On February 27, the country celebrates the Day of the Special Operations Forces of Russia. This is a young holiday. It was established only three years ago (by decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 103 of February 26, 2015). The holiday is young, because the Special Operations Forces themselves have not existed for so long. Their formation began in 2009 as part of the general modernization of the RF Armed Forces. It was then, nine years ago, that the Special Operations Directorate was created, subordinate directly to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (in 2012 it was transformed into the Command of the Special Operations Forces). The process of forming the MTR dragged on for several more years. In 2013, the creation of the Russian Special Operations Forces was officially announced. Their backbone was made up of special forces that were part of the military intelligence.
The main reason that pushed the Russian high military command to create separate Special Operations Forces was the change in the specifics of armed conflicts in the modern world. The number of local wars and anti-terrorist operations has increased, in which the MTR potential is revealed with the greatest efficiency. Hybrid wars have become a reality of the modern world, in which, in addition to the traditional armed forces, irregular and non-state armed formations take an active part. Under such conditions, sabotage and partisan operations become especially important. Their implementation requires the participation of special forces, as well as resisting the actions of saboteurs and partisans is also best done by units specially trained for this purpose.
General of the Army Nikolai Makarov, who headed the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces in 2008-2012, being engaged in the formation of domestic Special Operations Forces, actively studied foreign experience. By the time Russia was only puzzled by the allocation of separate Special Operations Forces in its armed forces, many developed states had such formations for a very long time.
When creating the MTR, the experience of the United States of America, China, France, Germany was studied. In the USSR and Russia, special forces existed before, but they acted separately - within the framework of the branches of the armed forces and combat arms, as well as the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff and other power structures. The advantages of foreign Special Operations Forces were that the special forces formed a single structure with a single command. This increased the coordination of actions, efficiency, facilitated the decision-making process and the management of units in combat conditions.
Work on the creation of Special Operations Forces intensified when General of the Army Sergei Shoigu was appointed as the new Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation in 2013. It was under his leadership that the subsequent formation of the Special Operations Forces of the Russian Federation took place, which in a very short time turned into a well-coordinated and combat-ready structure.
General of the Army Valery Gerasimov, the successor of General Makarov as Chief of the General Staff, voiced the most important characteristic of the Special Operations Forces - the possibility of using them outside the Russian Federation, if required by the tasks of ensuring national security or national interests. Of course, both the Soviet Union and Russia used their special forces abroad for a very long time, but never before have these actions received public coverage, and most importantly, an official justification. Now such an opportunity is included in the military doctrine and this gives the Special Operations Forces a special status.
The first commander of the Russian Special Operations Forces was one of their founders - Colonel Oleg Viktorovich Martyanov. A veteran of military intelligence, who served as a commander of a special forces company back in Afghanistan, and then in almost all "hot spots" where Russian troops fought, Oleg Martyanov commanded a special purpose detachment, then served in the GRU apparatus of the General Staff. It was with the direct participation of Martyanov that the process of creating the Special Operations Forces, which he headed in 2009-2013, took place.
One of the main features of the Special Operations Forces is the absence of a permanent composition. In addition to the "backbone" formed from the special forces of military intelligence and the Airborne Forces, at different times, depending on the situation, the Special Operations Forces include a variety of subunits. The "backbone" of the MTR are officers and servicemen of contract service, first of all - military intelligence officers, paratroopers, special forces with high-quality military education and good experience.
The best of the best are selected for the Special Operations Forces, so we can say with confidence that this is the real elite of the Russian armed forces. MTR fighters undergo special training that allows them to operate in completely different geographic and climatic conditions. Given today's reality, special emphasis is placed on preparing for action in desert and mountain conditions. The main difference is efficiency, which is achieved by direct control of the Special Operations Forces from Moscow, from the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces. A minimum of intermediate links in management brings its results - the MTR is very combat-ready and dynamic, capable of quickly and efficiently solving the tasks assigned to them.
Another specificity of the SSO is the use of high technologies. The servicemen of the Special Operations Forces are not only well trained, but also well armed and equipped. They have at their disposal the most modern small arms, means of communication, surveillance, vehicles, modern and high-quality body armor, helmets, diving and anti-fragmentation suits.
From the very beginning of the existence of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the country's authorities emphasized their special attitude towards them. The MTR are part of the "new kulak of Russia", with the help of which the country protects its security, defends its national interests in various parts of the world.
In 2014, Vladimir Putin entrusted the command of the Special Operations Forces of Russia to a trusted person - Major General Alexei Gennadievich Dyumin. A graduate of the Voronezh Higher Military Engineering School of Radio Electronics, Alexey Dyumin served for a long time in the Presidential Communications Department of the Federal Security Service of Russia, and then in the Security Service of the President of Russia, where he rose to the rank of Deputy Head of the Security Service of the President of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation. In 2014, he was appointed Deputy Chief of the GRU - Commander of the Special Operations Forces. This, by the way, is very revealing. When the president made the decision to reformat the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia into a fundamentally new structure - the National Guard Troops, he also appointed General Viktor Zolotov, who previously headed the Security Service of the President of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, to lead this process. That is, the head of state entrusts the most responsible and complex directions to those officers who have entrusted their own security for many years.
