| 2nd Guards M. I. Kalinin Taman Motor Rifle Division | |
|---|---|
| 2-я гвардейская мотострелковая Таманская ордена Октябрьской Революции Краснознаменная ордена Суворова дивизия имени М. И. Калинина | |
 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division Emblem | |
| Active | 1941–2009 2013–present |
| Country |  Soviet Union (until 1991) Russia |
| Branch | .svg) Red Army (1941–1946) Soviet Army (1946–1991) Russian Ground Forces (1991–present) |
| Type | Division |
| Role | Mechanized infantry |
| Size | 12,000–14,000 soldiers[citation needed] |
| Part of | Moscow Military District 1st Guards Tank Army |
| Garrison/HQ | Kalininets,Moscow Oblast |
| Nicknames | Tamanskaya Division Taman Division Taman Guards |
| Patron | Mikhail Kalinin |
| Mottos | "Rodina, chest, slava" (Motherland, Honour, Glory) |
| Equipment | T-72B3,[1]T-90,BMP-2,[2]BMP-3,[3]BTR-80,Msta-S,Grad MLRS,Tunguska,Tor,Osa,[2]T-14 Armata |
| Engagements | World War II 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt 1993 Russian constitutional crisis Second Chechen War Syrian Civil War[4] Russo-Ukrainian War |
| Decorations | |
| Battle honours | Taman |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Colonel (Guards) Sergey Viktorovich Medvedev |
The2nd GuardsM. I. Kalinin Taman Motor Rifle Division[a] is aGuardsmechanised infantrydivision of theRussian Ground Forces. ItsMilitary Unit Number is 23626.
The 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division was formed in 1941, seeing extensive combat duringWorld War II for which it became one of the most famous and decoratedformations in theSoviet military. It was named in honor ofMikhail Kalinin and the town ofTaman, remaining intact until it was disbanded in 2009, before being reformed in 2013. Since 2016, it is part of the1st Guards Tank Army of theWestern Military District, and most of its units are based in the town ofKalininets,Moscow Oblast, 45 kilometers (28 mi) south-west ofMoscow.
During theRussian invasion of Ukraine, units of the division invaded Ukraine'sSumy Oblast, and engaged in combat near the city ofTrostianets.
The 127th Rifle Division was formed 8 June 1940 inKharkiv, on the base of the23rd Rifle Division which was just transferred to participate in the imminentSoviet occupation of the Baltic states (1940).
The division was initially garrisoningKharkiv,Chuhuiv andBohodukhiv. It was transferred toRzhyshchiv in May 1941.The 127th Rifle Division was with19th Army's25th Rifle Corps, along with 134th and 162nd Rifle Divisions on June 22, 1941. It formed part of theHigh Command reserve.[5] By August, it was with the Front troops of theSoviet Reserve Front. After the other division of the 25th Rifle Corps (134th and 162nd) were shattered on arrival to south-east outskirts ofVitebsk during 11–16 July 1941, the 127th was re-routed to south-east ofSmolensk and reassigned to the34th Rifle Corps. At that time, the535th Rifle Regiment has lost its way and ended up being incorporated into theLeningrad Front. On 4 August 1941, the 127th Division traversed theDnieper River 13 km south ofYartsevo as part of the general Soviet retreat. Afterwards, it was relieved of front line duty and sent toDorogobuzh for replenishment, where it received the 875th Rifle Regiment from the158th Rifle Division.
For distinguished combat service, the division was renamed as the 2nd Guards Rifle Division on 18 September 1941, attaining"Guards" status. At the end of September 1941, it fought inHlukhiv area, retreating towardKleven river as part of GeneralArkady Yermakov's operational group of theBryansk Front. Transferred to theKursk area on 3 October 1941, it fought a defensive battle around the town ofTim.
On 22 December 1941, the division started to advance during theWinter Campaign of 1941–42. Acting together with the1st Guards Rifle Division and87th Rifle Division, it advanced throughCheremisinovo andSovetsky districts of theKursk Oblast.By 28 January 1942, the division was located inStary Oskol.
