Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Vitaly Ivanovich Gamov (russian: Виталий Иванович Гамов; 1962 - 28 May 2002), "Я вернусь домой генералом..."

Karavan Karavan ( ) was a hard rock band from Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, formed in 1997. The band was founded by former Awaz lead guitarist Asad Ahmed with bassist Sameer Ahmed, who were soon joined by drummer Allan Smith and vocalist Najam Sheraz. ...

31 May 2002 was a Deputy Commander of the Pacific Regional Directorate of the

Border Guard Service of Russia The Border Service of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (PS FSB Rossii) (russian: Пограничная служба Федеральной службы безопасности Российской Федерации (� ...

. He was killed in his house after refusing to take bribes and allow poachers to outsource their recourse to Japan.Гамова сожгли неосторожные хулиганы
Gazeta.ru 19 June 2008 Gamov was born to the family of a

kolkhoz A kolkhoz ( rus, колхо́з, a=ru-kolkhoz.ogg, p=kɐlˈxos) was a form of collective farm in the Soviet Union. Kolkhozes existed along with state farms or sovkhoz., a contraction of советское хозяйство, soviet ownership or ...

truck driver in Gorny Gigant near

Almaty Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

, then part of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. He graduated from the school of border guards and served mostly in the Russian Far East. He took part in the

First Chechen War The First Chechen War, also known as the First Chechen Campaign,, rmed conflict in the Chechen Republic and on bordering territories of the Russian FederationФедеральный закон № 5-ФЗ от 12 января 1995 (в реда� ...

, was a commander of the South Kurily Border Guards, then Yuzhnosakhalinsk Group of Border Guards. He became a

at the age of 39. On May 21, 2002, his

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk ( rus, Ю́жно-Сахали́нск, a=Ru-Южно-Сахалинск.ogg, p=ˈjuʐnə səxɐˈlʲinsk, literally "South Sakhalin City") is a city on Sakhalin island, and the administrative center of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia. I ...

apartment with was burnt by a flaming torch and three plastic canisters filled with petrol thrown through the window. At the time of the incident Vitaly Gamov, his wife Larissa and his son Ivan were in the apartment. As Vitaly Gamov struggled to put out the flames, his son opened a door to escape. A gust of air swept into the room, causing the burning petrol to explode. Ivan managed to escape with only minor burns, but his parents were less fortunate. From

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, r=Sakhalín, p=səxɐˈlʲin; ja, 樺太 ''Karafuto''; zh, c=, p=Kùyèdǎo, s=库页岛, t=庫頁島; Manchu: ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ, ''Sahaliyan''; Orok: Бугата на̄, ''Bugata nā''; Nivkh: ...

, Ivan's 38-year-old mother was eventually flown to a hospital in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. There, she underwent months of treatment for burns covering her entire body. Ivan's father only made it as far as

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...

, on the neighbouring Japanese island of

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

. "Vitaly never passed out, though his skin was flaking," a neighbour told Reuters. "I led him to the ambulance. His skin was grey and tough like wood. It was an awful sight." A week later, Gamov died in the hospital. On November 17, 2006, four and a half years after the deadly attack, three men (Alexei Anikin, Alexei Britov and Sergei Malyutin) faced a Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk court and were declared guilty of arson and manslaughter. The persecutors insisted on the charges of intentional murder but the court found that they were not proven. The accused were sentenced to four years in prison. The case was appealed in the

Supreme Court of the Russian Federation The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation (russian: links=no, Верховный суд Российской Федерации, Verkhovny sud Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is a court within the judiciary of Russia and the court of last resort in R ...

but on 26 November 2008 it decided not to change the sentenceВерховный суд оставил без изменений приговор виновным в гибели генерала Гамова (Сахалин)
Regnum 26 November 2008

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gamov, Vitaly Russian generals People from Almaty People of the Chechen wars 1962 births 2002 deaths