Russian and Soviet special forces unit
Military unit
Spetsnaz GRU
, formally known as
Special Forces of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces
, (
Russian
:
Части и подразделения специального назначения Главного управления Генерального штаба Вооружённых сил Российской Федерации
) is the
special forces
(
spetsnaz
) of the
GRU
, the foreign
military intelligence
agency of the
Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
.
Origins
[
edit
]
The
Stavka
began preparing special-purpose (
OSNAZ
) groups to serve in the GRU in 1937 - training personnel for special-purpose radio units at the engineering radio-technical department of the
Budyonny Military Electro-Technical Academy
in
Leningrad
.
[3]
The Spetsnaz GRU, the first
spetsnaz
force in the
Soviet Union
, formed in 1949 as the military force of the
Main Intelligence Directorate
(GRU), the foreign military-intelligence agency of the
Soviet Armed Forces
. The force was designed in the context of the
Cold War
to carry out
reconnaissance
and
sabotage
against enemy targets in the form of
special reconnaissance
and
direct-action
attacks. The Spetsnaz GRU inspired additional
spetsnaz
forces attached to other
Soviet intelligence
agencies, such as
Vympel
(founded in 1981) and the
Alpha Group
(established in 1974) - both within the
KGB
.
Modus operandi
[
edit
]
The concept of using special forces tactics and strategies in the
Soviet Union
was originally proposed by the military theorist
Mikhail Svechnykov
, who envisaged the development of
unconventional warfare
capabilities in order to overcome the disadvantages that conventional forces faced in the field. Svechnykov was executed during the
Great Purge
in 1938, but practical implementation of his ideas was begun by
Ilya Starinov
, dubbed the "grandfather of the
spetsnaz
".
[4]
Following the entrance of the Soviet Union into
World War II
, basic forces dedicated to acts of
reconnaissance
and
sabotage
were formed under the supervision of the Second Department of the
General Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces
, and were subordinate to the commanders of
Fronts
.
[4]
The primary function of Spetsnaz troops in wartime was infiltration/insertion behind enemy lines (either in uniform or civilian clothing), usually well before hostilities are scheduled to begin and, once in place, to commit acts of sabotage such as the destruction of vital communications logistics centers, as well as the assassination of key government leaders and military officers.
[
citation needed
]
Spetsnaz GRU training included: weapons handling,
fast rappelling
, explosives training, marksmanship,
counter-terrorism
, airborne training,
hand-to-hand combat
, climbing (alpine rope techniques), diving, underwater combat, emergency medical training, and
demolition
.
History
[
edit
]
Soviet era
[
edit
]
The situation was reviewed after the war ended, and between 1947 and 1950 the whole of the
Main Intelligence Directorate
(GRU) was reorganized.
[5]
The first "independent reconnaissance companies of special purpose" were formed in 1949, to work for
tank
and
combined-arms
armies, which were tasked to eliminate amongst others enemy
nuclear weapons
systems such as the
MGR-3 Little John
and
MGM-1 Matador
.
[5]
In 1957, the first Spetsnaz battalions were formed under the GRU, five to operate beyond the 150?200 km range of the reconnaissance companies. The first brigades were formed in 1962, reportedly to reach up to 750 kilometres in the rear to destroy U.S. weapons systems such as the
MGM-52 Lance
,
MGM-29 Sergeant
, and
MGM-31 Pershing
.
[5]
Two 'study regiments' were established in the 1960s to train specialists and NCOs, the first in 1968 at Pechora near
Pskov
, and the second in 1970 at
Chirchik
near
Tashkent
.
[6]
According to Vladimir Rezun, a GRU
defector
who used the pseudonym "
Viktor Suvorov
", there were 20 GRU Spetsnaz brigades plus 41 separate companies at the time of his defection in 1978.
Known missions
[
edit
]
The first major foreign operation of the unit came in August 1968, when Moscow decided to crack down on the
Prague Spring
and move the troops of
Warsaw Pact
countries into
Czechoslovakia
. The Spetsnaz GRU was tasked with
capturing
the
Prague Airport
. On the night of 21 August, a Soviet passenger plane requested an emergency landing at Prague Airport, allegedly due to engine failure.
[7]
[8]
After landing, the commandos, without firing a shot, seized the airport and took over air traffic control. At the same time, other Spetsnaz GRU units that had infiltrated into Prague a few days before the operation seized control of other key city points.
