Editing Spetsnaz (section)

==History and known operations==
The [[Imperial Russian Army]] had hunter-commando units, formed by a decree of Emperor [[Alexander III of Russia|Alexander III]] in 1886, which saw action in [[World War I]] prior to the [[Russian Revolution]] of 1917. Also, during World War I, General [[Aleksei Brusilov]] became one of the first senior commanders to use the tactics of fast action [[shock troops]] for assaults following concentrated accurate artillery fire in what would later be known as the [[Brusilov Offensive]] of 1916. Such tactics, considered revolutionary at the time, would later inspire people like Prussian [[Willy Rohr|Captain Willy Rohr]] in the development of the Prussian [[Stormtroopers (Imperial Germany)|Stormtrooper]]s (founded in 1915).

===Early Soviet Union===

The origins  of the Spetsnaz can be found in the [[Russian Civil War]]. To act against anti-Communist workers and farmers, the Soviet regime set up so called ''Tschasti Osobogo Nasatschenia'' (Units for special use) in 1918. In the next year they were expanded to the so-called ''[[Cheka]]'' (The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission), fighting counterrevolution and (alleged) sabotage. They took part in the [[Kronstadt rebellion]] 1921, setting up machine guns behind units of the Red Army, to "increase their motivation". The ''[[GRU (Soviet Union)|GRU]]'' and ''[[NKVD]]'' descended from the ''[[Cheka]].'' Since 1927 Russians were experimenting with parachutes. Airborne units were used against central Asian and Afghan insurgents.

===Second World War and Spanish Civil War===

[[GRU (Soviet Union)|GRU]] and [[NKVD]] derived from the ''[[Cheka]]'' and participated in the [[Spanish Civil War]] fighting fascists behind their lines using guerilla strategies. Fighting Germany, Japan, Poland and Finland in the [[Second World War]], new units of storm pioneers, parachuters, NKVD and GRU were set up. Thereby the soviets merged existing experiences and started to unify different [[military branches]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |title=Eliteverbände der Welt Ausbildung, Bewaffnung, Einsätze |author=Terry White |translator=Karl P. E. Veltzé |year=1995 |isbn=978-3-613-01688-0 |location=Stuttgart |pages=119–121 |oclc=75619581 |language=de}}</ref>

==== Navy ====
The Soviet leadership had an urgent need for intelligence on German land forces in [[northern Norway]] and [[Finland]]. On 5 July 1941 Admiral [[Arseniy Golovko]] of the [[Northern Fleet]] authorized the formation of a ground reconnaissance detachment. This unit, the [[Russian commando frogmen|4th Special Volunteer Detachment]], was to be recruited from the fleet's athletes and have an initial size of 65 to 70 personnel. Later the unit was renamed the 181st Special Reconnaissance Detachment. They were trained as frogmen.<ref name="ReferenceA">Spetsnaz:Russia's Special Forces by Mark Galeotti</ref> The most prominent of these new recruits was [[Viktor Leonov]], who joined the [[Soviet Navy]] in 1937. He was assigned to a submarine training detachment and then transferred to a repair station in the Northern Fleet at [[Polyarny, Murmansk Oblast|Polyarnyy]].<ref name="Leonov">{{cite book|last=Leonov|first=Viktor|title=Blood on the Shores|date= 2011|publisher=Ballantine Books|isbn=978-0-8041-0732-7}}</ref> Leonov had trained as a [[scuba diver]], after which he joined 4th Special Volunteer Detachment, where he proved his daring and leadership skills conducting numerous clandestine operations and twice being awarded the title of [[Hero of the Soviet Union]].<ref name="ReferenceA" />

Initially the unit was confined to performing small scale [[reconnaissance]] missions, platoon sized insertions by sea and on occasion on land into Finland and later Norway.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> They began conducting sabotage missions and raids to snatch prisoners for interrogation.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> They would also destroy German ammunition and supply depots, communication centers, and harass enemy troop concentrations along the Finnish and Russian coasts.<ref>Heroes of the Soviet Union 1941–45 by Henry Sakaida</ref> When the European conflict ended, the Naval Scouts were sent to fight the Japanese. Leonov along with Capt. Kulebyakin and 140 men, landed on a Japanese airfield at [[Port Vonsan]], unaware that they were opposed by over 3,500 enemy soldiers. A tense standoff ensued, until the commanding officers of the unit managed to bluff the Japanese forces into surrendering.<ref>Hardcore Heroes 1 Season 2014</ref>

