On June 26, 2011, at the section of the Karkara border outpost of the Chundzhinsky border detachment, a group of Special Forces border guards was in ambush. According to operational information, smugglers were supposed to appear in this direction, engaged in the illegal transportation of fuel and fuel and lubricants across the state border line...
At two o’clock in the morning the silence was broken by the noise of car engines. By the sound, in the pitch darkness, it was possible to establish that two trucks drove up to the border, a minute later several more cars followed them. The order of the group commander to detain the smugglers was sounded.
Seeing the border guards, the attackers tried to resist. But through long training, the practiced Special Forces skills did not give the smugglers any chance. Five fuel trucks with drivers were detained on the spot, another one made an attempt to break out of the cordon. «GAZ-53» at full speed tried to ram the Special Forces barrier, but warning shots upwards cooled its ardor.
Two more trucks made a feeble and unsuccessful attempt to sneak away in the other direction.
As a result of the operation, the border guards detained five citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic and five of our compatriots, two KamAZ, MAZ, GAZ-53, and two Volvo fuel trucks. The smugglers tried to transport about 77 tons of diesel fuel across the state border from the Republic of Kazakhstan.
At 7 o’clock in the morning, the convoy went to the Chundzhinsky border detachment to carry out the necessary investigative actions. While descending from the mountain pass, one of the KamAZ vehicles failed the brakes. At high speed, the car drove off the road and hit a rock. As a result of a traffic accident, a serviceman of the DShMG «Boran», a contract service sergeant Ardak Kaziev, and a car driver, a citizen of the Kyrgyz Republic, were killed in fire.
Ardak was born in the Kyzylorda region, from where he left for military service in the Zharkent border detachment. Playing sports made him a worthy candidate for service in the border special forces. He agreed to the command’s offer and went to the Boran airborne assault maneuvering group. Together with his comrades, he repeatedly participated in special operations and arrests of violators of the state border. He had encouragements from the command.
He was buried in his homeland with military honors. An obelisk had been erected on his grave. Another obelisk was erected on the territory of the military unit where he served in the presence of relatives and friends of Ardak, his comrades and colleagues.
The border service is interesting and sometimes dangerous, but combat losses here are a rare event, and therefore bitter and shocking. Experienced and well-versed commandos could not hold back tears while bidding farewell to their untimely deceased comrade.
Today, modern border life sets landmarks, traces of events and deeds, many of which in the next decade will turn into legends, acquire beautiful and maybe even non-existent details. And now, when the events are still fresh in the memory, the bitterness of the irreparable has not yet gone away, it is possible and necessary to tell people about it.
On the Kegen pass, the place where our comrade and colleague - a soldier of the Boran airborne assault maneuvering group sergeant Ardak Kaziyev - was killed, stands out as a far-visible black spot of a burned-out car. His name is forever inscribed in the lists of the military collective and the entire Border Guard Service of the NSC of the Republic of Kazakhstan, whose hero at the dawn of its formation he became.
A horse emerged from the thick fog. She slowly but surely descended the steep rocky slope. Behind her, one after another, the exhausted and tired border guards trudged along. Among them, barely holding on to the saddle, rode a rider, whose right leg below the knee was completely soaked in blood. He barely moved his half-closed eyes, and at times a moan escaped from pain in his leg: the uneven movement of the animal, stumbling over the ledges of stones, ruffled his wound ...
On August 2, 2010, servicemen of the Koksu frontier post, after a long and arduous hike along the mountain slopes, went down to a heating station - a refuge for soldiers in green caps, where they can rest, hide from the weather, and refresh themselves with food. The area for which the local border guards are responsible is impassable, with difficult terrain. Therefore, it is protected in a special way. A «horse patrol» comes out to guard the borders.
Entering the interior of the shelter, the border guards found a local shepherd in a semi-conscious state. Two days ago, he went to the mountains in search of the lost sheep. Descending from one of the mountain passes, he stumbled on rocks slippery after rain and broke his leg. Somehow bandaging the fracture with a scarf, the shepherd crawled to the heating station. There was no connection at this place. There were no companions with him. Therefore, all that remained was to rely on the border guards. Fortunately, two days later, his saviors entered the door. Having found out what was the matter, and also having examined the wound during dressing, the senior border squad, commandant of the Rudnichnaya border commandant’s office, Major Ivan Borsenko, makes a decision - to urgently move to the unit’s location and from there send the shepherd to the hospital. It was impossible to hesitate, as the wound turned slightly black, and dark spots were spreading along the leg. There was danger of gangrene onset.
Having put the old man in the saddle, the border guards set off. As luck would have it, the weather has deteriorated sharply. The fog was firmly stuck on the tops of the mountains, and the valleys were as if flooded with thick white «milk». With the breath of the icy wind, large cold drops fell from the flying crowns. It seemed that gloomy and inhospitable November had dropped in on a visit to the bright and joyful summer August. In the mountains, as a rule, this often happens.
The road went steeply into the fog along the slopes. Under the influence of a light breeze, the haze either thickened or dissipated a little. And somewhere high above the travelers, steep cliffs hung.
Twenty minutes later, a thick fog densely enveloped the border guards from all sides. Ivan Borsenko gazed into the distance, but all around it was hopeless, only obscuring all the fog and gray sky. The officer realized that due to zero visibility, he had lost his way. Once again turning the compass in his hands, he again put the device in his pocket: the arrows did not want to indicate the direction of the sides, and the sky was clouded over.
