The capture of the SBU of former or not quite former Russian special forces near Lugansk, their interviews and various information that surfaced in the press, allowed a new look at what is happening in Donbass and in Russian army. Medialeaks collected what is known about the special forces of the GRU, where Yevgeny Erofeev and Alexander Alexandrov served / are serving, and summarized what the prisoners said.

What is GRU special forces?

Full title: "Subdivisions special purpose Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Russian Federation» ... Tasks: deep reconnaissance and sabotage activities. This is what the boys dream about and what the heroes of Call Of Duty do: special forces get deep into the rear of the enemy and run through the forest, collecting information about the enemy's weapons, destroying his fortified points and communications.

Classified troops

Since no special forces officially existed, in Afghanistan, for example, they were called separate motorized rifle battalions. Until now, the names of the GRU formations are not mentioned. Let's say Aleksandrov and Erofeev were / are employees 3rd Separate Guards Warsaw-Berlin Red Banner Order of Suvorov III degree Special Forces Brigade . Now no one denies the existence of these troops, but the composition of the units is still classified. The number of special forces of the GRU is unknown, it is believed that now there are about 10 thousand of them in the RF Armed Forces.

What made the Special Forces of the GRU famous

The most famous operation carried out by the Special Forces was the capture of Hafizullah Amin's palace in Kabul in 1979. Due to the irregularity of hostilities in Afghanistan, the GRU special forces were widely used against the mujahideen. Scout units were attached to all military formations, so everyone who served in Afghanistan knew about the existence of scouts. It was in the late 80s that the number of this type of troops reached its maximum value. The hero of Michele Placido, Major Bandura in "Afghan Break" - is more a grinder than a paratrooper, but in 1991 it was still impossible to talk about it.

What is the difference between the Special Forces of the GRU and the Airborne Forces?

Special forces are often confused with paratroopers for a completely understandable reason: for conspiracy, the combat uniform of some units of the Special Forces of the GRU of the USSR was the same as that of the Airborne Forces. After the breakup Soviet Union the tradition has remained. For example, the same 3rd separate brigade The SPN wears vests and blue berets on the parade ground. The scouts also parachute, but the paratroopers have larger combat missions. Accordingly, the number of the Airborne Forces is much higher - 45 thousand people.

What is the Special Forces of the GRU armed with?

In general, the armament of the special forces is the same as that of the other motorized rifle units, but there are several specific technologies. The most famous: a special machine "Val" and a special sniper rifle "Vintorez". This is a silent weapon with a subsonic bullet velocity, which, at the same time, due to a number of design features, has a high penetrating power. It was “Val” and “Vintorez”, according to the SBU, that were captured on May 16 from the soldiers of the “Erofeev's detachment”. However, there is no convincing evidence that such weapons were not left in the warehouses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Who serves in the Special Forces of the GRU?

Due to the high demands and the need for long training most of special forces - contract soldiers. Young people with sports training, healthy, with knowledge of a foreign language are admitted to the service. At the same time, we see that these are completely ordinary people from the provinces, for them service is rather a good job, it can be difficult and dangerous, but in no way a battle for an abstract idea.

Everything in life is not like in the movies

Patriotic movies and bravura stories on TV inspire us that special forces are universal terminators. On a combat mission, they may not sleep for three days, they shoot without a miss, alone with their bare hands they can scatter a dozen armed people and, of course, do not abandon their own. But if you believe the words of the captured soldiers, then enough large group commandos, quite unexpectedly for herself, was ambushed and, firing randomly, retreated in a hurry, leaving two wounded and one killed on the battlefield. Yes, they are well trained, they can run for a long time and shoot quite accurately, but these are ordinary people who are afraid of bullets and do not always know where the enemy is waiting for them.

Not a word to the enemy

The scouts operate behind enemy lines, where the risk of being captured is quite high, so soldiers and officers of the GRU special forces must undergo training on how to behave in captivity, and before being sent on a mission, undergo instructions and receive a "legend." Since these are secret troops, a secret mission, the command, in theory, was supposed to warn the soldiers: you will find yourself in captivity, we do not know you, you yourself came there. It is all the more surprising that, as we see, both Aleksandrov and Erofeev were absolutely not ready either for captivity, or for the fact that the country and relatives abandon them.

