Special Battalion Vostok

Special Battalion Vostok Special Battalion Zapad
Battalion Vostok soldiers in Georgia in 2008
Active	2003-2008
Country	Russia
Branch	GRU (direct subordination)
Type	Spetsnaz
Role	Special operations in mountain-forest lands
Garrison/HQ	Eastern Chechnya (Vostok) Western Chechnya (Zapad)
Engagements	Second Chechen War 2006 Lebanon War aftermath Russo-Georgian War

Special Battalions Vostok and Zapad (Russian: Специальные батальоны "Восток" и "Запад", lit. "East" and "West") were two Spetznaz units of Russian military intelligence (GRU) based in Chechnya. The overwhelming majority of personnel were ethnic Chechens, while the command personnel were mixed Russian and Chechens.

Vostok and Zapad were organized at the end of 1999, initially as two special companies formed in the structure of the Mountain Grouping of the Russian Ministry of Defence; they were assigned to the commandant's offices (kommendantura) established on the territory of the Chechen Republic in 2002. The Chechen personnel were of diverse origins. Zapad servicemen were loyal to the Russian government, while the core of Vostok were former separatist fighters of the 2nd Battalion of the National Guard of Ichkeria from Gudermes, who had fought against Russian troops in the First Chechen War of 1994-1996; they then switched to the federal side and swore allegiance to Russia. The units were directly subordinate to the GRU, but operationally they were included in the structure of the 42nd Motor Rifle Division. Following the 2006 Lebanon War, members of both units were sent to protect Russian field engineers on a peacekeeping mission in Lebanon.

The two battalions (each about 600-900 strong) were the only ethnic Chechen units in the structure of the Russian Ministry of Defence and outside the control of the Chechen government, which was increasingly dominated by the Chechen militia leader Ramzan Kadyrov. Zapad was commanded by career officer Said-Magomed Kakiyev while Vostok was controlled by the controversial Yamadayev clan (thus earning them the name of Yamadaevtsy, or "Yamadayev men"), which was powerful enough to rival Kadyrov. Kakiyev (four times) and three of the Yamadayev brothers received the Hero of the Russian Federation award. The brothers owned their TV station, Vostok, and several other businesses in Chechnya and Moscow. One of the brothers, Ruslan Yamadayev, became a State Duma deputy representing Chechnya. On the other hand, Kakiyev kept a low profile.