President Vladimir Putin visits Russian Special Forces University in Gudermes, Chechnya, in August 2024.
“A key mission for the VOIN is to provide so-called ‘patriotic education’ and combat training for teenage youngsters. The organization has centers in at least 12 regions, among them the two far northern regions of Murmansk and Yamal Nenets Autonomous Okrug.”
The Russian Spetsnaz University in Gudermes, Chechnya, has trained tens of thousands of soldiers from all over the Russian Federation since its establishment in 2013. Soldiers from the Kola peninsula, which borders Norway and is home to Russia’s sea-based nuclear deterrent, are increasingly bringing the skills they pick up in the North Caucasus and applying them to operational environments in the Arctic, according to a recent report in Norway-based The Barents Observer.
Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of the Chechen Republic, enjoys close ties to the Kremlin. President Vladimir Putin visited Spetsnaz University last August. Kadyrov also exerts influence across Russia’s regions, including its north, through VOIN (“Fighter”), a training military organization with offices expanding across Russia, including in Murmansk and Yamal Nenets Autonomous Okrug in northwestern Siberia and central Russia. Part of VOIN’s mission is to provide “patriotic education” and combat training for Russian teenagers. The former head of Kadyrov’s security detail and combat veteran of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, Daniil Martynov,[i] heads up VOIN’s organizational development. Training conducted by Chechen commanders include drills in sharpshooting and drone flying.
While potentially symbolic of Russia shifting its focus northward, the significance of these reports is unclear. First, fighting in the Arctic does not resemble fighting in the Northern Caucasus, given its extreme climate conditions, poor infrastructure, and important naval components. It is unlikely that Chechen paramilitaries will be fighting in Norway or the Arctic. More intriguing is whether Chechen spetsnaz trainers will influence the “Arctic way of war” in Russia’s far north. Russia recently announced it will be adding up to 50,000 soldiers to its Leningrad Military District, as well as expanding Northern Fleet’s 14th Army Corps into a full Army and establishing a completely new Army Corps in Karelia.[ii]
Sources:
Atle Staalesen, “Kadyrov’s militant network is expanding into the Russian north,” The Barents Observer, 7 January, 2025. https://www.thebarentsobserver.com/news/kadyrovs-militant-network-is-expanding-into-the-russian-north/422803
Reportedly, more than 47,000 servicemen have undergone training in Gudermes since 2022. Of them, about 19,000 are so-called volunteers. Among them is Sergei Rezantsev from the town of Olenegorsk in the Kola Peninsula. In December last year, the 43-year-old man was awarded a medal for so-called “bravery” during the war in Ukraine. In a ceremony in Olenegorsk, the local town mayor described Rezantsev as “a true role model for patriotism.”
In the ceremony, the warrior carried a uniform with the insignia of the Spetsnaz University. Judging from Rezantsev’s social media page, he has long experience from several Russian military operations, including in the North Caucasus.
With the training of soldiers from all over Russia, Ramzan Kadyrov is gradually building a network that includes representatives from major parts of the country. In addition, Kadyrov and his men are also exerting growing influence and power across Russia through the VOIN (“Fighter”), a militant organization that is opening offices in a number of Russian regions.
Notes:
[i] Prior to his position at VOIN, Daniil Martynov was a combat leader of Chechen forces, often referred to as Kadyrovtsy, part of the initial invasion of Ukraine on 22 February 2022.
[ii] Thomas Nilsen, “Kola and in Karelia likely to get tens of thousands of new soldiers,” The Barents Observer, 24 January 2025. https://www.thebarentsobserver.com/news/kola-and-in-karelia-likely-to-get-tens-of-thousands-of-new-soldiers/423579
Image Information:
Image: President Vladimir Putin visits Russian Special Forces University in Gudermes, Chechnya, in August 2024.
Source: Kremlin.RU http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news
Attribution: Public Domain