Spetsnaz GRU or Spetsnaz G.U. (formally known as Special Forces of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces () is the

special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equi ...

(''

spetsnaz Spetsnaz are special forces in numerous post-Soviet states. (The term is borrowed from rus, спецназ, p=spʲɪtsˈnas; abbreviation for or 'Special Purpose Military Units'; or .) Historically, the term ''spetsnaz'' referred to the ...

'') of the

G.U. GU, Gu, or gu may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Gu (instrument), Chinese drums ** Bangu (drum) () or Gu (), a Chinese "flowerpot" drum * ''Global Underground'', an electronic dance music compilation series Other media * GU Comics, an ...

, the foreign military-intelligence agency of the

Armed Forces of the Russian Federation The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (, ), commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military forces of Russia. In terms of active-duty personnel, they are the world's fifth-largest military force, with at least two m ...

. The Spetsnaz GRU, the first ''spetsnaz'' force in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, formed in 1949 as the military force of the

Main Intelligence Directorate Main Intelligence Directorate may refer to: * Main Directorate of Intelligence (Ukraine), the military intelligence service of Ukraine * GRU, the foreign military intelligence agency of the Russian Armed Forces * GRU (Soviet Union) Main Intel ...

(GRU), the foreign military-intelligence agency of the

Soviet Armed Forces The Soviet Armed Forces, the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union and as the Red Army (, Вооружённые Силы Советского Союза), were the armed forces of the Russian SFSR (1917–1922), the Soviet Union (1922–1991), and t ...

. The force was designed in the context of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

to carry out

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops ( skirmishe ...

and

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...

against enemy targets in the form of

special reconnaissance Special reconnaissance (SR) or Recon Team is conducted by small units of highly trained military personnel, usually from special forces units or military intelligence organizations, who operate behind enemy lines, avoiding direct combat and detec ...

and direct-action attacks. The Spetsnaz GRU inspired additional ''spetsnaz'' forces attached to other

Soviet intelligence This is a list of historical secret police organizations. In most cases they are no longer current because the regime that ran them was overthrown or changed, or they changed their names. Few still exist under the same name as legitimate police fo ...

agencies, such as

Vympel Directorate "V" of the FSB Special Purpose Center, often referred to as Spetsgruppa "V" Vympel ( pennant in Russian, originated from German , and having the same meaning), but also known as KGB Directorate "V", Vega Group, is an elite Russia ...

(founded in 1981) and the

Alpha Group Spetsgruppa "A", also known as Alpha Group (a popular English name), or Alfa, whose official name is Directorate "A" of the FSB Special Purpose Center (TsSN FSB) (Russian: Спецназ ФСБ "Альфа"), is an elite stand-alone sub-unit o ...

(established in 1974) - both within the KGB.

Modus operandi

The concept of using special forces tactics and strategies in the

was originally proposed by the military theorist Mikhail Svechnykov, who envisaged the development of

unconventional warfare Unconventional warfare (UW) is broadly defined as "military and quasi-military operations other than conventional warfare" and may use covert forces, subversion, or guerrilla warfare. This is typically done to avoid escalation into conventional ...

capabilities in order to overcome disadvantages that conventional forces faced in the field. Svechnykov was executed during the

Great Purge The Great Purge or the Great Terror (russian: Большой террор), also known as the Year of '37 (russian: 37-й год, translit=Tridtsat sedmoi god, label=none) and the Yezhovshchina ('period of Yezhov'), was Soviet General Secreta ...

in 1938, but practical implementation of his ideas was begun by

Ilya Starinov Colonel Ilya Grigoryevich Starinov (russian: Илья Григорьевич Старинов; , village of Voynovo, today's Oryol Oblast – 18 November 2000) was a Soviet military officer, the most famous Soviet saboteur. Career Starinov join ...

