Spetsnaz
Spetsnaz[note 1] (Russian: Спецназ) are special forces in many post-Soviet states. Historically, this term referred to the Soviet Union's Spetsnaz GRU, special operations units of the GRU, the main military intelligence service. Today it refers to special forces branches and task forces subordinate to ministries including defence, internal affairs, or emergency situations in countries that have inherited their special purpose units from the now-defunct Soviet security agencies.
This article is about the Russian term. For other uses, see Spetsnaz (disambiguation).As spetsnaz is a Russian term, it is typically associated with the special units of Russia, but other post-Soviet states often refer to their special forces units by the term as well, since these nations also inherited their special purpose units from the now-defunct Soviet security agencies.
Kazakh spetsnaz[edit]
As with many post Soviet states, Kazakhstan adopted the term Alpha Group to be used by its special forces. The Almaty territorial unit of Alpha was turned into the special unit Arystan (meaning "Lions" in Kazakh) of the National Security Committee (KNB) of Kazakhstan.[75] In 2006, five members of Arystan were arrested and charged with the kidnapping of the opposition politician Altynbek Sarsenbayuly, his driver, and his bodyguard; the three victims were then allegedly delivered to the people who murdered them.[76]
Kokhzal (meaning wolf pack in Kazakh language) is a special forces unit of Kazakhstan responsible for carrying out anti terror operations as well as serving as a protection detail for the President of Kazakhstan.[77]
Russian spetsnaz after 2010[edit]
Administrative History[edit]
The elite units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are controlled, for the most part, by the military-intelligence GRU (Spetsnaz GRU) under the General Staff. They were heavily involved in secret operations and training pro-Russian forces in the civil war in Chechnya during the 1990s and 2000s. In 2010, as a result of the 2008 Russian military reform, GRU special forces came under the control of the Russian Ground Forces, being "directly subordinated to commanders of combined strategic commands."[78] However, in 2013, these spetsnaz forces were placed back under the GRU. The Russian Airborne Troops (VDV, a separate branch of the Soviet and Russian Armed Forces) includes the 45th Guards Spetsnaz Brigade. In 2009, a Directorate of Special Operations was established that reported directly to the General Staff not the GRU to establish the Special Operations Forces which in 2013 became the Special Operations Forces Command.[72] Most Russian military special forces units are known by their type of formation (company, battalion or brigade) and a number, like other Soviet or Russian military units. Two exceptions were the ethnic Chechen Special Battalions Vostok and Zapad (East and West) that existed during the 2000s. Below is a 2012 list of special purpose units in the Russian Armed Forces:[79][80]
Like many other post-Soviet states, Ukraine inherited its spetsnaz units from the remnants of the Soviet armed forces, GRU and KGB units. Ukraine now maintains its own spetsnaz structure under the control of the Ministry of Interior, and under the Ministry of Defence, while the Security Service of Ukraine maintains its own spetsnaz force, the Alpha group. The term "Alpha" is also used by many other post Soviet states such as Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan as these units are based on the Soviet Union's Alpha Group. Ukraine's Berkut special police force gained mainstream attention during the 2014 Revolution of Dignity as it was alleged to have been used by the government to quell the uprising. However, this is disputed as many officers were also wounded and killed in the action.[117] Current Ukrainian spetsnaz units with soviet lineage:
In popular culture[edit]
The video game, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege features five spetsnaz operators named Glaz, Fuze, Kapkan, Tachanka, and Finka. In another Tom Clancy game, Endwar, Spetsnaz Guard Brigades is the name of the élite branch of the Russian army.
The spetsnaz have also been referenced and featured multiple times in the video game series Call of Duty, mainly in the Modern Warfare titles. Spetsnaz are also featured in multiple entries in the ARMA series.
Two gangsters in the Guy Ritchie film RocknRolla have a 'scar competition' in which they show healed wounds (and describe how they occurred) from injuries they incurred whilst on several spetsnaz operations.
Season 1, Episode 4 of MacGyver (2016 TV series) focuses on stopping spetsnaz agents from activating a Cold War era bomb.