Chechen Republic, Alkhan-Kala: history, terrorist attack, photo

On the morning of May 9, 2016, residents of the village of Alkhan-Kala (Chechnya) were awakened by the rumble of the explosion. The checkpoint 138 has become the scene of a terrorist attack by militants belonging to groups that do not want peace and stability in the area. What happened that day was widely covered by the mass media, from the messages of which a picture of a premeditated and prepared crime takes shape. But first some information about the settlement where the tragedy took place.

Some statistics

The village of Alkhan-Kala is located in Grozny district of Chechnya. This is a fairly large settlement. According to data for 2016, its population is approaching twelve thousand people. At their disposal - three secondary schools, a training and production plant, a department store, a cinema and a dozen outlets. Residents of Alkhan-Kala do not face employment problems: a poultry farm operates on the territory of their village, and the Kularynsky state farm is located nearby.

A small historical reference

During the Middle Ages in the foothills of the North Caucasus there was a vast and powerful state of Alanya, and as a result of excavations carried out on the territory of the village by Soviet archeologists it became known that this place had already been settled by the ancestors of modern Chechens in those remote times. This was evidenced by a large number of objects found in the earth, weapons, and ornaments that left no doubt about their belonging to the Alanian culture.

Alkhan-Kala village begins its history during the Caucasian War of 1817-1864. On the opposite bank of the river Sunzhi was a Russian fortress "Golden Valley", the remains of which can still be seen today. It is known that after the bloody battles it was captured by detachments under the command of Shamil's closest associates, the Hendargen brothers.

Origin of the name of the village

These desperate warriors not only defeated the Russian outpost, but at the same time they took the lands surrounding it, among which were the mowing of a wealthy landowner named Alkhi. Lawsuits began, during which the brothers resorted to the help of their patron Shamil. Not wishing to enter into conflict with the formidable imam, Alikh considered it prudent to move to the opposite bank of the Sunzha and there to found a new settlement, whose name became a derivative on his behalf - Alkhan-Kala (Alkhi city).

Russian-speaking population of the village

In the pre-revolutionary period, the village was called Yermolovskoye, in honor of the famous Russian general, who made a significant contribution to the conquest of the militant tribes of the Caucasus. It is characteristic that this name is often used today by its Russian-speaking inhabitants, and also it is carried by a railway station located nearby. In former times, it was populated mainly by Cossacks and settlers - immigrants from Russia, whose task was to monitor the observance of the rule of law and state interests in this highly volatile region.

Already in the Soviet period, through the village of Alkhan-Kala, a railroad was laid leading to Grozny. The old-timers, who are very few today, remember bitterly how in 1944 echelons that carried thousands of Chechens - women, children and the elderly (men fought at the front), deported to the Kyrgyz and Kazakh steppes, moved along it. Those few who happened to return in 1957 created the Chechen community, but the Russian population still prevailed in those years.

People who have glorified their village and republic

In the years preceding the aggravation of the political situation in Chechnya, there were many people among the villagers who became the pride of their republic. Among them we should mention the famous physician - plastic surgeon Hasan Zhunidovich Baiev, for achievements in medicine, repeatedly awarded in America, Japan and Great Britain the title of "Person of the Year", and also became a laureate of the "Doctor of Peace" award. This amazing man managed to achieve unprecedented results in sports, becoming the world champion in sambo and the winner of the US championship in fights without rules. Truly, a talented person is talented in everything.

The Chechen village of Alkhan-Kala, the photo of which is presented in the article, has given Russia many other remarkable people. Among them are the well-known banker AA Arsamakov, Honored Art Worker, puppeteer Y. Yu. Delaev, human rights lawyer M. A. Musaev and a number of others known far beyond their republic. All of them have repeatedly become the heroes of television and radio programs, as well as publications in the Russian and foreign press. They are rightfully proud of the Chechen Republic.

Alkhan-Kala in the years of bloody clashes

A sad role was played by the village during the last Chechen wars, which swept through the Caucasus Mountains. As a result of ongoing military operations, many of its residents (especially Russians) were forced to leave their homes and share the bitter fate of refugees. There are numerous evidences of the atrocities committed against the Russian-speaking population, the bulk of which in those years were the elderly. There is no doubt that they were not committed as part of the interethnic conflict, but solely for the purpose of capturing the property of the victims and personal enrichment.

