121st Motor Rifle Division

Last updated
121st Training Motor Rifle Division (1970–1987)

291st District Training Center (1987–1989)

121st Motor Rifle Division (1989 – c. 2009)
Active 1970–2009?
Country

Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union (1970–1991)

Flag of Russia.svg  Russia (1992–2009?)
Branch

Soviet Army (1970–1991)

Russian Ground Forces (1992–2009?)
Type Motorized infantry
Garrison/HQ Monastyrishche

The 121st Motor Rifle Division was a Russian Ground Forces motorized infantry division, based in Monastyrishche. It was formed in 1970 as a training motor rifle division and became a district training center in 1987. The training center became the 121st Motor Rifle Division in 1989. [1] It appears to have disbanded in 2009, as it is not shown on orders of battle of the Eastern Military District.

Russian Ground Forces land warfare branch of the Russias military forces

The Ground Forces of the Russian Federation are the land forces of the Russian Armed Forces, formed from parts of the collapsing Soviet Army in 1992. The formation of these forces posed economic challenges after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and required reforms to professionalize the Ground Forces during the transition.

Contents

History

The 121st Training Motor Rifle Division was activated in August 1970 in Monastyrische, Primorsky Krai. It was part of the Far Eastern Military District. During the Cold War, it was maintained at 20-25% strength. On 14 September 1987, it became the 291st District Training Center. The training center became the 121st Motor Rifle Division on 1 October 1989. The Separate Training Motor Transport Battalion became the 1141st Separate Material Supply Battalion. In 1992, the 1040th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment was replaced by the 1062nd Antiaircraft Missile Regiment. [1]

Primorsky Krai First-level administrative division of Russia

Primorsky Krai (Russian: Примо́рский край, tr.Primorsky kray, IPA: [prʲɪˈmorskʲɪj kraj] is a federal subject of Russia, located in the Far East region of the country and is a part of the Far Eastern Federal District. The city of Vladivostok is the administrative center of the krai, as well as the largest city in the Russian Far East. The krai has the largest economy among the federal subjects in the Russian Far East, and a population of 1,956,497 as of the 2010 Census.

Far Eastern Military District formerly part of the armed forces of the Russian Federation

The Far Eastern Military District was a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Pacific Fleet and part of the Siberian Military District to form the new Eastern Military District.

Cold War State of geopolitical tension after World War II between powers in the Eastern Bloc and the Western Bloc

The Cold War was a period of geopolitical tension between the Soviet Union with its satellite states, and the United States with its allies after World War II. A common historiography of the conflict begins with 1946, the year U.S. diplomat George F. Kennan's "Long Telegram" from Moscow cemented a U.S. foreign policy of containment of Soviet expansionism threatening strategically vital regions, and ending between the Revolutions of 1989 and the 1991 collapse of the USSR, which ended communism in Eastern Europe. The term "cold" is used because there was no large-scale fighting directly between the two sides, but they each supported major regional conflicts known as proxy wars.

Composition

The 121st Training Motor Rifle Division included the following units. [1]

Related Research Articles

2nd Guards Tank Corps

The 2nd Tatsinskaya Guards Tank Corps was a Red Army tank corps that saw service during World War II on the Eastern Front. After the war it continued to serve with Soviet occupation forces in Central Europe. It was originally the 24th Tank Corps. The unit had approximately the same size and combat power as a Wehrmacht Panzer Division, and less than a British Armoured Division had during World War II.

90th Guards Lvov Tank Division (1985–1997)

The 90th Guards Tank Division was a division of the Soviet Army, and then of the Russian Ground Forces.

22nd Mechanised Brigade (Ukraine)

The 22nd Mechanised Brigade was a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces from 2000 to 2003. However most of its historical traditions stem from the 66th Guards Rifle Division, originally a formation of the Red Army and later of the Soviet Ground Forces.

The 15th Rifle Division was a military formation of the Red Army formed by renaming the Red Army's Inza Revolutionary Division on 30 April 1919. The division was active during the Russian Civil War and World War II.

