106th Guards Tula Airborne Division

106th Guards Airborne Division
Russian: 106-я гвардейская воздушно-десантная Тульская Краснознамённая ордена Кутузова дивизия
106th Guards Airborne Division shoulder sleeve patch (since 2006)
Active	1944 - present
Country	Soviet Union (1944–1991)  Russia (1991–present)
Branch	Russian Airborne Troops
Type	Airborne forces
Role	Light Infantry Airborne Infantry Airmobile infantry
Part of	Russian Armed Forces
Garrison/HQ	Tula
Nickname(s)	Tula Division
Motto(s)	Нет задач невыполнимых! (There are no impossible tasks!)
Anniversaries	26 April
Engagements	World War II Soviet-Afghan War First Chechen War Second Chechen War War in Donbas
Decorations	Order of the Red Banner  Order of Kutuzov
Battle honours	Guards Tula
Commanders
Current commander	Colonel Pavel Kirsi
Notable commanders	Lt.Gen. Alexander Lebed Col. Gen. Andrey Serdyukov

Lt.Gen. Alexander Lebed

The 106th Guards Tula Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Airborne Division, more generally referred to as the Tula Division, is one of the four airborne divisions of the Russian Airborne Troops, the VDV (Russian: Воздушно-десантные войска, Vozdushno-desantnye voyska). Based in the city of Tula, to the south of Moscow, it is administratively located within the Western Military District.

The Division was founded in January 1944 as the 16th Guards Airborne Division, and from then until the end of the Second World War fought in Hungary, Austria and Czechoslovakia (including in Prague), mostly with 38th Guards Rifle Corps of 9th Guards Army. It became the 106th Guards Rifle Division in December 1944, as all the original VDV divisions and brigades were being reconstituted as Guards Rifle formations. The Division's honorifics are 'Red Banner, Order of Kutuzov', though an early Western writer reported them as 'Dneipr-Transbaikal' seemingly incorrectly, at one point in its history.

On 7 June 1946, the 106th Guards Rifle Division was converted to an airborne division at Tula, part of the new 38th Guards Airborne Corps. On 1 October 1948, the division's 347th Guards Air Landing Regiment was used to form the 11th Guards Airborne Division. It was replaced by the new 51st Guards Air Landing Regiment, which became an airborne unit in 1949. On 5 May 1955, the 137th Guards Airborne Regiment joined the division from the disbanded 11th Guards Airborne Division. On 6 January 1959, the 110th Separate Military-Transport Aviation Squadron was formed with the division, equipped with ten Antonov An-2 transports. On 15 August 1960, the 205th Guards Artillery Regiment became the 845th Separate Guards Artillery Battalion. At the same time, the 351st Guards Airborne Regiment transferred to the 105th Guards Airborne Division and was replaced by the 105th's 331st Guards Airborne Regiment. On 27 April 1962, the 845th Separate Guards Artillery Battalion became the 1182nd Guards Artillery Regiment.