The 242nd Motor Rifle Division was a motorized infantry division of the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

. The division existed from 1972 to 1988 and was based in Abakan. The division became a storage base in 1989 and was disbanded in 2009.

History

The 242nd Motor Rifle Division was activated in 1972 in Abakan as part of the

Siberian Military District The Siberian Military District was a Military district of the Russian Ground Forces. The district was originally formed as a military district of the Russian Empire in 1864. In 1924 it was reformed in the Red Army. After the end of World War II the ...

. In 1980, its 485th Motorized Rifle Regiment became independent and was transferred to Yurga, being replaced by the 192nd Motorized Rifle Regiment. The division became part of the 33rd Army Corps in 1985. During the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, the division was maintained at 23% strength. On 1 December 1989, the division became the 5350th Weapons and Equipment Storage Base. In 1991, the storage base was transferred back into the Siberian Military District. The storage base was disbanded in 2009 as part of the

Russian military reform The Serdyukov reform (), named after its originator, Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, was a major structural reorganisation of the Russian Armed Forces that began in 2009. Significant reforms of the Russian Armed Forces were announced in Oc ...

Composition

In 1988, the division included the following units. All units were based at Abakan unless noted. * 192nd Motorized Rifle Regiment * 486th Motorized Rifle Regiment ( Chadan) * 489th Motorized Rifle Regiment (

Kyzyl Kyzyl (; Tuvan and russian: Кызыл; , ) is the capital city of the republic of Tuva, Russia. The name of the city means "red" or "crimson" in Tuvan (and in many other Turkic languages). Its population was History The city was founded in 1 ...

) * 164th Tank Regiment (Kyzyl) * 7th Artillery Regiment (Kyzyl) * 1326th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment * Separate Missile Battalion * Separate Antitank Artillery Company * 172nd Separate Reconnaissance Battalion * 34th Separate Engineer-Sapper Battalion * 312th Separate Communications Battalion * Separate Chemical Defence Company * Separate Equipment Maintenance and Recovery Battalion * Separate Medical Battalion * Separate Material Supply Battalion

References

{{Soviet Union divisions Motor rifle divisions of the Soviet Union Military units and formations established in 1972 Military units and formations disestablished in 1989