Soviet Spetsnaz in Alaska during Cold War - truth or myth? (general, Russians)
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Several times now I have heard little rumors about Soviet Spetsnaz commandos infiltrating Alaska throughout the Cold War. Did such things actually happen?
I found this to be especially interesting:
Spetsnaz Invades America (http://www.spetsnaztraining.com/view/Spetsnaz_Invades_America - broken link)
Quote:
There is a persistent story, denied by the Pentagon but confirmed by Alaskan sources, that an Eskimo member of the Alaskan Scouts (National Guard) was apparently shot to death after stumbling upon a Spetsnaz reconaisance unit in Alaska. Reports indicate that authorities discovered footprints leading from the murder scene to the water's edge, as well as mini-sub tracks nearby in shallow water. In addition, a piece of equipment found at the scene was identified as being of Soviet origin. The incident has produced serious dissension within the ranks of the Alaskan Scouts: Several members have refused to patrol the area of the shooting and others have resigned. [Editor's note: SOF has learned that the item of Soviet equipment found next to the body of the Eskimo Scout on Little Diomede Island was a Soviet NBC decontamination kit. In addition, an autopsy performed on the scout revealed that he had been killed by a dum-dum bullet of a type known to be favored by Spetsnaz teams.]
The above incident allegedly took place on Little Diomede Island but I have been unable to find a date or year. There are also additional unconfirmed reports that Soviet commandos were spotted several times on St. Lawrence Island in early 1988.
Whether it was true or not, I hardly think a Soviet presence on Littlel Diomede Island is something to get all worked up about. They could have rowed over to that island from proper Soviet territory in a kayak in a couple of hours. There is no harm they could have done there, and no intelligence to be gained.
Anything is possible, the Spetsnaz were reconisance troops. But it does not make a lot of sense. There is nothing on the island worth potentially generating a ugly situation with the US government over. So shooting anyone makes little sense. They could have just bought a road map in the state. Or showed up without weapons or uniforms (many likely spoke excellent English). Its not like the scouts would have asked for papers or a birth certificate since no Americans carried them.
It reminds me of a true, well documented incident, that was hushed up. In 1950 during one of the hotest points of the Cold War, two US Super Saber jets got lost and ended up in Vladivlastock. They were supposed to strafe Mig bases (in N Korea) and they did strafe Mig's....but not in the right place.
Or they claimed they got lost and did it deliberately. Either way both governments said nothing of it.
The account may be factual. The elite Spetsnaz commando units were under the control of the GRU, not part of the Red Army, and the GRU was the military intelligence branch of Soviet forces. What is not well known is that the Russians put their people on our territory rather often on spying missions, and we did the same thing to them. Submarines are marvelous platforms from which to covertly send intel teams ashore after quietly creeping very close to a foreign nations shoreline. Details of those ops are still classified, and we may never know what went on, but bottom line, they did it to us and we did it to them.
The GRU was the military intelligence arm of the Soviet Army. Therefore it makes no sense to assert that they, or those under them, were not part of the Red Army If you mean they were not a regular military formation in the sense Russian marines might have been that is a different issue.
The GRU was the military intelligence arm of the Soviet Army. Therefore it makes no sense to assert that they, or those under them, were not part of the Red Army If you mean they were not a regular military formation in the sense Russian marines might have been that is a different issue.
In the bureaucracy that was the Soviet Union, the GRU was an agency unto itself. It was said to have almost as many personnel and resources as the KGB. The GRU is and was the foreign military intelligence organization, providing information to all branches of the Soviet, and now Russian, armed forces. The Spetsnaz was part of the GRU and under its direct control. They were not part of the regular Red Army, and were outside of its chain of command. Their duties were sabotage, assasinations, intelligence, and special operations. The were and are the Russian equivalent of our Navy Seals, Army Delta Forces, or the British SAS.
I have never heard that the GRU was an agency unto itself. It was like the various US military intelligence agencies, under the command of the heads of the military.
It follows that if it was in the chain of command of the General Staff so were all subsidary units like the Spetsnaz. If you are arguing that they, like the US Green Beret had unusual chain of commands I would agree. If you arguing they were not in the military chain of command (at a higher level than normal formations) I disagree.
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