55th Motorized Rifle Brigade (Mountain)

Until 2014, the 34th Motorized Rifle Brigade in the mountainous southern military district was the only one in Russia, which had "the state" horses used as pack animals. The second such compounds would be formed by the 55th Brigade in Kyzyl. Infantry brigades with special mountain training created in the Russian army for action in the Caucasus and Central Asia. By 2014 the Russian Armed Forces established two such teams - 33th in Dagestan and 34th in - North Ossetia.

"The presence of our major military units - is not only complementary and well-paid jobs" - said the head of Tuva Sholban Kara-ool in May 2014, noting that "the decision of the Ministry of Defense of Russia to place in the region mechanized infantry (mountain) teams have a positive impact on social and economic situation. This and the possibility of forming a positive attitude to military service and the army as a whole, the revival of traditional patronage relations between labor, educational and military groups."

As reported at the meeting with the Tuvan authorities Colonel Yuri Lobanov, command of the 55th Motorized Rifle (mountain) team has already been formed and soon held the appointment of officials. Now there is a preliminary set of civilian and military personnel. According to Lobanov, specialists will be needed in many industries, including - club workers, staff and even musicians - in a team will have its own orchestra. Welcome the ability to deal with horses, as they, too, are provided in the "state."

The staff of the 55th Motorised Brigade will be of the order of hundreds of horses. Its formation was made in 2014. By 01 November 2015, it must be fully staffed. By early summer 2015, the 55th Separate Motorized Infantry (Mountain) Brigade of the Central Military District in Kyzyl is 90% equipped with modern military equipment. This was stated 26 February 2015 by Chief of Land Forces Colonel General Oleg Salyukov during the inspection of building infrastructure for this connection.

Commander in chief said that the team will be equipped with the latest armored vehicles "Tiger" and self-propelled artillery. "Providing brigade technology will take place in two stages. By early summer should do about 90% of the art. 1 June to 31 November, it was the rest of the cars and ammunition" - said Salyukov.

"Technology should be put to service. Must be on guard duty. Now it is important not to delay the construction of infrastructure," - said the commander in chief, inspecting the construction site under the Kyzyl. He also raised the question of recruitment teams. "By November 1 team must be fully formed. In the near future near Kyzyl start equipment field camp, in which the beginning of the summer should be placed military compounds," - said the commander in chief.

Salyukov noted that since June scheduled for intensive military training and teamwork training battalions, and by the beginning of November, the military will have to move out of the field camp at the place of permanent deployment.

"All junior specialists teams are now in training centers, and officers - near Novosibirsk. By the arrival of humans in November 2015 infrastructure should be completely ready," - he said.

In November 2019 the head of the military department, Army General Sergei Shoigu, personally inspected the arrangement of the 55th motorized rifle brigade (mountain) in Kyzyl, where the construction of a modern military town is being completed, during a working trip to the troops of the Central Military District. The delegation of the Minister of Defense accompanied his deputies, Timur Ivanov and Lieutenant General Yunus-Bek Evkurov, as part of the delegation of the Minister of Defense.

In the territory of the only mountain compound beyond the Urals, an apartment building has already been built for service housing, barracks, a training building, a canteen, a military vehicle park with a maintenance point, and its own equestrian center with a stable for one hundred horses. There is everything to ensure that the military personnel of the youngest mountain brigade in such a responsible direction does not distract from service and the fulfillment of combat training missions for their intended purpose.

First of all, the minister familiarized himself with the arrangement of a kindergarten for 200 children from the families of the military personnel of the brigade, which was commissioned the day before directly on the territory of the military camp. In the warm corridors where the baby’s foot hadn’t stepped yet, the minister asked: “Who will become the teachers and nannies for the kids?” The brigade commander, Colonel Eduard Skvortsov, immediately explained: "employees with teacher education. Perhaps the candidates for this work have already been selected. Thus, another task is being solved in the brigade - the employment of family members of military personnel."

Getting acquainted with the living conditions of servicemen in new office apartments equipped with everything necessary: from modern household appliances to furniture, the Minister of Defense was pleased with what he saw. At the same time, he specified whether there will be enough commissioned housing to meet the needs of the brigade. In response, they reported that in the near future four more such houses with a total of 360 families will be commissioned. The fact is that here, according to the minister, in the near future a mixed aviation squadron is to be housed, and this is taken into account.

After a brief clarification of the tasks, the delegation went to the fleet of military vehicles. It was obvious from everything that the ministers were prepared in the most thorough manner for the arrival of the minister. The Tiger-M special-purpose armored vehicles displayed in an open area shone with fresh camouflage. Even checking the oil level and the condition of the engine in the car of the corporal of the contract service Leonid Samsugashev did not cause any complaints from the head of the military department.

In addition to the modernized Tiger-M armored vehicles that have proven themselves in combat situations, the brigade is armed with non-self-propelled guns Nona-SVK, Ural cross-country vehicles and other types of weapons, military and special equipment. By the end of the year, as reported by Colonel-General Alexander Lapin, Commander of the Central Military District, it is planned to achieve 100% equipping of the brigade with modern weapons.

As for the horsepower of the compound, in the true meaning of this concept, they are represented in the brigade by a pack transport company. The unit has about a hundred horses of a special local breed. As the representative of the command of the compound said, local horse farmers helped to equip the unit with unique “combat units”. A horse of this breed is able to tolerate large temperature differences and even at minus 50 ° C deliver a solid load to hard-to-reach mountain areas.

The newly created mixed aviation squadron is also to be housed at the base.

For training, keeping and preparing pack animals, a modern equestrian center was specially erected on the basis of the compound - with a warm arena, a heated stable with separate horse boxes and open corrals for working out tasks in the units. Having assessed the possibilities of the new equestrian center that was put into operation, the Minister of Defense set the task of creating a youth school on its basis, where children of military personnel and local residents could be involved.

In the interests of combat training, appropriate conditions have also been created here. For conducting exercises at the brigade level and for individual training of military personnel of the compound, the Kara-Khak training ground with a mountain strip and a climbing wall was equipped. The representatives of the Ministry of Defense, who arrived as part of the delegation, carefully examined each facility commissioned. At times, it seemed that every stop or comment by the head of the military department turned into a mini-meeting, and only after receiving a concrete answer or finding the necessary solution to the problem did the column move on.

At the end of the working trip, Army General Sergei Shoigu, together with the head of the Republic of Tuva, Sholban Kara-ool, opened the Subedey universal sports complex in Kyzyl, which was reconstructed at the request of local authorities by representatives of the military construction complex of the Russian Ministry of Defense. “I really hope that new champions will be born in these gyms that will continue the traditions laid down by your predecessors,” the Minister of Defense emphasized addressing the audience.