After participating in theNovorossiysk-Taman offensive in September–October 1943, the division was renamed to 2nd Guards Tamanskaya Rifle Division after the city ofTaman, Russia. Starting from 3 November 1943, the division acted in the spearhead ofKerch-Eltigen Operation in northern Yenikale (Ganikale) beachhead, under the command of the56th Army.
During theCrimean Offensive the division captured the city ofAlushta on 15 April 1944, acting under the command of theSeparate Coastal Army. 19 May 1944 it was relieved from the front line duty, reassigned to theSoviet Strategic Reserve,2nd Guards Army and transferred toDorogobuzh for replenishment. It restarted combat operations 8 July 1944 after the2nd Guards Army was given to the1st Baltic Front. The division participated inŠiauliai Offensive and later in October 1944 – inBattle of Memel. In December 1944, the entire army including the 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division was transferred to3rd Belorussian Front and participated in theEast Prussian Offensive, ending the war in middle April 1945 on the Baltic Sea coast north ofPrimorsk.
In September 1945, while it was serving with the11th Guards Rifle Corps, the division was moved back into theMoscow Military District.[6]
On 2 July 1946, the division received the honorific "named afterM. I. Kalinin."
The division was called toMoscow for security duties following the death ofJoseph Stalin on 5 March 1953.
In December 1953, the division was renamed to 23rd Guards Tamanskaya Mechanised Division, and it joined the1st Guards Rifle Corps. In March 1957, the division was renamed to 23rd Guards Tamanskaya Motor Rifle Division. In November 1964, the division was renamed to 2nd Guards Tamanskaya Motor Rifle Division.
On 4 May 1990 the 406th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment reverted to itsSecond World War number as the 15th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment.[7] The same year the 73rd Guards MRR returned to its Second World War numbering, becoming the 1st Guards Motor Rifle Regiment.
The division has played a prominent role in two of the major political crises of recent Soviet and Russian history. In 1991, it was one of the divisions deployed in Moscow as part of thehardline coup attempt against theSoviet PresidentMikhail Gorbachev; however, it was atank unit attached to the division that switched sides at the decisive point in the coup's course.Boris Yeltsin delivered a speech standing on top of tank no. 110, strengthening his own position significantly, both domestically and abroad.
Two years later, the division once again came to Yeltsin's rescue, during the1993 Russian constitutional crisis. The stand-off between theRussian Parliament and Yeltsin, against the backdrop of massive public demonstrations inMoscow against Yeltsin's government, had by 2 October brought Russia to the brink ofcivil war. Between 2 and 4 October, the army considered its position. By sunrise of the 4th, they had given their support to Yeltsin. That day, tanks from the Tamanskaya Division opened fire on theParliament building, where the Parliament's supporters were barricaded. This episode consolidated Yeltsin's power; it was the deadlieststreet fighting in Moscow since 1917.
Valery Evnevich commanded the Taman division during the events of October 3-4, 1993 in Moscow. Many media outlets claim that he personally supervised the actions of tank units that conducted targeted fire at the White House building[1][2]. On October 7, 1993, Boris Yeltsin awarded him the title “Hero of the Russian Federation” for his participation in the storming of the White House[2].
Around 1998-2000, the division numbered around 12,000 soldiers.[8]
Since then, the division has seen service inChechnya: it is known to have contributed to the force that brought the republic back under Russian control in 1999 and 2000, during theSecond Chechen War. A'tactical group' from the15th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment deployed to Chechnya in early 2000, serving in the south of the republic and theArgun Gorge after the end of major combat operations to maintain security. In 2004, it was visited by a delegation of foreign military attaches. The Kalininets base has also recently provided the venue for theMiss Russian Army contest.
