The
information below is compiled from various webs sites
and is designed to give some brief background to spetsnaz.
SPETSNAZ
Soviet
special purpose forces are called by several names,
including reydoviki, diversionary troops, and
reconnaissance/sabotage troops, but they are most popularly
known as SPETSNAZ, an acronym from the Russian spetsialnoe
naznachenie, meaning special purpose. The majority
of Spetsnaz are controlled by the Soviet General Staff's
Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU-Glavnoe Razvedyvatelnoe
Upravlenie).
The mission of the spetsnaz is to conduct Special Reconnaissance
(Spetsialnaya Razvedka). According to the Soviet
Military Encyclopedia, Special Reconnaissance is defined
as:
reconnaissance carried out to subvert the political,
economic and military potential and morale of a probable
or actual enemy. The primary missions of special reconnaissance
are: acquiring intelligence on major economic and military
installations and either destroying them or putting
them out of action, organizing sabotage and acts of
subversion; carrying out punitive operations against
rebels; conducting propaganda; forming and training
insurgent detachments, etc. Special reconnaissance is
... conducted by the forces of covert intelligence and
special purpose troops.
The origins of spetsnaz can be traced back to the 1930's.
On 2 August 1930 a small detachment of commando troops
was dropped on man oeuvres in the region of Voronezh
and was to carry out operations in the rear of the "enemy".
Officially this is the date when Soviet airborne troops
came into but it is also the date when spetsnaz was
born. Airborne troops and spetsnaz troops subsequently
went through a parallel development, until the control
of spetsnaz was given over entirely to military intelligence.
Of course, during World War Two the Russians made considerable
use of behind enemy lines partisan groups, sabotage
operations and the like, where the fledgling spetsnaz
units saw action against both the Germans and the Japanese.
After the war these units virtually ceased to exist.
It was not until the mid-1950's and the threat of nuclear
weapons that a need was once more seen for a behind-the-lines
reconnaissance force. So spetsnaz was established, with
the brief of being able to operate up to 1000 kilometers
behind enemy lines, with emphasis on enemy nuclear delivery
means, either locating them for attack by other forces
or, if necessary, attacking by themselves. Typical targets
include mobile missiles, command and control facilities,
air defenses, airfields, port facilities, and lines
of communication. In addition, specially trained spets
elements had the missions of assassinating or kidnapping
enemy military and civilian leaders.
RECRUITMENT
There are stringent standards required of all conscripts
assigned to spetsnaz. Potential reydoviki must
be secondary school graduates, intelligent, physically
fit, and "politically reliable". Upon induction,
a conscript will be asked to sign a loyalty oath in
which he acknowledges death will be his punishment for
divulging details about his service. After induction,
some conscripts will be selected for an arduous, six-month-long
NCO school. Conscripts not selected for NCO school receive
training in their units. In addition to basic military
training, they will be trained in the following specialized
skills:
parachuting,
hand-to-hand combat, silent-killing techniques, knife-fighting,
sabotage using explosives, incendiaries, acids, and
abrasives,
infiltration techniques, including defeat of locks and
security systems,
foreign language and culture,
foreign weapons, tactics, and vehicles,
survival,
reconnaissance and map reading,
rappelling.
Training in foreign language, etc., is geared to the
unit's wartime target area. The team leader is expected
to be nearly fluent in one of the languages of a target
country, while enlisted personnel are expected to know
the alphabet and basic phrases. This specific training
relating to a foreign country is intended not only to
facilitate operations there but also to enable the teams
to conduct missions while wearing enemy uniforms or
civilian clothing.
Parachute training begins with static line jumps, but
many soldiers will progress to high altitude low opening
(HALO) jumps using steerable parachutes. Jumps are made
day and night, in all kinds of terrain and weather.
The technical training schedule leaves time for rigorous
physical training involving obstacle courses and forced
marches, which are often conducted in gas masks. Some
units also provide strenuous adventure training like
mountain climbing and skiing. Up to half the year is
spent training out of garrison. Once or twice a year,
selected teams engage in extremely realistic exercises
carried out under battle conditions. Teams are provided
little in the way of rations and are forced to forage
for food. Exercise objectives are often operational
installations guarded by regular troops or soldiers
of the Ministry of Interior.
Most spetsnaz missions have the primary objective of
reconnaissance, so they will use camouflage to avoid
contact with enemy patrols. They will attack if ordered
to do so by the brigade or in the event a nuclear missile
is ready for firing. In that case, the team will try
to destroy the missile by fire and, if not successful,
will mount an all-out attack. As a general rule, spetsnaz
commanders operate independently. Once missions are
given to the teams, army and front headquarters keep
interference to a minimum, relying on the initiative
and skill of the team leaders. Sufficient coordination
is maintained to be able to order the teams out of the
way of other Soviet attacks, particularly nuclear strikes.
