Ivan Alekseevich Savin - a famous domestic military leader. He commanded the 131st motorized rifle brigade during the First Chechen campaign. With the rank of colonel, he led the assault on Grozny in early 1995. During the operation he died. He was posthumously awarded the title Hero of Russia.
Officer Biography
Ivan Alekseevich Savin was born in the Stavropol Territory in the small village of Arkhangelsk in the Budenovsky district. He was born in 1953, on April 24. There, the future hero graduated from an eight-year high school.
Military service
In 1971, Ivan Alekseevich Savin was called up for military service in the Soviet army. He showed himself very well, constantly received encouragement from the command, so in 1972 he received the rank of division commander.
A year later, Savin became deputy commander of the whole platoon. In 1973, he entered Kharkov University at the faculty of military training, and graduated with honors.
In 1977 he was appointed commander of a tank platoon. He served in the second guard army in the group of Soviet German troops. Subsequently, his career quickly went uphill: he was appointed commander of a tank company, head of staff at a tank battalion.
In 1984 he entered the Faculty of Management at the Military Academy of Armored Forces. After completing these courses, he became chief of staff of a motorized rifle regiment. During perestroika, he led the motorized rifle regiment in the North Caucasus Military District.
In March 1994, Ivan Alekseevich Savin led the 131st Motorized Rifle Brigade in the North Caucasus Military District. The unit was based in the city of Maykop.
War in Chechnya
In the rank of commander of a motorized rifle brigade, Colonel Savin Ivan Alekseevich in December 1994 received an urgent order to go to the Chechen Republic. Purpose: conducting an operation to disarm illegal gangs.
Arriving in the area of the Grozny airport under the name "Severny", Savin is given a new task: to take up positions in the area of the Neftyanka River and open supporting fire to ensure the passage of Russian assault troops, infantry, equipment and federal forces into the city.
On the morning of December 31, a new task appeared in front of his unit: to enter Grozny and occupy the railway station. Teaming up with the 81st Motorized Rifle Regiment, the fighters completed the combat mission by the afternoon of January 1. They managed to keep the station even being surrounded on all sides. They had hope - reinforcing their …
Savin’s units suffered significant losses during the fighting. Losses amounted to 157 people, 24 of whom were officers. Also, the brigade lost 22 tanks, 45 infantry fighting vehicles. The hero of our article received two wounds during a fierce battle. One bullet wounded him in the heel, and a little later a fragment from a grenade launcher was in his knee. But even in this situation, he did not leave the command post.
Exit from the environment
Finding himself in a difficult tactical situation, Savin was ordered to withdraw his unit from the environment. He managed to quickly organize the evacuation of seriously wounded fellow soldiers, the removal of ordinary soldiers and officers. When the first column was able to withdraw, the colonel ordered a retreat. The Russian military began to leave the Grozny railway station, but at the very exit came under heavy shelling, so they had to move to an abandoned car base and take cover there.
After giving his wards a short rest, Savin decides to break through with the fight. The first attempt is unsuccessful - militants beat it off. The group departs to the initial line, where it is thrown with grenades. As a result, Russian troops suffer additional losses. One of the fragments hits the colonel’s eye … Ivan Savin dies on the battlefield.
Savin's funeral
Soon the third company of the brigade comes to their aid, which manages to break through to the rescue. The colonel’s body is loaded into the trunk and tried to be taken out, but they fall under another shelling. The detachment is dying.
As a result, Savin’s body was discovered only on January 21. The forensic medical examination established that this was Colonel Savin Ivan Alekseevich. The funeral took place on January 26: the ceremony was held with military honors, the farewell took place in his small homeland in the village of Arkhangelskoye, in which his relatives and friends lived.
His courage and courage were not immediately appreciated - he fell into the category of forgotten heroes. Ivan Alekseevich Savin lived only 41 years.
