The 150th Guards Motor Rifle

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Idritsa Idritsa () is an urban locality (a work settlement) in Sebezhsky District of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located on the Idritsa River, a left tributary of the Velikaya River. Municipally, it is incorporated as Idritsa Urban Settlement, one of the t ...

Order of Kutuzov The Order of Kutuzov ( ''orden Kutuzova'') is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named after famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov, Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov (1745–1813). The Order was established during World War II t ...

Division () of the

Russian Ground Forces The Russian Ground Forces (), also known as the Russian Army in English, are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces are the protection of the state borders, combat on land, ...

is a motorized rifle division that was re-instituted in 2016. It is part of the 8th Guards Combined Arms Army, which was reformed in 2017, in the

Southern Military District The Order of the Red Banner Southern Military District () is a military district of Russia. It is one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, with its jurisdiction primarily within the North Caucasus region of the country ...

. Its

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

predecessor fought on the Eastern Front of World War II from 1941 to 1945. It gained fame when its soldiers raised the Soviet flag over the Reichstag on May 2, 1945. The nickname ‘Idritskaya’ was given to the Soviet division on July 23, 1944, by the order № 207 for its heroic battle in the town of Idritsa. The division fought at Schneidemühl and

History

The division was formed three times, being initially established at

Vyazma Vyazma () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Vyazemsky District, Smolensk Oblast, Vyazemsky District in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vyazma River, about halfway between Smolensk, the ...

in September 1939. As part of the 3rd Army's 3rd Rifle Corps, the division took part in the Soviet Invasion of Poland. Force Composition * 469th Rifle Regiment * 674th Rifle Regiment * 756th Rifle Regiment * 328th Light Artillery Regiment * 418th Howitzer Regiment Operating as part of the 9th Army on 22 June 1941, then, after the

Second Battle of Kharkov The Second Battle of Kharkov or Operation Fredericus was an Axis powers, Axis counter-offensive in the region around Kharkov against the Red Army Izium bridgehead offensive conducted 12–28 May 1942, on the Eastern Front (World War II), Easter ...

, was wiped out at Izyum in May 1942.

2nd Formation

The division was reformed at Turga in the Siberian Military District on July 23, 1942, based on the 1st Siberian Volunteer Division. The unit was made up of over 10,000 men from Siberian factories and the Kuzbass coal fields and had a cadre of 1,460 combat veterans. By September 1 it had enlisted 13,754 personnel, 43.8 percent of whom were Communist Party members or Komsomols. Within two weeks it was assigned to the 6th "Siberian Volunteer" Rifle Corps and began moving by rail to camps near Moscow where it received the last of its support troops and transport. On September 30, the 150th set out on a 170km road march to join the 22nd Army near Belyi, part of the

Kalinin Front The Kalinin Front was a major formation of the Red Army active in the Eastern Front of World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions ...

. During the Second Rzhev-Sychevka Offensive (

Operation Mars Operation Mars (Russian: Операция «Марс»), also known as the Second Rzhev-Sychevka Offensive Operation (Russian: Вторая Ржевско-Сычёвская наступательная операция), was the codename f ...

) the 150th Division and the 6th Rifle Corps were referred to as "Stalin" units and were regarded as an elite force. On January 6, 1943, the division was pulled from the line and moved by rail to the

Velikiye Luki Velikiye Luki ( rus, Вели́кие Лу́ки, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪjə ˈlukʲɪ; lit. ''great meanders''. Г. П. Смолицкая. "Топонимический словарь Центральной России". "Армада-� ...

area, where it served in the 5th Guards Rifle Corps during the last few days of the battle for that city, then on the 25th staged an assault crossing of the Lovat and Loknya Rivers. By the middle of February it was back in 6th Corps in 22nd Army. Over the next two months it fought in the Kholm area, pinning down the German forces evacuating from the

Demyansk Pocket The Demyansk Pocket (; ) was the name given to the pocket of German troops encircled by the Red Army around Demyansk, south of Leningrad, during World War II's Eastern Front. The pocket existed mainly from 8 February to 21 April 1942. A much ...

