The Belarusian Alpha Group is an elite unit of the State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus, tasked to handle counter-terrorism operations throughout Belarus when regular Belarusian law enforcement units are underequipped to handle the task. It also assists law enforcement units in anti-crime operations. It traces its origin to the Soviet-era Alpha Group, created on July 28, 1974. As of 2014, Colonel Sergei Zubkov is designated the commander of the unit.
History
The Soviet KGB has designed the creation of Alpha Group on July 28, 1974 when Yuri Andropov was head of the KGB after the 1972 Munich massacre. It's suggested that the order was done to respond West Germany's creation of the Grenzschutzgruppe 9. The unit was created on March 3, 1990, stationed at the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic and tasked to tackle anti-terrorist assignments throughout the BSSR and the Baltic States under orders from Vladimir Kryuchkov as the 11th Group of the KGB. The unit was initially staffed by 45 operators. In 1992, the unit officially received its official name and was placed under the command of the SSCRB.
Post-USSR breakup
In 1994, AG was involved in a hostage rescue operation when an armed criminal took a student named Milana Martinkevich hostage. She was rescued and the criminal was detained. On August 1, 1996, the AG was involved in arresting five men, including an active Belarusian soldier, for attempting to smuggle nuclear material in Borisov for $50,000. In June 2006, the KGB has reaffirmed Alpha Group's mandate to combat terrorism. AG operators were involved in anti-terrorist exercises throughout the year alongside Belarusian military and law enforcement forces. In the 2010s, Colonel Oleg Chernyshev was placed under various financial and travel-based sanctions for the KGB's human rights violation activities in Belarus. On June 10, 2014, a Georgian national was involved in hijacking a Belavia airline in the Minsk-Kutaisi flight route. AG negotiators were involved in getting him to surrender himself before he was eventually arrested. On October 31, 2014, AG operators participated in an exercise with the Belarusian Ministry of Emergency Situations. On November 29, 2014, AG participated in anti-terrorist exercises due to the World Ice Hockey Championship Games being held at Minsk alongside the Belarusian Special Rapid Response Unit. On June 20, 2017, AG operators participated in an anti-terrorist operation exercise at Minsk National Airport in recapturing a hijacked Boeing 737. Alpha Group celebrated its 30th anniversary on March 3, 2020. On July 29, 2020, AG operators alongside Minsk police arrested 32 persons from the Wagner Group after they arrived in Minsk from July 24 to July 25 under allegations of planning to participate in destabilization activities before the upcoming 2020 presidential elections.
Requirements
According to Colonel Oleg Chernyshev, 80% of its potential recruits are experienced personnel from other Belarusian law enforcement agencies while others are trained athletes. The operator's average age, after being recruited, is usually at 27 years. A recruit is placed through interviews and lie detector tests in order to remove anyone who's motivated to join AG for financial or vanity reasons.
Equipment
AG is known to have access to armored vehicles, including the Bogdan Bars armored car. They also use armored vehicles outfitted with the MARS assault ladder system when conducting raids on hijacked airplanes.
