ЧУЖИЕ СРЕДИ СВОИХ ЗАГАДКА «МУСУЛЬМАНСКОГО БАТАЛЬОНА»

*CHAPTER 1. AN ORDER FROM THE VERY TOP* Let's start with where this crazy idea came from. It's 1979, as I said. Afghanistan is in total disarray. The Saur Revolution had taken place, and "our people"—the Marxists from the PDPA (People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan)—came to power. But, as often happens in the East, they didn't start with the construction of the century, but with squabbling among themselves. Taraki and Amin—the two leaders—seem to be allies, but they glare at each other like wolves. The people in the Kremlin aren't fools. Andropov, Gromyko, Ustinov—these political bigwigs understand: things are getting tough. Afghanistan is our soft underbelly. If chaos breaks out there, or, God forbid, the Americans invade with their missiles, it'll be a real pain in the ass. And so, somewhere in the offices of the GRU (Main Intelligence Directorate), a plan was hatched. We needed special forces. But not just any special forces. If we sent our Ryazan or Pskov paratroopers there—those blond, blue-eyed guys—they'd be spotted a mile away. In Afghanistan, where every stone has ears, a European appearance is a target. They needed people who could blend into the crowd. People who could walk into a Kabul bazaar and buy a flatbread so the vendor would mistake them for their neighbors. The initiator of this unit's creation was the head of the GRU, Army General Pyotr Ivanovich Ivashutin. He was a man of steel, of the old school. He understood that we needed an intelligence and combat unit. That is, soldiers who could shoot like gods, speak the language, and understand the customs. The order to form a "special battalion" was signed in the spring of 1979. Officially, it had the dull and dry name of the 154th Separate Special Purpose Detachment (ooSpN). But it went down in history as the "Muslim Battalion," or simply "Musbat." Why "Muslim"? Because they recruited exclusively from the indigenous peoples of Central Asia: Uzbeks, Tajiks, and Turkmens. Religion had nothing to do with it; we lived in the USSR, after all, and everyone was a member of the Komsomol. But ethnicity was a key factor in concealment. The task was extremely strict: assemble a battalion (about 500 men) as quickly as possible, arm them to the teeth with the latest technology, and train them so they could accomplish any task. By "any" they meant protecting the leader of Afghanistan, Nur Mohammad Taraki. But, as we know, history is a fickle mistress, and the tasks changed dramatically. *CHAPTER 2. FACE CONTROL, SOVIET STYLE* Now imagine the headache that befell the officers of the Turkestan Military District (TurkVO). They had to comb all military units and find 500 Rambos with Asian features. Major Khabibjan Kholbaev was appointed commander of this unique unit. Remember that name, guys. Kholbaev was a true father figure to the soldiers. Hailing from the Surkhandarya region of Uzbekistan, an ethnic Uzbek, an experienced paratrooper officer, he understood the mentality of his soldiers like no one else. He was given carte blanche: take whomever you want, from wherever you want, as long as they fit. The selection criteria were extremely strict. First, physics. They only took those who had served for six months or a year. No new recruits were accepted. They needed strong men, capable of running through the mountains with full gear, bench-pressing their own weight, and not fainting in the 40-degree heat. Secondly, language. This was critical. Tajik is very close to Dari (one of Afghanistan's two official languages); they understand each other almost without translation. Uzbek was also spoken in northern Afghanistan. Therefore, Tajiks, Uzbeks, and Turkmens were a priority.