Word: makutinovich
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...notorious Black Berets? That question has intrigued Moscow correspondent James Carney for months as the Soviet government has frequently denied responsibility for the brutality of the paramilitary unit's actions against the Lithuanian independence movement. Last month the Soviet Interior Ministry granted Carney permission to interview Major Boleslav Makutinovich, who commands the Black Beret unit in Vilnius. But when Carney arrived earlier this month at the group's heavily fortified base, he found himself at the business end of an automatic rifle wielded by a sentry who told him to come back the next day. He did. In the World...
...republic's non-Lithuanian minorities, many of whom fear Baltic independence, the OMON unit has become a kind of partisan brigade determined to prevent Lithuania's secession at all costs. "We are drawn together by our attitude to the future of Lithuania and the Soviet Union," says Major Boleslav Makutinovich, commander of the unit. "When others talk to us of independence, we say people are only independent in the graveyard...
...conservative groups in the Baltics. When Black Berets seized the Lithuanian telephone exchange in early July, cutting off external communications for more than two hours, Gorbachev's spokesman suggested that "someone was trying to spoil" the Soviet President's visit to London for the G-7 summit. Accepting responsibility, Makutinovich said the operation was aimed at the confiscation of illegally held weapons. In a sign of official displeasure, the major was promptly summoned to Moscow for a conference with his superiors. But he is now back at his post...
Inside OMON headquarters, Makutinovich's men go on preparing for a showdown. Some train in hand-to-hand combat and martial arts while others nap in cots, their black berets hanging from posts at their feet. They call each other by nicknames drawn from American action and horror movies: Rambo, Ninja, Krueger. Lieut. Vitali Belkin, commander of one of the five squads that make up the 150-strong unit, says the struggle with the Lithuanian government has already passed the point of compromise. "I don't doubt there will be bloodshed," he says. "Civil war is inevitable...
...executions near the village of Medininkai did not bear the stamp of a Black Beret operation; in previous assaults on customs posts, OMON units had been accused of roughing up people but never of killing anyone. Makutinovich, as well as Soviet Interior Minister Boris Pugo, quickly condemned the massacre and denied responsibility. After a preliminary investigation, a reform group within the Soviet army suggested that the KGB had done the actual killing, - albeit with the complicity of OMON commanders. The KGB denied involvement...
| 1 |