The activity of the Russian army outside the country is now much lower than in Soviet times, but the military bases of the Russian Federation abroad continue to operate. Moreover, in recent years there has been talk of restoring a Russian military presence where Soviet military bases were once located.
Now let's take a closer look at exactly where Russian military bases are located abroad and what exactly their role is.
Abkhazia
The 7th military base located on the territory of the Republic of Abkhazia has a long and interesting history. Once, back in 1918, an infantry division was formed on the territory of the current Lipetsk and Kursk regions. Then, after a series of reorganizations, this unit was sent to the Caucasus, where it managed to visit a rifle brigade, then a rifle division, a mountain rifle division. During the Great Patriotic War, the fighters of this division resisted the German mountain rangers rushing through the passes from the famous Edelweiss. After the offensive of the Soviet troops began, the division (by that time mainly consisting of the Cossacks of the Kuban) was reorganized from mountain rifle to plastun, fought as part of the 4th Ukrainian Front, participated in the liberation of Poland and the Czech Republic.
After the war the divisionchanged numbers again. It trained soldiers for a group in Afghanistan, formed engineering battalions to eliminate the Chernobyl accident. Finally, in 1989, parts of the division were used for the first time in a peacekeeping mission - they separated the hostile parties during the conflict in Azerbaijan.
When the Georgian-Abkhaz war began, a contingent of peacekeepers was formed from parts of the division, stationed on the territory of Abkhazia. After the 2008 war and Russia's recognition of the independence of the Republic of Abkhazia, a military base was created on the basis of the peacekeeping forces, intended for joint use by Russian and Abkhaz troops.
Armenia
Relations between Russia and Armenia have traditionally been warm. And since 1995, Russian military bases in Gyumri and Erebuni have been located on the territory of this republic. The total number of Russian military there is about 4 thousand people - these are motorized rifles, air defense fighters and military pilots. The task of the Russian military in Armenia is to cover the CIS from a possible air attack from the south.
According to the agreement signed in 2010, Russian military bases in Armenia will operate until 2044.
Belarus
Even more friendly relations bind Russia and Belarus. By agreement between our countries, Russian military installations are located in Belarus, providing radar surveillance of the western direction and long-distance communication with Russian submarines on duty in the Worldocean.
According to unconfirmed information: it is possible that Russia will place military bases on the territory of Belarus in addition to the existing ones. It is assumed that these will be either air bases or air defense facilities.
Kazakhstan
Russian military bases on the territory of Kazakhstan are one of the most numerous among all the facilities of the Russian Ministry of Defense abroad.
Now in Kazakhstan, Russia uses:
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partially - Baikonur cosmodrome (for the period until the complete transfer of all military satellite launches to the Russian Vostochny and Plesetsk cosmodromes);
- transport aviation base in Kostanay;
- polygon in Sary-Shargan;
- communication centers of the space forces.
Tajikistan
Formally, only one Russian military base is located on the territory of this republic, but it is the largest of those located abroad: units with a total number of over 7 thousand people are stationed in three cities of Tajikistan. According to the agreement between our countries, the task of the Russian military in Tajikistan is to protect the republic in the event of aggression from neighboring states (primarily a possible invasion of armed groups from the territory of Afghanistan), as well as to stabilize the situation in the republic. The latter is especially important, since a civil war has been going on in Tajikistan for a long time.
In addition, for a long time the protection of the southern border of Tajikistan was carried by Russianborder guards. However, since 2004 they have been withdrawn from the republic, and now there are only instructors training Tajik border guards.
Finally, on the territory of Tajikistan there is a unique space observation complex "Window", which in 2004 was completely bought out by Russia.
Kyrgyzstan
In Kyrgyzstan, there is a Russian military base - an airfield in Kant. Its task is to ensure, if necessary, the prompt transfer of military and transport aviation of the CIS countries. The number of Russian military personnel at the base is less than 500 people, however, there is aircraft equipment: Su-25 attack aircraft and Mi-8 multi-purpose helicopters. For some time, the Russian airbase coexisted side by side with the American one.
In addition to the air base, Russia uses several other facilities on the territory of Kyrgyzstan. Among them are the Marevo (Prometheus) submarine communication station, the Karakol test base of the Russian Navy (oddly enough, but in a country completely deprived of access to the sea, there is a fleet base!), As well as a military seismic observation station.
Transnistria
The status of Russian troops on the territory of this unrecognized republic remains rather confusing from the point of view of international law. On the one hand, one of the largest military depots in Europe, created in the area of the village of Kolbasna back in Soviet times, needs protection. On the other hand, the Russian military stationed in Transnistria serve as a guarantee that the conflict between the PMR and Moldova will not again go into a "hot stage". However, althoughRussia does not recognize Transnistria as a state and stands for the preservation of the unity of Moldova, the agreement on the deployment of Russian troops on its territory has not been signed.
The current number of Russian military in the PMR is about one and a half thousand people: two peacekeeping battalions, warehouse security, a detachment of helicopter pilots and several support units. This is all that remains of the 14th Army, which at one time extinguished the Transnistrian war. By the time the conflict began, the number of troops was 22,000 troops, but most of them were either withdrawn or (for units deployed in Chisinau and other Moldovan cities) came under the jurisdiction of Moldova.
Military bases of the Russian Federation in the world
In addition to the countries that were previously part of the USSR, Russia has military facilities in the far abroad. At the moment there are two military bases:
Syria - the base of the fleet in Tartus. Due to the lack of funding and the extremely difficult political situation in this country, the base is now practically non-functional and exists purely nominally. Plans for the proposed modernization and expansion of the base have not yet been implemented, all military specialists have been withdrawn from the territory of the facility. Due to the ongoing civil war in Syria, the restoration of the base, planned for 2015, remains in doubt.
Vietnam - air and navy base in Cam Ranh. The base was actively used in Soviet times, but after perestroika and the collapse of the USSR, it fell into disrepair. In 2001 the base wasclosed, since the Russian fleet by that time had not been in the Indian Ocean for many years and, accordingly, did not need a base. However, under the 2013 agreement in Cam Ranh, it was planned to create a joint Russian-Vietnamese point for servicing submarines. Since 2014, the airfield in Cam Ranh began to receive Russian tanker aircraft.
In addition, there is unconfirmed information that Russia will deploy military bases on the territory of several other countries. Usually such assumptions are made about Cuba (restoration of the radio intelligence base in Lourdes), but there are rumors about the possible creation of Russian naval bases in Venezuela or Nicaragua. Whether this is so is impossible to say yet.