The division was located nearAprelevka,[9] in theMoscowsuburbs: its various subunits occupied a vast complex of buildings and sites to the north andnorthwest of the town. The two most important 'sub-bases' in the area are Kalininets and Kobyakovo.[10] It was one of the Russian Army's 'constant readiness' divisions, meaning that it was required to have at least 80% manpower and 100% equipment strength at all times; it was thus intended to be readily deployable.
On 22 January 2007, the Russiannews agencyInterfax reported comments from thecommander of theMoscow Military District,Col. General Vladimir Bakin. He stated that the Tamanskaya Division's 1stGuardsMotor RifleRegiment had been re-equipped with abattalion ofT-90main battle tanks, replacing its oldT-80s, a battalion ofBTR-80armoured personnel carriers (this presumably refers to the modernised BTR-80A variant, which has improved firepower and armour, among other things), as well as a battalion of newself-propelled howitzers and 'C2'command and control systems. Bakin also said that the regiment's 3rd Battalion had begun re-equipping with theBMP-3infantry fighting vehicle, of which the regiment as a whole was due to receive 129 by the end of the year.
Furthermore, according to Interfax:"Bakin stated that the First Guards Regiment had already undergone training for operating new materiel. "The regiment was the first in the Russian army to successfully master new arms and materiel. Last year, the regimental personnel were graded highly on their performance, he said."[11]
This rearmament may represent the first publicly known deployment of the T-90 in theRussian Army outside of the5th Guards 'Don' Tank Division, based atKyakhta in theSiberian Military District, which has been entirely equipped with such tanks in recent years. There have been rumours in circulation for some time now that all the T-90s currently in service were to be accumulated in the Tamanskaya Division, but these rumours lack reliable sources. If any such move is to occur, it may take place in 2007, but January's partial rearmament of the division does not seem to signal the beginning of such a move, since the T-90s and other modern armoured vehicles now with the division are newly purchased ones.
The division has been slated for disbandment in 2009, with two brigades being created from its existing subunits.[12] Each brigade will include about 7,500 personnel with one mounted onBMP-3 tracked vehicles while the other usingBTR-80 andBTR-90 wheeled vehicles. The two brigades, according to Warfare.ru, were the 5th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade in the Moscow Military District, and the8th Separate Guards Mountain Motor Rifle Brigade inChechnya. The 8th Separate Guards Mountain Motor Rifle Brigade was formed from the1st Guards Tank Regiment of the division, relocated without its tanks toBorzoy in Chechnya fromAlabino.[13]
The division was disbanded in mid-2009, being split into two new motor rifle brigades. After 2009, the main successor of the division was the 5th Guards Separate, Order of the October Revolution, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Brigade named after Kalinin, which inherited the traditions of the 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division.
The division was re-formed in 2013 by order of Russian defence ministerSergei Shoigu,[14][15] from the 5th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade and other unnamed units.[16] This order is pursuant to Russian PresidentVladimir Putin's intention to "strengthen the historical continuity" of the Russian Armed Forces by resurrecting the names of "famous, legendary units and formations of the Russian and Soviet armies".[16][17] Another division, the4th Guards Kantemirovskaya Tank Division was also reinstated under the same order.
