The "I want to join the Russian Army" Thread

Hello, I am a british male and am considering joining the VDV. Is this possible? Or will I have to join a different regiment until I get citizenship? Also what happens during the medical? I have a mild scoliosis (curvature of the spine) in the lumbar region. It is just mild, and doesn't cause any back pain or anything. Got full range of motion. Thank you

AFAIK, you have to be a Russian citizen.

Going by the interest of foreigners about joining the Russian Army in this forum, maybe Russia should form a Foreign Legion.

j.mac wrote:Hello, I am a british male and am considering joining the VDV. Is this possible? Or will I  have to join a different regiment until I get citizenship? Also what happens during the medical? I have a mild scoliosis (curvature of the spine) in the lumbar region. It is just mild, and doesn't cause any back pain or anything. Got full range of motion. Thank you

THis.. says nothing about russian citizen.. but you need to learn Russian at least.. no education need..and you can qualify for Russian citizenship after 3 years of service

The Russian Army is looking for a few good men (and women), but only if you speak Russian and don’t mind having your fingerprints taken. And of course, don’t mind a bit of adventure.   Сlick to enlarge Due to various factors, not least of all Russia’s demographic situation, the Russian Armed Forces are looking to foreigners to help fill their ranks.  "Foreign nationals, between the ages of 18 and 30, applying to serve in the Russian Armed Forces, must speak Russian language," says a draft decree on the new rules for Army service, posted on the Russian Defense Ministry's website.  All qualified applicants will also be required to have their fingerprints on file with the Ministry of Defense.  Unlike Russian citizens, however, who join the military as soldiers, sailors, sergeants or first sergeants after signing a three-year contract, foreign nationals must agree to serve for no less than five years.  Foreign enlistees, however, will not be required to have Russian passports or produce a diploma or other certificate confirming their level of education.  As far as having to take a military oath, that requirement too has been eased for foreign nationals.  "They will not take the military oath and will only sign a contract pledging themselves to abide by the Russian Constitution and to unconditionally fulfill their commanders' orders," Interfax-AVN reported, quoting an anonymous Defense Ministry source.  Aside from having an opportunity to do a bit of travelling, as well getting into shape, service in the Russian military for foreigners comes with some other perks, including the right to become a full-fledged, passport-carrying Russian citizen.  "Foreign nationals serving in the Russian Armed Forces will have the right to apply for Russian citizenship after three years of service," the source said.

Full report here

http://rt.com/politics/russian-army-welcomes-foreigners/

Well I doubt that scoliosis will go unnoticed in medkom. It depends what angle it is.
You might not be able to join VDV because of nature of their service. Para drops with full combat gear and bags won't help Your back that's for sure.
If You are real opportunist then good luck! Chance it. I know a guy who served in Russian army in late 90ies and he had breathing problems and was flatfooted.

Hey buddy thank you for considering joining the Russian army but you cannot join VDV until you are a citizen unless you go talk with a embassy (Russian) near you they will give you a contract and after 3 years of service you will be granted citizenship. But you must qualify and be able to speak Russian and I don't think you will be assigned to the VDV but try your luck. And explain to the embassy you want to join the VDV specifically.

VladimirSahin wrote:Hey buddy thank you for considering joining the Russian army but you cannot join VDV until you are a citizen unless you go talk with a embassy (Russian) near you they will give you a contract and after 3 years of service you will be granted citizenship. But you must qualify and be able to speak Russian and I don't think you will be assigned to the VDV but try your luck. And explain to the embassy you want to join the VDV specifically.

Thank you everyone for the replies, I expected a lot of hate telling me to stop playing video games or whatever... which I don't just to clarify. My scoliosis is 24 degrees, considered mild by the doctor, but the reason I wanted to join VDV is because I want to be the best of the best, and I want the most adventure, and of course to see action. I will be willing to join the russian army and get citizenship after 3 years, but honestly what do you think my chances are, after getting citizenship to join the VDV and a while after that possibly spetsnaz? I want to be elite, will I maybe have a better chance if i joined the navy/marines and then going into a spetsnaz unit after serving maybe 7-10 years? Thank you everyone!

