Who led the Soviet missions in Cuba and Afghanistan: The best people of the Ossetian intelligence

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The names of the Ossetian commanders have become firmly established in the history of Soviet intelligence. Virtuoso saboteurs, acting out of reasons of honor and conscience, performed a difficult duty both at home and in foreign missions. With their direct participation, Soviet military intelligence turned into one of the most effective special services. And if episodes of underground wartime activities are spelled out in literary volumes and played by the best film actors, then some of the personal affairs of the peaceful Soviet period are still classified.

Cuban commander

Twice Hero Issa Pliev in the Red Army since 1922. After graduating from the military academy, he commanded cavalry units. He received his first order from the Mongolian government for training specialists during a business trip in 1936-1938. During the Great Patriotic War, he participated in the battle for Moscow, at Stalingrad, on the Don, in the Smolensk battle, liberated Belarus. In each battle, Pliev, in spite of the general's shoulder straps, went personally to attacks and reconnaissance.

In any military operation, he minimized the loss of his soldiers as much as possible, even if he had to challenge the decisions of the higher command. Pliev always fulfilled the assigned tasks, and for this disobedience was forgiven him. In the battles on the Right-Bank Ukraine, the Pliev cavalry defeated the Wehrmacht and, together with other units, liberated Odessa and a number of other settlements. For this, Pliev was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. But the best reward for the general was participation in the triumphant march in Moscow on June 24, 1945.

After a short rest with his family, a new assignment followed in the Far East, where an offensive against the Japanese was being prepared. In the sands of Manchuria, Issa Alexandrovich had to think about how to liberate the cities weary of the Japanese occupation with minimal losses. The story is known of how the dashing Pliev freed Zhekhe, full of enemy soldiers and officers. Not fully calculating the speed of his movement, Pliev, ahead of the reinforcement forces, flew into the occupied town at full speed in a headquarters all-terrain vehicle. Realizing that no one could help him now, he began to improvise.

With the eye of a veteran general staff officer, the general immediately determined that there was a large military formation, army spirit and combat readiness at a height. In a firm tone, he demanded to call the chief of the Japanese garrison. When he arrived, Pliev blurted out that he, a Soviet general, offered to lay down arms. Of course Issa was bluffing, because he had only insignificant forces at his disposal, and reinforcements still had to wait. After a minute duel of views, the Japanese asked for a few weeks for an agreement with the central headquarters. "I give 2 hours," Pliev snapped. And he assured that after this time the assault would begin, which would entail the death of the entire garrison. The Japanese capitulated. And for the brilliant liberation of the city without firing a single shot, Pliev received the second Hero Medal.

A talented commander distinguished himself in the Caribbean crisis, commanding a Soviet group on the island. It was he who oversaw the brilliant operation to transfer the army to Cuba and the deployment of nuclear missiles.

Peacemaker general

Kim Tsagolov is literally called a military legend. The fearless warrior made his name especially famous in Afghanistan. A native of the North Ossetian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, he planned to become a certified artist, but was drafted into the army and changed his course. A graduate of the Naval Aviation School managed to serve in the Navy, at the same time he graduated from the Faculty of History, defended his Ph. D. thesis, and then his doctoral dissertation. In Afghanistan, Kim Makedonovich served as a military adviser to the USSR. He introduced agents into the circles of the Mujahideen, went to intelligence personally under the guise of a dushman, often pretending to be deaf and dumb.

The rare inclinations of a diplomat and perfect command of the languages of Afghanistan allowed Tsagolov to transfer more than 10 groups of mujahideen to the side of the revolutionaries. Even the enemy respected his moral potential and humanity. Kim Tsagolov had his own, different from the generally accepted, view of the Soviet mission in the Islamic republic. By expressing his views openly, he paid for the bold directness with his military career. In 1989, the major general was fired due to criticism of the military state campaign. But he did not stay away from trouble. A year later, Tsagolov acted as a peacekeeper in the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict, organizing negotiations with the radical Gamsakhurdia and participating in organizing the Tskhinvali defense against Tbilisi extremists.

Soon, the general was offered the chair of deputy minister for nationalities in Russia, where he manages to achieve literate victories on many interethnic issues. All this time Tsagolov did not abandon his passion for painting. Peacemaker General, Doctor of Philosophy, Professor Tsagolov was awarded dozens of international state awards, his services at home were noted by the presidential administration, the ministries of defense and internal affairs, and the General Staff of the Air Force.

Hemingway's novel prototype

The prototype of the hero of Hemingway's novel "For Whom the Bell Tolls." Major Khadzhi-Umar Mamsurov, a Soviet intelligence officer of Ossetian origin, was hiding behind his call sign. Deputy Chief of the GRU of the Soviet General Staff. Hadzhi-Umar Mamsurov remained in military history an ace of sabotage and the progenitor of the Soviet special forces. Highlander mastered intelligence activities since 1919, when he served as part of a partisan detachment near Vladikavkaz. He participated in bold raids on whites, in the battles for the North Caucasus. In 1920 he became a regular employee of the Cheka.

In the Spanish epic, Republican affairs went badly at first. And the volunteer internationalists were pushed into the mountains by the Francoists, reinforced by the Italians and the Germans. The only tactic to undermine the enemy was professionally organized sabotage. This was what Colonel Xanthi was responsible for. On that front of battles, Mamsurov almost lost his life, remaining wounded during the retreat of the reconnaissance group on enemy territory. He was rescued by an Argentine translator, who discovered the commander's absence in time and took him out right from under the noses of the Francoists. After returning to the USSR, they got married, and the newly-made husband received two orders and a third tie on his buttonhole.

Then Mamsurov acted on the Karelian Isthmus, leading saboteurs from the intelligence department of the Red Army. At a meeting on the results of that war, Xanthi spoke to Stalin himself. He dared to express dissatisfaction with both the higher command and, as a result, the insufficient military training of his subordinates. When he finished speaking, everyone was expecting either his arrest, or at least demotion and sending him to the periphery. And he was appointed head of the Intelligence Directorate. With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, his wards were the only ones in the Red Army elite capable of training special agents. In 1942, the colonel organized a sabotage school at the southern headquarters, at the same time participating in battles in the main areas and bringing Victory closer.

Experienced illegal

A native of South Ossetia, since 1942, he was in the ranks of the NKVD, fighting desertion and banditry. Since the end of the 50s, he underwent training as an illegal agent, living in one of the Central Asian Soviet republics to get acquainted with the way of life there. In 1960, he was sent on a foreign trip, working according to the traditional intelligence scheme: legalization as a businessman in one country with work in a neighboring one. Thanks to his brilliant training, Lokhov, beyond suspicion, integrated into the right society, establishing the necessary connections in business circles. After a while, he headed a whole network of illegal scouts in conflict areas. And in 1979, Lokhov was appointed head of one of the intelligence departments of the KGB of the USSR. Most of the information on Lokhov's personal file is still classified.

With the origin of the Ossetian people themselves, everything is rather mysterious. Many consider them the descendants of the Scythians, and their state - Alania - for these reasons became part of Russia.