famous primarily for going to meetings with a dog in his arms. They say that employees who were barked at by a dog were immediately asked to write letters of resignation. After the employees began to call Grachev “the lady with the dog” among themselves, he stopped “glamorizing” so actively.

In police circles, a case is known when the drunk head of the regional police Anton Grachev climbed a tree, cursed loudly and shouted from above at the "insects" passing by. To save the climber, a tower of the Ministry of Emergency Situations was called. They say that the rescuers got pretty bad from the raging head of the regional police, who, before their arrival, was incredibly comfortable feeling himself in the role of a civilized - in the sense of a drinking primate.

This story has come to be known as "the tower story." At the same time, most normal Rostov police officers realized that they all live and work on the "planet of the apes."

The most accurate

In police circles, there is also a case of another dense "tea party" of the authorities of the regional Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the restaurant "Canyon". They tell how, having tightly laid, the regional leaders began to compete in accuracy, shooting trees from service weapons. But the “real officers” soon got bored with shooting at trees. And then the boss made a call to the kennel with an order - bring the dogs to the "Canyon", on which the "general's hunt" was arranged.
It’s good that the head of the central office didn’t call the temporary detention center with a request to bring people…

Journalists as the main problem

In a situation where, more than other concerns, the leadership of the regional headquarters was worried about its new image, special, invisible efforts of the police department were directed to the information field. And since the Krasnodar-Khabarovsk leadership of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs could only keep its image in the complex and from this very peculiarly thinking Rostov region to primates only silently, closing its eyebrows in thought, it decided to shut up everything that unscheduled "blathered". It was decided to shut up the journalists.

How else to explain such an abundance of operational activities, with "wiretapping" and threats against journalists, organized by employees of the Center for Combating Extremism of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Republic of Kazakhstan?

Why, for far-fetched reasons, did Alexander Tolmachev, a journalist who was not at all young and now not at all healthy, spent more than a year in a pre-trial detention center?

Why are far-fetched and caused by police inaction or provocations criminal cases against our colleagues multiplying? In particular, on the editor of the Azov newspaper "Read Telenedelya" Yuri Golubev?

It would be logical for the new authorities of the regional Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to start a dialogue with the press from scratch. But where to put everything that was shitted before? After all, it was even higher than the roof of the Main Directorate building ...

A glimmer of light dawned over this heap of feces on the day of the “end of the world” predicted by the Maya Indians, which became the day of the end of the police career of the head of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Rostov Region, General Lapin, and his first deputy Anton Grachev.

Until that moment, the police themselves were intensively preparing the police “end of the world” for the residents of the Rostov region.

Sad legacy

The new head of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Rostov Region will undoubtedly have to deal with the "sad legacy" that the former head of the main department, General Lapin, left behind. The article lists only a small fraction of what the above citizens have done in Rostov.

And in this sense, it would be very symbolic if the new head of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Andrei Larionov, was officially appointed on February 14, the Day of the Liberation of Rostov from Nazi invaders.

Colonel General (2019).

Alexander Pavlovich Lapin

Date of Birth	1st of January(55 years)
Place of Birth	Kazan, TASSR, RSFSR, USSR
Affiliation	USSR→Russia
Type of army	Tank troops of the Russian Federation Motorized rifle troops
Years of service	- n. in.
Rank
commanded
Battles/wars	Second Chechen War; Military operation of the Russian Federation in the SAR
Awards and prizes

Biography

Born on January 1, 1964 in a family of workers. After graduating from high school, he studied at the Kazan Institute of Chemical Technology (1981-1982). From 1982 to 1984 he served in the ranks of the Soviet Army in the Air Defense Forces. After military service, he entered the Kazan Higher Tank Command School named after the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, from which he graduated in 1988. After graduating from college, he served as commander of a tank platoon and tank company in the Leningrad Military District and in the Coastal Troops of the Northern Fleet.

From April 2012 to July 2014 - Commander of the 20th Guards Combined Arms Army. In 2014, he was awarded the military rank of lieutenant general. From 2014 to 2017 - Chief of Staff - First Deputy Commander of the Eastern Military District.

