Russians in Chechnya

[Kingpin]

Rather old but i never seen them posted here.

http://mishilo.image.pbase.com/u9/igor01/upload/1744281.4914.jpg
http://mishilo.image.pbase.com/u9/igor01/upload/1744276.4904.jpg
http://misheli.image.pbase.com/u9/igor01/upload/1744228.4876.jpg
http://mishappa.image.pbase.com/u9/igor01/upload/1744352.4958.jpg
http://mishappa.image.pbase.com/u9/igor01/upload/1744412.5018.jpg
http://misheli.image.pbase.com/u9/igor01/upload/1744423.5065.jpg
http://mishuna.image.pbase.com/u9/igor01/upload/1797575.5156.jpg
http://mishoga.image.pbase.com/u9/igor01/upload/1797584.5179.jpg
http://mishappa.image.pbase.com/u9/igor01/medium/1797612.5358.jpg
http://mishappa.image.pbase.com/u9/igor01/large/1797732.6301.jpg
http://mishoga.image.pbase.com/u9/igor01/upload/1797744.6313.jpg
http://mishuna.image.pbase.com/u9/igor01/upload/1797760.6331.jpg
http://mishoga.image.pbase.com/u9/igor01/upload/1797804.6385.jpg
http://mishilo.image.pbase.com/u9/igor01/upload/1797791.6382.jpg
http://mishuna.image.pbase.com/u9/igor01/upload/1797820.6422.jpg
http://mishappa.image.pbase.com/u9/igor01/upload/1797922.6436.jpg
http://mishuna.image.pbase.com/u9/igor01/upload/1797935.6452.jpg
http://mishappa.image.pbase.com/u9/igor01/upload/1798007.6478.jpg
http://mishilo.image.pbase.com/u11/igor01/upload/6703691.svdpatrol.jpg
http://mishoga.image.pbase.com/u11/igor01/upload/6703689.chech31.jpg
http://mishilo.image.pbase.com/u19/igor01/upload/8875206.1801.jpg
http://mishilo.image.pbase.com/u20/igor01/upload/9336976.4702.jpg
http://mishoga.image.pbase.com/u19/igor01/upload/8875394.spetsnaz_103.jpg
[/url]

[Kingpin]

Russian marines' platoon along with captured chechen BMP
http://www.6rota.nm.ru/Images/319.jpg

Grozny

http://www.6rota.nm.ru/Images/098.jpg

Unexploded rocket

http://www.6rota.nm.ru/Images/206.jpg

Howitzers

http://www.6rota.nm.ru/Images/219.jpg

Damaged and abandoned T-72

http://www.6rota.nm.ru/Images/264.jpg

[Bulkowski]

your first pics don't work

[TacoDelRio]

Kingpin, are those M1975 SPH's in your fourth (4th) picture?
The largest self propelled howitzers in use by any military.

First (1st) picture is a captured BTR, not a BMP right? I see 2 BMD's and a BTR-60 or 70, can't tell the difference (Help me out, experts!).

Nice pictures!

[hendrix33]

Russian marines' platoon along with captured chechen BMP
http://www.6rota.nm.ru/Images/319.jpg


Doesn't look like a BMP to me.


What would you think this is ?
I'm having trouble deciding between 220mm 'Uragan' to 300 mm 'Smrech'. Does anyone has a clue how to evaluate the diameter of the rocket ?

http://www.6rota.nm.ru/Images/206.jpg

[Fulix]

Hey, visit my web site guys: www.spetsnaz.com.br

If you already visit my website, the early adress were: www.spetsnaz.kit.net ...

Cheers[/url]

[Vlad]

King, first pics don't work.
Nice website Fulix.
If you want more or less up to date training that Russian special forces go through, check out some of the books written by Viktor Suvorov (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/103-5941270-2560639--not sure how to make a link). Pretty interesting read and he has a lot to say about militaries in general, mostly based on experience.

[GazB]

Nice website Fulix.

If you are interested in russian weapons I'd reccomend:


http://www.sinopa.ee/sor/bo001/bo002/bo002.htm

(If you can't read Russian like me, then look in the left frame... the words from the top are green, yellow and then red. The word below the red one means automatic and if you click on it the right frame will list automatic rifles. A brief rundown of some russian letters... A and K are the same in English as they are in Cyrillic. C is an S so AKC means AKS. Numbers are of course the same, so AKC-74 is AKS-74. H in cyrillic is N, so AKCH is AKSN or folding stock (S) AK fitted with Night scope.
Explore that site... it has some excellent photos of unusual Russian weapons.
The next link down in the left frame is for semi automatic rifles... the SKS is CKC in Cyrillic, it has weapons like the AVS-36 (ABC-36 in cyrillic where B is V), CV-99 is SV-99, SVD is SBD... etc etc. At the bottom is PTRS and PTRD anti tank rifles.
The next link down is SMGs
Next down is Pistols (The Pi symbol is P, which looks al ittle like an n)
The next word down is a title... machine guns
the next down is Light machineguns
then medium machineguns
then heavy machineguns
then a title.. grenade launchers
then rifle mounted grenade launchers (note on this page left click on the first link... I hadn't seen that launcher before).
Then reusable dedicated grenade launchers... GM-94, and this weapon that fires 30mm plamya rounds...
http://www.sinopa.ee/sor/bo001/bo12gr/bo12gr14/arbalet01.jpg
as well as the RPG series.
then automatic launchers
then flame rocket launchers and flamethrowers
the final link on the left hand panel is a mystery to me.... I don't know what it is about.

