Sergey Vladimirovich Perets (russian: Серге́й Влади́мирович Пе́рец; 28 September 1969 — 16 August 2002) was a Russian police officer who was killed during the Second Chechen War in 2002 and was posthumously awarded the title of

Hero of the Russian Federation Hero of the Russian Federation (russian: Герой Российской Федерации, Geroy Rossiyskoy Federatsii), also unofficially Hero of Russia (russian: link=no, Герой России, Geroy Rossii), is the highest honorary title ...

Early life

Perets was born in Kostroma in 1969. In December 1991, Perets joined the Russian Ground Forces, followed by working in the transport arm of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) before being transferred to

Cherepovets Cherepovets ( rus, Череповец, p=tɕɪrʲɪpɐˈvʲɛts) is a city in Vologda Oblast, Russia, located in the west of the oblast on the banks of the Sheksna River (a tributary of the Volga River) and on the shores of the Rybinsk Reservoir. ...

As a police officer

He was assigned to the

militsiya ''Militsiya'' ( rus, милиция, , mʲɪˈlʲitsɨjə) was the name of the police forces in the Soviet Union (until 1991) and in several Eastern Bloc countries (1945–1992), as well as in the non-aligned SFR Yugoslavia (1945–1992). The ...

, the MVD's police arm due to his military experience. He worked as a traffic policeman (the

GAI Gai or GAI may refer to: People Given name or nickname * GAI (musician) (born 1987), Chinese hip-hop musician * Gai Assulin (born 1991), Israeli footballer * Gai Brodtmann (born 1963), Australian politician * Gai Eaton (1921–2010), Brit ...

agency) for four years, until 1998 when he was assigned as the commander of a motorised platoon of militia near Vologda.

Chechnya

From 1998 until 2002, he conducted seven tours of duty in Chechnya as a militiaman in the first and second wars there. His final tour of duty commenced on July 25, 2002 in the early stages of the Second Chechen War. He was noted as the most experienced captain in the motorised police units.

Fatal incident

On August 16, 2002, Perets' unit received intelligence that a unit of riot police from

Omsk Omsk (; rus, Омск, p=omsk) is the administrative center and largest city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia, and has a population of over 1.1 million. Omsk is the third largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk ...

were under attack in the village of

Shalazhi Shalazhi (russian: link=no, Шалажи; ce, Шалажа, ''Şalaƶa'') is a rural locality (a '' selo'') in the Urus-Martanovsky District, the Chechen Republic, Russia. Geography Shalazhi is located west of the republic on the foothills ...

. Perets's unit, composing of three

armoured personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...

s headed there, and upon arriving in the village they opened fire upon militants in the village. However, the degree of returning fire forced the convoy to stop and fight. During the battle, Perets' APC was cut off from the others and he and his men fought for three hours during which Perets received a wound from

shrapnel Shrapnel may refer to: Military * Shrapnel shell, explosive artillery munitions, generally for anti-personnel use * Shrapnel (fragment), a hard loose material Popular culture * ''Shrapnel'' (Radical Comics) * ''Shrapnel'', a game by Adam ...

from a

hand grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade genera ...

but carried on regardless. He dragged one of his men who was injured into cover. Thanks to Perets' command, the rebels failed to inflict serious damage on the convoy. While running from cover to the APC, he was shot in the head by a

sniper A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...

and killed instantly. Several minutes after Perets' death, the other APCs rejoined them and the militants scattered, with five killed and seven captured. Two MVD troops were injured in the battle, amongst them the soldier whom Perets dragged to safety. He was buried in

Awards

(8 November 2003, posthumously) - for "courage and heroism in the line of duty in the North Caucasus region." *

Order of Courage The Order of Courage may refer to: * , a state decoration of the partially recognized republic of Abkhazia * Order of Courage (Iran), a state decoration of Iran * Order of Courage (Russia) The Order of Courage (russian: Орден Мужес ...

* Medal of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 2nd class with swords *

Medal For Courage A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

Medal for Distinguished Service in Defending Public Order A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

* Medal "For courage in service" (MIA)

References

Heroes of the Russian Federation - Perets, Sergey Vladimirovich
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perets, Sergey 1969 births 2002 deaths People from Kostroma Heroes of the Russian Federation Recipients of the Order of Courage Recipients of the Medal "For Courage" (Russia) People of the Chechen wars Russian police officers Police officers killed in the line of duty