22nd Motor Rifle Division "Atamyrat Niyazov"

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22nd Motor Rifle Division
(After 2010)

58th Motor Rifle Division
(1957–1990s)

58th Rifle Division
(1955–57)

344th Rifle Division
(1941–55)
Active1941–1990s
Since June 1992
Country 
Serdar
DecorationsOrder of the Red Banner Order of the Red Banner
Battle honoursRoslavl

The 22nd Motor Rifle Division named for

Soviet Ground Forces during World War II and the Cold War
.

History

World War II

The division was formed in the Baryshsky and Kuzovatovsky Districts of Ulyanovsk Oblast between August and October 1941 in accordance with an 11 August decree of the State Defense Committee. It was part of the operational army from 2 December of that year to the end of the war on 9 May 1945. Its basic order of battle was as follows:

  • 1152nd Rifle Regiment
  • 1154th Rifle Regiment
  • 1156th Rifle Regiment
  • 913th Artillery Regiment[2]

In November 1941, in accordance with Direction number 55 of the Stavka and commander of the 26th Army Reserve op/2999 number from 25 November 1941, the division was loaded onto trains at Cheboksary and shipped to Noginsk, and then to Lyubertsy where it was manned and received weapons.[citation needed]

In December the 344th was assigned to the

1st Rifle Corps of the 1st Shock Army in the Kurland Group of Leningrad Front.[3] On 5 April 1945, the 1154th Rifle Regiment was separately awarded the Red Banner for its role in the capture of Klaipėda (Memel).[8]

Divisional commanders

The following officers commanded the division during World War II:[9]

  • Colonel Mikhail Pudofeyevich Glushkov (7 September 1941 – 24 February 1942)
  • Colonel Pyotr Kirillovich Zhivalev (26 February 1942 – 21 February 1943)
  • Colonel Mikhail Trofimovich Ilyin (28 February – 5 June 1943)
  • Major General Mikhail Andreyevich Pronin (8 June 1943 – 5 August 1943)
  • Colonel Vitaly Kuzmich Strakhov (6 August 1943 – 12 April 1944)
  • Colonel (promoted to Major General 20 April 1945) Georgy Ivanovich Druzhinin (13 April 1944 - after 9 May 1945)

Postwar

During September and October 1945, the 344th was relocated to

Nebit-Dag (trucks), and the 231st Tank Regiment (61631) - Kazandzhike (T-55), plus artillery and the other customary units of a motor rifle division.[13] At the time, it carried the Military Unit Number 29435. In the spring of 1982, the division became part of the new 36th Army Corps.[14]
Carey Schofield's Inside the Soviet Army, Headline, 1991, p. 117, says the division's regiments in 1989 were 254 strong (MRR BTR), 256 strong (MRR BMP) and 210 (tank regiment), and was under the command of Acting Commander Colonel Mishin.

Fall of the Soviet Union

In June 1992 the division became part of the

Atamyrat Niyazov," and Kyzyl-Arvat had been renamed Serdar.[15] It has also been believed to have been referred to as the 84th Motorized Rifle Division named after Saparmurat Niyazov.[16][17] From 1997-2002, Begench Beknazarov served as deputy division commander, a position he would serve in until he was sent into hiding following the November 2002 attack on the president's life.[18][19]

Present day

It is named after

Atamyrat Niyazov, the father of former President Saparmurat Niyazov, in July 2004.[20][21] In May 2005, it took part in the comprehensive military exercises called Kuwwatly Watan (Strong Motherland) at the Kelyata Training Center.[22] On 21 August 2008, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov visited the unit, where he inspected its equipment, including infantry fighting vehicles and armoured personnel carriers. He also presented the division with 20 Kamaz trucks and took part in the underwater exercises of tank crews.[23] Like many military units, it has often been accepted that commanders extort bribes for an early demobilization of conscripts.[24]

In June 2017, officers from the division were accused of spreading "non-traditional Islam". The accusation was based on an investigation at the end of April of that year by the Ministry for National Security, as a result of which 12 senior and junior officers were sentenced to terms of 10 to 15 years in prison. The investigation stemmed from a complaint by a recruit who was forced to take off the aladja (Turkmen amulet) by senior soldiers of the unit, who also warned that he was obliged to go to evening meetings where the company commander would talks about "true Islam". In the course of the investigation, more than 70 people were detained, with many of the rank and file being sent to serve on the Afghanistan–Turkmenistan border.[25]

Notes

  1. ^ "Ашхабада в войсках артиллерии после. Армии мира".
  2. ^ Charles C. Sharp, "Red Tide", Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. IX, Nafziger, 1996, p. 85
  3. ^ a b Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 85
  4. ^ Robert Forczyk, Smolensk 1943: The Red Army's Relentless Advance, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, UK, 2019, Kindle ed.
  5. ^ "Освобождение городов". www.soldat.ru. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  6. ^ Megargee 2009, p. 1707.
  7. ^ Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1967a, p. 385.
  8. ^ Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1967b, p. 38.
  9. ^ Main Personnel Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1964, p. 271.
  10. ^ Feskov et al 2013, p. 151.
  11. ^ Feskov et al 2013, pp. 537–538.
  12. ^ Feskov et al 2013, p. 554.
  13. ^ a b Michael Holm. "58th Motorised Rifle Division". www.ww2.dk. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  14. ^ Feskov et al 2013, pp. 549–550.
  15. ^ "Вооруженные силы Туркмении" [Army of Turkemenistan] (in Russian). Vad777. Archived from the original on 18 January 2013. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  16. ^ "Милитаризация и слабые звенья каспийской безопасности. Часть II, - А.Князев". centrasia.org. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  17. ^ "Портал о Фронтовиках". www.pobeda1945.su. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  18. ^ "Список исчезнувших в тюрьмах Туркменистана" (PDF). 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 December 2021.
  19. ^ "Туркменистан/Россия: пока не ясно, облегчит ли "покаяние" Бориса Шихмурадова судьбу его родственников | Правозащитный центр "Мемориал"". memohrc.org. 6 November 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  20. ^ "НОВОСТИ на REDSTARe".
  21. ^ "Семь мотострелковых дивизий и бригад Вооруженных Сил Туркмении стали именными". РИА Новости (in Russian). 12 July 2004. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  22. ^ "Turkmenistan conducts comprehensive military-tactical exercises | Turkmenistan.ru". www.turkmenistan.ru. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  23. ^ "Turkmen army demonstrates military skills to Turkmen president | Turkmenistan.ru".
  24. ^ "Взятки за демобилизацию. Особенности службы в туркменской армии". Радио Азатлык (in Russian). Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  25. ^ "В Туркменистане начата борьба с "нетрадиционным исламом"". Новая Эпоха (in Russian). Retrieved 29 December 2020.; "В Туркменистане арестовали 12 офицеров армии за распространение нетрадиционного ислама, - СМИ". centralasia.media. 26 June 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2020.; "В Туркменистане арестовали 12 офицеров армии за исповедание нетрадиционного ислама". Хроника Туркменистана (in Russian). 25 June 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2020.; "В Туркменистане арестовали 12 офицеров армии, которые придерживались "нетрадиционного ислама"". Озодагон (in Russian). Retrieved 29 December 2020.

References

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