The 58th Guards Combined Arms Army () is an

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

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, ...

, headquartered at

Vladikavkaz Vladikavkaz, formerly known as Ordzhonikidze () or Dzaudzhikau (), is the capital city of North Ossetia–Alania, Russia. It is located in the southeast of the republic at the foothills of the Caucasus, situated on the Terek (river), Terek River. ...

North Ossetia-Alania North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

, within Russia's

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 ...

. It was formed in 1941 as part of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

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 has been part of the Russian Army since 1995. It has the

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 ...

(в/ч) is 47084.

World War II

It was first formed in the

Siberian Military District The Siberian Military District was a Military district of the Russian Ground Forces. The district was originally formed as a military district of the Russian Empire in 1864. In 1924 it was reformed in the Red Army. After the end of World War II the ...

in November 1941, including the 362nd, 364th, 368th, 370th, 380th, and 384th Rifle Divisions and the 77th Cavalry Division and moved to the

Arkhangelsk Military District The Arkhangelsk Military District () was a regional Military districts of the Soviet Union, military district of the Red Army which oversaw the North-Western part of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. The district was formed in 1940 ...

, but then the Army was redesignated the 3rd Tank Army in May 1942. It was reestablished within 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 ...

in June 1942, and in July included the 16th and 27th Guards Rifle Divisions, the 215th and 375th Rifle Divisions, the 35th and 81st Tank Brigades, and other support units. It was reformed in the

Transcaucasian Front The Transcaucasus Front (), also translated as Transcaucasian Front, was a front of the Soviet Red Army—a military formation comparable to an army group, not a geographic military front—during the Second World War. The Transcaucasus Front ...

from the 24th Army on 28 August 1942, under General Vasily Khomenko of the NKVD. Much of its senior cadre also came from the NKVD, and among its missions was to keep order in the Caucasus, particularly in the Groznyi and Makhachkala regions. This was because of a Chechen uprising that had gone on since 1941 (see 1940-1944 Chechnya insurgency). 58th Army later joined the

North Caucasus Front The North Caucasus Front, also translated as North Caucasian Front, was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War. The North Caucasus Front describes either of two distinct organizations during the war. First Creation The ...

. On 1 November 1942 it consisted of the 271st and

416th Rifle Division The 416th Rifle Division was formed for the first time as a standard Red Army rifle division late in 1941, after the Soviet winter counteroffensive had begun, but was soon re-designated. A second formation began in March 1942, this time as an Azerb ...

, and the Makhachkala Division of the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

. Prior to the North Caucasus Front putting its main effort into the Kerch-Eltigen Operation (November 1943) the Army HQ was reorganised as Headquarters

Volga Military District The Volga Military District (PriVO) was a military district of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation that existed from 1918 to 1989 and 1992 to 2001. The district headquarters was located at Kazan, Saratov and Kuibyshev (Samara) at differen ...

in October 1943.

Commanders

* Vasily Kuznetsov (November 1941) * Nikolai Moskvin (November 1941 – May 1942) * Aleksei Zygin (June – August 1942) * Vasily Khomenko (September – November 1942) * Kondrat Melnik (November 1942 – October 1943)

Chief of Staff

* Yakov Dashevsky (Mаrch 1943)

Second Chechen War (1999–2000)

The headquarters was reformed in 1995 in the

North Caucasus Military District The North Caucasus Military District was a military district of the Russian Armed Forces from 1992-2010. Before 1992 it had been part of the Soviet Armed Forces since 1918. In 2010 it became the Southern Military District and lately also included t ...

from the 42nd Army Corps at

. The 42nd Army Corps had been formed in August 1982. During the

Second Chechen War Names The Second Chechen War is also known as the Second Chechen Campaign () or the Second Russian Invasion of Chechnya from the Chechens, Chechen insurgents' point of view.Федеральный закон № 5-ФЗ от 12 января 19 ...

, the Army was commanded by then Lieutenant General

Vladimir Shamanov Vladimir Anatolievich Shamanov (, born 15 February 1957) is a retired Colonel General of the Military of Russia, Russian Armed Forces who was Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Airborne Troops (VDV) from May 2009 to October 2016 and a Russian p ...

