The 4th Guards Kantemirovskaya Order of Lenin Red Banner Tank Division named after Yuri Andropov (), commonly known as the Kantemirovites, the Kantemirovskaya Division or Kantemir Division, is a Guards armoured division 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 ...

. It has the

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 of post-Soviet states, originally used by those of the Soviet Union The Soviet ...

19612 and is one of the key formations of the

Western Military District The Western Military District (russian: Западный военный округ, Zapadnyy voyennyy okrug) is a military district of Russia. It is one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, with its jurisdiction primari ...

. All of its units, as well as headquarters, are based in the town of

Naro-Fominsk Naro-Fominsk (russian: На́ро-Фоми́нск) is a town and the administrative center of Naro-Fominsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Nara River, southwest from Moscow. Population: History The Fominskoye village was fir ...

, Moscow Oblast, south-west of

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

History

World War II

The direct ancestor of the 4th Guards Kantemirovskaya Tank Division was the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

's 17th Tank Corps, initially formed in Stalingrad in 1942 shortly after the 1941 start of the

German invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named afte ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The 17th Tank Corps commenced its combat history on 26 June 1942, when it deployed to the west of

Voronezh Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on ...

, just prior to the Battle of Voronezh. For distinction in combat during the

Operation Little Saturn Operation Little Saturn was a Red Army offensive on the Eastern Front of World War II that led to battles in Don and Chir rivers region in German-occupied Soviet Union territory in 16–30 December 1942. The success of Operation Uranus, launc ...

between 17 December and 30 December 1942, the 17th Tank Corps was renumbered as the 4th Guards Tank Corps in January 1943. The Corps received the

honorific An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an honorary academic title. It ...

''Kantemirovskaya'' after the village of

Kantemirovka Kantemirovka (russian: Кантемировка; earlier Konstantinovka, russian: Константиновка) is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) in Kantemirovsky District of Voronezh Oblast, Russia. Population: Founded in 18 cent ...

Kantemirovsky District Kantemirovsky District (russian: Кантеми́ровский райо́н) is an administrativeLaw #87-OZ and municipalLaw #70-ZO district (raion), one of the thirty-two in Voronezh Oblast, Russia. It is located in the south of the oblast. The ...

Voronezh Oblast Voronezh Oblast (russian: Воронежская область, Voronezhskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Voronezh. Its population was 2,308,792 as of the 2021 Census. Geography V ...

, which its tank sub-units liberated from

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

occupation in their

baptism of fire The phrase baptism by fire or baptism of fire is a Christian theological concept originating from the words of John the Baptist in Matthew 3:11. It also has related meanings in military history and popular culture. Christianity The term ''bapti ...

. In August 1943 the 4th Guards Tank Corps experienced continuous combat on the

Belgorod Belgorod ( rus, Белгород, p=ˈbʲeɫɡərət) is a city and the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Seversky Donets River north of the border with Ukraine. Population: Demographics The population of B ...

right-bank Ukraine Right-bank Ukraine ( uk , Правобережна Україна, ''Pravoberezhna Ukrayina''; russian: Правобережная Украина, ''Pravoberezhnaya Ukraina''; pl, Prawobrzeżna Ukraina, sk, Pravobrežná Ukrajina, hu, Jobb p ...

, including

Zbarazh Zbarazh ( uk, Збараж, pl, Zbaraż, yi, זבאריזש, Zbarizh) is a city in Ternopil Raion of Ternopil Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It is located in the historic region of Galicia. Zbarazh hosts the administration of Zbarazh urb ...

Ternopil Ternópil ( uk, Тернопіль, Ternopil' ; pl, Tarnopol; yi, טאַרנאָפּל, Tarnopl, or ; he, טארנופול (טַרְנוֹפּוֹל), Tarnopol; german: Tarnopol) is a city in the west of Ukraine. Administratively, Ternopi ...

, and

Shepetovka Shepetivka ( uk, Шепеті́вка; pl, Szepetówka) is a city located on the Huska River in Khmelnytskyi Oblast (province) in western Ukraine. Shepetivka is the administrative center of Shepetivka Raion (district). It hosts the administrati ...

in April 1944, the Corps was awarded the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of t ...