«What is to be done? - the commandant thought tensely, mechanically patting the strong neck of his service horse - Rocket. - Time is rapidly running out, and the old man is getting worse and worse. Look how it groans. It may not hold out”.
The rocket, as if sensing the drama of the whole situation, patiently waited for its owner to set off again at the first order. She was an intelligent, tall, patient, and most importantly, hardy mare. There are more than a dozen such four-legged assistants at the mountain outposts. They create their own unique flavor in the unit. The servicemen say that sometimes horses are more reliable than any equipment and are the most convenient means of transport in these places. And what animal can match the sensuality, beauty and grace of movement with a horse? - None. And, probably, only a dog can be unselfish and devoted to man.
For almost the entire history of mankind, horses have been and still are helpers of people and for the military in particular. Here is Raketa, who has been on patrol with warriors in green caps for many years now, so he knows all the mountain paths better than any border guard. This was what the officer remembered.
Jumping from the saddle, Borsenko and the others ordered them to dismount. And then he let the knight, so to speak, into a free move. Thus, hoping that the clever animal will find its way by itself and lead the patrol group in the right direction - it will lead them to the Baratola border post.
So, holding on to each other, the servicemen continued on their way. In front of this chain was Rocket, followed by an officer, afraid in the thick fog to lose sight of the only guide.
And the cold rain continued to drizzle, leaving its clean and shiny traces on the ground.
Finally, after the long four hours, the road, having skirted the extreme gigantic boulders, brought the border guards out into a small gap, where, quite unexpectedly, the outlines of the Baratola emerged from the fog. The servicemen went out onto an open section of a mountain road leading directly to the commandant’s office. And on the already familiar course, the border guards galloped up to their unit.
So Rocket, who saved not only the wounded shepherd, became the protagonist of the outpost. And the military is not against this situation, because the horses on the extreme borders of the country are also full-fledged border guards.
Major Kanat Berdikulov was born at the very border, in the Maktaaral region. From childhood he has been familiar with the pictures, so accurately described by the poet «Dreams descend for a short time into that house / In that house, rifles stand against the wall. / Here there is a border ...» behind the forbidden line there live the fraternal people, no one is allowed to transgress it.
It often happens that pictures from childhood determine a person’s path to adulthood, and the instructions of his parents become his credo. This is exactly what happened with Major Kanat Berdikulov, he did his military service directly at the border, and since then he has remained loyal to his troops. Standing at the forefront of the Fatherland, the young soldier realized the enormous responsibility for the line entrusted to him.
The commanders taught him - the state begins from the border, this is the first line, and on it the whole country is tested for strength. Any guest - both with good intentions and uninvited - is first met by the border guard. Apparently, fate was so pleased that he devoted his life to serving at the border, where the beginning of the day begins in the early evening, and the arrival of night does not promise the personnel a quick fall to sleep. «Green caps» guard the borders of the Motherland, from which one cannot take a step back.
Kanat Berdikulov was born in the border region in the south of the country, in the Maktaaral region. Their aul Myrzashoky and the neighboring Uzbek village were separated by a narrow branch of water, through which a bridge was thrown. On the outskirts of the village, children looked after the grazing cattle and vigilantly watched so that Uzbek children did not cross this bridge to our side. Nobody taught them this, and although they never said anything bad about the children of the neighboring state, they did not allow them to set foot on their native land.
- My brother is a border guard, - Kanat Berdikulov told about himself. - That is why I chose the profession of watchmaking in the Motherland. Another reason for our choice was my mother. She is very proud. In the nineties of the last century, it became the norm to avoid military service, and there were those who tried to escape from the army. And, our mother Tursynay Baitemirovna, on the contrary, wanted all three of her children to serve in the Armed Forces. She said: «I will not protect any of you from serving in the army, all three of you will fulfill your duty to the Motherland».
His first commander, Colonel Valentin Luterovich, is also sure that Kanat Berdikulov made a conscious choice.
- I think Kanat was not accidentally drafted into the Border Troops, - he is sure. - The guy grew up in the border area; he is a very responsible person and a patriot of his country. In my opinion, the employees of the military registration and enlistment office appreciated his preparation for service, and went to meet his wishes.
Valentin Luterovich immediately saw in him a good officer. And, he met his future subordinate when he served in the Zaisan border detachment, in 2000. The officer came for young specialists to the BMP School in the Zharkent border detachment. Among the junior sergeants who trained for the position of BMP commanders there was Kanat Berdikulov. He immediately liked the fit, athletic guy. Valentin Luterovich, who brought the young replenishment from Zharkent to Zaisan, recalls that for Kanat and other southerners, the journey to the east of the country in December was not easy, but they endured it.
“We served in the same unit,” says Valentin Luterovich. -Let’s say right away that the unit is not easy. At that time, the senior lieutenant served as Deputy Head of the motorized maneuvering group, and Kanat Berdikulov served as the commander of an infantry fighting vehicle. He immediately showed himself on the good side, and six months later, the senior soldiers who were retired to the reserve, in conversations with the Deputy Head of the motorized group, spoke of the junior sergeant as a promising commander
However, later Kanat Berdikulov was transferred to the south, to his homeland - at that time the Saryagash border guard detachment was being formed. There, having completed his soldier’s term, the hero of our story remained for contract service.
But, in 2007, their paths crossed again already at the academy. Valentin Luterovich transferred from the border to the university and took command of the 4th training battalion. And, Kanat Berdikulov was the foreman of the cadets there, he studied in the 3rd course. According to Colonel Valentin Lutherovich, this was the most effective foreman. The guy was an excellent student, and he was older than other cadets, who already knew what a border was. The best foreman of the division successfully completed the 4th training division in 2009.
