Naval Infantry (Russia)

The Russian Naval Infantry is one of the oldest military units of the Russian armed forces.

History

The Russian Naval Infantry was founded in 1705 under Peter the Great. By 1900, they had mainly the task of combating piracy and securing the ships. It was also trained for landing operations. Until then swayed their strength. After the Russo- Japanese War in 1904 / 05, the Marine Corps was increased to two brigades and held this strength until 1940. During the Second World War, members of the Marines were used, among other things, in the defense of Moscow. In the early 1960s, the Marines of the Soviet Navy was assumed and decreed the end of 1989 about 18,000 men. The equipment included more than 80 landing craft, including several hovercraft der Aist and Pomornik class, as well as two Docklandungsschiffe the Ivan Rogov class.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Marine Corps was incorporated into the Russian Navy. Their strength is given in the 2000s with 9,500 men. An equipment it has in addition some 160 main battle tanks also spyware, Protect and crew transport tanks. Also, artillery systems and anti-aircraft missile systems are used by the Russian Naval Infantry.

In the Crimean crisis of 2014, the Russian government used the Marines to occupy strategic points in the Crimea.