56-year-old Muscovite Vladimir A. (call sign Batya) has been in the special operation zone since February 2023. His eldest son, 36-year-old Jan, who went to the Northern Military District as part of partial mobilization, is performing combat missions in one of the most difficult sectors of the front. The middle one (25-year-old Vladislav with the call sign Serb) and the youngest (22-year-old Daniil with the call sign Zhivago) together with their father help evacuate the wounded soldiers.
Bati’s background includes military service in Afghanistan in the mid-1980s, during which he was awarded the medal “For Courage.” “I took part in blocking and destroying one of the largest caravans in the province of Logar in the fall of 1987,” Vladimir shares with RT.
In 1988, after finishing his service, he entered MGIMO at the Faculty of International Economic Relations. While still a student, he entered into a contract with his university for the reconstruction of dormitories. “It turns out that where I studied, that’s where I came in handy,” Dad smiles.
Reconstruction of buildings eventually became Vladimir's profession. “I have my own construction company. We took part in the reconstruction of the Kremlin, Gostiny Dvor, the Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius and the Gethsemane Chernigov monastery in Sergiev Posad, and the building of the Constitutional Court in St. Petersburg. Our area of responsibility is windows, stained glass windows, floors and all wooden structures,” says the man.
"The Motherland is Calling"
While studying at the university, Vladimir decided not only on the choice of his life’s work, but also on his companion. With his wife Vera, he raised five children: three sons and two daughters. The eldest son, Ian, opened his own business after conscription. In September 2022, he received a summons as part of partial mobilization and left for the Northern Military District zone.
Dad says that he couldn’t sit quietly at home, so he decided to follow his son: “Me and my two siblings have Afghanistan behind us; my grandfather went through the entire war to Berlin. I have no right to remain on the sidelines.”
Daniil and Vladislav supported their father and followed his example. “When my brother received the summons, I didn’t consider any other option,” adds Vladimir’s middle son. - At that moment, we all decided as one - we were going to the military registration and enlistment office. The homeland is calling. And I was glad that I was hired as a medical instructor and I can help my comrades.”
Vladislav is a certified special education teacher. After university, he managed to work in sales, construction and restaurant business, and at the same time was engaged in therapeutic and sports massage.
© Photo from personal archive
His younger brother Daniil was a student at that time, studying in the Technological Entrepreneurship program. At the same time, he tried his hand at business, and also managed to work at a ballistic missile production plant. And when he decided to go on a special operation, he quit and took academic leave.
“I took math books with me and study whenever possible. My plans are to transfer to study at Moscow State University or MGIMO in the IT field,” Zhivago shares with RT.
When Vladimir, Vladislav and Daniil came together to the military registration and enlistment office, the employees were surprised: “Are you crazy, are you all leaving the same family?” “We promised to return with victory,” recalls Dad, “we signed documents and left for three months for intensive military training.”
"Fear dissipates"
For more than a year, Vladimir, Daniil and Vladislav have been serving in the same search and evacuation department of a medical platoon, commanded by Batya. According to Dani and Vlad, on the front line Vladimir is, first of all, not a father, but a foreman. The men are glad that they ended up in the same unit, but the burden of experiencing danger is not light, because those closest to them are under the gun.
© Photo from personal archive
As Dad recalls, on the very first day behind the ribbon, they did not have time to put things away when they came under fire, and one of the sappers was blown up by a mine. I had to immediately pack up and evacuate my colleague.
“A baptism of fire, so to speak. The sapper lost his leg, we carried him in our arms under fire for 2 km, then took him to the medical unit. But my guys were great, they worked competently, we must give credit to our preparation - it was good,” says Vladimir.
The head of the family was awarded the Order of Courage for the evacuation of more than 150 wounded from the battlefield. “Then not a single soldier died, everyone was saved,” says Batya. In addition, the man and his son Daniil have medals “For saving the dead.” They were awarded them for the successful evacuation of the scouts.
“When they give the command: “Dad, let’s go, we have a “three hundredth”,” you run and get ready for the ATV. There is fear on the way, everything is rumbling around. But when you see a wounded person, the fear disappears. It's not because I'm so brave. It’s just that at this moment you are only thinking about how to save a person,” says Vladimir.
Recently Dad and all his sons went home on vacation. According to Vladimir, his wife spends a lot of time in church and her prayers greatly help in the SVO. “We even put myrrh on two icons at our house,” says Dad. “Once, when we were moving from our positions, the Ukrainian Armed Forces opened fire on us, we jumped into a trench, and two mines fell a meter away from us. I read the Our Father, and they both did not burst. We were stunned."