Among other excellent graduates, he received lieutenant shoulder straps from the hands of the First President of the country, Nursultan Nazarbayev.
According to Colonel Valentin Luterovich, he was an ideal cadet, he also showed good sports results. Therefore, there were all the prerequisites for Kanat Berdikulov to be left in the academy, because a cadet who passed the border, as a course officer, could bring a lot of benefits.
And when Colonel Valentin Luterovich, who was leaving to study in Minsk, was asked whom he sees as his successor, he named Kanat Berdikulov. Despite the fact that he was not yet a senior officer, but only a captain, he was appointed to the position of battalion commander. There was no doubt that he would bring his personnel to the forefront. And life has shown that the commanders were not mistaken.
Kanat Berdikulov became an example for his subordinates in everything. He always follows the admonition of the glorious son of the Kazakh people Bauyrzhan Momyshuly: «An officer can call himself an officer if he is constantly working on himself.» He studies a lot, in his free time he reads classics, foreign authors, business and methodological literature, because the words of Alexander Suvorov, who taught that the commander needs continuous education of himself in the sciences through reading, have not lost their relevance today. He is called the standard of a Kazakh officer, but he is also a wonderful father. Unfortunately, it is not possible to devote enough time to the family; such is the reality of many defenders of the Fatherland.
The training division under the command of Captain Kanat Berdikulov was named the «Best Training Division» at the Military Council of the Border Guard Service at the end of 2016. For this, Kanat Berdikulov was awarded the rank of «Major» ahead of schedule.
It is not for nothing that the people say: «Education begins from the cradle.» Devotion and love for their Fatherland, for their people are called in one word «patriotism», and for a military man it is also a readiness for any sacrifices and exploits for the sake of the interests of their Motherland. Kanat absorbed love for the Fatherland together with the air of the aul in which he was born and raised, with the instructions of his parents, with the stories of school teachers about fair biys and brave warriors.
- Abai is very wise, - believes Kanat Berdikulov, - I think if you follow the Charter and live in accordance with the words of the edification of the great writer, you can achieve a lot.
Together with his brother, Kanat went in for sports since childhood, eventually became interested in athletics. Later, while serving in the Saryagash border detachment - hand-to-hand combat, he took the second place in the championship of the Border Service. When he studied at the academy, he won the first place in hand-to-hand fighting more than once, and went to international competitions in Tashkent. However, the intense rhythm of study did not make it possible to engage in this sport at a professional level.
***
...I remember that summer day in 2009, when he was among the four of the 12 best cadets in the training division of Lieutenant Colonel Valentin Lutherovich, who received officer shoulder straps from the hands of the President - Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Nursultan Nazarbayev. It is immodest to talk about this often, but there are two people - mother Tursynay Baytemirovna and his wife Indira - who do not forget about this significant event in the life of a cadet. What is to say when, having learned about this fact, together with the relatives of the young officer, the people of the native village were happy.
-During the week we were preparing for the upcoming meeting with the Head of State, - recalls Kanat Berdikulov. - We were trained by officers. When the ceremony was over, everyone was invited to take a picture with the President of the country. We looked at our commanders, and then I ran up and stood on the right hand of Nursultan Nazarbayev, and my classmate took a seat on the left side.
Then, as a lieutenant, I was left at the academy, appointed Head of the 441st training outpost at the training division of Lieutenant Colonel Valentin Luterovich. In August 2015, I was on another vacation, when my commander called me and said: “Kanat, I am leaving to study in Minsk. Do you accept my post? I’ll give it to you.” I tried to object, because I was only in the rank of captain. How else would the leadership react to this? But Valentin Olegovich was decisive, and the words of my commander gave me strength.
-Everything was exactly so as my commander said. At first, for six months, I temporarily served as the commander of a training division and proved that I could take this position. Six months later, I was approved as the Commander of the training division.
Major Kanat Berdikulov continues to serve. He is an example for subordinates, a wonderful father, a loving husband and a caring son. In the poem of the king of poetry Mukagali Makatayev, who was born in the border region, entitled «On the border» there are the words: «I stand on the edge of the Fatherland, / There is no land for me further.» The patriot of his Motherland and the brilliant border guard officer Berdikulov knows for sure that the border is the edge of your Motherland, this is the border beyond which there is no land for a warrior.
Despite the temporary restrictions on the export of gasoline, diesel fuel and certain types of oil products in force in the Republic of Kazakhstan, some individuals and legal entities are attempting to illegally move fuels and lubricants.
On November 13, 2021, the military of the Border Service of the NSC at the checkpoint "Chaldovar" (railway) of the Merken district of the Zhambyl region prevented an attempt to illegally export from the territory of Kazakhstan, presumably 68 tons of diesel fuel and 120 tons of gasoline (the type of fuel will be established by examination). The transportation of three fuel tanks was carried out by a freight train under the guise of gas condensate.
According to the results of the examination, the detained goods are planned to be transferred to the Department of State Revenues in the Zhambyl region for making a procedural decision. The preliminary cost of the retained fuel was about 50 million tenge.
NSC Press Service
In October 2001, Yermek Dossayev was appointed Head of the new Boghet border outpost of the 2018 military unit of the Batys Regional Directorate. Then his famous pioneer saga began.
