The first special-purpose military units were created back in 1764 at the suggestion of A. Suvorov, M. Kutuzov, and P. Panin. These units were called jaegers. The fighters were engaged in tactical exercises, carried out military operations in the mountains, carried out ambushes, raids.

Where did it all begin?

In 1811, a separate corps of internal guards was created, which was engaged in the protection and restoration of order within the state. In 1817, thanks to the actions of Alexander I, a rapid reaction detachment of mounted gendarmes was opened. The year 1842 was marked by the appearance of battalions of scouts from the Cossacks, who trained many generations of the future special forces with their combat actions.

Special forces in the XX century

The twentieth century began with the creation of the People's Commissariat for Military Affairs - GUGSH (Main Directorate of the General Staff). In 1918, intelligence and special forces were formed with the subordination of the Cheka. In the 1930s, airborne assault and sabotage squads were created.

Serious tasks were set before the new special squads: reconnaissance, sabotage, the fight against terror, disruption of communications, power supply, transport, and much more. Of course, the fighters were supplied with the best uniforms and new equipment. Preparation was carried out seriously, individual programs were used. Special Forces was classified.

In 1953, a mouth occurred. And only 4 years later, 5 separate special-purpose companies were created, which were joined in 1962 by the remnants of the old ones. In 1968, they began to train professional intelligence officers, then, by the way, the well-known company number 9 appeared. Gradually, the special forces turned into a powerful force defending their state.

these days

Now the GRU is a special body of foreign intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, whose goals are to provide intelligence information, the necessary conditions for the implementation of a successful policy, as well as assistance in the economic, military-technical development of the Russian Federation.

The GRU includes 13 main departments, as well as 8 auxiliary ones. The 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Main Offices deal with issues of interaction with different countries. The Fifth Directorate is a point of operational intelligence. The sixth division deals with the Seventh division resolves issues that have arisen with NATO. Sabotage, the development of military technology, the management of the military economy, strategic doctrines, nuclear weapons and information warfare are handled by the other six departments of the GRU. Also, as part of the intelligence department, there are two research institutes, which are located in Moscow.

Special Forces Brigades

GRU special forces brigades are considered the most trained units in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 1962, the first detachment of the GRU special forces was formed, whose tasks included the destruction of nuclear missiles and deep reconnaissance.

The second separate brigade was formed between September 1962 and March 1963 in Pskov. The composition successfully participated in the exercises "Horizon-74" and "Ocean-70" and in many others. The special forces of the second brigade were the first to participate in the airborne training "Dozor-86", went through the Afghan and Chechen wars. One of the detachments took part in the settlement of the conflict in South Ossetia from 2008 to 2009. Permanent location - Pskov and Murmansk region.

In 1966, the 3rd Guards Separate GRU Special Forces Brigade was created. The composition participated in the battles in Tajikistan, in the Chechen wars, in Afghanistan, in the peacekeeping mission in Kosovo. Since 2010, the brigade has been located in the military camp of the city of Togliatti.

In the city of Stary Krym in 1962, the 10th brigade of the GRU special forces was formed. The military took part in the Chechen wars, in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict of 2008. The brigade in 2011 was awarded the state award for merit in the development and conduct of military operations. Location - Krasnodar Territory.

The 14th brigade, which was created in 1963, is located in. The personnel were repeatedly thanked for the excellent conduct of the exercises, for participation in the hostilities in Afghanistan, the Chechen wars.

The 16th GRU Special Forces Brigade was formed in 1963. In 1972, its members participated in extinguishing fires in the Central Black Earth Zone, for which he was awarded a Certificate of Honor from the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR. In 1992, a detachment of the brigade was engaged in the protection of state facilities in the territory of Tajikistan. The 16th Special Forces Brigade participated in the Chechen wars, peacekeeping operations in Kosovo, and performed demonstration exercises in Jordan and Slovakia. Place of deployment - the city of Tambov.

The year 1976 was marked by the appearance of the 22nd Guards Separate GRU Special Forces Brigade. The location is the Rostov region. The composition participated in the Chechen and Afghan wars, in the Baku events of 1989, in the settlement of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.

In the Chita region in 1977, the 24th separate brigade was formed. Special Forces participated in the Chechen war, several detachments fought in Afghanistan. By order of the heads of the Soviet Union in the 80-90s. The brigade carried out covert operations in hot spots. At the moment, the composition is located in the city of Novosibirsk.

In 1984, on the basis of the 791st company, the 67th separate special forces brigade was created. The personnel participated in military operations in Chechnya, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Karabakh. Previously, the unit was located in Kemerovo, now they are talking about its disbandment.

Spetsnaz GRU of Russia. Primary selection

How to get into the GRU? SWAT is the dream of many boys. Agile, fearless warriors, it would seem, are capable of anything. Let's face it, joining a special forces unit is difficult, but possible.

The main condition for the possibility of considering a candidate is service in the army. Then the series of selections begins. Basically, officers and ensigns are taken to the special forces of the GRU of the Russian Federation. The officer must have a higher education. Recommendations of reputable employees are also needed. It is desirable for the candidate to be no older than 28 years old and have a height of at least 175 cm. But there are always exceptions. As for physical training, the quality of its implementation is strictly monitored, rest is minimized.

Basic requirements for the physical preparation of the applicant

The physical standards that must be passed successfully are as follows:

1. Run 3 km in 10 minutes.
2. Hundred meters in 12 seconds.
3. Pull-ups on the crossbar - 25 times.
4. Press exercises - 90 times in 2 minutes.
5. Push-ups - 90 times.
6. A set of exercises: press, push-ups, jumping up from a crouching position, transition from an emphasis crouching to an emphasis lying and back. Each individual exercise is done 15 times in 10 seconds. The complex is performed 7 times.
7. Hand-to-hand combat.

