The 17th Rifle Corps was a corps of the

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 ...

and later the

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

, formed three times. It was first formed in 1922 in the

Soviet Far East The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Eastern Fe ...

before relocating to Ukraine two years later. It fought in the

Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military conflict by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Second Polish Republic, Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Polan ...

and was destroyed during

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

in mid-1941. The corps was reformed in late 1942 in the Far East and fought in the

Soviet invasion of Manchuria The Soviet invasion of Manchuria, formally known as the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation or simply the Manchurian Operation () and sometimes Operation August Storm, began on 9 August 1945 with the Soviet Union, Soviet invasion of the Emp ...

in August 1945 before being disbanded postwar later that year. It was formed for a third time in 1949 at

Samarkand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...

in the

Turkestan Military District The Turkestan Military District (, ''Turkestansky voyenyi okrug (TurkVO)'') was a military district of both the Imperial Russian Army and the Soviet Armed Forces, with its headquarters at Tashkent. The District was first created during the 1874 R ...

, becoming the 17th Army Corps in 1957. The 17th Army Corps relocated to Frunze in the

Central Asian Military District The Red Banner Central Asian Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, which existed in 1926–1945 and 1969–1989, with its headquarters at Tashkent (1926–1945) and Almaty (1969–1989). By USSR Order No.304 of 4 ...

in the late 1960s, serving there for the rest of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

. After the

Dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

, it became the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense of Kyrgyzstan.

First formation

The corps was initially first formed as the Primorsky Rifle Corps at Chita on 2 November 1922, part of the 5th Army. On 25 December, the corps became the 17th Primorsky Rifle Corps. In January 1924, the corps was relocated west to

Vinnytsia Vinnytsia ( ; , ) is a city in west-central Ukraine, located on the banks of the Southern Bug. It serves as the administrative centre, administrative center of Vinnytsia Oblast. It is the largest city in the historic region of Podillia. It also s ...

on the other side of the Soviet Union, where it became part of the

Ukrainian Military District The Kiev Military District (; , abbreviated ) was a military district of the Imperial Russian Army and subsequently of the Red Army and Soviet Armed Forces. It was first formed in 1862, and was headquartered in Kiev (Kyiv) for most of its exist ...

and dropped the "Primorsky" designation. In May 1935, the 17th became part of the

Kiev Military District The Kiev Military District (; , abbreviated ) was a military district of the Imperial Russian Army and subsequently of the Red Army and Soviet Armed Forces. It was first formed in 1862, and was headquartered in Kiev (Kyiv) for most of its exist ...

when the Ukrainian Military District was split. As part of the 6th Army, the corps fought in the

in September 1939, occupying what became western Ukraine. After the end of the campaign in October, the corps headquarters was stationed at

Chernivtsi Chernivtsi (, ; , ;, , see also #Names, other names) is a city in southwestern Ukraine on the upper course of the Prut River. Formerly the capital of the historic region of Bukovina, which is now divided between Romania and Ukraine, Chernivt ...

and it became part of the

Kiev Special Military District Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

. Assigned to the 12th Army in May 1940, the corps fought against

, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, from 22 June 1941. The corps was disbanded in August of that year.

Second formation

It was reformed in December 1942 in the Far East, part of the 25th Army. In August 1945 in the Far East it had the 187th Rifle Division and

366th Rifle Division The 366th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army during World War II, formed twice. It began forming in August, 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, in the Tomsk Oblast. After forming, it was assigned to the 59th Army, wh ...

. For the

in August 1945, the corps was transferred to the 5th Army. At the beginning of the invasion, the corps advanced in the 5th Army's first echelon. Its objective was to cut off the Japanese Northeastern and Eastern ( Suifenho) Fortified Regions, alongside the 105th Fortified Area and several border guard battalions. On the first day of the invasion, 9 August, the 187th Division fought in heavy combat for the control of railroad tunnels east of Suifenho, which were rapidly secured. The corps advanced southwards into the rear of the Suifenho Fortified Region, where they linked up with troops from the 25th Army's 39th Rifle Corps, completing the encirclement of the Tungning Fortified Region. The speedy Soviet advance prevented the Japanese troops from creating new defensive lines and from effectively resisting the attack. At 17:00 on the same day, the corps was transferred to the 25th Army. After clearing the remaining Japanese troops from Tungning on 10 August, the 17th and 39th Corps began advancing southwest along the Tungning road to Wangching, Tumen, Tunhua, and Kirin on the next day. The two corps approached Laoheishan by noon on 12 August after marching between 18.6 and 25 miles . For the next few days, the 10th Mechanized Corps and the two rifle corps advanced along the narrow road from Laoheishan to Heitosai, which forced the column to become strung out along the road. As a result, only the forward detachments and reconnaissance units met the negligible Japanese resistance before capturing Heitosai. 25th Army commander