People like Lieutenant Colonel Ermek Dossayev are called the salt of the earth. This phraseological unit is deciphered as «the best», the most fertile layer of the earth. Of course, the character in our story did not think about it when, having landed in the winter of 2001 in a deserted place among the naked dunes, he took up the arrangement of the simplest life for his subordinates. It was necessary to immediately start guarding the border, organize the service, and tune the personnel for a good result. Standing in the middle of the silent steppe, he did not feel lonely and abandoned - there was a huge country behind him.
That period of the life of Lieutenant Colonel Yermek Dossaev is more like a well-known Soviet western with chases and smugglers, in the confrontation with which one could rely only on himself. In a desert area, where you will not find human habitation for hundreds of kilometers, «green caps» were the only barrier for uninvited guests. Meanwhile, violators are accustomed to the fact that they can cross the state border without any risk to themselves. With the emergence of a frontier post in these desolate places, a lucrative but illegal business was severely damaged. The watchmen of the Motherland stood in the way of enterprising and unceremonious businessmen.
Three officers, two contract servicemen and 20 conscripts - that’s all the personnel that were taken from Zhanaozen by helicopter to the area called Өnere, where they were met by the commander of the unit, Lieutenant Colonel D. Ozeryanik. Until it got dark, they began to set up the tents. Experienced border guards dug their temporary, as the new settlers hoped, housing into the ground so as not to be annoyed by the piercing winter winds.
Later, the border guards will build a bathhouse, storage for vegetables, IES and OVS warehouses and a concrete pit for storing water on their own. The lack of building materials was compensated by local resources - the border guards were rescued by the shepherds who spent the winter 30-50 kilometers from the outpost, who helped to collect stones and bricks in abandoned buildings, of which there were many on the site. Water and food were brought from the «mainland». When the water ran out, the rains gave life-giving moisture, and in the winter the snow was melted.
Nearby, three kilometers away, a spring gushed, which gave the name to this area, but the water from it was impossible to drink. The water that gushed out of this land soaked in the sweat of the ancestors who had been wandering in these parts for thousands of years could not have been drinkable; a lot of salt had accumulated in it.
The state border between Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan at the Boghet frontier post stretches for 195 kilometers. The service is organized by border detachments at the commanding heights, as well as by patrol - by car. The border line from the frontier post is about 90 kilometers, and at the disposal of the «Boghettsev» there is only one car - «ZIL-131» with a Kung. The first outfit was displayed as part of a reconnaissance and search group.
The smugglers mostly came across with gasoline, which they illegally tried to smuggle further north from Turkmenistan. They transported cheap fuel on KamAZ trucks, in tanks with a capacity of 10 to 30 tons, in the fall they transported vegetables, cattle and small cattle. It was not easy to control a long section of the border, but the tireless «green caps» were in time everywhere, «grew» in front of the violators, as if out of the ground. Sometimes, in order to detain a stranger, they chased him for a long time through the desert.
Once the «reconnaissance and search group», who interceded with the senior border detachment, Yermek Dossayev and his subordinates, detained three KamAZ trucks with AI-95 gasoline. When escorted to the outpost, before reaching its destination about 50 kilometers, one car caught fire, the fire engulfed the entire KamAZ at once. The escorts managed to drive off to a safe distance; the people who were in the burning vehicle managed to jump out and run away from the car engulfed in flames, literally a minute later the tank exploded.
In those remote places to the nearest settlement - the city of Zhanaozen 230 kilometers. The terrain on the trusted section of the border is completely deserted, in places small hills rise, and among the sand dunes, shrubs and saxaul are occasionally found. The sands are called «Karynzharyk-kum».
Yermek Dossayev, his deputy Senior Lieutenant Shukhrat Sakhratov and foreman Ensign Tursynbek Kozhaniyazov were married at the outpost. Before the onset of severe cold weather, the families lived at the outpost, later the border guards took the households «to the mainland», to their parents.
Border guards lived in tents - officers in a 20-seater, in which one half was occupied by a communications officer and a border guard duty officer, in the second half there was an office, where there were beds for commanders, and conscripts were housed in a 40-seater tent.
In winter, stoves were drowned. The outpost did not even have a diesel unit necessary for generating electricity, during the day the battery radio stations were charged from solar panels, communication with border detachments and the detachment was maintained every two hours, then the radio stations were turned off in order to save batteries.
The climate in Manghistau region, as you know, is sharply continental, it is very hot in summer, winds blow constantly in winter, little snow falls, and if it does, it melts quickly. With the onset of heat, the border guards began building a bathhouse, warehouses for storing food, property and other outbuildings, including a concrete tank for storing water.
Together with the warmer weather, families of border guards reappeared at the outpost, defusing the situation, bringing comfort to the officer’s life. Life was getting better, only the basketball did not want to bounce off the sand, so it was not possible to play with the children.
Today, Lieutenant Colonel Yermek Dossayev is the Head of the border guard department of the KNB PS Department for the Kyzylorda region. The officer was born into a family of ordinary workers. There were no military men in their family, but in the fifth grade he was impressed by the books of Bauyrzhan Momyshuly, and since then he began to prepare for the military profession. And after talking with his father, having learned that he has a cousin, a border guard, he decided to enter the border school.
It was the summer of 1993, when three best friends, classmates and neighbors from the Zhalagash village of the Zhalagash district of the Kyzylorda region went to Almaty to enter the F. Dzerzhinsky Higher Border Command school.They drove towards their dream, young, and therefore cheerful and self-confident. But luck smiled only at Yermek. And soon, in his native village, his father proudly talked about his son, a cadet, and his mother was looking forward to letters from him.
