Soviet Union 1991

First update

In the Barents Sea scalpel incident in 1987, after Soviet pilot Vasily Simbar gave a severe lesson to the Norwegian fighter jets, instead of receiving any praise from the Soviet side, the Su-27 fighter jet with tactical number 36 It was also sealed up. In order to avoid accusations from the international community, Simbal was also grounded for a period of time and then transferred to other flying companies. He remained silent for the next few years and was not allowed to speak about this incident. What happened.

But this time it was different. Comrade Sergey, who performed the scalpel in the Arabian Sea, not only was not punished by the army, but was praised by the army like a hero of the Soviet Union. The Minister of Defense even personally awarded Comrade Sergey the Soviet Union A medal with the title of hero in recognition of his heroic behavior in this confrontation.

Comrade Yazov, Minister of Defense, even personally awarded him the Hero of the Soviet Union medal. From 1979 to 1989, only 69 people had received such a great honor, and most of them were due to their heroic performance in the Afghanistan War. Sergei can be said to be the first soldier to be awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union since 1989, in recognition of his significant contribution to maintaining the dignity of the Soviet army in the Arabian Sea.

Comrade Yazov stood on the award podium. He did not say congratulations or other congratulatory topics, but uncharacteristically told these people a story, which may not be familiar to the Navy, but is not familiar to the Air Force. It's a familiar story.

"Before I say a few words of congratulations, I want to say one thing." Yazov said affectionately, "On November 28, 1973, a U.S. military high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft invaded Soviet airspace, and the Soviet Union's Baku air defense zone Taking off a MiG-21 numbered 140 in combat The aircraft intercepted the aircraft. 19 minutes after the fighter took off, the Baku command post handed over the command to the front-line airport ground guide Captain Yelseyev. After discovering the enemy aircraft, he decisively launched two missiles. But they were all evaded by the maneuvers of high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft.”

"Seeing that the enemy plane was about to escape Soviet airspace, the pilot Yelseyev urgently called the ground command. Captain Joelny resolutely gave Yelseyev the order to ram the enemy plane.

"'140 understand!' This was the last answer of the MiG-21 at that time. The result of the battle was that the reconnaissance plane was crashed and the MiG-21 died together. The Soviet government awarded Yeliseev the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The 982nd Fighter Regiment where he belonged every day When the roll call comes, the hero’s name is the first one to be called.”

At this point, Yazov sighed, "We have had countless martyrs like Comrade Yelseyev. They devoted their youth and even their lives with deep passion for the motherland. We should not forget These unknown heroes, whether they are soldiers who sleep under a certain piece of loess during the Great Patriotic War, or their corpses sleep forever on the bottom of the sea and are never recovered. "

"They may be the son of a certain mother or the father of a certain child. But most importantly, they will always be heroes of the Republic! Like Comrade Sergey and Comrade Yelseyev, they will never forget At this point, Defense Minister Yazov took off his hat and revealed his pale face. The Defense Minister who dedicated his life to the country and the people slowly raised his hand and presented the award to Comrade Sergey. Some soldiers in the audience saluted with a military salute. This is also the first time in history that the Minister of Defense has shown high respect to ordinary soldiers.

"Thank you for everything you have given, the people of our country and the Soviets. Your dedication will never be forgotten."

Warm applause rang out in the auditorium, and some soldiers were moved to tears. Comrade Yazov's speech was very emotional. After the award ceremony, the soldiers rushed to shake hands with Defense Minister Yazov to express their respect. And this kind of effect is exactly what Comrade Yazov wants to see.

After the award ceremony, Comrade Yazov did not stay here longer. He had to go back to Moscow to handle government affairs. Before leaving, he met another old friend. Navy Commander-in-Chief Smiryev. However, when the other party saw Yazov, he didn't have that kind of excitement. He just complained about risking the entire fleet in this way.

After listening to Smiryev's complaints, Yazov smiled and explained. "Risks and opportunities coexist, Comrade Smiryev. This time the Soviet Union won a great victory. It not only won the favor of the anti-American countries in the Middle East, but also exercised the Pacific Fleet's adaptability in simulated conflicts, didn't it?"

"And the most important thing is that we have also consolidated our position with our allies. This has completely pushed the United States into the opposition between China and the Soviet Union. Now, we all have a common enemy. The Americans have made enemies on all sides. He was pushed to the edge of the cliff and was in danger."

Smiryev disagreed with Yazov, "But it also exposed the Soviet army that we had worked so hard to build to enemy fire. To be honest, Comrade Yazov, a conflict with the American fleet in the Arabian Sea was A very unwise act. They have their own naval base in that area, and the ships can receive supplies in minutes. However, after our fleet replenished fuel and food in India, there was almost no logistics with the United States. The confrontation almost killed a fleet."

"A powerful fleet will never take risks to gamble on its luck. I hope that such a risky victory will not happen again." Smiryev said what was in his heart. As the commander-in-chief of the navy, he had no right to ask about such things, but he told these thoughts to Yazov out of loyalty to the Soviet Union.

Smiryev, who was used to looking at the situation with a military mindset, naturally did not understand Yanaev's response mode of risk decision-making, just like those bureaucrats sitting in the office did not understand the flexibility of the war mode. Yanaev's chess piece landed, but added fuel to the gradually suspicious situation in the Middle East.

At least Yanaev calculated very clearly that whether the confrontation was successful or not, the situation in the Middle East would change significantly because of this confrontation in the Arabian Sea. However, the United States, which was obsessed with controlling oil and making profits from oil futures, did not expect that those Middle Eastern countries would actually start to lean on the other side. Iran and Iraq, under the threat and attack of the United States, at least saw another country with common interests with them, and a country that was also strong enough to rely on and cling to.

The Soviet Union. (To be continued.)