Also, how hard is it to join the russian army? I don't mean physically, but i mean in general. I mean learning russian will be hard for me but i'll do it, then going all the way to russia, then after all that I don't want to apply then get rejected? How likely is it that the russian army or marines will take me?

I was reading that there is a growing number of foreigners wanting to join the Russian Military.

Anyway, they are looking at moving to a contract based military, which would mean better pay and better living style. Unfortunately, I do not know the requirements for that. You can be conscripted at least or join in early stages, but Flaming Python knows more about that and from my understanding, pay sucks and so does the food/living style. If you can get in a better district, than it would mean better pay and better living/food.

How hard is it? I have no idea. Python knows that though (or at least I hope he does).

sepheronx wrote:I was reading that there is a growing number of foreigners wanting to join the Russian Military.

Anyway, they are looking at moving to a contract based military, which would mean better pay and better living style.  Unfortunately, I do not know the requirements for that.  You can be conscripted at least or join in early stages, but Flaming Python knows more about that and from my understanding, pay sucks and so does the food/living style.  If you can get in a better district, than it would mean better pay and better living/food.

How hard is it?  I have no idea.  Python knows that though (or at least I hope he does).

Thank you, I accidentally started a new thread, I didn't mean to make this thread haha.

j.mac wrote:

VladimirSahin wrote:Hey buddy thank you for considering joining the Russian army but you cannot join VDV until you are a citizen unless you go talk with a embassy (Russian) near you they will give you a contract and after 3 years of service you will be granted citizenship. But you must qualify and be able to speak Russian and I don't think you will be assigned to the VDV but try your luck. And explain to the embassy you want to join the VDV specifically.

Thank you everyone for the replies, I expected a lot of hate telling me to stop playing video games or whatever... which I don't just to clarify. My scoliosis is 24 degrees, considered mild by the doctor, but the reason I wanted to join VDV is because I want to be the best of the best, and I want the most adventure, and of course to see action. I will be willing to join the russian army and get citizenship after 3 years, but honestly what do you think my chances are, after getting citizenship to join the VDV and a while after that possibly spetsnaz? I want to be elite, will I maybe have a better chance if i joined the navy/marines and then going into a spetsnaz unit after serving maybe 7-10 years? Thank you everyone!

Also, how hard is it to join? I don't want to spend ages learning russian, move over there, perfect my russian some more then apply and get rejected over something stupid.

I served 4 years in VDV one year in the Special Forces unit.  It is not easy you wake up early in the morning to start getting into uniform timed 45 seconds sometimes less, if you fail to put on your full uniform in the time given you will be either beaten and/or cut the potatoes for the base.  You then get into line go for long runs that make you think why did I join.  You get beaten and given extremely tough training such as running kilometers of cold weather top naked carrying a heavy ammunition box that brings you to hating your commander (training varies on commander).  Food is good but you are starved to get used to the conditions of war.  In the West our training is prohibited.  But if you join a engineers regiment you will have a easy service.  I don't want to tell about training in Special Forces.  If you can comply to these settings then okay.  But after training you will learn that you have turned into a man and you are serving your country and it is easy from there on.  there is a saying in the army that training is harder then combat, its true.

I would have served more but I decided that 4 years is enough I miss my family.  But I signed up for reserve so if a war starts they will call me and I will be transferred back to my unit or regiment.  If you are not use to hunger, pain, harassment, embarrassment dont join Spetsnaz or VDV unit, Go join a engineer regiment or something more easy.

To join you will need to have a interview and then you will be given a physical test to see if you can serve. Because of your curvature I recommend you join a naval unit because it will be easier being deployed by sea then being deployed by parachute with a tough landing you can cause harm to your spine but go talk with the army guys there, I also heard that swimming helps anything dealing with spinal pains or bones because you are not being pulled by gravity as you would be by stepping on land, but talk to them about it.

