Special Battalions Vostok and Zapad

Special Battalion Vostok
Special Battalion Zapad
Soldiers sitting on tank with white graffiti
Battalion Vostok soldiers in Georgia in 2008
Active2003–2008[1]
CountryRussia Russia
Branch GRU (direct subordination)
42nd Guards Motor Rifle Division (operational command)
TypeSpetsnaz
RoleClose-quarters combat
Cold-weather warfare
Counterinsurgency
Direct action
Forward air control
Forward observer
HUMINT
Irregular warfare
Military intelligence
Maneuver warfare
Mountain warfare
Patrolling
Raiding
Reconnaissance
Special operations
Special reconnaissance
Tactical emergency medical services
Tracking
Urban warfare
Size1,200–1,800 active personnel
Garrison/HQEastern Chechnya (Vostok)
Western Chechnya (Zapad)
EngagementsSecond Chechen War
Russo-Georgian War

Special Battalions Vostok and Zapad (Russian: Специальные батальоны "Восток" и "Запад", lit. "East" and "West") were two Spetsnaz units of the GRU, the military intelligence agency of Russia, based in Chechnya. The overwhelming majority of the personnel were ethnic Chechens, while the command personnel were mixed ethnic Russians and Chechens. The Special Battalions were formed during the Second Chechen War as a force of Chechen volunteers under the direct control of the Russian government to perform operations in the mountain-forests of Chechnya. The two units operated independently from each other, with Zapad covering the western half of Chechnya and Vostok covering the eastern half, and their own commanders subordinate to the GRU but under the command network of the 42nd Guards Motor Rifle Division.

The Special Battalions Vostok and Zapad operated for most of the Second Chechen War, and were briefly deployed by Russia in conflicts outside of Chechnya, until they were disbanded in 2008.