The division traces its heritage to the Soviet 48th Rifle Division that was established on 26 February 1920 by renaming the 2nd Tula Rifle Division. It became a territorial division after the Soviet-Polish War and was then upgraded to 'cadre' status. On 2 December 1930 it was given the title 'in the name of M.I. Kalinin.' In August–September 1939, two of its rifle regiments were expanded to become the 123rd Rifle Division and the 138th Rifle Division. In 1940 the division participated in the occupation of the Baltic states. On June 22, 1941, it was assigned to the 10th Rifle Corps of the 8th Army. It was based at Raseiniai in Latvia, part of the second echelon, but soon after Operation Barbarossa began it was severely battered by the 6th Panzer Division. In September 1941 it incorporated the remnants of the 118th Rifle Division. In October it became part of the Coastal Operations Group of the Leningrad Front, defending the Oranienbaum Bridgehead pocket, just west of Leningrad on the coast of the Gulf of Finland. Then fought as part of the 2nd Shock Army and 42nd Army. On 19 January 1944 it was given the title 'Ropshinskaya.'