Spetsnaz GRU

The Stavka began preparing special-purpose (OSNAZ) groups to serve in the GRU in 1937 - training personnel for special-purpose radio units at the engineering radio-technical department of the Budyonny Military Electro-Technical Academy in Leningrad.

{{cite web

| url = https://statehistory.ru/4566/Radiodiviziony-osobogo-naznacheniya--OSNAZ--v-gody-Velikoy-Otechestvennoy-voyny/

| title = Special-purpose (OSNAZ) radio divisions in the years of the Great Patriotic War

| last1 = Butyrskij

| first1 = Leonid

| last2 = Larin

| first2 = Dmitrij

| last3 = Shankin

| first3 = Genrikh

| date = 17 April 2023

| website = Istoriya gosudarstva

| language = ru

| script-title = ru:Радиодивизионы особого назначения (ОСНАЗ) в годы Великой Отечественной войны

| access-date = 19 December 2023

| quote = В довоенные годы Ставка Верховного Главнокомандующего приняла решение о создании радиодивизионов особого назначения (ОСНАЗ). Они входили в состав Главного разведывательного управления (ГРУ) Генштаба Красной Армии и во время войны вели перехват открытых и шифрованных сообщений немцев и их союзников в прифронтовой полосе, занимались пеленгацией вражеских передатчиков, создавали радиопомехи, участвовали в операциях по дезинформации противника. [...] Подготовка персонала для этих подразделений началась в 1937 г. в Ленинграде. Этим занимались на инженерном радиотехническом факультете Военной электротехнической академии связи имени С. М. Буденного.

}}

The Spetsnaz GRU, the first spetsnaz force in the Soviet Union, formed in 1949 as the military force of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), the foreign military-intelligence agency of the Soviet Armed Forces. The force was designed in the context of the Cold War to carry out reconnaissance and sabotage against enemy targets in the form of special reconnaissance and direct-action attacks. The Spetsnaz GRU inspired additional spetsnaz forces attached to other Soviet intelligence agencies, such as Vympel (founded in 1981) and the Alpha Group (established in 1974) - both within the KGB.

The concept of using special forces tactics and strategies in the Soviet Union was originally proposed by the military theorist Mikhail Svechnykov, who envisaged the development of unconventional warfare capabilities in order to overcome the disadvantages that conventional forces faced in the field. Svechnykov was executed during the Great Purge in 1938, but practical implementation of his ideas was begun by Ilya Starinov, dubbed the "grandfather of the spetsnaz".Carey Schofield, The Russian Elite: Inside Spetsnaz and the Airborne Forces, Greenhill, London, 1993, p.34

Following the entrance of the Soviet Union into World War II, basic forces dedicated to acts of reconnaissance and sabotage were formed under the supervision of the Second Department of the General Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces, and were subordinate to the commanders of Fronts.

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 communications logistics centers, as well as the assassination of key government leaders and military officers.{{citation needed|date=February 2013}}

Spetsnaz GRU training included: weapons handling, fast rappelling, explosives training, marksmanship, counter-terrorism, airborne training, hand-to-hand combat, climbing (alpine rope techniques), diving, underwater combat, emergency medical training, and demolition.

The situation was reviewed after the war ended, and between 1947 and 1950 the whole of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) was reorganized.Carey Schofield, The Russian Elite: Inside Spetsnaz and the Airborne Forces, Greenhill, London, 1993, p.35 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.

In 1957, the first Spetsnaz battalions were formed under the GRU, 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.

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.Carey Schofield, The Russian Elite: Inside Spetsnaz and the Airborne Forces, Greenhill, London, 1993, p.37 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.

The first major foreign operation of the unit came in August 1968, when Moscow decided to crack down on the Prague Spring and move the troops of Warsaw Pact countries into Czechoslovakia. The Spetsnaz GRU was tasked with capturing the Prague Airport. On the night of 21 August, a Soviet passenger plane requested an emergency landing at Prague Airport, allegedly due to engine failure.https://www.rbth.com/defence/2017/05/10/gru-alpha-vympel-russias-famous-covert-operators-759604 |date=21 Nov 2019http://survincity.com/2011/03/how-did-the-russian-special-forces/ |date=21 Nov 2019

After landing, the commandos, without firing a shot, seized the airport and took over air traffic control. At the same time, other Spetsnaz GRU units that had infiltrated into Prague a few days before the operation seized control of other key city points.