, dubbed the "grandfather of the ''spetsnaz''".Carey Schofield, ''The Russian Elite: Inside Spetsnaz and the Airborne Forces'', Greenhill, London, 1993, p.34 Following the entrance of the Soviet Union into

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, basic forces dedicated to acts of

and

were formed under the supervision of the Second Department of the

General Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces The General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (russian: Генеральный штаб Вооружённых сил Российской Федерации, General'nyy shtab Vooruzhonnykh sil Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the mi ...

, and were subordinate to the commanders of Fronts. 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. Spetsnaz GRU training included: weapons handling, fast rappelling, explosives training, marksmanship,

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or ...

, airborne training,

hand-to-hand combat Hand-to-hand combat (sometimes abbreviated as HTH or H2H) is a physical confrontation between two or more persons at short range (grappling distance or within the physical reach of a handheld weapon) that does not involve the use of weapons.Hun ...

, climbing (alpine rope techniques), diving, underwater combat, emergency medical training, and

demolition Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a bu ...

History

Soviet era

The situation was reviewed after the war ended, and between 1947 and 1950 the whole of the

(GRU) was reorganized.Carey Schofield, ''The Russian Elite: Inside Spetsnaz and the Airborne Forces'', Greenhill, London, 1993, p.35 The first "independent reconnaissance companies of special purpose" were formed in 1949, to work for

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful ...

and

combined-arms Combined arms is an approach to warfare that seeks to integrate different combat arms of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects (for example by using infantry and armour in an urban environment in which each supports the other) ...

armies, which were tasked to eliminate amongst others enemy

nuclear weapons A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...

systems such as the

MGR-3 Little John The MGR-3 Little John was a free flight artillery rocket system designed and put into service by the U.S. Army during the 1950s and 1960s. Description Carried on the XM34 rocket launcher, it could carry either nuclear or conventional warhea ...

and

MGM-1 Matador The Martin MGM-1 Matador was the first operational surface-to-surface cruise missile designed and built by the United States. It was developed after World War II, drawing upon their wartime experience with creating the Republic-Ford JB-2, a ...

. 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 The MGM-52 Lance was a mobile field artillery tactical surface-to-surface missile (tactical ballistic missile) system used to provide both nuclear and conventional fire support to the United States Army. The missile's warhead was developed at La ...

MGM-29 Sergeant The MGM-29 Sergeant was an American short-range, solid fuel, surface-to-surface missile developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The missiles were built by Sperry Utah Company. The Sergeant was the third and last in a series of JPL rockets for ...

, and

MGM-31 Pershing The MGM-31A Pershing was the missile used in the Pershing 1 and Pershing 1a field artillery missile systems. It was a solid-fueled two-stage theater ballistic missile designed and built by Martin Marietta to replace the PGM-11 Redstone missile as ...

. Two 'study regiments' were established in the 1960s to train specialists and NCOs, the first in 1968 at Pechora near

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=pskov-ru.ogg, p=pskof; see also names in other languages) is a city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, located about east of the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population ...

, and the second in 1970 at

Chirchik Chirchiq, also spelled as Chirchik, ( uz, Chirchiq / Чирчиқ; russian: Чирчик) is a district-level city in Tashkent Region, Uzbekistan. It is about 32 km northeast of Tashkent, along the river Chirchiq. Chirchiq lies in the Chat ...

near

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of 2 ...

. According to Vladimir Rezun, a GRU defector who used the pseudonym "

Viktor Suvorov Vladimir Bogdanovich Rezun (russian: link=no, Владимир Богданович Резун; born 20 April 1947), known by his pseudonym of Viktor Suvorov () is a former Soviet GRU officer who is the author of non-fiction books about World ...

", there were 20 GRU Spetsnaz brigades plus 41 separate companies at the time of his defection in 1978.