Perhaps the first public demonstration of the power of the Russian Special Operations Forces was the operation to ensure the reunification of the Republic of Crimea with the Russian Federation, carried out in February - March 2014. On the night of February 27, unusual people in military uniforms without identification marks appeared in the building of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Crimea. They behaved very politely, respectfully communicating with employees. It is said that one of the plumbers who served the building of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation was found sleeping in an office building. People in military uniform woke him up, helped him to get dressed and escorted him out of the building, wishing him a safe journey. When Ukrainian journalists ran up to the plumber, trying to find out if he was beaten by Russian special forces, he said that they were "kind of polite." This is how the popular name of the Special Operations Forces soldiers appeared - "polite people", which quickly turned into one of the lexical symbols of the return of the Crimean peninsula to Russia.
It was the Special Operations Forces of the Russian Federation that not only ensured the reunification of Crimea with Russia, protecting the Crimeans from possible aggression from Ukraine, but also saved the ousted legitimate President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych from the Kiev regime. It is difficult to say whether the brilliant operation in Crimea influenced this appointment, but in 2015, the commander of the Special Operations Forces, Lieutenant General Alexei Dyumin, was appointed chief of the General Staff of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, and then Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation. Since 2016, Dyumin has been the Governor of the Tula Region.
In addition to Crimea, "polite people" took part in anti-terrorist operations in the North Caucasus, in the fight against Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean. In 2015, units of the Special Operations Forces of the Russian Armed Forces were sent to participate in the Russian anti-terrorist operation in Syria. Since that time, for the third year already, the fighters of the Russian MTR have been fighting terrorists in the Middle East. In Syria, the main tasks of the Special Operations Forces are to conduct reconnaissance, perform special tasks, and adjust Russian air strikes against terrorist groups.
As we can see, the tasks are not easy, especially since the situation is complicated by the presence in Syria not only of terrorist and rebel groups, but also of foreign armed forces.
In March 2016, two years ago, in the Tadmore area, senior lieutenant of the Russian Special Operations Forces Alexander Prokhorenko (1990-2016) was killed while performing a combat mission. The 25-year-old officer was a graduate of the Military Academy of Military Air Defense of the Russian Federation, from which he graduated with honors and was assigned to one of the units of the Russian Special Operations Forces as an advanced air gunner. Since January 2016, Senior Lieutenant Prokhorenko was in Syria, where he performed dangerous combat missions behind enemy lines, adjusting the actions of Russian aviation. On March 17, 2016, in the vicinity of the village of Tadmor in the province of Homs, senior lieutenant Prokhorenko was surrounded by militants and, not wanting to surrender, caused an air strike on himself. The terrorists were destroyed, but senior lieutenant Prokhorenko himself died heroically. On April 11, 2016, Vladimir Putin awarded Alexander Prokhorenko the high title of Hero of the Russian Federation posthumously.
Special Operations Forces in Syria participated in the liberation of Aleppo and Palmyra. In the spring of 2017, in the province of Aleppo, a group of 16 fighters of the Special Operations Forces of the Russian Armed Forces performed the tasks of aiming Russian aviation at buildings, strongholds and armored vehicles of the enemy. Once discovered, a 16-man MTR group engaged 300 militants. During an unequal battle, Russian fighters managed to eliminate a tank, two infantry fighting vehicles and a car with a suicide bomber. On May 24, 2017, President Vladimir Putin nominated Lieutenant Colonel Danila, who was in command of the detachment (his last name was not disclosed), to the rank of Hero of the Russian Federation. Other fighters received orders and medals.
Syria has become the testing ground where the Russian Special Operations Forces undergo a real combat test. It is not the first year that Russian servicemen have demonstrated their combat prowess, combined with incredible courage and loyalty to duty. As practice shows, the MTR play a crucial role in supporting the actions of the Russian Aerospace Forces in Syria, which allows aviation to deliver clear and corrected strikes against terrorist positions. Unfortunately, it is not complete without losses.
Despite the short duration of its existence, the Russian Special Operations Forces have already managed to prove themselves from the best side. It can be argued that they not only can compete with the best special forces of the Western countries, but also surpass them in many respects - both in terms of training and, more importantly, in morale.
Voennoye Obozreniye congratulates the current and former servicemen of the Special Operations Forces of Russia on the holiday, wishes them to fulfill their tasks with honor, while remaining alive and well. Happy holiday, polite people!
