Spetsnaz (Войска специального назначения - спецназ/Voiska spetsialnogo naznacheniya - spetsnaz, in IPA) is a general term for "Special Forces, SpecOps" in Russian, literally 'special purpose units'. In Russian the term is commonly used to denote special forces of all countries, but in English it is used only for the Russian special forces. In fact, its use in English is usually associated with Russians writing in English or with writers having pretensions of linguistic authenticity. English media generally refers to them as Russian special forces and, in fact, usually refers to special forces of any other country by a similar generic term.

Spetsnaz can refer to elite units controlled by the Federal Security Service (FSB) with counter-terrorist and anti-sabotage tasks, Ministry of Interior (of the police) MVD, and the army special forces controlled by the military intelligence service GRU.

Strictly speaking all SPETSNAZ units operated by the KGB/FSB are called OSNAZ, an acronym for [voiska] osobogo naznacheniya or "special purpose [detachments]". This units were originally raised for internal use against counter-revolutionaries, dissidents and other undesirables. There has always been a certain amount of shifting of personnel and units between both the GRU who control SPETSNAZ and the MVD with OSNAZ MVD and OZNAZ KGB or FSB, especially between the latter two.

Spetsnaz carry out reconaissance and social warfare missions in "peacetime" as well as in war. For example, it is known that the assassination of Afghanistan's president carried out by spetsnaz in December 1979 was under the direction of the KGB.

According to Vladimir Rezun, a GRU defector who used the pseudonym "Viktor Suvorov", there were 20 Spetsnaz brigades plus 41 separate companies. Thus, total strength of Spetsnaz forces in the 1980s could have been around 30,000 troops.

Security services units

OSNAZ FSB is thought to include two units, Alpha Group/Spetszgruppe (A) and Vega Team /Spetszgruppe (V) (formerly known as "Vympel"). The Alfa Group specializes in countering terrorism and organized crime. It is thought to be one of the most respected CT units in the world. A second Alpha type group may also exist called Beta Group.

The Vega Group is a relatively new unit, made of members of the original "Vega" Group (that used to belong to MVD, before the USSR demise), and veterans of "Vympel", one of the most feared saboteur group in the Cold War. The new Vega Group is responsible for anti-sabotage operations, mainly concerned with the security of atomic energy plants.

Ministry of Interior units

Osnaz MVD also known as Spetnaz MVD includes some Interior Troops units, like "Vitjaz", "Rus", "Rosich", "Skif", "Grom", etc. Most of these are primarily infantry combat units intended for use to combat insurgency, especially in Chechnya, and possibly also to suppress revolts in prisons or military units, if any are to occur. They are generally believed to be well trained and equipped, being far superior to the regular Russian infantry that is believed to be poorly trained as of 2004. For example, it is claimed that the unit "Rus" had fought successfully against the rebels in Chechnya with a casualty ratio of approximately 1 to 200. Their missions may include reconnaissance missions and regular combat operations. They (especially "Vitjaz") have sometimes served as the back up team during the counter-terrorist operations by team Alfa.

Russian army special forces

Spetsnaz GRU, or Russian army special forces, are the original SPETSNAZ and are generally considered the best trained units of the Russian military. They are controlled by the GRU (the Russian military intelligence agency). During the Cold War, these units were deployed in Eastern Europe in order to carry out reconnaissance and sabotage missions against the NATO forces in the event of a war in Europe. It is claimed that they are one of the best infantry forces in the world. For instance, it is related that in the mid 1990s, there was a competition in Alaska, USA, of Spetsnaz GRU and US Army Rangers. The Rangers managed to be first only in one competition - lifting weights. Spetsnaz GRU was better in any other aspect, including running, target shooting, stealth, etc.

Army GRU are also believed to have one of the best combat divers units in the world. The units of spetsnaz GRU have no official names, such as is the case with units of Spetsnaz MVD. They are generally referred to by numbers, for example, "18th Brigade of Spetsnaz", much like any other military unit. Few details are actually known about the operations of Spetsnaz GRU, but it is known that the units were heavily involved in wars in Afghanistan and Chechnya.

Russian Naval Spetsnaz

At the fall of the Soviet government, each of the Soviet Red Banner Fleets (four total) had a Naval Spetsnaz Brigade assigned to it. It was not known if they were GRU Spetsnaz or if the were raised by the navy. Current information is unclear.

Osnaz

Russian intelligence agencies, FSB, FPS and the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR, "Sluzhba Vneshnej Razvedki", Russian analogue of American CIA have their own Osnaz units.

The use and abuse of the term in the Russian language as of 2004

The word "Spetsnaz" is characteristic of the Russian language constructs of the Soviet era, being made by connecting first syllables of several words to produce an easily pronounceable and, in this case at least, perhaps a "scary sounding" word. Compare also Komintern - Communist International, kolhoz - collective farm, and gorkom - town-level committee of the Communist Party. Similar constructs are also prominent in the German and Japanese languages, whereas in the English language abbreviations generally consist of first letters rather than syllables.

However, the widespread use of this word is actually a relatively recent, post-Soviet development in the Russian language. The existence of these special forces units was not known to the general public during the Soviet era. In a sense, this became yet another state secret that was published during the glasnost of the Gorbachev's perestroika. There were a number of well-known books written about the Spetsnaz, best known of these "Aquarium" by "Viktor Suvorov" (Vladimir Rezun), a GRU agent who defected to England and is best known for his revisionist views on Stalin's alleged complicity in the rise of Hitler and the making of the World War II. Suvorov also wrote a book specifically on the subject. The stories about the Spetsnaz and their allegedly incredible prowess, from the more serious to the highly questionable, have captivated imaginations of the more patriotic, and perhaps less critical, Russians, particularly being set against the background of a generally known decay in the Russian military during perestroika and the post-Soviet era. It merits noting that the great interest in all things Spetsnaz ran parallel to the similarly intense, perhaps unhealthy, interest in all things related to intelligence, KGB, etc. The popularity of Spetsnaz was all the more enhanced by the reports of their very real accomplishments during Russia's second campaign in Chechnya starting in 2000.

At the turn of the 21st century, much of what would be generally considered as nonsense for military junkies was written about Spetsnaz, GRU, KGB, and similar "top secret" and "exciting" topics. The word "Spetsnaz" was sometimes frivolously used to refer to anything the speaker deemed somehow special or "cool". For example, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, a well-known populist and nationalist politician of very ill repute, once referred to his and his political party comrades' going for a swim at a party-organized festival as a "Spetsnaz on the water", while speaking on camera. This somewhat intentionally extreme incident should give some sense of the extent the term has been debased for many less literate users.

Spetsnaz is also found in a few former Soviet countries (CIS) such as; Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia etc.

External links

• Spetsnaz GRU - Spetsnaz Training Association Moscow
• Special Operations.com - Spetsnaz
• Russian Special Ops Units - page in Russian
• Vyacheslav Mironov: Assault on Grozny Downtown
• Spetznaz, the inside story