Free Fall

Notes

1

This nickname derives from ‘Yakutia’, a republic in Eastern Siberia.

2

Young Russians love this group for their use of swearing; this song is also popular among soldiers in the army.

3

This was what we called military supplies – ammunition, weapons, clothing – that came from a foreign country.

4

Charismatic nineteenth-century Russian nationalist and representative of imperial tsarism in the Caucasus. He applied a policy of terror and repression towards the Caucasian peoples, especially those of the Muslim faith, forcing them with violence to adopt Christianity.

5

This is what we called the armoured car drivers.

6

Radio code for casualties.

7

Radio code for wounded.

8

According to Russian military code, you may only salute with your hat on.

9

An officer in the Cossack army.

10

This is what transport helicopters are called in military slang.

11

The soldiers in the Russian army often called the Chechen soldiers ‘Czechs’ – čechy, the same term used to indicate the people of the Czech Republic – to distinguish them from civilians.

12

Military slang for precision rifle.

13

This was what we called a small group that went on reconnaissance and had no contact with the rest of the unit.

14

The Afghani authorities called the Taliban dushman, or ‘enemies’; the Russian military abbreviate the word to duch (‘spirit’ in Russian), probably because they appear and disappear so quickly.

15

Regulations were hastily modified during the First Chechen campaign, since many officers refused to follow orders due to their content, which they considered unconstitutional.

16

A tank or other armoured vehicle in radio code.

17

The saboteurs of the Russian army, during the war in Afghanistan, used the word ‘caravan’ to indicate an enemy group transporting arms or drugs.

18

Russian for ‘red mould’.

19

A common dish from the Caucasus, similar to kebab – this was a way of referring to traitors.