247th Guards Air Assault Regiment

The 247th Guards Air Assault Regiment is a regiment of the Russian Airborne Troops, currently part of the 7th Guards Airborne Division. It was first formed in 1973 as the 21st Air Assault Brigade and was transferred to the Soviet Airborne Troops in 1990, becoming the 21st Airborne Brigade. The brigade was renamed the 247th Air Assault Regiment in 1998. Later it gained the title 'Caucasian Cossack', although it is not all composed of Cossacks. In 2013 it became a Guards regiment.

History
The regiment was first formed on 19 February 1973 as the 21st Air Assault Brigade in Kutaisi, part of the Transcaucasus Military District. The brigade was initially composed of the 802nd, 803rd and 804th Air Assault Battalions. In September 1977, the brigade's 1059th Artillery Battalion was disbanded and replaced by an artillery battery and an antiaircraft battery. Elements of the brigade participated in the cleanup operations after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. Its 292nd and 325th Helicopter Regiments were detached in 1988. The brigade air-assaulted Yerevan Airport in July 1989 after it was occupied by armed Armenians. On 12 July, it landed at Leninakan to assist in rescue after the 1988 Armenian earthquake. On 1 June 1990, it was transferred to the Soviet airborne and renamed as the 21st Airborne Brigade.

In 1992, the brigade relocated to Stavropol. Between December 1994 and November 1996, the brigade fought in the First Chechen War. On 1 May 1998, it was renamed the 247th Air Assault Regiment and became part of the 7th Guards Airborne Division. In 2008, the regiment invaded Georgia with the rest of the division. The regiment was assigned the title 'Guards' on 3 June 2013. In March 2015, the regiment opened its museum in Stavropol.