The 61st Marine Brigade (Military Unit Number 38643) is a formation of the Russian Naval Infantry.[1][2] It is part of the Northern Fleet Naval Infantry and Coastal Defence Force. The brigade is based in the Sputnik military settlement, located in Murmansk Oblast. Some sources consider it one of the best trained and most combat experienced units of the Russian military.[3]
Elements of 61st Naval Infantry Brigade conducted amphibious landings since a Ropucha-class landing ship (24-09-2020).
The brigade was established on 20 November 1979 from the 61st Separate Naval Infantry Regiment. The regiment was activated at Sputnik on 14May 1966 from the 61st Motor Rifle Regiment of the 131st Motor Rifle Division.[1]
Soldiers of the 61st Naval Infantry Brigade fought in 1995 in First and in 1999–2000 in the Second Chechen War. On 1December 2009, the brigade was downsized to a regiment with the same designation. It became a brigade again on 15December 2014.[4]
In 2014, according to an investigation published by Bellingcat, marines of the 61st Naval Infantry Brigade participated in the War in Donbass in the Luhansk region of Ukraine.[5][6] Brigade personnel and vehicles, including the brigade's exotic 2S23 Nona-SVK, were spotted on the territory of the Ukrainian National Guard's military base (MUN3035) in Luhansk.[5] Evidences shows the brigade's direct participation in combat near Vishnevy Dol village in the Luhansk region.[5]
Upon returning home, the marines took a trophy BRDM armored vehicle back to Murmansk.[7] At least 5 soldiers received decorations, which included the Zhukov Medal, the Order of Suvorov and the Order of Courage. Brigade Lieutenant Colonel Vitaly Trofimov was reportedly killed in Ukraine.[5]
In March 2016, the 61st Naval Infantry Brigade conducted operations in which it aided the Syrian Army taking the Syrian city of Palmyra. The 61st also participated in the storming of the city. Despite other Russian forces being more available for the operation, the 61st Brigade was chosen for the operation because it was considered one of the best trained and most combat experienced units of the Russian military.[3]
As of February 2022, elements of the Brigade were reported to have deployed to the Black Sea as part of an amphibious task force participating in the invasion of Ukraine.[8] On 7 March the Ukrainian military claimed to have killed Lieutenant Colonel Dmitry Safronov, commander of the brigade's Marine Battalion, in action near Kharkiv.[9]
Organisation and order of battle
Brigade Headquarters
874th Marine Battalion
876th Air-Assault (Desant) Battalion
886th Reconnaissance Battalion
125th Armored Battalion
1611th Self-propelled Artillery Battalion
1591st Self-propelled Artillery Battalion
1617th Anti-aircraft Missile and Artillery Battalion
The Russian Naval Infantry, often referred to as Russian Marines in the West, operate as the naval infantry of the Russian Navy. Established in 1705, they are capable of conducting amphibious operations as well as operating as more traditional light infantry.
The Soviet Airborne Forces or VDV was a separate troops branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. First formed before the Second World War, the force undertook two significant airborne operations and a number of smaller jumps during the war and for many years after 1945 was the largest airborne force in the world. The force was split after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, with the core becoming the Russian Airborne Forces, losing divisions to Belarus and Ukraine.
The 131st Separate Motor Rifle Brigade was a motorised infantry unit of the Soviet Army and of the Russian Ground Forces.
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The 200th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade is a military formation of the 14th Army Corps, part of the Northern Military District, based at Pechenga in Murmansk Oblast. The brigade was formed from the 131st Motor Rifle Division in 1997 and was one of the two Russian Arctic warfare brigades.
The 3rd Guards Separate 'Warsaw-Berlin Red Banner Order of Suvorov 3rd degree' Spetsnaz Brigade is a special forces brigade of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) and thus the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation based at Tolyatti since 2010.
The 31st Separate Guards Order of Kutuzov 2nd class Air Assault Brigade is an airborne infantry brigade of the Russian Airborne Troops, based in Ulyanovsk. The brigade was formed in 1998 from the 104th Guards Airborne Division. The brigade fought in the Second Chechen War and the Russo-Georgian War. During the Crimean crisis 2014 elements of the brigade entered Ukraine's Crimean peninsula. In August 2014 brigade's units participated in the war in Donbas. The brigade fought in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, beginning with the Battle of Antonov Airport in which they suffered heavy losses.
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The 11th Guards Air Assault Brigade is an airborne brigade of the Russian Airborne Troops, currently based at Sosnovy Bor near Ulan Ude in Buryatia. The brigade was first formed in 1968 as the 11th Separate Air Assault Brigade and two of its helicopter regiments fought in the Soviet–Afghan War. The brigade formed in 1968 at Mogocha as the 11th Separate Airborne Brigade. In 1971 it became the 11th Air Assault Brigade. In 1988, the brigade became an airborne brigade again. It moved to Ulan Ude in May 1993. The brigade became an air assault brigade in 1998. The brigade received the Guards title in 2015.
The 17th Rifle Corps was a corps of the Red Army and later the Soviet Army, formed three times.
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The 55th Naval Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Navy and Russian Navy's Naval Infantry, established in 1968 and disestablished in 2009. The unit was re-established during the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2023 in the aftermath of the 2022 Russian mobilization.
The 27th Separate Guards Sevastopol Red Banner Motor Rifle Brigade "60th Anniversary of the USSR" is a tactical formation of the Russian Ground Forces. Its Military Unit Number (V/Ch) is 61899. It is part of 1st Guards Tank Army of the Western Military District, stationed in Mosrentgen, Novomoskovsky Administrative Okrug of Moscow.
The 390th Independent Guards Naval Infantry Brigade, also known as the Military Unit 25744 is a marine brigade of the Kazakh Ground Forces. The brigade is the only naval infantry formation in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The 15th Separate Guards Motorized Rifle Alexandria (Peacekeeping) Brigade (миротворческая), romanized: 15-ya otdel'naya gvardeyskaya motostrelkovaya Aleksandriyskaya brigada (mirotvorcheskaya), Military Unit Number 90600, is a unit in the Russian Ground Forces. It is the only peacekeeping brigade in the Russian Armed Forces. The formation is part of the 2nd Guards Combined Arms Army of the Central Military District. It is based in Roshchinsky in Volzhsky District of Samara Oblast.
The 810th Separate Guards Order of Zhukov Naval Infantry Brigade named for the 60th Anniversary of the Soviet Union(810 gv. obrmp) is a brigade of the Russian Naval Infantry. Based in Sevastopol with one battalion in Temryuk, the brigade is the naval infantry brigade of the Black Sea Fleet.
The 155th Separate Guards Brigade of Naval Infantry is a brigade-sized formation of the Russian Naval Infantry. It is located in the city of Vladivostok and the village of Slovianka, Primorsky Krai. It is part of the Pacific Fleet. In Western sources the title is sometimes translated as "Marines."
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