Chechnya: Khankala - a village and a military base

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:53

Khankala in Chechnya is a Russian military base, located seven kilometers from the capital of the republic, the city of Grozny. But there is also the Khankala station, through which trains go to Moscow, Volgograd and other Russian cities.

Location

The city of Khankala in Chechnya is a western suburb of Grozny, located in the North Caucasus, in the very center of the republic. It lies on the left bank of the Argun River and on the right bank of the Sunzha River.

Unlike, for example, the Krasnodar Territory, this region of Chechnya is not protected by mountains, so the climate here is much harsher. Winters are frosty, and summers are hot, dry, as rainfall is irregular.

Khankala village

The military base with an airfield was built in 1949, along with it a residential town was built for military families. It was located next to the station, at which there was a small village. Today, there is also the Khankala station and the military town of Khankala.

There is still a railway station in the village. The movement of trains is carried out with the help of diesel locomotives, since it is not electrified, due to the dismantling of the contact network during the hostilities.

The word is translated"khankala" in Russian as "watchtower". Before the hostilities, it was a suburban rural area of the city of Grozny. Currently, approximately 7,900 people live in the village, more than 83% of them are Russian military and railway station workers. As a matter of fact, only a few houses remain from the former village.

Khankala military base in Chechnya

The most peaceful place in all of Chechnya is Khankala, due to the location of the Main base of Russian troops in the country. This is the most guarded facility, surrounded by several rows of barbed wire, minefields, and periodically located checkpoints along the perimeter of the territory. Even in previous years, the militants did not approach her, preferring to fire from afar.

Strategic military facilities are located here: the joint headquarters of the North Caucasian military district, the FSB service, a hospital, the military prosecutor's office and other federal agencies. The base was established in 2000 in connection with the tragic events in Chechnya. Khankala, in addition to glorious pages in history, has sad ones.

In September 2001, militants shot down a MI-8 helicopter here, killing 2 generals and 8 officers. In August 2002, an MI-26 helicopter with 154 people on board was shot down in the Khankala area while landing. Only 30 servicemen managed to survive. In September 1995, an MI-8 helicopter with wounded on board was shot down in Khankala in Chechnya, one of them died.

Military airfield

WoDuring the Soviet Union, the airfield of the USSR Ministry of Defense was located on the territory of Khankala. Subsequently, it was transferred to the Stavropol Flight School and was used as a training one. On it was a regiment of L-29 training aircraft. During the first Chechen war, they were captured by the militants of D. Dudayev, who wanted to convert them into combat ones, but did not have time. They were located on the territory of the Khankala airfield in Chechnya. Photo attached.

Currently, the airfield belongs to the Russian Ministry of Defense. This is a modern and powerful strategic facility, equipped with modern instruments and devices. An Orthodox chapel built by builders from Ulyanovsk has been erected here.

Prehistory of the Chechen conflict

In 1991, the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria was proclaimed, President D. Dudayev pursued a policy of separating the CRI from Russia, which did not recognize it. The military operation was carried out in the border areas and on the territory of the unrecognized republic. It had the definition of a constitutional order operation. In everyday life, hostilities were called the first Chechen war.

For this war, a characteristic feature was huge casu alties among the Russian population, since it was at this time that ethnic cleansing was carried out against persons of non-Chechen nationalities: Russians, Armenians, Jews, Greeks, Tatars and others. The overwhelming majority of the casu alties were Russians.

Economic and political background

The situation inside Russia and Chechnya was veryunfavorable. The power of the presidents increased. In Chechnya, this led to confrontation between clans and open confrontation and strengthening of anti-Dudaev positions. It was also necessary to improve relations and restore constitutional order due to the circumstances that for the transit of Caspian oil it was necessary to lay an oil pipeline through the territory of Chechnya. Dudayev did not go to negotiations. No one could guarantee the safety of oil.

Fights for Khankala

In accordance with the Decree of the President of Russia B. Yeltsin, December 11, 1994, parts of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Defense of Russia entered the territory of Chechnya. Three days later, namely on December 14, rocket and bomb strikes were carried out on three existing airfields: Grozny, Khankala and Kalinovskaya, where about 250 aircraft of various classes and purposes were concentrated, ranging from civilian to agricultural.

The battle for Khankala took place from 24 to 29 December. As a result, the airfield, garden houses and the line of the Grozny-Argun road were occupied. In 2000, a Russian military base was re-established on the territory of Khankala.