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103rd Vitebsk Airborne Brigade

"One should not think that the army will shoot against the people" This was stated by the Secretary of State of the Security Council of Belarus, speaking at a meeting of the President with the assets of the 103rd Special Guards Airborne Brigade. “One should not think that the army will be against the people, that the army will shoot against the people. Not only the armed forces, but also the police, riot police, internal troops, border guards, and other law enforcement agencies - our task - to prevent the death of the state. Prevent bloodshed in the people. If we allow it, then we have lost the fight,” Andrei Rawkou said. According to Andrei Rawkow, usually conflict and war in the modern world did not begin with external intervention. “It usually started from the street, from the square,” he said.

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko visited the 103rd Vitebsk Separate Guards Airborne Brigade 17 July 2020. Visiting the brigade, the President proposed to write in the Constitution that a person applying for the post of head of state must serve in the army. “How will he be commander in chief if he doesn’t know what an army is? The head of state asked a rhetorical question. " Well, for the President: if you didn't serve in the army, then you shouldn't be there."

Particular emphasis during the visit was placed on the demonstration to the President of the equipment and weapons used by the peacekeepers. The head of state was told about the peculiarities of serving in the peacekeeping forces. In the square, the military demonstrated a tactical episode of peacekeeping forces at the checkpoint and the skill of driving armored personnel carriers during the "waltz" of the armored personnel carrier.

The full name of the unit is the 103rd Vitebsk Separate Guards Airborne Order of Lenin, the Red Banner, the Order of Kutuzov, II degree, the brigade named after the 60th anniversary of the USSR. In February 2003, the 103rd brigade was withdrawn from the Ground Forces into the special operations forces subordinate to the General Staff. In August 2016, it was renamed the 103rd Separate Guards Airborne Brigade, and in January 2020 it was given the name Vitebsk.

World experience shows that the presence of an honorary status in a military formation helps to preserve the continuity of generations, increase the motivation of military personnel and pride in belonging to units with glorious military traditions. It is because of this that in 2016 the 103rd separate mobile brigade, formed after the collapse of the USSR as a result of the reorganization of the renowned 103rd Airborne Division, was returned to the name "airborne".

In addition, in order to maintain close communication between the army and the rear, military units were traditionally assigned to cities with the addition of this settlement to their name. Therefore, at the beginning of 2020, the Minister of Defense signed an order allowing the 103rd brigade to be called Vitebsk. This was positively received not only by veterans of the Airborne Forces and special operations forces, but also by the public, because the unit in Belarus and far beyond its borders has always been called that.

The 103rd Guards Rifle Division was formed in Bykhov, Belorussian SSR on January 1, 1945. Six months later, in the Ryazan region, the division was reorganized according to the states of the Airborne Forces and redeployed to Vitebsk. From January to March 1945, the 103rd Infantry Division participated in the liberation of Hungary from the German fascist invaders. And in August - October 1968, its units and subdivisions provided international assistance in Czechoslovakia. At the end of 1979, Vitebsk servicemen fought in Kabul and Bagram. They provided international assistance to Afghanistan until February 1989.

In 1990, after being transferred to the subordination of the border troops of the KGB of the USSR, the division took part in the events on the Soviet-Iranian border, and then reinforced the Soviet border in the sections of the Transcaucasian border district and the Western border district in Moldova. In 1992, it was transferred to the Armed Forces of Belarus, and on September 1, 1995, the division entered the mobile forces.

In 2002, on the basis of the 317th and 350th guards mobile brigades of the division and the management of mobile forces, one mobile brigade of the new state was formed - the 103rd guards separate of the Order of Lenin, the Red Banner, the Order of Kutuzov of the II degree, the mobile brigade named after the 60th anniversary of the USSR. She was presented with the Battle Banner of the 103rd Guards Airborne Division.

On 16 July 2020, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko visited the 103rd Vitebsk Separate Guards Airborne Brigade. The head of state was informed about the history of the formation, mission and combat capabilities of the peacekeeping company. The President got acquainted with her outfit, weapons and military equipment, the living conditions and everyday life of servicemen. Then, Alyaksandr Lukashenka was shown a drawing of a combat episode "Action of a mobile checkpoint" and a demonstrative driving of the BTR-80.