Spetsnaz GRU
Spetsnaz GRU | |
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2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine |
Spetsnaz GRU, formally known as Special Forces of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, (
Origins
The
The Spetsnaz GRU, the first spetsnaz force in the
Modus operandi
The concept of using special forces tactics and strategies in the Soviet Union was originally proposed by the military theorist Mikhail Svechnykov, who envisaged the development of unconventional warfare capabilities in order to overcome disadvantages that conventional forces faced in the field. Svechnykov was executed during the Great Purge in 1938, but practical implementation of his ideas was begun by Ilya Starinov, dubbed the "grandfather of the spetsnaz".[4]
Following the entrance of the Soviet Union into
The primary function of Spetsnaz troops in wartime was infiltration/insertion behind enemy lines (either in uniform or civilian clothing), usually well before hostilities are scheduled to begin and, once in place, to commit acts of sabotage such as the destruction of vital communications logistics centers, as well as the assassination of key government leaders and military officers.[citation needed]
Spetsnaz GRU training included: weapons handling,
History
Soviet era
The situation was reviewed after the war ended, and between 1947 and 1950 the whole of the
In 1957, the first Spetsnaz battalions were formed under the GRU, five to operate beyond the 150–200 km range of the reconnaissance companies. The first brigades were formed in 1962, reportedly to reach up to 750 kilometres in the rear to destroy U.S. weapons systems such as the MGM-52 Lance, MGM-29 Sergeant, and MGM-31 Pershing.[5]
Two 'study regiments' were established in the 1960s to train specialists and NCOs, the first in 1968 at Pechora near
Known missions
The first major foreign operation of the unit came in August 1968, when Moscow decided to crack down on the Prague Spring and move the troops of Warsaw Pact countries into Czechoslovakia. The Spetsnaz GRU was tasked with capturing the Prague Airport. On the night of 21 August, a Soviet passenger plane requested an emergency landing at Prague Airport, allegedly due to engine failure.[7][8]
After landing, the commandos, without firing a shot, seized the airport and took over air traffic control. At the same time, other Spetsnaz GRU units that had infiltrated into Prague a few days before the operation seized control of other key city points.[7][8]
In December 1979, the undercover Spetsnaz GRU unit codenamed "Muslim Battalion" participated in Operation Storm-333, the successful mission to assassinate Hafizullah Amin, the President of Afghanistan, and to capture Amin's residential palace which triggered the Soviet–Afghan War.[7][8]
Most of Spetsnaz GRU's operations remain classified even after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It is believed the special forces had participated in operations in more than nineteen countries around the world in Africa, Asia and South America. From time to time, the men also served as military instructors and set up training camps for Soviet-backed fighters in Vietnam and Angola.[8]
Russian Federation era
Following the deactivation of the Soviet
Following the 2008 Russian military reform, a brand new Directorate of Special Operations was established in 2009 following studies of American and various Western special operations forces units and commands. The newly formed Special Operations Forces which is directly subordinated to the General Staff, bypassing the GRU.[10][11] In 2013, the Directorate became the Special Operations Forces Command with a GRU unit transferring to the command.[11]
In 2010, Spetsnaz GRU units were reassigned to the military districts of the
Known operations
Throughout the mid-1990s to the 2000s, Spetsnaz GRU were involved in both the
In 2003, during the Second Chechen War, the GRU formed the
Spetsnaz GRU maintains an airborne unit, the Separate Spetsnaz Airborne Reconnaissance Unit (codenamed No. 48427), which participated in the 2008 Georgian War.[13] The unit is housed at Matrosskaya Tishina 10 in Moscow.[13][14]
During the
After the
In late 2015, GRU special forces operators were reportedly involved in the
Invasion of Ukraine
GRU special forces units participated in the ongoing invasion of Ukraine in various roles.[19] Spetsnaz units were sent in during the first days of the invasion as saboteurs disguised as civilians or Ukrainian military,[20] while others were sent to capture or assassinate important Ukrainian government members, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine has alleged.[21]
List of GRU special units
Below is a list of current "Spetsnaz" units in the Russian Armed Forces that fall under GRU operational control during wartime operations:[22][23][24]
- Russian Ground Forces[25][26] - fields 7 spetsnaz brigades of varying sizes and one spetsnaz regiment.