. On April 16 the Supreme High Command recognized the service of the 6th "Siberian Volunteer" Rifle Corps by re-designating it as the 19th Guards Rifle Corps, and three days later the 150th became the second formation of the 22nd Guards Rifle Division.

3rd Formation

It was then re-created for the third time in September 1943. When formed for the third time, it was composed of the 127th, 144th, and 151st brigades. Initially, this division fell under the command of the 34th Army. But during some time in early 1944, it was transferred to the 6th Guards Army, and then finally it was assigned to the

79th Rifle Corps The 79th Rifle Corps () was a rifle corps of the Red Army in World War II that became part of the Soviet Army during the Cold War. World War II The corps was formed in July 1943 as a headquarters with no troops assigned, and subordinated to th ...

of the 3rd Shock Army, of the

1st Belorussian Front The 1st Belorussian Front (, ''Pervyy Belorusskiy front'', also romanized " Byelorussian"), known without a numeral as the Belorussian Front between October 1943 and February 1944, was a major formation of the Red Army during World War II, bein ...

, under which it would stay on the offensive all the way from Nevel,

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. On April 22, 1945, when victory for the Soviet Army was near, an order from the Military Council of the 3rd Shock Army designated the 150th Division to be one of 9 divisions to receive a special banner solely for the purpose of raising it over the Reichstag as a sign of the Soviet victory.

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...

Yevgeny Khaldei Yevgeny Ananyevich Khaldei (; ; – 6 October 1997) was a Soviet Red Army naval officer and photographer. He is best known for his World War II photograph of a Soviet soldier Raising a Flag over the Reichstag, raising a flag over the Reichstag ...

took the picture of soldiers Kovaliev and another comrade of the Division's 756th Rifle Regiment hoisting the flag (called the Victory Banner) on April 30, 1945, on the roof of the

Reichstag building The Reichstag (; ) is a historic legislative government building on Platz der Republik in Berlin that is the seat of the German Bundestag. It is also the meeting place of the Federal Convention, which elects the President of Germany. The Ne ...

. An earlier flag had been raised the day before while the building was being fought over with remaining German soldiers. However, as the flag was raised after dusk, there was no chance to take a picture. After taking the shot with the flag Khaldei rushed back to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, and it was later decided that the true persons on the photo, Kovaliev and his comrade, were not politically correct. So they became Meliton Kantaria (a Georgian, like Stalin) and Mikhail Yegorov (a

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

). On April 26, 1945, for its earlier heroic overnight victory at lake Woświn east of

Stargard Stargard (; 1945: ''Starogród'', 1950–2016: ''Stargard Szczeciński''; or ''Stargard an der Ihna''; ) is a city in northwestern Poland, located in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. In 2021 it was inhabited by 67,293 people. It is situated on ...

, 150th Rifle Division was awarded the

, second degree. In December 1946 the division was disbanded in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. 15 personnel were awarded the Gold Star Medal as Heroes of the Soviet Union, while a veteran of the unit was given the Gold Star Medal as a

Hero of Ukraine A Hero of Ukraine (HOU; ) is the highest national decoration that can be conferred upon an individual citizen by the president of Ukraine. The decoration was created in 1998 by President Leonid Kuchma. As of 6 June 2025, the total number of re ...

in 2005.

Reactivation (2016)

250px, Command staff exercise of the 150th Rifle Division, August 2019 The unit was re-established in December 2016 in

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

as a full motor rifle division with its division HQ scheduled to open in

Novocherkassk Novocherkassk () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located near the confluence of the Tuzlov and Aksay Rivers, the latter a distributary of the Don (river), Don River. Novocherkassk is best known as the ...

and was meant to become part of the 8th Combined Arms Army, as part of the broader structural reform of the Russian armed forces. The division was equipped with T-90A MBTs, BMP-3 IFVs and BTR-80 APCs, and contains as-yet undisclosed infantry, armour, artillery and SAM regiments, as well as communications, logistics and intelligence units."Новая 150-я мотострелковая дивизия приступила к защите рубежей на юге РФ"
(Russian),

TASS The Russian News Agency TASS, or simply TASS, is a Russian state-owned news agency founded in 1904. It is the largest Russian news agency and one of the largest news agencies worldwide. TASS is registered as a Federal State Unitary Enterpri ...

