The 2nd Guards Separate Special Purpose Order of Zhukov Brigade is a

Spetsnaz GRU Spetsnaz GRU, formally known as Special Forces of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, () is the special forces (''spetsnaz'') of the GRU (Russian Federation), GRU, the foreign military intelligence agency of ...

brigade of 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 ...

based in Promezhitsy,

Pskov Oblast Pskov Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the west of the country. Its administrative center is the Classification of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Pskov. As of the Russian Census ...

History

As part of increases to the GRU's Spetsnaz, on July 19, 1962, General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces Directive No. 140547 was issued, by which the 2nd Spetsnaz Brigade was to be formed in the

Leningrad Military District The Order of Lenin Leningrad Military District () is a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010, it was merged with the Moscow Military District, the Northern ...

. The creation of the brigade began on September 17, 1962 and ended on March 1, 1963. Until 2008 or 2013,

Dmitry Utkin Dmitry Valerievich Utkin (; 11 June 1970 – 23 August 2023) was a Russian military officer and mercenary. He served as a special forces officer in the GRU, where he held the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was the co-founder and military comm ...

served as lieutenant colonel and brigade commander of a unit of

special forces Special forces or 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 equip ...

of Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), the 700th Independent Spetsnaz Detachment of the 2nd Independent Brigade.Из Молькино в Пальмиру: как тренируют российских наемников
31 March 2016. The Brigade participated 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 ...

. On July 11, 2022, Russian president

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

awarded the unit the honorific unit status '' Guards'' for its actions in Ukraine.

Structure

The brigade comprises: * Headquarters * Signals Battalion (2x Company) * Support Company * 70th Special Purpose Detachment (roughly battalion equivalent) * 329th Special Purpose Detachment * 700th Special Purpose Detachment * Training Battalion (2x Company)

Notes

References

{{Brigades of the Spetsnaz GRU Military units and formations established in 1962 Military units and formations of Russia in the Russian invasion of Ukraine Spetsnaz brigades of Russia Spetsnaz brigades of the Soviet Union