, image = File:Great emblem of the 15th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade.svg , image_size = 200px , alt = 15th Separate Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade shoulder sleeve insignia , caption = Shoulder sleeve insignia , dates = 1 February 2005Present , country = , allegiance = , branch = , type =

Mechanized infantry Mechanized infantry are infantry units equipped with armored personnel carriers (APCs) or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for transport and combat (see also mechanized force). As defined by the United States Army, mechanized infantry is di ...

(

peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare. Within the United N ...

) , command_structure = 2nd Guards Combined Arms Army,

Central Military District The Central Military District (Russian: Центральный военный округ) is a military district of Russia. It is one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, with its jurisdiction primarily within the c ...

, role = , size =

Brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

, garrison = Roshchinsky,

Volzhsky District, Samara Oblast Volzhsky District (russian: Во́лжский райо́н) is an administrativeCharter of Samara Oblast and municipalLaw #189-GD district (raion), one of the twenty-seven in Samara Oblast, Russia. It is located in the center of the oblast. The ...

, equipment = Torn-MDM radio intelligence system , battles =

United Nations peacekeeping Peacekeeping by the United Nations is a role held by the Department of Peace Operations as an "instrument developed by the organization as a way to help countries torn by conflict to create the conditions for lasting peace". It is distinguished ...

Abkhaz–Georgian conflict The Abkhaz–Georgian conflict involves ethnic conflict between Georgians and the Abkhaz people in Abkhazia, a ''de facto'' independent, partially recognized republic. In a broader sense, one can view the Georgian–Abkhaz conflict as part of ...

2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, the surrounding territories. It was a major escalation of ...

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, decorations = , current_commander = Lieutenant Colonel Andrei Sergeevich Marushkin , identification_symbol = 15 OMSBr VSRF

, identification_symbol_label = Unit badge The 15th Separate Guards Motorized Rifle Alexandria (Peacekeeping) Brigade (russian: 15-я отдельная гвардейская мотострелковая Александрийская бригада) (миротворческая), translit=15-ya otdel'naya gvardeyskaya motostrelkovaya Aleksandriyskaya brigada (mirotvorcheskaya),

Military Unit Number A Military Unit Number (Russian: Войсковая часть) is a numeric alternate designation for military units in the armed forces and Internal Troops, internal troops of post-Soviet states, originally used by those of the Soviet Union. Fo ...

90600, is a unit in the

Russian Ground Forces The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �ВSukhoputnyye voyska V}), also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces ...

. It is the only peacekeeping brigade in the

Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (, ), commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military forces of Russia. In terms of active-duty personnel, they are the world's fifth-largest military force, with at least two m ...

. The formation is part of the 2nd Guards Combined Arms Army of the

. It is based in Roshchinsky in

Volzhsky District Volzhsky District is the name of several administrative and municipal districts in Russia. The districts are generally named after the Volga River, a major river in Russia. Districts of the federal subjects *Volzhsky District, Mari El Republic ...

Samara Oblast Samara Oblast ( rus, Сама́рская о́бласть, r=Samarskaya oblast, p=sɐˈmarskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localitie ...

. Its former honorifics were Berlin Red Banner

Order of Kutuzov The Order of Kutuzov (russian: орден Кутузова ''orden Kutuzova'') is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named after famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov (1745–1813). The Order was established du ...

Pre-history

The predecessor of the brigade is the 76th Guards Rifle Regiment, which was repeatedly renamed and reorganized. The regiment traces its history back to the 75th Naval Rifle Brigade, formed during the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sout ...

from 29 October 1941 to December 1941,List No. 7 in Novokazalinsk in the

Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic ; kk, Қазақ Советтік Социалистік Республикасы) *1991: Republic of Kazakhstan (russian: Республика Казахстан; kk, Қазақстан Республикасы) , linking_name = the ...

. On 17 March 1942, by order of the

People's Commissar of Defence The Minister of Defence of the Soviet Union refers to the head of the Ministry of Defence who was responsible for defence of the socialist Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic from 1917 to 1922 and the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1992. Pe ...

(NKO USSR) No. 78, the 75th Naval Rifle Brigade was awarded a Guards title, and on 18 March 1942 converted into the 3rd Guards Rifle Brigade. However, two months later, in May 1942, the brigade was reorganized into the 27th Guards Rifle Division, and all the units, formed as part of this military formation, as well as the division itself, inherit the Guards honorary name of their "ancestor" - the 3rd Guards Rifle Brigade. One of these guards military units was the 76th Guards Rifle Regiment, formed in the same period as part of the 27th Guards Rifle Division, on the basis of one of the rifle battalions of the former 3rd Guards Rifle Brigade. Subsequently, for the courage and heroism shown by its personnel during the

Battle of Berlin The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula– ...

, (11 June 1945) the regiment was awarded the honorary title "Berlin." On 5 October 1945 it is transformed into the 69th Guards Mechanised Berlin Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Regiment; and in 1957 into the 243rd Guards Motor Rifle Berlin Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Regiment (

47290). With the 27th Guards Rifle Division, from 1957 the 27th Guards Motor Rifle Division, it served for decades in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

as part of the

8th Guards Army The 8th Guards Order of Lenin Combined Arms Army (abbreviated 8th CAA) is an army of the Russian Ground Forces, headquartered in Novocherkassk, Rostov Oblast, within Russia′s Southern Military District, that was reinstated in 2017 as a success ...