. Seventeen

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

s and separate

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...

s were awarded honorifics of ''Shepetovsky'', ''Zhitomirsky'', ''Yampolsky'', and ''Tarnopolsky'', in honor of the cities they had taken. The 4th Guards Tank Corps participated in the 1945 battle for

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

, for which it was awarded the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration ...

. It was among the first Red Army formations to reach the river

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Re ...

, and participated in the capture of

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

in Germany. The Corps made a sudden redeployment to

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, where they saw their final fighting of World War II in the suburbs of

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

, during the Prague Offensive. For the courage shown by soldiers and officers of the Corps during wartime, military units were awarded 23 awards, the staff of the Corps was thanked officially by the supreme commander in chief 18 times, 32 of its members were awarded the

Hero of Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

(5 of which are forever enlisted in the unit rolls), and more than 20,000 soldiers received awards and medals, five becoming full chevaliers of the

Order of Glory Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

. On 14 June 1945, the 4th Guards Tank Corps became the 4th Guards Kantemirovskaya Tank Division. On 13 September 1945 it was assigned to the

Moscow Military District The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010 it was merged with the Leningrad Military D ...

. It was re-deployed to

outside of Moscow, which has remained its garrison ever since.

Cold War period

On 11 September 1946 the Division participated in the Day of Tankmen's parade on

Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːətʲ) is one of the oldest and largest squares in Moscow, the capital of Russia. Owing to its historical significance and the adjacent historical build ...

in Moscow. On 23 May 1953, the Division's 3rd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment became the 119th Guards Mechanized Regiment. The 275th Guards Artillery Battalion was formed from the 264th Guards Mortar Regiment and the howitzer artillery battalion. The 76th Separate Motorcycle Battalion was converted into a

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

battalion. The 120th Guards Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment became the 538th Guards Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment in April 1955. The 14th Guards Tank Regiment was disbanded in June 1957. At the same time, the 43rd Guards Heavy Tank Self-Propelled Regiment became the 43rd Guards Heavy Tank Regiment and the 119th Guards Mechanized Regiment was redesignated the 423rd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment. In 1960 the Division's tank-training battalion was disbanded. In early 1962, the 43rd Guards Heavy Tank Regiment became a regular tank regiment. In February 1962, the 196th Separate Equipment Maintenance and Recovery Battalion and the 339th Separate Missile Battalion were activated. The 106th Separate Sapper Battalion became the 330th Separate Engineer-Sapper Battalion in 1968. In 1972 the separate Chemical Defence Company became the 616th Separate Chemical Defence Battalion. The motor transport battalion was renamed the 1088th Separate Material Supply Battalion in 1980. In February 1984, the division received the honorific name "in the name of

Yuri Andropov Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov (– 9 February 1984) was the sixth paramount leader of the Soviet Union and the fourth General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. After Leonid Brezhnev's 18-year rule, Andropov served in the p ...

", the Soviet General Secretary at the time. In 1989, the 43rd Guards Tank Regiment was replaced by the 14th Guards Tank Regiment. During the Cold War, the division was maintained at 80% strength. The division was one of the two major divisions deployed in Moscow in August 1991 as part of the attempted hardline coup against Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. The coup's failure strengthened

Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...

's position in the

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

, and soon afterward in the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, of which he became

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Russian Federation

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991, the 4th Guards Tank Division became a part of the

, the

land forces Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various islan ...

of the Russian Federation. During the most serious crisis of Yeltsin's premiership, the 1993 constitutional crisis, the Division was one of several key divisions that had given their reluctant support to Yeltsin by October 4, the decisive point in the crisis. In the early 1990s the division came under the command of the famous

1st Guards Tank Army The 1st Guards Tank Army () is a tank army of the Russian Ground Forces. The army traces its heritage back to the 1st Tank Army, formed twice in July 1942 and in January 1943 and converted into the 1st Guards Tank Army in January 1944. The arm ...