==== Army ====
Each Soviet front/army up to 1942 had their own independent guard-battalion (''Otdelnly Gwardieskij Batalion Minerow), OGBM,'' so called miners, for [[reconnaissance]] and [[commando]] missions. The soldiers had to be younger than 30, were mostly [[athlete]]s or [[Hunting|hunters]] and had to identify 100% with their mission. Many exhausted and wounded soldiers were, even in training, left to their own devices. The selection methods qualified the troops as elite but caused high numbers of casualties. The "miners" infiltrated foreign-occupied areas by air and land, and cooperated with, and trained, local [[Partisan (military)|partisans]].

Immediately before the major Russian offensive at [[Smolensk|Smolesk]] in 1943, 316 ''OGBM'' were dropped by parachute in nine groups. Up to 300&nbsp;km behind the enemy lines, they blew up 700&nbsp;km of railways in cooperation with local partisans, using 3,500 explosive charges.<ref name=":1" />

=== Cold War ===
{{Main|Cold War}}
By the end of the Second World War the [[Soviet Union]] dissolved most of the special units. At the end of the 1950s the KGB and GRU set new special forces units up. The 3rd guard special-reconnaissance-brigade was founded in 1966, being stationed with the [[Group of Soviet Forces in Germany|Soviet forces in East Germany]] in [[Fürstenberg/Havel|Fürstenberg]]/[[Havel]].{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

==== The Crabb Affair ====
[[Lieutenant commander (Royal Navy)|Lieutenant-Commander]] [[Lionel Crabb]] was a British [[Royal Navy]] frogman and [[MI6]] diver who vanished during a reconnaissance mission around a Soviet cruiser berthed at Portsmouth Dockyard in 1956. In November 2007 the [[BBC]] and the ''[[Daily Mirror]]'' reported that Eduard Koltsov, a former [[Russian commando frogmen|Soviet frogman]], claimed to have caught Crabb placing a mine on the [[Sverdlov-class cruiser|''Ordzhonikidze'']] hull near the ammunition depot and cut his throat. In an interview for a Russian documentary film, Koltsov showed the dagger he allegedly used, as well as an [[Order of the Red Star]] medal that Koltsov claimed to have been awarded for the deed.<ref name="mirror-20071117">{{cite news|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstories/2007/11/17/cold-war-spy-riddle-ends-89520-20119884/|title=Cold war spy riddle ends|author=Nick Webster and Claire Donnelly|date=17 November 2007|newspaper=[[Daily Mirror]]|access-date=17 November 2007|archive-date=18 November 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071118224401/http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstories/2007/11/17/cold-war-spy-riddle-ends-89520-20119884/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7097646.stm|title=Russian 'killed UK diver' in 1956|publisher=BBC.co.uk|date=16 November 2007|access-date=3 September 2017}}</ref> Koltsov, 74 at the time of the interview, stated that he wanted to clear his conscience and uncover what exactly had happened to Crabb.<ref>{{cite news| last = Stratton | first = Allegra | title = Retired Russian frogman confesses to cold war 'killing' | newspaper = [[The Guardian]] |date=16 November 2007| url = https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/nov/16/russia.world | access-date = 2 June 2013}}</ref> Peter Mercer of the Special Boat Service describes this incident in his autobiography: "The cruiser [Ordzhonikidze] was carrying the two Soviet leaders, Khrushchev and Bulganin, on a goodwill visit to Britain. His [Crabb's] task was to measure the cruiser's propeller and to discover how the ship managed to travel at twice the speed originally estimated by British naval intelligence."

==== Prague Spring ====
{{Main|Prague Spring}}
The [[Warsaw Pact|Warsaw pact]] invaded [[Czechoslovakia]] in 1968 to stop the "[[Socialism with a human face|Socialism with a Human Face]]" movement. Spetsnaz units secured key points in the capital, [[Prague]], seizing the airport, bridges, radio stations and the president's palace.<ref name=":1" />

==== Spetsnaz in Vietnam and Laos ====
[[File:Wikitrip_to_MAI_museum_2016-02-02_216.JPG|thumb|F-111 escape capsule at Museum of Moscow Aviation Institute |alt=F-111 escape capsule that was shot down over Vietnam at Museum of Moscow Aviation Institute.]]{{Main|Vietnam War}}
Some 3,300 Soviet military experts, among them spetsnaz, were sent to Southeast Asia during the [[Vietnam War]]. Within [[South Vietnam]], rumors persisted for years that men with blue eyes were reportedly spotted doing recon missions and testing their new [[SVD Dragunov]] sniper rifles. [[John Stryker Meyer]] was with Studies and Observation Group RT Idaho and had two encounters with what they believed were spetsnaz units operating in Laos in 1968.

