Author: Cui Yan (Research Fellow, Ward Institute and Deputy Director of the Russia Center).
On 1 February, the Alexander Peacekeeping Brigade of the Central Russian Military District held an event to celebrate its 19th anniversary. First of all, the peacekeeping brigade held a grand military parade, and each team walked through the review stand in turn to be inspected by the leaders of the Central Military Region and the headquarters of the composite group army. The brigade also invited the families of officers and soldiers, local municipal institutions, social organizations and religious figures to participate in the celebrations. Finally, the peacekeeping brigade held a commendation ceremony, at which the brigade leadership presented medals and medals to servicemen for outstanding performance, as well as souvenirs.
In order to maintain world peace and security, on February 1, 2005, the Ministry of Defense established the first peacekeeping brigade based on the 15th Independent Motorized Infantry Brigade of the Composite Group Army of the Central Military Region, which is also the only peacekeeping brigade in the current Russian military establishment sequence.
The soldiers of the peacekeeping brigade are all contract soldiers, there are no conscripts, and the brigade is equipped with a series of modern **: 82 armored transport vehicles, "Sagittarius" reconnaissance command and communication complex, GLONASS "Belunit" and "Gorot-" satellite navigation equipment, "Sea Hawk-10", "Rigging-3" and "Tachyon-3" UAVs, as well as the 6th generation "Azart" radio station, "Cowboy" individual protective clothing. In 2019, the brigade was awarded the honorary title "Alexander", and in 2022 it was awarded the title "Guard"; In 2020, the Russian army formed a peacekeeping force in Nagorno-Kara** on the basis of officers and soldiers of the peacekeeping brigade.
The 19th anniversary of the establishment of the peacekeeping brigade was celebrated by the Russian military with a variety of activities. If it were in peacetime, it would not be surprising that the Russian military celebrated the founding day of a brigade-sized unit. However, in the context that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is still not over and the officers and soldiers on both sides are still fighting desperately on the front line, the intention behind it is worth pondering. After careful summarization, the Russian military mainly has these three deep intentions:
1. Promote the peace-loving image of the Russian army to the outside world.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict, which broke out in February 2022, has been going on for almost two years. The outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict has aroused widespread concern in the international community, and as the conflict develops, the international community is worried about whether this conflict will continue to escalate, and the United States and Western countries have wantonly smeared Russia's behavior. In this conflict, Russia's intervention in the eastern region of Ukraine has aroused dissatisfaction and condemnation from Western countries. Not only that, but the conflict has also led to a humanitarian crisis and massive refugee displacement.
One of the main problems facing Russia is that its behavior has made many countries doubt whether it respects international law and territorial integrity, and in addition to the malicious propaganda and smear reports of the United States and Western countries, it has damaged Russia's reputation and image in the international community. In addition, Russia's influence in international political affairs has gradually declined, which has led to a decrease in trust in many countries and labeled Russia a "destroyer of world peace".
The original intention of the formation of the peacekeeping brigade was "to maintain world peace and security". This time, the Russian army took the opportunity of celebrating the 19th anniversary of the establishment of the peacekeeping brigade to deliberately increase publicity and coverage of the celebration, and highlighted the theme of peacekeeping, conveying to the outside world that the Russian army is peace-maintaining and peace-loving.
2. Publicize the image of the Russian army in defending the country to the country.
Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the majority of the Russian people have understood and supported the country's behavior. According to the results of a poll conducted by the All-Russian Center for Social ** Research on December 29, 2023, 80% of respondents expressed trust in Putin, 166% say they don't trust Russia**; Most (77.)1%) respondents approve of the work done by Putin as **, while 146% of Russians said they disagreed. This fully shows that the majority of the Russian people understand and support Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, and recognize that this is a self-defense action that Russia is forced to take to defend its homeland and country in the face of NATO's continuous eastward expansion.
The Russian army took the opportunity of the 19th anniversary of the establishment of the peacekeeping brigade to hold a series of celebrations, in which the families of officers and soldiers, local municipal institutions, social organizations and religious circles were invited to participate simultaneously, and it was also to show the society the achievements of the construction of the peacekeeping brigade, judging from the report, in 2019, the brigade was awarded the honorary title of "Alexander", and in 2022, it was awarded the title of "Guard"; This is to publicize the work achievements of the entire Russian army from point to point, and to show the combat achievements of the Russian army in the special military operation, so as to further publicize the image of the Russian army in defending the homeland and defending the country.
3. Publicize the image of military personnel who love the army and are proficient in military affairs.
On December 19, 2023, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu pointed out at the summary meeting of the Ministry of Defense: Russian servicemen and volunteers showed bravery, steadfastness and self-sacrifice during the special military operation; Tank crews, motorized infantry, paratroopers, marines, pilots, and artillerymen all showed valor; 320,000 people were awarded state honorary titles, and 272 were awarded the title "Hero of Russia". This fully shows that the Russian army rewards the participants who have participated in the special military operation with outstanding performance.
Due to the needs of the mission, the soldiers of the peacekeeping brigade need to be on duty in the conflict area on the battlefield full of gunpowder smoke and fire, so as to maintain local peace and the order of people's production and life, so that the soldiers are exposed to more dangers, and the requirements for the comprehensive quality of the soldiers are stricter. This can be seen from the fact that the soldiers of the peacekeeping brigade are contract soldiers. The brigade was successively awarded the honorary title of "Alexander" and the title of "Guards," both of which were the result of the joint efforts of the officers and men of the brigade.
In a series of activities to celebrate the 19th anniversary of the founding of the peacekeeping brigade, the Russian army also focused on commending the officers and men with outstanding performance in the brigade, who are representatives of the elite military and military elites, and awarded medals and medals.