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3rd Motor Rifle Division

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3rd Motor Rifle Division
3-я мотострелковая Висленская Краснознамённая, орденов Суворова и Кутузова дивизия
Shoulder Sleeve Patch
Active1997–2009, 2016–present
Country Russia
Branch Russian Ground Forces
TypeMechanized infantry
SizeDivision
Part of22nd Guards Army (1997–2009)
20th Guards Combined Arms Army (2016–present)
Garrison/HQNizhny Novgorod (1997–2009)
Valuyki, Belgorod Oblast (2016–present)
Honorific2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
Decorations
Battle honoursVislenskaya
Commanders
Current
commander		Major General Aleksei Vyacheslavovich Avdeyev

The 3rd Vislenskaya Red Banner Order of Suvorov and Kutuzov Motor Rifle Division (Russian: 3-я мотострелковая Висленская Краснознамённая, орденов Суворова и Кутузова дивизия, romanized: 3-ya motostrelkovaya Vislenskaya Krasnoznamonnaya, ordenov Suvorova i Kutuzova diviziya), is a motorized infantry division of the Russian Ground Forces.

The 3rd Motor Rifle Division was formed in 1997 from the amalgamation of the 31st and 47th Guards Tank Divisions of the Moscow Military District in Nizhny Novgorod, and existed until March 2009, when the division was disbanded and split into the 6th Separate Tank Brigade and the 9th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade. The 3rd Motor Rifle Division was reformed in 2016 and based in the town of Valuyki, Belgorod Oblast, as part of the 20th Guards Army in the Western Military District.

History

T-72B tanks of the 3rd Motor Rifle Division at the Pogonovo proving grounds in Voronezh Oblast, 2017.

The division formed as 3rd 'Vislenskaya (Russian for Vistula) Red Banner Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov' Motor Rifle Division by amalgamation of 31st and 47th Guards Tank Divisions at Novy in the Moscow Military District on 1 July 1997[1] gaining the honours of the 31st Tank Division. The Division was in 2004 under the command of General Major Aleksandr Konnov.[2] Elements of the division, notably the two motor rifle regiments, participated in the First Chechen War and Second Chechen War.

Warfare.ru notes that 3rd MRD was unit number 54046, and had constant readiness status. In 2000 the division had 10,850 personnel, 244 T-80 tanks, 361 BMP/BTR, 36 2S19 Msta-S, 96 2S3 Akatsiya, and 16 Grad multiple rocket launchers.[3] It consisted of the 100th and 237th Tank Regiments, and the 245th and 752nd Motor Rifle Regiments, as well as the 99th Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment.

In March 2009 the division was disbanded and reorganised as the 6th Separate Tank Brigade and the 9th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade. V/Ch 54046 became the 9th Separate Motorized Rifle Visla Red Banner Order of Suvorov Brigade.

In 2016, the 9th Motor Rifle Brigade moved to Boguchar. Its transition to the west wasn't easy. The 9th will become the new, reformed 3rd MRD, as announced on 21 October 2016, by Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu.[4]

In 2022, the division took part in the Russian Invasion of Ukraine, with its troops later having to be treated for eating poisoned meals, distributed to them by Ukrainian civilians.[5] Among the high-ranking officers the division lost Colonel Igor Yevgenyevich Nikolaev, the commander of the 252nd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment.[6]

The post-Soviet 3rd MRD should not to be confused with 3rd Guards Motor Rifle Division, active during the Cold War.

Structure

Combat regiments/battalions of the division, 2021

  • 237th Tank Regiment (Valuyki and Soloti, Belgorod Oblast, Military Unit Number 91726)[7][8]
  • 245th Motorised Rifle Regiment (Soloti, established in December 2021)[9]
  • 252nd Motor Rifle Regiment (Boguchar, Voronezh Oblast, MUN 91711)[7][8]
  • 752nd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (Valuyki and Soloti, Belgorod Oblast, MUN 34670)[7][8]
  • 84th Reconnaissance Battalion (Valuyki and Soloti, Belgorod Oblast, MUN 22263)[7][8]
  • 1143rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Belgorod Oblast)[8]
  • 99th Self-propelled Artillery Regiment (Boguchar, Voronezh Oblast, MUN 91727)[7][8]
  • 159th Anti-Tank Battalion (Boguchar, Voronezh Oblast, MUN 81989)[7]

Commanders

  • 2008-2010? Major General Konstantin Georgyevich Kastornov
  • 25.10.2011–after June 2014 Colonel Sergei Semyonovich Nyrkov[10]
  • ...
  • 2016–2019 Major General Andrei Yuryevich Ruzinskiy
  • 12.01.2019–present Colonel/Major General Aleksei Vyacheslavovich Avdeyev[11]

Sources

  1. ^ http://www.soldat.ru/forum/?gb=3&id=30439 – Russian language forum post on 3rd MRD, see also Michael Holm, 31st Tank Division, 2015.
  2. ^ Scott and Scott, Russian Military Directory 2004
  3. ^ Warfare.ru, Moscow Military District, accessed May 2009
  4. ^ "More on the "New" Divisions". 14 November 2016.
  5. ^ "Russian Troops Dead After Getting 'Treated' to Poisoned Meals, Ukraine Officials Say". Archived from the original on 9 April 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  6. ^ "Под Харьковом убит российский полковник". 15 March 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Batashvili, David. "Russian Military Forces: Interactive Map". Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Harris, Catherine; Kagan, Frederick W. (March 2018). "Russia's Military Posture: Ground Forces Order of Battle" (PDF). Institute for the Study of War.
  9. ^ "Tracking Russian deployments near Ukraine – Autumn-Winter 2021-22". RochanConsulting. 15 November 2021.
  10. ^ "Нырков Сергей Семёнович, 1988–1992 гг. (3 батальон 5 рота 2 взвод)" (in Russian).
  11. ^ "Командиром Вислинской мотострелковой дивизии назначен полковник Алексей Авдеев" (in Russian). 12 January 2019. Archived from the original on 31 July 2020.
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