Their mission was twofold: first of all, to help a communist nation defeat an American ally, and secondly, test and evaluate their most sophisticated radars and missiles directly against the best aircraft America could deploy. Soviets recovered at least two very important pieces of American equipment, a cryptographic code machine, and an [[General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark|F-111A]] escape capsule, which now sits in a [[Moscow Museum of Modern Art|Moscow Museum]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://sofrep.com/news/russian-military-experts-bigfoot-sightings-vietnam-war/ | title=Russian 'military experts': The Bigfoot sightings of the Vietnam War | date=20 January 2017 }}</ref>

==== Soviet–Afghan War ====
{{main|Operation Storm-333}}
[[File:Дворец со стороны правого крыла 27 12 79.jpg|thumb|Soviet special forces surround Tajbeg Palace following the operation.]]
Soviet Spetsnaz forces took part in the [[Soviet–Afghan War]] of 1979–1989 in Afghanistan, usually fighting fast insertion/extraction-type warfare with helicopters. Their most famous operation, [[Operation Storm-333]], was executed on 27 December 1979 which saw Soviet special forces storming the [[Tajbeg Palace]] in Afghanistan and killing Afghan President [[Hafizullah Amin]], his son and over 300 of his personal guards in 40 minutes.<ref name="McCauley2008">{{cite book|last=McCauley|first=Martin|author-link=Martin McCauley (historian)|title=Russia, America and the Cold War, 1949–1991|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r0V-Oxmy9FQC&pg=PA142|year=2008|publisher=Pearson Longman|isbn=978-1-4058-7430-4|page=142}}</ref> The Soviets then installed [[Babrak Karmal]] as Amin's successor.

The operation involved approximately 660 Soviet operators dressed in Afghan uniforms, including ca. 50 [[KGB]] and [[Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU)|GRU]] officers from the ''[[Alpha Group]]'' and ''[[Vympel#Zenyth|Zenith Group]]''. The Soviet forces occupied major governmental, military and media buildings in [[Kabul]], including their primary target – the [[Tajbeg Palace]].

In the first one and a half years of the war, Spetsnaz units in the form of the 459th special forces company, were exclusively responsible for reconnaissance missions and intelligence gathering for the [[40th Army (Soviet Union)|40th Army]].<ref name="ReferenceB">Сергей Козлов. Книга 3. Афганистан. Звёздный час спецназа. 1979—1989 // Спецназ ГРУ: Очерки истории / под ред. Герасимова Д. М.. — Москва: Русская панорама, 2013. — С. 30, 34—58, 61—81, 92—172, 186—539, 729—735. — 736 с. — 3000 экз. — {{ISBN|978-5-93165-324-2}}.</ref> Aside from reconnaissance, the 459th was also tasked with capturing prisoners, kidnapping enemy agents, and targeted assassination of leaders and field commanders of the Mujahideen.

===== Caravan war =====
{{main|Operation Curtain}}

By 1985, the GRU had expanded its special forces footprint to two Spetsnaz brigades in Afghanistan, comprising just under 5,000 troops. These were the:<ref name="ReferenceB"/>

