1st Guards Mixed Aviation Division
The 1st Guards Mixed Aviation Division is a unit of the Russian Aerospace Forces based in Krymsk in southern Russia. It traces its roots to the 688th Night Light Bomber Aviation Regiment, formed on 21 October 1941. The regiment fought in World War II, including the Rzhev salient and the Battle of Stalingrad. For its actions at Stalingrad it became the 59th Guards Assault Aviation Regiment on 8 February 1943 and received the Order of the Red Banner on 2 September 1943. It helped liberate Baranovichi in 1944 (the Baranovichi honorific) and earned the Order of Suvorov 3rd Class for the Berlin Offensive in 1945.
From 1949 to 1956 it was the 725th Guards Assault Aviation Regiment, based in Germany at various airfields. In 1956 it moved to Astrakhan and became part of the PVO as the 393rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment. In 1992 it became the 209th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, later part of the 12th Air Defence Corps, then the 51st Air Defence Corps, and finally the 4th Air and Air Defence Forces Army. On 1 September 2001 the regiment absorbed the 562nd Fighter Aviation Regiment at Krymsk and was renamed the 3rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, moving to Krymsk. On 24 August 2009 it became the 6972nd Guards Baranovichi Red Banner Order of Suvorov 3rd Class Air Base of the 1st Category at Krymsk.
On 11 November 2013 the base was reformed into the 1st Guards Mixed Aviation Division within the Southern Military District, taking on the flags and honors of the previous units. By 2016 Colonel Tagir Gadzhiyev was the division commander. By 2019 one regiment within the division was being considered to receive the Sukhoi Su-57 fifth-generation fighter. The division is equipped with Su-27 aircraft. On 8 July 2022, the division’s chief of staff, Colonel Anatoly Stasyukevich, was killed in the Russo-Ukrainian war.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 05:19 (CET).