Torture by the SBU

It can be seen that both (former) commandos are sincerely shocked that the Russian authorities (and even Aleksandrov's wife) announced that they were not serving in the Russian troops and it is not known how they ended up near Luhansk. This can be explained by torture, but people who are forced to say something against their will often do not look in the eyes, pronounce words slowly and abruptly, or speak too correct phrases as if they have memorized the text. We do not see this on the record of Novaya Gazeta. Moreover, their words contradict the version of the SBU, which claims that "Erofeev's group" was engaged in sabotage, while the prisoners talk only about observation. People who were forced by torture to say what is needed do not change their testimony so boldly.

Whether there is a Russian troops in Donbass? How many are there and what are they doing there?

The Kremlin has consistently denied the participation of units of the RF Armed Forces in the conflict in Donbass. The capture of the special forces, according to Kiev, proves the opposite. However, the SBU does not say how much Russian soldiers and units fighting in eastern Ukraine.

If you study the blogs and interviews of members of the DPR and LPR militia, the picture is as follows: a large-scale military operation with the participation of Russian units, if there was, then once in late August - early September, when the forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were suddenly thrown back from Ilovaisk, and the front line reached the border of Mariupol. According to various sources, there are military emissaries from Moscow at the headquarters of the DPR and LPR (just as specialists come from Washington to teach officers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine). There is a possibility that separate groups of Russian military personnel operate on the territory of the self-proclaimed republics, but in limited numbers. As the captives rightly point out, there are a lot of people here, including real retired officers who want to fight. Aleksandrov and Erofeev say that their tasks included only observation without any sabotage, this does not coincide with either the version of the General Staff of the Russian Federation or the version of the SBU.

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

The head of the GRU General Staff of the RF Armed Forces is subordinate only to the Chief of the General Staff and the Minister of Defense of the RF. He has no direct connection with the political leadership of the state. Unlike the SVR director, whom the President of the Russian Federation receives weekly on Mondays, the chief of military intelligence does not have "his hour" - strictly fixed in the schedule of the day and time for reporting to the President of the state. The existing system of "marking", that is, receiving intelligence information and analysis by the high authorities, deprives politicians of the possibility of direct access to the GRU.

GRU GSh structure Sun RF compiled on the basis of the structure of the GRU of the times of the USSR: 1. First Main Directorate (agent intelligence) has five directorates responsible for its set of European states; each department has regional sections by country. 2 ... Second Directorate (Frontline Intelligence).

3. Third Directorate (Asian countries). 4. Fourth department (countries of Africa and the Middle East). 5. Fifth Directorate of Operational-Tactical Intelligence (reconnaissance from the position of military targets). All army intelligence units are subordinate to the fifth directorate. Naval intelligence is subordinated to the Second Directorate of the Headquarters of the Navy, which, in turn, is subordinate to the Fifth Directorate of the GRU. Directorates are the focal point for thousands of intelligence structures in the army (from the intelligence directorates of the districts to the personal divisions of the units). Technical services: communication centers and an encryption service, a computing center, a special archive, a logistics and financial support service, a Planning and Control Department, and a Personnel Department. As part of the Directorate, there is also a special intelligence department in charge of special forces. 6. Sixth control(electronic and electronic intelligence) includes the Space Intelligence Center, the so-called "K-500 object". The official GRU trade intermediary space satellites is Sovinform satellite. The said Directorate includes "OSNAZ" personal divisions. 7. Seventh control(by subdivisions of NATO states) has six territorial directorates. eight. Eighth control(work on specially designated countries). nine. Virgin fifths control(military technology). ten. Tenth control(military economy, military production and sale of military products, economic security). eleven. Eleventh control(in the strategic nuclear forces). 12. Twelfth control. 13. The first (independent) department of the GRU(production of cover documents). fourteen. Eighth (independent) department of the GRU(security of internal communications of the GRU). 15. Archive department GRU. 16. Special Forces (Special Forces) make up the elite of the army, significantly exceeding the level of training and armament of the Airborne Forces and border units. Spetsnaz brigades are a forge of intelligence personnel: a candidate for the ACA listeners must have the rank of at least a captain and serve in spetsnaz for 5-7 years. 16. Auxiliary units: 16.1) administrative and technical management; 16.2) financial management; 16.3) operational and technical management; 16.4) decryption service; 16.5) Military Diplomatic Academy and two research institutes.