, who was succeeded by army chief of staff and first deputy commander Major General

Valery Gerasimov Valery Vasilyevich Gerasimov (born 8 September 1955) is a Russian Army general (Russia), army general serving as the Chief of the General Staff (Russia), Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces and First Deputy Ministry of Defen ...

Beslan school siege

In 2004, units from the 58th provided assistance with armoured vehicles to the forces involved storming the school on the third day of the

Beslan school siege The Beslan school siege, also referred to as the Beslan school hostage crisis or the Beslan massacre, was an Islamic terrorism, Islamic terrorist attack that started on 1 September 2004. It lasted three days, and involved the imprisonment of mo ...

Russo-Georgian War (2008)

On 3 August 2008, five battalions of the Russian 58th Army were moved to the vicinity of

Roki Tunnel The Roki Tunnel (also called Roksky Tunnel, ka, როკის გვირაბი; ; ) is a mountain tunnel of the Transkam road through the Greater Caucasus Mountains, north of the village Upper Roka. It is the only road joining North Osset ...

that links Georgia's breakaway South Ossetia with Russia's North Ossetia. On 8 August 2008 the 58th Army crossed the border into Georgia and engaged in combat against Georgian forces, most notably in the city of

Tskhinvali Tskhinvali ( ka, ცხინვალი ) or Tskhinval (, ; , ) is the capital of the disputed ''de facto'' independent Republic of South Ossetia, internationally considered part of Shida Kartli, Georgia (except by Russia and four other UN m ...

. Its then-commander, Lieutenant General

Anatoly Khrulyov Colonel General Anatoly Nikolayevich Khrulyov (; Naro-Fominsk; born 3 June 1955) is a Russian general who was the commander of the Russian 58th Army from 2006 until his retirement in 2010. He saw service in South Ossetia during the 2008 Russo-Geo ...

was wounded in action.

War in Donbas (2014–22)

In June 2014 Ukrainian troops captured a damaged

BM-21 Grad The BM-21 "Grad" () is a self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher designed in the Soviet Union. The system and the M-21OF rocket were first developed in the early 1960s, and saw their first combat use in March 1969 during the Sino-S ...

launcher, which the Ukrainians identified as equipment of the 58th Army of the Russian Federation. Major general Sergey Kuzovlev became commander of the army on 18 August 2016. In late 2016 the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that the

42nd Guards Motor Rifle Division The 42nd Guards Evpatoriyskaya Red Banner Motor Rifle Division (Military Unit Number 29410 until September 1987; MUN 28320 thereafter)Michael Holm42nd Guards Training Motor Rifle Division accessed February 2015. is a Russian military unit. The d ...

had been reformed from the 8th Guards Mountain Motor Rifle Brigade, the 17th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade, and the 18th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade. In January 2017,

20th Guards Army The 20th Guards Combined Arms Army (originally designated as the 4th Tank Army, 4th Guards Tank Army in 1945, 4th Guards Mechanised Army in 1946, and the 20th Guards Army in 1960 within the Soviet Ground Forces) is a field army. In 1991, after th ...

commander Major general

Yevgeny Nikiforov Yevgeny Valeryevich Nikiforov (; born 1 January 1970), is a Russian military officer who was the commander of the Western Military District between 23 January 2023 and 26 February 2024. He had previously been the Chief of Staff - First Deputy Co ...

replaced Kuzovlev.

Russian invasion of Ukraine (2022–present)

On the eve of 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 ...

, it was reported that the headquarters of the 58th Army had deployed to Crimea commanding between 12 and 17 battalion tactical groups. Once the invasion commenced, units of the 58th Army took part in hostilities on the southern front of the war. About 300

South Ossetia South Ossetia, officially the Republic of South Ossetia or the State of Alania, is a landlocked country in the South Caucasus with International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, partial diplomatic recognition. It has an offici ...

n soldiers of 4th Guards Military Base were reported in late March to have refused to return to combat after five days on the frontline in Ukraine, and instead gone back to South Ossetia. On 11 July 2023, the 58th Army headquarters in

Berdiansk Berdiansk or Berdyansk (, ; , ) is a port city in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, south-eastern Ukraine. It is on the northern coast of the Sea of Azov, which is connected to the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Berdiansk Raion. The c ...