- 2nd Guards Spetsnaz Brigade – based in Promezhitsa, Pskov Oblast
- Brigade HQ
- Signals Battalion (2× Company)
- Support Company
- 70th Special Purpose Detachment
- 329th Special Purpose Detachment
- 700th Special Purpose Detachment
- Training Battalion (2× Company)
- Brigade HQ
- 3rd Guards Special Purpose Brigade – based in Tolyatti
- Brigade HQ
- Signals Company
- Special Weapons Company
- Support Company
- Logistics Company
- 1st Special Purpose Detachment (1st Battalion)
- 790th Special Purpose Detachment (2nd Battalion)
- 791st Special Purpose Detachment (3rd Battalion)
- Training Battalion (2× Company)
- Brigade HQ
- 10th Special Purpose Brigade – based in Mol'kino, Krasnodar Krai
- Brigade HQ
- Signals Company
- Special Weapons Company
- Support Company
- Logistics Company
- K-9 Unit
- 325th Special Purpose Detachment
- 328th Special Purpose Detachment
- Training Battalion (2× Company)
- Brigade HQ
- 14th Special Purpose Brigade – based in Ussuriysk
- Brigade HQ
- Signals Company
- Logistics Company
- 282nd Special Purpose Detachment
- 294th Special Purpose Detachment
- 308th Special Purpose Detachment
- Unknown Department for Unknown Affairs - formerly known as UDUA, currently no information is open to the public as the files regarding it were classified for 100 years and will be declassified on 17th of September 2057. The department was established in 1957 by order of the former Chairman of the KGB.
- Training Battalion (2× Company)
- Brigade HQ
- 16th Guards Special Purpose Brigade – based in Tambov, with all units deployed in Tambov except for the 664th SPD.[27]
- Brigade HQ
- EOD company
- Signals Company
- Logistics Company
- 370th Special Purpose Detachment
- 379th Special Purpose Detachment
- 585th Special Purpose Detachment
- 664th Special Purpose Detachment
- 669th Special Purpose Detachment
- Brigade HQ
- 22nd Guards Special Purpose Brigade – entire unit is based in Stepnoi, Rostov Oblast[28][29]
- Brigade HQ
- Signals Company
- Support Company
- Special Weapons Company
- Logistics Unit
- Engineer Unit
- 108th Special Purpose Detachment
- 173rd Special Purpose Detachment
- 305th Special Purpose Detachment
- 411th Special Purpose Detachment
- Brigade HQ
- 24th Guards Special Purpose Brigade – based in Irkutsk, with all units and units deployed in Irkutsk[27][30]
- Brigade HQ
- Signals Company
- Special Weapons Company
- Logistics Unit
- 281st Special Purpose Detachment
- 297th Special Purpose Detachment
- 641th Special Purpose Detachment
- Brigade HQ
- 346th Special Purpose Brigade[31][32]
- 25th Special Purpose Regiment
- Russian Airborne Forces[33]
- 45th Guards Special Purpose Brigade – based in Kubinka
- Russian Navy
The navy also fields dedicated maritime sabotage and counter-sabotage diver units which are attached to the
There are PDSS units in all major naval bases across Russia.[34] The OMRP is composed of reconnaissance divers that fall under operational subordination to the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU). There are four OMRPs in Russia serving each fleet: Northern Fleet, Baltic Fleet, Black Sea Fleet and Pacific Fleet, with each consisting of 120–200 personnel.[34]
- Naval Special Reconnaissance (OMRP)[35]
- 42nd Marine Reconnaissance point (Pacific Fleet)
- 388th Marine Reconnaissance point (Black Sea Fleet) – reorganized from the former 431st MRP
- 420th Marine Reconnaissance point (Northern Fleet)
- 561st Marine Reconnaissance point (Baltic Fleet)
- Special Purpose Detachments for Combat against Underwater Diversionary Forces and Devices (OSNB PDSS)