In addition to passing the standards, work is being done with a psychologist, a full medical examination, and a lie detector test. All relatives must be checked, in addition, parents will need to obtain written consent to the candidate's service. So how to get into the GRU (special forces)? The answer is simple - you need to prepare from childhood. Sport should firmly enter the life of a future fighter.

I'm in the Special Forces. What is waiting for me? Psychological side

From the first day, the soldier is told in every possible way that he is the best. As the coaches say, this is the most important moment. In the barracks itself, fighters often arrange covert checks on each other, which helps to always be on alert.

To strengthen the spirit and form the character of the recruit, they are taught hand-to-hand combat. Periodically, he is put into battle against a stronger opponent in order to teach him how to fight even with an opponent who is obviously superior in training. Also, soldiers are taught to fight using all sorts of improvised means, up to a tightly folded newspaper. Only after a warrior has mastered such materials, he trains on shock equipment.

Once every six months, fighters are checked for readiness for further service. Soldiers are left without food for a week. Warriors are in constant motion, they are not allowed to sleep all the time. Thus, many fighters are eliminated.

The physical side of the service

A warrior trains every day, without days off and holidays. Every day you need to run 10 km in less than an hour, and with additional weight on your shoulders (about 50 kg).

Upon arrival, it runs 40 minutes. This includes push-ups on the fingers, on the fists and jumping up from a sitting position. Basically, each exercise is repeated 20-30 times. At the end of each cycle, the fighter pumps the press a maximum of times. Hand-to-hand combat training takes place every day. Strikes are practiced, dexterity and endurance are brought up. The training of the GRU special forces is serious, hard work.

SWAT equipment

The uniform of the GRU special forces has different types, to match the tasks being carried out. At the moment, important parts of the “wardrobe” of a fighter include belts, as well as belt-shoulder systems. Functional vests include several types of pouches for equipment. The belt can be adjusted in volume, a synthetic insert is used to increase its strength. The shoulder-belt system includes straps and straps that are designed to distribute the load between the hip joint and shoulders. Of course, all this unloading system comes in addition to everyday uniforms and body armor.

How to get into the GRU (special forces)?

Only guys with excellent health and excellent physical fitness get into special forces. A good help to the conscript will be the presence of the mark "Fit for the Airborne Forces." Some experienced fighters to the question: "How to get into the GRU (special forces)?" they answer that you need to go to the nearest Intelligence Directorate and declare yourself.

For officers, general military training is conducted at the Novosibirsk Higher Military Command School, and special military training takes place at the Military Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. The Academy includes postgraduate and higher academic courses. Higher education is a mandatory requirement for inclusion in the ranks of officers.

The officers of this department were part of residencies in the capitals of foreign states and were engaged in the interception and decoding of transmissions on government and military information networks. In addition, the electronic intelligence regiments stationed on Soviet territory, as well as the electronic intelligence services of military districts and fleets, were subordinate to this department.

Electronic, space and radio intelligence. Includes the Space Intelligence Center - on Volokolamsk Highway, the so-called "K-500 facility". It included four departments:

The 1st - radio intelligence department - was engaged in the interception and decryption of messages from communication channels of foreign states. He led the so-called special forces units (OSNAZ for short), which were part of the military districts and groups of Soviet troops in Hungary, the GDR, Poland and Czechoslovakia. Under the leadership of the radio intelligence department, OSNAZ performed the functions of intercepting messages from the communication networks of foreign countries - objects of radio intelligence surveillance by the GRU. For these purposes, the 1st Department of the 6th Directorate had 300 people plus 1.5 thousand other military and civilian employees at its disposal.

The 2nd - the radio intelligence department of the 6th Directorate of the GRU - used the services of the same interception stations and carried out electronic surveillance of the same countries as the 1st. However, the subject of interest of the 2nd department was radio, telemetry and other electronic signals emitted by military control, detection and tracking equipment. To intercept these signals, he used OSNAZ in the military districts and groups of troops of the USSR Ministry of Defense.

The 3rd - the technical support department - was engaged in the maintenance of interception stations, the equipment of which was located in the buildings of Soviet embassies, consulates and trade missions around the world, as well as separately located interception stations in Cuba, Vietnam, Burma and Mongolia.

The 4th - the tracking department of the 6th directorate of the GRU - around the clock tracked all the information that it obtained by means of radio intelligence. The main task of the department was to monitor the military situation in the world and especially the significant changes in the US armed forces. Each officer of the department was responsible for his object of observation, among them were the US Strategic Air Command, the US Tactical Air Command and others. Based on the data received from the tracking department, the operational duty officer for the 6th directorate daily compiled an information summary, which, in turn, was included in the final information summary of the entire GRU.

The main objects that the radio intelligence service has:

Center for radio and satellite communications, located near Moscow. It received, including via satellite communication channels, information from 11 strategic electronic intelligence systems located in the USSR and from 4 foreign ones. The central radio intelligence station in the city of Klimovsk near Moscow, where the service for tracking and primary processing of radio intelligence data worked around the clock. Centers for radio interception and electronic intelligence in Lourdes (Cuba), Cam Ranh Bay (Vietnam), Rangoon (Burma) and Mongolia. Information from these centers and those located on the territory of the USSR flowed to the central radio intelligence station in the city of Klimovsk.

Information flows from the central radio intelligence station, from tactical intelligence facilities in military districts, groups of troops and fleets were sent to the apparatus of the 6th Directorate, where daily reports were prepared on their basis, received by the GRU command post, created in 1962 during the Cuban crisis, as well as included in the daily GRU intelligence report. In addition, reports from the 6th directorate were sent to the GRU information service, where they were accumulated and analyzed. The radio reconnaissance fleet of the USSR in its best years consisted of 62 ships. (Source "GRU Empire").