Military Topographic Directorate of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces

There are two structures in Russia that operate a constellation of photographic reconnaissance satellites. Both are part of the structure of the General Staff of the Armed Forces - the Main Intelligence Directorate (center of space reconnaissance) and the military topographic directorate. A special intermediary commercial structure "Sovinformsputnik" sells satellite images, offers photographs taken by the "Kometa" satellite (TKK "Cosmos"). The specified class of satellites was developed and works in the interests of the Military Topographic Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia. It was from such a satellite that photographs of the secret American military base Area 51 that caused a scandal. According to rumors, the very base on which allegedly from the 40s of the XX century. the American government is hiding the remnants of aliens from space.

The presence of forces, means and materials, surveying the area allows the ITU to update the maps every 10-15 years. The annual "aging" of the map at a scale of 1: 50,000 (the main map of the commander in the tactical echelon) is up to 3%, the discrepancy between its terrain in 10-15 years can reach 40%. As the experience of the Chechen campaign has shown, such cards give rise to well-founded claims by headquarters and troops to their quality. According to ITU estimates, in order to meet the requirements of the troops for the content of topographic maps, the latter must be updated within a strictly defined period: for sparsely populated areas - with a frequency of 8 - 10 years, for inhabited and industrially developed areas - in 3 - 5 years.

Based on the list of threats to the information security of the Russian Federation and the directions of countering them, the main role in the defeat, in accordance with their functional duties, is assigned directly to the Federal Security Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation.

The special forces of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces can be safely called the most popular military units in Russia. Dozens of films have been filmed about the GRU special forces, whole libraries of books and dozens of articles on the Internet have been written. The special forces of the GRU of Russia are indeed the elite of the armed forces, although, often, what is shown in the movies has little to do with reality.

Only the best get into the special forces, in order to be enrolled in this unit, candidates must undergo a cruel selection. The usual training of the GRU spetsnaz can shock the ordinary man in the street - special attention is paid to the training of spetsnaz.

Information:The real operations in which the army special forces took part are usually not reported on TV or written in the newspapers. The hype in the media usually means the failure of one or another mission, and the GRU special forces rarely have them.

Unlike the special units of other law enforcement agencies, the special forces of the Main Intelligence Directorate do not have their own name, and, in general, these guys do not like to "shine" very much. During operations, they can wear the uniform of any army in the world, and Earth, depicted on the emblem of military intelligence, means that the GRU special forces can operate anywhere in the world.

The GRU special forces are the “eyes and ears” of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces behind enemy lines, and often an effective tool for carrying out various “delicate” operations. However, before continuing the story about special forces and its everyday life, it should be said what the Main Intelligence Directorate is and about the history of the special units that make up its structure.

GRU

The need to create a special body that would be engaged in intelligence in the interests of the military became apparent almost immediately after the formation of the Red Army. In November 1918, the Field Headquarters of the Revolutionary Council of the Republic was created, which included the Registration Department, which was engaged in the collection and processing of intelligence information. This structure ensured the work of the Red Army's agent intelligence and was engaged in counterintelligence activities.

The order on the creation of the Field Headquarters (and with it the Registration Department) was dated November 5, 1918, so this date is considered the birthday of Soviet and Russian military intelligence.

However, one should not think that before the 1917 revolution in Russia there were no structures that would collect information in the interests of the military department. The same can be said for special military units who performed special, specific tasks.

In the 16th century, the Russian Tsar Ivan IV established a guard service, which recruited Cossacks who were distinguished by good physical health, excellent skills in handling firearms and cold weapons. Their task was to monitor the territories of the "Wild Field", from which the raids of the Tatars and Nogais constantly came to the Muscovite kingdom.

Later, under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, a Secret Order was organized, which collected military information about potential opponents or simply neighboring states.