, along with the 144th Guards Motor Rifle Division. The 1st GTA had relocated from the former

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest ...

when the

Group of Soviet Forces in Germany The Western Group of Forces (WGF),. previously known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOFG). and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG),. were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupat ...

was disbanded at the beginning of the 1990s. It was disbanded in 1998, as was the 144th MRD. Thereafter the Kantemirovskaya Division came under the command of the 20th Guards Army. The division's units participated in the First Chechen War of 1994-1996, and personnel took part in peacekeeping operations in

South Ossetia South Ossetia, ka, სამხრეთი ოსეთი, ( , ), officially the Republic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania, is a partially recognised landlocked state in the South Caucasus. It has an officially stated populat ...

during 1997, in

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

in 1998 to 2002, later participating in the

Second Chechen War The Second Chechen War (russian: Втора́я чече́нская война́, ) took place in Chechnya and the border regions of the North Caucasus between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, from August 1999 ...

of 1999-2009. During this period, it was one of the Russian Army's "constant readiness" divisions, with at least 80%

manpower Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include ...

and 100% equipment holdings at all times. In May 2005, eight

T-80BV List of models and variants of the T-80 main battle tank. Command tanks with additional radio equipment have ''K'' added to their designation for ''komandirskiy'' ("command"), for example, ''T-80BK'' is the command version of the T-80B. Version ...

tanks from the division took part in the parade in Moscow to mark the 60th anniversary of

VE Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easter ...

. In December 2005 the

Russian Defence Minister The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation (russian: Министерство обороны Российской Федерации, Минобороны России, informally abbreviated as МО, МО РФ or Minoboron) is the govern ...

Sergei Ivanov Sergei Borisovich Ivanov ( rus, Сергей Борисович Иванов, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej bɐˈrʲisəvʲɪtɕ ɪvɐˈnof; born 31 January 1953) is a Russian senior official and politician who has served as the Special Representative of ...

, visited the Division. In early 2006 the Division's 13th Tank Regiment participated, along with other 20th Guards Army units, in the joint Russian-

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

ian "Shield of Union" military exercises. Kantemirovsky Street in Moscow is named in honour of the 4th Guards Tank Division. In 2009, the division was reduced to the 4th Separate Guards Tank Brigade later that year, still stationed at Naro-Fominsk. In May 2013, the Kantemirovskaya division was reformed from the tank brigade. , two years after the division was reconstituted, the Russian Armed Forces planned to rebuild the famous Soviet-era 1st Guards Red Banner Tank Army by including both the 4th Guards Tank Division and the

2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division The 2nd Guards M. I. Kalinin Taman Motor Rifle Division (russian: 2-я гвардейская мотострелковая Таманская ордена Октябрьской Революции Краснознаменная ордена Су ...

as well as one tank and rifle brigade (from the 1990s up to its 1998 disbandment the 4th Guards TD formed part of the army).

Russo-Ukrainian War

On February 24th, 2022, Russia launched its full-scale invasion of

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. The 1st Guards Tank Army was tasked with the capture of Ukraine's capital,

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...

, and in the 4th Guards Tank Division's case, the country's second most populous city,

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.war crimes in the Russian invasion of Ukraine Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian authorities and armed forces have committed multiple war crimes in the form of deliberate attacks against civilian targets, massacres of civilians, torture and rape of ...

. That day, the first war crimes trial began in Kyiv of a soldier from the division who was ordered to shoot an unarmed civilian, reportedly to avoid the chance that the positions of the Russian invaders would be reported to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. By September 2022, the division, while deployed as part of the 1st Guards Tank Army, despite not being fully reconstituted during its rest and refit in May, experienced the Ukrainian Kharkiv counteroffensive. Prior to this, Ukrainian deep strikes on the division's supply lines, coupled with the general lack of close air support along the front contributed to the division's already divided, demoralized, and damaged force structure. At the beginning of the counteroffensive, Ukraine's 4th Tank Brigade attempted to encircle 4th Guards Tank Division units outside of

Izium Izium or Izyum ( uk, Ізюм, ; russian: Изюм) is a city on the Donets River in Kharkiv Oblast (province) of eastern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Izium Raion (district). Izium hosts the administration of Izium urban ...

leading to the division's retreat north across the border into Russia. Following the losses sustained at

, independent analysis placed 90 T-80U losses, or a tank regiment's worth at full strength with many still intact, for a tank notably used primarily by the division.

Current structure

The 4th Guards Tank Division consists of a brigade headquarters, two tank regiments, one motor rifle regiment, an artillery regiment, an anti-aircraft missile regiment, a reconnaissance battalion, and several directly subordinated

combat support In the United States Army, the term combat support refers to units that provide fire support and operational assistance to combat elements. Combat support units provide specialized support functions to combat units in the following areas * Chemi ...

and combat service support battalions and companies. According to a report from the

Institute for the Study of War The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) is a United States–based think tank founded in 2007 by Kimberly Kagan, providing research and analysis regarding issues of defense and foreign affairs. It has produced reports on the Syrian War, the Wa ...

