7th Guards Airborne Division The 7th Guards Airborne - Assault ( Mountain ) Division is a military formation of the Russian Airborne Troops . Its soldiers fought in Eastern Europe in World War II , after which they were based in Kaunas , Lithuania . During the Cold War period the division served in the suppression of the Hungarian and Czech revolutions . Based in Novorossisk , Russia , since 1993 , it has also taken part in various counter - insurgency operations in the Caucasus region . There were actually two separately formed 7th Guards Airborne Divisions in the Red Army and Soviet Ground Forces / Soviet Airborne Troops . The first division was formed during the Second World War at Ramenskoye in December 1942 . It fought at Demyansk , Voronezh , Korsun , on the Dnieper River , and at Targul Frumos and Budapest . It ended the war with 4th Guards Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front in May 1945 . As part of a postwar military reorganization , this division was retitled the 115th Guards Rifle Division in June 1945 . The second formation of the 7th Guards Airborne Division was accomplished in October 1948 . History . First Formation . On May 8 , 1945 , the commander of the 7th Guards Airborne Division ( first formation ) , Major General Dmitrii Aristarkhovich Drichkin , set up his headquarters in the village of Erlauf , Austria , some 60 miles west of Vienna and 50 miles east of Linz . Anxious to meet the Allies , he sent out scouts . At midnight , he met Major General Stanley Eric Reinhart , commander of the U . S . 65th Infantry Division . 20 years later , public affairs officer Captain John J . Pullen described this cordial encounter for the National Observer . For the 50th anniversary , Erlauf erected a Soviet - sponsored memorial . It features a local girl , linking arms with a GI on her right , and a Soviet soldier on her left . To this day , an enlarged photo and a small exhibit mark the spot where this historic encounter took place : A life - size Major General Reinhart , smiling at General Drichkin , as they compare their watches one minute past midnight , on May 9 , 1945 , the moment the unconditional surrender of Germany became effective . As part of a postwar military reorganization at the end of June 1945 , the first formation of the 7th Guards Airborne Division was retitled as the 115th Guards Rifle Division . The 115th Guards Division was disbanded in 1953 in Kiev . Second Formation . The baptism of fire of the second formation division ' s predecessor regiment took place in 1945 , fighting around Lake Balaton ( Hungary ) under the 37th Guards Rifle Corps , 9th Guards Army , 3rd Ukrainian Front . On 26 April 1945 , the 322nd Regiment of the 103rd Guards Rifle Division was awarded the Order of Kutuzov , second degree , for exemplary performance . In commemoration the division ' s official day is 26 April , by an order of the Defense Minister of the USSR . At the end of the war , the 322nd Guards Regiment was in the city of Trebon , Czechoslovakia . During the war the regiment was thanked on six occasions by the Supreme Commander . In all 2 , 065 of its soldiers , sergeants and officers were decorated for valor and heroism by the Soviet Union . The 7th Guards Airborne Division ( second formation ) was established on 15 October 1948 on the basis of the 322nd Regiment , 103rd Guards Airborne Division at Polotsk in the Belorussian Military District , being relocated to the cities of Kaunas and Marijampole , Lithuanian SSR . Personnel from these bases took part in actions against anti - Soviet Lithuanian nationalists . Units in this premier division of airborne troops have mastered the landing of Antonov An - 8 , An - 12 , An - 22 , and Il - 76 aircraft , tested a number of new parachute systems ( D - 5 and D - 6 ) , all generations of BMD , and 2S9 Nona artillery systems . In 1956 , the division was involved in Operation " Whirlwind , " the suppression of the Hungarian revolution . On 3 November 1956 , the 108th Parachute Regiment of airborne troops landed at the Tököl airbase in Il - 12 and Li - 2 planes , capturing and disabling six antiaircraft batteries , then taking up the defense of the facility . On 4 November 1956 the regimental staff , together with fighters from the 119th Parachute Regiment , entered the city of Budapest and took part in street fighting until the city was secured on 7 November . In 1968 , the division participated in Operation Danube to suppress the Prague Spring uprising . The 108th Regiment distinguished itself in the most dangerous and difficult missions , for which about two hundred of its personnel received high government awards . On June 23 , 1968 , troops of the 108th Airborne Regiment were tasked to fly from Kaunas to Ryazan , where they were to demonstrate their vehicle assault landing skills to the Minister of Defence of the USSR , Andrei Grechko . The group of three An - 12 aircraft took off early in the morning , reaching a cruising altitude of 4000 meters . Approaching the city of Kaluga , a plane carrying the staff of a company and battalion command ( 91 officers and men ) collided with an Ilyushin Il - 14 passenger plane that was at 4000 meters without clearance , with the loss of all aboard . The division was involved in many major exercises and maneuvers , such as " Shield - 76 " , " Neman " , " West - 81 " ( Exercise Zapad - 81 ) , " West - 84 " and " Watch - 86 " , in the latter three exercises dropping airborne combat vehicles with crews , and receiving the Minister of Defence of the USSR Pennant " for courage and military prowess " during West - 81 . In 1971 and 1972 the division was awarded the Red Banner of the Airborne Troops . On 4 May 1985 , for success in military training and in connection with the 40th anniversary of the Victory in World War II , the division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner . In 1988 – 1989 elements of the division took part in the Black January events in Baku . In 1993 – 1996 personnel from the 108th Regiment served on peace - making missions in Abkhazia . At some point after 1990 the division was given the ' Mountain ' designation . Between January 1995 and April 2004 the 108th Regiment fought in the North Caucasian region , notably in the August 1999 battle for the " Donkey ' s Ear " heights in Dagestan . Equipment . The regiment ' s equipment includes the BMD - 1 , BMD - 2 and BTR - D vehicles , with the anti - aircraft BTR - ZD and anti - tank BTR - RD " Robot " variants of the BTR - D . The BTR - RD was equipped with the 9М111 " Bassoon " anti - tank rocket systems ( capable of firing twelve 9М111 " Bassoon " or 9М113 " Competition " anti - tank guided missiles at a time ) . Artillery vehicles include the 2S9 " Nona " 120 - mm self - propelled artillery vehicle and the 1В119 reconnaissance and fire - control vehicle .