Vladimir Kvachkov - Military Career in GRU

Military Career in GRU

In 1981 Kvachkov served in Leningrad Military District. In 1983 he was transferred to Afghanistan to lead a brigade of Spetznaz GRU during the Soviet war in Afghanistan. The same year he was shell-shocked and had to undergo long medical treatment.

In 1984–1986 Kvachkov served in Pskov, in 1986–1989 he was the Chief of the Staff of a brigade in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. In 1989 he became the commander of the 15th GRU Spetznaz brigade located in the Turkestan Military District (since 1992 in Uzbekistan). He took part in military conflicts in Azerbaijan (Nagorno-Karabakh War, 1990) and in Tajikistan (Civil war in Tajikistan, 1992).

In the beginning of 1990s Kvachkov was a military consultant of the movie Black Shark devoted to Black Shark helicopter pilots and Spetznaz GRU. In the movie he also played a second plane role of a Spetznaz Colonel.

In 1994–1999 Kvachkov worked in GRU. In 1997 Kvachkov and Popovskikh (at that time the Chief of Military Intelligence of the Russian Airborne Troops) organized a scientific conference Special Operations and the Need to create the Special Forces branch of the Russian Army (Специальные операции и необходимость создания сил (войск) специального назначения в Вооруженных Силах Российской Федерации). Kvachkov and Popovskikh advocated making spetznaz an arm of service of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The reform they proposed was not accepted.