Information:During the reign of Alexander I (in 1817), a detachment of mounted gendarmes was formed, which would today be called a rapid reaction unit. However, their main task was to maintain order within the state. In the middle of the 19th century, battalions of Plastun Cossacks were formed in the Russian army.

Were in Russian Empire and units resembling modern army special forces. In 1764, on the initiative of Suvorov, Kutuzov and Panin, rangers' detachments were created that could conduct operations separately from the main forces of the army: conduct raids, arrange ambushes, and fight the enemy in hard-to-reach areas (mountains, forests).

In 1810, on the initiative of Barclay de Tolly, a Special Expedition (or the Expedition of Secret Affairs) was created.

In 1921, on the basis of the Registration Directorate, the Intelligence Directorate of the Red Army Headquarters was formed. In the order on the creation of a new body, it was indicated that the Intelligence Directorate was engaged in military intelligence, both peacefully and war time... In the 1920s, the department carried out agent intelligence, created pro-Soviet partisan detachments on the territories of neighboring countries, and was actively subversive.

Having gone through several reorganizations, in 1934 the Intelligence Directorate of the Red Army became directly subordinate to the USSR People's Commissar of Defense. Soviet saboteurs and military advisers operated successfully in the Spanish war. Late 30s ice rink political repression thoroughly walked through the Soviet military intelligence, many officers were arrested and shot.

On February 16, 1942, the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) of the General Staff of the Red Army was formed, it is under this name that the organization will exist for more than sixty years. After the war, the GRU General Staff was abolished for several years, but in 1949 it was restored again.

On October 24, 1950, a secret directive was issued on the creation of special units (SPN), which would be engaged in reconnaissance and sabotage behind enemy lines. Almost immediately, in all military districts of the USSR, similar units were created (a total of 46 companies with 120 people in each of them). Later, on their basis, special forces brigades were formed. The first of them was created in 1962. In 1968, the first special forces training regiment appeared (near Pskov), in 1970 the second was formed near Tashkent.

Initially, special-purpose units were prepared for the war with the NATO bloc. After the start (or before it) of hostilities, the scouts had to act deep behind enemy lines, collect information and transmit it to the Main Intelligence Directorate, act against headquarters and other command posts of the enemy, commit sabotage and terrorist attacks, sow panic among the population, destroy infrastructure ... Particular attention was paid to weapons mass destruction enemy: missile silos and launchers, strategic aviation airfields, submarine bases.

Special units of the GRU actively participated in the Afghan war, special forces units played an important role in suppressing separatism in the North Caucasus. Also, the GRU special forces were involved in the civil war in Tajikistan, in the war against Georgia in 2008. There is information that some parts of the Special Forces are currently located in Syria.

Currently, the Main Intelligence Directorate is not only sabotage and reconnaissance groups. The GRU is actively engaged in undercover intelligence, information gathering in cyberspace, and uses electronic and space reconnaissance. Russian military intelligence officers successfully apply information warfare methods, work with foreign political forces and individual politicians.

In 2010, the General Intelligence Directorate was renamed the General Directorate of the General Staff, but the old name is still more famous and popular.

The structure and composition of the Special Forces of the GRU

According to available information, the GRU special forces currently include the following units:

• The 2nd Separate Special Forces Brigade is part of the Western Military District.
• The 3rd Guards Separate Brigade of the GRU (Central Military District) was created in 1966 in Togliatti. However, there is information about its disbandment.
• 10th Mountain Separate Brigade of the GRU of the North Caucasian Military District. It was formed in 2003 in the village of Molpino, Krasnodar Territory.
• 14th separate brigade of the GRU. Part of Far Eastern District, was formed in 1966. The soldiers of this unit took an active part in the hostilities in Afghanistan. The 14th brigade went through both Chechen campaigns.
• 16th Special Forces Brigade, part of the Western Military District. Formed in 1963. She took part in both Chechen campaigns, in peacekeeping operations, guarded especially important objects on the territory of Tajikistan in the early 90s.
• 22nd Guards Separate Special Purpose Brigade. It is part of the Southern Military District. It was formed in 1976 in Kazakhstan. She took an active part in the Afghan war. It is the first military unit to receive the rank of Guards after the end of World War II.
• 24th separate brigade of the GRU. It is part of the Central Military District. The brigade took part in the Afghan war, in hostilities in the North Caucasus.
• 346th separate special purpose brigade. Southern Military District, the city of Cool. Kabardino-Balkaria.
• 25th separate special-purpose regiment, part of the Southern Military District.