Zaporizhzhia Oblast Zaporizhzhia Oblast (), commonly referred to as Zaporizhzhia (), is an oblast (region) in south-east Ukraine. Its administrative centre is the city of Zaporizhzhia. The oblast covers an area of , and has a population of The oblast is an import ...

was destroyed by a missile strike. Among those reportedly killed was Lieutenant-General Oleg Tsokov, the deputy commander of the Russian

, making him the highest ranking Russian officer killed during the invasion. On 12 July 2023, the army commander, Major General Ivan Popov, was removed from his post. In a Telegram message posted by a Russian MP, he claimed to have been fired by Defence Minister

Sergei Shoigu Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu; , . (born 21 May 1955) is a Russian politician and military officer who has served as secretary of the Security Council since 2024. He served as Minister of Defence of Russia from 2012 to 2024. Shoigu has served a ...

after complaining about inadequacies in logistics that led to high casualties among his men and accusing his superiors of treason. Popov was replaced by Lieutenant General Denis Lyamin. On 26 September 2023, the unit was awarded the "Guards" honorific for its defense of the southern front during the

2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive In early June 2023, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine launched a Counter-offensive, counteroffensive against Russian forces Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, occupying its territory with a goal of breaching the front lines ...

Structure

2013

The Army operates in a close coordination with the 4th Air Force and Air Defence Army of the district, and includes: *

42nd Motor Rifle Division The 42nd Guards Evpatoriyskaya Red Banner Motor Rifle Division (Military Unit Number 29410 until September 1987; MUN 28320 thereafter)Michael Holm42nd Guards Training Motor Rifle Division accessed February 2015. is a Russian military unit. The d ...

–

Khankala Khankala (, ) is a settlement in Groznensky District of the Chechen Republic, Russia, located to the east of Grozny Grozny (, ; ) is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2021 Russian ...

and Kalinovskaya in the

Chechnya Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federa ...

19th Motor Rifle Division The 19th Voronezh-Shumlinskaya Red Banner Order of Suvorov and Red Banner of Labor Motor Rifle Division (), is a division of the Russian Ground Forces. It appears to have been formed originally in July 1922 at Tambov in the Moscow Military Distric ...

– Vladikavkaz * 205th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade – Budyonnovsk *136th Guards Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade –

Buynaksk Buynaksk (; ; ; ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, located at the foothills of the Greater Caucasus on the Shura-Ozen River, southwest of the republic's capital city, capital Makhachkala. P ...

, Dagestan *135th Separate Motorized Rifle Regiment – Prochladny, Kabardino-Balkaria *291st Separate Artillery Brigade – Maikop – (equipped with 2A65) *943rd Multiple Rocket Launcher Regiment – Krasnooktabrsky ( Uragan 220mm MRL) *1128th Anti-Tank Regiment – Maikop *67th Separate Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade (SAM) – Volgograd area ( SA-11 'Buk' SAM) *487th Separate Helicopter Regiment (

Mi-8 The Mil Mi-8 (, NATO reporting name: Hip) is a medium twin-turbine helicopter, originally designed by the Soviet Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI) in the 1960s and introduced into the Soviet Air Force in 1968. Russian production of t ...

Mi-24 The Mil Mi-24 (; NATO reporting name: Hind) is a large helicopter gunship, attack helicopter and low-capacity transport helicopter, troop transport with room for eight passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and was introduced ...

) – Budyonnovsk *11th Separate Engineer Regiment – Kavkazskay *234th Separate Signals Regiment – Vladikavkaz *22nd Separate Regiment of Electronic Warfare- Vladikavkaz

2016

* 8th Guards Mountain Motor Rifle Brigade Borzoy * 17th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade Shali *

18th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade The 18th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade (Military Unit Number 27777) was a formation of the Russian Ground Forces. The brigade was formed in late 2008 from the 42nd Guards Motor Rifle Division and stationed in two bases near Grozny. The brigade was inv ...

and Kalinovskaya,

* 19th Motor Rifle Brigade

* 20th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade

Volgograd Volgograd,. formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area of , with a population ...

136th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade The 136th Separate Guards Uman-Berlin, Apsheron Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov and Bogdan Khmelnitsky Motor Rifle Brigade is a mechanised infantry brigade of the Russian Ground Forces. On December 1, 1993, the 136th Motor Rifle Brigade wa ...