VladimirSahin wrote:I served 4 years in VDV one year in the Special Forces unit.  It is not easy you wake up early in the morning to start getting into uniform timed 45 seconds sometimes less, if you fail to put on your full uniform in the time given you will be either beaten and/or cut the potatoes for the base.  You then get into line go for long runs that make you think why did I join.  You get beaten and given extremely tough training such as running kilometers of cold weather top naked carrying a heavy ammunition box that brings you to hating your commander (training varies on commander).  Food is good but you are starved to get used to the conditions of war.  In the West our training is prohibited.  But if you join a engineers regiment you will have a easy service.  I don't want to tell about training in Special Forces.  If you can comply to these settings then okay.  But after training you will learn that you have turned into a man and you are serving your country and it is easy from there on.  there is a saying in the army that training is harder then combat, its true.

I would have served more but I decided that 4 years is enough I miss my family.  But I signed up for reserve so if a war starts they will call me and I will be transferred back to my unit or regiment.  If you are not use to hunger, pain, harassment, embarrassment dont join Spetsnaz or VDV unit, Go join a engineer regiment or something more easy.

To join you will need to have a interview and then you will be given a physical test to see if you can serve. Because of your curvature I recommend you join a naval unit because it will be easier being deployed by sea then being deployed by parachute with a tough landing you can cause harm to your spine but go talk with the army guys there, I also heard that swimming helps anything dealing with spinal pains or bones because you are not being pulled by gravity as you would be by stepping on land, but talk to them about it.

Thank you, so do you know what my chances are of being accepted into the army/navy at all as a british man. and once I get citizenship will I be able to apply to a spetsnaz unit? Also I expect to be beaten, and I expect it at the time to think what the fuck am I doing here when I could be all comfertable at home, expect to feel shit, hungry and run down but in the long run i would rather do that and be doing something unique, great and honorable in my life then doing a pointless boring 9-5 job until the day I die. It's a matter of living a life with purpose and honor instead of living a life where the most exciting thing is my next pay check or getting promoted in an office job or whatever.

I wasn't saying what the fuck am I doing here, Because if I said that I will not be a true Russian soldier you must never doubt yourself. They will most likely take you to a foreign unit if you are not a citizen but after being a citizen keep serving and apply for a Special Unit remember sometimes you don't even apply you get taken into a Special Unit. If you have any other questions about service and what to expect you may ask me.

VladimirSahin wrote:I wasn't saying what the fuck am I doing here, Because if I said that I will not be a true Russian soldier you must never doubt yourself.  They will most likely take you to a foreign unit if you are not a citizen but after being a citizen keep serving and apply for a Special Unit remember sometimes you don't even apply you get taken into a Special Unit.  If you have any other questions about service and what to expect you may ask me.

Thank you friend, I was just wondering because I saw some people say that they will not accept anyone from a western country into the russian military let alone special forces unit. But I have also seen people say they will if you can become a russian citizen you have a shot at joining a special unit?

VladimirSahin wrote:I wasn't saying what the fuck am I doing here, Because if I said that I will not be a true Russian soldier you must never doubt yourself.  They will most likely take you to a foreign unit if you are not a citizen but after being a citizen keep serving and apply for a Special Unit remember sometimes you don't even apply you get taken into a Special Unit.  If you have any other questions about service and what to expect you may ask me.

Also, a slight curve in my spine won't stop me from joining a special unit in the future will it?

They will not take you into a Special Forces unit if you want me to be straight forward, You are British in the Special Forces they require someone they can trust. Honestly saying if I was a guy who had to fill his slot of soldier in either with a Russian or a British of course I would go with a Russian just ask when you go there and they want someone healthy in the army so they may not take you into Special Forces either way. Just try to get into the Russian army then they may take you in the Special Forces if they see something about you.

Thank you for being straightforward, I appreciate you not sugar coating anything. Anyway, the truth is I probably won't join if I dont have a chance of getting into a special unit, not because I have watched too many movies or played too many games but because I won't have many opportunities when I get such as working for a pmc or a psc, where as if I was in VDV or a spetsnaz unit I'm sure my chances of working for a pmc or psc would be great, or any other combat opportunities.

First of all I must say I have never served in any military and am not Russian.