Also under the GRU are four sea reconnaissance points: in the Pacific, Black, Baltic and Northern fleets.

The total number of GRU spetsnaz units is not exactly known. Different numbers are named: from six to fifteen thousand people.

Special forces training and armament

• Who can get into the GRU special forces? What are the requirements for candidates?

It is quite difficult to get into the special purpose unit, but not impossible.

First of all, the candidate must be in absolute physical health. It is not necessary to be distinguished by impressive dimensions, endurance is much more important in special forces. During a raid, scouts can cover many tens of kilometers per day, and they do it not light at all. You have to carry on yourself many kilograms of weapons, ammunition and ammunition.

The applicant needs to pass the required minimum: run three kilometers in 10 minutes, pull up 25 times, run a hundred meters in 12 seconds, push up 90 times from the floor, do 90 abdominal exercises in 2 minutes. One of the physical standards is hand-to-hand combat.

Naturally, all candidates undergo the most thorough and scrupulous medical examination.

In addition to physical fitness, it is equally important psychological health Applicant: a special forces soldier must be absolutely “stress-resistant” and not lose his head even in the most difficult situation. Therefore, candidates must undergo an interview with a psychologist, followed by a lie detector test. Moreover, the relevant authorities carefully check all the relatives of the future intelligence officer, and the parents are required to give written consent to the service of their son in the ranks of the special forces.

If a person nevertheless got into the special forces, then he will have many months of hard training. Fighters are taught hand-to-hand combat, which greatly strengthens the spirit and strengthens character. A special forces soldier must be able to fight not only with his bare hands, but also use various various objects in battle, sometimes not at all intended for combat use... A rookie is often put up against stronger opponents (and sometimes even several), in this case it is important for him not to defeat him, but to hold out as long as possible.

From the very beginning of training, future special forces fighters are taught that they are the best.

Future special forces fighters learn to endure the most severe tests that put a person on the brink of his physical capabilities: long sleep deprivation, food deprivation, exorbitant physical exertion, psychological pressure. Naturally, in the special forces, future fighters are trained to master all types of small arms skillfully.

Despite some specifics of the tasks performed by the GRU special forces, its fighters most often use the standard weapons of the Russian army.

Igor Sergun is a famous Russian military leader. He headed the main directorate of the RF Armed Forces. In 2016 he received the title of Hero of Russia. He rose to the rank of colonel-general. At the beginning of 2016 he died at mysterious circumstances.

Officer biography

Igor Sergun was born in 1957. He was born in Podolsk near Moscow. He got into the Soviet army in 1973. In the same part, he began to receive education.

First, in the biography of Igor Dmitrievich Sergun, there was the Suvorov School, then the Higher Command School, which was named after the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR, which was based in Moscow.

Also, the hero of our article graduated from two military academies Soviet army and the Russian General Staff.

Career path

Igor Sergun ended up in military intelligence in 1984. In the General Intelligence Directorate, he served in various positions, his promotion to career ladder contributed to the knowledge of several foreign languages ​​at once.

In 1998, Igor Sergun served in Tirana and received honorary state awards.

At the very end, he was appointed head of the main directorate of the General Staff of the Russian armed forces. And in the summer of next year he was promoted to lieutenant general. In February 2016, President Vladimir Putin approved a decree appointing Igor Dmitrievich Sergun Colonel General.

Assessment of work

A fairly high assessment of the work of the hero of our article was given by the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Sergei Shoigu. According to him, the military intelligence system, when it was headed by Sergun, began to work most effectively, revealing dangerous threats and challenges to the country's security in time.