, in March 2018 the division contained: *Division Headquarters based in

commanded by

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

Oleg Tulinov (

19612) **137th Reconnaissance Battalion, Naro-Fominsk **165th Medical Battalion, Naro-Fominsk **413th Communications Battalion, Naro-Fominsk **330th Engineering Battalion, Naro-Fominsk **1088th Logistics Battalion, Naro-Fominsk *, Naro-Fominsk *

13th Guards Tank Regiment , alt = Shoulder sleeve patch , caption = Shoulder sleeve patch , dates = 1942–2009 2013 – present , country = , branch = ...

, Naro-Fominsk * 423rd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment, Naro-Fominsk *275th Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment, Naro-Fominsk *538th Guards Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment, Naro-Fominsk Harris & Kagan list the

49th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade The 49th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade () (russian: 49-я зенитная ракетная бригада (49 зрбр), translit=49-ya zenitnaya raketnaya brigada (49 zrbr); Military Unit Number 21555) is a surface-to-air missile brigade of the ...

as part of the division, but the division already has an anti-aircraft rocket regiment, assignment of two such units would be non-standard in terms of Russian division organization, and Russian websites do not list the 49th AARB as part of the division. In 2008, the 4th Guards Tank Division had approximately 12,000 personnel in

active service Active may refer to: Music * ''Active'' (album), a 1992 album by Casiopea * Active Records, a record label Ships * ''Active'' (ship), several commercial ships by that name * HMS ''Active'', the name of various ships of the British Royal ...

.Moscow Military District
warfare.ru, Russian Military Analysis. Retrieved on 1 September 2008.

Division commanders

* Major General Nikolai Filippenko (1952–1957) * Major General Boris Kurtsev (1957–1960) * Major General Vladimir Dorodnov (1960–1965) * Major General Yury Momotov (1979–1982) * Major General Vladimir Kartmazov (1982–1985) * Major General Ivan Denisov (1985–1987) * Major General Nikolay Loktionov (1987–1989) * Major General Vladimir Chuzhikov (1989–1991) * Major General Boris Nikolayevich Polyakov (1991—1994) * Major General Alexander Denisov (1995–1998) * Major General Yevgeny Fuzhenko (1999–2002) * Major General Anatoly Yolkin (2002–2003) * Major General Alexander Romanchuk (November 2003 – July 2006) * Major General Sergey Kuralenko (July 2006 – June 2009) * Colonel Sergey Youriévitch Nekrasov (June 2009 - Octobre 2010) * Colonel

Andrey Mordvichev Andrey Nikolayevich Mordvichev (russian: Андрей Николаевич Мордвичев; born 14 January 1976) is a Russian lieutenant general who is the overall commander of the Central Military District Mordvichev commanded the 4th Sep ...

(April 2011 – March 2012) * Major General Sergei Kombarov (March 2012 – August 2015) * Major General Andrey Kolesnikov (August 2015 – August 2018)День рождения Дивизии
/ref> * Major General Vladimir Zavadsky (August 2018 – June 2021) * Colonel Yevgeny Nikolayevich Zhuravlyov (June 2021 – present)

Unit decorations

Traditions

Anniversaries

The anniversary of the formation of the division is celebrated on June 29 every year, with festive events being held in

. On the divisional parade ground, servicemen are awarded state and departmental awards. In recent years, participants in the celebrations have seen demonstration performances from cadets of the

Moscow Higher Military Command School The Moscow Higher Combined Arms Command School ''"Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR"'' (abbreviated to MVOKU) is a higher military educational institution of the Russian Armed Forces. History The school was formed in December 15, 1917 (O.S., December ...

, as well as had the opportunity to visit the exhibition of weapons and military equipment. Day of Tankmen celebrations are also held by the division.

Parades

The division participates in both the ground and mobile columns of the

Moscow Victory Day Parade The Moscow Victory Day Parade ( rus, Парад Победы в Москве, r= Parad Pobedy v Moskve) refers to the annual military parade of the Russian Armed Forces on Moscow's Red Square on May 9 during the Victory Day celebrations. The ...

