The 53rd Rocket Army (
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 ...
74102) was an army of the Soviet, later 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 ...
. It was created on June 8, 1970 from the 8th Independent Missile Corps (established 1962), under Colonel-General Yury Zabegaylov. Its headquarters was located at
Chita,
Transbaikal Military District
The Transbaikal Military District (russian: Забайкальский военный округ) was a military district of first the Soviet Armed Forces and then the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed on May 17, 1935 and included the ...
.
It initially included the 45th Rocket Division which disbanded in 1970.
Colonel-General
Colonel general is a three- or four-star military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a ra ...
Nikolay Solovtsov, later Commander of the Strategic Rocket Forces, commanded the army between 24 November 1992 and June 1994.
Composition 1988
In 1988 its units comprised:
[Michael Holm]
53rd Missile Army
/ref>
* 4th Rocket Division ( Drovyanaya, Chita Oblast
Chita Oblast ( rus, Чити́нская о́бласть, r=Čitínskaja óblastj, p=tɕɪˈtʲinskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) was a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) in southeast Siberia, Russia. Its administrative center was the city of Chita. ...
)
*23rd Guards Rocket Division (Kansk
Kansk (russian: Канск) is a town in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located on both banks of the Kan River. Population:
History and economy
Founded in 1628 as a Russian fort, it was transferred to its current location in 1636 and granted town st ...
) Assigned 1983–2002; last RSD-10 Pioneer
The RSD-10 ''Pioneer'' (russian: ракета средней дальности (РСД) «Пионер» Wikipedia:Romanization of Russian, tr.: ''raketa sredney dalnosti (RSD) "Pioner"''; en, Medium-Range Missile "Pioneer") was an intermedia ...
(SS-20) regiment ceased active duties 15 December 1988, and the division began preparations to convert to the 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 ...
(SS-25) 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 ...
. Fully converted by 1994, with five regiments. In 2002 the division was reassigned to the 33rd Guards Rocket Army
33rd Guards Berislav-Khingan Twice Red Banner Order of Suvorov Rocket Army (russian: 33-я гвардейская ракетная Бериславско-Хинганская дважды Краснознамённая, ордена Суворо ...
.
*27th Rocket Division ( Svobodnyy, Amur Oblast
Amur Oblast ( rus, Аму́рская о́бласть, r=Amurskaya oblast, p=ɐˈmurskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located on the banks of the Amur and Zeya Rivers in the Russian Far East. The administrative ...
)(disbanded 1993)
*29th Guards Rocket Division
The 29th Guards Rocket Division is an intercontinental ballistic missile division of the Russian Strategic Rocket Forces. The division was formerly part of the Soviet Strategic Rocket Forces and has been active since 1960. Originally based in Latvi ...
- On 1 February 1986, by Directive № 432/3/00846 of the RVSN Commander of 3 December 1985, the division moved to Irkutsk, in the 53rd Rocket Army area, comprising five missile regiments equipped with the 15P653 "Pioneer UTTH" (SS-20) medium-range ballistic missile
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 by ...
(MRBM). However, due to 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. Began to convert to the 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 ...
in 1988.
*36th Guards Rocket Division
*47th Rocket Division (Olovyannaya
Olovyannaya (russian: Оловя́нная) is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) and the administrative center of Olovyanninsky District in Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 8,406, down from 11,859 in ...
, Chita Oblast
Chita Oblast ( rus, Чити́нская о́бласть, r=Čitínskaja óblastj, p=tɕɪˈtʲinskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) was a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) in southeast Siberia, Russia. Its administrative center was the city of Chita. ...
) (disbanded 1991)
The army was disbanded on September 16, 2002.
Commanders
*General-Lieutenant (1970-1974)
*General-Lieutenant (1974-1981)
*General-Lieutenant V. F. Yegorov (1981-1987)
*General-Lieutenant Vladimir Muravyov (1987-1992)
*General-Lieutenant Nikolay Solovtsov (1992-1994)
*General-Major {{ill, Yuri Fyodorovich Kirillov, ru, Кириллов, Юрий Фёдорович, lt=Yuri Kirillov (1994-1996)
*General-Lieutenant S. V. Khutortsev (1996-1997)
*General-Lieutenant V. V. Dremov (1997-2000)
*General-Major L. E. Sinyakovich (2000-2001)
*General-Major V. G. Gagarin (2001-2002)
References
Missile armies of the Soviet Union and Russia
Armies of the Russian Federation
Military units and formations established in 1970
Military units and formations disestablished in 2002