Ivan Chistyakov Ivan Mikhailovich Chistyakov (; – 7 March 1979) was a Soviet Army colonel general and a Hero of the Soviet Union. Chistyakov joined the Red Army during the Russian Civil War and rose from ordinary soldier to junior commander. He served in Dage ...

split the units in two columns, one of which included the 17th Corps and elements of the 10th Mechanized, advancing west towards the Taipingling Pass. The Soviet troops encountered Japanese defensive positions from the 128th Infantry Division's 284th Infantry Regiment at Lotzokou on 15 August. The 187th Division conducted a frontal attack while the 366th encircled the Japanese from the south. Meanwhile, the 10th Corps' 72nd Mechanized Brigade bypassed the Japanese and advanced east to Taipingling Pass, where they were halted by the 285th Infantry Regiment of the 128th, which had constructed prepared defensive positions. In the late evening of 16 August, the Soviet forces were able to capture both Lotzokou and Taipingling Pass after breaking through the Japanese defenses, continuing to pursue the remnants of the 128th Division westwards. Two days later, the corps followed behind the 10th Mechanized Corps in linking up with the forward elements of the 5th Army at Tungchingcheng after an advance of . The corps was disbanded in October 1945.

Third formation and 17th Army Corps

In September 1949, the 17th Rifle Corps was reformed at

in the

as part of a buildup of the

. It initially included the 16th Guards Mechanized Division at Samarkand and the

360th Rifle Division 36 may refer to: * 36 (number) * 36 BC * AD 36 * 1936 * 2036 Science * Krypton, a noble gas in the periodic table * 36 Atalante, an asteroid in the asteroid belt Arts and entertainment * ''36'' (TV series), an American sports documentary show ...

Termez Termez ( ) is the capital of Surxondaryo Region in southern Uzbekistan. Administratively, it is a district-level city. Its population is 182,800 (2021). It is notable as the site of Alexander the Great's city Alexandria on the Oxus, as a center ...

. The

203rd Rifle Division The 203rd Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army. World War II The division was formed in the Kuban near Labinsk, Kurgan, Krasnodar Krai, Kurgan and Mikhailovka (Krasnodar Krai), Mikhailovka from February to 20 ...

Karaganda Karaganda (, ; ), also known as Karagandy (, ; ; ) (also sometimes romanized as Qaraghandy), is a major city in central Kazakhstan and the capital of the Karaganda Region. It is the fifth most populous city in the country, with a population o ...

also became part of the corps in 1949. In 1955, the 360th was renumbered as the 62nd Rifle Division, and the 203rd became the 30th. In 1957, the 62nd became the 108th Motor Rifle Division, the 203rd became the 102nd, and the 16th Guards the 90th Guards Motor Rifle Division. The corps became the 17th Army Corps in June of that year. In May 1962, the division became a training unit and was directly subordinated to the district headquarters. In the late 1960s, the corps headquarters moved to Frunze in the newly reformed

, and took control of three motor rifle divisions: the 201st in

Dushanbe Dushanbe is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Tajikistan. , Dushanbe had a population of 1,564,700, with this population being largely Tajiks, Tajik. Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe, and from 1929 to 1961 as St ...

, the 8th Guards (recently relocated from

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

to Frunze), and the 68th (moved from

Uryupinsk Uryupinsk () is a town in Volgograd Oblast, Russia, located northwest of Volgograd on the Khopyor River. Population: Etymology There are two theories of the historical background for the town's name. One is that it is from name of a Tartar p ...

to Taldykurgan). It also included two separate motor rifle regiments: the 30th at

Korday Korday or Kordoy (, ; ) is a village in Jambyl Region of Kazakhstan, and the administrative center of that region's Korday District. It has been formerly known under its old Russian name of Georgievka. European route E40, known locally as High ...

and the 860th at

Osh Osh is a city in Kyrgyzstan. Osh or OSH may also refer to: * Osh (food), in Tajik and Uzbek cuisines * Osh (singer) (born 1995), English singer and rapper * OSH, the IATA code for Wittman Regional Airport near Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States ...