Group of Soviet Forces in Germany The Western Group of Forces (WGF),. previously known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOFG). and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG),. were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupati ...

. In 1991, the 27th Guards Motor Rifle Division was withdrawn from the Western Group of Forces and redeployed to

Totskoye Totskoye (russian: То́цкое) is a rural locality (a '' selo'') and the administrative center of Totsky District of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. Population: During World War I, it was the site of a prisoner-of-war camp that became notorious ...

in the

Volga-Ural Military District Idel-Ural ( tt-Cyrl, Идел-Урал, translit=Idel-Üral, russian: Идель-Урал), literally Volga-Ural, is a historical region in Eastern Europe, in what is today Russia. The name literally means ''Volga-Urals'' in the Tatar language. T ...

. On 17 June 1991 the 243rd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment was renamed as the 589th Guards Motor Rifle Berlin Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Regiment (

32056), as part of the same 27th Guards Motor Rifle Division.

Twenty-first century

The current brigade was formed on 1 February 2005 by redesignation of the 589th Guards MRR, in accordance with a directive of Minister of Defence

Sergei Ivanov Sergei Borisovich Ivanov ( rus, Сергей Борисович Иванов, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej bɐˈrʲisəvʲɪtɕ ɪvɐˈnof; born 31 January 1953) is a Russian senior official and politician who has served as the Special Representative of ...

given on 30 December 2004. It was designed to participate in international peace and security missions under the auspices of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

. From December 2005 to November 2008, the peacekeeping brigade carried out tasks of maintaining peace in the zone of the

. Servicemen of the brigade have also been part of the peacekeeping contingents by decision of the

President of Russia The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...

under the

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...

, the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...

, and the

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a Eurasian politics, political, economy, economic and security organization. It is the world's largest regional organization in terms of geography, geographic scope and world population, population, c ...

. Reported to have reached 100% contract service composition in 2005. In April 2008 the brigade was visited by the Minister of Defence of Japan. In August 2008 one unit took part in the

Russo-Georgian War The 2008 Russo-Georgian WarThe war is known by a variety of other names, including Five-Day War, August War and Russian invasion of Georgia. was a war between Georgia, on one side, and Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of Sou ...

. In 2011, the brigade was presented with a new type of battle banner. On 4 November 2019, the brigade was given the honorary title Alexandria'','' and a copy of the regimental standard of the 5th Alexandria Hussar Regiment of the 5th Cavalry Division of the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

was awarded to the brigade. The title makes it one of several Armed Forces formations that honor formations of the Imperial era, and its Soviet-era honorifics were removed. The brigade was awarded the honorary Guards title on 9 May 2022 in celebration of

Victory Day Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may ob ...

for its "mass courage and heroism in the defense of the fatherland and state interests in military conflicts," the new title being 15th Separate Guards Alexandriyskaya Motor Rifle Brigade.

War in Ukraine

In 2014, reports from open sources claimed the presence of servicemen from the brigade in the

Donbass The Donbas or Donbass (, ; uk, Донба́с ; russian: Донба́сс ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. Parts of the Donbas are controlled by Russian separatist groups as a result of the Russo-Ukrai ...

during the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatist forces in Donbas, Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since Feb ...

and the

War in Donbass War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

. In August, units of the brigade reportedly took part in the battles near Georgiyivka in the Lutuhyne Raion. At a briefing on 11 March 2015, the

ATO ATO may refer to: Technology *Abort to Orbit, an intact abort procedure for Space Shuttle launches *Arsenic trioxide a potent chemotherapeutic agent for acute promyelocytic leukemia * ATO fuse * Automatic train operation * Assisted take off Milit ...

headquarters stated that units of the 15th brigade were operating in the

Luhansk Oblast Luhansk Oblast ( uk, Луга́нська о́бласть, translit=Luhanska oblast; russian: Луганская область, translit=Luganskaya oblast; also referred to as Luhanshchyna, uk, Луга́нщина) is the easternmost oblast ...

, and on 17 April, the Chief of the Ukrainian General Staff

Viktor Muzhenko Viktor Muzhenko (born 10 October 1961)
LIGA is a Ukrainian

, stated that units of the 15th brigade remained in the oblast. In October 2016, reports from open sources claimed the presence of servicemen from the brigade in the

. Reportedly, members of the brigade have taken part in the

. The brigade ma
have been badly battered
during the Russian invasion.