In 2017, he was chief of staff of the group of troops (forces) of the Russian Federation in the Syrian Arab Republic.

From September to November 2017 - Head of the Military Educational and Scientific Center of the Ground Forces "Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation".

From October 2018 to January 2019 - Commander of the grouping of troops (forces) of the Russian Federation in the Syrian Arab Republic.

Married, has a son.

Awards

Order of St. George IV degree (2017);
Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" IV degree with swords;
Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" II degree;

Literature

Gorbachev A.N. 10,000 generals of the country: Brief bio-bibliographic reference book. M., Infogans, 2017

Notes

Links

Interview with General Alexander Lapin / Novaya Gazeta, 09/18/2013

20th Guards Motor Rifle Division

The 20th Guards Motorized Rifle Carpathian-Berlin Red Banner Order of the Suvorov Division is a military unit (motorized rifle division) of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of the USSR.

During the Great Patriotic War - a mechanized corps. After the war, the division was part of the 1st Guards Tank Army of the GSVG.

Since 2009, it has been transformed into a motorized rifle brigade with the preservation of regalia, with deployment in the city of Volgograd.

Conditional name - military unit field mail (V/Ch PP) 58550. Abbreviated name - 20 Guards. msd.

20th Guards Combined Arms Army

The 20th Guards Red Banner Army is a combined arms formation (association, army) of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation as part of the Western Military District.

Management (headquarters) is located in the city of Voronezh. Conditional name - Military unit No. 89425.

205th separate motorized rifle brigade

The 205th separate motorized rifle Cossack brigade is a motorized rifle formation of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The formation is part of the 49th Combined Arms Army of the Southern Military District. Point of permanent deployment - Budyonnovsk, Stavropol Territory.

Conditional name - Military unit No. 74814 (military unit 74814). Abbreviated name - 205th Omsbr.

Formed in 1995 on the basis of the 167th motorized rifle brigade and the 723rd motorized rifle regiment during the first Chechen campaign.

The brigade is under the care of the St. George diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church. The unit, having a "Cossack" status, selects Cossacks into its ranks from the Don, Kuban and Terek Cossack troops. Cossack troops arrange patronage over the battalions assigned to them. Assistance is provided in maintaining discipline, humanitarian aid is sent. The brigade is a unit of constant combat readiness.

Eastern Military District

Orders of Lenin, twice Red Banner, Orders of Suvorov Eastern Military District - formation, military administrative unit (military district) of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

Designed to protect the eastern part of the country, unites military units stationed in Transbaikalia and the Far East. The headquarters is located in Khabarovsk, on the street. Serysheva, 15.

The abbreviated name is BBO.

Lapin, Alexander

Lapin, Alexander Alekseevich (born 1952) - Russian writer, publicist, public figure.

Lapin, Alexander Albertovich (1920-1998) - scientist in the field of applied mechanics, developer of inertial navigation systems for rocket and space technology, doctor of technical sciences, professor.

Lapin, Alexander Iosifovich (1945-2012) - Soviet and Russian photographer, photography researcher, teacher.

Lapin, Alexander Kondratievich (1894-1937) - Soviet scientist, director of the Pushkin Experimental Station of the All-Union Institute of Plant Growing.

Lapin, Alexander Nikolaevich (1923-2001) - Soviet military man, participant in the Great Patriotic War, Hero of the Soviet Union, colonel.

Lapin, Alexander Pavlovich (born 1964) - Russian military leader, commander of the troops of the Central Military District since 2017, Colonel General.

Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation

Combined Arms Orders of Lenin and the October Revolution, Red Banner, Orders of Suvorov and Zhukov Academy named after M. V. Frunze of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation - a state military educational institution of higher professional education since August 1998.

Since December 2008 - Military Educational and Scientific Center of the Ground Forces "Combined Arms Orders of Lenin and the October Revolution, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation." Abbr. - VUNTS SV "OVA RF Armed Forces".