[7]
[8]
In December 1979, the undercover Spetsnaz GRU unit codenamed "
Muslim Battalion
" participated in
Operation Storm-333
, the successful mission to
assassinate
Hafizullah Amin
, the President of
Afghanistan
, and to capture Amin's
residential palace
which triggered the
Soviet?Afghan War
.
[7]
[8]
Most of Spetsnaz GRU's operations remain classified even after the
dissolution of the Soviet Union
. It is believed the special forces had participated in operations in more than nineteen countries around the world in Africa, Asia and South America. From time to time, the men also served as military instructors and set up training camps for Soviet-backed fighters in Vietnam and
Angola
.
[8]
Russian Federation era
[
edit
]
Following the deactivation of the Soviet
GRU
in 1992, control of the special forces was transferred to the newly formed
G.U.
of Russia and were maintained to their respective assigned units as before. According to
Stanislav Lunev
, who defected to the U.S. in 1992, the GRU also commanded some 25,000 Spetsnaz troops as of 1997.
[9]
Following the
2008 Russian military reform
, a brand new Directorate of Special Operations was established in 2009 following studies of American and various Western special operations forces units and commands. The newly formed
Special Operations Forces
which is directly subordinated to the
General Staff
, bypassing the GRU.
[10]
[11]
In 2013, the Directorate became the Special Operations Forces Command with a GRU unit transferring to the command.
[11]
In 2010, Spetsnaz GRU units were reassigned to the military districts of the
Ground Forces
and was subordinate to the operational-strategic commands until 2012, due to then
Defence Minister
Anatoliy Serdyukov
's military reforms.
[12]
[11]
This decision was reversed in 2013 and Spetsnaz GRU units were reassigned to their original GRU divisions.
[12]
[11]
Known operations
[
edit
]
Throughout the mid-1990s to the 2000s, Spetsnaz GRU were involved in both the
First Chechen War
and more prominently in the
Second Chechen War
and also the
Invasion of Dagestan
in August 1999. The special forces learned invaluable lessons from the first war and transformed into a better and more effective fighting force and were instrumental in Russia's and the Russian backed government's success in the second war.
In 2003, during the Second Chechen War, the GRU formed the
Special Battalions
Vostok
and
Zapad
, two ethnic
Chechen
units that belonged to the Spetsnaz GRU which fought primarily in
Chechnya
, and also in the 2008
Russo-Georgian War
as well as
peacekeeping
operations after the
2006 Lebanon War
.
Spetsnaz GRU maintains an airborne unit, the Separate Spetsnaz Airborne Reconnaissance Unit (codenamed No. 48427), which participated in the
2008 Georgian War
.
[13]
The unit is housed at Matrosskaya Tishina 10 in
Moscow
.
[13]
[14]
During the
period of insurgency
in the
North Caucasus
region, Spetsnaz GRU along with special forces from the
FSB
and
MVD
conducted numerous special operations and counter-terrorism operations against mainly the
Caucasus Emirate
,
Wilayat al-Qawqaz
and other smaller terrorist groups.
After the
Crimean crisis
, during which some units of Spetsnaz GRU were a part of the "
Little green men
", and the start of the
rebel insurgency
by
pro-Russian
rebels, Ukraine has on numerous occasions accused various Spetsnaz forces of aiding the rebels and even fighting on the ground in
Eastern Ukraine
. In December 2014, the
Ukrainian military
claimed that the Spetsnaz GRU was involved in attacks on an
airport
[15]
in
Donetsk
which was later captured by
DPR
in the
battle
.
In late 2015, GRU special forces operators were reportedly involved in the
Syrian Civil War
, appearing in the government offensives of
Aleppo
and
Homs
.
[16]
[17]
GRU officials have also visited
Qamishli
, near the border with
Turkey
.
[18]
Invasion of Ukraine
[
edit
]
GRU special forces units participated in the
ongoing invasion of Ukraine
in various roles.
[19]
Spetsnaz units were sent in during the first days of the invasion as
saboteurs
disguised as civilians or Ukrainian military,
[20]
while others were sent to capture or assassinate important Ukrainian government members,
including
President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
, the President of Ukraine has alleged.
