World War II The 76th Air Assault Division was originally established in 1939 as the
157th Rifle Division. On 1 March 1943 it became the
76th Guards Rifle Division for its actions in the
Battle of Stalingrad. Major General
Alexander Kirsanov commanded the division. The division fought in the
Battle of Kursk, fighting in the northern part of the Kursk Bulge. Until 3 July the division was part of the
Bryansk Front in the area of
Belyov. On 12 July the division began the crossing of the
Oka. By the end of the day the division had captured bridgeheads. The division received thanks from the Supreme Commander (Stalin) for this action. The division then advanced into Belarus. It became part of the
1st Belorussian Front. On 17 July 1944 it began an attack northwest of
Kovel. On 21 July the vanguard of the division moved north towards
Brest in heavy fighting. On 26 July, troops advancing from the north and south linked up 20 to 25 kilometers west of Brest. German troops in the area were surrounded. For its actions in the capture of Brest, the division was awarded the
Order of the Red Banner. On 25 January 1945, the division, as part of the
2nd Belorussian Front, blocked the route out of
Toruń, surrounding German forces. In late February, the division attempted to cut the road out of
Konitz. German troops were able to escape in the fighting. On 23 March the division captured
Sopot and advanced to the
Baltic Sea. By 25 March it had captured
Oliwa and was advancing towards
Danzig. The division helped captured Danzig on 30 March. The division was moved from Danzig to Germany and on 24 April was concentrated near Kortenhaten, 20 kilometers south of
Stettin. On 26 April the division crossed the Rondov canal and broke through the German line. By the end of the day it had captured Pretslavu. On 2 May, the division captured
Güstrow. On 3 May, after advancing 40 kilometers, it captured
Karow and
Butzow. The forward detachments of the 76th Guards Rifle Division reached the Baltic and on the outskirts of
Wismar met with Allied airborne units The division was part of the
114th Rifle Corps of the
70th Army of the
2nd Belorussian Front in May 1945.
Cold War On 6 July 1946, it became the
76th Guards Airborne Division in
Novgorod, directly subordinated to Airborne headquarters. In April 1947, it moved to
Pskov. Future Soviet Airborne Troops commander
Vasily Margelov became the division's commander in April 1948. The division became part of the
15th Guards Airborne Corps in October 1948. It was composed of the 234th Guards Air-Landing Regiment, the 237th Guards Airborne Regiment and the 154th Guards Artillery Regiment. On 18 February 1949 the 234th became an airborne regiment. On 30 April 1955, the 104th Guards Airborne Regiment moved to the division after the
21st Guards Airborne Division was disbanded. On 6 January 1959, the 242nd Separate Military-Transport Aviation Squadron was activated with the division. It included 10
An-2 Colt transports. On 15 August 1960, the 154th Guards Artillery Regiment became the 819th Separate Guards Artillery Battalion. On 27 April 1962, the battalion was upgraded to the 1140th Guards Artillery Regiment.
Russian Airborne Troops The division fought in the
First Chechen War during 1994 and 1995. 120 military personnel of the division were killed during the war. For their actions, ten officers of the division received the title
Hero of the Russian Federation, two of them posthumously. The division fought in the Second Chechen War between 1999 and 2004. From 18 August 1999 elements of the division fought in the capture of
Karamakhi,
Gudermes,
Argun, and the blocking of the
Vedeno gorge. The 6th Company of the 104th Guards Airborne Regiment blocked the
Argun Gorge in March 2000. After an experimental period, the 104th Guards Airborne Regiment of the 76th Airborne Division in 2002 became the first Russian ground forces regiment that was fully composed of professional soldiers (and not of "srochniki" – the
conscripted soldiers aged eighteen). The division became the first to move to the contract manning system in 2004. In 2006, the 76th Airborne Division became an Air Assault Division. Since 27 February 2013, the division has been commanded by Major General
Alexey Naumets.
Crimea and the war in Donbas In 2014 division units were deplyed in the
2014 Russian annexation of Crimea. On 18 August, the division was awarded the
Order of Suvorov by
Vladimir Putin for the "successful completion of military missions" and "courage and heroism". On 20 August 2014, two
BMD-2s of the 76th Guards Air Assault Division were captured by Ukrainian forces near Lutuhino in the
Luhansk region. Ukrainian government officials presented Russian soldiers' IDs and other military documents from the vehicles. Russia's defence ministry denied the claim. Several members of the division, among whom was the platoon commander Anton Korolenko, died on 19–20 August, under circumstances their families would not reveal. A
Pskov newspaper reported that nearly an entire company of paratroopers from the 76th Guards Air Assault Division allegedly was lost during combat as part of the
war in Donbas, having 80 dead, though without any conclusive proof.
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine A command post of the 76th Guards Air Assault Division was attacked during the
2022 Chornobaivka attacks of the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine on 5 August 2022. The 76th Guards Airborne Assault Division participated in assaults on Kyiv, Izyum, and Popasna. They were alleged to be responsible of running the cleansing operations during the
Bucha massacre arresting, torturing and murdering Ukrainian civilians. In September 2022 reports emerged from Ukrainian sources claiming the 237th Guards Air Assault Regiment "no longer exists due to either death or injury of all soldiers." During the fall of 2022 the 76th GAAD fought outside of
Beryslav in the
Kherson Oblast and stopped the advance of the
Ukrainian Marine Corps'
35th Marine Brigade towards the city, inflicting significant losses on the marines, before the Russian military evacuated all land west of the
Dnieper river in November. It later fought near
Kreminna in the
battle of Donbass. In August 2023, it was ordered to reinforce the
58th Combined Arms Army in the
Zaporozhye Oblast. The division was involved in defensive operations around
Klishchiivka alongside the
98th Guards Airborne Division, and the
Storm-Z penal battalion during the
2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive. ==Subordinated units and fighting strength==