Today the group "Alpha" - 40 years!

Terrorism Unit "Alfa" originates July 29, 1974, when it was created at the initiative of the chairman of the KGB chief Yuri Andropov and the Seventh Directorate of the KGB Alexei Beschastnykh. Until 1985, this group was directly subordinated to the personal Secretary-General of the USSR and KGB leadership. Until August 1991 the full name of the unit was: Group 'A' service MTO 7th Directorate of the KGB. The group at first did not exceed 40 people, the staff has gathered exclusively from the KGB officers specially trained and fit for service in parts of the Airborne Forces.



The main task of the group was considered a fight against terrorists and other extremist entities, including the release of the hostages taken by the terrorists, vehicles, public facilities located on the territory of the USSR and abroad.
In 1991, at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union in the "Alpha" has served about 500 people. The group had "offices" in many cities in Russia and the Union Republics - Krasnodar, Yekaterinburg, Kiev, Minsk, Alma-Ata.



Later the group moved to the Central Department of Protection (GUO) of Russia. And the range of tasks, "Alpha" has been added, and protection of the President of the Russian Federation than the group was engaged until 1993. In 1993, during the suppression of the coup, the group refused to storm the White House.
In August 1995, the group withdrew from the jurisdiction of the State Educational Institution of the Russian Federation, and at the initiative of the then chief of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation Mikhail Barsukov was reassigned FSB.
In 1998, Vladimir Putin, who at the time director of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation recalled the "Alpha". With its supply order was issued to reorganize the offices of "A" (the group "Alpha") and "B" (group "Vympel"). Then, in order to reduce the duplication of structures in both special units were disbanded headquarters and support units - sniper blasters and communications.



Combat units remaining at that time virtually no support, were kept in the so-called "anti-terrorist center", hereinafter called the department for the fight against terrorism. Combined group of men admitted redundant, resulting in a reduction of about a third of the officers of both groups. That's a large number of highly skilled fighters were forced to leave the service because the state did not have the means to maintain them.
Currently, four Russian cities - Moscow, Krasnodar, Yekaterinburg and Khabarovsk - serve about 250 people.



They are small, but they have a lot ...
Happy holiday, soldiers !!!