Russia has trained and deployed its first sniper companies. Within two years each combat brigade will have a company of snipers. These snipers are all graduates of the elite Russian sniper course. More importantly they are “volunteers” not conscript troops. The reason for that is motivation…it also sets the average Russian sniper units apart, in many ways from other combat units in the Russian Armed forces…
See Russian Sniper school training –http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1tVsFwrGgs
See also Russian Spetsnaz snipers –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6fN6wUAbjU&feature=related
The Russian snipers of today are expert infantrymen, trained at tracking, identifying targets and calling in artillery and air strikes. They are equipped with the latest and most advanced GPS, lasers and binoculars outfitted with range finders.
In terms of strength each sniper company is around 120 men, which break down into 3-5 man “teams” from each of the 9 battalions of each infantry company (in a brigade).
Russia effort to train snipers today are unprecedented, part of an effort to be able to defend themselves against the US and NATO threat to the motherland.
They have has been carefully selecting the most promising and best educated new recruits and sending them to a three and a half long month sniper course, considered one of the toughest in the world.
The Russians goal is to obtain at least a thousand additional snipers in the next few years.
During the Cold War the Russian army was supposed to have 25-30 snipers per infantry brigade.
These men (and in some cases women) were equipped with specially built sniper rifles, called Dragunov. There were also trained snipers in the growing Soviet commando forces and among the KGB (secret police) combat units. See: Soviet Red Army snipers video – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1teubME10Ig&feature=related
According to Wikipedia snipers of the Soviet Unionplayed an important role mainly on the Eastern Front of World War II, apart from other preceding and subsequent conflicts. In World War II, Soviet snipers used the 7.62x54R rifle cartridge with light, heavy, armour-piercing (B-30), armour-piercing-and-incendiary (B-32), zeroing-and-incendiary (P3), and tracer bullets. Most Soviet WWII snipers carried a combat load of 120 rifle cartridges in the field. Unlike the militaries of other nations, these snipers could be men or women. In 1943, there were over 2,000 women functioning in this role. To give you an idea of what it was like for Russian snipers in WWII we selected this video: “Russian Sniper attack – Urban warfare Stalingrad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xY-IH_g7BBg&feature=related
Soviet military doctrine used snipers for providing long-distance suppressive fire and for eliminating targets of opportunity, especially leaders, because during World War II. Indications are they want to continue this tradition. In any kind of conflict with the US or NATO, Russian snipers will target officers and NCO’s…
In Tom Clancy‘s novel The Bear and the Dragon, a veteran WWII Soviet sniper uses his old sniper rifle to take out a Chinese general during a Chinese invasion of Russia.
Today’s Russian snipers are considered the best in the world.
It should be understood the Russian military is fiercely patriotic!
In an attempt to give you an idea of the almost fanatic devotion to cause and country of the average Russian soldier, we selected this video of over 6000 soldiers singing the Russian national anthem during celebration of the anniversary of the “Great Patriotic War (WWII) in May 2007, in Red Squarehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbjQeW8KRn0
As a total defense force the Russian are highly motivated and extremely well trained. Speaking for myself, as a former US Army Infantry soldier trained during the height of the cold war (1984-1988) when the Soviet Union and the United States stood on the very “brink of total war”, under then President of the United States Ronald Reagan, I think we all understood the stark reality of the situation we faced at the time.
If war broke out between Russia and the United States – “we were all going to die!”