Russian Naval Infantry

The Russian Naval Infantry (Marines, Морская пехота, Morskaya Pekhota), is the amphibious force of the Russian Navy. The first Russian naval infantry force was formed in 1705, and since that time it has fought in the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimean War, the Russo-Japanese War, and the First and Second World Wars. Under Admiral Gorshkov, the Soviet Navy expanded the reach of the Naval Infantry and deployed it worldwide on numerous occasions.

The Naval Infantry are led by the Deputy Commander for Coastal Troops/Commandant of the Coastal Troops of the Russian Navy, Lieutenant General (NI) Aleksandr Kolpachenko.

They, alongside the Coastal Defense Missile Artillery Forces, form part of a larger institution—the Coastal Troops of the Russian Navy (Береговые войска ВМФ России, Beregovye Voyska VMF Rossii).