Formation and combat actions of the regiment before 1941 The 752nd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment was originally formed on June 26, 1939, based on the 2nd battalion of the
244th Territorial Rifle Regiment, as the
210th Rifle Regiment of the
82nd Rifle Division of the
Urals Military District. In accordance with this directive, all units and subdivisions of the 82nd Rifle Division, along with the actual ones, received conditional names. In March 1942, it received the "
Guards" title, transformed into the
6th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment. In June 1943, on the basis of the regiment, the
17th Guards Mechanized Red Banner Brigade was formed as part of the
6th Guards Mechanized Corps. The brigade was ceremoniously presented with the Guards Battle Banner. During later years of the
Great Patriotic War, the regiment took part in the
Battle of Rzhev, summer 1942,
Orel–Kursk,
Kamenets-Podolsky,
Lvov-Sandomierz,
Vistula-Oder,
Berlin and
Prague operations, ending combat in
Czechoslovakia. In 1944, the brigade's second battalion, under the command of
Nikolai Goryushkin, took part in the liberation of Czestochowa as a tank landing force. And for its direct participation in the liberation of the city of
Piotrkow (Petrokow), the brigade was awarded the honorary title of "
Piotrokovskaya".
Cold War In June 1945, based on the order of the
People's Commissariat of Defense of the Soviet Union No. 0013 of June 10, 1945, the 17th Guards Mechanized Brigade was reformed into the
17th Guards Mechanized Regiment (military unit 49941) as part of the 6th Guards Mechanized Division (military unit 89428). From June 1946 it was located in
Eberswalde in
East Germany, part of the
Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. The unit was stationed (according to the entries in the historical form) in: from 24.06.1945 to 05.07.1945 in the city of Hartberg,
Austria. from 28.08.1945 to November 1945 in the city of Winner-Neustadt. In November 1945, the regiment was redeployed to
Hungary in the city of
Veszprém. From 10.06.1946, the regiment was stationed in
Eberswalde. By order of the 6th Guards Division No. 00409 dated 01.11.1946, the regiment was folded into a regular battalion. And only on 25.04.1949 it was again expanded into a full-fledged regiment. As part of the creation of motor rifle divisions in 1957, the unit was again reformed. By Directive of the Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces No. OSH/1/243659 dated 12.03.1957, the 17th Guards Mechanized Regiment (until June 1945, the 17th Guards Mechanized Brigade) was reformed into the
81st Guards Motor Rifle Petrovskiy Twice Red Banner, Order of Suvorov, Kutuzov and Bogdan Khmelnitsky Regiment. In 1961, according to the Order of the commander of the
6th Guards Motor Rifle Division of the 81st Guards. The MSP (without the 1st MSP) was introduced in the city of
Berlin "to provide effective assistance to the Government of the
GDR in the construction of the border between West and East Berlin." It was stationed in the suburb of
Berlin —
Karlshorst,
GDR. The regiment was located from 13 August 1961 to 24 January 1962 in
Berlin and closely cooperated with separate commandant security battalions and the central (Berlin) border district of the
GDR. After the regiment left Berlin, on August 20, 1962, the 6th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade (USSR) was formed on the basis of the 133rd Separate Motor Rifle Battalion (133rd) (PP 75242), 154th (PP 51439), and 178th Separate Motor Rifle Battalion (178th) (PP 83398) separate commandant security battalions and other units of the
6th Guards Motor Rifle Division as part of the
20th Guards Combined Arms Army and stationed in Berlin —
Karlshorst. From 13 May to 5 September 1968, the regiment took part in
Operation Danube. On 13 May, the regiment received an alarm signal and moved to a reserve area, marched 250 km and by 3.40 on 15 May had concentrated in the Kunnersdorf area. On 20 August 1968, the regiment received an order to cross the
Czechoslovak Socialist Republic border and by 6.00 on 21.08.1968, had approached the eastern outskirts of
Prague.
D.D. Lelyushenko, commander of the 81st Guards MRR A.V. Stepanov, head of the PO K. Khronusov, commander of the
6th Guards MRD A.A. Dorofeev in the barracks.
Eberswalde, 1983. On 12 September 1968, it left
Prague and concentrated near it. On November 11, 1968, the regiment was withdrawn from
Czechoslovakia and on November 12, 1968, it arrived at its permanent deployment location
Eberswalde. In 1985, regiment within a reorganisation became part of the
90th Guards Tank Division.
Post Cold War In 1993, in connection with the liquidation of the
Western Group of Forces, the regiment, together with other units of the
90th Guards Tank Division was withdrawn to the territory of the Russian Federation and stationed in the village of
Roshchinsky Samara Oblast, becoming part of the
2nd Guards Tank Army of the
Volga Military District. In accordance with the order of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation No. 036 dated June 15, 1994, the 81st Guards MRR stationed on the territory of the Volga Cossack Horde was given the traditional Cossack name "
Volga Cossack". In 1994–1995, as part of the "Northern" operational group, the regiment took part in the assault on
Grozny during the
First Chechen War. On 31 December 1994, during the
Battle of Grozny, together with units of the
131st Separate Motor Rifle Brigade, it was surrounded. When breaking out of the encirclement, the regiment suffered significant losses; the regiment commander Yaroslavtsev and the regiment chief of staff Burlakov were wounded. As of the evening of January 2, 1995, out of 1,241 personnel (with reinforcements), 567 remained in service, that is, less than half. On or about 9 April 1995, the regiment was withdrawn from Chechnya. There it joined the
3rd Motor Rifle Division. On September 30, 2022, during the
Russian invasion of Ukraine, the 752nd Motor Rifle Regiment found itself in an operational encirclement near
Drobysheve and
Lyman,
Donetsk Oblast. Also in the operational encirclement was a detachment formed by the "Union of Donbass Volunteers" called the "Russian Legion" (aka "Bars-13"). Between 2023 and 2024, the regiment fought in the
Battle of Avdiivka. At the end of 2023, 21 lawsuits were filed to recognize the servicemen of the military unit of the regiment as dead. It was reported in March 2025 that the regiment had suffered losses in combat against Ukraine's
3rd Assault Brigade near the village of
Nadiia in the
Luhansk Oblast. == Commanders ==