[[15th Special Purpose Brigade]] – paired up and supported by [[239th Helicopter Squadron]] equipped with [[Mi-24]] (16 units), [[Mi-8]] (16 units), deployment in [[Ghazni]].
* 154th Oospn
* 177th Oospn
* 334th Oospn
* 668th Oospn
[[22nd Separate Guards Special Purpose Brigade|22nd Special Purpose Brigade]] – paired up and supported by [[205th Helicopter Squadron]] equipped with Mi-24 (16 units) Mi-8 (16 units) deployed in [[Lashkar Gah]].
* 173rd Oospn
* 186th Oospn
* 370th Oospn
* 411th Oospn
[[File:Evstafiev-spetsnaz-prepare-for-mission.jpg|thumb|A Soviet Spetsnaz group prepare for a mission in Afghanistan.]]
The Spetsnaz often conducted missions to ambush and destroy enemy supply convoys.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1P3-118397339/soviet-special-forces-spetsnaz-experience-in-afghanistan|title= "Soviet Special Forces (Spetsnaz): Experience in Afghanistan" by Gusinov, Timothy – Military Review, Vol. 82, Issue 2, March/April 2002|access-date= 7 October 2015|archive-date= 17 October 2015|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151017010228/https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1P3-118397339/soviet-special-forces-spetsnaz-experience-in-afghanistan}}</ref> The [[Mujahideen]] had great respect for the Spetsnaz, seeing them as a much more difficult opponent than the typical Soviet conscript soldier. They said that the Spetsnaz-led [[air assault]] operations had changed the complexion of the war. They also credited the Spetsnaz with closing down all the supply routes along the [[Durand Line|Afghan-Pakistani border]] in 1986. In April 1986, the rebels lost one of their biggest bases, at [[Zhawar]] in [[Paktia Province]], to a Soviet spetsnaz air-assault. The Spetsnaz achieved victory by knocking out several rebel positions above the base, a mile-long series of fortified caves in a remote canyon. A successful long-term campaign codenamed [[Operation "Curtain"]] or "Veil", lasted from 1984 to 1988, which aimed to close off the Afghan-Pakistani border and cut off supply routes coming in from Pakistan. The operation caused great distress to the mujahedin war effort, with Spetsnaz units intercepting 990 supply caravans and killing 17,000 insurgents.<ref>«Спецназ на тропе войны». Волков Александр Владиленович. Научный сотрудник музея «Шурави» (недоступная ссылка). Дата обращения 20 октября 2015. Архивировано 20 ноября 2015 года.</ref> For their role in ''Operation Curtain'', the Spetsnaz suffered a total of 570 killed with a further 11 missing.<ref>Алфавитный список погибших военнослужащих частей специального назначения 40-й Армии</ref> Casualty breakdown by unit was:
* 15th Spetsnaz Brigade – 355 killed and 10 missing.
* 22nd Spetsnaz Brigade – 199 killed and one missing.
* 459th Spetsnaz Company – 16 killed.
In May 1986, the Spetsnaz also succeeded in inserting air-assault forces into remote regions in [[Kunar Valley|Konar Valley]] near [[Barikot]] which were previously considered inaccessible to Soviet forces.<ref>{{cite web|last=Tempest|first=Rone|author-link=Rone Tempest|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-05-24-mn-7472-story.html|title=Afghan Rebels Face Tougher Foe in Elite Soviet Commando Units|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=24 May 1986|access-date=3 September 2017}}</ref>

===== Alleged conflict with Pakistani commandos =====
{{Main|Operation Magistral}}
It is believed that during the war in Afghanistan, Soviet special forces came in direct conflict with [[Pakistan Army]]'s special forces, the [[Special Service Group]]. This unit was deployed disguised as Afghans, supporting the [[Mujahideen]] fighting the Soviets. A battle reported as having been fought between the Pakistanis and Soviet troops took place in [[Kunar Province]] in March 1986. According to Soviet sources, the battle was actually fought between the GRU's 15th Spetsnaz Brigade, and the Usama Bin Zaid regiment of Afghan Mujahideen under Commander Assadullah, belonging to Abdul rub a-Rasul Sayyaf's faction.<ref name="GrauAhmad Jalali2005">{{cite journal|url=http://fmso.leavenworth.army.mil/documents/Krer-SOF.pdf|last1=Grau|first1=Lester W.|author-link1=Lester W. Grau|last2=Ahmad Jalali|first2=Ali|author-link2=Ali Ahmad Jalali|title=Forbidden Cross-border Vendetta: Spetsnaz Strike into Pakistan during the Soviet-Afghan War|journal=The Journal of Slavic Military Studies|volume=18|issue=4|year=2005|pages=1–2|issn=1351-8046|doi=10.1080/13518040500354943|s2cid=144815708|via=[[Foreign Military Studies Office]] (referenced copy)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304110537/http://fmso.leavenworth.army.mil/documents/Krer-SOF.pdf|archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref>
Fighting is also alleged to have taken place during [[Operation Magistral]] where over 200 Mujahideen were killed in a failed attempt to capture the strategic [[Battle for Hill 3234|Hill 3234]] near the Pakistani border from a 39-man Soviet Airborne company.

