The Collective Rapid Reaction Force (; KSOR) is a joint

combined arms Combined arms is an approach to warfare that seeks to integrate different combat arms of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects—for example, using infantry and armoured warfare, armour in an Urban warfare, urban environment in ...

task force comprising independent military units from the

Collective Security Treaty Organization The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO, ) is an Intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental military alliance in Eurasia consisting of six post-Soviet states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. Th ...

member states. CRRF was created in 2009 with the general purpose to counter a limited military aggression against CSTO member states, to fight against terrorism and drug trafficking.

History

The agreement on the creation of the Collective Rapid Reaction Force was signed by the presidents of all CSTO states except

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

during a summit in Moscow on February 4, 2009. Belarus joined the agreement on October 20 of the same year. The first joint exercises of CRRF were held in October 2009 at Matybulak

firing range A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, sports venue, venue, or playing field, field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice, or shooting sport, competitions. ...

in Kazakhstan near the border with China.

Composition

According to Russian media, CRRF currently comprises the following units: * ** 98th Guards Airborne Division (

Ivanovo Ivanovo (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Russia and the administrative center and largest city of Ivanovo Oblast, located northeast of Moscow and approximately from Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Russia, Vladimir and Kostroma. ...

) ** 45th Guards Spetsnaz Brigade (

Kubinka Kubinka () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Odintsovsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Setun River, west of Moscow. Population: __TOC__ History Kubinka, founded in the 15th century, may have been named ...

) ** 31st Guards Air Assault Brigade (

Ulyanovsk Ulyanovsk,, , known as Simbirsk until 1924, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River east of Moscow. Ulyanovsk has been the only Russian UNESCO Ci ...

) * ** 37th Separate Air Assault Brigade ( Taldykorgan) ** Special Operations Battalion of the National Guard of Kazakhstan (

Almaty Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains ...

) * ** 103rd Guards Airborne Brigade (

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Vitsyebsk (, ; , ; ) is a city in northern Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vitebsk Region and Vitebsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has 358,927 inhabitants, m ...

) * ** 12th Peacekeeping Brigade (

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

) * ** Infantry battalion under Scorpion 25th Special Forces Brigade (

Tokmok Tokmok (; ) is a city in the Chüy Valley, northern Kyrgyzstan, east of the country's capital of Bishkek, with a population of 71,443 in 2021. Its elevation is 816 m above sea level. From 2003 to 2006, it was the administrative seat of Chüy R ...

) * ** Infantry battalion under Tajik Mobile Forces (

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 ...

)

Joint Staff

The Joint Staff is a permanent working body of the CSTO that is responsible for preparing proposals on the military component of the CSTO, the operations and usage of the CSTO Collective Forces, the preparation of joint operational and combat training activities, military-technical cooperation, coordinating joint training of personnel and specialists for the armed forces of the CSTO member states, as well as organizing the functioning of the CSTO Crisis Response Center.

Chiefs of the Joint Staff

The Chiefs of the Joint Staff of the CSTO with their concurrent positions in the armed forces: * Lieutenant General Ramil Nadyrov, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Tajikistan (April 2003 – June 2004) * Lieutenant General Bulat Darbekov, Chairman of the Joint Staff Committee of Kazakhstan (June 2004 – June 2005) * Army General Yuri Baluyevsky, First Deputy Minister of Defense and Chief of the General Staff of the

Armed Forces of the Russian Federation 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 Ground Forces, Navy, and Aerospace Forces—two independent comba ...

(June 2005 – June 2006) * Lieutenant General Sergey Gurulev, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Belarus (June 2006 – October 2007) * Major General Boris Yugai, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Kyrgyz Republic (October 2007 – July 2008) *Colonel General

Yuri Khatchaturov Yuri Grigorii Khachaturov (; born 1 May 1952) is an Armenian general. He formerly served as the Secretary-General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and as Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia (2008–2016 ...

, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia (September 2008 – December 2010) * Major General Petr Tihonovsky, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Belarus (December 2010 – May 2012) * Colonel General Saken Zhasuzakov, Chairman of the Joint Staff Committee of Kazakhstan (May 2012 – December 2012)

Commanders of the KSOR

* Major General Mirali Rahmatzoda, Commander of the Mobile Forces of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Tajikistan (May 2015)

References

{{Commonwealth of Independent States Collective Security Treaty Organization Military of Russia Multinational units and formations