A year later, the military school was renamed the Military Institute of the National Security Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The cadet’s studies were not easy, the aul guy Yermek Dossayev almost did not speak Russian, only “hello” and other words from the everyday vocabulary, and this was his knowledge. With enviable persistence, he took up the study of the «great and mighty.» Within a couple of months, the student read fluently and confidently, albeit with an accent, answered at the seminars.
The cadet years flew by quickly and, after graduating from the border school in 1997, Yermek Dossayev was appointed to the post of deputy Head of the Usekskaya border outpost in the Zharkent detachment.
For the successful fulfillment of the assigned tasks in 2002, Yermek Dossayev was awarded a state award - the medal «Zhauyngerlik erligi ushin». Nothing was left without the attention of the command - he was awarded for conscientious service and invaluable contribution to the arrangement of the border. After that, Yermek Dossayev was appointed to a higher position in the Kyzylorda border detachment.
Over the years of impeccable service, the officer was awarded the medal «Shekaran uzdik kuzetkeni ushin», «Minsiz qyzmeti ushin» I, II, III degrees, Shekara skerinin zdigi ”II-nd degree, was repeatedly encouraged by the rights of the Chairman of the National Security Committee and the Deputy Chairman of the National Security Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan - Director of the Border Service.
Whether a warm spring breeze blows, an evil dry wind blows in gusts - the leaves on the poplars that were planted at the site of the death of border guard Yerlan Niyazov will rustle. It happened on the banks of the Keles River, which separates the two republics - Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
There is a border patrol - he will definitely stop here. The guys in green caps will stand silently at the memorial obelisk; they will listen attentively to the silence of the sentinel path - they will certainly hear the whisper of foliage.
And at that moment someone will hear: «Be faithful to the oath!» And these words penetrate into the soul of a soldier more faithfully and deeper than a long lecture of political studies...
For a long time, spies have not walked across the border line - there is no need for that. Certain foreign citizens come to us quite legally with their documents straightened out in full form and ... become spies, secretly finding out our secrets. And more and more those who are called smugglers are crossing the border.
By underground promotion - in large and small lots - of consumer goods, foodstuffs, industrial goods, withdrawn from the general legal trade, and, consequently, economic planning to improve the well-being of the people, illegal salespeople undermine the foundations of the state. And this is what the guards of Kazakhstani borders are fighting against with all their might, as the oath dictates - «not sparing blood and life itself».
***
From childhood, the hero of this essay dreamed of serving on the border. Where is in him, a native of the Aktobe region, love for a green cap and a sentinel path, remains unknown to us - now you will not ask. But he made his dream come true - in the spring of 2007 he begged the military commissars to send him to serve at the border.
Already being in the training unit, through which all those called into the ranks of the Border Service of the KNB of the Republic of Kazakhstan pass, the commanders drew attention to the guy, or rather to his desire to master military affairs and border science as quickly and fully as possible.
- Well, Private Niyazov, you showed excellent results in the exams, we can leave you for another couple of months, learn commanding skills - you will become a sergeant, you will teach recruits, - he was offered at the training center.
- I would like to get to the outpost! - Yerlan said firmly and decisively. - Please grant my request!
In those few seconds that the commander needed to make a decision, the young soldier experienced a real shock: “What if they refuse?!”
But fate already then led the guy to a heroic deed.
- Which outpost would you like to be sent to? How do I allow an excellent student to choose: rear or front line?
- To the one where the service is real!
- Well, I didn’t expect another answer from you. Well done! Get ready to ship...
***
The border post «Saryagash» is deployed not only on the first line, but, as can be determined by the rhythm of the combat activities of the personnel, at the very edge of the real direction of the aspirations of border violators. The very people who, for the sake of their own ambitions and profit, risk themselves, at least behind bars, and the border guards are jeopardized, that is sometimes fatal.
Dozens of alarms are sent daily from the state border of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the duty room of the next shift of the guards of our sovereign borders. More than once or twice it was noted by the command of the border detachment that the border guards entering the state border line at the section of the border department (this is the name of the outpost) «Saryagash» show restraint, courage and dedication, firmly and consistently suppress violations of the state border, detain illegal immigrants and smugglers.
If in other directions the border guards take part in one or two detentions during their entire service life, the guys feel like heroes - they have something to boast about when they arrive home. And for Saryagash residents, their heroic deeds are everyday life. It was this tense situation, into which Private Niyazov had to grow in upon arrival at his new duty station, that he liked the most.
He dreamed of being in all types of frontier attire - «Patrol», «Secret», «Sentry at the border section» - to stand on the tower, peering intently at the adjacent side, to be an orderly at the outpost ... But what about? A real border guard should be able to do everything!
***
On August 31, 2007, the Head of the outpost confirmed the composition of the border guard with great care.
“Put Niyazov in there,” he ordered his deputy. - The fighter is eager to fight; you can rely on the guy. In addition, let him run in, gain experience in real business.
That was why they decided, especially since the situation at the section of the outpost was every day, there was no particular tension. Therefore, the command considered it appropriate to send several recruits from the outpost to escort the previously detained border violator for an internship. Private Yerlan Niyazov was among them.
Returning to the outpost, border guards found smugglers near the Keles River, loading cargo from carts onto a makeshift raft. The senior of the detachment ordered the border guards to detain the intruders.
Niyazov was the first to cover the distance from the patrol path to the intruders noticed.
He was seized by a real battle excitement; the training he received during the training period at the training center clearly almost automatically executed the commands sent from his head.
- Stop! I will shoot! - as we were taught, Yerlan shouted loudly and clearly to the violators.