==== The Beirut hostage crisis ====
In October 1985, specialist operators from the KGB's [[Alpha Group|Group "A" (''Alpha'')]] were dispatched to [[Beirut]], [[Lebanon]]. The Kremlin had been informed of the kidnapping of four Soviet diplomats by the militant group, the Islamic Liberation Organization (a radical offshoot of the [[Muslim Brotherhood]]). It was believed that this was retaliation for the Soviet support of [[Syrian occupation of Lebanon|Syrian involvement]] in the [[Lebanese Civil War]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.start.umd.edu/tops/terrorist_organization_profile.asp?id=4072 |title=Terrorist Organization Profile: Islamic Liberation Organization|publisher=University of Maryland |access-date=15 October 2014}}</ref> However, by the time the Alpha group arrived, one of the hostages had already been killed. In a [[tit-for-tat]] response, Alpha group operators first identified the terrorists using local sources, then moved into the Lebanese villages where the terrorists were from and took their relatives as hostages. Some of the hostages were dismembered, and their body parts sent to the hostage takers, with the threat that their relatives were next. The remaining hostages were released immediately.<ref name="sofrep.com">{{cite web | url=https://sofrep.com/news/russian-special-forces-what-are-spetsnaz/ | title=Russian Special Forces &#124; What Are Spetsnaz? | date=6 May 2021 }}</ref>

Russian sources indicate that the release of the Soviet hostages was the result of extensive diplomatic negotiations with the spiritual leader of [[Hezbollah]], Grand Ayatollah [[Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah]], who appealed to King [[Hussein of Jordan]] and the leaders of Libya and Iran to use their influence on the kidnappers.<ref>{{cite web| language = ru |url=http://www.chekist.ru/article/2257 |title=Вячеслав Лашкул. Бейрутская операция советской разведки/Vyacheslav Lashkul |trans-title=The Beirut Soviet intelligence operations |publisher=Chekist.ru |date=31 March 2006 |access-date=3 March 2014}}</ref>

Either way, the show of brutal force had its effect, and for the next 20 years no Soviet or Russian officials were taken captive, until June 2006.<ref name="sofrep.com"/>

===After the breakup of Soviet Union===
[[File:Spetsnaz troopers during the 1992 Tajik war.jpg|thumb|Russian Spetsnaz troops dismount from an [[Armoured personnel carrier|APC]] during the [[Tajikistani Civil War]].]]
[[File:Battalion Vostok 3.jpg|left|thumb|Ethnic [[Chechen people|Chechen]] soldiers of [[Sulim Yamadayev]]'s [[Special Battalions Vostok and Zapad|Special Battalion ''Vostok'']] during the [[2008 Russo-Georgian War]].]]

After the collapse of the USSR, spetsnaz forces of the Soviet Union's newly formed republics took part in many local conflicts such as the [[Tajikistani Civil War]], [[Chechen–Russian conflict|Chechen Wars]], [[Russo-Georgian War]] and the [[Russo-Ukrainian War]]. Spetsnaz forces also have been called upon to resolve several high-profile hostage situations such as the [[Moscow theater hostage crisis|Moscow theatre hostage crisis]] and the [[Beslan school hostage crisis]].<ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/05/06/special.ops/|title=18 famous and infamous special forces missions|publisher=CNN|date=7 May 2011|access-date=15 October 2014}}</ref>

====Budyonnovsk hospital hostage crisis====
{{main|Budyonnovsk hospital hostage crisis}}
The [[Budyonnovsk hospital hostage crisis|crisis]] took place from 14 to 19 June 1995, when a group of 80 to 200 Chechen terrorists led by [[Shamil Basayev]] attacked the southern Russian city of [[Budyonnovsk]], where they stormed the main police station and the city hall. After several hours of fighting and Russian reinforcements imminent, the Chechens retreated to the residential district and regrouped in the city hospital, where they took between 1,500 and 1,800 hostages, most of them civilians (including about 150 children and a number of women with newborn infants).<ref name="timeline">{{in lang|ru}} [http://www.agentura.ru/timeline/1995/basaev/ Буденновск] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006144310/http://www.agentura.ru/timeline/1995/basaev/|date=6 October 2014}}</ref>

After three days of siege, the Russian authorities ordered the security forces to retake the hospital compound. The forces deployed were elite personnel from the [[Federal Security Service]]'s Alpha Group, alongside MVD militsiya and Internal Troops. The strike force attacked the hospital compound at dawn on the fourth day, meeting fierce resistance. After several hours of fighting in which many hostages were killed by crossfire, a local ceasefire was agreed, and 227 hostages were released; 61 others were freed by the Russian forces.

