Afghanistan
As part of the Central Asian Military District the division participated in the invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979, when it entered Afghanistan with the 40th Army. It was stationed in Kunduz province. At this time the division lost the 92nd and 191st Motor Rifle Regiments, and gained the 149th Guards "Chenstokhova" Motor Rifle Regiment and the 395th Motor Rifle Regiment. The Division headquarters, the 220th artillery regiment, 149th Guards and other smaller units were stationed in Kunduz, while the 122nd MRR was based in Tashkurgan and the 395th MRR in Puli-Khumri. The tank regiment remained in Samarkand.
During its service in Afghanistan the division largely coordinated its operations with the Afghan Army's 18th (Mazar-i-Sharif) and 20th (Baglan) infantry divisions, as well as the 10th and 31st infantry regiments.
In 1985, the division received a second Order of the Red Banner. The division used BMP-1 and BMP-2 IFVs, BTR-60 and BTR-70 APCs, T-62 tanks and 122mm self propelled guns "Gvozdika". The last Soviet vehicle to leave Afghanistan on 15 February 1989 was a BTR-60 from the 201st. The BTR-60 is still kept to the present day as a memorial.
Following its withdrawal, the 191st MRR was returned to the division, while it retained the 149th Guards MRR.
Read more about this topic: 201st Motor Rifle Division