Military Unit Number
A Military Unit Number (Russian: Войсковая часть) is a numeric alternate designation for military units in the armed forces and internal troops of post-Soviet states, originally used by those of the Soviet Union
The Soviet ...
38643) is a formation of the
Russian Naval Infantry
The Russian Naval Infantry (MPR; ), often referred to as Russian Marines in the West, operate as the naval infantry of the Russian Navy. Established in 1705, they are capable of conducting amphibious operations as well as operating as more tradit ...
. It is part of the
Northern Fleet
Severnyy flot
, image = Great emblem of the Northern Fleet.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Northern Fleet's great emblem
, start_date = June 1, 1733; Sov ...
Naval Infantry and Coastal Defence Force. The brigade is based in the Sputnik military settlement, located in Murmansk Oblast. Some sources consider it one of the best trained and most combat experienced units of the Russian military.
History
The brigade was established on 20 November 1979 from the 61st Separate Naval Infantry Regiment. The regiment was activated at Sputnik on 14May 1966 from the 61st Motor Rifle Regiment of the 131st Motor Rifle Division.
Soldiers of the 61st Naval Infantry Brigade fought in 1995 in
First
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and in 1999–2000 in the
Second Chechen War
The Second Chechen War (russian: Втора́я чече́нская война́, ) took place in Chechnya and the border regions of the North Caucasus between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, from August 1999 ...
. On 1December 2009, the brigade was downsized to a regiment with the same designation. It became a brigade again on 15December 2014.
In 2014, according to an investigation published by
Bellingcat
Bellingcat (stylised as bellngcat) is a Netherlands-based investigative journalism group that specialises in fact-checking and open-source intelligence (OSINT). It was founded by British journalist and former blogger Eliot Higgins in July 20 ...
, marines of the 61st Naval Infantry Brigade participated in the
War in Donbass
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...
in the
Luhansk
Luhansk (, ; uk, Луганськ, ), also known as Lugansk (, ; russian: Луганск, ), is a city in what is internationally recognised as Ukraine, although it is administered by Russia as capital of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR). A ...
region of
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
. Brigade personnel and vehicles, including the brigade's exotic 2S23 Nona-SVK, were spotted on the territory of the Ukrainian National Guard's military base (3035) in Luhansk. Evidences shows the brigade's direct participation in combat near Vishnevy Dol village in the Luhansk region.
Upon returning home, the marines took a trophy BRDM armored vehicle back to Murmansk. At least 5 soldiers received decorations, which included the Zhukov Medal, the
Order of Suvorov
The Order of Suvorov () is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honor of Russian Generalissimo Prince Alexander Suvorov (1729–1800).
History
The Order of Suvorov was originally a Soviet award established on July 29, 19 ...
and the Order of Courage. Brigade Lieutenant Colonel Vitaly Trofimov was reportedly killed in Ukraine.
In March 2016, the 61st Naval Infantry Brigade conducted operations in which it aided the Syrian Army taking the Syrian city of
Palmyra
Palmyra (; Palmyrene: () ''Tadmor''; ar, تَدْمُر ''Tadmur'') is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early secon ...
. The 61st also participated in the storming of the city. Despite other Russian forces being more available for the operation, the 61st Brigade was chosen for the operation because it was considered one of the best trained and most combat experienced units of the Russian military.
As of February 2022, elements of the Brigade were reported to have deployed to the Black Sea as part of an amphibious task force participating in the invasion of Ukraine. On 7 March the Ukrainian military claimed to have killed Lieutenant Colonel Dmitry Safronov, commander of the brigade's Marine Battalion, in action near
Kharkiv
Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.{{Cite web , url=http://morpeh.spb.ru/index.php?page=17 , title=Историческая справка. 61-я отдельная Киркенесская Краснознамённая бригада морской пехоты Краснознамённого Северного флота. , access-date=2016-12-25 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170928191120/http://morpeh.spb.ru/index.php?page=17 , archive-date=2017-09-28 , url-status=dead , language=Russian
Commanders of the 61st Infantry Regiment:
* Y. P. Pidust: 1944–1948;
* I. S. Matveev : 1948–1950;
* A. P. Vorobyov : 1950–1952;
* M. P. Davydov : 1952–1954;
* P. S. Lopatkin : 1954–1955;
* V. G. Solovyov : 1955–1956;
* B.C. Zatoka : 1956–1957.
Commanders of the 61st Motor Rifle Regiment:
* M. I. Belov : 1957–1959;
* V. I. Varennikov : 1959–1960;
* A. A. Fomichev : 1960–1965.
Commanders of the 61st Marine Regiment:
* V. A. Krukovsky : 1965–1967;
* A. F. Pakhomov : 1967–1974;
* N. B. Polyakov : 1974–1979;
Commanders of the 61st Marine Brigade:
* A. E. Ermakov : 1979–1984;
* A. S. Pustoutov : 1984–1988;
* A. N. Borzenko : 1988–1990;
* Y. M. Shakalov : 1990–1993;
* B. F. Sokushev : 1993–1995;
* G. S. Semyonov : 1995–1999;
* A. V. Chernov : 1999–2002;
* N. I. Klimov : 2002–2005;
* A. V. Sorogin : 2005–2008;
* M. K. Magomedzhanov : 2008–2010.
Commander of the 61st Marine Regiment:
* A. V. Maslov : 2010-2014
Commanders of the 61st Marine Brigade:
* A. V. Maslov : 2014-2016
* V. V. Fedyanin† : 2016–30.09.2017 (died of wound in Syria)
* K. N. Nikulin : 2018–present