The officers of this department were part of residencies in the capitals of foreign states and were engaged in the interception and decoding of transmissions on government and military information networks. In addition, the electronic intelligence regiments stationed on Soviet territory, as well as the electronic intelligence services of military districts and fleets, were subordinate to this department. Thus, at the disposal of this department are radio reconnaissance ships, satellites and radio interception centers. For example, during the last war in Yugoslavia in April 1999, the reconnaissance ship of the Black Sea Fleet "Liman" openly appeared in the Adriatic Sea, a few months later it was replaced by "Kildin". On such ships there are no missiles, no artillery, no torpedo weapons. Only means of radio, electronic and hydroacoustic reconnaissance.

In addition to the 6th directorate, the activities of several more units and services of the GRU were connected with radio intelligence. Thus, the command post of the GRU, which carried out round-the-clock monitoring of the appearance of signs of an impending attack on the USSR, also used the information that entered the 6th Directorate. The Information Support Directorates carried out the work of evaluating the intelligence reports coming from the 6th Directorate. The decryption service was engaged in cryptanalysis of intercepted encrypted messages. She was directly subordinate to the head of the GRU and was located on Komsomolsky Prospekt in Moscow. The main task of the decryption service was to read cipher messages from tactical military communications networks. A special computer center of the GRU processed the incoming information, which was obtained by means of radio intelligence with the help of computer technology. The Central Research Institute in Moscow developed specialized equipment for conducting radio reconnaissance, and the operational and technical department of the GRU was responsible for its production and maintenance. Foreign radio interception centers are operated by the Sixth Directorate of the GRU together with FAPSI, for example, the famous radio-electronic center in Lourdes in Cuba. In 2001, by decision of the President of Russia V.V. Putin, it was closed and dismantled.

As for the GRU space intelligence department, it collects intelligence data using satellites. The Directorate directs the actions of OSNAZ - Special Purpose detachments, subordinate to the First and Second Departments of the Sixth Directorate of the GRU, whose functions are radio and radio intelligence. The analysis and processing of information obtained in this way is entrusted to the so-called “Dozor system”, which is located in the central building of the GRU on Khoroshevskoye Highway (“K 200 facility”).

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Registration 26 Mar 2012 Posts 1

Knowing

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An interesting publication. Somewhere, however, some of the Administrations disappeared, for example, they lost Analysts, departments and specializations were added, the Office was "transferred" to Khodyn instead of st. Sorge ... Not mentioned, for some reason Ogarkov, but the founding fathers should, as it were, be honored ...
We still have, it turns out, secrets from the Pindos attaches, whom it would be better to push out

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Knowing

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So you add - then too ... they will add)))
Actually, in the light of the interests of the Forum, it is worth noting that such services did not experience a craving for "forgery" of documents certifying everything and everything. Technological operations of this nature - of course - took place, but with the aim of more developing technological cycles. It was on the basis of Gryzov that the technology for replacing photos on the docks appeared without re-gluing, but by washing off the old one and applying a new layer of emulsion (essentially gelatin with chemicals). re-embossing), the ability to bring the photo in line with the "age" and condition of the document, and so on.
And so everything was based on "twins" made at the corresponding "yards". Not excluding Goznak. At one time, a group of comrades received the Stars of Heroes SySySyRy, who brought to their alma mater a whole load of fabulous wealth in the form of "Uncle Sam" passport books from one Arab country, supplied by this very Uncle even with paper from the US federal treasury ... Then they changed their minds, and bombed everything to their American mother...

Last edit: 27 Mar 2012

Rojer731

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Knowing

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And why, I'm sorry, "Bats"? Well, some of them are colloquially called "Batmen", but this has nothing to do with the office or their attributes.
The silhouette taken by everyone for a bat is actually the silhouette of an owl.

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dacota08

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GRU (Main Intelligence Directorate) General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation

Unlike the former KGB of the USSR, the organizational structure of the GRU was never advertised or published anywhere. And perhaps the only source of information on this issue is the book of the former GRU captain V. Rezun (V. Suvorov), who fled to England in 1978, "Soviet military intelligence", published in London in 1984. Of course, this source is far from perfect in terms of accuracy. However, for lack of a better structure of the GRU in the 70s. mainly based on this book.

The main complex of buildings of the GRU headquarters was located (and is still there) in Moscow in the area of ​​​​the Polezhaevskaya metro station, on the territory of the Central Airfield (the former Khodynskoye field). The main building - a 9-story structure made of glass and concrete, originally intended for a military hospital - was called "glass" in the local slang, and after the appearance of Suvorov's books it began to be called (mainly by journalists) "aquarium".

In addition, a decryption (crypto-analytical) service, a space intelligence center, receiving and transmitting centers for long-distance communications, and radio centers for long-range intelligence are located on the territory of Moscow and under it. The head of the GRU, or the 2nd Main Directorate of the General Staff, directly subordinate to the chief of the General Staff, was his deputy in status, and his position corresponded to the military rank of army general. In the mid 70s. he had one first deputy and several deputies, each of whom oversaw one or more departments of the GRU. More specifically, at the time of V. Rezun's flight, the head of the GRU, General of the Army P.I. Ivashutin, had one first and seven "simple" deputies, namely: - First Deputy Head of the GRU, Colonel General A.G. Pavlov, subordinate to which were all the "mining" bodies involved in the collection of information; - the head of the information service, Colonel-General A.V. Zotov, who was responsible for all the "processing" bodies of the GRU; - Head of the political department of the GRU, Lieutenant-General G.I. Dolin; - Head of the Electronic Intelligence Department, Lieutenant-General A. Paliy; - head of fleet intelligence, Admiral L.K. Bekrenev; - Head of the Space Intelligence Directorate, Lieutenant General of Aviation V.A.Shatalov; - Head of the Military Diplomatic Academy, Colonel-General V.I. Meshcheryakov; - Head of the Personnel Department, Colonel-General S.I. Izotov. In addition, the head of the GRU was directly subordinate to the command post of the GRU and a group of especially important agents and "illegals".