Known missions

The first major foreign operation of the unit came in August 1968, when Moscow decided to crack down on the

Prague Spring The Prague Spring ( cs, Pražské jaro, sk, Pražská jar) was a period of political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected First ...

and move the troops of

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republi ...

countries into

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. 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 the Prague Airport, allegedly due to engine failure.https://www.rbth.com/defence/2017/05/10/gru-alpha-vympel-russias-famous-covert-operators-759604 , date=21 Nov 2019http://survincity.com/2011/03/how-did-the-russian-special-forces/ , date=21 Nov 2019 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. Evstafiev-spetsnaz-prepare-for-mission

In December 1979, the undercover Spetsnaz GRU unit codenamed "Muslim Battalion" participated in

Operation Storm-333 Operation Storm-333 (russian: Шторм-333, ), also known as the Tajbeg Palace Assault, was executed by the Soviet Union in Afghanistan on 27 December 1979. It saw Spetsnaz storm the heavily fortified Tajbeg Palace in Kabul and subsequently as ...

, the successful mission to

assassinate Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

Hafizullah Amin Hafizullah Amin (Pashto/ prs, حفيظ الله امين; 1 August 192927 December 1979) was an Afghan communist revolutionary, politician and teacher. He organized the Saur Revolution of 1978 and co-founded the Democratic Republic of Afghan ...

, the President of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

, and to capture Amin's residential palace which triggered the

Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Soviet ...

. Most of Spetsnaz GRU's operations remain classified even after the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

. 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 , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordinat ...

Russian Federation era

Following the deactivation of the Soviet

GRU The Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, rus, Гла́вное управле́ние Генера́льного шта́ба Вооружённых сил Росси́йской Федера́ци ...

in 1992, control of the special forces was transferred to the newly formed

of Russia and were maintained to their respective assigned units as before. According to

Stanislav Lunev Stanislav Lunev (russian: Станислав Лунев; born 1946 in Leningrad) is a former Soviet military officer, the highest-ranking GRU officer to defect from Russia to the United States. Biography Stanislav Lunev was born in Leningrad, to ...

, who defected to the U.S. in 1992, the GRU also commanded some 25,000 Spetsnaz troops as of 1997. Following the

2008 Russian military reform The Serdyukov reform (), named after its originator, Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, was a major structural reorganisation of the Russian Armed Forces that began in 2009. Significant reforms of the Russian Armed Forces were announced in Octob ...

, 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 A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military ...

, bypassing the GRU. In 2013, the Directorate became the Special Operations Forces Command with a GRU unit transferring to the command. In 2010, Spetsnaz GRU units were reassigned to the military districts of the

Ground Forces An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

and was subordinate to the operational-strategic commands until 2012, due to then

Defence Minister A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in s ...

Anatoliy Serdyukov Anatoly Eduardovich Serdyukov (russian: Анатолий Эдуардович Сердюков; born 8 January 1962) is a Russian politician and businessman. He was Russia's Minister of Defense from 15 February 2007 to 6 November 2012, and made ...

's military reforms. This decision was reversed in 2013 and Spetsnaz GRU units were reassigned to their original GRU divisions.

Known operations

Throughout the mid-1990s to the 2000s, Spetsnaz GRU were involved in both the

First Chechen War The First Chechen War, also known as the First Chechen Campaign,, rmed conflict in the Chechen Republic and on bordering territories of the Russian FederationФедеральный закон № 5-ФЗ от 12 января 1995 (в редакц ...

and more prominently 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 ...

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 Chechnya ( rus, Чечня́, Chechnyá, p=tɕɪtɕˈnʲa; ce, Нохчийчоь, Noxçiyçö), officially the Chechen Republic,; ce, Нохчийн Республика, Noxçiyn Respublika is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the ...

, and also in the 2008

Russo-Georgian War The 2008 Russo-Georgian WarThe war is known by a variety of other names, including Five-Day War, August War and Russian invasion of Georgia. was a war between Georgia, on one side, and Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of Sou ...

as well as

peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare. Within the United ...

operations after the

2006 Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War ( ar, حرب تموز, ''Ḥarb Tammūz'') and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War ( he, מלחמת לבנון השנייה, ''Milhemet Leva ...

. Spetsnaz GRU maintains an airborne unit, the Separate Spetsnaz Airborne Reconnaissance Unit (codenamed No. 48427), which participated in the 2008 Georgian War. The unit is housed at Matrosskaya Tishina 10 in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. During the period of insurgency in the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...

