56th Guards Air Assault Brigade is an airborne brigade of the Russian Airborne Troops . It is currently based in Kamyshin . The brigade was first formed in 1979 and fought in the Soviet – Afghan War , the First Chechen War and the Second Chechen War . The 56th Separate Guards Air Assault Brigade was formed on 1 October 1979 in Chirchiq from the disbanded 105th Guards Airborne Division 's 351st Guards Airborne Regiment . The new brigade inherited battle honors from that unit . On 13 December , the brigade was transferred to Termez in preparation for deployment to Afghanistan . On 27 December , the brigade 's 4th Airborne Battalion crossed the Afghan border and secured Salang Pass . The 3rd Air Assault battalion was airlifted by helicopter into Afghanistan and captured Rabat-Mirza-Kushka Pass on the next day . Between 13 and 14 January 1980 , the brigade crossed the border and concentrated at Kunduz . At the same time , the 3rd Air Assault Battalion moved to Kandahar . In February , the 4th Airborne Battalion was transferred to Charikar but was moved back to Kunduz in the same year . The 2nd Air Assault Battalion was attached to the 70th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade in March . In December 1982 , the brigade was moved to Gardez . The brigade was reequipped with the BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicle in 1985 . On 5 April , it was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War 1st class . It fought in Operation Magistral from December 1987 to January 1988 . In June 1988 , the brigade crossed the border back into Turkmenistan during the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan . After its return from Afghanistan , the brigade was based in Ýolöten . The brigade became the 56th Guards Airborne Brigade in 1989 . In January and February 1990 , the brigade was deployed to Baku to patrol the border as a result of the Baku pogrom . On 1 June , the brigade was transferred to the Soviet airborne and renamed the 40th Separate Airborne Brigade . The newly renamed brigade was transferred to Fergana a week later to conduct security operations . After the Dissolution of the Soviet Union , the brigade was moved to the North Caucasus in Karachay-Cherkessia . The brigade was given the designation Don Cossack on 22 April 1994 . Between December 1994 and October 1996 , the brigade fought in the First Chechen War . In 1997 , it was renamed the 56th Guards Airborne Regiment . In August 1999 , a battalion sized task force of the regiment was deployed to fight in the Second Chechen War . After being withdrawn from Chechnya in November 2004 , the regiment once again became the 56th Guards Airborne Brigade on 1 May 2009 and in July 2010 was designated as the 56th Guards Airborne Brigade ( Light ) . In 2013 , it became part of the Russian Airborne Troops
Baku pogrom
Baku pogrom
56th Guards Air Assault Brigade