Among the RVVDKU graduates there are many Heroes of the Russian Federation. Petrov Dmitry Vladimirovich is one of them. The article is devoted to the biography and feat of a 25-year-old officer, one of 84 paratroopers who died in battle near Hill 776 during the second Chechen campaign.
Childhood
What is known about Dmitry Vladimirovich Petrov? His biography is being recreated bit by bit by the students of the 84th school of Rostov-on-Don, which from now on bears the name of the hero.
Dima Petrov was born in an ordinary Rostov family in 1974, June 10th. His mother's name is Lyudmila Vladimirovna, his father's name is Vladimir Dmitrievich. Since childhood, the boy has been a support and protector for his younger sister, with whom they studied together at the 84th school.
Dima went to first grade in 1981, was fond of chess and dancing. As he grew older, he fell in love with sports, especially football. I was able to make friends. They, along with Volodya Krugovoi and Oleg Voloshin, were even nicknamed "the three musketeers". At the age of 12, he signed up for a club called "Young Pilot". And haven't missed a single one since.lessons. Until 1991, the club was practically a second school for him.
At the age of 15, Dmitry made the first parachute jump and literally fell ill with the sky. His dream was to enter the Ryazan Air Force School.
Education
Thin, light, Dima Petrov was preparing for a military career. It was difficult to enter the RVVDKU - the competition was 11 people per place. But the years of preparation made themselves felt: in 1991 he became a cadet of the 8th company. Father recalls how the whole family went to take the oath. In uniform, the guys seemed the same, and for a long time they could not find their Dima. The sister was the first to recognize her brother and literally hung on him.
During the oath, the relatives felt a sense of pride and recalled that the choice of the young man was quite logical. Since childhood, Dmitry's favorite song has been the composition "Victory Day".
The cadet studied well, and in 1995 he was awarded the rank of senior lieutenant of the guard. Dmitry was sent to serve in Pskov, where the 76th Chernigov Airborne Division was quartered.
Hot spots
Becoming a platoon commander, Dmitry Vladimirovich Petrov repeatedly went on business trips to "hot spots". Abkhazia became the first combat experience. As part of the peacekeeping forces in August 1999, Petrov's platoon came under artillery fire from the Georgian troops, and he himself received a serious shell shock. Then everything worked out.
From the first days of February 2000 he was sent to Chechnya. And already on the 9th, his platoon entered into battle with the mercenaries. The second skirmish took place on 22 February. Both episodes ended with the victory of the paratroopers, who managed to eliminate more than 10 militants.
On February 29, General Troshev near Shatoi reported that the last stronghold of bandit formations had fallen. It seemed that the war was over. But on the same day, in the Ulus-Kerta region, Khattab gathered more than 2 thousand militants who planned to break into Dagestan through the Argun Gorge in the Vedeno region.
Combat mission
29 February Pskov paratroopers advanced to 776 heights. Their combat mission included fortification in positions to prevent disparate groups of militants from getting out of the encirclement. The 6th company of the parachute regiment had to make a forced march 14 km, carrying with them not only weapons, but also all the equipment up to the camp kitchen. Helicopters were not involved because there was no convenient landing site at the height.
The commander was Sergei Molodov, however, given the seriousness of the task, Lieutenant Colonel Evtyukhin also went with the group. Petrov Dmitry Vladimirovich was also among the paratroopers.
The company was greatly stretched. The reconnaissance group, commanded by Alexei Vorobyov, was the first to enter the position. And already at 12:30 she ran into Khattab's mercenaries. A fight ensued. But there were about 40 separatists, and soon they withdrew. On the radio, Yevtyukhin reported the collision to the command, but he was not given a proper assessment.
No one could have imagined that the militants who retreated to the hollow near the Abazulgol River would decide to break through the height of 776. And their number exceeds the number of paratroopers by more than 20 times.
Feat
The 6th company was still on the march, and around the militants saw already fortified checkpoints. After a short meeting, Khattab decided to take the height by storm, advancing from three sides. About 400 mercenaries were supposed to go to the rear and surround the paratroopers, but they were prevented by a reconnaissance patrol under the command of Lieutenant Kozhemyakin. The fighters held back the enemy's furious attacks for three hours.
It's hard to believe, but 90 paratroopers, among whom was Dmitry Vladimirovich Petrov, held back the onslaught of almost two thousand bandit formations for 19 hours. The first company tried to break through to them. But for this it was necessary to cross the river Abazulgol. During the day they could not overcome the water obstacle, because it was there that the mercenaries used all their firepower.
In the very first hours of the battle, Sergey Molodov died, and Lieutenant Colonel Evtyukhin took command. By morning, only a handful of guards remained with him. They ran out of ammo, so the wounded had to fight hand to hand. From the side of height 787, a platoon of the 4th company under the command of Lieutenant Dostavalov managed to get to the remnants of the 6th company. But this support in the amount of 15 people could not affect the outcome of the battle. Dostavalov and his comrades shared the fate of the sixth company. Of the 90 paratroopers, only six survived. Two were sent for help at different times, and four were seriously injured.
Presumably, Dmitry Petrov died on March 1st. Mortally wounded, he continued to fightmilitants. There were 10 bullets in his chest, and shrapnel pierced his stomach.
Afterword
Khattab managed to break through the Argun, but this does not detract from the merits of the 6th company. These heroes of the country put about 600 militants next to them. At the same time, aviation was completely inactive due to fog. Subsequently, it turned out that the commander of the Marine Corps group, Alexander Otrakovsky, was forbidden to provide assistance to the paratroopers. And after the completion of the operation, the general's heart could not stand it - it stopped forever.
The troops managed to reach the height of 776 only on the fifth day. The bodies of the dead soldiers and officers were dragged to the riverbed in order to be sent back to their homeland. Dmitry Vladimirovich Petrov is buried in Rostov-on-Don.
For a long time the feat of the paratroopers was hushed up, real losses were hidden. The first to raise the alarm were the parents, who were supported by the Pskov governor, Yevgeny Mikhailov. Only after his intervention, the events of February 29-March 1 were given a real assessment. Twenty-two paratroopers were awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation, including 21 posthumously. Dmitry Petrov is among them.