File:Evstafiev-spetsnaz-prepare-for-mission.jpg-wearing Soviet Spetsnaz team preparing for a mission at Kabul Airport in Afghanistan in 1988]]

In December 1979, the undercover Spetsnaz GRU unit codenamed "Muslim Battalion" participated in Operation Storm-333, the successful mission to assassinate Hafizullah Amin, the President of Afghanistan, and to capture Amin's residential palace which triggered the Soviet–Afghan War.

Most of Spetsnaz GRU's operations remain classified even after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It is believed the special forces had participated in operations in more than nineteen countries around the world in Africa, Asia and South America. From time to time, the men also served as military instructors and set up training camps for Soviet-backed fighters in Vietnam and Angola.

Following the deactivation of the Soviet GRU in 1992, control of the special forces was transferred to the newly formed G.U. of Russia and were maintained to their respective assigned units as before. According to Stanislav Lunev, who defected to the U.S. in 1992, the GRU also commanded some 25,000 Spetsnaz troops as of 1997.

{{cite journal

|last= Lunev|first= Stanislav

|url= http://www.jamestown.org/publications_details.php?volume_id=4&issue_id=217&article_id=2507

|title= Changes may be on the way for the Russian security services

|journal= Prism|publisher= The Jamestown Foundation

|volume= 3|issue= 14|date= 12 September 1997

|url-status= dead

|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20061125045521/http://www.jamestown.org/publications_details.php?volume_id=4&issue_id=217&article_id=2507

|archive-date= 25 November 2006

|quote = The GRU is Russia's largest security service. It deploys six times more officers in foreign countries than the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), which is the successor of the First Main Directorate of the KGB. Moreover, 25,000 spetsnaz troops are directly subordinated to the GRU, whereas the KGB's various successor-organizations have been deprived of their own military formations since 1991.

}}

Following the 2008 Russian military reform, a brand new Directorate of Special Operations was established in 2009 following studies of American and various Western special operations forces units and commands. The newly formed Special Operations Forces which is directly subordinated to the General Staff, bypassing the GRU.{{cite book|last1=Marsh|first1=Dr. Christopher|title=Developments in Russian Special Operations - Russia's Spetsnaz, SOF and Special Operations Forces Command|date=2017|publisher=Canadian Special Operations Forces Command|location=Ottawa, Ontario|isbn=9780660073538|series=CANSOFCOM Education & Research Centre Monograph Series|url=http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/mdn-dnd/D4-10-21-2017-eng.pdf|access-date=22 September 2017}} In 2013, the Directorate became the Special Operations Forces Command with a GRU unit transferring to the command.

In 2010, Spetsnaz GRU units were reassigned to the military districts of the Ground Forces and was subordinate to the operational-strategic commands until 2012, due to then Defence Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov's military reforms.{{cite book|last1=Nikolsky|first1=Alexey|editor1-last=Howard|editor1-first=Colby|editor2-last=Pukhov|editor2-first=Ruslan|title=Brothers Armed: Military Aspects of the Crisis in Ukraine|date=2015|publisher=East View Press|location=Minneapolis|isbn=9781879944657 |edition=2nd|chapter=Little, Green and Polite: The Creation of Russian Special Operations Forces}} This decision was reversed in 2013 and Spetsnaz GRU units were reassigned to their original GRU divisions.{{cite news|last=McDermott |first=Roger |url=http://www.jamestown.org/programs/edm/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=37119&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=484&no_cache=1 |title=Bat or Mouse? The Strange Case of Reforming Spetsnaz |newspaper=Jamestown |publisher=Jamestown.org|date=2 November 2010|access-date=2014-08-19}}

Throughout the mid-1990s to the 2000s, Spetsnaz GRU were involved in both the First Chechen War and more prominently in the Second Chechen War and also the Invasion of Dagestan in August 1999. The special forces learned invaluable lessons from the first war and transformed into a better and more effective fighting force and were instrumental in Russia's and the Russian backed government's success in the second war.

In 2003, during the Second Chechen War, the GRU formed the Special Battalions Vostok and Zapad, two ethnic Chechen units that belonged to the Spetsnaz GRU which fought primarily in Chechnya, and also in the 2008 Russo-Georgian War as well as peacekeeping operations after the 2006 Lebanon War.

