The 345th Guards Air Assault Red Banner

Order of Suvorov The Order of Suvorov () is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honor of Russian Generalissimo Prince Alexander Suvorov (1729–1800). History The Order of Suvorov was originally a Soviet Union, Soviet award established on ...

Regiment (; MUN 33702) is a unit of the Russian Airborne Forces (VDV) and

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

of the 104th Guards Air Assault Division. Before 1992, it was part 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 b ...

. After the

collapse of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

, it was active in the

Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military of Russia. They are organized into three service branches—the Russian Ground Forces, Ground Forces, Russian Navy, Navy, and Russi ...

until 1998, when it was disbanded. The regiment was restored by a decision of the

Russian Ministry of Defense The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation (; MOD) is the governing body of the Russian Armed Forces. The President of Russia is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Commander-in-Chief of the forces ...

in 2023.

History

World War II and Afghanistan (1944–1989)

It was formed on 30 December 1944 at Lapichi, Osipovichi district, Mogilev Oblast, in the

Byelorussian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, Byelorussian SSR or Byelorussia; ; ), also known as Soviet Belarus or simply Belarus, was a republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 1922 as an independent state, and ...

. In July 1946, the Guards Airborne Landing Regiment was redeployed to the city of

Kostroma Kostroma (, ) is a historic city and the administrative center of Kostroma Oblast, Russia. A part of the Golden Ring of Russian cities, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Volga and Kostroma. In the 2021 census, the population is 267, ...

, and in 1960 to the city of

Fergana Fergana ( uz-Latn-Cyrl, Fargʻona, Фарғона, ), () or Ferghana, also Farghana is a district-level city and the capital of Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan. Fergana is about 320 km east of Tashkent, about 75 km southwest of A ...

, where it remained until December 1979.345th Independent Guards Airborne Regiment official history
/ref> The regiment was part of the 105th Guards Airborne Division in the city of

of the

Uzbek SSR The Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (, ), also known as Soviet Uzbekistan, the Uzbek SSR, UzSSR, or simply Uzbekistan and rarely Uzbekia, was a union republic of the Soviet Union. It was governed by the Uzbek branch of the Soviet Communist P ...

. For the high level of combat training and active actions demonstrated during the Vostok-72 exercises, the regiment was awarded the pennant of the USSR Minister of Defense "For courage and military valor". In 1979, after the disbandment of 105th Guards Vienna Airborne Division it received a Separate Regiment designation (345th OPPD). The regiment was attached to 40th Army headquartered in

Kabul Kabul 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. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

, serving in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

from the earliest days of the conflict, arriving on 14 December 1979. The Regiment was based in

Bagram Airfield Bagram Airfield-BAF, also known as Bagram Air Base , is located southeast of Charikar in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan. It is under the Ministry of Defense (Afghanistan), Afghan Ministry of Defense. Sitting on the site of the ancient town ...

Bagram Bagram (; Pashto/) is a town and seat in Bagram District in Parwan Province of Afghanistan, about 60 kilometers north of the capital Kabul. It is the site of an ancient city located at the junction of the Ghorband and Panjshir Valley, near t ...

(its 2nd Battalion in ( Bamian), and later – Anab). 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 A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

of the 345th Regiment took part in Operation Storm-333. 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''. On or about 11 February 1989 the regiment withdrew from

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

After Afghanistan (1989–1998)

After the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the regiment became part of 104th Guards Airborne Division. The Regiment was later relocated to Gudauta in the Abkhaz ASSR of the

Georgian SSR The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Georgia, the Georgian SSR, or simply Georgia, was one of the republics of the Soviet Union from its second occupation (by the Red Army) in 1921 to its independence in 1991. Cotermin ...

. It took part in the April 9, 1989, crack-down on demonstrators in the centre of Tbilisi. Since August 1992 it was stationed in Gudauta Abkhaz ASSR to participate in the Abkhaz war. It was subsequently renamed the 50th Military Base and then the 10th Peacekeeping Airborne Regiment. In 1998, the 345th Independent Guards Airborne Regiment was dissolved by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.

Restoration (2023–present)

In 2023, the 345th Guards Air Assault Regiment was formed as part of the 104th Guards Air Assault Division in

Ulyanovsk Ulyanovsk,, , known as Simbirsk until 1924, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River east of Moscow. Ulyanovsk has been the only Russian UNESCO Ci ...

, under the leadership of Guards Colonel P. P. Popov. On 24 June 2024, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation, the 345th Guards Air Assault Regiment was awarded the honorary name: named after the

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...

, Colonel General Valery Aleksandrovich Vostrotin. Additionally, on 9 December 2024, the regiment was presented with the Battle Banner. Since 2024, he regiment is taking part in military operations on the territory of the Kherson region during the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

References

External links

345th Independent Guards Airborne Regiment official web site

Uniforms and History of the 345 PDP in Afghanistan
345 345 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 Military units and formations established in 1944 Military units and formations established in 2023 Military units and formations disestablished in 1998 {{Russian Airborne Forces