76th Guards Air Assault Division

76th Guards Air Assault Division
(2006–present)
76th Guards Airborne Division
(6 Jul 1946 – 2006)
76th Guards Rifle Division
(1 Mar 1943 – 6 Jul 1946)
157th Rifle Division
(1 Sep 1939 – 1 Mar 1943)
Russian: 76-я гвардейская десантно-штурмовая Черниговская Краснознаменная, ордена Суворова дивизия
Great emblem of the 76th Guards Air Assault Division[1]
Active1 September 1939[2] – present
Country Soviet Union
(1939–1991)
 Russia
(1991–present)
Branch Russian Airborne Forces
TypeAirborne forces
RoleLight Infantry
Airborne Infantry
Airmobile infantry
Part of Russian Armed Forces
Garrison/HQPskov
Nickname(s)Псковские десантники ("Pskov Paratroopers")
Motto(s)Мы всюду там, где ждут победу! ("We are there, when victory is awaited!")
Anniversaries1 September; 2 August (day of the VDV)
Engagements
DecorationsOrder of the Red Banner Order of the Red Banner
Order of Suvorov (Russia) Order of Suvorov
Battle honoursGuards unit Guards
Chernigov
Commanders
Current
commander		Guards Colonel Denis Shishov
Notable
commanders		Gen. Vasily Margelov

The 76th Guards Chernogov Red Banner Air Assault Division is a division of the Russian Airborne Troops based in Pskov. The division traces its lineage back to the 76th Guards Rifle Division, formed in March 1943 from the 157th Rifle Division for that division's actions during the Battle of Stalingrad. The division fought in the Battle of Kursk, the Battle of the Dnieper, Operation Bagration, the East Pomeranian Offensive, and the Berlin Offensive. Postwar, it was converted into an airborne division.[7]

The division moved to Pskov, its current base, in 1947. The division was involved in Black January and the January Events in Lithuania. After the Dissolution of the Soviet Union, the division became part of the Russian Airborne Troops. The division fought in the First Chechen War, Second Chechen War, the Russo-Georgian War, and Donbas then 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine,[8] including committing alleged mass murder of civilians in Bucha.[9] The division became an air assault division in 2006.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Heraldicum was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "1 сентября свою 69 годовщину отметит 76-я десантно-штурмовая дивизия" [1st September will mark the 69th anniversary of the 76th Airborne Assault Division]. pskovgorod.ru (in Russian). 29 August 2008. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  3. ^ "Пекло для рашистів на півдні України: вражаюча кількість знищених об'єктів та техніки армії РФ за одну добу | Defense Express".
  4. ^ a b "How Russian soldiers ran a 'cleansing' operation in Bucha". Associated Press. 3 November 2022.
  5. ^ "Institute for the Study of War". Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  6. ^ "Institute for the Study of War".
  7. ^ "76-я гвардейская десантно-штурмовая Черниговская Краснознамённая дивизия". structure.mil.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  8. ^ Stepanenko, Kateryna; Hird, Karolina; Clark, Mason; Barros, George (8 June 2022). "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, June 8". Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference APBucha was invoked but never defined (see the help page).