Spetsnaz GRU maintains an airborne unit, the Separate Spetsnaz Airborne Reconnaissance Unit (codenamed No. 48427), which participated in the 2008 Georgian War.{{cite news |url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2018/11/22/second-gru-officer-indicted-montenegro-coup-unmasked/ |date=November 22, 2018 |first1=Moritz |last1=Rakuszitzky |first2=Daniel |last2=Romein |first3=Roman |last3=Dobrokhotov |publisher=bellingcat |title=Second GRU Officer Indicted in Montenegro Coup Unmasked}} The unit is housed at Matrosskaya Tishina 10 in Moscow.{{cite web |url=https://zachestnyibiznes.ru/company/ul/1047718002034_7718140617_V-Ch-48427 |script-title=ru:В/Ч 48427 |language=ru |access-date=November 22, 2018 |publisher=ЗАЧЕСТНЫЙБИЗНЕС}}

During the period of insurgency in the North Caucasus region, Spetsnaz GRU along with special forces from the FSB and MVD conducted numerous special operations and counter-terrorism operations against mainly the Caucasus Emirate, Wilayat al-Qawqaz and other smaller terrorist groups.

After the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, during which some units of Spetsnaz GRU were a part of the "Little green men", and the start of the rebel insurgency by pro-Russian rebels, Ukraine has on numerous occasions accused various Spetsnaz forces of aiding the rebels and even fighting on the ground in Eastern Ukraine. In December 2014, the Ukrainian military claimed that the Spetsnaz GRU was involved in attacks on an airport{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-military/ukraine-says-russian-special-forces-involved-in-attacks-on-airport-in-east-idUSKCN0JF1ZN20141201 |title=Ukraine says Russian special forces involved in attacks on airport in east |website=www.reuters.com |date= December 2014|access-date=25 Oct 2019}} in Donetsk which was later captured by DPR in the battle.

In late 2015, GRU special forces operators were reportedly involved in the Syrian Civil War, appearing in the government offensives of Aleppo and Homs.{{cite web |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/new-photos-suggest-russias-operation-in-syria-stretches-well-beyond-its-air-campaign-2015-11 |website=Business Insider |first=Maria |last=Tsvetkova |date=November 5, 2015 |title=New photos suggest Russia's operation in Syria stretches well beyond its air campaign |quote=CIT also published screenshots from the Instagram page of Ilya Gorelykh, who it said had served in Russia's GRU special forces in the past [...] In late October it showed he had uploaded pictures from Aleppo, one of which showed him holding an assault rifle while wearing civilian clothes. Another image of him posing in camouflage with three other armed men was apparently taken in Homs. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161230063624/http://www.businessinsider.com/new-photos-suggest-russias-operation-in-syria-stretches-well-beyond-its-air-campaign-2015-11 |archive-date=December 30, 2016}}{{cite news |url=http://ruslanleviev.livejournal.com/44827.html#ayas |title=Beyond the airstrikes: Russia's activities on the ground in Syria |date=November 8, 2015 |quote=We believe that Russia's operation in Syria is a "hybrid war", not unlike the one seen in Ukraine. Apart from the airstrikes, Russia provides Assad forces with surface-to-surface rocket systems, combat vehicles, equipment, advisors, artillery support and spotters. More importantly, recently there have been more and more reports of Russian soldiers, vehicles and "volunteers" being spotted close to the frontlines. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161230063743/http://ruslanleviev.livejournal.com/44827.html |archive-date=December 30, 2016}} GRU officials have also visited Qamishli, near the border with Turkey.{{cite news |title=Turkey alarmed by 'Russian build-up' on Syria border |url=http://www.thenational.ae/world/europe/turkey-alarmed-by-russian-build-up-on-syria-border |work=The National |date=January 22, 2016 |quote=Top Russian military officials, including figures from the GRU military intelligence service, had already visited Qamishli, it added. |author=Agence France-Presse |author-link=Agence France-Presse |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161230064559/http://www.thenational.ae/world/europe/turkey-alarmed-by-russian-build-up-on-syria-border |archive-date=December 30, 2016}}