He was already reaching for the automatic belt to take the weapon at the ready, but at that moment the smugglers’ accomplices, who were on the other side of the river, in Uzbekistan, began to pull the raft in their direction with the help of ropes. Two more border guards ran up to the shore. Without hesitation, Niyazov was the first to jump into the water and managed to grab the raft. It seemed to everyone that in a few seconds the smugglers would stop the movement and surrender. They were all targeted. But the experienced violators knew that the border guards would not shoot, so as not to accidentally hit their comrade. The confrontation lasted for several minutes...
...When the raft was in the middle of the river, the border guard, along with weapons and ammunition, went under the water. Attempts by colleagues to save Yerlan’s life were unsuccessful.
“The river in this place is deep,” said Ilyasov, who was then the Head of the Omirkeldy frontier post. “In addition, an excavator worked on the Uzbek side, taking out gravel from the bottom of the river and thereby deepening it. At this point, the depth has reached four meters. Considering that the fighter was armed with weapons and ammunition, the tragedy was inevitable.
The entire outpost was raised in alarm, experienced contractors and athletes, insuring each other, examined the entire bottom of the river at the site of the accident, but could only find a Kalashnikov assault rifle - a weapon with which the soldier left for his last outfit. The body itself was carried away by the current.
The border guards asked for help from professional rescuers - divers. About a hundred soldiers, sergeants and officers who can dive well, swim, navigate under water, arrived at the scene of the tragedy. Every meter of the river bottom was examined...
...The sentry, standing at the lock a few kilometers from the scene found the deceased, but remained faithful to the oath until the end.
“The death of a soldier is a difficult, tragic event not only for relatives and friends, it is an irreparable loss for his comrades in service,” the commander said addressing the personnel and relatives who arrived at the military unit. - But Private Yerlan Niyazov died at his post - he carried out the order, showed heroism, did not step back from the warrior’s oath of allegiance to the Motherland. This is what the real guards of the State Border of the Republic of Kazakhstan do.
At all times, the border guards of Kazakhstan have sacredly preserved and fulfilled the traditions of loyalty to duty, love for the Fatherland, the inviolability of its borders. Yerlan Niyazov, who has gone on an eternal vigil, became the hero of the border guards of the past and the present, those who, at the cost of their own lives, did not allow the valiant green caps fanned by the glory of many generations to be tarnished.
The border guard who fell in a fight with smugglers was awarded the medal «For excellence in guarding the State Border» (posthumously) and was forever enlisted in the lists of the «Saryagash» frontier post.
What a pity that he did not have a chance to serve at this first line outpost for very long...
***
Trees were planted at the site of Yerlan Niyazov’s death, and an obelisk was erected. At home, a monument was also erected to the soldier. He stands on the street, which now bears the name of the valiant border guard and our colleague Yerlan Niyazov, who gave his life to the protection of the State Border of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
November 9 this year in the Merke district of the Zhambyl region, a border guard during their service found a hose illegally laid underground, presumably for pumping fuel and lubricants across the State Border.
A joint operational and investigative group of employees of the territorial subdivisions of the Border Service, Police Department, NSC has been created to identify persons involved in illegal activities.
The materials of the case were transferred to the Department of Economic Investigations in the Zhambyl region for making a procedural decision.
NSC Press Service
... The instructor of special service dogs of the Syrym military industrial complex, Senior Sergeant of the contract service, Vadim Ishkulov, like most of his colleagues, treats his wife’s calls favorably, but demands from the faithful brevity of the statement - the service has taught: the report must be sacramental!
The Senior Sergeant’s schedule ended in an hour. It was at this moment that a call was heard on the cell phone. The screen was marked with the word «favorite».
- Hey! How are you? - a native voice sang in the receiver
- Hey! What happened? - Vadim replied with a question, knocking down the mood of the faithful.
- Nothing, just...
- Sorry, I just can’t talk.
- Well, this is always the case, you won’t talk to me, - and his wife changed her tone offended.
- I’ll be back soon - we’ll talk. Bye…
- Wait, wait ... buy some bread on the way...
- There is ... - cut off the border guard and repulsed the conversation.
At home, comfort and peace awaited him - his chosen one in life was a real combat friend. And the fact that sometimes she instructed her husband to go to the store for bread, Vadim did not upset and did not particularly bother - wives need help, they also have a lot of things to do, or even more than her husband, a border guard, always disappearing in the service.
- Were you on duty, Vadik? - the keeper of the family hearth began a conversation from afar.
- Yes! - chewing on the cutlet, agreed Ishkulov, but internally tensed - now the open secret will be revealed: it means that something urgently needs to be done about the household, and the planned fishing will be canceled.
- Do you remember, I asked you...
«Well, it has begun!» - abstracting from the female endless monologue, thought Vadim. The arguments that the husband should devote the day off entirely to her and only to her were reinforced concrete, if only because - «you promised for a long time.» “So it’s useless to argue, to explain — all the more so, but I don’t agree either yet - you never know. What if it starts raining tomorrow, and then her plans will collapse. And fishing is a pleasure even in the rain! «
That is why the Senior Sergeant, who had been on duty for 24 hours, fell asleep ...
***
In the morning, telephones always ring especially sharply if the person is still asleep. The most important thing is that sleep flies off instantly, you won’t fall asleep again.
- I’m listening! - Immediately, without looking at the display - they say, who is calling - answered Vadim.
- This is the operational officer on duty in the detachment, - the caller introduced himself. - So, by order of the Head of the service department, you urgently take up the service. In an hour - be at the briefing!
