The "I want to join the Russian Army" Thread

I know this sounds crazy but hear me out first. So I dropped out and got my GED I was considering joining the us marines but personally I think Russia has a better military and there is too much politics involved even in the american military. I was researching it and Russia opened up there military to foreigners I don't know if that is still active or if it was temporary but is It possible I join? and if I could how rough would it be being an american there?

You're not the first one to make the inquiry.

And I'd say, just like I said to everyone else - that I think that nothing's impossible. The Russian military has had all sorts already, and many foreign citizens (albeit with dual Russian citizenship too)

But there would be a lot involved, don't make any mistake about that.

First of all you should start learning Russian intensively. Preferably, either finish your studies in the US and move to Russia as an expat, or take a year to learn the basics about Russia, start correspondences with people in Russia and learn some of the language - and then apply for an English language course at a Russian university - there are some for certain disciplines.
Once there, try to involve yourself in Russian life and the Russian language as much as possible. Then apply for residency and start inquiring about citizenship, and also military service. Citizenship may be possible after about 4-5 years; after which you would be eligible for conscription (and soon after that - contract service) but there were some plans in the pipeline that would allow foreign citizens, at least from certain countries to serve in certain units in the Russian military; something like the French foreign legion.

Research your family. If you have any family ties with Russia, even distant ones; then try and use them to secure citizenship - there are a lot of laws being passed in Russia about these sorts of things these days, and it's quite possible that you will find something applicable. If not, perhaps you have a chance at Ukrainian, Belorussian, Armenian, or whatever else citizenship if you have some ties to those countries - citizens of CIS countries will often find the route to Russian military service, or citizenship a lot quicker/more open to them. If you have some Jewish roots, look to see if these roots hail from Russia or the ex-USSR.

Work on your PT at the same time; in particular a good score in pull-ups (+14 in a row, palms facing outwards), push-ups (try for +50 in a minute) and 3km runs (you should do it in 12 mins or less; 11 mins would be an excellent result).
Other things you may encounter are 6km runs, straight 100m sprints, 100m sprints in 10m intervals (changing direction 180 degrees every 10 meters, and its tough as shit), sit-ups, and maximum number of sit-ups and push-ups combined in 60s.
There are in total some 50-60 possible exercises in the PT system of the Russian military; everything from short runs to long-distance runs, all sorts of movements using your own body weight or other weights, etc... but the ones I named are by far the most common.
The whole thing works on a point system similar to the US military; although the standards themselves are different.
You need a good score; even for just normal contract service, and especially for marines/VDV/motor-rifles/Spetsnaz/etc...

For conscript service these PT standards aren't that important (albeit would still considerably increase your chances of getting into a combat unit from the start, if that's what you're aiming for), but you will be given the option of contract service starting from about 6 months into your service (sometimes you'll have to finish your current conscript posting before transferring, sometimes not), and then that's when you will be assessed.

Note that now you have a new law coming out which stipulates giving conscripts the choice between 1 year conscript service and 2 years professional service right from the beginning. It's a shame I wasn't given that choice - I would have chosen the professional service in an instant. More interesting, better training, better food, leave allowances, personal effects/objects, and you'll get paid (probably); all for only 1 more measly year of service.
In this case I guess your PT will be assessed from the beginning; although who knows.

And no I don't think you'll get any stick as an American. People will be curious. Ladies will love you. Don't worry  
But you will need to pull your weight same as anyone else, no special allowances.

All the above is good advice. Do you speak any Russian ? Have you ever been to Russia as a tourist ? If not, plan a trip as a start and start studying the language. It is a difficult language for English speakers to master. After years I can converse but in no way am I fluent.

If you like it there and want to move there look for a job in an American themed club/restaurant/bar. With a GED you are certainly not getting any high paying jobs. You can look for jobs online in the Moscow Times. The easiest path to citizenship is marrying a Russian girl. Fortunately, there is no shortage of attractive Russian girls but they are a lot more picky then back in the 1990s when an American passport was the ticket to model quality dyevs.

Very welcomed idea, but I hope You stand by Your word and actually join as most of people who want to join just chicken out. 
Why don't You contact Russian embassy directly? 
I don't want to scare You, but if You expect it to be easy then better join USMC or SEALS  

I personally know some russian expats who tried and couple actually joined Russian military. Even strange Russian-Jewish guy served in Russia and then in Israel (it really helps You to get a good job in both countries). 

I presume You have to live in Russia for awhile to properly learn the language and ... "panetki".
You are "pindos" to russians, a stereotype of American who is weak person. Don't get offended, not aiming directly at You, but this stereotype is pretty much global for Americans. I know that is not generally true, same as I am automatically a nazi to Russians when I say that I'm from Baltics and probably I would be the target in the service for first months  
No one would feel too much love for You as most conscripts don't even like expat dreamers who join military just for so called "patriotic safari". "Dedovschina" is mostly gone, don't expect schools atmosphere and be really to stand for Yourself and not in american way of saying F off  You have to be strong personality. 

People who serve in Russian military are not always happy that they are conscripted, they are not just some weak teenagers who only lived in nice neighborhoods, had nice iphones, they don't have rich parents who bought them out of draft, most of them would be badass in every way. Look at some our Russian members here who are outright badass. 
Education wise Russians are strong too and most of them would wipe their arses with US GED degree. Compare it to Russian G.I.A. and further E.G.Ye exam. Most of soldiers and 94 percent population will have one of them.


Real and professional service starts when You are contract soldier anyways. After 3 years of service You can get Russian citizenship and continue to pursue military career. Wages are good for contract soldiers it gets even better if You decide to have family in Russia. 

Have fun with paperwork. It might be hard to get Your health card and then medical "biliet", as You have to go to polyclinic to get Your health checked before You go to "voenkomat". Or maybe it can be done straight there, not sure how it works, but my friend had problems with it. Anyways If You want it so much then YOU will make it happen. There will be no one helping You. And that is the beauty of YOU serving the military not the other way around.
Good luck!

Why wo you want to join the Russian army? If I had to choose, I would stick to the Marines, eventually one of euro armies... better trained, they pay more and cultural difference is smaller.

if you were f Russian descent and spoke Russian fluently, your idea would make sense. Otherwise, I don't see much of it personally.

Regular wrote:I presume You have to live in Russia for awhile to properly learn the language and ... "panetki".
You are "pindos" to russians, a stereotype of American who is weak person. Don't get offended, not aiming directly at You, but this stereotype is pretty much global for Americans. I know that is not generally true, same as I am automatically a nazi to Russians when I say that I'm from Baltics and probably I would be the target in the service for first months  
No one would feel too much love for You as most conscripts don't even like expat dreamers who join military just for so called "patriotic safari". "Dedovschina" is mostly gone, don't expect schools atmosphere and be really to stand for Yourself and not in american way of saying F off  You have to be strong personality. 

lol, Regular, while I agree with 90% of what you said - I have to point out that as a royal subject of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II who served in the Russian military (I guess I went on what you call a 'patriotic safari', albeit it didn't seem like much of a safari to me), I can personally attest to the fact that by far the most important factor in how people will treat you and what attitude they will have to you - is how much trouble, BS, or extra work they get because of you. It's your own actions and behavior that decides everything. Your origins, whatever they might be, might be the cause for the initial attitudes of a small amount of people to be different for you than for others; but that will quickly change, and this sort of thing will become basically irrelevant once you start living/labouring/soldiering together.

Thanks for the advice guys I'll start working out more and learn russian fortunatley for me my dad works for the airlines so I can fly there free that will definatley help my family is from germany but lived the past 700 years in romania before moving to america aparently the part of romania they were living in was took over by the ukraine during WWII and we have all our original family in the ukraine right now anyone know a town called seletin? i cant seem to find it maybe im spelling it wrong either way that is very good news

So If I learned the language and got my citizenship how would I go about becoming a paratrooper?

I would suggest you don't make a decision too rashly. Joining a foreign military on the other side of the world means a total change of life. You shouldn't enlist unless you have researched the topic throughly and really can't imagine doing anything else.

Do you knoow any other language besides English e.g. German, Romanian or Ukrainian? I am a native speaker of a Slavic language so Russian si easy to me but but for people who know only English it's a nightmare.

Well I learned german i can get by but I have a friend who is a translator and hes going to help me with russian I've thought about this don't want to pass up an oppurtunity as great as this I do not fit in in america

Respect for Your service. Did You serve in the navy or I'm mixing something? Navy is a good place to serve in Russia, well at least it was in Soviet times. Loads of opportunities from Murmansk to Kaliningrad. How are the things today?
I've met a person in Lithuanian navy who eventually served in Akula submarine and was stationed not far away from Murmansk. He was pensioner by the age of 34. He said there was no dedovschina in Navy at all.

Regular wrote:Respect for Your service. Did You serve in the navy or I'm mixing something? Navy is a good place to serve in Russia, well at least it was in Soviet times. Loads of opportunities from Murmansk to Kaliningrad. How are the things today?
I've met a person in Lithuanian navy who eventually served in Akula submarine and was stationed not far away from Murmansk. He was pensioner by the age of 34. He said there was no dedovschina in Navy at all.

Served in the Navy, Northern Fleet; not too far from Murmansk & Severomorsk.

Dedovshchina has always been present - as in the Navy as in the Army, although they say that the army has the more hardcore 'prikols'

It has never existed on submarines though. I talked to submariners too. They told me that anyone who didn't work to speed simply flew the hell out of there. They are such serious postings that there is no leeway and no time for fucking around or for not doing everything according to spec. Hence dedovshchina is neither needed nor can it develop in such an environment anyway.
So that might explain why the officer told you what he did. That and the fact that dedovshchina was lesser in Soviet times anyway.

In my unit the dedovshchina was pretty fierce back in the 90s, and for most of the 2000s too; it worked itself up quite the reputation. Poor naval firemen were beaten half to death on a daily basis by conscripts who had 1.5x their length of service; like those from the auto-platoon.
The marines protecting the base and the sailors manning all the equipment were situated in the same barracks, on the same floor, in 2 separate sleeping chambers; separated from each other by a simple wooden door.
Well let me put it this way - eventually a metal door was installed in that location; and it was sealed permanently.
You don't have marines serving in the base anymore these days, but the door stayed I guess.
There was a particularly nasty incident sometime back in 2005-2006 or so when a sailor wasn't cleaning the floor fast enough, and another sailor decided to motivate him by kicking him in the balls while he was on the floor cleaning. The sailor that was kicked lost a testicle, and the culprit ended up in a disciplinary battalion (i.e. military prison) for a good few years or so.

But by the time I got there though it was nothing too serious, and by the time I left it was basically gone.

Ak103 wrote:I know this sounds crazy but hear me out first. So I dropped out and got my GED I was considering joining the us marines but personally I think Russia has a better military and there is too much politics involved even in the american military. I was researching it and Russia opened up there military to foreigners I don't know if that is still active or if it was temporary but is It possible I join? and if I could how rough would it be being an american there?

That does sound crazy. If you gain Russian citizenship, I will tell you the secrets to becoming a paratrooper.

Ak103 wrote:Thanks for the advice guys I'll start working out more and learn russian :Dfortunatley for me my dad works for the airlines so I can fly there free that will definatley help my family is from germany but lived the past 700 years in romania before moving to america aparently the part of romania they were living in was took over by the ukraine during WWII and we have all our original family in the ukraine right now anyone know a town called seletin? i cant seem to find it maybe im spelling it wrong either way that is very good news

That's good. That sounds like Bessarabia (Moldova), although I'm not sure.
I'm not certain if it would be more efficient for you to apply for Moldovan citizenship first and then try and join-up to the Russian military or attempt to gain Russian citizenship through it (there are certain provisions for things like that I believe); or for you to go straight for Russian citizenship.
Do your research.

Ak103 wrote:So If I learned the language and got my citizenship how would I go about becoming a paratrooper?

I'm sure that Vladimir will fill you in on the specifics.

But just in general terms - as soon as the conscription season begins, make sure you are registered with the MVD (Police) at your address; you will get a note ordering you to the Military Commision office in your local area. It will be a back-and forth process for a while; registering there, then going to have a medical examination, then a meeting with the Military Commissioner, maybe something else too - before finally being told when to turn up to be drafted.

Try and be one of the first to go through all this in the season (there are 2 each year, beginning around April/May and October/November or so); in your meeting with the Military Commisioner tell him where you want to serve and in what forces. Ultimately the decision is up to him though. If you don't get into the paratroopers and end up somewhere else, then after about 6 months you can ask your commanders for contract-service in the VDV, you will go through the process and if everything checks out - sooner or later you will be transferred.

Keep in mind though that even in the paratroopers there are combat roles and there are also mostly non-combat, support roles. There are conscripts involved in logistics, mechanics, driving, various instrument configuration and other such specialized roles. But everyone performs paradrops and receives combat training I believe. Make sure to insist at every step of the way, on being a rifleman, gunner or whatever it is you want to be. There will be opportunities to get into that sort of thing particularly in the first 1-2 months, and you have to be ready to grab the opportunities and not hesitate.

Get ripped so nobody fucks with you.

Also preferably break your nose in MMA training and get a few scars.

is there a certain anti tank infantry division??

or even someone that makes the rpg missiles??

Ak103 wrote:or even someone that makes the rpg missiles??

So You want to work in a factory or serve in an army? And AT Division is just plain silly.

Well if You don't fit in USA then good luck fitting in Russian army.

Read all the information You want to know. If You are using translator it means You are doing it wrong as You should be able to have good standard of Russian.
http://recrut.mil.ru/career/soldiering/conditions/foreigners.htm

You want to join paratroopers? VoyskaDyadiVasi? Stroy Bat is not good for You? You know it's prestige service and there are thousands of volunteers willing to join. Think what could You offer to VDV. Don't know about physical requirements today, but in Soviet union there was height and built requirement.

Have You ever visited Russia, do You have friends there? I suggest to watch Russian TV, movies and You will learn better than from translator. 

Military service is not a joke it is a pride to serve. It's not a game where You can shoot all the weapons in arsenal. Shooting is only very small part. Most of the day is spent with weapon locked in gun locker. You give yourself more than You get from the service.

I was called to serve my country and unlike most of my friends I didn't dodge. It was hard enough and with minor dedovschina and constant fights first 3 months until basic training was finished and we were mixed up. I was a simple cannon fodder before contract. To serve in infantry is fun only first 4 months and after that it's mindless rinse and repeat. There are fewer opportunities for infantry meat-heads too.
Soldier life is not romantic at all. And floors, toilets don't clean themselves up You know. In Russian army soldier activities are even more saturated than what I've used to have. To be more useful while on duty in barracks You have to have some skills and You will get white collar duties. 
What could be more rewarding - is to serve in armour, aviation, navy. Then You would have an opportunity to get qualification as mechanic to fix equipment, You get military driving license, You can become mechanic and so on. Your don't spend all the time in the field with runny bladder and frost bite on the fingers. Or even better Marsh brosok in summer with a GP-5 on. But here comes magic - You have to be willing to LEARN if You want to achieve something. 
UCHIS, SALAGA, get Your GED and then try to meet all the requirements mentioned in site I've shared. 
Good luck.

I just wonder what an american salabon could do in this situation


To all who don't speak Russian
"Dedi" are trying to show who is who to new recruit. He is not threatened and shows that he has balls by words and actions.

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I do take it seriously and I'm 6,1

Regular wrote:I just wonder what an american salabon could do in this situation


To all who don't speak Russian
"Dedi" are trying to show who is who to new recruit. He is not threatened and shows that he has balls by words and actions.

Hope those fucks step on a landmine.

I was curious if its possible to serve in both militaries I currently dont exactly have the means to travel to russia and to say im inpatient would be an understatement if i enlist us army 91f (small arms repair) and serve for 4 years would i be allowed to go to russia and serve there after? I have family in moldova so i think that could help but would that be possible??

yes, but only as a double agent.