'Polite People' is another name for Russian Special Operations Forces

Russian special forces airborne.

Special Operations Forces are one of the youngest and most secretive structural units of the Russian military.

The Russian army has long had elite special forces units that carry out difficult, highly responsible, sometimes very delicate tasks in the areas behind the enemy's front lines. These units have had different names, but they always carry out the most difficult tasks that cannot be assigned to ordinary military units because special forces soldiers must "work" without making noise, so as not to incur large losses.

One of the first people to think about the need to create Special Operations Forces was General Anatoly Kvashnin - Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in 1997-2004. At that time, reality required the modernization of the army to resolve local conflicts.

The first center for training Russian special forces was established in the late 1990s in the Moscow region. In the mid-2000s, the center was named Senezh. According to some reports, Senezh fighters took part in the anti-terrorist operation in the North Caucasus, the fight against piracy in the Gulf of Aden, the operation that forced Georgia to come to peace in August 2008.

In March 2013, the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, General Valery Gerasimov, officially announced the creation of the Special Operations Forces within the structure of the Russian Ministry of Defense. Later it was reported that the SSO forces are prepared to operate "not only on the territory of Russia, but also abroad", these units are equipped not only with means for ground operations, but also with air and naval means.

Russian special forces in Dagestan. Photo: Special Operation

On February 27, 2014, soldiers in camouflage uniforms, armed with rifles or machine guns, took control of the buildings of the Supreme Council and the Government of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (at that time part of Ukraine), and in the following days took control of the Simferopol airport and other strategic facilities on the peninsula. They also helped ensure order when the Crimean people went to the polls in the referendum on joining Russia. They acted so properly, treated the residents of the peninsula (and not only them) with kindness, that the phrase "polite people" became synonymous with the special forces of the Russian army.

However, the participation of SSO fighters in the events in Crimea was only a forced measure to demonstrate power and prevent bloodshed. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, special operations are "coordinated actions of specially trained units using methods and methods of combat not typical of conventional military units." Of course, such operations are almost never widely publicized.

The Russian SSO is formed on a contract basis and includes servicemen of various types of troops. In fact, only officers serve in special forces. SSO soldiers are always ready to solve tasks both as part of other forces and independently. To do this, they undergo comprehensive training (from parachuting, diving and survival in extreme conditions to studying foreign languages ​​and ethnography), they master Russian and foreign weapons, and are equipped with everything necessary.

According to the President of Russia, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces Vladimir Putin, thanks to the creation of the SSO force, Russia has a new means to protect national interests. Strong and effective.