From what I have read certain people are useful... for instance before going in to Afghanistan in 1979 if you could speak a language from the Afghan region it wouldn't matter if you had flat feet or answered all the questions wrong... ie do you like to drink, do you smoke, do you like sport... hell yes, yes but only marijuana, and no, they would take you on if you had a skill or talent they needed.

With this in mind you could have a chance of getting into a Russian special force unit for the invasion of Britain.

Just pulling your leg...

You will be asked why you want to serve in the Russian Army and also why you are not trying to join the British military and you will need to have some very convincing answers.

Also, a slight curve in my spine won't stop me from joining a special unit in the future will it?

There are a few books in the west written by a Soviet defector who wrote under the pen name Victor Suvorov. In one of his books he talks about monitoring a Spetsnaz exercise way out in the middle of nowhere. He was with one other officer monitoring special forces trainees on a very long very hard training exercise... they had already run 30-50km to this point and in the freezing cold heavy rain the trainees run to the middle of a large bridge and the route marker disappears. They look around and find the next marker on the side of the bridge and then another marker downstream on the side of the bank. He said they looked around (the observation point is some distance from the bridge), and then resign themselves to what they have to do and haul themselves over the side of the bridge... silence and then a splash. At this point Victor turns to the other officer in the observation point and asks what if the soldier is too exhausted and does not surface... the other officer replies... if he doesn't surface he is no good for Spetsnaz. the soldier does surface and swims to the marker and continues on his way.

Don't know if it is true or not... could just be disinformation.

I would say your best bet would be the British military, and second after that would be French Foreign Legion.

If you want to be a merc then I would say French Foreign Legion would be your best bet.

GarryB wrote:First of all I must say I have never served in any military and am not Russian.

From what I have read certain people are useful... for instance before going in to Afghanistan in 1979 if you could speak a language from the Afghan region it wouldn't matter if you had flat feet or answered all the questions wrong... ie do you like to drink, do you smoke, do you like sport...  hell yes, yes but only marijuana, and no, they would take you on if you had a skill or talent they needed.

With this in mind you could have a chance of getting into a Russian special force unit for the invasion of Britain.

Just pulling your leg...

You will be asked why you want to serve in the Russian Army and also why you are not trying to join the British military and you will need to have some very convincing answers.

Also, a slight curve in my spine won't stop me from joining a special unit in the future will it?

There are a few books in the west written by a Soviet defector who wrote under the pen name Victor Suvorov. In one of his books he talks about monitoring a Spetsnaz exercise way out in the middle of nowhere. He was with one other officer monitoring special forces trainees on a very long very hard training exercise... they had already run 30-50km to this point and in the freezing cold heavy rain the trainees run to the middle of a large bridge and the route marker disappears. They look around and find the next marker on the side of the bridge and then another marker downstream on the side of the bank. He said they looked around (the observation point is some distance from the bridge), and then resign themselves to what they have to do and haul themselves over the side of the bridge... silence and then a splash. At this point Victor turns to the other officer in the observation point and asks what if the soldier is too exhausted and does not surface... the other officer replies... if he doesn't surface he is no good for Spetsnaz. the soldier does surface and swims to the marker and continues on his way.

Don't know if it is true or not... could just be disinformation.

I would say your best bet would be the British military, and second after that would be French Foreign Legion.

If you want to be a merc then I would say French Foreign Legion would be your best bet.

Thank you, it all seems like too much, spending over a year learning russian, moving to russia, on just a possibility I MAY be useful, you know what I mean? and the french foreign legion reject people with scoliosis usually though I do know 2 people in who have it. I will give the FFL a try but I am not going to get my hopes up. I also am applying for the british army.

j.mac wrote:

VladimirSahin wrote:I wasn't saying what the fuck am I doing here, Because if I said that I will not be a true Russian soldier you must never doubt yourself.  They will most likely take you to a foreign unit if you are not a citizen but after being a citizen keep serving and apply for a Special Unit remember sometimes you don't even apply you get taken into a Special Unit.  If you have any other questions about service and what to expect you may ask me.

