Kotov, Gennady Petrovich

The early years

Born on November 28, 1960 in the city of Marculesti (now Moldova) in a military family ^[2] . He graduated from 8 classes of the school in Marculesti and the river school of the city of Kasimov ( Ryazan region ) in 1979, served in the airborne troops in 1979-1981. Graduate of the Faculty of History, Rostov State University (1992). He lived in Volgodonsk , where he studied the history of the Don Cossacks and actively advocated its revival. Countrymen was characterized as a "zinger", an energetic and creative person ^{[3] [4]} .

In Volgodonsk, Kotov worked at the Komsomol construction site of Atommash, worked in the thermo-press workshop and published in the Atommashevets production newspaper, where he became a regular correspondent ^[1] ; also worked as a freelance correspondent for the newspaper "Evening Volgodonsk" ^[5] . The wife is Elena, three children were born in the marriage ^{[3] [4]} .

Transnistria

In 1992, a hot phase began in Transnistria between the Moldovan authorities, expressing pro-Romanian intentions, and the authorities of the Transnistrian Moldavian Republic, gravitating toward rapprochement with Russia. Among the participants in that conflict was Gennady Kotov as part of the 2nd Cossack Regiment, which went to Transnistria on December 14, 1991 . A day earlier, near the Dubossar , Moldovan police officers disarmed the post of PMR guards and arrested them by bus, but at the traffic police post three guardsmen (Vladimir Shcherbaty, Alexander Patergin and Yuri Turcan) took the battle and were all killed. In Tiraspol, Kotov met like-minded people who arrived on December 16 with him in order to protect the Russian-speaking population of Transnistria and help repel the advance of the Moldovan military and police: among the volunteers who arrived from Russia were Alexander Babkov, Alexander Shestakov, Anatoly Shkuro and Valery Pridannikov ^[6] .

According to Kotov’s recollections, on the night of March 11, 1992, a police officer Dubossar went over to the side of the Transnistrians, who revealed plans for the advance of the Moldovan military into the territory of the PMR along the entire front. Kochieri bridgehead, where Kotov served, was supposed to use the available equipment and forces to take the strategic highway Kamenka-Tiraspol north of Dubossar. On March 12, Kotov recorded all the information from the bulletins by the telephone and the walkie-talkie, waiting for the attack from Koicher at the precast concrete plant. On behalf of the ataman, he then went to a meeting with the leadership of the PMR, and then began to prepare for a meeting with the Black Sea Cossack units, but he soon received a dispatch from the headquarters of the guard that the Moldovan troops crossed and made their way to the rear to Transnistrians. Kotov immediately left Tiraspol and went to the defenders of Kosnitsa. At that time there were bloody battles for the Dorotskoye-Pogreby area, during which the Moldovan OPON tried to cut the main communication link of Tiraspol-Dubossary: ​​the PMR units resisted the superior forces of Moldavians ^[6] .

On Sunday, March 15, several armored personnel carriers advanced from Koshnitsa, the offensive of which was reflected by guardsmen and Cossacks with a total number of about 200 people. However, the forces were unequal, as the Moldavians (numbering 400 people) were heavily armed with various modifications of the AK, heavy machine guns and numerous artillery, as well as protected by army bulletproof vests and titanium helmets. The Cossacks could not resist, having only minelayers at their disposal as ersatz armored vehicles, they could not and left Koshnitsa, starting a retreat closer to the Tiraspol-Kamenka highway. Only then did Dubossary realize that a distracting maneuver was being conducted at the Kochieri bridgehead, and decided to launch a counterattack by sending an attack group of Cossacks and guards and putting it on the armor of cars. Unfortunately, as recorded by Kotov, it was impossible to protect them from fire by snipers, machine gunners, shells and splinters, which led to huge casualties. Cossacks of hundreds of Kotov - G. Arkharov, V. Burzanitsa, Yu. Gamayunov, G. Tsykin and N. Morgunov - went to the aid of one of the districts and returned an hour and a half later with a trophy armored personnel carrier, which was hit on the exit from Dorotsky. The detachment continued its defense, reflecting attacks from the Kosnitsky and Koichevsky bridgeheads. After the evacuation of the wounded to the highway, firing ceased towards evening, which aroused suspicion among the Cossacks. Troops foreman Nikolai Morgunov invited Kotov and his men to attack when one of the commanders ordered an immediate retreat, citing orders from V.N. Ratiev . The enemy opened heavy fire from machine guns, unmasking the withdrawal. From the headquarters of the guard, a message arrived at night that a convoy regiment of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Moldova with 11 armored personnel carriers had consolidated in the village of Kosnitsa. On the same day, propaganda leaflets of the Republic of Moldova began to be dumped demanding that they surrender to the Moldovan authorities within two days and cease to obey the leadership of the PMR ^[6] .

On the morning of March 16, Kotov, after talking with Ratiev, persuaded him to launch a counterattack - a deep raid on the enemy’s defense in the direction of Koshnitsa. After much persuasion, the Cossacks were given two armored vehicles: the Cossack armored personnel carrier (Gus-1) and MT-LB (Gus-2). Kotov took a place in Gus-1, people from the platoon of Makarov and the platoon of Filippov went on a raid. Having reached the enemy’s positions, the Cossacks entered into battle with the Moldovan OPON, which was firing armored vehicles. At some point, a grenade exploded over the front of the Goose-1, disabling the engine and silencing the directional DShK. Moldovan police began to approach from the starboard side, but at some point the engine started, and the Gus-1 crawled in reverse to the road. After half a kilometer another heavy fire led to the fact that Kotov was injured and shell-shocked. According to the memoirs of Igor Sviryakin and Sergey Shlyakhtin , who participated in the battle near Koshnitsa, the Moldovan bullet hit the Kotov’s machine flame arrester, ricocheted into the helmet and made “forty circles” around the helmet’s inner circumference. The raid forced Moldovans to stop attacks until late in the evening. Kotov’s actions helped to disrupt the operation of the Trojan Horse, the Moldovan Armed Forces and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Moldova, which was supposed to end with the seizure of Dubossar and an attack on Tiraspol and Rybnitsa ^[6] .