In the 70s. The GRU consisted of 16 departments. Of these, most were "numbered" - from 1 to 12, but some, such as the personnel department, did not have numbers. The departments directly involved in the collection and processing of intelligence information were divided into directions, and the auxiliary departments were divided into departments. Directions and departments, in turn, were divided into sections. The GRU also had directions and departments that were not part of the departments.

The position of the head of the department corresponded to the military rank of lieutenant general, the position of deputy head of the department, head of the direction or department corresponded to the rank of major general. The positions of deputy head of a direction or department, head of a section and his deputy - to the rank of colonel. Ordinary members of the sections held the positions of senior operational officers and operational officers. The military rank corresponding to the position of a senior operational officer is a colonel, an operational officer is a lieutenant colonel. Depending on their function, the GRU units were divided into mining, processing and auxiliary. Mining bodies were called bodies directly involved in the collection of intelligence information.

As already mentioned, they reported to the first deputy head of the GRU and included four departments:

The 1st Directorate of the GRU carried out undercover intelligence in Western Europe. It included five directions, each of which was engaged in undercover intelligence on the territory of several countries;

The 2nd Directorate was engaged in undercover intelligence in North and South America;

the 3rd Directorate conducted undercover intelligence in Asian countries;

4th Directorate - in Africa and the Middle East. The staff of each of the listed departments, according to V. Rezun, consisted of approximately 300 officers in the Center and the same number abroad.

In addition to these four departments, there were also four separate areas that were not part of the departments and were also subordinate to the first deputy head of the GRU:

The 1st direction of the GRU conducted undercover intelligence in Moscow. The officers who served in this direction were recruiting agents among foreign military attachés, members of military, scientific and other delegations, businessmen and other foreigners visiting Moscow. Another important task of the 1st direction was the introduction of GRU officers into Soviet official institutions, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Academy of Sciences, Aeroflot, etc. Positions in these institutions were later used as legal cover during intelligence work abroad.

The 3rd branch of the GRU conducted undercover intelligence in national liberation movements and terrorist organizations.

The 4th direction of the GRU was engaged in undercover intelligence from the territory of Cuba, primarily against the United States, in this case it interacted with Cuban intelligence. In many respects, it duplicated the activities of the 2nd directorate of the GRU.

The 5th Directorate of the GRU, or the Directorate of Operational-Tactical Intelligence, was also a "mining" one and reported to the first deputy chief of the GRU. However, the specificity of its activities was that it was not engaged in independent undercover intelligence, but directed the work of the intelligence departments of the headquarters of military districts and fleets. The intelligence departments of the military districts and the intelligence of the fleet were directly subordinate to the 5th Directorate. The latter, in turn, were subordinated to four intelligence departments of the fleets.

It should be noted that if the intelligence departments of the headquarters of the military districts were directly subordinate to the Directorate of operational-tactical intelligence, then the intelligence departments of the headquarters of the fleets - the Northern, Pacific, Black Sea and Baltic - were combined into a single structure known as fleet intelligence. This was due to the fact that if each military district had a strictly defined area of ​​​​responsibility, then the ships of the Soviet fleets operated in almost all points of the oceans, and each ship had to constantly have complete information about a potential enemy.

Therefore, the head of the intelligence of the fleet was the deputy head of the GRU and led the four intelligence departments of the naval headquarters, as well as the naval space intelligence department and the information service. But in his daily activities, he obeyed the orders of the 5th Directorate of the GRU. In addition, the GRU had two more directorates involved in the collection of information - the 6th Directorate and the Space Intelligence Directorate. However, since these departments, although they obtained and partially processed information, did not conduct undercover intelligence, they did not report to the first deputy head of the GRU.

The 6th Directorate of the GRU carried out electronic intelligence. The officers of this department were part of residencies in the capitals of foreign states and were engaged in the interception and decoding of transmissions on government and military information networks. In addition, the electronic intelligence regiments stationed on Soviet territory, as well as the electronic intelligence services of military districts and fleets, were subordinate to this department.

In addition to the 6th directorate, the activities of several more units and services of the GRU were connected with radio intelligence. Thus, the command post of the GRU, which carried out round-the-clock monitoring of the appearance of signs of an impending attack on the USSR, also used the information that entered the 6th Directorate. The Information Support Directorates carried out the work of evaluating the intelligence reports coming from the 6th Directorate. The decryption service was engaged in cryptanalysis of intercepted encrypted messages. She was directly subordinate to the head of the GRU and was located on Komsomolsky Prospekt in Moscow.

The main task of the decryption service was to read cipher messages from tactical military communications networks. A special computer center of the GRU processed the incoming information, which was obtained by means of radio intelligence with the help of computer technology. The Central Research Institute in Moscow developed specialized equipment for conducting radio reconnaissance, and the operational and technical department of the GRU was responsible for its production and maintenance. As for the GRU space intelligence department, it collected intelligence data using satellites. The processing organs of the GRU, sometimes called the information service, were engaged in the processing and analysis of incoming materials. The position of the head of the information service corresponded to the rank of colonel general, and he himself was the deputy head of the GRU.

Under his command were six information directorates, the Institute of Information, the information service of the fleet, and the information services of the intelligence directorates of the headquarters of the military districts. The areas of work of each of these departments were as follows:

The 7th directorate consisted of six departments and studied NATO. Each division and each section was responsible for researching individual trends or aspects of NATO action.