As of June 2015, the Russian Armed Forces planned to rebuild the famous Soviet era1st Guards Red Banner Tank Army by including the 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division, 4th Guards Tank Division, as well as one tank and rifle brigade.[18] The decree providing for the reformation of the force was enacted in the winter of 2014, and it became a part of theWestern Military District. Unlike the original 1st GTA, the 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division forms a part of the revived army, based inMoscow Oblast. By December 2016, a new 1st Guards Tank Regiment was formed as part of the division, inheriting the traditions of the old 1st Guards Tank Regiment.[19]
Military Unit Numbers for several of the division's regiments are known. Military Unit Numbers 23626, 21626, 31135, 61896, 51387, 61896, 73881 are all regiments of the division.[14] Although some ethnic Russians are in the unit, the unit has manypersons from theCaucasus.[14] Selyatino has the hospital for the units at Kalininets.[14] The Taman Division deployed in May 2018.[14]
The division formed part of1st Guards Tank Army when it took part in thenorthern front of theRussian invasion of Ukraine.Two of its servicemen were accused of firing a tank into a hospital inTrostianets.[21] On 3 March, according to ukrainian sources, 22 tankers from the division, including the deputy commander of armaments of the 1st Tank Regiment and a battalion commander, together with their equipment, surrendered en masse to the Ukrainians. One of the captured soldiers said the division had entered Ukraine through theSumy Oblast.[22] Ukrainian prosecutors later accused a member of the division's1st Guards Motor Rifle Regiment of robbing civilians in the village ofZhyhailivka [uk], Sumy Oblast.[23] Additionally, the commander of the 5th Battery of the division's147th Artillery Regiment [ru] was sentencedin absentia by a Ukrainian court to 10 years imprisonment in 2024 for ordering the killing of a civilian inBoromlia, Sumy Oblast on 9 March 2022.[24][25] By 11 March 2022, units of the division were reportedly planning to storm the city ofSumy.[26]
After the Russian withdrawal from northern Ukraine, the 2nd Division was deployed to the village ofVelyka Komyshuvakha south ofIzium, before aUkrainian counteroffensive retook the area. As of June 2023, the division was positioned nearKreminna.[21]Reportedly having suffered heavy losses, the division retired to Belarus for replenishment, receiving mobilised soldiers and reequipping with older material taken from warehouses. Retraining was required until its redeployment to the Luhansk Oblast in January 2023.[27]
Its principal vehicles were theT-90 andT-80main battle tanks,BTR-80armoured personnel carrier and theBMP-2 andBMP-3infantry fighting vehicles.
From January 1992 until 2009, the 1st Guards Tank Chertkovsky Regiment was part of the 2nd Tamanskaya Guards Motor Rifle Division.[28] During the reforms ofDefence MinisterAnatoly Serdyukov, the 1st Guards Tank Regiment along with the Taman Division was disbanded.[28]
In 2020, the 1st Guards Tank Chertkovsky Regiment (formed late 2016[29]) was planned to be one of the first units to be equipped with the newT-14 Armata main battle tank fromUralvagonzavod.[28] As of February 2022[update], the unit is equipped with theT-72B3.[28][29]
The 1st Guards Tank Chertkovsky Regiment has always been at the point of the spear taking on the most difficult situations. Many officers from the Chertkovsky Regiment subsequently take top positions in the Ministry of Defence.[28]
The commander of the 1st Tank Platoon of the 5th Tank Company of the regiment's 2nd Tank Battalion was tried and sentencedin absentia to 11 years imprisonment by a Ukrainian court for the shelling of the city hospital in Trostianets,Sumy Oblast.[30][31]
In November 2024 it was reported that the 1st Guards Tank Regiment was operating near the village ofKruhliakivka in theKharkiv Oblast.[32]
InTom Clancy's 1986 novelRed Storm Rising, the division offers token resistance to a coup d'état by theSoviet Army and theKGB against thePolitburo.
InFrederick Forsyth's 1996 novelIcon (novel), the tank division prevents success of a coup d'état by the main antagonist.
The Russian news agency Interfax reported on 22 January 2007 […]from Col. General Vladimir Bakin, the commander of the Moscow Military District. [A]ccording to Bakin, Tamanskaya Division's 1st Guards Motor Rifle Regiment had been re-equipped with a battalion of T-90 tanks […], a battalion of BTR-80A armored personnel carriers, and a battalion of new self-propelled howitzers and 'C2' command and control systems. […]Bakin stated that the First Guards Regiment had already undergone training for operating new materiel. The regiment was the first in the Russian army to successfully master new arms and materiel. In 2006, the regimental personnel were graded highly on their performance. This represented the second publicly-known deployment of the T-90, the first having been the 5th Guards 'Don' Tank Division, based at Kyakhta in the Siberian Military District […].
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