Northern Group of Forces
The brigade traces itself back to the formation of the 65th Separate Air Assault Battalion in Białogard from the 126th Separate Guards Reconnaissance Battalion of the 6th Guards Motor Rifle Division in November 1985, part of the Northern Group of Forces. Between May and November 1986, the battalion was expanded to form the 83rd Separate Air Assault Brigade under the command of Colonel V.M. Sinitsyn. The brigade participated in the "Druzhba-86" exercises of Warsaw Pact troops. In 1988, after Soviet Ministry of Defense inspections, the brigade had the best results out of the Northern Group of Forces. The brigade won a Krasnaya Zvezda contest involving a 10 kilometer forced march in 1989. On 18 May 1990, the brigade was subordinated directly to the commander of the Soviet airborne and was reorganized as the 83rd Separate Airborne Brigade. The brigade was transferred to Ussuriysk in the Far Eastern Military District during July.