(2 December 2016) The division's re-formation was completed by 2017."Министр обороны проинспектировал ход обустройства 150-й мотострелковой дивизии ЮВО в Ростовской области"
(Russian), Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation (19 January 2017) In 2018, Russian president Putin signed decrees naming some of the division's units after localities in Belarus, Poland, and Ukraine. On the eve of

Victory Day Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may ob ...

in 2019, the commander of the Southern Military District, Colonel General

Aleksandr Dvornikov Aleksandr Vladimirovich Dvornikov (; born 22 August 1961) is a former Russian army general (Russia), army general who commanded the Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war, Russian military intervention in Syria and the Russian in ...

, presented a copy of the Victory Banner to the commander of the 150th Rifle Division. On 1 December 2019, the 103rd motorized rifle regiment was formed as part of the division. On 18 January 2020, the regiment was presented its renewed Colour of the 2008/2010 pattern. Creation of the new unit completed the formation of the 150th motorized rifle division. The division has been heavily engaged in the invasion of Ukraine with its commander, Major General Oleg Mityaev, reportedly killed in action around March 18, 2022. On August 5, 2024, by Decree of the

President of the Russian Federation The president of Russia, officially the president of the Russian Federation (), is the executive head of state of Russia. The president is the chair of the Federal State Council and the supreme commander-in-chief of the Russian Armed Forces. I ...

, the division was granted the honorary title "Guards" for the massive heroism and bravery, fortitude and courage shown by the personnel of the division in combat operations to protect the Fatherland and state interests in armed conflicts at home and abroad over the past 85 years.

Organization (2020)

* Division HQ ** 174th Reconnaissance Battalion ** 258th Signal Battalion ** 293rd Materiel Battalion ** 539th Engineers Battalion ** Anti-Tank Artillery Battalion ** Medical Battalion ** Electronic Warfare Company ** UAV Company ** NBC protection company * 102nd Slonim-Pomeranian Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment * 103rd Motor Rifle Regiment

103rd Motorized Rifle Regiment * 68th Guards Zhytomyr-Berlin Tank Regiment * 163rd Guards Nizhyn Tank Regiment * 381st Guards Warsaw Artillery Regiment * 933th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment SSI

933th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment SSI

933rd Upper Dnipro Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment * "Afipsa" Storm Battalion

Commanders

*Major-general Sergei Alekseyevich Kniazkov (1939–1940) *Major-general Alexander Ivanovich Pastrevich (1940–1941) *Major-general Daniil Grigorevich Egorov (1941–1942) *Colonel Leonid Vasilyevich Yakovlev (September 1943 – April 1944) *Major-general Vasily Mitrofanovich Shatilov (May 1944 – December 1946) *Major-general Pyotr Nikolayevich Bolgarev (2016–2018) *Major-general Ruslan Musaevich Dzeitov (2018–2019) *Major-general Vladimir Khazretovich Elkanov (2019–2020) * Major-general Oleg Yurievich Mityaev (2020–2023) * Guards Major General Vitaly Valerievich Teryokhin (2023–present)

References

Sources

*
''Шатилов В.М.'' Знамя над рейхстагом. 3-е изд. М.: Воениздат, 1975

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*https://informnapalm.org/en/myths-and-reality-behind-the-150th-division-russian-state-of-art-21st-century-armed-forces/ {{Russian divisions Infantry divisions of the Soviet Union in World War II Military units and formations established in 1939 Military units and formations disestablished in 1946 Military units and formations established in 2016 Military units and formations of Russia in the Russian invasion of Ukraine