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 The Caucasus Emirate ( ce, Имарат Кавказ, Imarat Kavkaz, IK; russian: Кавказский эмират, Kavkazskiy emirat), also known as the Caucasian Emirate, Emirate of Caucasus, or Islamic Emirate of the Caucasus, was a Jihadist ...

, 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 Little green men is the stereotypical portrayal of extraterrestrials as little humanoid creatures with green skin and sometimes with antennae on their heads. The term is also sometimes used to describe gremlins, mythical creatures known for cau ...

", and the start of the rebel insurgency by

pro-Russian Russophilia (literally love of Russia or Russians) is admiration and fondness of Russia (including the era of the Soviet Union and/or the Russian Empire), Russian history and Russian culture. The antonym is Russophobia. In the 19th Century, ...

rebels, Ukraine has on numerous occasions accused various Spetsnaz forces of aiding the rebels and even fighting on the ground in

Eastern Ukraine Eastern Ukraine or east Ukraine ( uk, Східна Україна, Skhidna Ukrayina; russian: Восточная Украина, Vostochnaya Ukraina) is primarily the territory of Ukraine east of the Dnipro (or Dnieper) river, particularly Khar ...

. In December 2014, the Ukrainian military claimed that the Spetsnaz GRU was involved in attacks on an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: cities' alternative names), is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine loc ...

which was later captured by DPR in the

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and for ...

. In late 2015, GRU special forces operators were reportedly involved in the Syrian Civil War, appearing in the government offensives of

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

and

Homs ar, حمصي, Himsi , population_urban = , population_density_urban_km2 = , population_density_urban_sq_mi = , population_blank1_title = Ethnicities , population_blank1 = , population_blank2_t ...

. GRU officials have also visited

Qamishli Qamishli ( ar, ٱلْقَامِشْلِي, Al-Qāmišlī, ku, قامشلۆ, Qamişlo, syc, ܒܝܬ ܙܠܝ̈ܢ, Bēṯ Zālīn, lit=House of Reeds or syr, ܩܡܫܠܐ, translit=Qamishlo)

, near the border with

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

2022 invasion of Ukraine

GRU special forces units participated in the

2022 invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

in various roles. Spestnaz units were sent in during the first days of the invasion as

saboteurs Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...

disguised as civilians or Ukrainian military, while others were sent to capture or assassinate important Ukrainian government members, including President

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy, ; russian: Владимир Александрович Зеленский, Vladimir Aleksandrovich Zelenskyy, (born 25 January 1978; also transliterated as Zelensky or Zelenskiy) is a Ukrainian politicia ...

List of GRU special units

Below is a list of current "

Spetsnaz Spetsnaz are special forces in numerous post-Soviet states. (The term is borrowed from rus, спецназ, p=spʲɪtsˈnas; abbreviation for or 'Special Purpose Military Units'; or .) Historically, the term ''spetsnaz'' referred to the ...

" units in the

Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (, ), commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military forces of Russia. In terms of active-duty personnel, they are the world's fifth-largest military force, with at least two m ...

that fall under GRU operational control during wartime operations: *

Russian Ground Forces The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �ВSukhoputnyye voyska V}), also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Force ...

- fields 7 spetsnaz brigades of varying sizes and one spetsnaz regiment. ** 2nd Guards Spetsnaz Brigade – based in Promezhitsa,

Pskov Oblast Pskov Oblast (russian: Пско́вская о́бласть, ') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the west of the country. Its administrative center is the city of Pskov. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 673, ...

***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 Tolyatti ( rus, Толья́тти, p=tɐlʲˈjætʲ(ː)ɪ), also known as Togliatti, formerly known as Stavropol (1737–1964), is a city in Samara Oblast, Russia. It is the largest city in Russia which does not serve as the administrative center ...

***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 Krasnodar Krai (russian: Краснода́рский край, r=Krasnodarsky kray, p=krəsnɐˈdarskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia and ...

***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 Ussuriysk (russian: Уссури́йск) is a city in Primorsky Krai, Russia, located in the fertile valley of the Razdolnaya River, north of Vladivostok, the administrative center of the krai, and about from both the China–Russia border and ...

***Brigade HQ ****Signals Company ****Logistics Company *** 282nd Special Purpose Detachment *** 294th Special Purpose Detachment *** 308th Special Purpose Detachment ***Training Battalion (2× Company) **

16th Special Purpose Brigade 16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and . In English speech, ...

– based in

Tambov Tambov (, ; rus, Тамбов, p=tɐmˈbof) is a city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, central Russia, at the confluence of the Tsna and Studenets Rivers, about south-southeast of Moscow. Population: 280,161 ( 2010 Census); 29 ...

, with all units deployed in Tambov except for the 664th SPD.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. ReconnaissanceExercise2017-01

***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 Separate Guards Special Purpose Brigade – entire unit is based in Stepnoi,

Rostov Oblast Rostov Oblast ( rus, Росто́вская о́бласть, r=Rostovskaya oblast, p=rɐˈstofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Southern Federal District. The oblast has an area of and a popula ...

***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 The 24th Separate Guards Special Forces Brigade (''24-й отдельной бригады специального назначения'') is a Special forces, special forces (''spetsnaz'') brigade of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. ...

– based in

Irkutsk Irkutsk ( ; rus, Иркутск, p=ɪrˈkutsk; Buryat and mn, Эрхүү, ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 617,473 as of the 2010 Census, Irkutsk is the 25th-larges ...

, with all units and units deployed in Irkutsk ***Brigade HQ ****Signals Company ****Special Weapons Company ****Logistics Unit ***281st Special Purpose Detachment ***297th Special Purpose Detachment ***641th Special Purpose Detachment ** 25th Special Purpose Regiment *

Russian Airborne Forces The Russian Airborne Forces (russian: Воздушно-десантные войска России, ВДВ, Vozdushno-desantnye voyska Rossii, VDV) are the airborne forces branch of the Russian Armed Forces. It was formed in 1992 from units of ...

** 45th Guards Special Purpose Brigade – based in

Kubinka Kubinka (russian: Ку́бинка) is a town in Odintsovsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Setun River, west of Moscow. Population: __TOC__ History Kubinka, founded in the 15th century, may have been named after Prince , a ...

45th Guards Separate Reconnaissance Regiment of VDV show

* Russian Navy FrogmenExercise2017-01

The navy also fields dedicated maritime sabotage and counter-sabotage diver units which are attached to the

naval infantry Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...

. These units also include

combat swimmers A frogman is someone who is trained in scuba diving or human swimming, swimming underwater in a tactical capacity that includes military, and in some European countries, police work. Such personnel are also known by the more formal names of co ...

, trained to conduct underwater combat,

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the econom ...

and

clearance diving A clearance diver was originally a specialist naval diver who used explosives underwater to remove obstructions to make harbours and shipping channels safe to navigate, but the term "clearance diver" was later used to include other naval unde ...

. 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. There are PDSS units in all major naval bases across Russia. 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. * Naval Special Reconnaissance (OMRP) ** 42nd Marine Reconnaissance point ( Pacific Fleet) ** 388th Marine Reconnaissance point (

Black Sea Fleet Chernomorskiy flot , image = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet , dates = May 13, ...

) – reorganized from the former 431st MRP ** 420th Marine Reconnaissance point (

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 ...

) ** 561st Marine Reconnaissance point (

Baltic Fleet , image = Great emblem of the Baltic fleet.svg , image_size = 150 , caption = Baltic Fleet Great ensign , dates = 18 May 1703 – present , country = , allegiance = (1703–1721) (1721–1917) (1917–1922) (1922–1991)(1991–present) ...