Hope this was useful... if you have problems just ask and I'll try to help.

[Vlad]

Well ****, can't read anything, my computer would not accept the Russian font. Damn and the worst part is that I can read Russian.

[GazB]

Vlad, if you are using internet explorer go to the view menu and select encoding and choose more if cyrillic(windows) is not in the top menu.

BTW the Photo with the two BMDs and the BTR series APC is either a BTR 70 or BTR 80. I would need to see it side on to see if the side doors are one piece or two piece, or if the rear is vertical or angled... two piece door with vertical rear is BTR-80 (The gun ports which are visible are angled to remove blindspots in the 80 model, though they are also present inthe 70 model as well).

I'd also like to mention the picture I posted of the grenade launcher is a weapon called Arbelet and it uses the 30mm high pressure grenades of the Plamya AGS-17. It has a ballistic range of 1,700m and a ten round drum mag.

[Kingpin]

First pics' site works
But they strangely do not showing up. :(

[Kingpin]

And yes, this is BTR, sorry.

[Fulix]

Hey, thanks for the comments on the website guys, and for the info... thanks a lot!

PS: the book that you mentined Vlad, is the same that i based the info contained in my website... but thanks a lot.

Ah, are you guys sure the soldiers in the photo of the captured armored car are Marines?


Cheers[/quote]

[Vlad]

GazB, thanks for decoding info, it worked.
Fulix, yea you right , it's is the same book. But I recomend others as well, pretty interesting read.
As far as photo goes, I think they are marines and they look better equiped than normal infantry.

[GazB]

"Ah, are you guys sure the soldiers in the photo of the captured armored car are Marines?"

Ummm, I don't think these guys look like Soviet Naval Infantry... or should that be Russian Naval Infantry now.

The presence of two BMDs suggests these guys are Airborne units.
It wouldn't surprise me if they were Spetsnaz or paratroops.
Spetsnaz specialise in traps and ambushes, and who better to support them than paratroops.

[REMOV]

http://www.6rota.nm.ru/Images/116.jpg
Hehe... nice photo, looks like huge laser cannon ;)

[Dmitri]

Cool Fulix, I visited you website before, but then it stopped working and finally just disappered. I'm glad its working now, it is very good.

[GazB]

Nice pic Remov... do you think it is just the long exposure time of the film for the low light shot or was this a salvo launch?

I am thinking the latter.

Very nice

[Fulix]

Thanks for replying my question, and thanks Dmitri, im glad you are a veteran in my website!! p-)

Well, my guess in the photo is that the troops showed there are elite ones. And yes, Marines and Airborne are in these elite troops in my point of view (Marines and Airborne troops - besides Spetsnaz - are the unique troops that can "handle" the Chechnya warfare). By the first guy, his carrying a VSS Vintorez, not a comon rifle for conscripts... the first 3 guys are very well equiped, with uniforms with Taiga 4 color pattern camo, Tarzan vests (is not easy to see details, but i think are Tarzan vests...) and Hunter backpack type.

But, the most intrsting thing is that i found the same pic (in a lower resolution) in the FSB website... but this doesn´t means that any one on the photo is an Alpha member...

I think the boys in the photo stay in Marines, Airborne, or maybe Spetsnaz Airbone, or other unit of Spetsnaz...

My 2 cents...

Cheers!

[koster]

Those guys look like VDV to me, notice the VSS, and AKMS with GP25, and probably a PBS-1, mostly VDV guys carry those, and pros, ovcorse.
and also, look at their backpacks, they are there for the long time, probably spending their time somewhere in the mountains, looking for the terrorosts (vahabiti), going on the search and destroy missions (zachistki)

almost forgot, look at the BMDs, BMD means VDV/Airborne they often use BTRs thu.
also, do you happen to know when this picture was taken ?
I take it was taken somewhere around early '99, late 2000, right ?

[GazB]

Yes, as I said above, I think the BMDs rule out Marines.

I think probably it was an ambush by Spetsnaz, that was supported by VDV.

[Fulix]

The date of the photo is probably 1999 to 2000...

[koster]

It couldn't have been an abmush by spetsnaz.
Most of the time they go on 2 types of mission, the first one, is when they have to take hostages/terrorist leaders, and then get the hell out of there, and the second one, is when they have to kill everything thats alive and moves/breaths in that place, and destroy all enemy equipment, that includes ammunition, transportation, and all that, and then "torch" that place. In any case, they wouldn't take an enemy BTR, unless it was stolen from them, and repainted.

[GazB]

They were getting very good at setting up ambushes on the supply lines out of afghanistan. Certainly if they captured a BTR they could use it to take out weapons captured and also determine where the BTR came from (ie hard evidence of who is supporting the Terrs).

Caravan Hunters.

You torch what you can't carry out yourself... if someone was providing the Terrs with good equipment you might want to keep some... ie Stingers, and NVG in Afghanistan, and probably much the same in Chechnia.