Russia’s Lesser Known Sniper-Focused Special Force Unit

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Warrior Maven thought: Not sure this Russian unit is in any way equivalent to the Green Berets or SEALs

The SOBR.

Charlie Gao [2]

If asked to name a counterterrorism unit in Russia, most people would probably think of the FSB’s elite “Alpha” unit. Alpha participated in the 1993 constitutional crisis, the Nord-Ost theatre siege and the Beslan hostage crisis, and are called out on the biggest and most sensitive incidents. However, they don’t deal with the majority of terrorism incidents in Russia. Rather, this responsibility falls to the SOBR (Spetsial’nyy Otryad Bystrogo Reagirovaniya, or Special Squad, Rapid Reaction) teams. These regional teams handle most armed incidents in Russia, from Chechen terrorists holed up in houses to domestic-violence standoffs. The level of equipment and level of training of these units varies greatly depending on the threat of the region. But what’s the history of these units? How often are they called out, and how do they compare to Russia’s other OMON and FSB units?

Like many European elite police teams, the basis for the SOBR teams was laid in the 1970s following the attacks on the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. In preparation for the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, the first special police unit was formed under the authority of the Soviet MVD (Ministry of Internal Affairs) on November 9, 1978, under order number 0707 [3]. This day is now celebrated as SOBR Day in Russia, as it is considered to be the first formation of an elite police unit to respond to difficult situations. At the time, this unit was called OMON, which simply stands for “special-purpose police force.” It is considered the true predecessor of SOBR teams in Russia. However, the role of this team is considered to be distinct from the units that are now called OMON in the Russian Federation.

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