Anatoly Vyacheslavovich Lebed (russian: Анатолий Вячеславович Лебедь; 10 May 1963 – 27 April 2012), was a

Hero of the Russian Federation Hero of the Russian Federation (russian: Герой Российской Федерации, Geroy Rossiyskoy Federatsii), also unofficially Hero of Russia (russian: link=no, Герой России, Geroy Rossii), is the highest honorary title ...

, Guards lieutenant colonel in Special Airborne Forces, and an officer of the 45th Guards Spetsnaz Regiment.

Biography

Soviet military service

Lebed was born in the city of Valga,

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and t ...

. He joined the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

in 1981 starting his military service in Airborne Troops. He first trained in the 44th Airborne Division in Gaižiūnai in the

Lithuanian SSR The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Lithuanian SSR; lt, Lietuvos Tarybų Socialistinė Respublika; russian: Литовская Советская Социалистическая Республика, Litovskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialistiche ...

and later served in the 57th Independent Air Assault Brigade in

Taldykorgan Taldykorgan ( kk, Талдықорған/Taldyqorğan; russian: Талдыкорган), known as ''Taldy-Kurgan'' until 1993, is the capital (called an administrative center) of Zhetysu Region, Kazakhstan. According to the 2010 Kazakh Census Resu ...

in the

Kazakh SSR ; kk, Қазақ Советтік Социалистік Республикасы) *1991: Republic of Kazakhstan (russian: Республика Казахстан; kk, Қазақстан Республикасы) , linking_name = the ...

. Opting for a career change, he entered the Lomonosov Military Aviation Technical School graduating as a

flight engineer A flight engineer (FE), also sometimes called an air engineer, is the member of an aircraft's flight crew who monitors and operates its complex aircraft systems. In the early era of aviation, the position was sometimes referred to as the "air ...

in 1986. He served on combat operations in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...

in 1986–87 as an aircrew member in a helicopter regiment. During this time he served as a flight engineer in a crew of one of the only four men awarded both Hero of Russia and

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

titles, then-captain

Nikolai Maidanov Nikolai or Nikolay is an East Slavic variant of the masculine name Nicholas. It may refer to: People Royalty * Nicholas I of Russia (1796–1855), or Nikolay I, Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855 * Nicholas II of Russia (1868–1918), or Ni ...

, often engaging in the ground action himself. After his return from Afghanistan, he served successively in the

Group of Soviet Forces in Germany The Western Group of Forces (WGF),. previously known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOFG). and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG),. were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupati ...

, in the

Trans-Baikal Transbaikal, Trans-Baikal, Transbaikalia ( rus, Забайка́лье, r=Zabaykalye, p=zəbɐjˈkalʲjɪ), or Dauria (, ''Dauriya'') is a mountainous region to the east of or "beyond" (trans-) Lake Baikal in Far Eastern Russia. The steppe and ...

and

Siberian Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

military districts in the 329th Transport & Combat Helicopter Regiment and in the 337th Independent Helicopter Regiment. His service had earned him the Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces" 3rd class and three

Orders of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 1 ...

Russian Federation military service

He retired to the reserves in 1994 and worked for the Afghan Veterans benevolent fund. He joined a group of Russian

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that h ...

s who volunteered in the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the w ...

(1998–99). In 1999, he went to the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...

as a volunteer in the combined militias after purchasing his own equipment and flying to

Makhachkala Makhachkala ( rus, Махачкала, , məxətɕkɐˈla, links=yes),; av, Махӏачхъала, Maħaçqala; ce, ХӀинжа-ГӀала, Hinƶa-Ġala; az, Маһачгала, Mahaçqala; nog, Махачкала; lbe, Махачкъала; ...

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North ...

. When military operations moved into Chechnya in October 1999, he went to Moscow and re-enlisted in the service signing a contract with the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation and immediately returned to Chechnya to participate in counter-terrorism operations. From 1999 to 2007, he made over 10 trips to Chechnya and participated in special operations in the areas of the cities of Gudermes and Argun, as well as in the suburbs of

Grozny Grozny ( rus, Грозный, p=ˈgroznɨj; ce, Соьлжа-ГӀала, translit=Sölƶa-Ġala), also spelled Groznyy, is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2010 census, it had a po ...

and the

Vedeno Vedeno (russian: Ведено; ce, Ведана, ''Vedana'') is a rural locality (a '' selo'') and the administrative center of Vedensky District, Chechnya. Administrative and municipal status Municipally, Vedeno is incorporated into Ved ...

region. In 2003, while engaged in combat in the Ulus-Kert mountains, he stepped on a mine and lost a foot. He refused to resign from the armed forces, his superior physical fitness allowing him to remain in service, to carry on parachuting (over 840 jumps) and still to do martial arts with the prosthesis. On January 9, 2005, his patrol was ambushed; refusing to let his injured men be captured by the enemy, he single-handedly engaged and overcame an enemy superior in numbers. In a subsequent battle on January 24, 2005, he was injured by multiple fragment wounds in the back while shielding his men from the blast of a rocket-propelled grenade. Even wounded, he personally neutralised the enemy rocket and machine gun post, before continuing leading the patrol, resulting in the capture and destruction of a terrorist base. He was awarded the title of

on April 6, 2005, by

presidential decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used f ...

citing "courage and heroism in the performance of military duties in the North Caucasus". He then held the rank of captain. His actions during the

2008 South Ossetia war The 2008 Russo-Georgian WarThe war is known by a variety of other names, including Five-Day War, August War and Russian invasion of Georgia. was a war between Georgia, on one side, and Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of Sou ...

earned him the honour of becoming only the second Knight of the Order of St. George 4th class. During the October 1, 2008 award ceremony, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said of Lebed: "Among us there is a Special Forces officer, a Hero of the Russian Federation, Anatoly Vyacheslavovich Lebed. He always led from the front during combat operations, always displaying the epitome of personal courage itself". An avid

biker Biker or bikie may refer to: * A cyclist, a bicycle rider or participant in cycling sports * A motorcyclist Motorcycling is the act of riding a motorcycle. For some people, motorcycling may be the only affordable form of individual motoriz ...

, on April 27, 2012, in Moscow, Lebed was killed in a motorcycle accident.

Awards

(6 April 2005) * Order of St George 4th Class (18 August 2008) *

Order of Courage The Order of Courage may refer to: * , a state decoration of the partially recognized republic of Abkhazia * Order of Courage (Iran), a state decoration of Iran * Order of Courage (Russia) The Order of Courage (russian: Орден Мужес ...

(3 times; 28 April 2000, 2 February 2004 and 26 January 2007) *

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 193 ...

(3 times) * Order for Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR 3rd Class * Medal for Distinguished Military Service 1st Class (MoD RF) * Medal for Distinguished Military Service 2nd Class (MoD RF) * Medal "For Impeccable Service" 3rd Class (USSR) 1991 * Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" 1988 * Decoration "For Service in the Caucasus" Gold * Badge "Warrior-Internationalist" (USSR) 1989 * Parachutist Badge (USSR and RF) * Medal "15 years since the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan" (CIS) 2004 * Order of Friendship (Democratic Republic of Afghanistan) * Medal "From the Grateful Afghan People" (DRA) 1988

References

External links