[21]
List of GRU special units
[
edit
]
Below is a list of current "
Spetsnaz
" units in the
Russian Armed Forces
that fall under GRU operational control during wartime operations:
[22]
[23]
[24]
- Russian Ground Forces
[25]
[26]
- fields 7 spetsnaz brigades of varying sizes and one spetsnaz regiment.
- 2nd Guards Spetsnaz Brigade
? based in Promezhitsa,
Pskov Oblast
- Brigade HQ
- Signals Battalion (2× Company)
- Support Company
- 70th Special Purpose Detachment
- 329th Special Purpose Detachment
- 700th Special Purpose Detachment
- Training Battalion (2× Company)
- 3rd Guards Special Purpose Brigade
? based in
Tolyatti
- Brigade HQ
- Signals Company
- Special Weapons Company
- Support Company
- Logistics Company
- 1st Special Purpose Detachment (1st Battalion)
- 790th Special Purpose Detachment (2nd Battalion)
- 791st Special Purpose Detachment (3rd Battalion)
- Training Battalion (2× Company)
- 10th Special Purpose Brigade
? based in Mol'kino,
Krasnodar Krai
- Brigade HQ
- Signals Company
- Special Weapons Company
- Support Company
- Logistics Company
- K-9 Unit
- 325th Special Purpose Detachment
- 328th Special Purpose Detachment
- Training Battalion (2× Company)
- 14th Special Purpose Brigade
? based in
Ussuriysk
- Brigade HQ
- Signals Company
- Logistics Company
- 282nd Special Purpose Detachment
- 294th Special Purpose Detachment
- 308th Special Purpose Detachment
- Unknown Department for Unknown Affairs - formerly known as UDUA, currently no information is open to the public as the files regarding it were classified for 100 years and will be declassified on 17 September 2057. The department was established in 1957 by order of the former Chairman of the KGB.
- Training Battalion (2× Company)
- 16th Guards Special Purpose Brigade
? based in
Tambov
, with all units deployed in Tambov except for the 664th SPD.
[27]
- Brigade HQ
- EOD company
- Signals Company
- Logistics Company
- 370th Special Purpose Detachment
- 379th Special Purpose Detachment
- 585th Special Purpose Detachment
- 664th Special Purpose Detachment
- 669th Special Purpose Detachment
- 22nd Guards Special Purpose Brigade
? entire unit is based in Stepnoi,
Rostov Oblast
[28]
[29]
- Brigade HQ
- Signals Company
- Support Company
- Special Weapons Company
- Logistics Unit
- Engineer Unit
- 108th Special Purpose Detachment
- 173rd Special Purpose Detachment
- 305th Special Purpose Detachment
- 411th Special Purpose Detachment
- 24th Guards Special Purpose Brigade
? based in
Irkutsk
, with all units and units deployed in Irkutsk
[27]
[30]
- Brigade HQ
- Signals Company
- Special Weapons Company
- Logistics Unit
- 281st Special Purpose Detachment
- 297th Special Purpose Detachment
- 641th Special Purpose Detachment
- 346th Special Purpose Brigade
[31]
[32]
- 25th Special Purpose Regiment
- Russian Airborne Forces
[33]
- Russian Navy
The navy also fields dedicated maritime sabotage and counter-sabotage diver units which are attached to the
naval infantry
. These units also include
combat swimmers
, trained to
conduct underwater combat
,
mining
and
clearance diving
. The task is to protect ships and other fleet assets from enemy frogmen and special forces. The term "combat swimmers" is correct term in relation to the staff of the OSNB PDSS. Every PDSS unit has approximately 50?60 combat swimmers.
[34]
There are PDSS units in all major naval bases across Russia.
[34]
The OMRP is composed of reconnaissance divers that fall under operational subordination to the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU). There are four OMRPs in Russia serving each fleet: Northern Fleet, Baltic Fleet, Black Sea Fleet and Pacific Fleet, with each consisting of 120?200 personnel.
[34]
Dissolved units
[
edit
]
The
Special Battalions Vostok and Zapad
were two Spetsnaz units; Vostok headquartered at Eastern Chechnya and Zapad headquartered at Western Chechnya.
It was subordinate to the GRU and responsible for carrying out
mountain warfare
and special operations in Chechnya. A
power struggle
then broke out between rival pro-Russian Chechen warlords then
Head of the Chechen Republic
Kadyrov and
Sulim Yamadaev
which led to a series of assassinations and shootouts in the ensuing years forcing the GRU to disband the controversial battalions in November 2008.