A second Russian attack on the hospital a few hours later also failed and so did a third, resulting in even more casualties. The Russian authorities accused the Chechens of using the hostages as human shields.

According to official figures, 129 civilians were killed and 415 were injured in the entire event (of whom 18 later died of their wounds).<ref name=history>[http://www.gazeta.ru/2002/10/24/HistoryofChe.shtml History of Chechen rebels' hostage taking] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911035328/http://www.gazeta.ru/2002/10/24/HistoryofChe.shtml|date=11 September 2016 }} [[Gazeta.Ru]], 24 October 2002</ref> This includes at least 105 hostage fatalities.<ref name="timeline"/> However, according to an independent estimate 166 hostages were killed and 541 injured in the special forces attack on the hospital.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20081010204904/http://www.rferl.org/content/Article/1070937.html Russia: A Timeline Of Terrorism Since 1995], [[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]], 30 August 2006</ref><ref>Adam Dolnik, ''Understanding Terrorist Innovation: Technology, Tactics and Global Trends'', 2007 (p. 105)</ref> At least 11 Russian police officers and 14 soldiers were killed.<ref name="timeline"/> Basayev's force suffered 11 men killed and one missing; most of their bodies were returned to Chechnya in a special freezer truck. In the years following the hostage-taking, more than 40 of the surviving attackers were tracked down and have been assassinated, including [[Aslambek Abdulkhadzhiev]] in 2002 and Shamil Basayev in 2006, and more than 20 were sentenced, by the Stavropol territorial court, to various terms of imprisonment.

====Kizlyar-Pervomayskoye hostage crisis====
{{main|Kizlyar-Pervomayskoye hostage crisis}}
The mass [[Kizlyar-Pervomayskoye hostage crisis|sieges]] which saw people taken in the thousands also involved FSB's Alpha Group and the [[Special Forces of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces|Spetsnaz GRU]] in attempted rescuing of the hostages.

==== Second Chechen War ====
{{main|Second Chechen War}}
Russian special forces were instrumental in Russia's and the Kremlin backed government's success in the [[Second Chechen War]] after learning lessons from the mishandling of the [[First Chechen War|first war]]. Under joint command of ''Unified Group of Troops (OGV)'' formed on 23 September 1999.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://russiandefpolicy.com/tag/ogvs/|title=Simmering War|publisher=Russian Defense Policy|date=15 September 2018}}</ref> GRU, FSB and MVD spetsnaz operators conducted a myriad of [[counter-insurgency]] and counter-terrorism operations, including [[targeted killing]]s of separatist leadership, in the meantime inflicting heavy casualties among Islamist separatists. Some of these successful missions were directed against separatist leaders such as [[Aslan Maskhadov]], [[Abdul Halim Sadulayev]], [[Dokka Umarov]], [[Akhmadov brothers]], [[Turpal-Ali Atgeriyev]], [[Akhmed Avtorkhanov]], [[Ibn al-Khattab]], [[Abu al-Walid]], [[Abu Hafs al-Urduni]], [[Muhannad (mujahid emir)|Muhannad]], [[Ali Taziev]], [[Supyan Abdullayev]], [[Shamil Basayev]], [[Ruslan Gelayev]], [[Salman Raduyev]], [[Sulim Yamadayev]], [[Rappani Khalilov]], [[Yassir al-Sudani]]. During these missions, many operators received honors for their courage and prowess in combat, including with the title [[Hero of the Russian Federation]]. At least 106 FSB and GRU operators died during the conflict.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historyguy.com/chechen_war_two.html|title=The Second Chechen War|work=The History Guy|access-date=15 October 2014}}</ref>

====Moscow theatre hostage crisis====
{{main|Moscow theater hostage crisis}}

The crisis was the seizure of the crowded Dubrovka Theatre on 23 October 2002 by 40 to 50 armed [[Chechen people|Chechens]] who claimed allegiance to the [[Chechen Republic of Ichkeria|Islamist militant separatist movement in Chechnya]].{{citation needed|date=April 2023}} They took 850 hostages and demanded the withdrawal of Russian forces from Chechnya and an end to the [[Second Chechen War]]. The siege was officially led by [[Movsar Barayev]].