Order of Saint George (Russian Federation)

The Order of St. George is the highest military award of the Russian Federation since August 8, 2000.

List of holders of the Order of Alexander Nevsky (Russian Federation)

The list contains, in order of awarding, holders of the modern Russian Order of Alexander Nevsky. The list was compiled according to officially published decrees of the President of the Russian Federation. Separately, a list of cavaliers is presented, the award of which is known from open sources, but the decrees on the award of which have not been published.

List of commanders of military districts and fleets (Russia)

The list includes the commanders of the military districts and fleets of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, since 1991.

List of Soviet and Russian colonel generals

List of Soviet and Russian colonel generals - a list of military personnel of the Armed Forces, law enforcement officers, military personnel of state security agencies and other power structures of the USSR and the Russian Federation, who were awarded the military rank of colonel general and military equivalents (colonel general of aviation, etc. .) and special (colonel-general of the internal service, colonel-general of militia, colonel-general of police, colonel-general of justice) ranks. The list does not include military personnel who were later awarded higher military ranks (general of the army, marshal and chief marshal of the armed forces, forces and special forces) and special ranks (general of police, general of justice, actual state adviser to the customs service).

The positions held are indicated at the time the rank of Colonel General was awarded.

Today, Novaya Gazeta publishes an interview prepared by Voenternet with Major General Alexander Lapin, commander of the 20th Guards Combined Arms Army. The conversation with the general is not only about the affairs of the military, but also sincere - about the duty to the Fatherland, about the gratitude of the mother, about the need for humility.

The closed community “Military Internet” (abbreviated as Voenternet), which appeared not so long ago, gathered people who are not indifferent to the Russian army. Now there are more than three dozen virtual magazines and projects, the authors of which, together with their heroes, speak about the army in a completely civilian language. In the Generals of Russia project, Voenternet regularly publishes conversations with the country's current chief military leaders, who, as a rule, do not give any lengthy interviews to the press. Today, Novaya Gazeta publishes an interview prepared by Voenternet with Major General Alexander Lapin, commander of the 20th Guards Combined Arms Army. This largest formation of the Ground Forces includes, for example, the Tamanskaya and Kantemirovskaya divisions. And the conversation with the general is not only about military affairs, but also sincerely - about the duty to the Fatherland, about the gratitude of the mother, about the need for humility. Such a conversation may not be considered “fashionable” by many seasoned intellectuals, but we are going to continue to acquaint readers with the best publications of the Voenternet.

It is not easy to deal with a sincere interlocutor. The main truths of life are so obvious that only a truly strong person can afford to use their modest general availability. Arguments about God, love, duty to the Fatherland, gratitude to the mother and the need for humility in our time sound so out of date and even old-fashioned that even seasoned intellectuals try to avoid them. But when Major General, commander of the 20th Guards Combined Arms Army, the largest formation of ground forces, which includes, for example, the Tamanskaya and Kantemirovskaya divisions, does this, you don’t even understand, but you feel that the country’s Armed Forces still have some violent force, which is pointless to fight, which can never be defeated.

Alexander Pavlovich Lapin was born on January 1, 1964 in Kazan. He graduated from the Kazan Higher Tank Command School, the Military Academy of the Armored Forces, the Military Academy of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces. He began his service in 1982 as a conscript gunner, then held various command and staff positions in the Leningrad Military District, the Northern Fleet and the North Caucasus Military District. After the Academy of Armored Forces, he commanded a tank battalion, a motorized rifle regiment, a motorized rifle brigade, and a motorized rifle division in the North Caucasus Military District. After graduating from the General Staff Academy, he served as deputy commander of the 58th Army (Vladikavkaz). By decree of the President of the Russian Federation of April 2, 2012, he was appointed commander of the 20th Guards Combined Arms Army. Read what General Alexander Lapin says about the very simple things that make our life so unforgivably complicated.