See also
[
edit
]
Similar foreign special forces units
:
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Spionage gegen Deutschland ? Aktuelle Entwicklungen Stand: November 2008"
(in German)
.
Bundesamt fur Verfassungsschutz
.
- ^
"Девизы родов войск РФ"
.
- ^
Butyrskij, Leonid; Larin, Dmitrij; Shankin, Genrikh (17 April 2023).
"Special-purpose (OSNAZ) radio divisions in the years of the Great Patriotic War"
Радиодивизионы особого назначения (ОСНАЗ) в годы Великой Отечественной войны
.
Istoriya gosudarstva
(in Russian)
. Retrieved
19 December
2023
.
В довоенные годы Ставка Верховного Главнокомандующего приняла решение о создании радиодивизионов особого назначения (ОСНАЗ). Они входили в состав Главного разведывательного управления (ГРУ) Генштаба Красной Армии и во время войны вели перехват открытых и шифрованных сообщений немцев и их союзников в прифронтовой полосе, занимались пеленгацией вражеских передатчиков, создавали радиопомехи, участвовали в операциях по дезинформации противника. [...] Подготовка персонала для этих подразделений началась в 1937 г. в Ленинграде. Этим занимались на инженерном радиотехническом факультете Военной электротехнической академии связи имени С. М. Буденного.
- ^
a
b
Carey Schofield,
The Russian Elite: Inside Spetsnaz and the Airborne Forces
, Greenhill, London, 1993, p.34
- ^
a
b
c
Carey Schofield,
The Russian Elite: Inside Spetsnaz and the Airborne Forces
, Greenhill, London, 1993, p.35
- ^
Carey Schofield,
The Russian Elite: Inside Spetsnaz and the Airborne Forces
, Greenhill, London, 1993, p.37
- ^
a
b
c
https://www.rbth.com/defence/2017/05/10/gru-alpha-vympel-russias-famous-covert-operators-759604
|date=21 Nov 2019
- ^
a
b
c
d
http://survincity.com/2011/03/how-did-the-russian-special-forces/
|date=21 Nov 2019
- ^
Lunev, Stanislav (12 September 1997).
"Changes may be on the way for the Russian security services"
.
Prism
.
3
(14).
The Jamestown Foundation
. Archived from
the original
on 25 November 2006.
The GRU is Russia's largest security service. It deploys six times more officers in foreign countries than the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), which is the successor of the First Main Directorate of the KGB. Moreover, 25,000 spetsnaz troops are directly subordinated to the GRU, whereas the KGB's various successor-organizations have been deprived of their own military formations since 1991.
- ^
Marsh, Dr. Christopher (2017).
Developments in Russian Special Operations - Russia's Spetsnaz, SOF and Special Operations Forces Command
(PDF)
. CANSOFCOM Education & Research Centre Monograph Series. Ottawa, Ontario: Canadian Special Operations Forces Command.
ISBN
9780660073538
. Retrieved
22 September
2017
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Nikolsky, Alexey (2015). "Little, Green and Polite: The Creation of Russian Special Operations Forces". In Howard, Colby; Pukhov, Ruslan (eds.).
Brothers Armed: Military Aspects of the Crisis in Ukraine
(2nd ed.). Minneapolis: East View Press.
ISBN
9781879944657
.
- ^
a
b
McDermott, Roger (2 November 2010).
"Bat or Mouse? The Strange Case of Reforming Spetsnaz"
.
Jamestown
. Jamestown.org
. Retrieved
2014-08-19
.
- ^
a
b
Rakuszitzky, Moritz; Romein, Daniel; Dobrokhotov, Roman (November 22, 2018).
"Second GRU Officer Indicted in Montenegro Coup Unmasked"
.
bellingcat
.
- ^
В/Ч 48427
(in Russian). ЗАЧЕСТНЫЙБИЗНЕС
. Retrieved
November 22,
2018
.
- ^
"Ukraine says Russian special forces involved in attacks on airport in east"
.
www.reuters.com
. December 2014
. Retrieved
25 Oct
2019
.
- ^
Tsvetkova, Maria (November 5, 2015).
"New photos suggest Russia's operation in Syria stretches well beyond its air campaign"
.
Business Insider
. Archived from
the original
on December 30, 2016.
CIT also published screenshots from the Instagram page of Ilya Gorelykh, who it said had served in Russia's GRU special forces in the past [...] In late October it showed he had uploaded pictures from Aleppo, one of which showed him holding an assault rifle while wearing civilian clothes. Another image of him posing in camouflage with three other armed men was apparently taken in Homs.
- ^
"Beyond the airstrikes: Russia's activities on the ground in Syria"
. November 8, 2015. Archived from
the original
on December 30, 2016.
We believe that Russia's operation in Syria is a "hybrid war", not unlike the one seen in Ukraine. Apart from the airstrikes, Russia provides Assad forces with surface-to-surface rocket systems, combat vehicles, equipment, advisors, artillery support and spotters. More importantly, recently there have been more and more reports of Russian soldiers, vehicles and "volunteers" being spotted close to the frontlines.
- ^
Agence France-Presse
(January 22, 2016).
"Turkey alarmed by 'Russian build-up' on Syria border"
.
The National
. Archived from
the original
on December 30, 2016.
Top Russian military officials, including figures from the GRU military intelligence service, had already visited Qamishli, it added.
- ^
"Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, March 20"
.
Critical Threats
. Retrieved
2022-03-21
.
- ^
"
"Locals Shooting At Locals": Ukraine Capital Hunts Russian "Saboteurs"
"
.
NDTV.com
. Retrieved
2022-03-21
.
- ^
"Russian special forces have entered Kyiv to hunt down Ukraine's leaders, says Zelensky"
.
inews.co.uk
. 2022-02-25
. Retrieved
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.
- ^
"Warfare.be"
ГРУ (Главное Разведывательное Управление) ГШ ВС РФ
.
Russian Military Analysis
(in Russian)
. Retrieved
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.
- ^
"Warfare.be"
Военно-Морской Флот
.
Russian Military Analysis
(in Russian)
. Retrieved
December 31,
2012
.
- ^
Security, Global.
"Spetsnaz Order of Battle"
.
GlobalSecurity.org
. Retrieved
27 April
2017
.
- ^
John Pike.
"Spetsnaz Order of Battle"
. Retrieved
31 July
2015
.
- ^
"1 Декабря День Рождения 2 ОБр.СпецНаз ГРУ. - 30 Ноября 2012 - "Союз десантников" г.Локня"
.
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a
b
Сергей Козлов. Спецназ ГРУ: Очерки истории. // Том 5. Новейшая история. 1999-2010 гг.. ? Москва: Русская панорама, 2010. ? P. 40?41, 44?50, 65, 335?336, 492?493. ? 400 p. ? 3 000 экз.
- ^
22 гв ОБрСпН ? первая в Российской Гвардии
- ^
22 гвардейская отдельная бригада специального назначения (22 огбрСпН ГРУ)
- ^
"Путин присвоил звание гвардейской 24-й бригаде спецназначения"
.
РБК
(in Russian). 30 May 2022
. Retrieved
2022-05-31
.
- ^
Horton, Alex (2023-04-14).
"Russia's commando units gutted by Ukraine war, U.S. leak shows"
.
Washington Post
.
ISSN
0190-8286
. Retrieved
2024-02-25
.
- ^
Galeotti, Mark.
"Moscow's 'special' forces: An inside look at how Russia's famed Spetsnaz really operate"
.
Business Insider
. Retrieved
2024-02-25
.
- ^
John Pike.
"45th Special Purpose Regiment"
. Retrieved
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- ^
a
b
c
staff (29 January 2009).
"Delfin"
.
ShadowSpear: Russian Special Operations
. www.shadowspear.com
. Retrieved
23 June
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.
- ^
John Pike.
"Naval Spetsnaz [Spetsialnaya Razvedka]"
. Retrieved
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.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Carey Schofield,
The Russian Elite: Inside Spetsnaz and the Airborne Forces
, Greenhill, London, 1993
- Scott and Scott,
The Armed Forces of the Soviet Union
- Viktor Suvorov
,
Spetsnaz: The Story Behind the Soviet SAS
, 1987, Hamish Hamilton Ltd,
ISBN
0-241-11961-8
- Steve Zaloga, James W. Loop,
Soviet Bloc Elite Forces
, Volume 5 of Elite Series, Osprey Publishing, 1985,
ISBN
0850456312
, 9780850456318
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