Karabakh conflict

In November 2020, after a

peace agreement A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice, which is an agreement to stop hostilities; a surren ...

ending the war over the region, servicemen from the brigade were deployed to

Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh ( ) is a landlocked country, landlocked region in the Transcaucasia, South Caucasus, within the mountainous range of Karabakh, lying between Lower Karabakh and Syunik Province, Syunik, and covering the southeastern range o ...

to keep the peace. In the agreement, 1,960 servicemen of the brigade were to be sent to the region, leaving from

Ulyanovsk Vostochny Airport Ulyanovsk Vostochny Airport (sometimes referred to as Ul'yanovsk or Ulyanovsk Northeast) is an airport in Russia located northeast of Ulyanovsk in Russia. Its runway is tied with Shigatse Peace Airport in China as the longest public use runw ...

on a

Il-76 The Ilyushin Il-76 (russian: Илью́шин Ил-76; NATO reporting name: Candid) is a multi-purpose, fixed-wing, four-engine turbofan strategic airlifter designed by the Soviet Union's Ilyushin design bureau. It was first planned as a commer ...

military transport aircraft. Outside of the servicemen, 90 armored personnel carriers and 380 units of automobile and special equipment were sent with the brigade. The command of the Russian peacekeeping forces was also established in the Karabakh capital of

Stepanakert / az, Xankəndi, italic=no , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = File:StepanakertCollage.jpg , imagesize = 300px , image_caption = From top left: Holy Mother ...

. On 11 November 2020, Lieutenant General Rustam Muradov was appointed the commander of the peacekeeping forces. On 13 December, the brigade's peacekeeping contingent took control of

Hin Tagher Hin Tagher ( hy, Հին Թաղեր) or Kohne Taghlar ( az, Köhnə Tağlar; hy, Քյոհնյա Թաղլար) is a village in the Khojavend District of Azerbaijan, in the Political status of Nagorno-Karabakh, disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. T ...

.Арцахское село Хин тахер, за которое шли ожесточенные бои, перешло под контроль российских миротворцев
/ref> In early 2021, Azerbaijani authorities accused the unit of "a pro-Armenia attitude, instead of taking the required neutral stance for the implementation of the peace agreement." Particularly, General Muradov's meeting with senior Artsakh figures, and the presence of the Artsakh flag at Muradov's meetings had resulted in negative reactions from the Azerbaijanis.

Structure

* Directorate * 1st Motorized Rifle Battalion * 2nd Motorized Rifle Battalion * 3rd Motorized Rifle Battalion * Tank Battalion * Anti-aircraft Missile Battalion * Anti-aircraft Missile and Artillery Battalion * Reconnaissance Battalion * Engineer Battalion * Control Battalion * Repair and Recovery Battalion * Logistics Battalion * Rifle Company * NBC Protection Company *

UAV An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...

company * Electronic Warfare Company * Commandant Company * Medical Company * Command Battery * Control and Radar Reconnaissance Platoon * Management Platoon * Instructor Platoon * Simulator Platoon * Polygon *

Military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the tit ...

The brigade is fully manned by contract servicemen.

Commanders

* Colonel Sergei Kuzovlev (2005–2008) * Colonel Oleg Suvalov (2008–2010) * Colonel Viktor Kindeev (2010) * Colonel Konstantin Stepanishchev (2011–2013) * Colonel

Vitaly Gerasimov Vitaly Petrovich Gerasimov (russian: Виталий Петрович Герасимов; born 9 July 1977) is a Russian Ground Forces major general (one-star rank), the chief of staff and first deputy commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army. ...

(2013–2014) * Colonel Nikolay Zakharov (2014–2016) * Colonel Alexey Avdeev (2016–2018) * Colonel Konstantin Nechaev (2018–2020) * Lieutenant Colonel Pavel Alexeevich Yershov (2020–2021) * Lieutenant Colonel Andrei Sergeevich Marushkin (since 2021)

Gallery

File:15th Motorized Rifle Brigade (2019-11-04) 1.jpg, The ceremony of presenting the banner of the

Alexandrian 5th Regiment of Hussars Alexandrian may refer to: *People, objects or culture of Alexandria, Egypt * A member of a group of Alexandrian school as an Ancient school of theologians * A regional stage in the Silurian geological period See also * Alexandrine (disambiguation ...

. File:15th motorized rifle brigade (2014-08-06).jpg, The

Russian flag The national flag of Russia (russian: Флаг России, Flag Rossii), also known as the ''State Flag of the Russian Federation'' (russian: Государственный флаг Российской Федерации, Gosudarstvenny fla ...

and the flag of the peacekeeping forces. File:A convoy of Russian peacekeepers drives past an Azerbaijani checkpoint at the northern entrance to the town of Shusha.jpg, A convoy of Russian peacekeepers driving past an Azerbaijani checkpoint at the northern entrance to

Shusha / hy, Շուշի , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = ShushaCollection2021.jpg , image_caption = Landmarks of Shusha, from top left:Ghazanchetsots Cathedral • Yukhari Govhar ...

. File:15th Motorized Rifle Brigade (2019-11-04) 4.jpg, Ceremonial cavalry from the brigade. File:15th Motorized Rifle Brigade (2019-11-04) 5.jpg, A unit parade of the brigade. File:SAVX9349-1.jpg, Brigade personnel training.

References

External links

Russian military contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh - Russian Defense ministry
{{Brigades of the Russian Ground Forces Mechanised infantry brigades of Russia Military units and formations established in 2005 Peacekeeping