The 8th directorate studied individual countries around the world, regardless of whether this country belongs to NATO or not. At the same time, special attention was paid to issues of political structure, the armed forces and the economy.

The 9th directorate researched military technologies and was directly connected with the Soviet military-industrial complex.

The 10th Directorate studied the war economy around the world, including the arms trade, military production and technological achievements of different countries, production and stockpiles of strategic resources.

The 11th directorate studied the strategic concepts and strategic nuclear forces of all those countries that possess them or may create them in the future. This directorate carefully monitored any signs of increased activity in the actions of strategic nuclear forces in any region of the globe.

There is no exact information about what the 12th department was doing. The GRU Information Institute functioned independently of the departments and reported directly to the head of the information service. In contrast to the departments listed above, which studied secret documents obtained by secret agents, electronic or space intelligence, the institute studied open sources of information: the press, radio and television.

The GRU units, which were not directly involved in obtaining or processing intelligence materials, were considered auxiliary. These divisions included the political department, the personnel department, the operational and technical department, the administrative department, the communications department, the financial department, the first department, the eighth department, and the archive department.

In addition, the GRU included several research institutes and educational institutions. Their functions were as follows: The operational and technical department was engaged in the production of intelligence equipment - cryptography equipment, equipment for microphotography, radio devices, eavesdropping equipment, weapons, poisons, etc. In his submission were several research institutes and specialized enterprises. The administrative department was responsible for providing the GRU with foreign exchange. The Directorate of Communications was busy organizing radio and other communications between the GRU and foreign residencies. The finance department carried out legal financial activities in the Soviet Union.

The first special department of the GRU was engaged in forging passports, identity cards, driver's licenses, military documents, police documents, etc.

The GRU Section 8 was the most secret of all the secret GRU divisions. He did encryption and decryption. Archival department, perhaps the most interesting of all departments. Millions of registration cards of illegal immigrants, GRU officers, secret residents, information about successful and unsuccessful recruitment of foreigners, dossiers of various government and military figures from different countries, etc. were stored and are still stored in its basements.

However, the foundation of the GRU was made up of intelligence departments and intelligence departments in the armies and military districts, as well as special forces units and subunits subordinate to them. Their structure in the described period was as follows: At the headquarters of military districts and groups of Soviet troops abroad, intelligence was carried out by the 2nd Directorate, consisting of five departments:

The 1st department supervised the work of intelligence departments, armies subordinate to the district and other units.

The 2nd department was engaged in undercover intelligence in the area of ​​​​responsibility of the district.

The 3rd department supervised the activities of the reconnaissance and sabotage units of the district.

The 4th department was engaged in the processing of intelligence information.

The 5th department carried out radio reconnaissance. In addition, the intelligence department of the district headquarters included several more auxiliary units. The organization of intelligence at the army level was the same as in the district. Only instead of the intelligence department at the army headquarters there was a 2nd (intelligence) department, which in turn consisted of five groups. As already mentioned, the expansion of the sphere of activity of military intelligence and the increase in the tasks assigned to it required more serious and professional training of highly qualified personnel. Therefore, the educational institutions of the GRU in the 60-70s. received great attention.

The main forge of Soviet military intelligence personnel was the Military Diplomatic Academy (conservatory in the jargon of military intelligence officers), which was located in Moscow on Narodnogo Opolcheniya Street. The post of head of the academy corresponded to the military rank of colonel general, and in his status he was deputy head of the GRU. Candidates for enrollment in the academy were selected mainly among officers of the military level, and before being admitted to the entrance exams, they underwent a comprehensive check for reliability and moral qualities for two to three years.

The Military Diplomatic Academy included three numbered faculties:

1st - Special Intelligence Faculty - trained intelligence officers who were supposed to be used in legal residencies.

2nd - Military Diplomatic Faculty - trained employees of military attaches.

The 3rd faculty was engaged in the training of operational-tactical intelligence officers who were assigned to the headquarters of the military districts. Although it was officially believed that students who were to work under civilian cover were trained at the 1st faculty (employees of embassies, trade missions, the merchant fleet, Aeroflot, etc.), and at the 2nd faculty - those who intended to use as employees of the military attaché, their programs were quite similar. In addition, very often graduates of the 1st faculty were sent to the military attaché, and vice versa. But the Military Diplomatic Academy was not the only educational institution where personnel were trained for military intelligence.

In addition to it, the GRU also had a number of educational institutions: - the seventh Advanced Courses for Officers (KUOS); - Higher reconnaissance and command courses for the improvement of command personnel (VRK UKS); - faculties in military universities and departments of intelligence courses and disciplines in various military educational institutions (Department of Intelligence of the Navy at the Naval Academy, Intelligence Faculty at the Academy of the General Staff, Intelligence Faculty at the Military Academy named after M.V. Frunze, Intelligence Faculty of the Military -Naval Academy, Special Faculty of the Military Academy of Communications, Military Institute of Foreign Languages, Cherepovets Higher Military School of Communications, Special Faculty of the Higher Naval School of Radio Electronics, Special Forces Faculty of the Ryazan Higher Airborne School, Intelligence Faculty of the Kiev Higher Military Command School, Special Faculty 2 th Kharkov Higher Military Aviation Technical School, special intelligence department (since 1994) and the military intelligence department at the Novosibirsk Higher Military Command School).

Head of the GRU of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Korabelnikov Valentin Vladimirovich.