- 101st SPDC PDSS - based in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
- 102nd SPDC PDSS - based in Sevastopol
- 136th SPDC PDSS - based in Novorossiysk
- 137th SPDC PDSS - based in Makhachkala
- 140th SPDC PDSS - based in Vidyayevo
- 152nd SPDC PDSS - based in Polyarny, Murmansk Oblast
- 153rd SPDC PDSS - based in Ostrovnoy, Murmansk Oblast
- 159th SPDC PDSS - based in Razboynik
- 160th SPDC PDSS - based in Murmansk
- 269th SPDC PDSS - based in Gadzhiyevo
- 311th SPDC PDSS - based in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
- 313rd SPDC PDSS - based in Baltiysk
- 473rd SPDC PDSS - based in Kronstadt
Dissolved units
The Special Battalions Vostok and Zapad were two Spetsnaz units; Vostok headquartered at Eastern Chechnya and Zapad headquartered at Western Chechnya. It was subordinate to the GRU and responsible for carrying out
See also
Similar foreign special forces units:
- List of special forces units
References
- Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz.
- ^ "Девизы родов войск РФ".
- ^
Butyrskij, Leonid; Larin, Dmitrij; Shankin, Genrikh (17 April 2023). "Special-purpose (OSNAZ) radio divisions in the years of the Great Patriotic War" Радиодивизионы особого назначения (ОСНАЗ) в годы Великой Отечественной войны. Istoriya gosudarstva (in Russian). Retrieved 19 December 2023.
В довоенные годы Ставка Верховного Главнокомандующего приняла решение о создании радиодивизионов особого назначения (ОСНАЗ). Они входили в состав Главного разведывательного управления (ГРУ) Генштаба Красной Армии и во время войны вели перехват открытых и шифрованных сообщений немцев и их союзников в прифронтовой полосе, занимались пеленгацией вражеских передатчиков, создавали радиопомехи, участвовали в операциях по дезинформации противника. [...] Подготовка персонала для этих подразделений началась в 1937 г. в Ленинграде. Этим занимались на инженерном радиотехническом факультете Военной электротехнической академии связи имени С. М. Буденного.
- ^ a b Carey Schofield, The Russian Elite: Inside Spetsnaz and the Airborne Forces, Greenhill, London, 1993, p.34
- ^ a b c Carey Schofield, The Russian Elite: Inside Spetsnaz and the Airborne Forces, Greenhill, London, 1993, p.35
- ^ Carey Schofield, The Russian Elite: Inside Spetsnaz and the Airborne Forces, Greenhill, London, 1993, p.37
- ^ a b c https://www.rbth.com/defence/2017/05/10/gru-alpha-vympel-russias-famous-covert-operators-759604 |date=21 Nov 2019
- ^ a b c d http://survincity.com/2011/03/how-did-the-russian-special-forces/ |date=21 Nov 2019
- ^
Lunev, Stanislav (12 September 1997). "Changes may be on the way for the Russian security services". PRISM. 3 (14). The Jamestown Foundation. Archived from the original on 25 November 2006.
The GRU is Russia's largest security service. It deploys six times more officers in foreign countries than the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), which is the successor of the First Main Directorate of the KGB. Moreover, 25,000 spetsnaz troops are directly subordinated to the GRU, whereas the KGB's various successor-organizations have been deprived of their own military formations since 1991.
- ISBN 9780660073538. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
- ^ ISBN 9781879944657.
- ^ a b McDermott, Roger (2 November 2010). "Bat or Mouse? The Strange Case of Reforming Spetsnaz". Jamestown. Jamestown.org. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
- ^ a b Rakuszitzky, Moritz; Romein, Daniel; Dobrokhotov, Roman (November 22, 2018). "Second GRU Officer Indicted in Montenegro Coup Unmasked". bellingcat.