About life

My life does not belong to me. And I myself do not belong to myself - ever since I went to serve the Motherland, the Fatherland, the people. For some, this may be high words. But for me, it is something essential, in which you need to be clearly aware of. I remember my life from early childhood. Born into a working-class family in a barracks on the outskirts of Kazan. They lived very poorly. Even in distant relatives there was no one with a higher education. I lost my father early and, accordingly, before many thought that I should take everything into my own hands, work, study ... But, as far as I can remember, I always raved about war, adventures. When they played Cossack robbers with the boys in the yard, I tried to lead. And even then I began to understand that there are forces and circumstances in the world that are greater than me, above my own interests. At first, however, I took a step aside - I passed the exams at the Institute of Chemical Technology, but quickly realized: not mine. And he went into the army for military service. I ended up in Kazakhstan, in the very wilderness, 200 kilometers from the nearest town. The hazing in the unit was terrible. For the first six months, they beat me severely, several times a day. But I am convinced that it was the Lord God who taught me humility. They beat me, and I thought: I will become an officer and I will lay down my whole life so that there is no non-regulation in the army. This thought helped me. When for the first time after 8 months I wrote a report that I wanted to enter a military school, the old-timers beat me, they said: you won’t be an officer. And I became. He served 22 months and entered the Kazan Tank School. Why exactly there? After the film "Officers" was released, tankers, one might say, were in vogue. I reviewed the picture many times and memorized three main phrases for me: “There is such a profession - to defend the Motherland”, “Discipline is the first law of military service” and “The commander must think, not wave his saber.” These three postulates became the starting points for my whole life.

About mother

When I think about my mother, the first thing I worry about is how much I can give her - with my support, word, deeds. For me, love for my mother is, first of all, taking care of her. I guess I'm keeping her in this life. I tell her: you must live. Now she has a task plan: to wait for my grandson or granddaughter. And the thought that she is in demand helps her not feel her age so keenly.

Love is the daily work of caring for a person. Love, in general, is first and foremost work.

About wives

Officers' wives are a special caste. The main feature of an officer's wife is the ability to wait for her husband. There are times when you have to wait weeks, months, six months. The service separates the husband from his wife, and the wife from acquaintances, from her usual life. All the time fees, moving. Where? What for? How will life be there in the new place? An ordinary woman will not cope with this if she does not learn humility in the face of hardships. If she does not understand: her husband belongs to the state. The family for an officer is second. And Motherland is the first. To dedicate oneself to such a husband means to dedicate oneself to the Fatherland. Say, "There aren't many women like that." Right. But there are few of us.

About tanks

They say that the time of tanks is running out, there will be no more grandiose tank battles. But I'm convinced that for many more decades the tank will remain the main striking force of the ground forces. As military technology reaches new frontiers, the tank will of course change. It will be different. Maybe a multifunctional combat robotic system invisible to the enemy, capable of moving over great distances, with new capabilities, tasks and functions. But its main advantages - firepower, mobility, security - will still remain unchanged. They say that humanity is approaching the sixth generation of wars. We, tankers, believe: there will be tanks in any generation.

Here, the pilots believe that they can master the tank, but the tankers never do the plane. Once I commanded a regiment in Mozdok, an acquaintance, a squadron commander, came to me: “Palych! Tank! All my life I dreamed. Ride it!" I put him in a tank, he says: “Dear mother, how do you manage it? Yes, you have to study here for three years!”

I say four. He got used to it a little, rolled and came out indescribably pleased. What does it say? Pilots love tanks so much and rejoice in them, just as I do not rejoice in airplanes.

But seriously, I'll tell you this: if the tank is adjusted, brought to normal combat, it is like a sniper rifle. Only with a powerful fire system. Today, while checking one of the tank crews, I tore my trouser leg. And I don’t think it’s shameful for the army commander to climb into a tank that has become dusty at the training ground and take a seat in the fighting compartment. Because a tank deserves more respect than a general's torn trousers.

