| 261st Rifle Division (1941-45) 37th Rifle Division (postwar) 127th Motor Rifle Division (1965-1990s) 102nd Military Base (1990s-present) |
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|---|---|
| Near Gyumri, Armenia | |
Entrance to the Russian 102nd Military Base |
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| Type | Military Base, former division |
| Built | circa World War II (?) |
| In use | 1940s-Present |
| Controlled by | Russian Federation |
| Commanders | Polkovnik Yuri Kosyenko |
The Russian 102nd Military Base (Russian: 102-я Российская военная база; Armenian: Ռուսական 102-րդ Ռազմական Կայան) is a Russian military base in Gyumri, Armenia, part of the Transcaucasian Group of Forces. It was formerly the Soviet Army's 127th Motor Rifle Division of the Soviet Seventh Guards Army. The base is about 120 kilometers (75 mi) north of the Armenian capital, Yerevan.
The 102nd Military Base traces its history to the 261st Rifle Division of the Soviet Union's Red Army. The 261st Rifle Division was originally formed in 1941.[1] It was probably activated in the Odessa Military District in July–August 1941.[2] It was assigned to the 12th Army of the North Caucasus Front later in 1941 and remained with that Army up to at least August 1942 but then was assigned to the Transcaucasian Front's Black Sea Group of Forces. It then spent much of the later part of World War II, from January 1, 1943,[3] onwards with the small 45th Army of the Transcaucasian Front which was guarding the USSR's borders with Turkey.[4] After the war ended, the 261st Rifle Division was briefly designated the 37th Rifle Division but then became the 127th Motor Rifle Division in 1965.[5]
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This listing is taken from Lenskii & Tsybin's The Soviet Ground Forces in the last years of the USSR (St Petersburg, 2001).[6] The city of Gyumri was known as Leninakan up to 1990.
On 19 November 1990 the 127th MRD had the following equipment:
By the mid-late 1990s the composition of the 127th Motor Rifle Division had changed, following the departure of the majority of the Soviet forces from Armenia. It consisted of the 123rd, 124th, and 128th Motor Rifle Regiments, the 992nd Artillery Regiment, and the 116th Independent Tank Battalion. The 123rd Motor Rifle Regiment was formed from the former 164th Motor Rifle Division, also stationed in Armenia.
There are 3,000 Russian soldiers officially reported to be stationed at the 102nd Military Base located in Gyumri. In early 2005, the 102nd Military Base had 74 tanks, 17 infantry fighting vehicles, 148 armored personnel carriers, 84 artillery pieces, 18 MiG-29 fighters and several batteries of S-300 anti-aircraft missiles. A great deal of military hardware has been moved to the 102nd Base from the Russian 12th Military Base in Batumi and the Russian 62nd Military Base in Akhalkalaki, Georgia[7] which includes 35 tanks and armored vehicles and 370 pieces of military hardware. The military base is part of a joint air defense system of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), which was deployed in Armenia in 1995. Furthermore, the Armenian Air Force relies partially upon the Russian MiG-29s located at the military base, for the defense of Armenia's airspace.
The Russian military base was deployed on the territory of Armenia as early as 1996 (before that, the installation was still known as the 127th MRD of the Soviet Ground Forces). The bilateral treaty states that the Russian military will be in the base for 25 years, but Armenian authorities have said that if needed this time-frame can be reviewed, and exclusively in the direction of prolongation. Although Russia does not pay the Armenian government for the military base stationed in Gyumri, the Armenian side takes care of all public utilities water, electricity, etc.[8]
In 1997, Armenia and Russia signed a far-reaching friendship treaty, which calls for mutual assistance in the event of a military threat to either party and allows Russian border guards to patrol Armenia’s frontiers with Turkey and Iran.
In August 2003 the base's commanding officer, General Major Alexander Titov, was dismissed for not maintaining military discipline and allowing corruption and the sale of state equipment.[9]
In early 2009, the mobilisable portion of the base was reformed as two separate motor rifle brigades.(Warfare.ru)
A special five-year agreement concluded with Georgia on March 31, 2006 allowed Russia access to the 102nd Military Base through Georgia's land and airspace. The agreement prohibited Russia from handing over any armament transited through Georgian territory to a third country and from transiting biological, nuclear or chemical substances, as well as weapon of mass destruction or their components. It further stipulated that the amount of military cargo should have been agreed between Russia and Georgia one year in advance. Furthermore, Georgia could refuse the transit if it posed a threat to its national security or if the final destination of the transited military cargo was a location within a conflict zone or a warring state. In December 2006, Russia accused Georgia of "sabotaging" the cargoes destined for the 102nd Military Base.[10]
The transit of Russian military personnel and cargo was suspended by the government of Georgia in the aftermath of the 2008 with Russia. Upon expiration of its five-year term, on April 19, 2011, the Parliament of Georgia annulled the 2006 agreement with Russia.[11][12]
The question about the presence of the Russian military base in Armenia was raised in the European Commission. Many experts argue that the presence of the base is an obstacle to Western investment and reforms of the Armenian public and political system that is too closely linked with the Russian leadership.[13]