Recent History
The Division fought at Smolensk and during the Kerch-Eltigen Operation during the Second World War.
The division has played a prominent role in two of the major political crises of recent Soviet and Russian history. In 1991, it was one of the divisions deployed in Moscow as part of the hardline coup attempt against the Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev; however, it was a tank unit attached to the division that switched sides at the decisive point in the coup's course. Boris Yeltsin delivered a speech standing on top of tank no. 110, strengthening his own position both domestically and abroad significantly.
Two years later, the division once again came to Yeltsin's rescue, during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis. The stand-off between the Russian Parliament and Yeltsin, against the backdrop of massive public demonstrations in Moscow against Yeltsin's government, had by the 2 October brought Russia to the brink of civil war. Between 2 and 4 October, the army considered its position. By sunrise of the 4th, they had given their support to Yeltsin. That day, tanks from the Tamanskaya Division opened fire on the Parliament building, where the Parliament's supporters were barricaded. This episode consolidated Yeltsin's power; it was the deadliest street fighting in Moscow since 1917.
Since then, the division has seen service in Chechnya: it is known to have contributed to the force that brought the republic back under Russian control in 1999 and 2000, during the Second Chechen War. A 'tactical group' from the 15th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment deployed to Chechnya in early 2000, serving in the south of the republic and the Argun Gorge after the end of major combat operations to maintain security. In 2004, it was visited by a delegation of foreign military attaches. The Kalininets base has also recently provided the venue for the Miss Russian Army contest.
The division has been slated for disbandment in 2009, with two brigades being created from its existing subunits. Each brigade will include about 7,500 personnel with one mounted on BMP-3 tracked vehicles while the other using BTR-80 and BTR-90 wheeled vehicles. The two brigades, according to Warfare.ru, are the 5th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade in the Moscow Military District, and the 8th Separate Mountain Motor Rifle Brigade in Chechniya.
Read more about this topic: 2nd Guards Tamanskaya Motor Rifle Division
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