* 291st Artillery Brigade Troitskaya

2023

(upgraded from brigade to division-level strength in 2020

) (в/ч 20634) ** 429th Motor Rifle Regiment (в/ч 01860) ** 503rd Motor Rifle Regiment (в/ч 75394) *

(

, Shali, Kalinovskaya, Borzoy in Chechnya) (в/ч 27777) :* 70th Motor Rifle Regiment (в/ч 71718) :* 71st Motor Rifle Regiment (в/ч 16544) :* 291st Motor Rifle Regiment (в/ч 65384) ::*Vostok-Akhmat battalion ** 50th Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment (в/ч 53185) ** 150th Separate Anti-Tank Artillery Battalion (в/ч 24566) ** 245th Separate Anti-Aircraft Missile Battalion (в/ч 81510) *

(

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; ; ), officially the Republic of Dagestan, is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, along the Caspian Sea. It is located north of the Greater Caucasus, and is a part of the North Caucasian Fede ...

) (в/ч 63354) * 12th Rocket Brigade (

Mozdok Mozdok (; , ''Mæzdæg'') is a town and the administrative center of Mozdoksky District in North Ossetia–Alania, Russia, located on the left shore of the Terek River, north of the republic's capital Vladikavkaz. As of the 2010 Census, its p ...

) (в/ч 25788) * 67th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade (

) (V/Ch 32383, formed 1967, :ru:67-я зенитная ракетная бригада) * 291st Artillery Brigade ( Troitskaya) (в/ч 64670) * 100th Reconnaissance Brigade ( Mozdok-7) (в/ч 23511) * 4th Guards Military Base (

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

and

) (в/ч 66431) * 34th Headquarters Brigade (Vladikavkaz) * 40th NBC Protection Regiment (Troitskaya) * 31st Engineer Sapper Regiment (

Prokhladny Prokhladny (; masculine), Prokhladnaya (; feminine), or Prokhladnoye (; neuter) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. ;Urban localities *Prokhladny, Kabardino-Balkar Republic, a town in the Kabardino-Balkar Republic; ;Rural local ...

) * 78th Logistic Support Brigade ( Budyonnovsk) (в/ч 77192) * 14th Electronic Warfare Battalion (Vladikavkaz)

Commanders

* Lieutenant General

Gennady Troshev Gennady Nikolayevich Troshev (; 14 March 1947 – 14 September 2008) was a Russian colonel general and a former commander of the North Caucasus Military District, including Chechnya, during the Second Chechen War. He was awarded a Hero of Russia ...

(May 1995–July 1997) * Lieutenant General Anatoly Sidyakin (July 1997–August 1999) * Lieutenant General

(August 1999–December 2000) * Major General

(February 2001–March 2003) * Lieutenant General Viktor Sobolev (March 2003–April 2006) * Lieutenant General

(4 April 2006–6 May 2010) * Major General

Andrey Kartapolov Andrey Valeryevich Kartapolov (; born 9 November 1963) is a Russian politician and former army officer of the Russian Army. From 30 July 2018 to October 2021 he served as Deputy Minister of Defence (Russia), Defence Minister, and headed the Main ...

(7 May 2010–30 January 2012) * Major General

Andrey Gurulyov Andrey Viktorovich Gurulyov (; born 16 October 1967) is a Russian politician and former army officer who is currently a member of the State Duma for the United Russia faction since 21 September 2021, and a former deputy Commander of the Southe ...

(30 January 2012–August 2016, lieutenant general 2014) * Major General Sergey Kuzovlev (August 2016–January 2017) * Major General

(January 2017–February 2019, lieutenant general 12 December 2018) * Major General Sergey Ryzhkov (February 2019–September 2020) * Lieutenant General Mikhail Zusko (September 2020–2022) * Major General Ivan Popov (2022–July 2023) * Lieutenant General Denis Lyamin (July 2023–present)

Notes

*

Improved version of 2004 work with many inaccuracies corrected. {{Authority control Field armies of the Soviet Union, 058 Armies of the Russian Federation Military units and formations established in 1941 1941 establishments in the Soviet Union