Evgeny Bocharov

Evgeny Bocharov
Яўген Бачароў
Chief of the General Directorate of Border Troops
In office
19 February 1992 – 30 August 1994
LeaderStanislav Shushkevich
Alexander Lukashenko
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byVasily Morkovkin
Deputy to the Supreme Council of the Republic of Belarus
In office
1990–1995
Personal details
Born(1948-10-20)20 October 1948
Kursk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Died5 July 2004(2004-07-05) (aged 55)
Minsk, Belarus
Alma materRyazan Guards Higher Airborne Command School
Frunze Military Academy
Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union
Military service
AllegianceSoviet Union
Belarus
Branch/serviceSoviet Airborne Forces
Soviet Border Troops
Belarus Ground Forces
Border Guard Service of Belarus
Years of service1970–1994
RankLieutenant general
Battles/warsSoviet-Afghan War
AwardsOrder of the Red Star
Order of the Red Banner
Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR"
Medal "For Impeccable Service"
Medal "For Distinction in Guarding the State Border of the USSR"

Evgeny Mikhailovich Bocharov (Russian: Евгений Михайлович Бочаров; 20 October 1948 – 5 July 2004) was a Soviet and Belarusian military officer and politician who served as the Chief of the General Directorate of Border Troops of Belarus from 1992 to 1994. He was a Deputy to the Supreme Council of the Republic of Belarus from 1990 to 1995.

Early life and education

Evgeny Bocharov was born on 20 October 1948 in the city of Kursk of the Russian SFSR to a family of civil servants.[1] Starting in the ninth grade, he participated in a paratroopers club at DOSAAF, and by the age of 22, he had already completed 580 parachute jumps.[2]

Bocharov graduated from the Ryazan Guards Higher Airborne Command School in 1970, the Frunze Military Academy in 1979, and the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union in 1988.[3]

Career

Military

Upon graduation, Bocharov served in the 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division, reaching the position of battalion commander in 1975 and deputy division commander in 1983.[1]

In 1984, Bocharov was transferred to the 103rd Separate Guards Airborne Brigade, which was fighting in Afghanistan. He reached the rank of its commander in 1988.[4][1] His unit was stationed in Bagram.[5] After leaving Afghanistan in February 1989,[4] the Brigade was relocated to the Transcaucasian region.[6] It was then moved to Vitebsk in 1990 and transferred under the control of the Soviet Border Troops.[4]

In 1992, he briefly commanded the 5th Guards Tank Army[1] and on 19 February 1992, he was appointed as the Chief of the newly created General Directorate of Border Troops of Belarus.[7] In 1993, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general.[3] Under leadership of Bocharov, the Border Guard formed new border groups in Smorgon, Polotsk, and Pinsk. They also began using helicopters to patrol the border, and the force acquired its own spetsnaz group and a military hospital.[8][9]

In 1994, Lithuania's former first secretary of the Communist Party of Lithuania was kidnapped from Belarus for his responsibility for the January events of 1991. Bocharov managed to preserve his position as the head of the Border Guard because he had been appointed by Prime Minister Vyacheslav Kebich.[10] Upon the election of Alexander Lukashenko as the President of Belarus, he was dismissed on 30 August 1994 for allegedly selling weapons from the arsenal of the Border Troops.[7][11]

Political

In 1990, Bocharov was elected to the Supreme Council of Belarus from Vitebsk constituency No. 179.[1][12] In March 1992, he signed an anti-crisis agreement pledging to defend the sovereignty of Belarus.[13] In the same year, he opposed a referendum on the dissolution of the Supreme Soviet and new elections.[14] In 1993, Bocharov voted against a decree that rescinded the suspension of the Communist Party of Byelorussia.[15] During his time in the parliament he took part in writing laws that govern Belarusian borders and its Border Service.[1] Together with Russian deputies he visited Bosnia at the time of Yugoslav Wars.[16]

Bocharov signed a letter calling for changes to Belarusian state symbols and the introduction of Russian as a state language, endorsing the 1995 referendum.[17] At the same time, he was one of the MPs who petitioned the Constitutional Court of Belarus to examine the suppression of media freedom by Lukashenko.[18]

In 2001, Bocharov defended Belarusian writer Vasil Bykov from attacks by state TV[19] and participated in the 2001 presidential campaign of former Defense Minister Pavel Kozlovsky.[20] He was the head of his electoral headquarters, but Kozlovsky failed to gather the required 100,000 signatures to be nominated.[21][22] In 2004, Bocharov was one of the members of the organizational committee for the opposition movement "For Change."[23]

Death

Evgeny Bocharov died on 5 July 2004 and is buried at Eastern Cemetery in Minsk.[1]

