The group was instrumental in the Russian government 's attempts to forcibly bring an end to a series of mass hostage crisis incidents , in which groups of Chechen and other separatist militants took hostages . These events took place in Russia 's southern territories near Chechnya as well as in the Russian heartland , and were made up of the Budyonnovsk hospital hostage crisis in June 1995 , the Kizlyar-Pervomayskoye hostage crisis in January 1996 , the Moscow theatre hostage crisis in October 2002 , and the Beslan school hostage crisis in September 2004 . Each of these high-profile incidents resulted in hundreds of fatalities and injuries among the hostages and , with the exception of the Moscow siege , significant losses among the unit 's personnel
Budyonnovsk hospital hostage crisis
Budyonnovsk hospital hostage crisis
Alpha Group