) * Special Purpose Detachments for Combat against Underwater Diversionary Forces and Devices (OSNB PDSS) **101st SPDC PDSS - based in

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky ( rus, Петропавловск-Камчатский, a=Петропавловск-Камчатский.ogg, p=pʲɪtrɐˈpavləfsk kɐmˈtɕatskʲɪj) is a city and the administrative, industrial, scientific, and cultu ...

** 102nd SPDC PDSS - based in

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

** 136th SPDC PDSS - based in

Novorossiysk Novorossiysk ( rus, Новоросси́йск, p=nəvərɐˈsʲijsk; ady, ЦIэмэз, translit=Chəməz, p=t͡sʼɜmɜz) is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is one of the largest ports on the Black Sea. It is one of the few cities hono ...

** 137th SPDC PDSS - based in

Makhachkala Makhachkala ( rus, Махачкала, , məxətɕkɐˈla, links=yes),; av, Махӏачхъала, Maħaçqala; ce, ХӀинжа-ГӀала, Hinƶa-Ġala; az, Маһачгала, Mahaçqala; nog, Махачкала; lbe, Махачкъала; ...

** 140th SPDC PDSS - based in

Vidyayevo Vidyayevo (russian: Видя́ево) is a closed rural inhabited locality in Murmansk Oblast, Russia. Despite having a rural status, it is municipally incorporated as Vidyayevo Urban Okrug, as such status is the only one allowed by the feder ...

** 152nd SPDC PDSS - based in

Polyarny, Murmansk Oblast Polyarny (russian: Поля́рный) is a town and the administrative center of the closed administrative-territorial formation of Alexandrovsk in Murmansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the outermost western side of the Kola Bay. Population: I ...

** 153rd SPDC PDSS - based in

Ostrovnoy, Murmansk Oblast Ostrovnoy (russian: Островно́й), previously known as Murmansk-140 (), is a closed town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 2,171; down from 5,032 recorded in the 2002 Census. History The first naval ...

** 159th SPDC PDSS - based in Razboynik ** 160th SPDC PDSS - based in Murmansk ** 269th SPDC PDSS - based in Gadzhiyevo ** 311th SPDC PDSS - based in

** 313rd SPDC PDSS - based in

Baltiysk Baltiysk (russian: Балти́йск; german: Pillau; Old Prussian: ''Pillawa''; pl, Piława; lt, Piliava; Yiddish: פּילאַווע, ''Pilave'') is a seaport town and the administrative center of Baltiysky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, R ...

** 473rd SPDC PDSS - based in

Kronstadt Kronstadt (russian: Кроншта́дт, Kronshtadt ), also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt or Kronštádt (from german: link=no, Krone for " crown" and ''Stadt'' for "city") is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city ...

Dissolved units

The

Special Battalions Vostok and Zapad Special Battalions ''Vostok'' and ''Zapad'' (russian: Специальные батальоны "Восток" и "Запад", lit. "East" and "West") were two Spetsnaz units of the GRU, the military intelligence agency of Russia, based in Chech ...

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 Mountain warfare (also known as alpine warfare) is warfare in mountains or similarly rough terrain. Mountain ranges are of strategic importance since they often act as a natural border, and may also be the origin of a water source (for example, ...

and special operations in Chechnya. A

power struggle In political science and political history, the term power vacuum, also known as a power void, is an analogy between a physical vacuum to the political condition "when someone in a place of power, has lost control of something and no one has repla ...

then broke out between rival pro-Russian Chechen warlords then

Head of the Chechen Republic The Head of the Chechen Republic or Head of Chechnya (russian: Глава Чеченской Республики, italic=yes, ce, Мехкада Нохчийн Республика; formerly President of the Chechen Republic or President of Che ...

Kadyrov and

Sulim Yamadaev Suleiman Bekmirzayevich Yamadayev (; 21 June 1973 – 30 March 2009) was a Chechen rebel commander from the First Chechen War who had switched sides together with his brothers Dzhabrail, Badrudi, Isa and Ruslan in 1999 during the outbreak of ...

which led to a series of assassinations and shootouts in the ensuing years forcing the GRU to disband the controversial battalions in November 2008.