| 76th Guards Air Assault Division 76th Guards Airborne Division (6 Jul 1946 – 2006) 76th Guards Rifle Division (1 Mar 1943 – 6 Jul 1946) 157th Rifle Division (1 Sep 1939 – 1 Mar 1943) | |
|---|---|
| Russian:76-я гвардейская десантно-штурмовая Черниговская Краснознаменная, ордена Суворова дивизия | |
 Great emblem of the 76th Guards Air Assault Division | |
| Active | 1 September 1939[1] – present |
| Country |  Soviet Union(1939–1991)  Russia(1991–present) |
| Branch |  Russian Airborne Forces |
| Type | Airborne forces |
| Role | Light Infantry Airborne Infantry Airmobile infantry |
| Part of |  Russian Armed Forces |
| Garrison/HQ | Pskov,MUN 07264 |
| Nickname | Псковские десантники (Pskov Paratroopers) |
| Mottos | Мы всюду там, где ждут победу! (We are everywhere where victory is awaited!) |
| Anniversaries | 1 September;2 August(day of the VDV) |
| Engagements | |
| Decorations |  Guards Order of the Red Banner.png) Order of Suvorov |
| Battle honours | Chernigov |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Maj. Gen.Denis Shishov |
| Notable commanders | Gen.Vasily Margelov |
The76th Guards Chernigov Red Banner Order of Suvorov Air Assault Division (Russian:76-я гвардейская десантно-штурмовая Черниговская Краснознаменная, ордена Суворова дивизия;MUN 07264) is a division of theRussian Airborne Forces based inPskov. The division traces its lineage back to the 76th Guards Rifle Division, formed in March 1943 from the157th Rifle Division for that division's actions during theBattle of Stalingrad. The division fought in theBattle of Kursk, theBattle of the Dnieper,Operation Bagration, theEast Pomeranian Offensive, and theBerlin Offensive. Postwar, it was converted into an airborne division.[6]
The division moved toPskov, its current base, in 1947. The division was involved inBlack January and theJanuary Events in Lithuania. After theDissolution of the Soviet Union, the division became part of theRussian Airborne Troops. The division became anair assault division in 2006.[7]
The division fought in theFirst Chechen War,Second Chechen War, theRusso-Georgian War, and Donbas then2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine,[8] including committing allegedmass murder of civilians in Bucha.[9]
The 76th Air Assault Division was originally established in 1939 as the157th Rifle Division. On 1 March 1943 it became the76th Guards Rifle Division for its actions in theBattle of Stalingrad. Major GeneralAlexander Kirsanov commanded the division.[10] The division fought in theBattle of Kursk, fighting in the northern part of the Kursk Bulge. Until 3 July the division was part of theBryansk Front in the area ofBelyov. On 12 July the division began the crossing of theOka. By the end of the day the division had captured bridgeheads. The division received thanks from the Supreme Commander (Stalin) for this action.[11]
On 8 September, the division began to advance from theOryol area toChernigov. After three days the division had advanced 70 kilometers and reached the village ofTolstoles on 20 September, three kilometers northeast of Chernigov. The division then helped capture the city and advanced to the west. By an order of the Supreme Commander on 21 September the division was thanked and awarded the honorific "Chernigov".[11]
The division then advanced into Belarus. It became part of the1st Belorussian Front. On 17 July 1944 it began an attack northwest ofKovel. On 21 July the vanguard of the division moved north towardsBrest in heavy fighting. On 26 July, troops advancing from the north and south linked up 20 to 25 kilometers west of Brest. German troops in the area were surrounded. For its actions in the capture of Brest, the division was awarded theOrder of the Red Banner. On 25 January 1945, the division, as part of the2nd Belorussian Front, blocked the route out ofToruń, surrounding German forces. In late February, the division attempted to cut the road out ofKonitz. German troops were able to escape in the fighting.[12]
On 23 March the division capturedSopot and advanced to theBaltic Sea. By 25 March it had capturedOliwa and was advancing towardsDanzig. The division helped captured Danzig on 30 March. The division was moved from Danzig to Germany and on 24 April was concentrated near Kortenhaten, 20 kilometers south ofStettin. On 26 April the division crossed the Rondov canal and broke through the German line. By the end of the day it had captured Pretslavu.[13]
On 2 May, the division capturedGüstrow. On 3 May, after advancing 40 kilometers, it capturedKarow andButzow. The forward detachments of the 76th Guards Rifle Division reached the Baltic and on the outskirts ofWismar met with Allied airborne units[13] of the6th Airborne Division.[14] The division was part of the114th Rifle Corps of the70th Army of the2nd Belorussian Front in May 1945.[15]
On 6 July 1946, it became the76th Guards Airborne Division inNovgorod, directly subordinated to Airborne headquarters. In April 1947, it moved toPskov. Future Soviet Airborne Troops commanderVasily Margelov became the division's commander in April 1948.[16] The division became part of the15th Guards Airborne Corps in October 1948. It was composed of the 234th Guards Air-Landing Regiment, the 237th Guards Airborne Regiment and the 154th Guards Artillery Regiment.[17]
On 18 February 1949 the 234th became an airborne regiment. On 30 April 1955, the 104th Guards Airborne Regiment moved to the division after the21st Guards Airborne Division was disbanded. On 6 January 1959, the 242nd Separate Military-Transport Aviation Squadron was activated with the division. It included 10An-2 Colt transports. On 15 August 1960, the 154th Guards Artillery Regiment became the 819th Separate Guards Artillery Battalion. On 27 April 1962, the battalion was upgraded to the 1140th Guards Artillery Regiment.[17]