- There is! Yes sir! - blurted out the Senior Sergeant, perfectly understanding that the arguments about the day off, and that «... I just left the service» is not interesting to the operative.
The mood worsened also because the wife had already stirred anxiously under the covers, which means that the question «Who called?» in her awakening consciousness, hoping for a solution to problems, has already formed.
- Who is there, Vadik, what do they need? The spouse muttered sleepily
- In the part of «anxiety», - for greater significance, the husband lied. - We must run!
“Just run! - the border guard set himself up. - Otherwise, a showdown cannot be avoided! And so - chopped off and that’s the end. And yet I wonder why they pulled me? «
Vadim logically solved the last question already on the go, hearing his wife thrown after him “Don’t forget to have a snack, a sandwich is in your pocket!”.
«I was lucky with my wife!» he thought and smiled
***
- Senior Sergeant of the contract service Ishkulov took duty at the checkpoint! - Vadim reported by phone to his immediate superior.
As it turned out, he had to replace a suddenly ill colleague.
Well, it is necessary - it should be so, not the first time. Of course, I feel sorry for my wife, but service, as they say, is not friendship!
Taking on a leash his overjoyed by an extraordinary meeting with the owner, Naida, Vadim left the room of controllers to the checkpoint. The day was sunny and friendly
“No rain is expected! So the fishing would have been covered like that, ”the border guard reassured himself by the absence of a day off ...
Vadim’s dreamy reflections were interrupted by the voice of the shift leader:
- While you have no transport for inspection, check how the newcomers are on duty!
- There is!
All controllers on the days dressed up for service at the checkpoint are well aware of their duties. They, as usual, checked documents, inspected vehicles, and when they were free from changing, put things in order on the territory: the checkpoint is the face of the state, an advanced outpost, and it must be perfectly clean.
Border guards, who have been serving at a checkpoint for several days, over time gain not only professional experience, skills in working with people, so that they can easily identify a potential violator by their appearance and behavior, but also become imbued with a sense of special patriotism.
For many people, an attitude to the place of service arises in their souls, similar to the line from the song «... far, far from here is our home, and yet it starts here.» And in his own home, everything is dear to a person and everything must be guarded by him...
By the way, about the professionalism of the guards of the state border: vigilance, physical endurance, the ability to do this and that, the fifth and tenth are certainly important and in demand. But there are among people in general, and at the border and, especially, at checkpoints, those who have developed intuition, in common parlance - flair! Ishkulov was also endowed with this quality.
... A KamAZ slowly drove up to the gate. Vadim, as usual, proceeded to inspect the transport, and immediately in the depths of his soul he sensed something was wrong. He had already completely examined the car, and it seemed that he should have let him go further, but something kept him from saying to the driver: «Goodbye, happy journey!»
- Well, what, commander, may I go? - a short, blonde, middle-aged man cheerfully turned to him, not leaving a meter all the time of the search,.
- Wait a few more minutes ... So you say you are moving to Russia?
- Well, yes…
- They say that your gasoline is more expensive there than ours, you didn’t fill the tank up to the neck, did you?
Vadim asked this question, not knowing why, and suddenly noticed that the fair-haired man nervously swallowed saliva and tightly pressed his lips together. Although earlier he answered every question in monosyllables and even tried to react to remarks: now «aha», then «uh-huh», then «nope» squeezing out of himself.
Ishkulov froze for a second and stared into the driver’s eyes. He instantly lowered his gaze.
- Let’s go, Naida, let’s look at the gas tank, - all the same, without taking his eyes off the client, the controller insinuated. The driver started to have a dry cough...
Intuition did not disappoint the Senior Sergeant, there was something wrong with this car, but what and where?
“It was when I started talking about gasoline that my ward fussed and coughed, specifically about gasoline,” Vadim reflected. - What is wrong there? Ah, here - the gas tank is overcooked, redrawn ... the seams on it ... they don’t do that at the plant, the work is rough, you can see right away, they were in a hurry ...»
... When the tank was opened, they found several bags, carefully wrapped with tape, with white powder inside.
After the examination, it turned out that it was heroin, as much as 118 kilograms!
- Well, hero, - the Senior of the shift turned to the «birthday boy», - wait for the reward, the catch is rich!
“So, the fishing”happened, in a gas tank,” the Senior Sergeant smiled with pleasure in his mind.…
A good mood is a help in the service, you want to perform feat after feat, but, as the experienced ones say: war is war, and lunch is on schedule.
***
In the dining room Vadim was greeted with applause. And the jokester, the local «Vasily Terkin», sang the same line from the cartoon: «And the scent is like a dog’s, and the eye is like an eagle’s» ... Everyone laughed together...
***
Vadim came to the smoking-room - a kind of pavilion for relaxation - when «vasyaterkin» was telling an anecdote from the times of guarding the «sovereign border».
- Well, here, the salabon, in order to bewitch the girl, writes to her in a letter: «... now I will have lunch, go out on patrol and detain a couple more spies.»
Someone whinnied, but others just smiled - this «heroic» version of conscript service, many border guards knew from the time of the training center, where they learned the basics of border skills.
- Well, «kamaz ripper», but after dinner, how can you take away a thread from an enemy element? - said the merry fellow. The joke was a success, everyone crashed into «ha-ha».
The most amazing thing on this sunny and welcoming day happened a couple of hours after lunch.
- Mr. Captain, Mr. Captain! - shouted on the run a private border guard sent by the Senior Sergeant to immediately report to the senior shift.
- What’s happened? Fire? Are we on fire?