Genus. 01/04/1946. Colonel General. Born in the Tambov region. He graduated from the Minsk Higher Anti-Aircraft Missile Engineering School (1969), the Military Academy (1974), the Military Academy of the General Staff (1988). He served in the troops and the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 1991-1997 - Head of Department, First Deputy Head of the Main Directorate of the General Staff. Specialist in the field of substantiating requirements and building an information support system for making military and military-political decisions. Head of research to determine the directions for the development of information tools and systems. Author of scientific papers on the problems of information support for preparation and decision-making. Corresponding member of the department "Technical means of reconnaissance and target designation" of the Russian Russian Academy of Missile and Artillery Sciences. Graduated from the Military Diplomatic Academy under the Ministry of Defense of the USSR. For more than 20 years he worked in the bodies of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces. From 1992 to 1997 he was the first deputy chief of the GRU of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. During the hostilities on the territory of the Chechen Republic, he repeatedly traveled to the combat zone. In May 1997, during a medical examination preceding the dismissal of Colonel-General Fyodor Ladygin, he was acting head of the GRU. In May 1997, he was appointed head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces. On August 20, 1997, he was introduced to the Coordinating Interdepartmental Council for Military-Technical Cooperation of the Russian Federation with foreign states. Since December 31, 1997 - Member of the Supervisory Board for the activities of the Rosvooruzhenie and Promexport companies. In July 1999, V. Korabelnikov received gratitude from President B. Yeltsin for his significant contribution to the process of resolving the conflict in the Yugoslav region of Kosovo. On September 6, 1999, he was included in the Commission under the President of the Russian Federation on military-technical cooperation with foreign states.

These people prefer not to put their lives on public display. The GRU special forces do not even have their own designation, name. And the most interesting thing is their secrecy in their work. After all, special forces work in all parts of our planet, and its representatives can be dressed in absolutely any clothes, including the uniform of the army of Great Britain or other countries.

Spetsnaz is an elite unit of the military forces of the Russian Federation. Many films are made about special forces soldiers, books and articles are written about their hard work for the glory of the motherland. True, the cinematic performance is most often either embellished or understated. Only the best of the best are worthy of service in the GRU, which is why very strict selection rules have been created for them. And the most banal training day can shock an ordinary person who has nothing to do with serving in the country's law enforcement agencies.

On TV or on the Internet, they will never tell or write about the real operations of the special forces, most often the noise rises because of the failure, but, fortunately for everyone, this practically does not happen.

What is GRU

Each country has its own military structures, and it just so happened that foreign intelligence performs one of the most important roles in protecting its state. In the Russian Federation, such functions are performed by the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, which means the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. However, the predecessor of this name was the Main Intelligence Directorate. This is how the GRU decoding will sound.

Initially, it conducted its reconnaissance and sabotage activities in the interests of the Soviet Union, and was also the central body of military intelligence.

Intelligence under the king

Even before the overthrow of the monarchy, under tsarist Russia, sabotage and reconnaissance groups operated. These were specially trained military units. If we recall the reign of Ivan the Fourth, then it was he who in the 16th century was the founder of the guard service, which consisted of Cossack detachments. All warriors were tested for physical health and brilliant weapon skills (cold and firearms). Since in those days the Tatars constantly raided Moscow, the main purpose of these detachments was to monitor the surrounding territories in order to prevent an attack.

At a later time, Alexei Mikhailovich already revealed the Secret Order to the country. The intelligence officers of the order collected and structured all messages and informative reports about possible enemy attacks and about the activities of countries in the neighborhood.

In 1764, Suvorov and Kutuzov put forward the idea of ​​creating special detachments of rangers. Their operations were carried out in parallel with the main tsarist army. Jaegers staged raids and ambushes, and also attacked the enemy in the mountains, forests and other difficult areas. These were the so-called beginnings of special forces. And in 1810, Barclay de Tolly established the Expedition for Secret Affairs.

History of the GRU

When in the USSR, after the famous revolution, the workers 'and peasants' Red Army was formed, there was a need to form a special unit, which was supposed to take over the performance of intelligence functions. On this occasion, in 1918, the Bolsheviks came to the creation of the Field Headquarters of the Revolutionary Council. One of the components of this headquarters was a special department for registering, collecting and processing information that was obtained by intelligence officers. As a result, counterintelligence activities were completely shifted to the shoulders of the Field Headquarters.

In 1921, the Intelligence Department of the Red Army Headquarters was formed, it was engaged in intelligence not only in difficult and war times, but also in peacetime, they were one hundred percent covered by intelligence work. Undercover intelligence was carried out in Soviet times. In the countries neighboring the Union, special detachments of partisans were created, which carried out subversive operations.

In 1934, intelligence control was transferred to the People's Commissar of Defense. There were successful missions during the Spanish war, but even such a high-ranking structure as the country's intelligence was touched by the tragedy of repression. And by the beginning of World War II, half of the intelligence service was shot. Since 1942, we have known Razvedupr under the familiar name GRU (Main Intelligence Directorate).

The first special forces units in the USSR

In 1950, a secret decree was issued on the formation of special groups, whose task was to carry out sabotage operations on the side of the enemy. All the military districts of the Union were equipped with such units, forty-six companies were created in total, each consisting of one hundred and twenty soldiers. And it was they who were the basis for the creation of special forces in 1962. After 6 years, they formed a special regiment for training employees.

The original purpose of creating such units was to conduct sabotage in the war with NATO and confront the United States in the Cold War. The image of these actions was the collection and denunciation of all information from the enemy rear to the headquarters of the GRU, sowing panic in settlements where civilians live, undermining important infrastructure facilities, and large-scale actions to destroy enemy headquarters. Weapons of mass destruction were strategically important, special forces destroyed missile silos, airfields used by long-range enemy aircraft, launchers, bases with submarines.

The Afghan war was fought with the active participation of GRU agents, and the special forces played an important role during the unrest in the North Caucasus. Moreover, Tajikistan and Georgia also did not go unnoticed by elite units during their military operations (the last war with Georgia in 2008). At the moment, the Syrian war is taking place with the participation of Russian special forces.

Now the command of the GRU is giving orders to act not only by force, but also by information.