. In January 1980, the 860th Separate Motor Rifle Regiment was sent to the 40th Army to fight in the

Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War took place in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from December 1979 to February 1989. Marking the beginning of the 46-year-long Afghan conflict, it saw the Soviet Union and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic o ...

. It was replaced by the 32nd Separate Motor Rifle Regiment, which transferred from Ordzhonikidze and soon became the 68th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade, the only Soviet Army mountain brigade. In February, the 201st Motor Rifle Division was also sent to Afghanistan, and was replaced by the 134th Motor Rifle Division, expanded from the former's 92nd Motor Rifle and 401st Tank Regiments. With three divisions and a brigade, the corps was equal in size to some combined arms armies. In the late 1980s, smaller corps units included the 789th Separate Protection and Security Company, and the 78th Material Support Brigade at Frunze, the 751st Separate Engineer-Sapper Battalion at Kalchagay, and the 13th Machine Gun Artillery Regiment, 179th Separate Reactive Artillery Battalion, and a separate radio-electronic warfare battalion at Sary-Ozek. In January 1989, after the Central Asian Military District was disbanded, the corps became part of the Turkestan Military District again. On 24 August, the 30th Regiment became part of the 8th Guards Division. After the

, in the summer of 1992, the corps headquarters became the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense of Kyrgyzstan.

Unit listing c1988

Corps Command and Headquarters (''Управление корпуса и штаб'') – Frunze * 789th Separate Staff Security and Support Company (''789-я отдельная рота охраны и обеспечения'') – Frunze * 525th Separate

SpetsNaz SpetsnazThe term is borrowed from rus, спецназ, p=spʲɪtsˈnas; abbreviation for or 'Special Purpose Military Units'; or () are special forces in many post-Soviet states. Historically, this term referred to the Soviet Union's Spet ...

Company (''525-я отдельная рота спецназа'') – Frunze (

GRU Gru is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the ''Despicable Me'' film series. Gru or GRU may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Gru (rapper), Serbian rapper * Gru, an antagonist in '' The Kine Saga'' Organizations Georgia (c ...

formation operationally attached to the army) * Separate Electronic Warfare Battalion (''отдельный батальон РЭБ'') – Sary-Ozek (EW Directorate of 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 rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

's unit) * 342nd Separate Signals Battalion (''342-й отдельный батальон связи'') – Frunze * 303rd Separate Helicopter Squadron (''303-я отдельная вертолётная эскадрилья'') –

* 30th Separate Motor Rifle Regiment (''30-й отдельный мотострелковый полк'') – Rybachye (became part of the 8th MRD on August 24, 1989) * 78th Rocket Brigade (''78-я ракетная бригада'') – Unguras * 13th Gun Artillery Regiment (''13-й пушечный артиллерийский полк'') – Sary-Ozek * 179th Separate Multiple Rocket Launcher Artillery Battalion (''179-й отдельный реактивный артиллерийский дивизион'') – Sary-Ozek * 186th Separate Air Defence Missile and Artillery Battalion (''186-й отдельный зенитный ракетно-артиллерийский дивизион'') –

* 751st Separate Sapper Engineer Battalion (''751-й отдельный инженерно-сапёрный батальон'') –

Kapchagay Qonayev ( ), also known as Konaev () and by other names, is a city in southeastern Kazakhstan. It is the seat of government for the Almaty Region. The population was and Names is the Latin form of the Kazakh name ; is the romanizati ...