The 78th Tank Division was a division of the Soviet Ground Forces, active from 1965 to the 1990s. It was originally established in 1949 as the 15th Tank Division, from the 78th Heavy Tank Self-Propelled Regiment. It gained the 78th designation in 1965. It was part of the 1st Army Corps from 1960, and was based at Ayaguz from 1970. Anatoly Kvashnin commanded the division from 1982 to 1987. In 1991, on the fall of the Soviet Union, the 78th Tank Division was serving at Ayaguz, Kazakh SSR, in the Turkestan Military District. In March 1992 it became part of the Kazakh Ground Forces, and soon after became the 78th Mechanized Division.

The 40th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army during World War II. It gained the honorific "named for Sergo Ordzhonikidze" on 14 April 1937. It fought in the engagements at Lake Khasan. On 22 June 1941, it was part of the 39th Rifle Corps, 25th Army, in the Far East Military District. The division fought in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in 1945. In 1957, it was converted into a motorized rifle division. From 1957 to 1989 it was based at Smolyaninovo-1, Primorskiy Krai. In 1989 it was transferred to the Pacific Fleet as a coastal defence division. It was disbanded in 1996.

The 47th Motor Rifle Division was a motorized infantry division of the Soviet Army from 1969 to 1989. It was based in Konotop and became the 5198th Weapons and Equipment Storage Base in 1989. The 5198th combined with the 39th Guards Motor Rifle Division in 1991 to form the 5001st Guards Weapons and Equipment Storage Base.

The 79th Motor Rifle Division was a motorized infantry division of the Soviet Army. It was converted from the 79th Rifle Division in 1957 and inherited the honorific "Sakhalin". The division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. The 79th Rifle Division fought in the Invasion of South Sakhalin in 1945 and was based at Leonidovo for most of its career.

The 242nd Motor Rifle Division was a motorized infantry division of the Soviet Army. The division existed from 1972 to 1988 and was based in Abakan. The division became a storage base in 1989 and was disbanded in 2009.

The 18th Motor Rifle Brigade was a motorized infantry brigade of the Russian Ground Forces from 1993 to 1998. It was originally formed in Vilnius in the Baltic Military District in 1968 as the 107th Motor Rifle Division. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, it was withdrawn to Solnechnogorsk and downsized to a brigade.

The 134th Motor Rifle Division was a motorized infantry division of the Soviet Army. It existed between 1980 and 1989 and was based in Dushanbe.

The 93rd Motor Rifle Brigade was a motorized infantry brigade of the Russian Ground Forces. The brigade traces its origin back to the 135th Motor Rifle Division, formed in 1960 as a mobilization division in Luhansk. It became a regular division in 1968 and was transferred to Lesozavodsk.In 1989, it was renamed the 130th Machine Gun Artillery Division. It became the 93rd Separate Motor Rifle Brigade in 2009. It is now the 245th Weapons and Equipment Storage Base.

The 157th Motor Rifle Division was a motorized infantry division of the Soviet Army. It existed from 1969 to 1987 and was based in Feodosia. In 1987 it became the 710th Territorial Training Center. In 1989, the training center became a storage base.

The 126th Machine Gun Artillery Division was a division of the Soviet Army and the Russian Ground Forces. It existed from 1989 to 1998. The division was originally formed as the 192nd Motor Rifle Division in Blagoveshchensk during 1969. It became the 126th Machine Gun Artillery Division in 1989 and was disbanded in 1998.

The 213th Motor Rifle Division was a motorized infantry division of the Soviet Army. The division was based in Totskoye and existed from 1968 to 1991. In 1991, the division merged with the 27th Guards Motor Rifle Division.

The 168th Motor Rifle Brigade was a Russian Ground Forces motorized infantry brigade from 1994 to 1998. It was based in Borzya and traces its lineage to the 150th Motor Rifle Division, activated in 1973. The division became a training unit three years later and was converted into a district training center in 1988. In 1994, the training center became the 168th Motor Rifle Brigade.

The 36th Motor Rifle Division was a motorized infantry division of the Soviet Army between 1966 and 1990. Based in Artemivsk, it was absorbed by the 254th Motor Rifle Division in 1990.

At the end of the Cold War in 1989 the Czechoslovak People's Army structure was as follows:

The 1st Tank Division was a Division sized unit of the Red Army that existed from 1940 - 1942. Later re-formed and existed from 1945 - 2008 as a 2nd line ready division.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Holm, Michael. "121st Training Motorised Rifle Division". www.ww2.dk. Retrieved 2016-01-17.