The 36th Special Purpose Brigade is an special forces brigade of the

Kazakh Ground Forces The Kazakh Ground Forces (, ; ) is the land Military branch, service branch of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It is one of the three uniformed military services, and is the most senior branch of the Kazakh military in order of pr ...

. It is based in

Astana Astana is the capital city of Kazakhstan. With a population of 1,423,726 within the city limits, it is the second-largest in the country after Almaty, which had been the capital until 1997. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim ...

History

In 2002, the brigade was formed in Astana from the 46th Special Purpose Detachment. At the time, it only consisted of the 260th Air Assault Battalion, an artillery battalion and reconnaissance units. From 2011, the brigade was commanded by Major General Almaz Dzhumakeev (appointed commander of Kazakh Airmobile Forces in 2015). It tested Russian-made Irkut-3 UAVs in early 2013. On 24 May 2013, it was inspected by OSCE experts in accordance with the Vienna Document. In April 2013, the brigade was equipped with

Otokar Cobra The Cobra () is a armoured tactical vehicle developed by Turkish firm Otokar. The vehicle has some subsystems from the Humvee. The Cobra is the first generation of the Cobra family of vehicles, a second generation named Otokar Cobra II is also pr ...

armored fighting vehicles. On 29 May 2015, it was inspected by OSCE experts in accordance with the

Vienna Document The Vienna Document is a series of agreements on confidence- and security-building measures (CSBMs) related to military resources among the states of Europe. The initial agreement was established in 1990, with subsequent updates in 1992, 1994, 19 ...

. Since 2002, the brigade has controlled the

Honor Guard Company of the Ministry of Defense of Kazakhstan The Honor Guard Company of the Ministry of Defense of Kazakhstan ( Kazakh: Қазақстан Республикасы Қорғаныс министрлігінің Құрметті күзетші, ''Qazaqstan Respýblıkasy Qorǵanys mınıstrlig ...

. It was recognized as the best formation of the Armed Forces by the end of last 2019. In June 2020, fifty-five military personnel from the brigade under Lieutenant Colonel Ulan Nurgaziyev took part in the

Moscow Victory Day Parade The Moscow Victory Day Parade () is an annual military parade of the Russian Armed Forces on Moscow's Red Square on 9 May during the Victory Day celebrations. The most important parade of those being held on 9 May is the one held on Moscow's Red ...

Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', p=ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːɪtʲ) is one of the oldest and largest town square, squares in Moscow, Russia. It is located in Moscow's historic centre, along the eastern walls of ...

. In the February 2023, 36th Air Assault Brigade reorganized to 36th Special Purpose Brigade, with the change in combat mission, the unit now performs the function of guarding and defense of important strategic facilities, including

Akorda Residence The Akorda Residence (, ''Aqorda rezidentsiyasy'', ) is the official workplace of the president of Kazakhstan, located in the capital city of Astana. The Palace was built within three years, and officially opened in 2004. It was built by the Ma ...

References

Military units and formations of Kazakhstan Airborne infantry brigades Military units and formations established in 2002 {{kazakhstan-stub