About war

War is inevitable. She was, is and will be. This is a disaster, the cross of our civilization. But when you think about life and death, about creation and destruction, you find a relationship in all of this. This is what war is. It cleanses from the accumulated evil, allows you to destroy the old and build a new one. But you will be able to know its meaning, its power and significance only when you understand that the sacrifices made to it are not in vain. The main lesson that the war taught me personally is this: take care of the people for whom you are responsible. And how to save? First of all, teach them to perform a combat mission skillfully and competently. Didn't save? So he didn't teach. And behind each fighter is not a medallion with a name, not a line in the report, but a whole life, his relatives, his future, unborn children. The loss of each subordinate is a tragedy for me.

About the feat

Sometimes they say: the feat of a soldier is the result of a commander's mistake. Strongly disagree! A feat is a reflection of the hero's inner content. Only those who are spiritually rich are capable of a feat. And who prepares for it all his life. Recently, in fire training classes, a grenade fell into the mitten of a camouflage suit for a reconnaissance soldier. His commander, senior lieutenant Kiryanov, had a second to make a decision, and two more to implement it: at the fourth second, the grenade explodes. Can you imagine? One second to decide, two to execute. And this time was enough for him to grab a grenade and throw it over the parapet. He rushed to the soldier without hesitation: he was inwardly ready for this feat. This is a great officer! We presented him to the Order of Courage, but I think he deserves more.

Such actions are necessary for our spiritual, moral "I". In order to take an example from them, not to squint, not to harden.

About defeats

For me, to win means to force the enemy to do our will. And loss, defeat is, first of all, a lesson that allows you to rethink what happened and move forward in order to come to victory. The world is created in such a way that there is no stopping, it does not exist in nature. You are alive when you take a step forward every day on the path God has set.

About purpose

If life is lived aimlessly, it is a disaster. Every day before going to bed I ask myself: what did you do today to add kindness to this world? The scale of this kindness can vary. For example, today you got the guardsmen of the 20th Army to show the command that they can carry out the assigned combat missions. Or you, passing through a checkpoint, saw that the traffic controller was sweating because of the heat, and gave him cold water to drink. Or just stroked the cat, brought a piece of bread to the dog. Can you tell yourself that this was your step forward? So there is hope.

About meaning

In recent years, more and more often I began to ask myself questions, to analyze: why did everything happen to me like this? For what? I remember a film from my childhood about a boy who accomplishes a feat - saving the banner. When I watched it, I clearly understood: I want to live the life of this boy, I want to die saving the banner. It turns out that the meaning of my life was to get a huge experience and, without hesitation, give it to the world. That is, I have to prepare for the main exam, which is called "death." But I believe death is only the beginning. I look around me and see so much beautiful, infinite, alive, and I believe that God could not create so much beauty for a one-time and finite life. Everything in the world is harmoniously connected, and all this is infinite perfection.

About the mat

Every word has energy. A kind word - good energy, an evil word - vice versa. I try to eradicate the mat in myself, although I am sinful. But, firstly, I don’t send very far, and if it happens, gently. And then I stop myself: “I apologize, of course, that it escaped.” If an executive officer, responsible, performs all assigned tasks unquestioningly, accurately and on time, I will treat him with the deepest respect. But sometimes you feel: the task reaches a specific officer slowly. You start to get nervous, you try to convince, but again he does not react! Well, then it happens and you can’t resist, of course.

About positions

Any position is the most difficult. When I was a company commander, I thought: well, nothing can be harder. Then he received a regiment - dear mother! Just a few hours of relaxation! Then he commanded a brigade of constant combat readiness. He lived only at the training grounds and thought that this was the edge, there is nothing more difficult. Now I am an army commander and I remember the times when I was a division commander - I could at least raise my head sometimes ...

The higher the management hierarchy, the more difficult. In my subordination today is the largest association of the Ground Forces of Russia, including the famous Taman and Kantemirovskaya divisions. This is about 25 thousand military personnel. I am personally responsible for their readiness to successfully complete any combat mission at any time of the day or night, in any situation. If you are a responsible person, you involuntarily worry about the assigned area of work. Sometimes you come home, you fall without legs and feelings. But when failures happen, when things don't add up, you can't sleep. You understand: get up soon, you need to somehow replenish your energy, but you can’t fall asleep. Then I ask my wife to drip Corvalol - it helps.

