The 29th Guards Rocket Division is an

intercontinental ballistic missile An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads). Conventional, chemical, and biological weapons c ...

division of the Russian

Strategic Rocket Forces The Strategic Rocket Forces of the Russian Federation or the Strategic Missile Forces of the Russian Federation (RVSN RF; russian: Ракетные войска стратегического назначения Российской Фед� ...

. The division was formerly part of the Soviet Strategic Rocket Forces and has been active since 1960. Originally based in Latvia and Lithuania, the division has been stationed at Irkutsk since 1986. It was part of the

50th Rocket Army The 50th Red Banner Rocket Army (Military Unit Number 55135) was an army of the Soviet, later Russian Strategic Rocket Forces. It was created in 1960. Its first commander was General Lieutenant Feodor Dobish ( :ru:Добыш, Фёдор Иван� ...

from 1960 to 1986, and included the

Plokštinė missile base Plokštinė missile base ( lt, Plokštinės raketų bazė) was an underground base of the Soviet Union. It was built near Plokščiai village, north of Plungė, in the sparsely populated Plokštinė forest near Plateliai Lake, Samogitia, Lit ...

, operated by the 79th Guards Missile Regiment.Michael Holm
29th Guards Missile Division
accessed January 2013. The division inherited its honours and awards from the disbanding 51st Guards Motor Rifle Division. The division was established on the basis of the 85th Engineer Brigade RVGK (established in 1951 as a 54th Brigade of Special Designation RVGK) and the personnel of the ''51st Guards Motor Rifle Vitebsk Division of the Order of Lenin Red'', which was disbanded in accordance with the directive of the Commander of the

Baltic Military District The Baltic Military District () was a military district of the Soviet armed forces in the Baltic states, formed briefly before the Operation Barbarossa, German invasion during the World War II. After end of the war the Kaliningrad Oblast was added ...

No. 006471 dated May 5, 1960. In July 1960, RVGK engineer brigades were reformed into missile divisions, and engineering regiments became missile regiments. On October 17, 1961, the 29th RD was given the fighting banner of the

51st Guards Rifle Division The 51st K. E. Voroshilov Guards Vitebsk Order of Lenin Red Banner Rifle Division () was an infantry division of the Red Army during World War II that continued serving in the Soviet Army in the early years of the Cold War. The division was form ...

, and the division received the name "29th Guards Missile Vitebsk Division of the Order of the Red Banner of Lenin." Date of the annual holiday - July 1 (last day of the formation of ''54th Brigade Special Purpose RVGK'' in 1952). In September 1960 the division became part of the 50th Rocket Army, formed on the basis of the

50th Air Army 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. It has attained significance throughout history in part because typical humans have five digits on eac ...

Long Range Aviation Long-Range Aviation ( rus, Авиация Дальнего Действия, r=Aviatsiya dal'nego deystviya, abbr. to AДД, or ADD, and literally ''Aviation of Distant Action'') is a branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces responsible for delive ...

, of the Soviet Air Force. Division Headquarters was deployed from July 1960 to September–October 1961 in Taurage,

Lithuanian SSR The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Lithuanian SSR; lt, Lietuvos Tarybų Socialistinė Respublika; russian: Литовская Советская Социалистическая Республика, Litovskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialistiche ...

, and then from September–October 1961 to December 1985 in the city of Siauliai, Lithuanian SSR. On 1 February 1986, a Directive No. 432/3/00846 RVSN Commander of 3 December 1985, the division moved to Irkutsk, in the 53rd Rocket Army, comprising five missile regiments equipped with the 15P653 "Pioneer UTTH"

MRBM A medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) is a type of ballistic missile with medium range, this last classification depending on the standards of certain organizations. Within the U.S. Department of Defense, a medium-range missile is defined b ...

. However, in connection with the

INF Treaty The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty, formally the Treaty Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Elimination of Their Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles; / ДРСМ� ...

between the USSR and the U.S., these missiles were not placed on alert. In May 1988, for duty in the division atonement first missile regiment with

RT-2PM Topol The RT-2PM Topol (russian: РТ-2ПМ Тополь ("Poplar"); NATO reporting name SS-25 Sickle; GRAU designation: 15Ж58 ("15Zh58"); START I designation: RS-12M Topol) is a mobile intercontinental ballistic missile designed in the Soviet Union a ...

intercontinental ballistic missiles. On September 16, 2002, after the dissolution of the 53rd Rocket Army, the division was transferred to the 33rd Guards Rocket Army.

References

{{Strategic Rocket Forces divisions Rocket divisions of the Soviet Union Rocket divisions of Russia Military units and formations established in 1960 1960 establishments in the Soviet Union