- ^ В/Ч 48427 (in Russian). ЗАЧЕСТНЫЙБИЗНЕС. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
- ^ "Ukraine says Russian special forces involved in attacks on airport in east". www.reuters.com. December 2014. Retrieved 25 Oct 2019.
- ^ Tsvetkova, Maria (November 5, 2015). "New photos suggest Russia's operation in Syria stretches well beyond its air campaign". Business Insider. Archived from the original on December 30, 2016.
CIT also published screenshots from the Instagram page of Ilya Gorelykh, who it said had served in Russia's GRU special forces in the past [...] In late October it showed he had uploaded pictures from Aleppo, one of which showed him holding an assault rifle while wearing civilian clothes. Another image of him posing in camouflage with three other armed men was apparently taken in Homs.
- ^ "Beyond the airstrikes: Russia's activities on the ground in Syria". November 8, 2015. Archived from the original on December 30, 2016.
We believe that Russia's operation in Syria is a "hybrid war", not unlike the one seen in Ukraine. Apart from the airstrikes, Russia provides Assad forces with surface-to-surface rocket systems, combat vehicles, equipment, advisors, artillery support and spotters. More importantly, recently there have been more and more reports of Russian soldiers, vehicles and "volunteers" being spotted close to the frontlines.
- ^ Agence France-Presse (January 22, 2016). "Turkey alarmed by 'Russian build-up' on Syria border". The National. Archived from the original on December 30, 2016.
Top Russian military officials, including figures from the GRU military intelligence service, had already visited Qamishli, it added.
- ^ "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, March 20". Critical Threats. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
- ^ ""Locals Shooting At Locals": Ukraine Capital Hunts Russian "Saboteurs"". NDTV.com. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
- ^ "Russian special forces have entered Kyiv to hunt down Ukraine's leaders, says Zelensky". inews.co.uk. 2022-02-25. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
- ^ "Warfare.be" ГРУ (Главное Разведывательное Управление) ГШ ВС РФ. Russian Military Analysis (in Russian). Retrieved December 30, 2012.
- ^ "Warfare.be" Военно-Морской Флот. Russian Military Analysis (in Russian). Retrieved December 31, 2012.
- ^ Security, Global. "Spetsnaz Order of Battle". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
- ^ John Pike. "Spetsnaz Order of Battle". Retrieved 31 July 2015.
- ^ "1 Декабря День Рождения 2 ОБр.СпецНаз ГРУ. - 30 Ноября 2012 - "Союз десантников" г.Локня".
- ^ a b Сергей Козлов. Спецназ ГРУ: Очерки истории. // Том 5. Новейшая история. 1999-2010 гг.. — Москва: Русская панорама, 2010. — P. 40–41, 44–50, 65, 335–336, 492–493. — 400 p. — 3 000 экз.
- ^ 22 гв ОБрСпН — первая в Российской Гвардии
- ^ 22 гвардейская отдельная бригада специального назначения (22 огбрСпН ГРУ)
- ^ "Путин присвоил звание гвардейской 24-й бригаде спецназначения". РБК (in Russian). 30 May 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
- ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-02-25.
- ^ Galeotti, Mark. "Moscow's 'special' forces: An inside look at how Russia's famed Spetsnaz really operate". Business Insider. Retrieved 2024-02-25.
- ^ John Pike. "45th Special Purpose Regiment". Retrieved 31 July 2015.
- ^ a b c staff (29 January 2009). "Delfin". ShadowSpear: Russian Special Operations. www.shadowspear.com. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ^ John Pike. "Naval Spetsnaz [Spetsialnaya Razvedka]". Retrieved 31 July 2015.
Further reading
- Carey Schofield, The Russian Elite: Inside Spetsnaz and the Airborne Forces, Greenhill, London, 1993
- Scott and Scott, The Armed Forces of the Soviet Union
- ISBN 0-241-11961-8
- Steve Zaloga, James W. Loop, Soviet Bloc Elite Forces, Volume 5 of Elite Series, Osprey Publishing, 1985, ISBN 0850456312, 9780850456318