Russian commando frogmen The Soviet Union started frogman operations during World War II . The first unit of combat divers ( or RON team ) , was formed in Leningrad in 1941 . Russian combat swimmers ( formerly called " combat divers " ) , are nowadays part of the Naval Spetsnaz which is a branch of Intelligence . According to major Russian generals , the Russian commando frogmen are an equivalent to the Navy SEALs and Shayetet 13 . Organization . SpN PDSS ( Противо - диверсионные силы и средства , " Protivo - Diversionnye Sily i Sredstva " ; Anti - diversionary forces and means ) , are elite units of special purpose anti - sabotage divers , which appeared in the Soviet Navy at the end of the 1960s to counter possible attacks by frogmen . Their name in full is ( о ) СпН ПДСС , [ отряды ] Специального назначения по борьбе с подводными диверсионными силами и средствами ( ( o ) SpN PDSS , " [ otryady ] Spetsial ' nogo naznacheniya po bor ' be s podvodnymi diversionnymi silami i sredstvami " ; Special - purpose combat [ units ] with underwater diversionary forces and means ) . Before 2000 / 2001 they were called ОБ ПДСС , Отряды по борьбе с подводными диверсионными силами и средствами ( OB PDSS , " Otryady po bor ' be s podvodnymi diversionnymi silami i sredstvami " ; Combat units with underwater diversionary forces and facilities ) . Officially there are no Naval Spetsnaz units in any of the former Soviet states , except for Ukraine which inherited theirs from the Soviet Black Sea Fleet . In order to have Naval Spetsnaz on the Black Sea , the Russian Navy transferred the OMRP of the Caspian Flotilla under the Russian Black Sea Fleet command . They sometimes used false names and numbers called " Legends " ( cover - up ) . For example , the Naval Spetsnaz Unit in the Baltic Fleet uses the cover - name Аварийно - спасательная школа №49 ( " Avariyno - spasatel ' naya shkola nomer 49 " ; Diving Rescue School No . 49 ) . All Russian military units have their own five - digit number . For instance , the Naval Spetsnaz Unit in the Baltic Fleet officially has the Number 10617 . Among Navy and Army Intelligence servicemen , all Naval Spetsnaz units are called ОМРП ( OMRP , Отдельный морской разведывательный пункт ( " Otdel ' nyy morskoy razvedyvatel ' nyy punkt " ; Detached Naval Reconnaissance Point ) and have their own numbers . For example , the Naval Spetsnaz Unit in the Baltic Fleet is officially the 561st OMRP . Naval Spetznaz units have unofficial names , the unit in the Baltic Fleet is unofficially called by themselves and other servicemen Парусники ( " Parusniki " ; Sailing Ships ) , because this unit is based in a settlement called Парусное ( Parusnoye ) , whose name means " sail place " . But in the 1950s and 1960s it was unofficially called Потехинцы ( " Potekhintsy " ) after its first commander , Colonel Potekhin . This link gives details of training and the actions of Soviet combat frogmen and says that they are in a KGB spetsnaz organization called " Delfin " . Other sources mention units called " Dolfin " , " Omega " , " Barrakuda " , and others . Another source says that Naval Spetsnaz units have never used such names , but that the name Delfin arose as false information sold to a journalist , who published information about this unit in the early 1990s . Every PDSS unit has around 50 - 60 combat swimmers . There are PDSS units in all major Naval Bases . Every OMRP has about 120 - 200 combat divers . There are now four OMRPs in Russia , one for each fleet : Northern Fleet , Baltic Fleet , Black Sea Fleet , Pacific Ocean Fleet . " Riding on Proton " by Afonchenko seems to describe in passing some Russian frogman - type operations and techniques including an infiltration into the sea off South Korea . ( This " Proton " is a one - man submerged diver - carrier similar to a Protei - 5 . ) Equipment . Russian frogmen use this equipment among others : - These pictures are from the archives of A . Rzhavin .