Spetsnaz are not particularly well known within the
Soviet military, and they tend not to publicize their
existence and capabilities. Their uniforms are not distinctive,
with ground forces spetsnaz usually wearing airborne
or signal troops' uniforms and naval spetsnaz wearing
naval infantry or submariners' uniforms. Their ethnic
makeup is likewise not distinctive and to some degree
reflects the ethnic characteristics of the intended
target. For example, spetsnaz units in the Far East
are alleged to have available North Koreans and Japanese
from Manchuria and the Kuril Islands.
Of course it should always be borne in mind that despite
their qualifications, tough training, and demonstrated
value, the fact remains that the majority of spetsnaz
troops are conscripts on two-year tours of duty. Consequently,
there is limited opportunity for cross-training in specialties,
and soldiers may lack the degree of motivation that
characterizes Western unconventional warfare forces,
such as the U.S. Army Rangers, Special Forces, and the
British SAS. Despite that, during the Cold War spetsnaz
posed a formidable threat to NATO's rear area.
OTHER SPETSNAZ TROOPS
During the 1970s and 1980s there were many new special
operations groups set up, particularly within the Committee
for State Security (KGB) and the Ministry of Internal
Affairs (MVD). These special troops went under the generic
title of Spetsgruppe and were paramilitary
forces which received special training for a variety
of missions. Many of these units served in a variety
of roles in the war in Afghanistan but for most of them
a defining moment seems to have been reached during
the 1991 coup, when they were forced to take sides,
or at least to refuse to take action. After the coup
had been defeated President Yeltsin transferred most
of them to his personal control but they have since
been transferred yet again back to various ministries.
Many of the groups have been involved in the recent
conflicts in the Russian Federation, including Chech'nya.
Spetsgruppa "Al’fa" (special
group A) was set up by the KGB's Seventh Directorate
in 1974 as a counter-terrorist and hostage-rescue group.
Also raised by the KGB was Spetsgruppa Vympel
whose mission was to fulfil the KGB's wartime role of
assassination and snatching. After the collapse of the
Soviet Union it was transferred to the MVD but is now
with the FSB with a primary responsibility for a hostage
rescue. The MVD also has at least two groups of special
troops known as the Omon (black berets), which
were originally raised to provide additional security
and hostage rescue at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Since
then they have been used for counter-terrorist activities
and defeating armed criminals, and are currently involved
in campaigns against drug gangs.
SPETSNAZ
& SYSTEMA
For
those with Internet access here is plenty of information
available to facilitate research on Special Forces,
be they Russian or any other nationality. As far as
the study of Systema goes, the military background can
give a context to some of the training and it certainly
shows that the art has been extensively field tested
in real situations. But we should also beware of glamourising
what is a brutal and brutalising business. Given the
background of Systema and that of its main teachers,
it is not surprising that there is an interest in knowing
more about spetsnaz and similar Russian units and organisations.
However there are some important points to be made regarding
the connections between Systema and Spetsnaz.
The
first is that while we acknowledge that certain aspects
of the art were utilised by a totalitarian regime, we
have no political affiliations or agenda. The fact that
the Soviet regime used Systema for its own purposes
is something that lies beyond the powers of the founders
of the art and would certainly be at odds with their
outlook and philosophy. Indeed, many aspects of that
philosophy, in particular the Orthodox church, were
aggressively repressed by the Soviets. One of the most
striking aspects of Systema is it's emphasis on free
thinking and creativity, something hardly likely to
be encouraged by governments in general, let alone such
a repressive one.
However
we can also acknowledge that the fact that Systema was
taken up by and used in the way it was, may have contributed
to its development for the modern era. Research into
efficient training methods, diet, psychology, sports
performance and the like was actively pursued under
the Soviets and applied to everything from Olympic training
for athletes to military training for special units.
Having said that, there is no doubt that military training
has one prime focus - to make a soldier, someone who
will respond to orders without hesitation, will undertake
those orders under the worst of conditions and do whatever
is necessary to see the orders through. Training in
any armed forces will involve a certain amount of "de-humanising"
to get results, depending on the surrounding social
environment. This type of de-humanising process is very
much at odds with Systema philosophy.
Modern
military hand to hand combat training (where it exists)
is of the "short and sharp" variety and is
often done mostly to develop "spirit", given
the nature of the modern battlefield. In Russia, the
vast majority of hand-to-hand training is in combat
sambo or similar arts. The number of units learning
Systema is relatively small. This makes perfect sense
in the light of what troops are used for. Most modern
battlefield troops will have little need for HTH skills.
The brutal truth may also be that certain troops will
have very short "life expectancy" in a conflict
and to spend an inordinate amount of resources on HTH
training is seen as wasteful or irrelevant.
Systema, then, is something taught to more specialised
units - for example, currently to certain bodyguard
units. Given the previous (and current) secrecy surrounding
the Russian military, not to mention the fact that it
may not be appropriate for current and previous operatives
to disclose information, it can be difficult to get
"hard facts" about the full nature of its
use. Of course, those with direct access to Systema's
main teachers, or those who have friends or family from
a similar background, are able to speak to them directly
about such matters. For the rest, information is largely
a matter of personal research - typing spetsnaz into
any internet search engine will bring plenty of places
to get started, even more so if you speak or read Russian.
|