138th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade

The 138th Guards Separate Motor Rifle Brigade (138th MRB) is a formation of the Russian Ground Forces. It is stationed in the Leningrad Military District, in the village of Kamenka, Vyborgsky District, Leningrad Oblast. It is Military unit No. 02511. It includes various components: air defense, artillery battalion, infantry and tank battalions.

The brigade traces its history to the 45th Guards Rifle Division of the Second World War. The 45th Guards Rifle Division was formed from the 70th Rifle Division, and fought near Leningrad, in Estonia and Kurland. The division was with the 6th Guards Army of the Kurland Group, Leningrad Front in May 1945. In 1957 the 45th Guards Rifle Division became the 45th Guards Motor Rifle Division. In 1997 the 45th Guards Krasnosel'skaya, Order of Lenin Red Banner Motor Rifle Division became the 138th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade.

The brigade was deployed for operations during the Second Chechen War, in which, along with other Russian Ground Forces units, its personnel was reported to have behaved badly at times. A 22-year old woman in Ingushetia was shot by drunken soldiers from the brigade scavenging for alcohol. The deployment of a tank battalion of the brigade was apparently halted when it was discovered that soldiers had been selling the explosive from their tanks' reactive armour.

In March 2010 Leningrad Military District commander General Lieutenant Nikolai Bogdanovskiy said, regarding problems with the command and violence in the 138th at Kamenka: “. . . we haven’t managed to complete fully tasks connected with discipline–in particular, in the 138th Kamenka Brigade the commander, chief of staff, and assistants for armaments and socialization work were dismissed because of events there. Now the situation is normalising, we are trying not to repeat past mistakes.”

The 45th Guards Motor Rifle Division was a separate formation from the 45th Rifle Division (Soviet Union) - not a Guards unit - that was the predecessor to the district's 200th Motor Rifle Brigade, based at Pechenga in Murmansk Oblast.

Commanders

 * 1) Major-General Mikhail Malofeyev (21.11.1997 - 15.7.1999)
 * 2) Major General Turchanyuk Igor (05.8.1999 - 07.7.2000)
 * 3) Colonel FATULAEV Bagir Yusuf oglu (temporarily filled the post of 08.07.2000 - 21.09.2000)
 * 4) Major General Anatoli Elkin (22.9.2000 - 22.02.2002)
 * 5) Major General SERDYUKOV Andrei (temporarily filled the post of 10.03.2002, has been appointed 11.7.2002 - 09.6.2004)
 * 6) Major-General Vladimir TSILKO Genrikhovich (22.6.2004 - 14.6.2005)
 * 7) Colonel Romanenko Alexander (14.6.2005 - 24.4.2008)
 * 8) Colonel Vladimir Frolov (temporarily filled the post of 25.4.2008 - 19.6.2008)
 * 9) Colonel Aslanbek Alibek Navruzbekovich (20.6.2008 - 10.2009 )