About officers

It seems to me that in the Russian army the spirit of the officers was higher than that of many of us. "Soul - to God, life - to the Fatherland, honor - to no one." Officers were brought up on these principles, became generals and led troops to death in the name of victory. They performed miracles of courage. Remember: 50 generals died on the Borodino field! This is courage, this is valor.

About authority

Article 43 of the Charter of the internal service reads: "The order must be executed unquestioningly, accurately and on time." The serviceman who received the order replies: “Yes!” - and executes it. Everything. If an officer doubts even for a microsecond the validity of this principle, he should take off his shoulder straps. But a charter is a law that people follow. For this to happen, for the military collective subordinate to you to complete the task, the commander needs something more than a charter: authority. Winning it is hellish daily work, and losing it is nothing easier. Any commander, including myself, cannot afford a single action that will hit his authority. It's not easy to live like this, of course. But everyone has a choice. I chose this service myself and do not regret it.

About the general's career

To become a general, a graduate of a military school must, firstly, fully devote himself to the service. Secondly, to be able to refuse the many temptations that surround us. Understand that this is not the main thing. In our today's material world, money, I believe, is an absolute evil. Thirst for profit, the pursuit of profit do not bring - they deprive of happiness. Third: move towards excellence every day. It is in the pursuit of excellence and the acquisition of experience that the key to moving up the career ladder. All the difficulties that fall on the shoulders of an officer are like tests in a computer game: there are also obstacles and barriers. If you were able to pass them, albeit stumbling, but found the strength in yourself to get up and go, you reach a new level. Approximately the same is true in our officer service. The only difference is that, unlike a computer game, you only have one life.

About the army

An army for a boy is an opportunity to temper his will, shape his character and gain invaluable experience that you won’t get anywhere else. This is an opportunity to learn how to overcome any difficulties that may be encountered on the path of life. To withstand any blows of fate. A person, having served in the army, will learn not only to protect his people, his land, but also his family. And this is one of the callings of every man - to be able to protect his home and his loved ones.

About happiness

Everyone talks about this subject in their own way. For me, happiness is certainly not the general's stars on shoulder straps. This is an opportunity to be useful to the country and people. This is the meaning of my life. Deprive me of this meaning, I will be lost. I remember how one night I checked the outpost on the dominating height near Buynaksk. There were shortcomings. He built all the soldiers in two lines, and asked the officers to move away. I ask: "Which of you is ready to die, doing his duty?" Silence. 5, 10, 20 seconds. A storm rises in my soul: is it really no one ?! And suddenly a soldier takes a step forward from the first line, I didn’t even see his face in the darkness. And behind him the whole system steps forward. For this, I think it's worth living.

Recorded
Mikhail KOZHUKHOV,
Sergei MOSTOVSHCHIKOV

The Russian Defense Ministry yesterday announced the appointment of General Alexander Lapin, who previously headed the headquarters of the Russian group of troops in Syria, as the new commander of the Central Military District (TsVO). The department has completed the rotation of the commanders of four military districts, putting a general with “Syrian experience” at the head of each of them. Ex-commander of the Central Military District Vladimir Zarudnitsky could have gained such experience last summer, however, according to Kommersant's information, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad asked to retain the current head of the group, Sergei Surovikin, in his post. Now General Zarudnitsky will go to the Military Academy of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces.