Thank you friend, I was just wondering because I saw some people say that they will not accept anyone from a western country into the russian military let alone special forces unit. But I have also seen people say they will if you can become a russian citizen you have a shot at joining a special unit?

I also have British citizenship, but I have a Russian one too. I joined the Russian military in 2010 and of course I was distrusted for any sort of sensitive or front-line units but if I pushed for it I think I may have gotten into one of the less important ones at least, I did get the feeling that the guys who want it the most are the ones that end up there. Trouble is that at the time I didn't care enough but still I wouldn't say my service and where I ended up was a piece of cake albeit nothing as harsh as VladimirSahin's experience

A few months after I was demobilised I was called into the military commissions office and was offered to join a Spetsnaz unit but I declined, had a good job and everything by then.
Guess that they they can always use some native English speakers in units like those, so I think the opportunity is definitely there for you. But they need to trust you first; took them a while before they trusted me (I remember my phone being tapped in the early days, I would make a phone call and for the first second or so I'd hear some whispers followed by my voice echoing slightly when I spoke )

Believe me I was asked plenty of times about why I joined, why I didn't join the British army instead, what I want to get out of it, do I plan to stay in Russia and so on. I always gave honest answers and so eventually they believed me I guess.

I think it's possible, what you want I mean. You're not the first guy to come here about this and won't be the last. I've written about it before, try and search through my posts or past topics.

Long story short - start learning Russian, and see if there are any avenues to get Russian citizenship (maybe family history, or some sort of relocation program to Russia for foreign specialists, etc...). At the same time, start toning your physique; priorities - push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, 100m sprints, 6km runs.
Make some progress on that and then come back and we can figure out what next for you.

P.S. About your back, potentially it could disqualify you, but there is a way around such things - don't mention them. You are not from the country and they don't have any files on record for you, any medical information. I don't remember an X-Ray being taken during the medical exam/commission, and there were a whole load of them; 1 before conscription and then a bunch in the first month. There was a Flourograph X-Ray taken a few weeks into service but it was of the lungs to test for tuberculosis.
I also have a condition that could have potentially disqualified me from service (or it might not, I dunno), albeit not a physical one - however I just kept mum about it, it's not written down on any file or record anywhere = it doesn't exist.
Once you get into your unit, they'll be stuck with you and won't want to get rid of you anyway; so get through to that and you def. shouldn't have any problems.

flamming_python wrote:

j.mac wrote:

VladimirSahin wrote:I wasn't saying what the fuck am I doing here, Because if I said that I will not be a true Russian soldier you must never doubt yourself.  They will most likely take you to a foreign unit if you are not a citizen but after being a citizen keep serving and apply for a Special Unit remember sometimes you don't even apply you get taken into a Special Unit.  If you have any other questions about service and what to expect you may ask me.

Thank you friend, I was just wondering because I saw some people say that they will not accept anyone from a western country into the russian military let alone special forces unit. But I have also seen people say they will if you can become a russian citizen you have a shot at joining a special unit?

I also have British citizenship, but I have a Russian one too. I joined the Russian military in 2010 and of course I was distrusted for any sort of sensitive or front-line units but if I pushed for it I think I may have gotten into one of the less important ones at least, I did get the feeling that the guys who want it the most are the ones that end up there. Trouble is that at the time I didn't care enough but still I wouldn't say my service and where I ended up was a piece of cake albeit nothing as harsh as VladimirSahin's experience

A few months after I was demobilised I was called into the military commissions office and was offered to join a Spetsnaz unit but I declined, had a good job and everything by then.
Guess that they they can always use some native English speakers in units like those, so I think the opportunity is definitely there for you. But they need to trust you first; took them a while before they trusted me (I remember my phone being tapped in the early days, I would make a phone call and for the first second or so I'd hear some whispers followed by my voice echoing slightly when I spoke )

Believe me I was asked plenty of times about why I joined, why I didn't join the British army instead, what I want to get out of it, do I plan to stay in Russia and so on. I always gave honest answers and so eventually they believed me I guess.