In 1967, the division participated in Exercise "Dnieper". In March 1970, the division participated in the combined arms exercise "Dvina". During the exercise, the division used theAntonov An-22 for the first time.[18] The division participated in Exercise "Autumn-88". Between 1988 and 1992 the division participated in the suppression of interethnic conflicts in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Baltic region, Transdnistria, North Ossetia, and South Ossetia. In 1991, the 104th and 234th Guards Airborne Regiments were awarded the Ministry of Defense Pennant "For Courage and Valor". Earlier, the division and its artillery regiment had been awarded the pennant.[11] The division took part in theAugust Coup of 1991, when it was sent to Estonia bythe Coup's leaders to take over theTallinn TV Tower.[19]
The division fought in theFirst Chechen War during 1994 and 1995. 120 military personnel of the division were killed during the war. For their actions, ten officers of the division received the titleHero of the Russian Federation, two of them posthumously. The division fought in the Second Chechen War between 1999 and 2004.[20]
From 18 August 1999 elements of the division fought in the capture ofKaramakhi,Gudermes,Argun, and the blocking of theVedeno gorge. The 6th Company of the 104th Guards Airborne Regiment blocked theArgun Gorge in March 2000.[20] For their actions, 22 soldiers were awarded the title Hero of the Russian Federation, all but one posthumously. 63 received theOrder of Courage posthumously.[11]
On 22 June 2001, the 237th Guards Airborne Regiment was disbanded.[21] After an experimental period, the 104th Guards Airborne Regiment of the 76th Airborne Division in 2002 became the first Russian ground forces regiment that was fully composed of professional soldiers (and not of "srochniki" – theconscripted soldiers aged eighteen).[22] The division became the first to move to the contract manning system in 2004. In 2006, the 76th Airborne Division became an Air Assault Division.[13]
In 2008 the 76th Air Assault Division was involved in the2008 South Ossetia war, being deployed toSouth Ossetia and fought in theBattle of Tskhinvali.[23]
Since 27 February 2013, the division has been commanded by Major GeneralAlexey Naumets.[24]
In 2014 division units spearheaded the2014 Russian military invasion of Ukraine, and were used in theannexation of Crimea.[25][26] On 18 August, the division was awarded theOrder of Suvorov byVladimir Putin for the "successful completion of military missions" and "courage and heroism".[27][28] On 20 August 2014, twoBMD-2s of the 76th Guards Air Assault Division were captured by Ukrainian forces near Lutuhino in theLuhansk region.[29] Ukrainian government officials presented Russian soldiers' IDs and other military documents from the vehicles.[27][30][31][32][33] Russia's defence ministry denied the claim.[34][35]
Several members of the division, among whom was the platoon commander Anton Korolenko, died on 19–20 August, under circumstances their families would not reveal.[36] APskov newspaper reported that nearly an entire company of paratroopers from the 76th Guards Air Assault Division allegedly was lost during combat as part of thewar in Donbas, having 80 dead, though without any conclusive proof.[37][38][27]
In January 2022, elements of the division's 234th Air Assault Regiment and the 124th Tank Battalion were reportedly deployed toBelarus in theprelude to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[39]
A command post of the 76th Guards Air Assault Division was attacked during the2022 Chornobaivka attacks of the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine on 5 August 2022.[40]
The 76th Guards Airborne Assault Division participated in assaults on Kyiv, Izyum, and Popasna.[41] They were alleged to be responsible of running the cleansing operations during theBucha massacre arresting, torturing and murdering Ukrainian civilians.[9]
In September 2022 reports emerged from Ukrainian sources claiming the 237th Guards Air Assault Regiment "no longer exists due to either death or injury of all soldiers."[42]
During the fall of 2022 the 76th GAAD fought outside ofBeryslav in theKherson Oblast and stopped the advance of theUkrainian Marine Corps'35th Marine Brigade towards the city, inflicting significant losses on the marines, before the Russian military evacuated all land west of theDnieper river in November.[43][44] It later fought nearKreminna in thebattle of Donbass. In August 2023, it was ordered to reinforce the58th Combined Arms Army in theZaporozhye Oblast.[45] The division was involved in defensive operations aroundKlishchiivka alongside the98th Guards Airborne Division, and theStorm-Zpenal battalion during the2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive.[5] In late 2025, Ukrainian forces reported that three regiments of the division were engaged in thePokrovsk offensive.[46]
The 76th Guards Air Assault Division consists of a division headquarters, three air assault regiments, one tank battalion, an artillery regiment, an anti-aircraft missile regiment, a reconnaissance battalion, and several directly subordinatedcombat support andcombat service support battalions and companies. As of 2021, the 76th Air Assault Division consisted of the following units:[47][48]
![76th Guards Airborne Division shoulder sleeve insignia (1993–2006)[53]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aRussian_76th_Airborne_Division_patch.svg)
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