The "Wild Division" is being revived in Dagestan

A separate experimental Dagestan battalion will be created in the internal troops of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. It will consist of Dagestan conscripts. Troop leadership has not yet specified what tasks the new formation will face.

The issue was discussed at a meeting of the permanent mission of the republic in Moscow with the leadership of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. The command reported that in the fall 250 people were called up from Dagestan, and they would all join the battalion. Experts believe that, on the one hand, the battalion will be effective in operations against religious fanatics, and on the other hand, this could pit the residents of the republic against each other.

The battalion will most likely be created in the spring of 2013, a source in the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Dagestan told PublicPost: “The Ministry of Internal Affairs sent a request to the Ministry of Defense regarding conscripts. It is not yet clear exactly where the battalion will be deployed. It is assumed that it will most likely be divided into detachments and will be sent to the mountainous regions of Dagestan. The battalion will be finally formed in early March 2013. If necessary, new soldiers will be recruited into this battalion.”

"Wild Division" Our time

This is not the first time that the Russian authorities have carried out similar experiments on Dagestanis, says Khadzhimurad Donogo, a well-known historian in the republic: “In the 19th century, a national militia and a cavalry-irregular detachment were formed in Dagestan. They consisted only of local residents, the Russian Empire gave them allowances, equipped them for combat plan. The same cavalry detachment as part of the " Wild Division " participated in the Russian-Turkish, Russian-Japanese, and First World Wars."

Photo: On May 1, 1917, far from the Ukrainian Podolia, where the “Wild Division” was stationed, in the center of the Terek region - the city of Vladikavkaz, the opening of the first congress of the “mountain tribes of the Caucasus” took place, at which, according to the newspaper “Tersky Vestnik” on May 3, 1917 , “representatives from Chechens, Ingush, Kumyks, Dagestanis, Nogais, Turkmen, Kabardians, Balkars, Circassians, Ossetians, etc. arrived. More than 300 representatives arrived.”

Very often, national units participated in punitive operations, says Donogo: “National units sometimes carried out punitive expeditions. For example, they fought against Imam Shamil (during the Caucasian War in 1817-1864 - editor’s note). In modern realities, these battalions can be used in the fight against illegal armed groups. I can’t say that this is a good idea. The uprising in Dagestan in 1877 , a colossal tragedy in the history of the republic, was raised by the Dagestanis, and it was suppressed by the same Dagestanis. Today, as then, it was. “It will look like pitting the residents of a republic against each other, where everyone knows each other.”

Photo: Karachais from the “Wild Division” with General L. G. Kornilov.

Dagestan battalion against marches of dissent

However, the battalion can be used as an instrument in the “divide and rule” policy, Donogo believes: “They said that law enforcement agencies from the North Caucasus would alsotake part in the dispersal of thousands of rallies in Moscow. This caused a lot of indignation among the nationalists. One of the internal tasks troops is to protect public order. And the Dagestani battalion, dispersing the same marches of dissent, may become a kind of lightning rod for the Kremlin. That is, the first strong wave of anger of the nationalists will reach the Dagestanis, and then only the officials.”

Such an experience will be positive, says military analyst Alexander Golts: “In addition to joint service, these people will be united by numerous other ties. For example, fellow countrymen not only from one region, but also from a district or village. Such close ties will only strengthen morale. Plus, ", the soldier will understand that he may meet with his colleague in Dagestan later - this moment reduces the hazing factor to a significant extent."

But the Dagestanis and the army are a complex issue, Golts added: “Formally, these people are not just obliged, but want to fulfill their military duty. But the Ministry of Defense does not want to call them up for objective reasons: the North Caucasus is a zone where Russian laws are de facto not fully in force Having arrived at the barracks, the Dagestan soldiers do not behave very adequately. They refuse to follow the orders of their elders. The whole question is where the new battalion will be used. If they are used in the fight against militants in Dagestan, then this will be a plus. . will be a kind of propaganda of Russian laws."

Against religious fanatics

It is most convenient for the battalion to be deployed in the republic itself, the executive editor of the Independent Military Review, Viktor Litovkin, is sure: “I don’t think that the battalion will be formed only from Dargins or Kumyks. It will be a multinational detachment, and it’s good if their commander is a Dagestani.” the republic is at war with religious fanatics. Most likely, the battalion will be deployed against them in the sense that the tasks assigned to the detachment will be solved more effectively due to the fact that these guys, like no one else, know the situation in the republic. ".

Photo: "Wild Division" on vacation.

Photo: "Wild Division". Chechens and hunters, about 500 horsemen in total.