The renaming from the Soviet name took place in 2010. Everyone who is in the service of the GRU (decoding - the Main Intelligence Directorate) celebrates their holiday on the fifth of November, dedicated to military intelligence officers.

Management Goals

The GRU is not only a foreign intelligence agency, but also controls other military organizations in Russia, and also appears as an executive military force.

The goals of Russian intelligence can be divided into three points:

• The first is to provide all information intelligence data, first of all, to the President of our country and further in order of precedence of "roles" (Ministry of Defense, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Security Council) in the issue of protecting the borders and internal integrity of the Russian Federation. This information is necessary for conducting domestic and foreign policy and so on.
• The second is to provide suitable conditions for the successful implementation of political action in the field of defense and security.
• Third - intelligence contributes to the rise in the economic sphere, scientific and technical developments and military security of the Russian Federation.

Headquarters

The first headquarters of the GRU was located on Khodynka. The new one was built 11 years ago and is a large complex of different buildings. The area of ​​​​the headquarters is huge - about seventy thousand square meters. For physical training of security forces inside there is even a sports complex with a swimming pool. The construction of such a grandiose project cost the country nine billion rubles. There is a special forces complex on Grizodubova Street.

Bat

Probably, everyone saw in the photographs or in the news the stripes on the uniform of the GRU officers in the form of a bat. Where did this animal in the emblem of the GRU come from? According to some sources, one of the Yekaterinburg journalists during the service decided to draw an emblem for his unit. It happened in 1987, and the bosses and colleagues liked the bat inside the globe so much that it was immediately printed on the entire uniform of the special forces.

flower theme

To understand what the GRU is today, you can look at the meaning of the modern emblem. At the moment (since 2002), the bat has been replaced by a red carnation, it means stamina and devotion. The emblem of the GRU is the personification of an adamant decision to achieve the goal. The three-flame grenada is explained as an honorary badge with a historical past; it was awarded to the best military among the elite units.

True, in the new headquarters, the mouse, laid out on the floor, remained adjacent to the flower.

What does it consist of

Information about the structure of the GRU, its special forces at the moment is as follows:

• Western military district with the second brigade.
• The tenth brigade, mountain, operates in the North Caucasus.
• The special forces who participated in the Afghan and Chechen campaigns were from the fourteenth brigade of the Far East.
• The Western Military District has a sixteenth brigade, it also participated in the Chechen wars and in the protection of the OVO in Tajikistan.
• The Southern Military District is being defended by the twenty-second brigade. Has a guards rank after the Great Patriotic War. Here is the twenty-fifth regiment of special forces.
• The Central Military District is equipped with fighters from the twenty-fourth brigade.
• A unit of the 346th brigade is located in Kabardino-Balkaria.
• The fleet on the Pacific Ocean, the Baltic and Black, North Seas is equipped with its own special reconnaissance detachments.

What is the total number

For a better understanding of what the GRU is, it is worth paying attention to the absolute secrecy about the number of its fighters. Since the activities of the special forces are inaccessible to mere mortals, there are no reliable sources about the real size of the GRU headquarters. Some say that there are six thousand of them, and some say that there are fifteen thousand people.

Moreover, in addition to the existing special forces units, general military detachments are also subordinate to the GRU, and their number is approximately twenty-five thousand fighters.

Training centers

At the moment, you can train as a special forces fighter at higher educational institutions in Ryazan and Cherepovets. The Ryazan Airborne School trains specialists for sabotage activities. There is also a Military Academy of the Ministry of Defense in the Russian Federation. It has three faculties: strategic undercover intelligence, tactical and undercover-operational intelligence.

You can enter only knowing several foreign languages ​​and passing a special list of requirements.

Selection of fighters

What is required from candidates entering such serious institutions for study? Passing entrance tests is a very laborious process, but with the help of personal patience and accumulated knowledge, as well as physical strength, you can enter.

Absolute physical health is an indispensable requirement for all applicants. But the future commando does not have to be two meters tall and have a large muscle mass, because the most important thing in this matter is endurance. Arranged raids are usually accompanied by fairly heavy burdens and can take many kilometers.

The standards for admission, for example, include running three kilometers in ten minutes, be sure to pull yourself up twenty-five times, the hundred-meter run should fit in twelve seconds, there should be at least ninety push-ups from the floor, the same number of times you need to do the exercise for the press (here given just two minutes). One of the most important skills in the work of a special forces soldier is hand-to-hand combat.

This is followed by a very meticulous physical examination. A person must have unshakable stress resistance. His head must be in working order in any situation. To do this, use trained psychologists, and then the candidate is checked on the "lie detector". The whole family and even distant relatives are being checked by special state security agencies. Parents must unsubscribe to the leadership about their consent that their son will serve in a special forces unit.

Preparation for service in special forces

Long hard training, learning proper hand-to-hand combat (it is believed that it tempers the spirit and character of a fighter), fighting with the use of various objects (not only melee weapons), fights with initially stronger and more experienced opponents - all this awaits a recruit when training in such a serious subdivision. It is at these moments that the fighter realizes what the GRU is.

From the first day of training, there is a program to suggest that all of them, special forces soldiers, are the best not only among Russian military structures, but also in the whole world.

One of the difficult tests that are given specifically to find out whether a person can survive his physical potential is a long stay in a waking state, a load of transcendent physical and psychological actions. And, of course, training in the possession of small arms (of all kinds).

According to many, in Russia for several years now, in the course of a large-scale military reform, the systematic destruction of the GRU, a specific structure created at the dawn of Soviet times, has been carried out. The reform, of course, affects other types of the Armed Forces, and not only military intelligence, but it is intelligence that is destroyed in the first place as a result of giving it the so-called "new look".