In particular, the head of the GRU, Igor Sergun, personally participated in the development and implementation of an operation to hold a referendum in Crimea, after which the peninsula became part of the Russian Federation. This is one of the most resonant operations of the Russian leadership recent years, since the inclusion of Crimea into Russia is still not supported by either Ukraine, to which it previously belonged, or most of the world powers, although this happened in the spring of 2014. This led to the fact that Colonel General Igor Sergun was included in the sanctions lists of the United States of America, Australia, Canada and Ukraine as one of the key characters who contributed to the undermining of the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

In mid-summer 2015, Sergun, together with the best specialists of the Main Intelligence Directorate, began to develop a Russian air operation in Syria.

It is known that the last time the hero of our article appeared in public in Moscow on international conference, which was devoted to the situation in Afghanistan. General Igor Sergun made a detailed report in which he analyzed in detail the recruiting activity of the terrorist organization Islamic State, banned in Russia, and also gave a forecast about its goals and the development of the situation in Afghanistan.

According to some media reports, at the end of 2015, Sergun, on the personal instructions of President Vladimir Putin, unofficially visited the Syrian capital Damascus. He met with the President of the state, where for many years there has been Civil War to pass on a formal proposal from the Russian president to step down. The authoritative English edition of the Financial Times (citing unnamed senior NATO intelligence officials) reported that Bashar al-Assad refused this offer. Sergun's visit was unsuccessful.

The opinion of foreign experts

Foreign experts, emphasizing the importance of Sergun's work, always noted that he very subtly felt what his direct leadership in the Kremlin wanted from him, and acted precisely following their instructions.

Thanks to these abilities, according to most experts, the hero of our article managed to gain credibility in the eyes of his superiors, to establish the work of the Main Intelligence Directorate, to strengthen the position of this department after it had been in disgrace for many years.

At the same time, analyzing Sergun's work, Western experts came to the conclusion that the prospects of the Russian intelligence services look deplorable, while their leaders are encouraged exclusively for efficient reports and for guessing the desires of their immediate leadership.

Mysterious death

The death of Sergun became known on January 3, 2016. According to official Russian sources, he died suddenly at the age of 59, when he was in the Moscow region in the Moskvich holiday home, which is in the department of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation. The reason for such a sudden death of the officer was a massive heart attack.

Western media and researchers adhere to a different version. For example, a private analytical intelligence company from the United States, citing its own anonymous sources, claimed that Sergun in fact died on January 1, 2016 in Lebanon.

This information was officially denied by the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov. Vladimir Putin himself brought condolences to the family and friends of Sergun. The Colonel General was buried in Moscow at the Troekurovsky cemetery.

Posthumous award

A few months after his death, it became known that Sergun had already been posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. Thus, President Vladimir Putin noted his successful service in Syria, as well as his reorganization of the Main Intelligence Directorate from 2011 to 2015.

Sergun was also credited with the high results of the activities of the military special services in collecting and searching for operational information on secret military equipment, the latest weapons being developed in other countries.

The hero of our article was a candidate of military sciences, was a member of the editorial board of the authoritative magazine "Military Thought".

Personal life

Sergun was married and raised two daughters. Elena was born in 1990, and Olga was born ten years earlier.

It is known that Olga Sergun in 2003 received a diploma of a graduate of the Moscow Law Academy with a degree in Jurisprudence. After that, she held various positions in the Moscow Department of Land Resources. For example, from 2013 to 2015 she was the deputy head of the legal support department, specializing in the field of land relations.

In 2015 she got the post general director the state unitary enterprise "Center for Financial and Legal Support", which worked under the auspices of the affairs department of the presidential administration.

In the summer of 2016, Olga Sergun became the Deputy Administrator of the President of Russia.

Currently, the official name is the Main Directorate of the General Staff Armed Forces Russia (GU GSh).

The GRU is subordinate to the Chief of the General Staff and the Minister of Defense, and is engaged in all types of reconnaissance in the interests of the Armed Forces - intelligence, space, radio-electronic.

The structure and strength of the GRU is a state secret. Priority in the GRU is given to undercover work, obtaining secret materials, foreign samples modern weapons... The military intelligence stations are significantly inferior to the stations of the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation in terms of the number and amount of funding, while they act more rigidly and purposefully.

CREATION
It was created in 1918 by order of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Field Headquarters of the Red Army on the basis of a department whose functions were to coordinate the efforts of intelligence agencies of the Red Army units and prepare intelligence information for the General Staff of the Red Army. The first official name was the Registration Department of the Field Headquarters of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army (RUPSHKA).