For his actions, Kotov was awarded the badge "For the Defense of Transnistria" - the state award of the PMR, which in total were awarded to 14 Russian volunteers ^[7] .

Bosnia

Upon his return from Transnistria in the fall of 1992, Kotov participated in the confrontation in the mansion of Paramonov (the former House of Political Inquiry) on Suvorov Street. On September 10, 1992, a group of Cossacks from the 96th Cossack Regiment, along with Kotov, occupied a house demanding autonomy for the Cossacks in the south of Russia as a republic within the Russian Federation and kept it until January 1993, engaged in the fight against ethnic crime ^[8] . One day, when Paramonov’s house was still under Cossack control, a Serbian officer arrived there asking the Cossacks to provide all possible assistance to the Serbian population of Bosnia and Herzegovina ^[3] . A detachment of 59 people gathered in Moscow, including not only Rostov-on-Don natives (including Konstantin Undrov ), but also residents of Moscow, Saratov, Riga and Krasnodar. They went by train, and on the border introduced themselves as “artists of the Don Cossack ensemble,” which allowed them to cross the border without question. Kotov was offered to be elected commander of the detachment, but he became deputy under Muscovite Viktor Zaplatin and chief of staff Yevgeny Turchevsky. Over time, the personnel more often listened specifically to Kotov's advice, which helped him later become chief of staff and commander ^[9] . By bus, all participants arrived in the city of Visegrad , where they entered into agreements with local authorities on assistance in the defense of the local community from Croatian and Bosnian Muslim paramilitary organizations ^{[3] [4]} .

According to the memoirs of Anatoly Shkuro and Vyacheslav Kulikov, Kotov’s colleagues, their detachment was called the Uzhitsky Corps of the Podrinsk Brigade and was armed with various small arms, in addition to the Soviet and Yugoslav small arms: from submachine guns of the Second World War ( PPSh and MP-40 ) to American M16 assault rifles and Belgian assault rifles FN FAL . As a uniform, the uniform of the NATO countries was partially used, and partially the Cossack uniform. The Kotov corps repeatedly entered into battles against the Muslim units of the ARBiH , among the fighters of which were dushmans-participants of the Afghan war who constantly went into radio talks with Russians and threatened reprisals in broken Russian. All fights were reduced to sorties, raids and ambushes in the mountainous forest area. So, Kotov distinguished himself in the battle for the village of Tvrtkovichi, when his detachment distracted the actions of Muslims and waited for the attack of the Serbs. Unfortunately, due to the delay of the Serbian detachment, the Cossacks lost two people killed (Vasily Ganievsky and a local guide) and two more wounded. Through the efforts of Kotov, he managed to ensure the evacuation of the dead and wounded before the approach of help, and since then he became the commander of his detachment, also known as the Visegrad Cossack Regiment. On January 29, 1993, a detachment of Gennady Kotov made a sortie to the village of Strazhbenitsy and intercepted a detachment of Muslims who drove cattle. As a result of the battle, six Muslim soldiers were killed, several were wounded ^{[3] [4]} .

Death

On February 9, 1993, not far from Tvrtkovichy, Kotov’s detachment went into reconnaissance towards the village of Drinsk and was ambushed by the Bosnians. According to Anatoly Shkuro, the Serbian conductor warned of the discovery of opponents and took refuge behind a tree, but Kotov did not do this, fearing that his subordinates would come under fire. He was killed instantly after hitting three bullets from an assault rifle (one hit the heart), shouting “Nishta is silent” shortly (from Serbian - “No one”) and believing that there were no opponents nearby. Vyacheslav Kulikov, who was carrying a Kalashnikov company machine gun, continued the battle against the Muslims and managed to ensure that Kotov’s body was taken away. The guide of the Serbs, in response to the demand of Muslim fighters to retreat, said: “The Cossacks will not leave until they take their murdered one! You better leave! ” Muslims were forced to obey the requirement ^{[3] [4]} .

Memory

Gennady Kotov was buried with military honors in the Visegrad cemetery on February 11, 1993, but Elena found out about the death and funeral much later and was shocked: before leaving, Gennady told her that he was going to Belgrade to teach Russian language and literature ^{[1] [10]} . Elena arrived six months later in the city and took the remains that were solemnly reburied in Volgodonsk, and took a large wooden cross from the grave. On April 30, 2017, a new monument was erected on the grave in Volgodonsk ^[1] . In Visegrad, in memory of Kotov and other Cossacks who participated in the war, Kozachka street ( Serb. Kazatskaya street ) was named, and later another monument was erected by the Serbs in the Visegrad cemetery with the inscription “Sleep well Don’s son” ^[3] on which verses by Kotov were written ^[11] :

Do not believe, brothers, there is no death.
Dawn weaves from souls
And will be illuminated again
Baby immaculate dream.

• A. Dzikovitsky. Ethnocultural history of the Cossacks. Part V. Attempted restoration. Book 6 . - Litres, 2018 .-- ISBN 9785040858026 .
• M.A. Polikarpov . Sacrifice. Where does the guy get Serbian sadness? . - M. , 1999.