* 78th Material Supply Brigade (''78-я бригада материального обеспечения'') – Frunze * Separate Pack Animals Transport Company (''отдельная вьючно-транспортная рота'') – Osh * 8th Guards Rezhitskaya, awarded the Order of Lenin, the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Suvorov, named after the Hero of the Soviet Union Major-General I. V. Panfilov (''8-я гвардейская мотострелковая Режицкая ордена Ленина, Краснознамённая, ордена Суворова дивизия имени Героя Советского Союза генерал-майора И. В. Панфилова'') – Frunze ** 41st Separate ''Guards'' Signal Battalion (''41-й отдельный гвардейский батальон связи'') – Rybachye ** 282nd ''Guards'' Motor Rifle Regiment (''282-й гвардейский мотострелковый полк'') – Frunze ** 4th Motor Rifle Regiment (''4-й мотострелковый полк'') – Rybachye ** 23rd ''Guards'' Motor Rifle Regiment (''23-й гвардейский мотострелковый полк'') –

** 50th ''Guards'' Tank Regiment (''50-й гвардейский танковый полк'') – Korday ** 14th ''Guards'' Artillery Regiment (''14-й гвардейский'' ''артиллерийский полк'') – Rybachye ** 1059th ''Guards'' Air Defence Missile Regiment (''1059-й гвардейский зенитно-ракетный полк'') – Korday ** Separate Ballistic Missile Battalion (''отдельный ракетный дивизион'') – Rybachye ** Separate Anti-Tank Battalion (''отдельный противотанковый дивизион'') – Rybachye ** 793rd Separate Reconnaissance Battalion (''793-й отдельный разведывательный батальон'') – Rybachye ** 32nd Separate ''Guards'' Sapper Engineer Battalion (''32-й отдельный гвардейский инженерно-сапёрный батальон'') – Rybachye ** Separate Chemical Defence Company (''отдельный рота химической защиты'') – Rybachye ** 300th Separate Repair and Overhaul Battalion (''300-й отдельный ремонтно-восстановительный батальон'') – Korday ** Separate Medical Battalion (''отдельный медицинский батальон'') – Rybachye ** Separate Material Supply Battalion (''отдельный батальон материального обеспечения'') – Rybachye * 68th ''Red Banner Novgorodskaya'' Motor Rifle Division (''68-я мотострелковая Новгородская Краснознамённая дивизия'') – Sary-Ozek ** 549th Separate Signals Battalion (''549-й отдельный батальон связи'') – Sary-Ozek ** 188th Motor Rifle Regiment (''188-й мотострелковый полк'') – Sary-Ozek ** 385th Motor Rifle Regiment (''385-й мотострелковый полк'') – Burunday ** 517th Motor Rifle Regiment (''517-й мотострелковый полк'') –

Taldıqorğan Taldykorgan (, , ; ), formerly spelled Taldy-Kurgan until 1993, is the capital (called an administrative center) of Jetisu Region, Kazakhstan. According to the 2010 Kazakh Census, the population is 143,407. The town was founded in the 19th centur ...

** 310th Tank Regiment (''310-й танковый полк'') – Sary-Ozek ** 343rd Artillery Regiment (''343-й артиллерийский полк'') – Sary-Ozek ** 1164th Air Defence Artillery Regiment (''1164-й зенитный артиллерийский полк'') – Sary-Ozek ** Separate Ballistic Missile Battalion (''отдельный ракетный дивизион'') – Sary-Ozek ** Separate Anti-Tank Battalion (''отдельный'' противотанковый дивизион) – Sary-Ozek ** 106th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion (''106-й отдельный разведывательный батальон'') – Burunday ** 227th Separate Sapper Engineer Battalion (''227-й отдельный инженерно-сапёрный батальон'') – Sary-Ozek ** 81st Separate Chemical Defence Battalion (''81-й отдельный батальон химзащиты'') – Sary-Ozek ** Separate Repair and Overhaul Battalion (''отдельный'' ''ремонтно-восстановительный батальон'') – Sary-Ozek ** 8th Separate Medical Battalion (''8-й отдельный медицинский батальон'') – Sary-Ozek ** 395th Separate Material Supply Battalion (''395-й отдельный батальон материального обеспечения'') – Sary-Ozek * 134th Motor Rifle Division (''134-я мотострелковая дивизия'') – Dushanbe ** Separate Signals Battalion (''отдельный батальон связи'') – Dushanbe ** 92nd Motor Rifle Regiment (''92-й мотострелковый полк'') – Dushanbe ** 806th Motor Rifle Regiment (''806-й мотострелковый полк'') –

Bokhtar Bokhtar (), previously known as Qurghonteppa, Kurganteppa and Kurgan-Tyube, is a city in southwestern Tajikistan, which serves as the capital of the Khatlon region. Bokhtar is the largest city in southern Tajikistan, and is located south of Dusha ...

