| 98th Guards Airborne Svir Red Banner Orders of Kutuzov and Alexander Nevsky Division | |
|---|---|
| 98-я гвардейская воздушно-десантная Свирская Краснознамённая, орденов Кутузова и Александра Невского дивизия имени 70-летия Великого Октября | |
 Great emblem of the 98th Guards Airborne Division | |
| Active | 1943–present |
| Country |  Soviet Union(1943–1991)  Russia(1991–present) |
| Branch |  Soviet Airborne Forces Russian Airborne Forces |
| Type | Airborne forces |
| Role | Light Infantry Airborne Infantry Airmobile infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Part of | .svg) Russian Armed Forces |
| Garrison/HQ | Ivanovo |
| Mottos | Честь и Родина превыше всего! (Honor and Motherland above all!) |
| Anniversaries | 3 May |
| Engagements | |
| Decorations |  Guards Order of the Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Order of Alexander Nevsky |
| Battle honours | Svir |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Guards Maj. Gen.Ruslan Yevkodimov |
| Insignia | |
| Shoulder sleeve insignia |  |
The98th Guards Airborne Svir Red Banner Orders of Kutuzov and Alexander Nevsky Division named after the 70th Anniversary of the Great October Revolution (Russian:98-я гвардейская воздушно-десантная Свирская Краснознамённая, орденов Кутузова и Александра Невского дивизия имени 70-летия Великого Октября) is anairbornedivision of theRussian Airborne Troops, currently based inIvanovo.
During the Second World War, the formation began its existence as the 98th Guards Rifle Division (ru:98-я гвардейская стрелковая дивизия). It incorporated 296th Guards Rifle Regiment (formerly the 18th Independent Guards Airborne Brigade), 299th GRR (fmr 19 IGAB), 302nd GRR (fmr 20 IGAB). Formed in December 1943-January 1944 at Demitrov in theMoscow Military District.[3] It was part of the37th Guards Airborne Corps,9th Guards Army on theKarelian Front (May 1944), on theSvir river (June 1944) and nearBudapest in February 1945. The division ended the war nearPrague.
On 7 June 1946, the division became an airborne unit atPokrovka, Primorsky Krai. It included the 296th Guards Air-Landing Regiment, the 299th Guards Airborne Regiment and the 17th Guards Artillery Regiment. On 1 October 1948, the 296th was used to form the13th Guards Airborne Division and was replaced by the new 95th Guards Air-Landing Regiment. In 1949, the 95th became an airborne regiment.[4]
On 1 June 1951, the division relocated toBelogorsk. The 217th Guards Airborne Regiment joined the 98th from the disbanded 13th Guards Airborne Division on 30 April 1955. In April 1956, the 95th was disbanded and replaced by the disbanded99th Guards Airborne Division's 300th Guards Airborne Regiment. The 17th Guards Artillery Regiment also disbanded and was replaced by the 74th Guards Artillery Regiment of the 99th Division.[4]
In June 1956, the 37th Guards Airborne Corps was disbanded and the division was directly subordinated to the Airborne Headquarters. On 6 January 1959, the 243rd Separate Military-Transport Aviation Squadron was activated with the division, equipped with 10Antonov An-2 transports. On 15 August 1960, the 74th Guards Artillery Regiment became the 812th Separate Guards Artillery Battalion. The battalion became the 1065th Guards Artillery Regiment on 27 April 1962.[4]
On 22 February 1968, for achievements in combat and political training, and in connection with the 50th anniversary of the USSR Armed Forces, the Division was awarded theOrder of Kutuzov, 2nd degree. In August 1969, units of the division relocated to Bolgrad in theOdessa Military District (division headquarters, 217th and 299th Guards Airborne Regiments, part of the services) andChișinău (300th Guards Airborne Regiment) and Merry Kut, Artsyz Raion (1065th Guards Artillery regiment).[4]
The division became involved in the major exercises "South-71", "Spring-72", "Crimea-73", "Ether-74", "Spring-75", "Shield-79", "Shield-82", "Summer-90".