The appointment of General Lapin as commander of the Central Military District was announced yesterday by Deputy Defense Minister Dmitry Bulgakov at the ceremony of presenting the standard in Yekaterinburg. He stressed that the new commander is "an experienced leader and a skilled organizer." “Heading the headquarters of the VVO (Eastern Military District.- "b") and the military training scientific center of the ground forces, he showed the best qualities of a leader,” added the Deputy Minister of Defense. “High professional qualities allowed him to successfully command two operational groups in separate directions, and then perform the duties of chief of staff of a group of troops in Syria.” His predecessor, General Vladimir Zarudnitsky, who commanded the district since June 2014, was appointed head of the Military Academy of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces by presidential decree. As previously reported by Kommersant, ex-commander of the Southern Military District (SMD) Alexander Galkin was also considered for this position. However, according to a high-ranking military source for Kommersant, General Galkin had already received the post of Assistant Minister of Defense, and the dismissal of General Zarudnitsky "needed to be formalized with dignity." Kommersant's interlocutor clarified that the ex-commander of the Central Military District was already supposed to replace General Sergei Surovikin as commander of the grouping of troops in Syria last summer, but this did not happen at the personal request of the President of the Republic Bashar al-Assad, who believed that it was in conjunction with General Surovikin that he troops achieve maximum success in the fight against radical Islamists.

The appointment of General Lapin fits into an unspoken tradition, according to which the leaders of the Russian group in Syria (both the commander and the chief of staff) should be appointed to a higher position upon completion of the trip. For example, General Gennady Zhidko, who led the headquarters of the Russian Armed Forces in Syria in the fall of 2016, became the commander of the 2nd Guards Combined Arms Army (Samara). According to Kommersant, the main role in the appointment of Alexander Lapin to the Central Military District was played by the recommendations of his former boss Sergei Surovikin (now Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces), under whom he served both in the Airborne Forces and in Syria.

Alexander Lapin started as a shooter in 1982, after graduating from the tank command school, he served in the Leningrad and North Caucasus military districts that existed at that time. After graduating from the armored academy, he served as commander of a separate tank battalion, then chief of staff and commander of a separate tank regiment of the 19th motorized rifle division of the 58th army (Vladikavkaz), and in 2009 became deputy commander of this association. Mr. Lapin's personal qualities contributed to his career growth, his acquaintance says: unpretentious and executive, he did not just follow orders, but "it seems that he even enjoyed their execution." In 2012, Mr. Lapin was appointed commander of the 20th Guards Combined Arms Army of the Western Military District (ZVO; headquarters in Voronezh). On July 8, 2014, he was relieved of this position and officially went on promotion: he became chief of staff and first deputy commander of the Air Defense Forces. A few years later, Western experts ranked General Lapin as guilty of transporting the Buk-M1 anti-aircraft missile system to the territory of the unrecognized Donetsk People's Republic (southeast of Ukraine), from where the Malaysian Boeing 777 was shot down on July 17, 2014. However, the Russian side all claims - both about the involvement of the Russian military in the shelling, and in the provision of military-technical assistance to the separatists - she rejected.

General Lapin was the last of the four military commanders who, after a trip to Syria, was entrusted with heading an entire military district. Before him, General Alexander Dvornikov was appointed (before the Syrian campaign he was chief of staff of the Central Military District, after he became commander of the Southern Military District) and General Alexander Zhuravlev (before - chief of staff of the Southern Military District, after - deputy chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, now acting commander of the Air Military District). And General Andrei Kartapolov, who at the beginning of the operation headed the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces (responsible for planning the use of the army), first headed the Western Military District, and after that he was seconded to Syria to command the group.

New appointments to senior positions took place in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation November 29, 2017

Standards in good hands

New appointments to senior positions in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation

Thus, by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of November 22, 2017, Lieutenant General Alexander Lapin was appointed to the post of Commander of the Central Military District. In turn, Colonel-General Vladimir Zarudnitsky, who previously commanded the troops of the Central Military District, was appointed head of the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Colonel-General Alexander Zhuravlev has been appointed Commander of the Eastern Military District. The standards were presented to the new commanders of the troops of the Central Military District and the Air Military District by the Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia, General of the Army Dmitry Bulgakov. By the same decree of the President of the Russian Federation, Colonel-General Sergei Surovikin, who previously commanded the Air Defense Forces and is still heading the Russian group of troops in Syria, was appointed to the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces. In addition, two new deputy chiefs of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces have been appointed.