I think it's possible, what you want I mean. You're not the first guy to come here about this and won't be the last. I've written about it before, try and search through my posts or past topics.

Long story short - start learning Russian, and see if there are any avenues to get Russian citizenship (maybe family history, or some sort of relocation program to Russia for foreign specialists, etc...). At the same time, start toning your physique; priorities - push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, 100m sprints, 6km runs.
Make some progress on that and then come back and we can figure out what next for you.

P.S. About your back, potentially it could disqualify you, but there is a way around such things - don't mention them. You are not from the country and they don't have any files on record for you, any medical information. I don't remember an X-Ray being taken during the medical exam/commission, and there were a whole load of them; 1 before conscription and then a bunch in the first month. There was a Flourograph X-Ray taken a few weeks into service but it was of the lungs to test for tuberculosis.
I also have a condition that could have potentially disqualified me from service (or it might not, I dunno), albeit not a physical one - however I just kept mum about it, it's not written down on any file or record anywhere = it doesn't exist.
Once you get into your unit, they'll be stuck with you and won't want to get rid of you anyway; so get through to that and you def. shouldn't have any problems.

Thank you this helped me a lot, I am willing to stay in the russian army for 5-10 years if that means a place in spetsnaz, my scoliosis is not very noticable, one shoulder is slightly higher than the other, very slightly. But I dont have it so it is blatantly noticable, Infact one osteopath I saw thought I didn't have it and thought I just had a slight muscle inbalance until I actually got a spinal xray. Do they feel down the your spine to check for any curvuture during the medicals?

j.mac wrote:

flamming_python wrote:

j.mac wrote:

VladimirSahin wrote:I wasn't saying what the fuck am I doing here, Because if I said that I will not be a true Russian soldier you must never doubt yourself.  They will most likely take you to a foreign unit if you are not a citizen but after being a citizen keep serving and apply for a Special Unit remember sometimes you don't even apply you get taken into a Special Unit.  If you have any other questions about service and what to expect you may ask me.

Thank you friend, I was just wondering because I saw some people say that they will not accept anyone from a western country into the russian military let alone special forces unit. But I have also seen people say they will if you can become a russian citizen you have a shot at joining a special unit?

I also have British citizenship, but I have a Russian one too. I joined the Russian military in 2010 and of course I was distrusted for any sort of sensitive or front-line units but if I pushed for it I think I may have gotten into one of the less important ones at least, I did get the feeling that the guys who want it the most are the ones that end up there. Trouble is that at the time I didn't care enough but still I wouldn't say my service and where I ended up was a piece of cake albeit nothing as harsh as VladimirSahin's experience

A few months after I was demobilised I was called into the military commissions office and was offered to join a Spetsnaz unit but I declined, had a good job and everything by then.
Guess that they they can always use some native English speakers in units like those, so I think the opportunity is definitely there for you. But they need to trust you first; took them a while before they trusted me (I remember my phone being tapped in the early days, I would make a phone call and for the first second or so I'd hear some whispers followed by my voice echoing slightly when I spoke )

Believe me I was asked plenty of times about why I joined, why I didn't join the British army instead, what I want to get out of it, do I plan to stay in Russia and so on. I always gave honest answers and so eventually they believed me I guess.

I think it's possible, what you want I mean. You're not the first guy to come here about this and won't be the last. I've written about it before, try and search through my posts or past topics.

Long story short - start learning Russian, and see if there are any avenues to get Russian citizenship (maybe family history, or some sort of relocation program to Russia for foreign specialists, etc...). At the same time, start toning your physique; priorities - push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, 100m sprints, 6km runs.
Make some progress on that and then come back and we can figure out what next for you.

P.S. About your back, potentially it could disqualify you, but there is a way around such things - don't mention them. You are not from the country and they don't have any files on record for you, any medical information. I don't remember an X-Ray being taken during the medical exam/commission, and there were a whole load of them; 1 before conscription and then a bunch in the first month. There was a Flourograph X-Ray taken a few weeks into service but it was of the lungs to test for tuberculosis.
I also have a condition that could have potentially disqualified me from service (or it might not, I dunno), albeit not a physical one - however I just kept mum about it, it's not written down on any file or record anywhere = it doesn't exist.
Once you get into your unit, they'll be stuck with you and won't want to get rid of you anyway; so get through to that and you def. shouldn't have any problems.

Thank you this helped me a lot, I am willing to stay in the russian army for 5-10 years if that means a place in spetsnaz, my scoliosis is not very noticable, one shoulder is slightly higher than the other, very slightly. But I dont have it so it is blatantly noticable, Infact one osteopath I saw thought I didn't have it and thought I just had a slight muscle inbalance until I actually got a spinal xray. Do they feel down the your spine to check for any curvuture during the medicals?

About the medicals, honestly I don't remember much - they were fairly thorough, but I don't remember X-Rays other than for the lung flourography photo, nor do I remember any spinal exams; although I could just be not remembering.
They will check visually however, so if anything sticks out visually it will be noticed, and from there they can conduct further examinations.
Probably not some minute disbalance in height though.

My advise, ask some other people, maybe use google translate on some Russian forums (just about any forum really, but there are some ones for military service, etc...) and ask them about the medicals and what they entail.

Spetsnaz training and tasks will of course entail paradrops and such operations. They can put a good amount of strain on your spine. You should be certain yourself, that your spine will hold up and that you don't have a serious condition. Get some doctor's opinions, talk to some military people.
Better to be rejected from the special forces, than end up in a wheelchair for life.

I don't think you will have to wait 5-10 years; if you get Russian citizenship beforehand then you can do a year's service in whatever unit, doesn't matter which one and then try and apply for the special forces.
Possibly they will offer it to you of their own accord; in which case you know they need you - and your chances of making it in rise dramatically.
If you don't get Russian citizenship beforehand that you might be able to join one of the foreign units which are constantly being discussed but so far nothing has been made concrete yet. I am convinced thought that one way or the other, there will be avenues open for foreign citizens to join the Russian military within the next few years. I think that it will be possible to get a combat-post off the bat as you'll be signing a contract, and from there you can try to move up to the Russian Spetsnaz.

The Russian Spetsnaz though will demand the highest standards of you, if they think you're not cut out for whatever reason, spinal or whatever, they can reject you - but then that's the same story with any other special forces in the world.
Your best chance, is just to train like fuck, get a v. good physique, and go for it anyway. There can be no guarantees, but if you need a guarantee about getting in just because you've spent years of your time on it - then it's probably not for you in the first place. There are no guarantees in the special forces; not about getting in, not about surviving, not about anything. All you can do, is maximise your chances with effort, sweat and concentration.

flamming_python wrote:

j.mac wrote:

flamming_python wrote:

j.mac wrote:

VladimirSahin wrote:I wasn't saying what the fuck am I doing here, Because if I said that I will not be a true Russian soldier you must never doubt yourself.  They will most likely take you to a foreign unit if you are not a citizen but after being a citizen keep serving and apply for a Special Unit remember sometimes you don't even apply you get taken into a Special Unit.  If you have any other questions about service and what to expect you may ask me.

Thank you friend, I was just wondering because I saw some people say that they will not accept anyone from a western country into the russian military let alone special forces unit. But I have also seen people say they will if you can become a russian citizen you have a shot at joining a special unit?

I also have British citizenship, but I have a Russian one too. I joined the Russian military in 2010 and of course I was distrusted for any sort of sensitive or front-line units but if I pushed for it I think I may have gotten into one of the less important ones at least, I did get the feeling that the guys who want it the most are the ones that end up there. Trouble is that at the time I didn't care enough but still I wouldn't say my service and where I ended up was a piece of cake albeit nothing as harsh as VladimirSahin's experience

A few months after I was demobilised I was called into the military commissions office and was offered to join a Spetsnaz unit but I declined, had a good job and everything by then.
Guess that they they can always use some native English speakers in units like those, so I think the opportunity is definitely there for you. But they need to trust you first; took them a while before they trusted me (I remember my phone being tapped in the early days, I would make a phone call and for the first second or so I'd hear some whispers followed by my voice echoing slightly when I spoke )

Believe me I was asked plenty of times about why I joined, why I didn't join the British army instead, what I want to get out of it, do I plan to stay in Russia and so on. I always gave honest answers and so eventually they believed me I guess.

I think it's possible, what you want I mean. You're not the first guy to come here about this and won't be the last. I've written about it before, try and search through my posts or past topics.

Long story short - start learning Russian, and see if there are any avenues to get Russian citizenship (maybe family history, or some sort of relocation program to Russia for foreign specialists, etc...). At the same time, start toning your physique; priorities - push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, 100m sprints, 6km runs.
Make some progress on that and then come back and we can figure out what next for you.

P.S. About your back, potentially it could disqualify you, but there is a way around such things - don't mention them. You are not from the country and they don't have any files on record for you, any medical information. I don't remember an X-Ray being taken during the medical exam/commission, and there were a whole load of them; 1 before conscription and then a bunch in the first month. There was a Flourograph X-Ray taken a few weeks into service but it was of the lungs to test for tuberculosis.
I also have a condition that could have potentially disqualified me from service (or it might not, I dunno), albeit not a physical one - however I just kept mum about it, it's not written down on any file or record anywhere = it doesn't exist.
Once you get into your unit, they'll be stuck with you and won't want to get rid of you anyway; so get through to that and you def. shouldn't have any problems.

Thank you this helped me a lot, I am willing to stay in the russian army for 5-10 years if that means a place in spetsnaz, my scoliosis is not very noticable, one shoulder is slightly higher than the other, very slightly. But I dont have it so it is blatantly noticable, Infact one osteopath I saw thought I didn't have it and thought I just had a slight muscle inbalance until I actually got a spinal xray. Do they feel down the your spine to check for any curvuture during the medicals?

About the medicals, honestly I don't remember much - they were fairly thorough, but I don't remember X-Rays other than for the lung flourography photo, nor do I remember any spinal exams; although I could just be not remembering.
They will check visually however, so if anything sticks out visually it will be noticed, and from there they can conduct further examinations.
Probably not some minute disbalance in height though.

My advise, ask some other people, maybe use google translate on some Russian forums (just about any forum really, but there are some ones for military service, etc...) and ask them about the medicals and what they entail.

Spetsnaz training and tasks will of course entail paradrops and such operations. They can put a good amount of strain on your spine. You should be certain yourself, that your spine will hold up and that you don't have a serious condition. Get some doctor's opinions, talk to some military people.
Better to be rejected from the special forces, than end up in a wheelchair for life.

I don't think you will have to wait 5-10 years; if you get Russian citizenship beforehand then you can do a year's service in whatever unit, doesn't matter which one and then try and apply for the special forces.
Possibly they will offer it to you of their own accord; in which case you know they need you - and your chances of making it in rise dramatically.
If you don't get Russian citizenship beforehand that you might be able to join one of the foreign units which are constantly being discussed but so far nothing has been made concrete yet. I am convinced thought that one way or the other, there will be avenues open for foreign citizens to join the Russian military within the next few years. I think that it will be possible to get a combat-post off the bat as you'll be signing a contract, and from there you can try to move up to the Russian Spetsnaz.

The Russian Spetsnaz though will demand the highest standards of you, if they think you're not cut out for whatever reason, spinal or whatever, they can reject you - but then that's the same story with any other special forces in the world.
Your best chance, is just to train like fuck, get a v. good physique, and go for it anyway. There can be no guarantees, but if you need a guarantee about getting in just because you've spent years of your time on it - then it's probably not for you in the first place. There are no guarantees in the special forces; not about getting in, not about surviving, not about anything. All you can do, is maximise your chances with effort, sweat and concentration.

Thank you, I know there are no guarantees but I at least want a shot. I got a opinion for a professional spine surgeon, and from several physiothereapists and osteopaths/chiropractors. They said my spine is not a serious problem and its just an abnormal curve which causes no pain or discomfort. Do you know, can I even join the russian army as a british citizen? then from there get russian citizenship after 3 years?