The 15th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Alexandria (Peacekeeping) Brigade (),

Military Unit Number A Military Unit Number (Russian: войсковая часть, в/ ч; Ukrainian: військова частина, в/ ч) is a numeric alternate designation for military units in the armed forces and internal troops of post-Soviet ...

90600, is a unit in 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, ...

. It is the only named peacekeeping brigade in the

Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military of Russia. They are organized into three service branches—the Russian Ground Forces, Ground Forces, Russian Navy, Navy, and Russi ...

. The formation is part of the 2nd Guards Combined Arms Army of the

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

. It is based in Roshchinsky in Volzhsky District of

Samara Oblast Samara Oblast (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Samara. From 1935 to 1991, it was known as Kuybyshev Oblast. As of the Rus ...

. Its former honorifics were Berlin Red Banner

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 ...

Pre-history

The predecessor of the brigade is the 76th Guards Rifle Regiment, which was repeatedly renamed and reorganized. The regiment traces its history back to the 75th Naval Rifle Brigade, formed during the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front, also known as the Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II ...

from 29 October 1941 to December 1941,List No. 7 in Novokazalinsk in the

Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic The Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Kazakhstan, the Kazakh SSR, KSSR, or simply Kazakhstan, was one of the transcontinental country, transcontinental Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Un ...

. On 17 March 1942, by order of the

People's Commissar of Defence The Minister of Defence of the Soviet Union () refers to the Minister (government), head of the Ministry of Defense (Soviet Union), Ministry of Defence who was responsible for defence of the Socialist state, socialist/Communist state, communist R ...

(NKO USSR) No. 78, the 75th Naval Rifle Brigade was awarded a Guards title, and on 18 March 1942 converted into the 3rd Guards Rifle Brigade. However, two months later, in May 1942, the brigade was reorganized into the

27th Guards Rifle Division Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven. Seventh may refer to: * Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution * A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts Film and television *"The Seventh", a second-season ep ...

, and all the units, formed as part of this military formation, as well as the division itself, inherit the Guards honorary name of their "ancestor" - the 3rd Guards Rifle Brigade. One of these guards military units was the 76th Guards Rifle Regiment, formed in the same period as part of the 27th Guards Rifle Division, on the basis of one of the rifle battalions of the former 3rd Guards Rifle Brigade. Subsequently, for the courage and heroism shown by its personnel during the

Battle of Berlin The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula–Od ...

, on 11 June 1945 the regiment was awarded the honorary title "Berlin." On 5 October 1945 it is transformed into the 69th Guards Mechanised Berlin Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Regiment; and in 1957 into the 243rd Guards Motor Rifle Berlin Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Regiment (

47290). With the 27th Guards Rifle Division, from 1957 the 27th Guards Motor Rifle Division, it served for decades in

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

as part of the

8th Guards Army The 8th Guards Order of Lenin Combined Arms Army (abbreviated 8th GCAA) was an army of the Soviet Army, as a successor to the 62nd Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army, which was formed during World War II and was disbanded in 1998 after being do ...

Group of Soviet Forces in Germany The Western Group of Forces (WGF), previously known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOFG) and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG), were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupation ...

. In 1991, the

27th Guards Motor Rifle Division The 27th Guards Omsk-Novobug Red Banner Order of Bogdan Khmelnitskiy Motor Rifle Division (; Military Unit Number 35100)Michael Holm27th Guards Motorised Rifle Division/ref> is a Guards mechanised infantry division of the Russian Ground Force ...

was withdrawn from the Western Group of Forces and redeployed to

Totskoye Totskoye () is a rural locality (a '' selo'') and the administrative center of Totsky District of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. Population: History The settlement was founded in 1736. During World War I, it was the site of a prisoner-of-war cam ...

in the Volga-Ural Military District. On 17 June 1991 the 243rd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment was renamed as the 589th Guards Motor Rifle Berlin Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Regiment (

32056), as part of the same 27th Guards Motor Rifle Division.

Twenty-first century

The current brigade was formed on 1 February 2005 by redesignation of the 589th Guards MRR, in accordance with a directive of Minister of Defence

Sergei Ivanov Sergei Borisovich Ivanov (, ; born 31 January 1953) is a Russian senior official and politician who has been serving as the Special Presidential Envoy on the Issues of Environmental Activities, Ecology and Transport since 12 August 2016. He h ...

given on 30 December 2004. It was designed to participate in international peace and security missions under the auspices of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. From December 2005 to November 2008, the peacekeeping brigade carried out tasks of maintaining peace in the zone of the

Abkhaz–Georgian conflict The Abkhazia conflict is a territorial dispute over Abkhazia, a region on the eastern coast of the Black Sea in the South Caucasus, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. The conflict involves Georgia, the Russian Federation a ...

