The 345th Guards Airborne Regiment (345th PPD) of the

Soviet Airborne Forces The Soviet Airborne Forces or VDV (from ''Vozdushno- desantnye voyska SSSR'', Russian: Воздушно-десантные войска СССР, ВДВ; Air-landing Forces) was a separate troops branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. First formed be ...

, and after 1992, the

Russian Airborne Forces The Russian Airborne Forces (russian: Воздушно-десантные войска России, ВДВ, Vozdushno-desantnye voyska Rossii, VDV) are the airborne forces branch of the Russian Armed Forces. It was formed in 1992 from units of ...

, was active from 1944 to 1998.

History

It was formed on 30 December 1944 at Lapichi, Osipovichi district, Mogilev Oblast, in the Byelorussian SSR. In 1979, after the disbandment of

105th Guards Vienna Airborne Division The 105th Guards Airborne Division () was an airborne division of the Soviet Airborne Troops. The division was originally formed as the 12th Guards Airborne Division as part of the 38th Guards Airborne Corps in December 1943. In December 1944, i ...

it received a Separate Regiment designation (345th OPPD). Originally, the regiment was a part of 105th Guards Rifle Division, which then became 105th Guards Airborne Division stationed at

Fergana Fergana ( uz, Fargʻona/Фарғона, ), or Ferghana, is a district-level city and the capital of Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan. Fergana is about 420 km east of Tashkent, about 75 km west of Andijan, and less than 20 km fr ...

in the

Uzbek SSR Uzbekistan (, ) is the common English name for the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (Uzbek SSR; uz, Ўзбекистон Совет Социалистик Республикаси, Oʻzbekiston Sovet Sotsialistik Respublikasi, in Russian: Уз ...

. The regiment was attached to 40th Army (Soviet Union) headquartered in

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

, serving in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

from the earliest days of the conflict, arriving on 14 December 1979. The Regiment was based in Bagram (its 2nd Battalion in (

Bamian Bamyan or Bamyan Valley (); ( prs, بامیان) also spelled Bamiyan or Bamian is the capital of Bamyan Province in central Afghanistan. Its population of approximately 70,000 people makes it the largest city in Hazarajat. Bamyan is at an alti ...

), and later –

Anab Anab (, ''Anav'') is a city mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. It is mentioned in the Book of Joshua as one of the cities in the Judaean Mountains from which Joshua expelled the Anakim. In the Hebrew Bible Anab is mentioned in Joshua 11:21 -- :"And ...

). During the Regiment's deployment in Afghanistan, its original 1st Battalion remained on station in Fergana, Uzbek SSR, and in 1982 became the base for formation of the 387th Training Regiment. An Airborne Battalion, which arrived in Afghanistan in July 1979 under the command of Guards Lieutenant Colonel Lomakin, was integrated into the 345th regiment as its new 1st Battalion. In October 1979, an incident resulting in death of KGB officer Captain Chepurnoy had occurred in this battalion, leading to transfer of command to Guards Major Pustovit. 87 troops of a company of the 345th Regiment took part in

Operation Storm-333 Operation Storm-333 (russian: Шторм-333, ), also known as the Tajbeg Palace Assault, was executed by the Soviet Union in Afghanistan on 27 December 1979. It saw Spetsnaz storm the heavily fortified Tajbeg Palace in Kabul and subsequently as ...

.Article on Storm-333 at VPK-news.ru
/ref> The 345th Airborne Regiment had participated in most major operations of the conflict, including the Battle for Hill 3234, which became the basis for the script of the film ''

The 9th Company ''The 9th Company'' (russian: 9 рота, 9 rota) is a 2005 Russian war film directed by Fedor Bondarchuk and set during the Soviet–Afghan War. The film is loosely based on a real-life battle that took place at Elevation 3234 in early 1988, d ...

''. On or about 11 February 1989 the regiment withdrew from

making it one of the last detachments to exit the country.

After Afghanistan

After the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the regiment became part of

104th Guards Airborne Division The 104th Guards Airborne Division () was a division of the Soviet Airborne Troops during the Cold War that briefly became part of the Russian Airborne Forces after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It was originally formed as the 11th Guards ...

. The Regiment was later relocated to

Gudauta Gudauta ( ka, გუდაუთა, ; ab, Гәдоуҭа, ''Gwdowtha''; russian: Гудаута, ''Gudauta'') is a town in Abkhazia, Georgia, and a centre of the eponymous district. It is situated on the Black Sea, 37 km northwest of Sukhu ...

in the

Abkhaz ASSR The Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (russian: Абхазская Автономная Советская Социалистическая Республика; ka, აფხაზეთის ავტონომიური ს� ...

of the

Georgian SSR The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (Georgian SSR; ka, საქართველოს საბჭოთა სოციალისტური რესპუბლიკა, tr; russian: Грузинская Советская Соц� ...

. It took part in the April 9, 1989, crack-down on demonstrators in the centre of Tbilisi. Since August 1992 it was stationed in

to participate in the Abkhaz war. It was subsequently renamed the 50th Military Base and then the 10th Peacekeeping Airborne Regiment.

References

External links

345th Independent Guards Airborne Regiment official web site
Military units and formations established in 1944 345 Airborne units and formations of the Soviet Union Airborne units and formations of Russia Military units and formations awarded the Order of the Red Banner {{Soviet-stub