Soviet Airborne Forces
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The Soviet Airborne Forces, or VDV, was a separate troops branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. First formed before the Second World War, the VDV undertook two significant airborne operations and a numbe
Shoulder patch of the Soviet Airborne Forces, 1969–1991
A group of parachutists Ya.D. Moshkovsky (far left) before the landing on August 2, 1930
Soviet paratroopers deploy from a Tupolev TB-3 in 1930
Kiev maneuvers in 1935. Collecting paratroopers after landing
Russian Airborne Forces
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The Russian Airborne Forces is the airborne separate combat arm of the Russian Armed Forces. It is a rapid response force and strategic reserve that is under the President of Russia, reporting directl
Soviet Airborne Forces
…years after 1945 was the largest airborne force in the world. The force was split after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, with the core becoming the Russian Airborne Forces, losing divisions to Belarus and Ukraine. Troops of the Soviet Airborne Forces traditionally wore a sky blue beret and blue-striped telnyashka undershirts…
Russian paratroopers on patrol in Bosnia as members of the Implementation Force, 1996
A VDV paratrooper and a US Army soldier in Bosnia, 1996
Paratroopers of the 106th Guards Airborne Division in Kazakhstan, 1999
VDV spetsnaz in Georgia during the Russo-Georgian War, 2008