** 1208th Motor Rifle Regiment (''1208-й мотострелковый полк'') –

Kulob Kulob or Khatlon is a city in Khatlon Region in southern Tajikistan. Located southeast of the capital Dushanbe on the river Yakhsu (a right tributary of Panj), it is one of the largest cities in the country. Its population is estimated at 106 ...

** 401st Tank Regiment (''401-й танковый полк'') – Dushanbe ** Artillery Regiment (''артиллерийский полк'') – Dushanbe ** 990th Air Defence Artillery Regiment (''990-й зенитный артиллерийский полк'') – Dushanbe ** Separate Ballistic Missile Battalion (''837-й отдельный ракетный дивизион'') – Bokhtar ** Separate Anti-Tank Battalion (''отдельный противотанковый дивизион'') – Dushanbe ** Separate Reconnaissance Battalion (''отдельный разведывательный батальон'') – Dushanbe ** Separate Sapper Engineer Battalion (''отдельный инженерно-сапёрный батальон'') – Dushanbe ** Separate Chemical Defence Company (''отдельная рота химической защиты'') – Dushanbe ** Separate Repair and Overhaul Battalion (''отдельный ремонтно-восстановительный батальон'') – Dushanbe ** Separate Medical Battalion (''отдельный медицинский батальон'') – Dushanbe ** Separate Material Supply Battalion (''отдельный батальон материального обеспечения'') – Dushanbe * 68th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade (mountain) (''68-я отдельная мотострелковая бригада'' (''горная'')) – Osh

Organization

1939: *

96th Rifle Division The 96th Rifle Division, also designated the 96th Mountain Division, was a division of the Red Army, active from 1923. First formation In December 1923, in the Ukrainian Military District in Vinnytsia the 96th Podolsky Territorial Rifle Divisi ...

97th Rifle Division The 97th Rifle Division was thrice formed as an infantry division of the Red Army, first as part of the prewar buildup of forces. The first formation was based on the pre-September 1939 ''shtat'' (table of organization and equipment) and the divis ...

* 10th Tank Brigade * 38th Tank Brigade 1941: * 60th Mountain Rifle Division * 96th Mountain Rifle Division * 164th Rifle Division

Commanders

The following officer is known to have commanded the corps' first formation: * Major General

Ivan Galanin Ivan Vasilievich Galanin (; –12 November 1958) was a Red Army lieutenant general during World War II. Galanin was drafted into the Red Army in 1919 and fought as an ordinary soldier in the Russian Civil War. He became an officer during the inte ...

(14 March26 August 1941) The corps' second formation is known to have been commanded by the following officers: * Major General Afanasy Kopychko (16 December 19425 July 1945) * Lieutenant General Nikolay Nikitin (5 July 1945–July 1946) The corps' third formation and the 17th Army Corps were commanded by the following officers: * Major General Grigory Belov (19 September 1949 – 23 July 1954) * Major General Nikolay Chunikhin (23 July 1954–June 1955) * Major General (June 1955 – 25 September 1958) * Major General Anatoly Andrushchenko (26 September 1958 – 24 February 1961) * Major General Yegor Kruglov (25 February 1961 – 3 December 1964) * Major General (promoted to Lieutenant General 23 February 1967) Nikolay Silchenko (4 December 1964 – 28 July 1967) * Major General (promoted to Lieutenant General 29 April 1970) Sergey Borisov (29 July 1967 – 6 December 1971) * Major General (promoted to Lieutenant General 4 November 1973) Vladimir Myakushko (6 December 1971–May 1975) * Major General Fyodor Kuzmin (December 1982–September 1984) * Major General Ivan Bizhan (November 1984–June 1987) * Major General

Viktor Kazantsev Viktor Germanovich Kazantsev ( rus, Ви́ктор Ге́рманович Каза́нцев, p=ˈvʲiktər ˈɡʲermənəvʲɪtɕ kɐˈzantsɨf; 26 February 1946 – 14 September 2021) was a Russian general and politician who was the envoy of t ...

(1988–1990)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{Soviet Union corps Rifle corps of the Soviet Union Military units and formations established in 1922 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945