. Servicemen of the brigade have also been part of the peacekeeping contingents by decision of the

President of Russia 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 State Council (Russia), Federal State Council and the President of Russia#Commander-in-ch ...

under the

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization, regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an ar ...

, the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the p ...

, and the

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a Eurasian politics, political, economy, economic, international security and Defence (military), defence organization of ten member states. It was established in 2001 by the China, People's Republic ...

. Reported to have reached 100% contract service composition in 2005. In April 2008 the brigade was visited by the Minister of Defence of Japan. In August 2008 one unit took part in the

Russo-Georgian War The August 2008 Russo-Georgian War, also known as the Russian invasion of Georgia,Occasionally, the war is also referred to by other names, such as the Five-Day War and August War. was a war waged against Georgia by the Russian Federation and the ...

. In 2011, the brigade was presented with a new type of battle banner. On 4 November 2019, the brigade was given the honorary title Alexandria, and a copy of the regimental standard of the 5th Alexandria Hussar Regiment of the 5th Cavalry Division of the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

was awarded to the brigade. The title makes it one of several Armed Forces formations that honor formations of the Imperial era, and its Soviet-era honorifics were removed. The brigade was awarded the honorary Guards title on 9 May 2022 in celebration 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 ...

for its "mass courage and heroism in the defense of the fatherland and state interests in military conflicts," the new title being 15th Separate Guards Alexandriyskaya Motor Rifle Brigade.

War in Ukraine

In 2014, reports from open sources claimed the presence of servicemen from the brigade in the

Donbas The Donbas (, ; ) or Donbass ( ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. The majority of the Donbas is occupied by Russia as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The word ''Donbas'' is a portmanteau formed fr ...

during the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

and the

war in Donbas The war in Donbas, or the Donbas war, was a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. The war Timeline of the war in Donbas (2014), began in April 2014, when Russian separatist forces in Ukraine, Russian para ...

. In August, units of the brigade reportedly took part in the battles near Georgiyivka in the Lutuhyne Raion. At a briefing on 11 March 2015, the ATO headquarters stated that units of the 15th brigade were operating in the

Luhansk Oblast Luhansk Oblast (; ), also referred to as Luhanshchyna (), is the easternmost Administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) of Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Luhansk. The oblast was established in 1938 and bore the n ...

, and on 17 April, the Chief of the Ukrainian General Staff

Viktor Muzhenko Viktor Mykolayovych Muzhenko (; born 10 October 1961)
LIGA is a Ukrainian

, stated that units of the 15th brigade remained in the oblast. In October 2016, reports from open sources claimed the presence of servicemen from the brigade in the

. Reportedly, members of the brigade have taken part in the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. At the battle of Avdiivka the unit gained prominence for destroying an American M1

Abrams tank The M1 Abrams () is a third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern armored ground warfare, it is one of the heaviest ...

. The Lancet drone and FPV drone operators getting most of the credit for the destruction of the Abrams tank.

Karabakh conflict

In November 2020, after a

peace agreement A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice, which is an agreement to stop hostilities; a surr ...

ending the war over the region, servicemen from the brigade were deployed to

Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh (, ; ) is a region in Azerbaijan, covering the southeastern stretch of the Lesser Caucasus mountain range. Part of the greater region of Karabakh, it spans the area between Lower Karabakh and Syunik Province, Syunik. Its ter ...

to keep the peace. In the agreement, 1,960 servicemen of the brigade were to be sent to the region, leaving from

Ulyanovsk Vostochny Airport Ulyanovsk Vostochny Airport (sometimes referred to as Ul'yanovsk or Ulyanovsk Northeast) is an airport in Russia located northeast of Ulyanovsk. Its runway is tied with Shigatse Peace Airport in China as the longest public use runway in the ...

on a

Il-76 The Ilyushin Il-76 (; NATO reporting name: Candid) is a multi-purpose, fixed-wing, four-engine turbofan strategic airlifter designed by the Soviet Union's Ilyushin design bureau as a commercial freighter in 1967, to replace the Antonov An-12. ...

military transport aircraft. Outside of the servicemen, 90 armored personnel carriers and 380 units of automobile and special equipment were sent with the brigade. The command of the Russian peacekeeping forces was also established in the Karabakh capital of

Stepanakert Stepanakert officially Khankendi is a city in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. It was the capital city of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh prior to the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in ...