Due to the disposition of the theatre, special forces would have had to fight through {{convert|100|ft|m}} of corridor and attack up a well defended staircase, before they could reach the hall in where the hostages were held. The terrorists also had explosive devices. The most powerful of these was in the center of the [[auditorium]]; if detonated, it could have brought down the ceiling and caused casualties in excess of 80% of the auditorium's occupants.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/7y898kOMpAg Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20150718014550/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7y898kOMpAg Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7y898kOMpAg|title=The Moscow Theatre Siege Documentary|work=YouTube|date=22 October 2013 |access-date=15 October 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref> After a two-and-a-half-day siege and the execution of two hostages, spetsnaz operators from the [[Federal Security Service]] (FSB) [[Alpha Group|Alpha]] and [[Vympel|Vympel a.k.a. Vega Groups]], supported by the [[Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs]] (MVD) [[SOBR]] unit, pumped an [[Moscow hostage crisis chemical agent|undisclosed chemical agent]] into the building's [[Mechanical ventilation|ventilation]] system and raided it.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}

During the raid, all of the attackers were killed, with no casualties among spetsnaz, but about 130 hostages, including nine foreigners, died due to poor first aid after falling unconscious from the gas. Most died after being evacuated from the theatre and laid outside on their backs instead of in the approved recovery position and then choking to death. Russian security agencies refused to disclose the gas used in the attack leading to doctors in local hospitals being unable to respond adequately to the influx of casualties.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20067384 Moscow theatre siege: Questions remain unanswered] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160104210523/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20067384|date=4 January 2016}} [[BBC]] Retrieved on 16 December 2013</ref> All but two of the hostages who died during the siege were killed by the toxic substance pumped into the theatre to subdue the militants.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2365383.stm|title=Gas "killed Moscow hostages", ibid.}}</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2602945.stm "Moscow court begins siege claims"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305015839/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2602945.stm|date=5 March 2016}}, [[BBC News]], 24 December 2002</ref> The use of the gas was widely condemned as heavy-handed.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2371691.stm | work=BBC News | title=Moscow siege gas 'not illegal' | date=29 October 2002 | access-date=15 October 2014}}</ref>

Physicians in Moscow condemned the refusal to disclose the identity of the gas that prevented them from saving more lives. Some reports said the drug [[naloxone]] was used to save some hostages.<ref name="nal">{{cite magazine|last=MacKenzie|first=Debora|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn2979-mystery-of-russian-gas-deepens.html|title=Mystery of Russian gas deepens|magazine=[[New Scientist]]|date=29 October 2002|access-date=15 October 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100809113949/http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn2979-mystery-of-russian-gas-deepens.html|archive-date=9 August 2010}}</ref>

====Beslan school siege====
{{Main|Beslan school siege}}
[[File:Beslan school no 1 victim photos.jpg|thumb|Beslan school victim photos]]
Also referred to as the '''Beslan massacre'''<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4608785.stm Beslan mothers' futile quest for relief] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160805203004/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4608785.stm|date=5 August 2016}}, [[BBC News]], 4 June 2005</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://moscow.usembassy.gov/transcript-17.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013013827/http://moscow.usembassy.gov/transcript-17.html | archive-date=13 October 2008 | title=United States Expresses Sympathy on Anniversary of Beslan Attack | publisher=US Department of State | date=31 August 2005 | access-date=15 October 2014}}</ref><ref name="legacy">{{cite news | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/putins-legacy-is-a-massacre-say-the-mothers-of-beslan-787280.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220524/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/putins-legacy-is-a-massacre-say-the-mothers-of-beslan-787280.html |archive-date=24 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live | title=Putin's legacy is a massacre, say the mothers of Beslan | newspaper= [[The Independent]] |date= 26 February 2008 |access-date= 15 October 2014}}</ref> started on 1 September 2004, lasted three days and involved the capture of over 1,100 people as hostages (including 777 children),<ref name=unicef>{{cite web|url=http://www.unicef.org/russia/media_4875.html|title=Beslan – Two Years On|date=31 August 2006|publisher=[[UNICEF]]|access-date=15 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090404112922/http://www.unicef.org/russia/media_4875.html|archive-date=4 April 2009}}</ref> ending with the death of 334 people. The event led to security and political repercussions in Russia; in the aftermath of the crisis, there has been an increase in [[Ingush people|Ingush]]–[[Ossetians|Ossetian]] ethnic hostility, while contributing to a series of federal government reforms consolidating power in the [[Moscow Kremlin|Kremlin]] and strengthening of the powers of the [[President of Russia]].<ref name="shadow">{{cite news|url=http://www.moscowtimes.ru/article/1030/42/356028.htm|title=Chechnya Vow Cast a Long Shadow|newspaper=The Moscow Times|date=26 February 2008|access-date=15 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080813163236/http://www.moscowtimes.ru/article/1030/42/356028.htm|archive-date=13 August 2008}}</ref>

