Spetsnaz GRU

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
For the Swedish electronic body music band, see Spetsnaz (band).
 This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page.
Gnome globe current event.svg
 This article is outdated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (August 2012)
This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. You can assist by editing it. (August 2012)
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2012)
Spetsnaz
Spetsnaz emblem.svg
Active 1949-2010
Country  Soviet Union (1949-1991)
 Russian Federation (1991-2010, although no longer under GRU control)
Branch GRU emblem.svg GRU
Type Military special forces
Role Reconnaissance
Direct action
Assassination
Sabotage
Size Classified[1]
Part of Soviet Armed Forces (until 1991)
Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (since 1991)
GRU Headquarters Khoroshevskoye 76, Khodinka, Moscow
Mascot Bat
Engagements Cold War conflicts
Soviet War in Afghanistan
Civil War in Tajikistan
East Prigorodny conflict
War in Abkhazia
First Chechen War
Invasion of Dagestan
Second Chechen War
Insurgency in the North Caucasus
Russo-Georgian War

Spetsnaz GRU was[2] an elite military formation under the control of the military intelligence service GRU. It was the first Soviet/Russian spetsnaz (special forces) force, more than two decades older than its KGB/FSB and MVD counterparts. The full acronym is GRU GSh (Russian: ГРУ ГШ) or Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye Generalnovo Shtaba (Russian: Главное Разведывательное Управление Генерального Штаба) meaning Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff (of the Russian Federation). The acronym, however, is usually shortened to just GRU (Russian: ГРУ) which stands for Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye (Russian: Главное Разведывательное Управление) (English: Main Intelligence Directorate). The word "Spetsnaz" is often written in all capital letters ("SPETSNAZ").

Contents

History[edit]

A Soviet Spetsnaz team preparing for a mission at Kabul Airport in Afghanistan in 1988

The concept of using special forces tactics and strategies was originally proposed by the Russian military theorist Michael Svechnykov (executed during the Great Purge in 1938), who envisaged the development of unconventional warfare capabilities in order to overcome disadvantages that conventional forces may face in the field. Practical implementation was begun by the "grandfather of the spetsnaz" Ilya Starinov. During World War II, reconnaissance and sabotage forces were formed under the supervision of the Second Department of the General Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces. These forces were subordinate to the commanders of Fronts.[3]

Russian Spetsnaz GRU in Dagestan,1999

The situation was reviewed after the war ended, and between 1947 and 1950 the whole of GRU was reorganized.[4] The first 'independent reconnaissance companies of special purpose' were formed in 1949, to work for tank and combined-arms armies, which were tasked to eliminate amongst others enemy nuclear weapons systems such as the MGR-3 Little John and MGM-1 Matador.[4] In 1957, the first Spetsnaz battalions were formed, 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.[4] Two 'study regiments' were established in the 1960s to train specialists and NCOs, the first in 1968 at Pechora near Pskov, and the second in 1970 at Chirchik near Tashkent.[5] According to Vladimir Rezun, a GRU defector who used the pseudonym "Viktor Suvorov", there were 20 GRU Spetsnaz brigades plus 41 separate companies at the time of his defection in 1978.

Ethnic-Chechen Spetsnaz soldiers of Sulim Yamadayev's Battalion Vostok in Georgia in 2008

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 NATO communications logistics centers) and the assassination of key government leaders and military officers.[citation needed]

During Soviet times, Spetsnaz GRU operatives would have to complete training that included the following: weapons handling, rappelling, explosives training, marksmanship, counter-terrorism, airborne training, hand-to-hand combat, climbing (alpine rope techniques), diving, underwater combat, long-range marksmanship, emergency medical training, and demolition.

Its operations included Operation Storm-333, the successful mission to kill the Afghan president in 1979. During the 2000s, ethnic-Chechen Special Battalions Vostok and Zapad existed.

Since 2009-2010, Spetsnaz GRU forces have been resubordinated, now attached to military districts of the Ground Forces of the Russian Federation[6] and subordinate to the operational-strategic commands, due to Anatoliy Serdyukov's military reforms. In 2011, it was announced that some former Spetsnaz GRU personnel might return under control of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in some form separate and distinct from GRU, and answering directly to the General Staff.

Listing of brigades[edit]

An incomplete list of the Soviet Spetsnaz brigades and the locations at which they were stationed:[7]

Other brigades listed by Michael Holm in 2013 include:

  • 4th independent Special Forces Brigade GRU (formed Riga, Latvia, September 1962)[9]
  • 5th independent Special Forces Brigade GRU (formed Maryina Gorka, Minsk Oblast, 1 January 1962, to Armed Forces of Belarus, now part of the Силы специальных операций ВС РБ)
  • 8th Special Forces Brigade GRU (formed Izyaslav, Khmelnitskiy Oblast, Carpathian Military District, December 1962, to Armed Forces of Ukraine)
  • 9th independent Special Forces Brigade GRU (activated 15.10.62 in Kirovograd, Kirovograd Oblast, Kiev Military District, formation complete 31.12.62.) Taken over by Ukraine 1992.
  • 10th independent Special Forces Brigade GRU (activated 10.62 in Karagoz, Crimean Oblast, Odessa Military District). Taken over by Ukraine early 1992 (directive issued 11.10.91).
  • 15th independent Special Forces Brigade GRU (Chirchik, Tashkent Oblast, taken over by Uzbekstan December 1994)

Black Sea Fleet:

  • 17th independent Special Forces Brigade GRU (Pervomayskiy Island, Nikolayev Oblast)

The 10th independent Spetsnaz Brigade was reformed in the North Caucasus Military District by the Russian GRU in 2003.[10] Now reported location is 353211, Goryachy Klyuch, Mol'kino, Krasnodar Krai.[citation needed]

Spetsnaz weapons[edit]

NRS-2 is a knife with a built in single-shot firearm able to fire an 7.62x42mm SP-4 cartridge (the same used in PSS Silent Pistol).

References[edit]

Depiction of a Spetsnaz GRU training installation as published in Soviet Military Power, 1984.
  1. ^ Spionage gegen Deutschland — Aktuelle Entwicklungen Stand: November 2008 (German)
  2. ^ Bat or Mouse? The Strange Case of Reforming Spetsnaz
  3. ^ Carey Schofield, The Russian Elite: Inside Spetsnaz and the Airborne Forces, Greenhill, London, 1993, p.34
  4. ^ a b c Carey Schofield, The Russian Elite: Inside Spetsnaz and the Airborne Forces, Greenhill, London, 1993, p.35
  5. ^ Carey Schofield, The Russian Elite: Inside Spetsnaz and the Airborne Forces, Greenhill, London, 1993, p.37
  6. ^ UNHCR | Refworld | Putin’s Military: Let the Good Times Roll
  7. ^ Carey Schofield, The Russian Elite: Inside Spetsnaz and the Airborne Forces, Greenhill, London, 1993, Appendixes, p.259
  8. ^ Michael Holm, 12th independent Special Forces Brigade, accessed 2013.
  9. ^ Michael Holm, 4th independent Special Forces Brigade, accessed 2013.
  10. ^ Michael Holm, 10th independent Special Forces Brigade, accessed 2013.

Further reading[edit]

  • Carey Schofield, The Russian Elite: Inside Spetsnaz and the Airborne Forces, Greenhill, London, 1993
  • Scott and Scott, The Armed Forces of the Soviet Union
  • Viktor Suvorov, Spetsnaz. The Story Behind the Soviet SAS, 1987, Hamish Hamilton Ltd, 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

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Spetsnaz_GRU&oldid=558580309"