, representing the forces of the Western Military District in the former. The division in its current form took part in its first parade in 2013, days after its recreation. It was only as a result of its participation in the

Moscow Victory Parade of 1945 The Moscow Victory Parade of 1945 ( rus, Парад Победы, r= Parad Pobedy) also known as the Parade of Victors ( rus, Парад победителей, r= Parad pobediteley) was a victory parade held by the Soviet Armed Forces (with the ...

that it received the honorific of ''Kantemirovka''. The unit's participation of the three-hour Tankmen Day parade in 1946 was decreed by Soviet leader

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

Divisional museum

In Naro-Fominsk, there is a Museum of Military Glory of the tank division. After restoration work in 2017, the area of the exhibition halls was increased. It consists of over 3,000 exhibits, including military equipment and weapons. More than 10,000 people visit the museum annually, and over the years, the museum was visited by the military leadership as well as representatives of over 100 foreign delegations from

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

The Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. Since 1987, there has also been a museum of the division as part of Omsk's Boarding School No. 14.

Equipment

4th Guards Kantemirovskaya Tank Division (395-11)

The division's principal vehicles are the

T-80U List of models and variants of the T-80 main battle tank. Command tanks with additional radio equipment have ''K'' added to their designation for ''komandirskiy'' ("command"), for example, ''T-80BK'' is the command version of the T-80B. Version ...

and T-80BVM

main battle tank A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the role of armor-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more powerful engines, better suspension sys ...

s and the

BMP-2 The BMP-2 (''Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty'', , literally "combat machine/vehicle (of the) infantry") is an amphibious infantry fighting vehicle introduced in the 1980s in the Soviet Union, following on from the BMP-1 of the 1960s. Development hist ...

infantry fighting vehicle. It makes limited use of the

BTR-80 The BTR-80 (russian: бронетранспортёр, bronyetransportyor, literally "armoured transporter") is an 8×8 wheeled amphibious armoured personnel carrier (APC) designed in the USSR. It was adopted in 1985 and replaced the previous ...

and

MT-LB The MT-LB (russian: Многоцелевой Тягач Легкий Бронированный, translit=Mnogotselevoy tyagach legky bronirovanny, literally "multi-purpose towing vehicle light armored") is a Soviet multi-purpose, fully amphibi ...

armoured personnel carriers, as well as the

2S19 Msta-S The 2S19 Msta-S is a 152.4 mm self-propelled howitzer designed and manufactured by Uraltransmash in the Soviet Union and later in Russia, which entered service in 1989 as the successor to the 2S3 Akatsiya. The vehicle has the running ...

self-propelled artillery Self-propelled artillery (also called locomotive artillery) is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move toward its firing position. Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled ...

system,

BM-21 The BM-21 "Grad" (russian: БМ-21 "Град", lit= hail) is a self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher designed in the Soviet Union. The system and the M-21OF rocket were first developed in the early 1960s, and saw their first comba ...

''Grad'' and

BM-27 The BM-27 Uragan (russian: БМ-27 Ураган, lit=Hurricane; GRAU index 9P140) is a self-propelled 220 mm multiple rocket launcher designed in the Soviet Union. The system began its service with the Soviet Army in the late 1970s, and wa ...

"Uragan"

MLRS A multiple rocket launcher (MRL) or multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) is a type of rocket artillery system that contains multiple launchers which are fixed to a single platform, and shoots its rocket ordnance in a fashion similar to a voll ...

. The division's two tank regiments are equipped with the T-80U and smaller numbers of the T-80UE-1. Its motor rifle regiment is equipped with a mix of T-80BVs and the upgraded T-80BVMs which it began to receive in company-sized batches in 2020.“Броня крепка! Обзор состояния танковых войск Вооружённых сил России,” soldat.ru, https://www.soldat.ru/news/1254.html. Retrieved 19 March 2022. Equipment Summary*

References

{{Russian divisions Tank divisions of Russia

004 004, 0O4, O04, OO4 may refer to: * 004, fictional British 00 Agent * 0O4, Corning Municipal Airport (California) * O04, the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation * Abdul Haq Wasiq, Guantanamo detainee 004 * Junkers Jumo 004 turbojet engine * Lauda Ai ...

Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations disestablished in 2009 1942 establishments in the Soviet Union Military units and formations awarded the Order of the Red Banner Military units and formations of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine