The "I want to join the Russian Army" Thread

Listen mate, I think there is a big chance of You joining the army. I usually put people like You down, but I see You are willing to go that far. You wouldn't be the first foreigner joining Russian army anyways. 
It's good that You want to join special forces, but serving in a recon in any branch of the military is close as You can get. I would even argue that it's even more exciting. You have chances to work with various military branches and later You could jump from one brach to another, for example join Mountain brigade if You want to serve in Caucasus region. 
I doubt that You have to go to MedKom(medical commission) twice to join spetcnaz.  It will physical and mental test that would decide Your fate.
I will talk about my post Soviet army but some practices is almost identical from Russian or to be more precise to Soviet army.

• Medical check is just formality, no one will really dissect You, there are more chances unfit person will pass than healthy will fail.
  

My spine was checked, I have spinal injury from weightlifting, don't know the term but my disc is slipped and like that from the age of 16. It could be seen if checked correctly. And I'm almost blind with my right eye. It wasn't noted in medical records. I managed to trick MedKom by only switching hands and closing same eye for a sight test.
It was quite unsettling as our ballsacks and arses were checked. I don't know why, rumour has it to check if we aren't gay, but I think it's more or less about STDs or something. Medical sisters were even making jokes about some dudes as we all were red faced and shy. That was hardest thing TBH. I didn't have to do lung xray, but in Russia You do. Funny enough two of my very close relatives had TBC and I was never checken in my life. Cough cough.  

• My friend who served in Russia had some problems with paperwork. He lost his medical history book and he wasn't registered in any polyclinic when he relocated. He had to go through shitloads of paperwork till he joined. I don't know how it would work for You. You have to translate Your Birth certificate to Russian by notary certified translator, do that to all Your documents. It will be more important than Your spine.
  

• I don't know much about PT, some of my friends told me they had to to pull ups and rolls on it and what it matters most is 3km running. Nothing special, but still many times more than what would You expect from Brit army.
  

For me if I recall correctly it was same 3 km /12 minutes (for 100% score) running but we had to do 80 pushups, 80 crunches. I scored 70 percent in total even if could do 150 % in civilian life. Keep in mind that it's not like in civie life. Before I had PT I haven't ate for hours and I wanted to take a dump, no one wanted to hear excuses:D I got 8ball haircut and my hair was under my shirt mixing up with sweat and all i wanted to was to scratch my back when I was running. I was nervous and some arsehole half of my size kept shouting at me for no apparent reason. Here is real army for You. 
Not sure what is Russian PT in 2014 as Russia recently started new health and fitness program for young people so I expect in future PT standards could be higher.

For now train Yourself. Join Sambo club. There are quite few Russians where I train.  Try to put Your body in extreme situations later on. Lack of sleep and lack of food while doing supersets. It should be able to work under extreme condition like thirst, heat, cold and etc. Don't make it easy on Yourself. And try to gain some mass, I was close to 100 kg when I joined military and when I got out I was 78 with stretch marks even on my elbows  
And about beating in the army, well it's a past it seems. Mostly it's a victims fault even if it might sound harsh. But prepare to live under jungle laws where You can't be weak. It builds the character. But don't expect everyday hazing, now there are CCTVs everywhere and Russians did tackle that problem.. It doesn't mean You are protected from verbal abuse of "zapadlo"..
Still in army You have to stand for Yourself. You man, You will be all alone with no homies from same city.
Just remember Russians don't like soft people and most British people I know are softies, political correct individuals that would perish in post Soviet society  But You can prove me wrong if You join Russian army:)

GOOD LUCK

j.mac wrote:

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?  

Normally no, you can't join as a foreign citizen, with a few select exceptions (e.g. Armenian or Tajik citizens serving as servicemen in mostly non-combat roles, in the Russian military bases in those countries, with Russian citizenship not required), such an option will only be open to you after you get your Russian citizenship (which I think you can get after 3-5 years of living in the country especially if you have valuable skills).

However, I don't claim to know everything - in theory it's possible that they could make an exception, or look for a way to put you on the short-track for Russian citizenship; if you learn the language and convince them that service to Russia/Russian military is your goal. There have been such processes but mainly for athletes or other well-known people - such as Viktor Ahn or Depardieu
Those cases reached the highest levels of the Russian government, and Putin gave the order, the order was carried out and they got their Russian passport.
But I think that fame or athletic prowess isn't a necessity, nor is the publicity - it's quite possible that your case could be examined at high levels of the Russian government; if they are convinced that you are very serious about it and you have taken a lot of steps to fulfill this ambition already (learnt Russian, got ripped, etc...).
It might help if you get in touch with somebody from the Russian embassy; start writing and expressing, explaining your desire. I considered this approach myself just in case, although with me nothing like that turned out to be neccessery.
Alternatively you could try submitting your question to one of Putin's annual Q&A sessions, whereby he spends about 3 hours responding to selected questions out of the thousands submitted in the run-up to the end; they usually include a couple such weird/extraordinary questions or requests, and 1-2 ones from foreigners :)With some people they even invite them into the studio to ask Putin in person.

Secoundly, even if not any of that - like I said before there is some talk right now about setting up a foreign legion of sorts or at least, allowing foreign citizens to join the Russian military, possibly into specific units.
If that happens then you're all set; something like that will be more or less aimed at CIS citizens and maybe some from Asia, etc... so they'll certainly be surprised by Western interest, but since the legal framework will be in place, they will likely not refuse you; could never hurt to have some native English speakers. From there, you can gain Russian citizenship, and I would imagine that it would also be possible to end up in a Spetsnaz unit; if you fit and have what it takes, your native knowledge of the English language will be rated very highly by them.
The only thing is that such reforms have been talked about for years now, this subject pops up from time to time but nothing comes of it; just like the question of reburying Lenin which has been floating around since 1991
Still though, don't despair, it looks like they might well get round to making a decision this time round.

Don't worry about it too much for now. There will be avenues if you prove to be serious and determined. In the meantime, get started on the lingo

I sense from some of your replies that you seem a little nervous that any effort might not be worth it.

I would think that being fluent in Russian and physically fit would be required by the Russian military, but also useful for the French and British military forces too so it would not be a waste of your time... especially if you combine the two with language lessons on MP3 player while doing fitness training... would make the hours pass faster...

Best of luck whatever you decide.

j.mac wrote: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?

IF they really see you have a LOT of interest in joining the Russian Army ,they will help you to get there. Russia wants to promote their land to the west.. in every possible way .. they did it in Shochi Olympics with a korean and one American both won gold ,all that is very good promotion for others to join Russia in Any thing.. either army ,sports or simply an student. Russia wants to promote their country as an alternative to the west.. so for sure IF you show a lot of interest and enthusiasm to become part of their army they will help you.

Nothing is impossible if you are really determined to join the Russian army. You might even get help with the language ,free school and all that but better talk to the Russian Embassy in your country.. call operator and ask for Russian Embassy ,and tell your interested in information to join their army. Russia will have very state of the art next generation tanks , but also stealth planes and stealth warships in a couple of years by 2016 ,so they will get a huge modernization in the entire armed forces. I suspect it will attract many foreigners too.

and no you are not crazy.. i have seen many asking the same question nt only in the russian forum but in others too . how foreigners can join Russian armed forces. If Russia had an idea how many foreigners ask the question ,they could get a huge army in no time of foreign forces. im sure they will love it.. American and Europeans choosing a carer in Russia is very good for Russia long term goals of attracting Visitors and or populating their Big Continent.

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.

Lol, don't be silly.
Only those who served Soviet/Russian military knows that mess-hall duty is a good thing, because you can get second helping of food if you want. Barrack duty is a thing to fear - it's very boring

On a topic

Despite several initiatives of our lawmakers, nobody can serve in the Russian Army unless he's a citizen. But you should consult a russian embassy to be sure. There are several ways to obtain a citizenship, through they are a bit complex to discuss here. Language is the main limitation. You know, lawmakers obsessed with idea of limiting migration from non-russian speaking people from former USSR republics.

Additionally, you can write a letter to the president administration (there is their site). Don't think it will help, but who knows. President is the only person who can give citizenship by his own will. And he can make a law project about foreign citizens serving the Army, as this idea is discussed in our society for a long time. Maybe it will be a shock for our lawmakers to know there are westerners who want to join Russian Military

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.

Why not? There are more native-born traitors in our history, than foreign-born. It's a matter of counter-intelligence service work, not trust. And specnas job actually rarely involved in "national-security-level" secrets: military scale maps (they are more sophisticated than google maps), equipment issues, names and radio calling codes of direct commanders, unit disposition - all this information wil be outdated then you'll leave your service

here are a few books in the west written by a Soviet defector who wrote under the pen name Victor Suvorov

Do not believe Mr. "Suvorov", he's more of fantasy autor than a specialist. For example his "Ice-breaker" (book about Stalin's plans to invade Europe) is a complete nonsense, an anti-communist propagande, not a history work.

I sometimes even volunteered to cut the potatoes when it wasn't my squad's turn to do it.

It's alright really, you chat with other guys about life when doing it, and when you all get good enough to do it quickly, you'll have plenty of free time to have some tea and biscuits, or even other products like salo, condensed milk, kolbasa, etc... that you can bring in yourself if you have them; the cook and NCO on duty in the mess were always cool about it.

Main thing though is that it gave me an excuse not to have to rip off, wash and sow back on my collar guard on the nights I was doing the potatoes.
And in general all the BS from the elders you get in the barracks, sometimes pays to get away from it and just spend the evening in the kitchen; far more relaxing.

Asf wrote:

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.

Lol, don't be silly.
Only those who served Soviet/Russian military knows that mess-hall duty is a good thing, because you can get second helping of food if you want. Barrack duty is a thing to fear - it's very boring

Most squads, ours for sure - kept our own hidden cache of 'emergency rations'
Mostly consisting of what we stole from the goods warehouse while unloading supplies, stacking crates, etc...  

Okay just to get something straight, on RT and on wikipedia it both says that a citizen from ANY foreign country and can go and join the russian army, although the majority of them are from former soviet countries, so why are some people here saying that I need to be a russian citizen or that only former soviet country citizens can join? Is the information from RT and wikipedia wrong?

flamming_python wrote:

j.mac wrote:

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?  

Normally no, you can't join as a foreign citizen, with a few select exceptions (e.g. Armenian or Tajik citizens serving as servicemen in mostly non-combat roles, in the Russian military bases in those countries, with Russian citizenship not required), such an option will only be open to you after you get your Russian citizenship (which I think you can get after 3-5 years of living in the country especially if you have valuable skills).

However, I don't claim to know everything - in theory it's possible that they could make an exception, or look for a way to put you on the short-track for Russian citizenship; if you learn the language and convince them that service to Russia/Russian military is your goal. There have been such processes but mainly for athletes or other well-known people - such as Viktor Ahn or Depardieu
Those cases reached the highest levels of the Russian government, and Putin gave the order, the order was carried out and they got their Russian passport.
But I think that fame or athletic prowess isn't a necessity, nor is the publicity - it's quite possible that your case could be examined at high levels of the Russian government; if they are convinced that you are very serious about it and you have taken a lot of steps to fulfill this ambition already (learnt Russian, got ripped, etc...).
It might help if you get in touch with somebody from the Russian embassy; start writing and expressing, explaining your desire. I considered this approach myself just in case, although with me nothing like that turned out to be neccessery.
Alternatively you could try submitting your question to one of Putin's annual Q&A sessions, whereby he spends about 3 hours responding to selected questions out of the thousands submitted in the run-up to the end; they usually include a couple such weird/extraordinary questions or requests, and 1-2 ones from foreigners :)With some people they even invite them into the studio to ask Putin in person.

Secoundly, even if not any of that - like I said before there is some talk right now about setting up a foreign legion of sorts or at least, allowing foreign citizens to join the Russian military, possibly into specific units.
If that happens then you're all set; something like that will be more or less aimed at CIS citizens and maybe some from Asia, etc... so they'll certainly be surprised by Western interest, but since the legal framework will be in place, they will likely not refuse you; could never hurt to have some native English speakers. From there, you can gain Russian citizenship, and I would imagine that it would also be possible to end up in a Spetsnaz unit; if you fit and have what it takes, your native knowledge of the English language will be rated very highly by them.
The only thing is that such reforms have been talked about for years now, this subject pops up from time to time but nothing comes of it; just like the question of reburying Lenin which has been floating around since 1991
Still though, don't despair, it looks like they might well get round to making a decision this time round.

Don't worry about it too much for now. There will be avenues if you prove to be serious and determined. In the meantime, get started on the lingo

Hey, it is said on RT and wikipedia and other sources that any foreign citizen can join, although majority are from former soviet countries but there have been some people from germany and latvia. Also I am a permanent resident of malaysia too. My mum moved there from england and she is living there now.

j.mac wrote:Hey, it is said on RT and wikipedia and other sources that any foreign citizen can join, although majority are from former soviet countries but there have been some people from germany and latvia. Also I am a permanent resident of malaysia too. My mum moved there from england and she is living there now.

That's nice, but I'm afraid I'm no authority on the matter. Perhaps the laws are changing, I dunno. First thing's first - write your Russian embassy, and try to pinpoint what RT and Wikipedia are talking about exactly and where they got this info from.

flamming_python wrote:

j.mac wrote:Hey, it is said on RT and wikipedia and other sources that any foreign citizen can join, although majority are from former soviet countries but there have been some people from germany and latvia. Also I am a permanent resident of malaysia too. My mum moved there from england and she is living there now.

That's nice, but I'm afraid I'm no authority on the matter. Perhaps the laws are changing, I dunno. First thing's first - write your Russian embassy, and try to pinpoint what RT and Wikipedia are talking about exactly and where they got this info from.

Alright, I just wanted to see your opinion on it whether it was bullshit or not.

Regular wrote:Listen mate, I think there is a big chance of You joining the army. I usually put people like You down, but I see You are willing to go that far. You wouldn't be the first foreigner joining Russian army anyways. 
It's good that You want to join special forces, but serving in a recon in any branch of the military is close as You can get. I would even argue that it's even more exciting. You have chances to work with various military branches and later You could jump from one brach to another, for example join Mountain brigade if You want to serve in Caucasus region. 
I doubt that You have to go to MedKom(medical commission) twice to join spetcnaz.  It will physical and mental test that would decide Your fate.
I will talk about my post Soviet army but some practices is almost identical from Russian or to be more precise to Soviet army.

• Medical check is just formality, no one will really dissect You, there are more chances unfit person will pass than healthy will fail.
  

My spine was checked, I have spinal injury from weightlifting, don't know the term but my disc is slipped and like that from the age of 16. It could be seen if checked correctly. And I'm almost blind with my right eye. It wasn't noted in medical records. I managed to trick MedKom by only switching hands and closing same eye for a sight test.
It was quite unsettling as our ballsacks and arses were checked. I don't know why, rumour has it to check if we aren't gay, but I think it's more or less about STDs or something. Medical sisters were even making jokes about some dudes as we all were red faced and shy. That was hardest thing TBH. I didn't have to do lung xray, but in Russia You do. Funny enough two of my very close relatives had TBC and I was never checken in my life. Cough cough.  

• My friend who served in Russia had some problems with paperwork. He lost his medical history book and he wasn't registered in any polyclinic when he relocated. He had to go through shitloads of paperwork till he joined. I don't know how it would work for You. You have to translate Your Birth certificate to Russian by notary certified translator, do that to all Your documents. It will be more important than Your spine.
  

• I don't know much about PT, some of my friends told me they had to to pull ups and rolls on it and what it matters most is 3km running. Nothing special, but still many times more than what would You expect from Brit army.
  

For me if I recall correctly it was same 3 km /12 minutes (for 100% score) running but we had to do 80 pushups, 80 crunches. I scored 70 percent in total even if could do 150 % in civilian life. Keep in mind that it's not like in civie life. Before I had PT I haven't ate for hours and I wanted to take a dump, no one wanted to hear excuses:D I got 8ball haircut and my hair was under my shirt mixing up with sweat and all i wanted to was to scratch my back when I was running. I was nervous and some arsehole half of my size kept shouting at me for no apparent reason. Here is real army for You. 
Not sure what is Russian PT in 2014 as Russia recently started new health and fitness program for young people so I expect in future PT standards could be higher.

For now train Yourself. Join Sambo club. There are quite few Russians where I train.  Try to put Your body in extreme situations later on. Lack of sleep and lack of food while doing supersets. It should be able to work under extreme condition like thirst, heat, cold and etc. Don't make it easy on Yourself. And try to gain some mass, I was close to 100 kg when I joined military and when I got out I was 78 with stretch marks even on my elbows  
And about beating in the army, well it's a past it seems. Mostly it's a victims fault even if it might sound harsh. But prepare to live under jungle laws where You can't be weak. It builds the character. But don't expect everyday hazing, now there are CCTVs everywhere and Russians did tackle that problem.. It doesn't mean You are protected from verbal abuse of "zapadlo"..
Still in army You have to stand for Yourself. You man, You will be all alone with no homies from same city.
Just remember Russians don't like soft people and most British people I know are softies, political correct individuals that would perish in post Soviet society  But You can prove me wrong if You join Russian army:)

GOOD LUCK

Thanks mate, well one of the reasons I pick russia is political correctness, there is too much of that in england, one of our marines was sentenced to life in prison for shooting a terrorist who tried to shoot him, apparantly the terrorist was already injured so he should of helped him instead of shooting him... absolute bullshit. And my scoliosis was actually caused by deadlifting too much and squatting too much. But at the moment I am training with lots of weighted pull ups, weighted dips and weighted chin ups with some bench press power cleans and heavy bag work and of course running. I have never fitted in in british society, I have always been known as 'politically incorrect' or 'crazy' because I want to do something which others fear to do, because others fear to leave their comfort zone. The biggest fear I have in my life is failure, and wasting my time for example spending all my time learning russian and training, immigrating to russia and then just getting turned down for something silly like my back or being british. Like I said failure is the biggest fear in my life.

To all guys who served I would like to know about your service maybe share each other our experiences, Should we start a new thread? I know i'm going off topic but it would be nice if we can talk to each other about our services. Also I read a bit more about this foreign unit and I guess they will take you into the Russian army j.mac you just got to go talk to the embassy maybe I can call a few friends and do some more research if you want me too.

j.mac wrote:Thanks mate, well one of the reasons I pick russia is political correctness, there is too much of that in england, one of our marines was sentenced to life in prison for shooting a terrorist who tried to shoot him, apparantly the terrorist was already injured so he should of helped him instead of shooting him... absolute bullshit. And my scoliosis was actually caused by deadlifting too much and squatting too much. But at the moment I am training with lots of weighted pull ups, weighted dips and weighted chin ups with some bench press power cleans and heavy bag work and of course running. I have never fitted in in british society, I have always been known as 'politically incorrect' or 'crazy' because I want to do something which others fear to do, because others fear to leave their comfort zone. The biggest fear I have in my life is failure, and wasting my time for example spending all my time learning russian and training, immigrating to russia and then just getting turned down for something silly like my back or being british. Like I said failure is the biggest fear in my life.

Think about it logically - if you are rejected for your spine, then you would be rejected by any SF for your spine
And if you are rejected for being British.. well at least by that stage you probably would have picked up a lot of Russian and gotten your physique up; so you can just apply for some other military like the British one or French foreign legion - and your Russian language skills will only help as GarryB said

But yes, you have to be prepared for failure, you have to be prepared to be rejected for something that's completely not your fault either, that you can do absolutely nothing about but would simply disqualify you. Such are the woes of preparing for the best of the best.

It's one of the reasons for why I find the arguments for allowing women in the infantry ridiculous; about how some complain (more men then women it almost seems) how just because women are born as women, they shouldn't be discriminated against.
But the reality is of course that half of men wouldn't be cut out for the infantry either, never mind the special forces; and through no fault of their own - it's just that they were born too fragile, or with medical problems, or had an accident later in life, or don't have citizenship, etc... yet no-one whines about them being discriminated against.

What it comes down to is that in such combat roles; if you have a medical condition, or are considered politically unreliable - then you will endanger not just your own life, but that of the whole squad. And when it comes to things like that - there is no room for political correctness, or for Santa Claus, etc... to grant your wishes. All you can do, is convince them that you are the man for them; and I think perseverance will go a long way, even in the face of things like foreign citizenship and minor medical conditions; there are no guarantees but if you put 200% into your goals, your chances will improve  

VladimirSahin wrote:To all guys who served I would like to know about your service maybe share each other our experiences, Should we start a new thread? I know i'm going off topic but it would be nice if we can talk to each other about our services.  Also I read a bit more about this foreign unit and I guess they will take you into the Russian army j.mac you just got to go talk to the embassy maybe I can call a few friends and do some more research if you want me too.

If you could that would be greatly appreciated, and I will give the embassy call.

flamming_python wrote:

j.mac wrote:Thanks mate, well one of the reasons I pick russia is political correctness, there is too much of that in england, one of our marines was sentenced to life in prison for shooting a terrorist who tried to shoot him, apparantly the terrorist was already injured so he should of helped him instead of shooting him... absolute bullshit. And my scoliosis was actually caused by deadlifting too much and squatting too much. But at the moment I am training with lots of weighted pull ups, weighted dips and weighted chin ups with some bench press power cleans and heavy bag work and of course running. I have never fitted in in british society, I have always been known as 'politically incorrect' or 'crazy' because I want to do something which others fear to do, because others fear to leave their comfort zone. The biggest fear I have in my life is failure, and wasting my time for example spending all my time learning russian and training, immigrating to russia and then just getting turned down for something silly like my back or being british. Like I said failure is the biggest fear in my life.

Think about it logically - if you are rejected for your spine, then you would be rejected by any SF for your spine
And if you are rejected for being British.. well at least by that stage you probably would have picked up a lot of Russian and gotten your physique up; so you can just apply for some other military like the British one or French foreign legion - and your Russian language skills will only help as GarryB said

But yes, you have to be prepared for failure, you have to be prepared to be rejected for something that's completely not your fault either, that you can do absolutely nothing about but would simply disqualify you. Such are the woes of preparing for the best of the best.

It's one of the reasons for why I find the arguments for allowing women in the infantry ridiculous; about how some complain (more men then women it almost seems) how just because women are born as women, they shouldn't be discriminated against.
But the reality is of course that half of men wouldn't be cut out for the infantry either, never mind the special forces; and through no fault of their own - it's just that they were born too fragile, or with medical problems, or had an accident later in life, or don't have citizenship, etc... yet no-one whines about them being discriminated against.

What it comes down to is that in such combat roles; if you have a medical condition, or are considered politically unreliable - then you will endanger not just your own life, but that of the whole squad. And when it comes to things like that - there is no room for political correctness, or for Santa Claus, etc... to grant your wishes. All you can do, is convince them that you are the man for them; and I think perseverance will go a long way, even in the face of things like foreign citizenship and minor medical conditions; there are no guarantees but if you put 200% into your goals, your chances will improve  

Thank you, I think I will start by calling the embassy learning russian then applying to a foreign unit, once I have served 3 years apply for citizenship and go for a combat roll.

Sorry for all these questions, but does anyone know about the navy? If I joined the navy could I then after 3 years go into a combat unit E.g marines then move up from there, to maybe a special unit?

Marines are part of the Navy. If you get conscripted as a Russian citizen then you can express your wish to go to the Navy, even a specific unit although ultimately what branch they send you to is up to them, you will get sent along with hundreds of other people each week to a central logistics base of the respective fleet or military district and from there different officers, etc... will pick you out and try and enlist you into their unit although you do have some say as to which proposal you agree to, especially if more than 1 wants you. If you end up in the navy there will be some marine officers and NGOs on the look out, and they will come up to people that interest them, look them over and check their records, etc... if you were in a sports team then make sure to have mentioned it earlier on so that it's on your file; that will increase your chances by a lot with the marines.
There will also be officers/NGOs going around looking for people with special skills such as electricians, diesel generator operators, drivers with truck-driving qualifications, some other trades - well just make sure to keep quiet if you know any of that stuff, because those are probably not the kind of roles you are looking for.

If on the other-hand you end up in the Russian military as a foreign citizen, if that proves possible - then I'm really not sure. Presumably you'll be signing a contract and from there they might offer you a special unit for foreign citizens if they have one by that stage, or you'll have the choice of where you want to serve but probably with some limitations.

If you're serious about this thing keep in touch on these boards, maybe I can help out later on too but only if you show some progress and you prove you're dead serious about this whole thing.

flamming_python wrote:Marines are part of the Navy. If you get conscripted as a Russian citizen then you can express your wish to go to the Navy, even a specific unit although ultimately what branch they send you to is up to them, you will get sent along with hundreds of other people each week to a central logistics base of the respective fleet or military district and from there different officers, etc... will pick you out and try and enlist you into their unit although you do have some say as to which proposal you agree to, especially if more than 1 wants you. If you end up in the navy there will be some marine officers and NGOs on the look out, and they will come up to people that interest them, look them over and check their records, etc... if you were in a sports team then make sure to have mentioned it earlier on so that it's on your file; that will increase your chances by a lot with the marines.
There will also be officers/NGOs going around looking for people with special skills such as electricians, diesel generator operators, drivers with truck-driving qualifications, some other trades - well just make sure to keep quiet if you know any of that stuff, because those are probably not the kind of roles you are looking for.

If on the other-hand you end up in the Russian military as a foreign citizen, if that proves possible - then I'm really not sure. Presumably you'll be signing a contract and from there they might offer you a special unit for foreign citizens if they have one by that stage, or you'll have the choice of where you want to serve but probably with some limitations.

If you're serious about this thing keep in touch on these boards, maybe I can help out later on too but only if you show some progress and you prove you're dead serious about this whole thing.

Thank you, at the moment I am training physically, and I have just started learning russian last night I basically know nothing but how to pronounce a couple letters at the moment. Training wise I am doing a mix of body weight exercises, lots of running and power lifts, for example power cleans weighted chin ups, weighted pull ups, weighted dips. Once I think I am more ready I am going to call the russian embassy. Also, what will happen if they do not make foreign units for the foreigners joining? will I just drafted into a regular unit?

Study Russian over all of those stuff if you don't learn the language then all your efforts are put to waste.

Yeah, don't bother calling the Russian embassy until you can hold a conversation in broken Russian at least.

flamming_python wrote:Yeah, don't bother calling the Russian embassy until you can hold a conversation in broken Russian at least.

For some reason I imagined Graham Phillips, the guy in Eastern Ukraine calling embassy and trying to enlist.

As I said... learning Russian is not a waste of time. The British military and French Foreign Legion would be interested in people with language skills in more than one language so it wont be a waste of time.

Regarding fear of failure... don't.

The worst think I find in the western education system is the fear of failure.

Show me someone who has never failed and I will show you someone who has never actually done anything.

Before you try you never know whether you will succeed or not and often the only reliable way to know for certain is to try... several times.

If you fail and give up they will never consider you... imagine being dropped behind enemy lines and you don't make it to a waypoint in time.

The important thing is to evaluate and learn from your failures. Sensible lessons can make you better prepared for your next attempt... experience is a great teacher though as you are doing here right now it doesn't hurt to learn from the experiences of others.

Regarding the RT and Wiki problem... I suspect you will need to be fluent in Russian... written and spoken before applying. Being a Russian citizen before you apply would be normal if you want to get into a Russian unit, but RT and Wiki might be talking about foreign units like a Russian Foreign Legion. In that case obviously it is open to foreign nationals, though generally as is the goal with the French Foreign Legion is a way to legally and honourably get Russian citizenship and perhaps continue a career in the Russian military.

There are lots of ways to learn a new language... I suggest you try as many as you can and see which is the most effective for you... what would you think of a UK citizen who could not speak or read English?