Colonel Viktor Baranets: biography, activities and interesting facts

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

Colonel Viktor Baranets is widely known for his publications and speeches on military topics. He went through the Afghan war, worked as a military observer in Pravda, served in the General Staff of the Ministry of Defense, so this writer and publicist has enough experience and knowledge. Something to share with the younger generation.

Biography

Colonel Baranets - a native of the city of Barvenkovo (Ukraine, Kharkiv region). Date of birth - 1946-10-11

In 1965 he became a cadet in a training tank regiment. Until 1970, he studied journalism at the Lviv Higher Military-Political School. Until 1978 - in the editorial department of the Military Political Academy.

The places of his service were: Ukraine, the Far East, Germany (Western Group of Forces).

Having the speci alty of a military journalist, he served in the Far Eastern newspapers published in the division and district. He was transferred to Germany with the rank of major to work in the newspaper "Soviet Army".

In 1983 he transferred to Moscow to work on a military magazine. In the "Communist of the Armed Forces" he was first a correspondent, then - the head of the department, later he took the post of deputy editor-in-chief.

From the end of 1986, Baranets was sent as a war correspondent on a business trip to Afghanistan. He wrote several reports and books about the fighting in this country.

Since May 1991, he took the position of assistant chief in the Main Political Directorate of the SA and Navy of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union. A few months later, the August events happened.

Memories of the coup

Colonel Baranets recalls the days of the State Emergency Committee. A comparison came to his mind with a White Guard officer of the revolutionary period, who was waiting for the arrival of the Bolsheviks. I also had to tear off the sign that was attached to the doors of his office.

Then, according to Baranets, the Main Directorate of the Armed Forces (Glavupr) was declared one of the main defenders of the communist idea, so rumors spread about the arrests of its employees.

At night, a fifty-meter line of employees of the Office lined up in front of the oven for burning documents.

Colonel Baranets still remembers one of the letters he burned. In it, some ensign complained to the leadership of the Glavupr that after the death of his wife in a traffic accident, he left three children, and the financial unit was not paid benefits. A resolution was attached to the letter. In it, Barants was prescribedclarify and report results.

Baranets, standing in line with a bunch of such letters, could not understand the reason for putting him and his colleagues on the arrest lists.

Working in the nineties

After the coup, Colonel Baranets, a man whose life is not conceivable apart from the army, continued to work as a military observer. For the newspaper "Komsomolskaya Pravda" he prepared a series of reports from the zone of hot spots (Chechnya, Dagestan).

Since 1996, General of the Army Rodionov I. N. was appointed to the post of Minister of Defense, soon Colonel Viktor Nikolayevich Baranets became his press secretary.

Baranets tells about this difficult period for the Russian army in his memoirs that delays in paying salaries to servicemen reached six months. The preparation of quinoa soup by officers' wives in the garrisons was not unusual.

Bitterly, he tells how once at the General Staff he was given a "salary" in the form of a loaf of bread and six cans of sprat.

In the rooms where the officers were working on the possible use of nuclear weapons, there was a smell of borscht, which was cooked right in the office. The authorities were absolutely deaf to the problems of the army.

In 1997, Rodionov was dismissed from the post of minister, Baranets also left the General Staff.

Columnist at Komsomolskaya Pravda

Having taken the position of a military observer for Komsomolskaya Pravda in 1998, Baranets began to prepare publications concerningmilitary analytics, military-patriotic education, the course of military reform, problems of corruption in the army, social protection of the military, housing issues, etc.

After Komsomolskaya Pravda got its own radio station, he became the host of the author's program "Military Review of Colonel Barants", a little later "Viktor Barants' Audiobook" was released.

The same questions began to be raised in these broadcasts as in the pages of the newspaper. The moderators reread and discussed the letters of the servicemen and their wives, and made recommendations for solving emerging army problems.

Colonel Baranets: "Man with a gun"

In November 2007, a blog called "A Man with a Gun" appeared, led by Baranets.

It repeatedly raised the topic of criticism of the presidential team about the failure to fulfill obligations under the program for the provision of housing for servicemen after dismissal, the facts of untimely payment of monetary allowances were noted.

15.12.2011 a direct line was held with the President of the Russian Federation Putin. At it, Baranets raised the problem of non-fulfillment of government promises to provide officers with their own housing until the end of 2010, who were dismissed from the Armed Forces at the end of the contract. He also asked why the prime minister was afraid to remove from office those ministers who had shown themselves unable to get the job done.plot.

At the end of the meeting, Putin appreciated the "officer courage and directness" of Baranets. The head of state praised him for taking care of the army, saying that such truth cannot be dispensed with.

Putin's confidante

In early 2012, Barants was taken as a confidant to Putin's team for the period of the election campaign. The publicist was very active.

Repeatedly participated in debates organized by the media, supporting Putin's side. He devoted a lot of airtime to this in the program "Military Review of Colonel Barants".

1.03.2012 in Krasnaya Zvezda he published a campaign article on the presidential election campaign, in which he argued the need to elect V. V. Putin as leader of the state, since he has the richest experience in governing the country, compared to other applicants.

After Putin's election in 2012 to the post of President of Russia, words of gratitude were expressed to the proxies who took part in the election campaign. Colonel Baranets was also noted among others. "The Man with the Gun" is a blog in which the publicist devoted a lot of time to analyzing the merits of presidential contenders.

In the future, the writer-publicist also gave an assessment of Putin's activities in the presidency.

For example, in the "Military Review of Colonel Barants" the moment of appointment to the post of Minister of DefenseShoigu was rated as "the best personnel decision of the President".

Achievements

The Russian Journalists' Union awarded Viktor Barants with the "Golden Pen of Russia" award. He also received several awards from the Moscow Union of Journalists and the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union.

He has the Dignity Award to them. A. Borovik.

He has released several literary works that unbiasedly reveal the behind-the-scenes of the army in recent history.

18.07.2012 a Presidential Decree was issued on the introduction of Viktor Barants to the Russian Public Television Council.

He is a member of the public council of the Ministry of Defense, as well as a similar structure created by the Military Industrial Commission of Russia.

Baranets is also a member of the Presidium of the "Officers of Russia" (All-Russian public organization).

About personal life

Baranets Viktor Nikolaevich has a family.

His son, named Denis, holds the position of Vice President at Gazprombank. He is responsible for supervising projects on the reform of housing and communal services.

The residence of Danila's grandson (born in 1999) is Monaco. He went there about six years ago together with his mother. He goes to college, goes to sing in the church choir.