. On 11 November 2020, Lieutenant General

Rustam Muradov Colonel General Rustam Usmanovich Muradov (; born 21 March 1973) is a Russian Ground Forces officer. In December 2024 he was appointed Chief of the Main Staff and First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Ground Forces. Muradov was the Co ...

was appointed the commander of the peacekeeping forces. On 13 December, the brigade's peacekeeping contingent took control of

Hin Tagher Hin Tagher () or Kohne Taghlar (; ) is a village in the Khojavend District of Azerbaijan. The village had an ethnic Armenian-majority population prior to the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, and also had an Armenian majority in 1989. The Katarovank Mon ...

.Арцахское село Хин тахер, за которое шли ожесточенные бои, перешло под контроль российских миротворцев
/ref> In early 2021, Azerbaijani authorities accused the unit of "a pro-Armenia attitude, instead of taking the required neutral stance for the implementation of the peace agreement." Particularly, General Muradov's meeting with senior Artsakh figures, and the presence of the Artsakh flag at Muradov's meetings had resulted in negative reactions from the Azerbaijanis.

Structure

* Directorate * 1st Motorized Rifle Battalion * 2nd Motorized Rifle Battalion * 3rd Motorized Rifle Battalion * Sniper Company * Tank Battalion * Anti-aircraft Missile Battalion * Anti-aircraft Missile and Artillery Battalion * Reconnaissance Battalion * Engineer Battalion * Control Battalion * Repair and Recovery Battalion * Logistics Battalion * NBC Protection Company *

UAV An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter Handbook of Drone ...

company * Electronic Warfare Company * Commandant Company * Medical Company * Command Battery * Control and Radar Reconnaissance Platoon * Management Platoon * Instructor Platoon * Simulator Platoon * Polygon *

Military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind instrument, wind and percussion instruments. The conducting, conductor of a ...

The brigade is fully composed by contract servicemembers.

Commanders

* Colonel Sergei Kuzovlev (2005–2008) * Colonel Oleg Suvalov (2008–2010) * Colonel Viktor Kindeev (2010) * Colonel Konstantin Stepanishchev (2011–2013) * Colonel

Vitaly Gerasimov Vitaly Petrovich Gerasimov (; born 9 July 1977) is a Russian Ground Forces Major general#Russia, major general (one-star rank), the chief of staff and first deputy commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army. On 7 March 2022, Ministry of Defence ...

(2013–2014) * Colonel Nikolay Zakharov (2014–2016) * Colonel Alexey Avdeev (2016–2018) * Colonel Konstantin Nechaev (2018–2020) * Lieutenant Colonel Pavel Alexeevich Yershov (2020–2021) * Lieutenant Colonel Andrei Sergeevich Marushkin (since 2021)

Gallery

File:15th Motorized Rifle Brigade (2019-11-04) 1.jpg, The ceremony of presenting the banner of the Alexandrian 5th Regiment of Hussars. File:15th motorized rifle brigade (2014-08-06).jpg, The

Russian flag The national flag of the Russian Federation (, ) is a tricolour of three equal horizontal bands: white on the top, blue in the middle, and red on the bottom. The design was first introduced by Tsar Peter the Great in 1693, and in 1705 it was ...

and the flag of the peacekeeping forces. File:A convoy of Russian peacekeepers drives past an Azerbaijani checkpoint at the northern entrance to the town of Shusha.jpg, A convoy of Russian peacekeepers driving past an Azerbaijani checkpoint at the northern entrance to

Shusha Shusha (, ) or Shushi () is a city in Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Situated at an altitude of 1,400–1,800 metres (4,600–5,900 ft) in the Karabakh mountains, the city was a mountain resort in the Soviet Union, Soviet ...

. File:15th Motorized Rifle Brigade (2019-11-04) 4.jpg, Ceremonial cavalry from the brigade. File:15th Motorized Rifle Brigade (2019-11-04) 5.jpg, A unit parade of the brigade. File:SAVX9349-1.jpg, Brigade personnel training.

References

External links

Russian military contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh - Russian Defense ministry
{{Brigades of the Russian Ground Forces Mechanised infantry brigades of Russia Military units and formations established in 2005 Peacekeeping Military units and formations of Russia in the war in Donbas Military units and formations of Russia in the Russian invasion of Ukraine