Guards (Russian: гвардия) or Guards units (Russian: гвардейские части) were and are elite military units in Imperial Russia, Soviet Union and Russian Federation. The exact meaning of the term "Guards" varied over the time. The Russian Empire in 1913 Imperial Russia is the term used to cover the period of history from the expansion of Russia under Peter the Great, through the expansion of the Russian Empire from the Baltic to the Pacific Ocean, to the deposal of Nicholas II of Russia, the last...

Imperial Russia

In Russia, Russian Imperial Guard units ("Leib-Guards", лейб-гвардия) were created by Peter the Great in 1690s. At the beginning of the 20th century it consisted of 13 infantry, 4 rifle and 14 cavalry regiments and some other units. They were abolished in 1918. The term Leib Guard (Russian: , from German leib, meaning body) collectively distinguished military units serving as personal guards of the Emperor of Russia. ... The term Leib Guard (Russian: , from German leib, meaning body) collectively distinguished military units serving as personal guards of the Emperor of Russia. ... Portrait of Peter by Paul Delaroche Peter I (Russian: ) (10 June 1672–8 February 1725 [30 May 1672– 28 January 1725 O.S.] ) ruled Russia from 7 May (27 April O.S.) 1682 until his death. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... Infantry of the 36th Ulster Division, in the First World War Infantry are soldiers who fight primarily on foot, mainly with small arms and operate within organized military units. ... Rifleman may refer to: Rifleman (rank), a private soldier in a rifle unit of infantry Rifleman (bird) or Titipounamu (Acanthisitta chloris), a New Zealand bird The Rifleman, a U.S. television programme starring Chuck Connors You cant find any info about riflemen on Wikipedia. ... Italian cavalry officers practice their horsemanship in 1904 outside Rome. ... A regiment is a military unit, larger than a company and smaller than a division. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ...

Russian Revolution

See Red Guards and White Guard. In the context of the history of Russia and Soviet Union, Red Guards (Russian: Красная Гвардия) was armed groups of workers formed in the time frame of the Russian Revolution. ... The White movement, whose military arm is known as the White Army (Белая Армия) or White Guard (Белая Гвардия, белогвардейцы) and whose members are known as Whites (Белые, Беляки) or White Russians (a term which has other meanings) comprised some of the Russian forces, both political and military, which opposed...

Soviet Union

Soviet Guards (Советская Гвардия in Russian, Sovetskaya Gvardiya), units and formations of the Soviet Army, which distinguished themselves in combat during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. The word unit means any of several things: Unit of measurement or physical unit, a fundamental quantity of measurement in science or engineering. ... This article is about the military unit. ... This article is about the armed forces of the Soviet Union. ... Combat, or fighting, is purposeful conflict between one or more persons, often involving violence and intended to establish dominance over the opposition. ... The neutrality of this article is disputed. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The title of the Soviet Guards was first introduced on September 18, 1941 in accordance with the decision of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief (Ставка Верховного Главнокомандующего, or Stavka Verkhovnogo Glavnokomanduyuschego) and by the order №308 of the People's Commissar of Defense for the distinguished services during the Yelnya Offensive. The 100th, 127th, 153rd and 161st Rifle Divisions were renamed into the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Guards Divisions, respectively. September 18 is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years). ... Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are concentrated. ... Stavka is an abbreviation for Shtab vierhovnogo komandovania, or General Headquarters of armed forces in late Imperial Russia and in the Soviet Union. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with: :Sovnarkom. ... The Soviet Armys Yelnya Offensive (August 30, 1941- September 8, 1941) was part of the Battle of Smolensk during the Great Patriotic War. ...

The units and formations nominated for the Soviet Guard title received special Guards banner in accordance with the decision of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. On May 21, 1942, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR introduced Guards ranks and Guards badges to be worn of the right side of the chest. In June of 1943, they introduced the Guards Red Banners for the land forces and in February of 1944 - for the naval forces. A banner is a flag or other piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or other message. ... The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (Президиум Верховного Совета СССР in Russian, or Prezidium Verkhovnogo Soveta) was a Soviet governmental body. ... May 21 is the 141st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (142nd in leap years). ... This article is about the year. ... Generally, rank is a system of hierarchy used to classify like things. ... A badge is a device, patch, or accoutrement which is presented or displayed to annote some feat of service, a special accomplishment, as a symbol of authority (ex: police), or as a simple means of identification. ... June is the sixth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with a length of 30 days The month is named after the Roman goddess Juno, wife of Jupiter and equivalent to the Greek goddess Hera. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) is a common year starting on Friday. ... February is the second month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ...

After the WWII a number of Guards troops were stationed over the Eastern Europe, e.g., in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. Pre-1989 division between the West (grey) and Eastern Bloc (orange) superimposed on current national boundaries: Russia (dark orange), other countries of the former USSR (medium orange) and other former communist regimes (light orange). ... Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (1949--1988), also known as Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (1945--1949) and Western Group of Forces (1988-1990) were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. ...

Russian Federation

The military of Russia has the following Guards units: // History Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, the Russians have discussed rebuilding a viable, cohesive fighting force out of the remaining parts of the former Soviet armed forces. ...

• Moscow Military District
  • 20th Guards Combined Arms Army
    • 4th 'Kantemirovskaya' Guards Tank Division, гвардейская танковая Кантемировская дивизия,
    • 2nd 'Tamanskaya' Guards Motor Rifle Division, гвардейская мотострелковая Таманская дивизия
    • 10th 'Uralsko-Lvovskaya' Guards Tank Division, гвардейская танковая Уральско-Львовская дивизия (?)
  • 22nd Combined Arms Army
    • 3rd 'Vislenskaya' Guards Motor Rifle Division, гвардейская мотострелковая Вислянская дивизия
• North Caucasus Military District
  • 58th Combined Arms Army
    • 20th 'Prikarpatsko-Berlinskaya' Guards Motor Rifle Division, гвардейская мотострелковая Прикарпатско-Берлинская дивизия
    • 136th 'Umansko-Berlinskaya' Separate Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade, гвардейская мотострелковая Уманско-Берлинская дивизия
• Guards formations of the Airborne Troops (гвардейские соединения воздушно-десантных войск)
• Other units and Russian Navy ships
  • Federal Guard formerly called the Internal Troops of the MVD.

VDV flag. ... Russian Navy Jack Russian Navy Ensign The Naval Cathedral in St Petersburg is the main church of the Russian Navy. ... Internal Troops (full name Internal Troops of the MVD), now called the Federal Guard are the 250,000 strong uniformed military mobile force of the Russian security forces (MVD) and are used to deal with major disturbances and internal security matters. ... The Ministerstvo Vnutrennikh Del (MVD) (Министерство внутренних дел) was the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the imperial Russia, late USSR, and still bears the same name in the Russian Federation. ...

See also

• Guard
• Soviet Colours