{{Main|Russian invasion of Ukraine}}

Russian Spetsnaz units have been used in the Russian invasion of Ukraine beginning in early 2022, they were initially tasked with going after high-ranking Ukrainian officials, including president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in order to decapitate the Ukrainian command and control structure, with the objective being to foster chaos. Like other Russian plans during the start of the invasion, the Russian Spetsnaz failed to take out Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian leadership.{{cite web | last=Atlamazoglou | first=Stavros | title=Russia's Elite Spetsnaz Special Forces 'Devastated' in Ukraine War | website=The National Interest | date=31 October 2024 | url=https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/russia%E2%80%99s-elite-spetsnaz-special-forces-devastated-ukraine-war-213488 | access-date=9 January 2025}}

The Russian military was not dissuaded by the failure, and continued to use Spetsnaz in the conflict, particularly deploying them when conventional Russian forces faced significant resistance. This caused the heavy attrition rate suffered by the Russian forces to also reach the Russian Spetsnaz, according to a Pentagon leak in April 2023, all but one of five Spetsnaz brigades that had participated in the war had suffered significant losses by late summer 2022. According to the estimate, one of the separate Spetsnaz brigades in question had only ″125 personnel active out of 900 deployed.″ The casualties were expected to have increased following the Ukrainian counteroffensive in September 2022 that liberated hundreds of square miles of territory in a few days, during this offensive, the GRU's Third Guards Spetsnaz Brigade, considered one of the most elite Russian units, was caught in the retreat and had to fight a defensive action in the town of Lyman. A report by the BBC assessed that the Spetsnaz unit lost up to 75% of its men during this action.{{cite web | last=Porter | first=Tom | title=Russia's prized Spetsnaz commando units have suffered a 95% casualty rate in Ukraine, leaked documents and photos show | website=Business Insider | date=14 April 2023 | url=https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-spetsnatz-units-suffer-95-casualty-rate-in-ukraine-leaks-2023-4 | access-date=9 January 2025}}{{cite web | title=Pentagon leaks: Russian special forces decimated by Ukraine war | website=Al Jazeera | date=14 April 2023 | url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/14/pentagon-leaks-russian-special-forces-decimated-by-ukraine-war | access-date=9 January 2025}}

The high amount of losses suffered in Ukraine are expected to leave a strategic capability gap, since special forces unlike conventional units cannot be ″mass-produced″, the leaked Pentagon documents estimated that it would take Russia up to ten years to reconstitute its special operations capability, and this estimate referred to outdated 2022 figures. Although there are no figures concerning Spetsnaz losses after the summer of 2022, the extremely heavy losses suffered by the entire Russian forces suggest that Spetsnaz units have continued to take significant losses in the invasion.

Below is a list of current "Spetsnaz" units in the Russian Armed Forces that fall under GRU operational control during wartime operations:{{cite web |url=http://warfare.be/db/lang/rus/linkid/1559/catid/239/ |script-title=ru:ГРУ (Главное Разведывательное Управление) ГШ ВС РФ |language=ru |work=Russian Military Analysis |access-date=December 30, 2012|title=Warfare.be }}{{cite web |url=http://warfare.be/db/lang/rus/catid/239/linkid/2240/title/navy/ |script-title=ru:Военно-Морской Флот |language=ru |work=Russian Military Analysis |access-date=December 31, 2012|title=Warfare.be }}{{cite web|last1=Security|first1=Global|title=Spetsnaz Order of Battle|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/intell/world/russia/spetsnaz-orbat.htm|website=GlobalSecurity.org|access-date=27 April 2017}}

