Alexander Soluyanov was awarded the title of Hero of the USSR in 1984 for his bravery and heroism in Afghanistan. Under the command of Soluyanov, the airborne battalion captured more than 300 people and occupied three ammunition depots. There were no personnel casualties. And this is not the only operation in which he performed brilliantly.
In the mid-nineties, Soluyanov was approached with an unexpected request: to appear in a video. Then the song “Batyanya-Kombat” performed by the group “Lube” became a hit. As previously reported in the publication aif.ru, the clip was supposed to be a documentary and a real battalion commander would appear in the video. To find a suitable candidate, the organizers of the filming conducted a survey among the paratroopers, who unanimously appointed Soluyanov. At that time he himself already had the rank of general, but agreed to play the role of “father battalion commander.”
The video was directed by Nikita Mikhalkov. Filming took place in the Novorossiysk division, but the video was never edited: Mikhalkov was busy filming The Barber of Siberia. Later, Soluyanov said that he was even glad that this happened, since, according to him, the image of the “batyan battalion commander” should have remained collective.