Researchers agree that it is categorically impossible to leave everything as it was, however, analysts have a very ambiguous attitude towards the ongoing reforms. Many consider the negative result of the reforms to be the revealing fact that 70,000 square meters of the complex of buildings on Khodynka, built for the GRU General Staff, once the second largest and most powerful intelligence agency after the KGB and the FSB, were empty. 9.5 billion rubles were spent on their construction.

What is GRU

GRU GSH stands for the Main Intelligence Directorate, organized under the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. During the entire post-revolutionary period and up to the present day, this body has been the central governing body of the Russian Armed Forces. Subordinates to the GRU chief of the General Staff, as well as the Minister of Defense of the country. The department is in charge of all types of intelligence, which is carried out in the interests of the Armed Forces. This includes, among other things, intelligence:

• space,
• electronic,
• undercover.

The latter is given priority in the GRU. It is the agents who obtain secret materials and the latest samples of foreign weapons.

As Emperor Alexander III said almost 150 years ago, Russia has only two faithful allies - its army and navy. Today, in 50 or 150 years, this statement will remain an axiom. Russia will not be able to exist without these strong and loyal allies, and they will not be strong without a developed and powerful military intelligence.
Can the story of the GRU end?

A Brief History of the GRU

November 4, 1918 is considered the birthday of the GRU. It was then that the Registration Department was formed as part of the Field Headquarters of the Soviet Red Army. The order to create it was signed by the chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council of the republic, which was then Leon Trotsky. He appointed Semyon Aralov, a veteran of Russian intelligence, as the first head of the GRU. This legendary personality was formed in the period before the First World War.

Initially, the GRU was called RUPSHKA - the Registration Directorate of the field headquarters of the Red Army (Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army). The purpose of its creation was to coordinate the efforts that intelligence services made on all fronts and in the armies, obtaining information for the General Staff of the Red Army.

From the very beginning of its activity, the GRU was engaged in:

• strategic and operational intelligence,
• obtaining military-technical information,
• obtaining information about the latest scientific achievements in the field of aircraft.

A few years after its birth, RUPSHKA became the 4th Directorate of the General Staff. In official documents, it was designated as military unit N44388. It was renamed the GRU General Staff on February 16, 1942 by order of the People's Commissar of Defense. At the same time, serious staff changes and structural changes took place.

Another major milestone in the history of the development of management was November 22, 1942. It was then that military intelligence, by order of the People's Commissar of Defense, was withdrawn from the GRU. From now on, undercover intelligence was no longer conducted by the intelligence departments of the fronts, and the department itself became subordinate to the People's Commissar of Defense, and not to the General Staff of the Red Army.

His main task at that time was to conduct undercover intelligence abroad. First of all, these were the territories of the USSR occupied by the Nazis. At the same time, the RU - Intelligence Directorate, whose task was to lead military intelligence, appeared as part of the General Staff.

The legendary structure, which is known to everyone as, appeared already in the post-war years. His birth is considered to be 1950. From 1955 to 1991, the GRU was called the GRU General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR. Since 1991, it has received its modern name, i.e. GRU General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. One can only speculate about its structure and number, since it is a state secret.

What's going on with the GRU these days

Despite top secrecy, some data is still disclosed. In 2009, the leadership of the department was changed to a more accommodating one. As everyone is assured, this was done in order to prevent the complete collapse of the GRU. The reform, however, has rather tragic consequences.

According to known data, before the reform, the organization included 12 main departments, as well as 8 auxiliary departments and departments. At present, key departments have been reduced to a critical minimum, most of which have been liquidated with the dismissal of thousands of specialists. The scientific research (R&D) and experimental design (R&D) departments that existed in the specialized research institutes of management, known as the 6th and 18th Central Research Institute, stopped working.

According to inaccurate data, every second officer was dismissed, and this led to the loss of the opportunities that existed within the department. Thus, out of 7,000 officers, less than 2,000 are currently left. The final "cleansing" took place after the resignation of V.V. Korabelnikov, who was the head of the GRU from 1997 to 2009.

Almost completely destroyed electronic intelligence. According to The New Times, on the territory of foreign countries there was a 40% reduction in the number of so-called "mining units" in the management. They were responsible for undercover and strategic intelligence.

The situation with the education of new personnel is also difficult, since the training of illegal agents was completely curtailed after the liquidation of the specialized faculty. Professors and teachers of the Military Diplomatic Academy, which previously had three faculties, were massively dismissed:

• agent-operational intelligence;
• strategic undercover intelligence;
• operational-tactical intelligence.

The faculty involved in the training of military attachés has also undergone an extreme reduction. The analytical apparatus of the GRU was liquidated. Foreign intelligence units are gradually transferred to the subordination of the SVR.

Even the most experienced officers are subject to dismissal for rather formal reasons, such as length of service. The specifics of military intelligence suggests that only experienced army officers can become specialists, and this, of course, leads to the fact that already established military men aged 30-35 years old come to the GRU, and the older they get, the more they should be valued . The waste of the real "golden fund" of the specific Russian intelligence community is obvious.

Such radical changes have led to the fact that at present, from a unique strategic tool in its essence, capabilities, scale, the GRU has been forcibly turned into an amorphous, purely secondary structure. Against the background of such degradation, most likely, the next optimization management reform will take place.

Apparently, the Ministry of Defense is placing its bet on the Senezh special forces center, which was previously removed from the control of the department, and was directly subordinated to the Chief of the General Staff. Astronomical amounts are allocated for its development. The Minister of Defense oversees the center, ordering non-standard, even exotic weapons and foreign-made equipment for it. The desire is obvious: something similar to the cinematic American "Delta" is being created. For most analysts, this position of the leadership of the Ministry of Defense causes slight bewilderment, since the place where specialists are trained is at the same time a recreation center for top management.