The crisis began when a group of armed radical Islamist combatants, mostly Ingush and Chechen, occupied School Number One (SNO) in the town of [[Beslan]], [[North Ossetia–Alania|North Ossetia]] (an [[autonomous republic]] in the [[North Caucasus]] region of the [[Russia|Russian Federation]]) on 1 September 2004. The hostage-takers were the [[Riyadus-Salikhin Reconnaissance and Sabotage Battalion of Chechen Martyrs|Riyadus-Salikhin Battalion]], sent by the Chechen terrorist warlord Shamil Basayev, who demanded recognition of the independence of [[Chechnya]] at the [[United Nations]] and the withdrawal of Russian forces from Chechnya.

On the third day of the standoff, counter terrorism units stormed the building using heavy weapons after several explosions rocked the building and children started escaping. It was in this chaos most of the officers were killed, trying to protect escaping children from gun fire.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csr9TPGPoxs| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211110/csr9TPGPoxs| archive-date=10 November 2021 | url-status=live|title=Beslan School Massacre, Dramatic Scenes (2004)|work=YouTube| date=24 August 2011|access-date=16 October 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="Satter">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/012/907jbmkm.asp?pg=1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930211020/http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/012/907jbmkm.asp?pg=1|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 September 2007|title=The Truth About Beslan. What Putin's government is covering up.|first=David|last=Satter|author-link=David Satter|magazine=[[The Weekly Standard]]|volume=12|issue=9|date=13 November 2006|access-date=15 October 2014}}</ref> At least 334 hostages were killed as a result of the crisis, including 186 children.<ref name="last_casualty">{{cite news|date=8 December 2006|url=http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2006/12/08/woman_injured_in_2004_russian_siege_dies/|title=Woman injured in 2004 Russian siege dies|work=The Boston Globe|access-date=9 January 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017001115/http://boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2006/12/08/woman_injured_in_2004_russian_siege_dies/ |archive-date=17 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=2 September 2005|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4207112.stm|title=Putin meets angry Beslan mothers|work=BBC News|access-date=28 July 2006}}</ref> Official reports on how many members of Russia's special forces died in the fighting varied from 11, 12, 16 (7 Alpha and 9 Vega) to more than 20<ref name=arguedbefore>{{cite news|last1=Baker|first1=Peter|author-link1=Peter Baker (author)|author2=Susan B. Glasser|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1256-2004Sep6.html|title=Hostage Takers in Russia Argued Before Explosion|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=7 September 2004|access-date=4 September 2017}}</ref> killed. There are only 10 names on the special forces monument in Beslan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.rin.ru/eng/news/9303/2/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018162318/http://news.rin.ru/eng/news/9303/2/|archive-date=18 October 2007|title=Monument to special forces and rescuers unveiled in Beslan|publisher=NEWS.rin.ru|date=2 September 2006|access-date=15 October 2014}}</ref> The fatalities included all three commanders of the assault group: Colonel Oleg Ilyin, Lieutenant Colonel Dmitry Razumovsky of Vega, and Major Alexander Perov of Alpha.<ref>{{cite news | date=18 October 2004 | title=More and more evidence implicates authorities in Beslan disaster. Beslan's tragic end: Spontaneous or planned? | url=http://www.cdi.org/russia/johnson/8415-17.cfm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041020061807/http://www.cdi.org/russia/johnson/8415-17.cfm | archive-date=20 October 2004 |access-date=15 October 2014 | publisher=jamestown.org}}</ref> At least 30 commandos suffered serious wounds.<ref name="after">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/13/international/europe/13russia.html?pagewanted=print&position=&_r=0 | title=After School Siege, Russia Also Mourns Secret Heroes | newspaper=The New York Times | date=13 September 2004 | access-date=15 October 2014}}</ref>