Special Forces of the GRU in Afghanistan in 1988.Photo by Mikhail Evstafiev

In 1950, the GRU special forces were created (one brigade for each military district or fleet and a centrally subordinate brigade). The main task of these units at the first stage was the fight against the main enemy - NATO countries, which had a mobile nuclear weapons... The GRU special forces units played a huge role in the Afghan war, in operations on the territory of the Chechen Republic.

HEADQUARTERS
The headquarters of the GRU is located in Moscow, on the Khoroshevskoe highway, in the area of ​​the Khodynskoye field. The construction of the headquarters, which is an eight-storey complex with a total area of ​​about 70 thousand m3, inside which there is a situation center, a command post, a sports complex and a swimming pool, was completed in autumn 2006. The construction cost amounted to 9.5 billion rubles

"Sovinformsputnik"
CJSC "Sovinformsputnik" Date of foundation 1991 Number of 107 people. Sovinformsputnik is an organization of the General Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff, whose tasks include the sale of unclassified images taken by GRU satellites. She became famous in April 2000, when American journalists found photographs of a top-secret US military base, also known as Base 51, among the images distributed by Sovinformsputnik.

Chiefs of the GRU
Semyon Ivanovich Aralov (1918-1919)
Drabkin, Yakov Davidovich (1919, June-December)
Georgy Leonidovich Pyatakov (1920, January-February)
Vladimir Khristianovich Aussem (1920, February-June)
Yan Davydovich Lentsman (1920-1921)
Arvid Janovich Zeibot (1921-1924)
Jan Karlovich Berzin (1924-1935)
Semen Petrovich Uritsky (1935-1937)
Jan Karlovich Berzin (1937)
Semyon Grigorievich Gendin (acting September 1937 - October 1938)
Alexander G. Orlov (acting October 1938-1939)
Ivan Iosifovich Proskurov (1939-1940)
Philip Ivanovich Golikov (1940-1941)
Alexey Pavlovich Panfilov (1941-1942)
Ivan Ivanovich Ilyichev (1942-1945)
Fedor Fedotovich Kuznetsov (1945-1947)
Nikolay Mikhailovich Trusov (1947-1949)
Matvey Vasilievich Zakharov (1949-1952)
Mikhail Alekseevich Shalin (1952-1956)
Sergey Matveevich Shtemenko (1956-1957)
Mikhail Alekseevich Shalin (1957-1958)
Ivan Alexandrovich Serov (1958-1963)
Pyotr Ivanovich Ivashutin (1963-1986)
Vladlen Mikhailovich Mikhailov (1986-1991)
Evgeny Leonidovich Timokhin (1991-1992)
Fedor Ivanovich Ladygin (1992-1997)
Valentin Vladimirovich Korabelnikov (1997-)

GRU structure

Throughout the history of its existence, the GRU structure has undergone several reorganizations. In its current form, according to the data available in the publications, the GRU structure consists of 12 main directorates and 8 auxiliary departments and directorates. Main Controls:
First Directorate - European Community Countries
Second Directorate - the countries of Northern and South America, UK, Australia, New Zealand
Third Directorate - Asian Countries
4th Directorate - African Countries
Fifth Directorate - Directorate of Operational Intelligence
Sixth Directorate - Radio Intelligence Directorate
Seventh Directorate - NATO
Eighth Directorate - sabotage special forces
Ninth Directorate - Directorate of Military Technology
Tenth Directorate - Directorate of War Economy
Eleventh Directorate - Directorate of Strategic Doctrines and Armaments
Twelfth Office

Subsidiary Departments and Departments:
Space Intelligence Directorate
Human Resources Management
Operational and Technical Department
Administrative and technical department
Office of External Relations
Archive department
Information service

Special training for GRU officers is carried out at the GRU Academy (Military Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Defense). Preparation is carried out at three main faculties:
Faculty of Strategic Intelligence
Faculty of Intelligence and Operational Intelligence
Faculty of Operational and Tactical Intelligence

The Academy has postgraduate studies and Higher Academic Courses