The 7th Military Base (; ) is a sizable overseas

military base A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...

of the Russian Armed Forces stationed in Bombora in the partially recognized

Republic of Abkhazia Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which vi ...

. The base is subordinate to the command of the

49th Combined Arms Army The 49th Combined Arms Army (russian: 49-я общевойсковая армия) is a combined arms ( field) army (CAA) of the Russian Ground Forces, formed in 2010 and headquartered in Stavropol. Part of the Southern Military District, the ar ...

and the Southern Military District of the Russian Armed Forces.

History

Dmitry Medvedev in Abkhazia August 2010-6

The base originated from the

131st Separate Motor Rifle Brigade The 131st Separate Motor Rifle Brigade () was a motorised infantry unit of the Soviet Army and of the Russian Ground Forces. The division traced its lineage back to the formation of the 1st Kursk Infantry Division in 1918 during the Russian Civi ...

, which was a unit 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 ...

and of 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 ...

. Following 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 ...

of 2008, it was decided that a permanent Russian military base was needed. On 1 February 2009, the brigade was reorganized and the 7th Krasnodar Red Banner Order of Kutuzov and Red Star Military Base was established. On 17 February, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Abkhazian leader Sergey Bagapsh signed an agreement on a unified Russian military base on the territory of Abkhazia. In accordance with the Russian-Abkhaz agreement, the united military base included former peacekeeping facilities" the Bamboura Airport located in the Gudauta area, a military training ground and part of the sea bay near

Ochamchire Ochamchire or Ochamchira ( ka, ოჩამჩირე, ; ab, Очамчыра, ''Ochamchyra''; russian: Очамчира, ''Ochamchira'') is a seaside city on the Black Sea coast of Abkhazia, Georgia, and a centre of an eponymous district. Acc ...

, joint Russian-Abkhaz military garrisons deployed in the

Kodori Valley , ab, Кәыдырҭа , photo = , photo_caption = , map = Caucasus mountains#Georgia#Abkhazia , map_image = , map_caption = , location = , country_type = International ...

and near the

Enguri Dam The Enguri Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Enguri River in Tsalenjikha, Georgia. Currently, it is the world's second highest concrete arch dam with a height of . It is located north of the town of Jvari. It is part of the Enguri hydroel ...

. In addition, military-administrative and medical facilities (sanatoriums and rest homes) for the base were to be located in

Sukhumi Sukhumi (russian: Суху́м(и), ) or Sokhumi ( ka, სოხუმი, ), also known by its Abkhaz name Aqwa ( ab, Аҟәа, ''Aqwa''), is a city in a wide bay on the Black Sea's eastern coast. It is both the capital and largest city of ...

Gagra Gagra ( ka, გაგრა; Abkhaz and Russian: Гагра) is a town in Abkhazia/Georgia, sprawling for 5 km on the northeast coast of the Black Sea, at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains. Its subtropical climate made Gagra a popular he ...

, Gudauta,

New Athos New Athos or Akhali Atoni ( ka, ახალი ათონი, ''Akhali Atoni''; ab, Афон Ҿыц, ''Afon Ch'yts''; russian: Новый Афон; ''Novy Afon'', gr, Νέος Άθως, ''Neos Athos'') is a town in the Gudauta ''raion'' of ...

Eshera Eshera ( ka, ეშერა; ab, Ешыра; russian: Эшера) is a village in the Sukhumi District in Abkhazia. It is a climatic-balneotherapeutic resort on the Black Sea coast, at the right side of Gumista river. Its altitude above sea lev ...

and other settlements of in the region. The period of operation of the base is 49 years, with the possibility of automatic renewal for subsequent 15-year periods. For combat training, the military training grounds in Gudauta as well as Molkin in the Krasnodar Territory are utilized. In 2015, preparatory work began on the construction and arrangement of social and military infrastructure facilities at the military base. Since 2016, the tank and motorized rifle units of the base have utilized the honorary title of "percussion".

100th anniversary

In July 2018, the unit celebrated the

centennial {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at ...

of its lineage. The anniversary celebrations were attended by the leadership of the Southern Military District, the 49th Combined Arms Army, and the leadership Abkhazian Armed Forces. In the case of the latter, President

Raul Khajimba Raul Jumkovich Khajimba ( ab, Рауль Џьумка-иҧа Ҳаџьымба, ka, რაულ ჯუმკას-ძე ჰაჯიმბა; born 21 March 1958) is an Abkhazian politician, and served as President of Abkhazia from 25 September ...

was in attendance. At the invitation of Colonel Commander Igor Egorov, veterans of the unit arrived from

Maykop Maykop (russian: Майкоп, p=mɐjˈkop mɐj'kop); ady, Мыекъуапэ, Mıéquapə ) is the capital city of the Republic of Adygea in Russia, located on the right bank of the Belaya River (a tributary of the Kuban River). It borders Ma ...

Krasnodar Krasnodar (; rus, Краснода́р, p=krəsnɐˈdar; ady, Краснодар), formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southe ...

and other cities. The commander was awarded the highest award of the state; "Glory of Adygea".

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

In March 2022, elements of the 7th Military Base were redeployed to join the

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 ...

. According to the

General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Генеральний штаб Збройних сил України) is the military staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It is the central organ of the Armed Forces Administration and o ...

, they were organized into two battalion tactical groups, with a total number of 800 servicemen. On 31 March 2022, the Ukrainian military reported it had inflicted losses on the troops of the 7th Military Base at an unidentified location on the Eastern front.

Commanders

*Colonel Sergey Chebotaryov (2007–2009) *Major General Yakov Rezantsev (2011–2013) *Major General Mikhail Kosobokov (2015–2017) *Colonel Igor Yegorov (2017–2019) *Colonel Oleg Senkov (2019–Present)

Composition

* 526th Separate Motor Rifle Battalion (Military Unit No.03768) * 527th Separate Motor Rifle Battalion (Military Unit No.03769) * 529th Separate Motor Rifle Battalion (Military Unit No.03841) * 558th Separate Motor Rifle Battalion (Military Unit No.03833) * 9th Separate Tank Battalion (Military Unit No.03842) *

S-400 The S-400 Triumf (russian: link=no, C-400 Триумф – Triumf; translation: Triumph; NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler), previously known as the S-300 PMU-3, is a mobile, surface-to-air missile (SAM) system developed in the 1990s by Russ ...

and S-300 surface-to-air missile elements reported * Other lighter support units

References