At the solemn ceremony of presenting the personal standard to the new commander of the troops of the Central Military District, which took place in Yekaterinburg at the headquarters of the Central Military District, the Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation noted that Lieutenant General Alexander Lapin is a courageous leader and a skilled organizer with experience in commanding troops and in the practical use of interspecific formations .

Heading the headquarters of the Eastern Military District, the Military Training Research Center of the Ground Forces, Alexander Pavlovich Lapin showed the best qualities of a leader, said Army General Dmitry Bulgakov. - High moral and professional qualities allowed him to successfully command two operational groups in separate directions, and then to fulfill the duties of chief of staff of the group of troops in the Syrian Arab Republic.

The Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation added that today the troops of the Central Military District are entrusted with complex tasks for the preparation and use of troops in the Central Asian strategic direction, including as part of the Collective Rapid Reaction Forces in the Central Asian Collective Security Region.

Alexander Pavlovich Lapin was born in 1964 in Kazan. He graduated from the Kazan Higher Tank Command School, the Military Academy of the Armored Forces, the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Passed all command positions. Prior to his appointment as commander of the Central Military District, he headed the Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

Speaking about the appointment of Colonel General Vladimir Zarudnitsky as head of the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the Deputy Minister of Defense emphasized that Vladimir Borisovich, in his position as commander of the Central Military District, showed the best qualities of a military leader, which allowed the Central Military District to become one of the best operational army formations.

I am sure that the experience gained by Colonel General Vladimir Zarudnitsky while commanding the troops of the Central Military District will be in demand and applied in the training of senior officers of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and statesmen of the country, - said Army General Dmitry Bulgakov.

* * *

The personal standard of the new commander of the Eastern Military District, Colonel-General Alexander Zhuravlev, was presented by the Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation in Khabarovsk at the headquarters of the Air Defense Forces.

At the solemn ceremony, Army General Dmitry Bulgakov noted that Alexander Alexandrovich Zhuravlev had proven himself to be an experienced leader and a skilled organizer, who had successively passed all the main command and staff positions to the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

- In all assigned areas, he achieved success. Deep special knowledge, non-standard thinking, mastery of modern methods of command and control of troops allowed him, commanding a group of troops in the Syrian Arab Republic, to achieve significant success in the fight against international terrorism and to transfer his combat experience to the leadership of the armed forces of Syria, - the Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation emphasized.

Alexander Alexandrovich Zhuravlev was born in 1965 in the village of Golyshmanovo, Tyumen Region. He graduated from the Chelyabinsk Higher Tank Command School, the Military Academy of the Armored Forces, the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2016, he commanded a grouping of the Russian Armed Forces in Syria. Since January 2017 - Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

* * *

By the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of November 22, 2017, Colonel-General Sergei Surovikin, who previously commanded the Air Defense Forces and still heads the Russian group of troops in Syria, was appointed to the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces.

Sergey Vladimirovich Surovikin was born on October 11, 1966 in Novosibirsk. He graduated from the Omsk Higher Combined Arms Command School, the Military Academy named after M.V. Frunze, Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Since June 2004, he commanded the 42nd Guards Division stationed on the territory of the Chechen Republic. Then he commanded the 20th general army. In November 2008, he was appointed head of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Since January 2010, he served as chief of staff of the Volga-Urals, and later the Central Military District. Since April 2012, he served in the central office of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. In October 2012, he was appointed Chief of Staff - First Deputy Commander of the Eastern Military District. Since October 2013 - Commander of the Air Defense Forces.

It should be noted that it was under the command of Colonel General Sergei Surovikin that the Russian grouping of troops in Syria, in cooperation with the Syrian armed forces, achieved maximum success in the fight against international terrorism, almost destroying its stronghold in this Arab republic.

We add that Hero of Russia Vice Admiral Alexander Moiseev, who previously held the post of Chief of Staff of the Northern Fleet, has been appointed to the positions of Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation,

and Major General Gennady Zhidko, who previously commanded the 2nd Guards Combined Arms Army of the Central Military District and at one time served as chief of staff of the Russian group of forces in Syria.