• Russian Ground Forces{{cite web|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/intell/world/russia/spetsnaz-orbat.htm|title=Spetsnaz Order of Battle|author=John Pike|access-date=31 July 2015}}{{Cite web|url=http://vdvloknya.ucoz.ru/news/1_dekabrja_den_rozhdenija_2_obr_specnaz_gru/2012-11-30-776|title = 1 Декабря День Рождения 2 ОБр.СпецНаз ГРУ. - 30 Ноября 2012 - "Союз десантников" г.Локня}} - fields 7 spetsnaz brigades of varying sizes and one spetsnaz regiment.
• 2nd Guards Spetsnaz Brigade – based in Promezhitsa, Pskov Oblast
• Brigade HQ
• Signals Battalion (2× Company)
• Support Company
• 70th Special Purpose Detachment
• 329th Special Purpose Detachment
• 700th Special Purpose Detachment
• Training Battalion (2× Company)
• 3rd Guards Special Purpose Brigade – based in Tolyatti File:3 brigada specnaza.jpg on parade, 9 May 2011.]]
• Brigade HQ
• Signals Company
• Special Weapons Company
• Support Company
• Logistics Company
• 1st Special Purpose Detachment (1st Battalion)
• 790th Special Purpose Detachment (2nd Battalion)
• 791st Special Purpose Detachment (3rd Battalion)
• Training Battalion (2× Company)
• 10th Special Purpose Brigade – based in Mol'kino, Krasnodar Krai
• Brigade HQ
• Signals Company
• Special Weapons Company
• Support Company
• Logistics Company
• K-9 Unit
• 325th Special Purpose Detachment
• 328th Special Purpose Detachment
• Training Battalion (2× Company)
• 14th Special Purpose Brigade – based in Ussuriysk
• Brigade HQ
• Signals Company
• Logistics Company
• 282nd Special Purpose Detachment
• 294th Special Purpose Detachment
• 308th Special Purpose Detachment
• Unknown Department for Unknown Affairs - formerly known as UDUA, currently no information is open to the public as the files regarding it were classified for 100 years and will be declassified on 17 September 2057. The department was established in 1957 by order of the former chairman of the KGB.
• Training Battalion (2× Company)
• 16th Guards Special Purpose Brigade – based in Tambov, with all units deployed in Tambov except for the 664th SPD.Сергей Козлов. Спецназ ГРУ: Очерки истории. // Том 5. Новейшая история. 1999-2010 гг.. — Москва: Русская панорама, 2010. — P. 40–41, 44–50, 65, 335–336, 492–493. — 400 p. — 3 000 экз. File:ReconnaissanceExercise2017-01.jpg
• Brigade HQ
• EOD company
• Signals Company
• Logistics Company
• 370th Special Purpose Detachment
• 379th Special Purpose Detachment
• 585th Special Purpose Detachment
• 664th Special Purpose Detachment
• 669th Special Purpose Detachment
• 22nd Guards Special Purpose Brigade – entire unit is based in Stepnoi, Rostov Oblast[http://voenpro.ru/infolenta/22-gv-obrspn-pervaya-v-rossiyskoy-gvardii 22 гв ОБрСпН — первая в Российской Гвардии][http://specnaz.pbworks.com/w/page/17657947/22%20отдельная%20бригада%20СпН%20ГРУ 22 гвардейская отдельная бригада специального назначения (22 огбрСпН ГРУ)] File:Anti-TerroristExercise2017-07.jpg
• Brigade HQ
• Signals Company
• Support Company
• Special Weapons Company
• Logistics Unit
• Engineer Unit
• 108th Special Purpose Detachment
• 173rd Special Purpose Detachment
• 305th Special Purpose Detachment
• 411th Special Purpose Detachment
• 24th Guards Special Purpose Brigade – based in Irkutsk, with all units and units deployed in Irkutsk{{Cite web |title=Путин присвоил звание гвардейской 24-й бригаде спецназначения |url=https://www.rbc.ru/politics/30/05/2022/6294ac6e9a7947baa53b869a |access-date=2022-05-31 |website=РБК |date=30 May 2022 |language=ru}}
• Brigade HQ
• Signals Company
• Special Weapons Company
• Logistics Unit
• 281st Special Purpose Detachment
• 297th Special Purpose Detachment
• 641th Special Purpose Detachment
• 346th Special Purpose Brigade{{Cite news |last=Horton |first=Alex |date=2023-04-14 |title=Russia's commando units gutted by Ukraine war, U.S. leak shows |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/04/14/leaked-documents-russian-spetsnaz/ |access-date=2024-02-25 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}{{Cite web |last=Galeotti |first=Mark |title=Moscow's 'special' forces: An inside look at how Russia's famed Spetsnaz really operate |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-galeotti-putins-wars-book-excerpt-russia-spetsnaz-forces-2023-4 |access-date=2024-02-25 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}
• 25th Special Purpose Regiment
• Russian Airborne Forces{{cite web|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/45-abn.htm|title=45th Special Purpose Regiment|author=John Pike|access-date=31 July 2015}}
• 45th Guards Special Purpose Brigade – based in Kubinka File:45th Guards Separate Reconnaissance Regiment of VDV show.jpg
• Russian Navy

File:FrogmenExercise2017-01.jpg

File:311DCUDFF-15.jpg (2017).]]

