Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
June 3, 2005, Friday
WHAT WILL BE WITHDRAWN FROM GEORGIA?[]
SOURCE: Kommersant, May 31, 2005, p. 10
RUSSIAN MILITARY BASES IN GEORGIA: FIGURES AND FACTS
Two Russian military bases are stationed in Georgia: the 12th base in
Batumi and the 62nd base in Akhalkalaki. There are several auxiliary
military units. Every base presents a motorized infantry division.
The bases are subordinated to the command of the group of Russian
forces in the Trans-Caucasian region headquartered in Tbilisi. In
addition, Russia has the 364th detached battalion in the Georgian
capital (in all there are around 600 Russian servicemen in Tbilisi).
Major-General Alexander Bespalov, commander of the Group of Russian
forces in the Trans-Caucasian region, commands the units from the
Gyumri base (Armenia) because Georgia has not given him a visa.
In all there are around 3,000 servicemen in Georgia (the contingent
decreases because Georgia refuses to issue visas to Russian
servicemen); in addition, there are 115 tanks, 220 infantry fighting
vehicles and 170 artillery complexes (in addition to peacekeeping
units stationed in Abkhazia and Southern Ossetia).
The 12th military base (commanded by Major-General Anatoly Danilov)
was created on the basis of the 145th motorized infantry division of
the Trans-Caucasian military district. The base consists of the 35th
and 90th motorized infantry regiments, the 1089th regiment of
self-propelled artillery complexes, the 1007th anti-aircraft regiment
and the 115th detached tank battalion. The total strength of the 12th
base is around 1,500 servicemen; 40% of them are local residents. The
base is armed with 74 tanks, 80 armored combat vehicles and 120
artillery complexes. The bases this military hardware is on and the
Gonio firing range are only 30 kilometers from the Turkish border.
The base has its own repair plant.
He 62nd base (commanded by Colonel Yevgeny Achalov) was created on
the basis of the 147th motorized infantry division. It consists of
the 409th and 412th motorized infantry regiments, the 817th regiment
of self-propelled artillery complexes, the 899th detached
communication battalion, the 65th detached anti-tank battalion and
the 176th detached repair battalion. There were around 1,000
servicemen on the base in 2004 (around 50% of them were local
Armenians, who became Russian citizens). The base has 40 tanks, 137
armored combat vehicles and around 50 artillery complexes. The
training center of the base is located near the village of Abul.
In addition, the Russian military has an engineering storehouse in
Sagaredzho and a reserve command post in Mtskheta.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress