Special Battalions Vostok and Zapad

Special Battalion Vostok Special Battalion Zapad
Battalion Vostok soldiers in Georgia in 2008
Active	2003–2008[1]
Country	Russia
Branch	GRU (direct subordination) 42nd Guards Motor Rifle Division (operational command)
Type	Spetsnaz
Role	Close-quarters combat Cold-weather warfare Counterinsurgency Direct action Forward air control Forward observer HUMINT Irregular warfare Military intelligence Maneuver warfare Mountain warfare Patrolling Raiding Reconnaissance Special operations Special reconnaissance Tactical emergency medical services Tracking Urban warfare
Size	1,200–1,800 active personnel
Garrison/HQ	Eastern Chechnya (Vostok) Western Chechnya (Zapad)
Engagements	Second Chechen War Russo-Georgian War

Special Battalions Vostok and Zapad (Russian: Специальные батальоны "Восток" и "Запад", lit. "East" and "West") were two Spetsnaz units of the GRU, the military intelligence agency of Russia, based in Chechnya. The overwhelming majority of the personnel were ethnic Chechens, while the command personnel were mixed ethnic Russians and Chechens. The Special Battalions were formed during the Second Chechen War as a force of Chechen volunteers under the direct control of the Russian government to perform operations in the mountain-forests of Chechnya. The two units operated independently from each other, with Zapad covering the western half of Chechnya and Vostok covering the eastern half, and their own commanders subordinate to the GRU but under the command network of the 42nd Guards Motor Rifle Division.

The Special Battalions Vostok and Zapad operated for most of the Second Chechen War, and were briefly deployed by Russia in conflicts outside of Chechnya, until they were disbanded in 2008.