Awards

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Бочаров Евгений Михайлович" [Bocharov Evgeny Mikhailovich]. State Border Committee of the Republic of Belarus. Archived from the original on 4 August 2022.
  2. ^ Советский воин [Soviet soldier] (in Russian). Voenizdat. 1972. p. 9.
  3. ^ a b Ваенная энцыклапедыя Беларусі [Military Encyclopedia of Belarus] (in Belarusian). Minsk: Беларуская энцыклапедыя імя Петруся Броўкі. 2010. p. 120. ISBN 9789851105423.
  4. ^ a b c Alexander Lebed. За державу обидно [It's a shame for the country] (in Russian). p. 146. ISBN 5-7482-0006-6. Archived from the original on 20 January 2015.
  5. ^ Feskov, V. I. Советская Армия в годы «холодной войны» (1945-1991) [The Soviet Army during the Cold War (1945–1991)] (in Russian). Tomsk State University. p. 187. ISBN 5751118197.
  6. ^ Mzareulov, Valentin. "103-я гв. воздушно-десантная дивизия ПВ" [103rd Guards Airborne Division of the Border Troops] (in Russian). Archived from the original on 20 April 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Руководители пограничного ведомства Республики Беларусь" [Heads of the Border Agency of the Republic of Belarus] (in Russian). State Border Committee of the Republic of Belarus. Archived from the original on 5 July 2022.
  8. ^ "Национальная безопасность. Пограничная служба" [National Security. Border Service]. Belarus Today (in Russian). 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 16 April 2020.
  9. ^ "Пинский пограничный отряд. Историческая справка" [Pinsk Border Detachment. Historical Background] (in Russian). Archived from the original on 3 August 2020.
  10. ^ "Обстоятельства одного похищения, которое в 1994 году повернуло ход политической истории Беларуси" [The circumstances of a kidnapping that changed the course of Belarus's political history in 1994]. Nasha Niva (in Russian). 14 September 2017. Archived from the original on 29 January 2023.
  11. ^ "На самом деле, мигранты годами пытаются нелегально перейти западные границы Беларуси. Вспоминаем 30 лет противостояния и яркие истории" [In reality, migrants have been trying to illegally cross the western borders of Belarus for years. We recall 30 years of confrontation and vivid stories]. zerkalo.io (in Russian). Archived from the original on 12 November 2021.
  12. ^ Zianon Pazniak (2011). Да XX-й гадавіны незалежнасьці Беларусі (25 жніўня 1991 – 25 жніўня 2011) [To the 20th Anniversary of Belarusian Independence (25 August 1991 – 25 August 2011)] (in Belarusian). Warsaw. p. 192. ISBN 978-9955-578-15-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  13. ^ "Дзень, калі Кебіч падтрымаў Пазьняка. Але маўкліва" [The Day Kebich Supported Paznyak. But Silently]. RFE/RL (in Belarusian). 12 October 2017. Archived from the original on 8 May 2020.
  14. ^ "1992, Пазьняк — Булахаву: Вы сказалі няпраўду" [1992, Paznyak to Bulakhau: You told a lie]. RFE/RL (in Belarusian). 8 December 2017. Archived from the original on 8 May 2020.
  15. ^ "Чырвоныя рэаніматары" [Red Revivers]. novychas (in Belarusian). 3 February 2018. Archived from the original on 11 November 2021.
  16. ^ Greshnikov, Anatoly (2020). Совесть русского народа. Василий Белов и Валентин Распутин [The Conscience of the Russian People. Vasily Belov and Valentin Rasputin] (in Russian). Книжный мир. ISBN 978-5-6043990-9-5. Наша группа – это три российских депутата: Бабурин, Глотов и я, два белорусских парламентария – Бочаров и Павлов. И еще в составе делегации, как записано в протокольных документах, известный русский писатель Белов.
  17. ^ "Рэферэндум-1995. Антыгероі беларускай мовы" [The 1995 Referendum. Anti-Heroes of the Belarusian Language]. naviny.by (in Belarusian). Archived from the original on 17 May 2015.
  18. ^ Navumchik, Serhei (2015). Дзевяноста пяты [Ninety-fifth] (in Belarusian). RFE/RL. p. 217. ISBN 978-0-929849-73-7.
  19. ^ "Былыя вайскоўцы сталі на абарону Васіля Быкава ды Паўла Казлоўскага" [Former military officers have stood up in defense of Vasil Bykov and Pavel Kozlovsky]. RFE/RL (in Belarusian). 23 March 2001. Archived from the original on 5 May 2020.
  20. ^ "Раман Якаўлеўскі. Вайсковая апазыцыя" [Roman Yakovlevsky. Military Opposition]. Nasha Niva (in Belarusian). 5 March 2001. Archived from the original on 8 January 2023.
  21. ^ "Як падрыхтаваліся да збору подпісаў патэнцыйныя кандыдаты?" [How did the potential candidates prepare for the signature collection?] (in Belarusian). 20 June 2001. Archived from the original on 5 May 2020.
  22. ^ "Сведения о количестве избирателей, поставивших в подписных листах свои подписи в поддержку предложения о выдвижении кандидатами в Президенты Республики Беларусь и о результатах проверки достоверности этих подписей" [Information on the number of voters who placed their signatures on signature sheets in support of the proposal to nominate candidates for President of the Republic of Belarus and on the results of the verification of the authenticity of these signatures] (PDF). Central Election Commission of Belarus (in Russian). Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 January 2025. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  23. ^ "У Беларусі ствараецца дэмакратычны рух "За перамены!"" [A democratic movement, "For Change!", is being created in Belarus]. RFE/RL (in Belarusian). 10 February 2004. Archived from the original on 4 May 2020.
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