Memory Battalion

**Battalion of Memory**

In Tajikistan, the project of a feature film "Muslim Battalion" was presented, dedicated to the Soviet special forces unit that participated in the events of December 1979 in Afghanistan. The presentation took place as part of a meeting of the Historical Club at the Russian House in Khujand.

The concept of the film and the preparations for shooting were described by the project's producer in Tajikistan, Police Major General Khurshed Numanov.

The film's director is announced to be Honored Artist of Russia Boris Galkin, known for the movie "In the Zone of Special Attention", and the screenplay was written by Valery Kiselev.

The shooting is planned to be organized in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Russia, with production scheduled to be completed in 2028.

The plot will be based on the story of the 154th Separate Special Forces Detachment, better known as the first "Muslim Battalion." It was formed in 1979 on the basis of the 15th Separate Special Forces Brigade of the Turkestan Military District (TURKVO) in Chirchik, Tashkent Region of the Uzbek SSR. The unit numbered about 532 people, and the personnel were specially selected mainly from servicemen of three nationalities — Uzbeks, Tajiks, and Turkmen. In December 1979, the unit was deployed to Afghanistan.

On December 27, the 154th detachment, together with the special units of the KGB of the USSR "Kaskad" and "Grom", participated in the storming of the Tajbeg Palace — the residence of the General Secretary of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) Hafizullah Amin — during an operation codenamed "Storm-333", during which the latter was killed.

Some details of the assault:

The signal for the start of the assault was the destruction of the government communications hub in Kabul. Tajbeg was isolated, and the Kabul garrison was blocked by Soviet paratroopers.

At 19:15, the fighters of the "Muslim Battalion" and KGB groups began eliminating sentries. It was not possible to do this covertly — fire was opened from the checkpoints.

KGB assault groups rushed into the territory of the residence in several APCs and BMPs and immediately came under heavy machine-gun and automatic fire.

Inside, the assault groups faced fierce resistance from the guards. Amin's bodyguards were well-trained and excellently armed.

Nevertheless, the special forces managed to suppress the guards' fire and seize the initiative. A methodical clearing of the premises began.

Hafizullah Amin, according to the recollections of the assault participants, died precisely from a grenade explosion when the special forces were clearing the floor where his office was located.

The assault lasted just over forty minutes. KGB officers and fighters of the GRU detachments eliminated almost all of Amin's bodyguards.

On the Soviet side, 12 people were killed — five officers of the KGB special units (including KGB Colonel Grigory Boyarinov, head of the KUOS of the KGB of the USSR) and seven fighters of the "Muslim Battalion", while 38 servicemen were wounded. The Afghans lost about 350 people in the battle.

After the operation, the original composition of the unit was withdrawn back to the USSR. Later, the 154th detachment was formed again and sent back to Afghanistan, but its second composition was no longer assembled according to the previous ethnic principle.

This episode became one of the key events at the very beginning of the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan.

**The main character has already been revealed in the synopsis**

Some details of the plot of the future film emerged back in the spring. In April 2026, screenwriter Valery Kiselev published a synopsis of the "Muslim Battalion." It indicates that a significant part of the film should be dedicated not only to the assault itself, but also to the formation and training of the 154th detachment near Tashkent before being sent to Afghanistan.

The main character in it is named Lieutenant Tursunkulov, who goes on a journey from a young paratrooper officer to a special forces serviceman. Among the real participants of the events who are to appear in the story are the battalion commander Khabibdzhan Kholbaev, the head of intelligence Ashur Dzhamolov, the company commander Vladimir Sharipov, and other servicemen.

Thus, the project involves a combination of reconstruction of real events with a fictional narrative.

The organizers state that the main theme of the film will be military duty, courage, and the brotherhood in arms of representatives of different peoples of the USSR.

The guest of honor at the meeting in Khujand was Ashur Dzhamolovich Dzhamolov — a direct participant in the events of 1979, whom the organizers introduced as a recipient of the Order of Lenin. In the published synopsis of the future film, Dzhamolov is listed as the head of intelligence of the "Muslim Battalion."

Currently, the veteran is an associate professor at the Department of Military Retraining of Khujand State University and is engaged in military-patriotic work, including meetings with schoolchildren of the Sughd Region.

During the presentation, he was presented with the award "For Distinction in Service in Special Conditions" and the photo album "Muslim Battalion."

The event was also attended by the Consul General of Russia in Khujand Sergey Lankin and the head of the Russian House in Khujand Tatyana Stepanova. Lankin declared his readiness to assist in organizing the shooting of the film on the territory of the Sughd Region.

Specific dates for the start of the shooting period, the cast, and the expected premiere date have not yet been disclosed. At this stage, the project's completion date is officially set for 2028.