In general, Wahhabi sentiments were very strong in him, it suffices to say that among the residents there were such ardent supporters of separatism and creation of the Shariah state, as field commander Arbi Barayev and his niece, the sad-known shahid Khava Baraeva. This seventeen-year-old girl in June 2000 committed a terrorist attack, which received a wide response not only in our country, but also abroad.

Uncle and his niece

Near the federal military facility, she fired a detonator stuffed with TNT truck. The result of her actions was the death of three Russian servicemen and wounding five more. Unfortunately, this unlawful act was seen by many in Chechnya as a heroic and exemplary act. About Cava Baraeva was even composed of a song that has become very popular among the people.

About the fact that the contingent of illegal armed formations of those years was for people, one can get an idea on the example of the uncle's uncle, the above-mentioned Arbi Barayev. Having served in the years of the first Chechen war to the rank of Brigadier General of the Republic of Ichkeria and being deprived of this rank by Aslan Maskhadov, in the period preceding the beginning of the next military campaign, he gained wide popularity as a bandit specializing in kidnapping and the leader of a gang of slavers, Residents of Chechnya and the surrounding areas.

Activation of bandit formations

During the two Chechen campaigns, the Russian military was forced to conduct numerous "cleansings" and special operations in the village, resulting in the arrests of all those involved in illegal military formations. These actions, in turn, gave rise to new waves of violence from the armed underground that existed in the village of Alkhan-Kala (Chechnya), whose actions were becoming more active.

The result of the terrorist attacks that they committed were several murders of representatives of the legitimate authorities - the heads of the village and the police, as well as those who collaborated with the Russian military. In addition, several explosions of military equipment of the federal troops were committed. Only at the end of the war, when relative calm established in Chechnya, the village of Alkhan-Kala began to establish a peaceful life. Gradually, former refugees began to return to it, the efforts of which were restored to war-torn houses.

Alkhan-Kala. CAT 188

However, it's time to return to the events of the May morning of 2006. It was a holiday, and the village was still asleep. Approximately at 6:15 to checkpoint 138, located on the highway Grozny - Alkhan-Kala, which was carrying a combined detachment from Bashkortostan, two men approached. One of them had a backpack behind him. Asked about the goal that caused them to leave home at such an inopportune time, they answered that they were going to look for the sheep that had escaped the day before. The policeman on duty, unsatisfied with the answer, tried to check the documents from them, and then the one with the backpack put into action the improvised explosive device in it . His companion threw a grenade in the direction of the policemen and tried to open fire from the pistol, but was destroyed by fire to defeat.

As a result of the explosion, six police officers were injured, and three of them were taken to the hospital in extremely serious condition. Investigative bodies soon managed to establish the identity of the attackers. They were residents of the village of Kirov, located near Grozny, Shamil Janaraliev and Ahmed Inalov. Both, as it turned out, are still very young people. The first of them was just twenty-seven years old, and his partner was two years younger. In the reliability of this information there is no doubt, since in the identification of the bodies of criminals their closest relatives took part.

The arrest of accomplices in crime

In accordance with Russian law, a criminal case was initiated immediately on two counts: the encroachment on the lives of law enforcement officers and on the illegal acquisition of weapons. Despite the fact that the attackers themselves were dead, the investigation still had to find out who had directed their actions.

Very soon, as a result of the operational-search actions, five members of an underground terrorist group were detained, having the most direct relation to the militants who committed the terrorist attack in Alkhan-Kala. From their testimony, it became clear that the destroyed militants were the leaders of an illegal armed group, in which, over the last time, they managed to involve the arrested.

One of them, Janaraliev, has information that six months before the atrocity, he tried to leave Chechnya and illegally move to Syria, but was detained by law enforcement agencies. Only the treatment of numerous relatives sent to the leadership of the republic saved him from punishment and allowed him to return to a peaceful life, which in reality turned out to be only a screen, beyond which he did not cease to commit unlawful acts.

Statement by the head of the republic

The acting head of the republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, made a statement about the incident in the village (Alkhan-Kala, Chechnya). In his address, he stressed that what happened should be regarded as the gravest crime aimed at destabilizing the situation in the region. According to him, in the near future all forces will be activated to combat the consequences of the terrorist act and prevent attempts to repeat it.

Ramzan Kadyrov assured the citizens of Russia that the opposition to all illegal actions aimed at escalating tensions will be conducted on a large scale and will take the form of an uncompromising struggle. In his statement, he also noted that at the moment the process of recognizing Chechnya as a prosperous and stable republic is going on in full swing in the world, and he, as its leader, will do everything possible so that no renegades can prevent it.