In summer 1991, the division received instructions from theGovernment of Ukraine to swear allegiance to theUkrainian Armed Forces. The division staff and most of the troops refused the order; the division had a large number of ethnicUkrainians but loyalty to the division and the VDV took precedence over ethnic roots.[5]
In February 1992, the division's regiments were ordered by VDV headquarters to prepare for a deployment toChechnya. However, the commander of theOdesa Military DistrictVitaliy Radetsky arrived at the division headquarters and disputed the deployment, orderingUkrainian Army pontoon-laying trucks to block the division's airfields. Divisional commander Valery Vostrotin ended up defusing the situation, as the pontoon truck unit's chief of staff was Vostrotin's acquaintance from Soviet Army days, and did not want the confrontation to escalate. Eventually the Chechnya deployment was canceled.[6]
On 1 October 1992, the 300th Guards Airborne Regiment left the division and became a separate unit. It was replaced by the106th Guards Airborne Division's331st Guards Airborne Regiment.[4]
The division was relocated fromBolgrad inUkraine toIvanovo after thefall of the Soviet Union during early 1993, following an agreement between Russia and Ukraine over dividing the division's equipment. A significant number of ethnic Ukrainian paratroopers (around 40% of the division's manpower) transferred to the Ukrainian military and formed the1st Airmobile Division. The rest of the formation moved to Ivanovo in the spring of 1993 and by April the division was transferred to the Russian military.[5]
In October 1992, the 300th Guards Parachute Regiment was detached and sent toAbakan in theSiberian Military District. In the city of Abakan, four years later, the 300th Guards Parachute Regiment was reorganised as the 100th independent Guards Airborne Brigade, but was then disbanded circa 1998.[7]
In December 1997, the 299th Guards Airborne Regiment was absorbed into the 217th Guards Airborne Regiment.[4]
Today, its two regiments, the 217th and 299th, are stationed near theIvanovo Severny military-transport airfield.[8] However another source lists the two constituent regiments as the 217th and 331st, the later having transferred from 106th 'Tula' Guards Airborne Division in 1998.[9]
It took part in the 2008Russo-Georgian War in theBattle of Tskhinvali of the South Ossetian theatre.
On 26 August 2015, 18-year-oldPavel Bakhtin — about three months short of being demobilised — was a sentry for the 331st Guards Airborne Regiment at a field camp near Pesochnoye on the border between Yaroslavl and Kostroma Oblasts.[10] After duty, Bakhtin went back to the guard house without returning his weapon, and unleashed it on his comrades, killing six including himself and wounding three, one of whom later died of their wounds in hospital.[11]
In August 2014, 10 members of the division were captured, amidst theWar in Donbas,[12] near theRussia–Ukraine border; according to Ukraine while conducting operations in Ukraine, after having crossed the border illegally; according to Russia they had "crossed the border by accident on an unmarked section".[13] Russia has been accused of, and has denied, supporting thepro-Russian separatists who battled theUkrainian army in the war in Donbas.[14][15][16][17] Abattalion tactical group of the division's 331st Guards Regiment allegedly participated in the August fighting. In February 2015, its 217th Guards Regiment and 1065th Guards Artillery Regiment were allegedly participating in the war.[18]
In January 2022, elements of the division's 217th Airborne Regiment were reportedly deployed toBelarus in theprelude to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[19]
During theinvasion,[1] the division participated in theKyiv offensive. One of its regiments, the331st Guards Airborne Regiment, suffered heavy losses;[20] its commander, Colonel Sergei Sukharev[21] was allegedlykilled in action.[22][23] The division's commander Colonel Viktor Gunaza was dismissed by end of March. The division was involved in defensive operations aroundKlishchiivka alongside the76th Guards Air Assault Division andStorm-Z detachments during the2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive.[2]
On August 1, 2023, officials from theYaroslavl Oblast announced the re-formation of the retired299th Guards Parachute Regiment, which was later confirmed bySergei Shoigu on September 26. Due to operational security the exact composition of this new Regiment is unknown, however, Russian military commentatorAleksei Sunonkin speculated that it was a support regiment of either motorized or regular infantry and not a VDV trained and equipped unit.[24]
Since February 2024, parts of the division that performed defensive actions aroundKlishchiivka are involved in the storm ofIvanivske, Donetsk Oblast andBohdanivka, Bakhmut Raion, Donetsk Oblast. Starting April 4, they became part of thebattle of Chasiv Yar.
In July 2024, the division was awarded theOrder of Alexander Nevsky.[25]
In 2014, the subordinate units of the division were as follows:
| Current divisions | |
|---|---|
| Current brigades | |
| Former brigades | |
| Schools | |
| Commanders | |
| History & traditions | |
 Divisions of the Soviet Union 1957–1989 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airborne | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Artillery | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Aviation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Motor Rifle |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rocket | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tank | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Guards units marked inbold unless they are in a Guards section. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
.svg) Divisions of theRussian Armed Forces | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Airborne | |||
| Tank | |||
| Motor rifle | |||
| Rocket | |||
| Aviation | |||
| Air defense | |||
| Unique | |||
| Naval |
| ||
| Naval aviation | |||
Guards units marked inbold. | |||
