A sense of homeland

Madi and Eugene lurked, listening to the suspicious fuss of the unknown.

Somewhere far away a dog barked, the motor of a moped rumbled. The mischievous sparrows chirped right over their heads, circling in a small flock.

And suddenly all the voices fell silent.

The senior sergeant swallowed convulsively and held his breath. He did not breathe for so long that blood began to pound in his temples.

The border guard saw that the unknown had already come very close.

They were a man and a woman. Roughly pushing his companion forward, the man nervously looked around.

It was immediately noticeable that the woman was not going of her own accord.

Waiting for an opportunity, Aydabolov came out from behind the shelter to meet the violators.

The man was taken aback by such a surprise, but having come to his senses, grabbed his companion and ran away.

- Stop! I will shoot! - shouted after them Aydabolov.

The intruder stopped.

Suddenly he pulled out a pistol and pointed it at the fighter. There was a click from the cocked hammer.

His companion fell to the ground in fright and screamed, addressing the border guard:

- Shoot! Shoot him! Otherwise he will kill us

The intruder’s face contorted with hatred. With eyes red with anger, he looked at the woman and directed the muzzle in her direction.

The border guard, without hesitation, in one jerk was next to the criminal and knocked the weapon out of his hands with a blow of the butt.

But the offender turned out to be not one of a timid dozen, he fiercely attacked the fighter.

A fight ensued.

At that moment, out of the reeds, holding the submachine gun at the ready, Keneyev, who was covering him, ran out.

The offender had to surrender.

***

In the early morning of September 17, 2001, the frontier detachment of the Karasai outpost, consisting of two conscripts - an experienced senior sergeant Madi Aydabolov and a new recruit of private Yevgeny Keneyev, went to the Patrol.

There is such an unwritten law: a territory is not considered conquered until an infantryman steps on it. With regard to the border guards who guard the state border, it can be reformulated as follows: the line cannot be considered reliably covered until the border detachment has entered the site. So, during patrols, servicemen inspect their open spaces, passing along the border line, as if «scanning» the area with their eyes. And all the slightest changes are noticeable to them.

You need to walk more than one kilometer. Undoubtedly, the border guards feel the ground under their feet much better than other servicemen. They have to walk along the same sentinel path so often that they involuntarily memorize every pebble and blade of grass, all the bends of grooves and bumps. A real border guard remembers them all his life, because these last meters of their country become truly dear ones.

And even if the integrity of the border has not been encroached upon here for a long time, nevertheless, the front lines require vigilance and, once again, vigilance. And the servicemen of the border outpost always remember this, being in daily combat readiness. Not a single stranger will just pass by, because wherever he goes, the border guards will find him and detain him.

As an experienced, veteran soldier, to «feel» the ground under his feet, Madi now teaches the new recruit Eugene: how it is necessary to read the traces, what to look for, how to act in a non-standard situation.

***

Meanwhile, the outfit, in search of signs of violation of the lines, moved on.

The night was slowly receding, giving way to predawn twilight. From the graying darkness, the vague outlines of the surrounding world gradually emerged: silhouettes of trees, bushes, hills. The sky in the east was brightening. But there was still a sleepy silence around. A new day began with dawn. What will it bring?! What unforeseen tasks will be faced by the «zastachans»?! Whatever happens, the border guards will be vigilant.

So, having passed more than 10 kilometers, Aibolov and Keneyev came to the Shu River. The adjacent side is visible here with the naked eye. It seems like you are looking - an ordinary landscape: a river, bushes, hills, but ... The hills with bushes beyond the river are a foreign land, and the task of the outfit is to prevent the violation of the state border - that invisible feature that gets lost between the reeds in the ringing river streams.

At this early hour, nothing broke the silence. Nature was just waking up. Suddenly in the reeds there was a rustling, crackling, and then the silhouettes of two people appeared, who, having got out of the water, headed towards the international highway. The sun had not yet risen into the firmament, and the predawn dusk made it difficult to see the unknown.

Aydabolov decided to disguise himself near the coast and wait for the approach of the violators. There was only one way to the highway here, so the attackers could not pass, bypassing their ambushes ...

***

… The border guards waited for a long time, listening to the sounds of the steppe. But all that was heard was the swaying of the reeds, and somewhere out there, in the distance, the village dogs were barking lazily. A man with handcuffed hands, meekly lay in the grass and did not utter a sound. The woman stood at a distance, sobbing.

The intruder was raised. Realizing the hopelessness of his position, the detainee lowered his head, laughed like a crow, and slowly wandered in the indicated direction.

Together with him, his companion was escorted to the border department.

Later it turned out that the offender took a citizen of Kyrgyzstan hostage, whose husband allegedly owed him a large sum of money. Not receiving it the man forcibly took away the debtor’s spouse.

... The patrol group again went into the distance, leaving the outpost behind. And a woman was looking after them, standing alone by the window. Who knows what fate would have awaited her unfortunate, had the border guards not met them on the way. After all, the intentions of the kidnapper were serious - 8 live rounds were waiting for their turn in the shop of the TT pistol. Only, thanks to the decisive actions of senior sergeant M. Aydabolov, the weapon did not fire. The woman thought about all this and mentally thanked her saviors, wishing them a good journey on the sentinel path

The leadership of the Border Guard Service highly appreciated the bravery of the soldier. He was awarded a valuable gift and a cash prize. In addition, according to the results of his service in 2001, senior sergeant M. Aydabolov was named the Best Border Guard of the Year.