Special Forces of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces

Special Forces of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces ( Части и подразделения специального назначения (спецназ) Главного управления Генерального штаба Вооружённых сил Российской Федерации (СпН ГУ ГШ ВС РФ) ), commonly known as the Spetsnaz GRU, is the special forces (spetsnaz) of the GRU, the foreign military intelligence agency of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

The Spetsnaz GRU was formed in 1949, the first spetsnaz force in the Soviet Union, as the military force of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), the foreign military intelligence agency of the Soviet Armed Forces. The force was designed in the context of the Cold War to carry out reconnaissance and sabotage against enemy targets in the form of special reconnaissance and direct action attacks. The Spetsnaz GRU inspired additional spetsnaz forces attached to other Soviet intelligence agencies, such as the Vympel and Alpha Group of the KGB.

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Spetsnaz GRU remained intact as part of the Russian GRU until 2010, when policies of the 2008 Russian military reforms detached the Spetsnaz forces and reassigned them into other agencies, and by 2012 were de facto disbanded. In 2013, however, the decision was reversed and Spetsnaz GRU units were reassigned to GRU divisions and placed under GRU authority once more.

Soviet era
The concept of using special forces tactics and strategies in the Soviet Union was originally proposed by the military theorist Mikhail Svechnykov, who envisaged the development of unconventional warfare capabilities in order to overcome disadvantages that conventional forces may face in the field. Svechnykov was executed during the Great Purge in 1938, but practical implementation of his ideas was begun by Ilya Starinov, dubbed the "grandfather of the spetsnaz". Following the entrance of the Soviet Union into World War II, basic forces dedicated to acts of reconnaissance and sabotage were formed under the supervision of the Second Department of the General Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces, and were subordinate to the commanders of Fronts.

The situation was reviewed after the war ended, and between 1947 and 1950 the whole of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) was reorganized. The first "independent reconnaissance companies of special purpose" were formed in 1949, to work for tank and combined-arms armies, which were tasked to eliminate amongst others enemy nuclear weapons systems such as the MGR-3 Little John and MGM-1 Matador. In 1957, the first Spetsnaz battalions were formed under the GRU, five to operate beyond the 150–200 km range of the reconnaissance companies. The first brigades were formed in 1962, reportedly to reach up to 750 kilometres in the rear to destroy U.S. weapons systems such as the MGM-52 Lance, MGM-29 Sergeant, and MGM-31 Pershing. Two 'study regiments' were established in the 1960s to train specialists and NCOs, the first in 1968 at Pechora near Pskov, and the second in 1970 at Chirchik near Tashkent. According to Vladimir Rezun, a GRU defector who used the pseudonym "Viktor Suvorov", there were 20 GRU Spetsnaz brigades plus 41 separate companies at the time of his defection in 1978.

The primary function of Spetsnaz troops in wartime was infiltration/insertion behind enemy lines (either in uniform or civilian clothing), usually well before hostilities are scheduled to begin and, once in place, to commit acts of sabotage such as the destruction of vital communications logistics centers, and the possible assassination of key government leaders and military officers. Spetsnaz GRU operatives would have to complete training that included the following: weapons handling, rappelling, explosives training, marksmanship, counter-terrorism, airborne training, hand-to-hand combat, climbing (alpine rope techniques), diving, underwater combat, long-range marksmanship, emergency medical training, and demolition.

In 1979, Spetsnaz GRU participated in Operation Storm-333, the successful mission to kill Hafizullah Amin, the President of Afghanistan, and triggering the Soviet–Afghan War.

Russian era


In 2003, during the Second Chechen War, the GRU formed the Special Battalions Vostok and Zapad, two ethnic Chechen units that belonged to the Spetsnaz GRU that fought primarily in Chechnya, but also in the 2008 Russo-Georgian War as well as peacekeeping operations after the 2006 Lebanon War. The controversial battalions were eventually disbanded in November 2008.

In 2009, a Directorate of Special Operations was established following a study of Western special operations forces units and commands with Special Operations Forces raised that reported directly to the General Staff bypassing the GRU. In 2013, the Directorate became the Special Operations Command with a GRU unit transferring to the Command.

In 2010, Spetsnaz GRU forces were attached to the military districts of the Ground Forces and subordinated to the operational-strategic commands, due to Anatoliy Serdyukov's military reforms. This decision was reversed in 2013. By early 2017 it was being reported that Serdyukov's reform had been almost entirely reversed to the pre-2010 status quo.

In 2015, GRU special forces soldiers were reportedly involved in the Syrian Civil War, appearing in Aleppo and Homs. GRU officials have also visited Qamishli, near the border with Turkey.

Listing of brigades
Below is a list of current "Spetsnaz" units in the Russian Armed Forces:
 * Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces
 * Western Military District
 * 2nd Special Purpose Brigade (obrSpN)
 * 16th Special Purpose Brigade (obrSpN)
 * Southern Military District
 * 10th Special Purpose Brigade (obrSpN)
 * 22nd Guards Special Purpose Brigade (obrSpN)
 * 346th Special Purpose Brigade (obrSpN)
 * 25th Special Purpose Regiment (opSpN)
 * Central Military District
 * 3rd Guards Special Purpose Brigade (obrSpN)
 * Eastern Military District
 * 14th Special Purpose Brigade (obrSpN)
 * 24th Special Purpose Brigade (obrSpN)