Post Soviet Era
The Flotilla has now dropped in numbers, and the Kazakh contingent was removed to serve as a basis for Kazakhstan's naval service. For several years Russia continued to lead a joint Turkmen-Russian force based at Astrakhan.
Among the Flotilla's units from 2000 has been a new Naval Infantry brigade, the 77th, based at Kaspiysk. The headquarters and two battalions of the brigade were scheduled to be established by August 1, 2000. It was reported by AVN Military News Agency in June 2000 that the new brigade, which may have inherited the lineage of the disbanded 77th Motor Rifle Division, was to have its troops housed in Kaspiysk and Astrakhan, and have as many as 195 combat vehicles and 1 Gepard class frigate sent to it from Chukotka and the Northern Fleet, respectively. The brigade was also to have helicopters added to it, ran the June 2000 report. The Brigade's full name was the Detached Guards Moscow-Chernigov Order of Lenin, the Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Marine Brigade. It was disbanded in 2009.
The brigade comprised a headquarters at Kaspiysk; the 414th Detached Naval Infantry Battalion (Kaspiysk); the 725th Detached Naval Infantry Battalion (Kaspiysk); the 727th Detached Naval Infantry Battalion (Astrakhan); the 1200th Detached Reconnaissance Battalion (Kaspiysk); the 1408th Independent Howitzer Artillery Battalion; the 1409th Independent Howitzer Artillery Battalion; the 975th Detached Naval Infantry Battalion (Kaspiysk); the 1387th Detached Air Defence Missile and Artillery Battalion; and the 530th Detached Electronic Countermeasures Company.
Also the flotilla has received one of new Buyan class stealth type river gun boats built by The St. Petersburg Almaz shipyard.
On 13 and 23 November 2009 there were two separate sets of explosions at the 31st Arsenal of the Caspian Sea Flotilla, an ammunition depot, in Ulyanovsk. Ten servicemen died. The depot is to be closed.
Read more about this topic: Caspian Flotilla
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