The navy also fields dedicated maritime sabotage and counter-sabotage diver units which are attached to the naval infantry. These units also include combat swimmers, trained to conduct underwater combat, mining and clearance diving. The task is to protect ships and other fleet assets from enemy frogmen and special forces. The term "combat swimmers" is correct term in relation to the staff of the OSNB PDSS. Every PDSS unit has approximately 50–60 combat swimmers.{{cite web|url=https://www.shadowspear.com/2009/01/delfin/ |title=Delfin |date=29 January 2009|publisher=www.shadowspear.com |author=staff |work=ShadowSpear: Russian Special Operations| access-date=23 June 2017}}

There are PDSS units in all major naval bases across Russia. The OMRP is composed of reconnaissance divers that fall under operational subordination to the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU). There are four OMRPs in Russia serving each fleet: Northern Fleet, Baltic Fleet, Black Sea Fleet and Pacific Fleet, with each consisting of 120–200 personnel.

• Naval Special Reconnaissance (OMRP){{cite web|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/mf-spetsnaz.htm|title=Naval Spetsnaz [Spetsialnaya Razvedka]|author=John Pike|access-date=31 July 2015}}
• 42nd Marine Reconnaissance point (Pacific Fleet)
• 388th Marine Reconnaissance point (Black Sea Fleet) – reorganized from the former 431st MRP
• 420th Marine Reconnaissance point (Northern Fleet)
• 561st Marine Reconnaissance point (Baltic Fleet)
• Special Purpose Detachments for Combat against Underwater Diversionary Forces and Devices (OSNB PDSS)
• 101st SPDC PDSS - based in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
• 102nd SPDC PDSS - based in Sevastopol
• 136th SPDC PDSS - based in Novorossiysk
• 137th SPDC PDSS - based in Makhachkala
• 140th SPDC PDSS - based in Vidyayevo
• 152nd SPDC PDSS - based in Polyarny, Murmansk Oblast
• 153rd SPDC PDSS - based in Ostrovnoy, Murmansk Oblast
• 159th SPDC PDSS - based in Razboynik
• 160th SPDC PDSS - based in Murmansk
• 269th SPDC PDSS - based in Gadzhiyevo
• 311th SPDC PDSS - based in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
• 313rd SPDC PDSS - based in Baltiysk
• 473rd SPDC PDSS - based in Kronstadt

{{main|Sulim Yamadayev–Ramzan Kadyrov power struggle}}{{Confuse|Vostok Brigade|Vostok-Akhmat|Zapad-Akhmat|text=Russian forces in Ukraine with similar moniker, see Vostok Brigade for the separatist force fighting in Ukraine, Zapad-Akhmat and Vostok-Akhmat for the "Akhmat" formations fighting in Ukraine}}File:Battalion Vostok 3.jpg soldiers of Sulim Yamadayev's Special Battalion Vostok in Georgia in 2008]]

The Special Battalions Vostok and Zapad were two Spetsnaz units; Vostok headquartered at Eastern Chechnya and Zapad headquartered at Western Chechnya.

It was subordinate to the GRU and responsible for carrying out mountain warfare and special operations in Chechnya. A power struggle then broke out between rival pro-Russian Chechen warlords then Head of the Chechen Republic Kadyrov and Sulim Yamadaev which led to a series of assassinations and shootouts in the ensuing years forcing the GRU to disband the controversial battalions in November 2008.

• Special Activities Center (Central Intelligence Agency) – American equivalent
• Special Operations Forces (Russia)

Similar foreign special forces units:

• List of special forces units

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{commons category|Special Forces of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces}}

• 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

{{Armed Forces of the Russian Federation}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spetsnaz Gru}}

Category:Military units and formations established in 1949

Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 2010

Category:Military units and formations of Russia

Category:Military units and formations of the Soviet Union

Category:Special forces of Russia

Category:Army reconnaissance units and formations

Category:GRU