LOST IN THE TARBAGATAI MOUNTAINS

On April 7, 2016 at 21.35, the phone rang at the Kyzyl frontier post. A resident of the Asusai village of the Zaisan region called. Two schoolchildren are missing: nine-year-old Rakhat and ten-year-old Rasul. A search by local residents gave no results. The children seemed to have sunk through the ground.

On the evening of that day, the parents returned home and, not finding their children, immediately sounded the alarm. Rakhat’s father asked the border guards of the Kyzyl outpost to help in the search - some of the guys who knew the boys saw that they had gone towards the mountains. And who, if not the border guards, know the whole area better than anyone else, especially the mountain paths and ferries ?!

Night was approaching. And, as you know, the nights in the mountains, despite the fact that spring has already come, are very cold. Moreover, it was cloudy that day and, at any moment, it could start to rain, and in the mountains and snow would not be a wonder. In addition, in the Tarbagatai mountains, encounters with gray predators are not uncommon. In the spring, wolves are known to become more aggressive from hunger.

All things considered, the count was no longer for hours - for minutes.

The Head of the outpost Senior Lieutenant D. Gusmanov gave the command to help local residents in trouble.

The search operation was organized in two directions: one group conducted searches in the vicinity of the village, and the second moved to the wintering areas located near the settlement. The children knew the surroundings well and could, in case of bad weather, reach this shelter.

After a short briefing, the «Alarm Group» consisting of the head of the unit, senior lieutenant Daniyar Gusmanov, senior sergeant Dauren Mukhametbekov, corporal Yerzhan Mustafin, and senior instructor sergeant Bolat Abrakhmanov with a service dog Gus left for the site.

Unfortunately, there were no children in the winter quarters. The border guards moved on. It was already completely dark. A cold, gusty wind blew. And somewhere in the distance an eerie, drawn-out wolf howl was heard. The border guards looked at each other anxiously and quickened their pace.

Having quickly climbed to the top of another hill, Daniyar Gusmanov got in touch to clarify the situation. The first search group had no results. Then the officer gave the command to go down and move in a chain, illuminating the area with lanterns and loudly calling out the names of the children.

The wind was getting stronger, making it difficult for the troops to move faster. The time was approaching one in the morning. Sometimes in the distance from the pitch darkness the yellow eyes of predators sparkled.

Suddenly, 500 meters from the country road, junior sergeant D. Mukhatbekov heard cries for help. The border guard went in the direction from where the voices were heard.

A little further away, the border guards found frightened, frozen children sitting on the bare ground and huddled together. Everyone was delighted at the successful completion of the search: the border guards sighed with relief, wiping away their tears, the boys smiled, even the border dog Gus squealed happily and wagged his tail. Having thrown off their jackets, the border guards wrapped the chilled children in them.

Upon arrival at the outpost, the children were fed and warmed. By this time, the parents were informed that the guys were found and their lives were not in danger.

When the head of the outpost asked how they ended up so far from the village (the place where the schoolchildren were found was 20 kilometers from the village), the children said that they were going to the Kyzylashi wintering house to their brother, who grazed cattle on that site. At the same time, the parents were not told anything. But with the onset of darkness, they lost their way and got lost.

The father of one of the boys came for the «travelers». He expressed his gratitude to the border guards. Later, the administration of the village rewarded the personnel with certificates of honor for providing assistance.

The border guards of the «Kyzyl» department, in addition to the strict fulfillment of their duties, constantly provide assistance to the local population: whether someone gets sick or the car breaks down, the servicemen are always ready to lend a helping hand.

This time too, thanks to the skillful and decisive actions of the border guards, the children were saved.

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The oldest border offices of the Zaisan section of the Kazakh-Chinese border, such as Maikapchagai, Urul, Alekseyevka, appeared in the 1920s. The Kyzyl outpost was formed in the post-war years in 1947, but it is also considered one of the oldest divisions.

 During its long combat path, the Kyzyl frontier post has written its page in the history of both the Frontier Directorate for the Altai Territory and the department as a whole. With their selfless work, the servicemen of the border department of all years have made a significant contribution to the reliable protection of the Kazakh-Chinese section of the border.

Today everything is different at this outpost: people, horses, dogs and the building of the outpost is new. Wooden buildings were replaced by modern buildings with all the conveniences imaginable in these conditions: steam heating, comfortable living rooms, clean and spacious sleeping quarters.

Young soldiers who come here to serve are shown an album with old photographs, they tell how their predecessors lived in hardships, without basic living conditions, but they knew their service, loved and performed it regularly.

The outpost is located in the Tarbagatai mountains, at an altitude of 2,150 meters above sea level. The climate in these places is very harsh. The wind blows incessantly, in summer the sun mercilessly burns out the top layer of the earth, and in winter there are snowdrifts up to five meters high.

The length of the protected section of the border is more than 23 kilometers. In winter, due to the abundance of precipitation, the mountain passes are covered with snow. It is very difficult to get to the border line at this time of the year. The road sometimes takes up to twelve hours. In the summer, the travel time is halved.

Not far from the outpost, in 20 kilometers, there is a summer pasture - zhailau. Shepherds are gathered up to 80 people. They put up yurts, live in families until late autumn. Each of them actively helps in the protection of the state border.

Gone are the days, when the Kazakh-Chinese section of the border was, so to speak, tense, when scouts were often detained. Some similar cases are recorded in the historical journal of the outpost of those times. Since then, the political situation has stabilized. And our countries are on friendly terms.

During the formative years of Independence, cases of horse-stealing became more frequent on this section of the border: residents of adjacent areas drove cattle from the neighboring state. But the border guards thwarted all attempts at barrage and illegal border crossing. And silence and tranquility reigned on the border again.

Today root diggers mainly make forays across the border into the country. They carry out their craft in any weather. Chinese rhizomes are experienced trackers and excellent hunters. They are cunning, calculating. It is not easy to prove the criminal motive of such guests. As a rule, they say they are lost and get off with minor fines. But the border guards are also not bastard. They vigilantly guard the border. Particularly vulnerable areas are guarded by an RPG border guard.

So, at the last frontier of our republic, the everyday life of the frontier outpost passes in anxiety and worries. Soldiers in these everyday life grow up and harden. With a sense of full responsibility for the protection of the state border, they are on alert and are the first to meet the dawn over our vast and beautiful Motherland.