“Mister Captain,” the soldier turned barely catching his breath, “there, this, Mister Senior Sergeant, this ...
- What are you doing? What sergeant?
- Older…
- Surname?
- Ishkulov, Ishkulov sent me for you...
- So, warrior. Let’s give birth to specifics...
- He again...
- What now?
- I found something in KamAZ. Naida got up when they got it...
The captain turned abruptly and rushed to the observation deck. Subordinates rushed after him, barely keeping up…
We won’t bore you with details, but let’s say: the anecdote, as they say, came in handy: Ishkulov examined and detained another car, in which they tried to smuggle 26 kilograms of raw opium across the border.
After such a great success, the brave work of the Senior Sergeant was awarded the medal «For excellence in guarding the State Border».
***
... The watch was coming to an end. Senior Sergeant Ishkulov wrote detailed reports on the seizure of drugs, indicated how, where and by what signs he discovered caches, so that in the future all controllers could study the features of KamAZ vehicles and clever ways of transporting everything that is not allowed and harmful in them for health.
He put the painting and...
- Ale, Vadik, are you without delays today?
A set of organizational and practical measures is being taken to curb poaching and preserve biological diversity in the Caspian Sea by the Border Service of the NSC of the Republic of Kazakhstan jointly with Russian colleagues.
As a result of the measures taken, the border guards detained 246 various offenders of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the sea space and 24 floating crafts.
More than 179 km of nets and hooks were confiscated, sturgeon fish - 533 pcs. (3 600 kg), small fish species - 4 006 pcs. (5 400 kg), three seals.
As a result of the actions of the Border Service, the prevented damage is estimated at over 1 billion tenge. Violators were fined over 2 million tenge.
NSC Press Service
- Are you sure you can handle it? - the Head of the Zharkent border detachment, Colonel R. Kusainov, was interested in warrant officer Tokanov with alarm in his voice. - At stake is the honor not only of our detachment, but of the whole of Kazakhstan.
The dog handler, a little thoughtful, turned his gaze to his pet. Alvin, in anticipation of another chase, tore the reins in the direction of the PCB. Amanzhol understood all the responsibility that fell on their border tandem. There was still a chance to give up the idea, but something in the depths of his soul told him that they would succeed
- We will not let you down, mister colonel! - the dog handler answered firmly and relaxed the reins of the service dog, which immediately followed only her visible trail of the intruder.
On March 1, exactly at 21.00, a trigger signal was received at the Khorgos frontier post. An alarming group headed by the foreman of the con-tract service Amanzhol Tokanov moved to the scene
When checking the triggered and adjacent sections of the signaling complex, a sign of violation of the state border was found - the break of several threads. At the same time, no traces were found on the control strip. Fresh traces of one person were found behind the system, and they led from the line of the state border towards the neighboring state - the People’s Republic of China.
The initial search did not give any results, and the Head of the Zhar-kent border detachment, Colonel R. Kussayinov decided to continue the border search on the territory of the neighboring state. There was no such practice in the history of the Border Guard Service of Kazakhstan or the Soviet Union.
To implement this daring plan, negotiations were held both with representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan and with officers of the border guard of the People’s Republic of China. While all the issues were settled, 14 hours have passed. According to the approved standards, the effectiveness of launching a search dog in hot pur-suit is 2-3 hours. After 4 hours, the trail cools down.
Sergeant Major Tokanov was destined to go in search. He and his service dog, Alvin, set to work beyond the engineering and border lines. For-eign colleagues of Amanzhol reacted to his actions with suspicion: the time, elapsed since the violation, as well as the folds of the terrain (rocky soil) did not give cause for optimism.
The question was posed as follows - if the service dog confidently follows the trail of 500 meters and there is evidence that it is not mistaken, and then the search will continue. If not, then no, as they say, and there is no trial. When parting on the Kazakh side, the unit commander admonished Sergeant Major Tokanov that, having crossed the line, he takes responsibility not only for himself, but also for the border detachment and, in the end, for the whole of Kazakhstan.
- Do not let me down, Chief, come back with a victory!
***
The search dog covered 500 meters with a bang. And although the Chinese officers still had doubts, no one tried to interfere with our serviceman in his actions.
After a while, the dog took the dog handler to a small village. Local residents regarded the armed delegation led by our border guard with distrust.
After a while, Alvin approached one of the houses and gave a voice, which was a signal for the foreman and those accompanying him - the violator of the state border is located here. Imagine the attacker’s surprise when he saw a Kazakh border guard with a shepherd dog at the door.
The investigation showed that the detainee had indeed illegally crossed the border in this area.
The service dog instructor returned home in triumph.
***
Ensign Amanzhol Tokanov is a well-known person in the Border Service of the National Security Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan. For many years he has been educating and training dog handlers at the Border Administration for the Panfilov District. At one time he participated in regional republican and international competitions of military search groups. Now he passed this baton to his pupils. Zharken’s victories were at all levels, which is undoubtedly the merit of Amanzhol Tokanov.
On account of Amanzhol and his faithful four-legged colleagues, dozens of detained violators of the State Border of the Republic of Kazakhstan have been detained. In 2004, Sergeant Major Tokanov became the «Best Border Guard of the Year» and a holder of a departmental medal awarded to him by the Director of the Border Guard Service.
Today this extraordinary event has already become historical for the Border Guard Service of the KNB. Consider the first detention of an offender outside the state. Both his colleagues and his family are proud of the hero - his wife, son and two daughters.
Ensign Tokanov, who once chose urgent and then contract service in the Border Troops of our country, chose the right path and honestly walks along it and through life.