Alpha Group: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

Alpha Group or Spetsgruppe A, a special forces (spetsnaz) or special operations detachment OSNAZ unit attached to the KGB was created in 1974 within the First Chief Directorate of the KGB on the orders of Yuri Andropov, then Chairman of the KGB. It was intended for secret foreign operations. The unit has continued to exist after the collapse of the Soviet Union and has been used in a variety of difficult situations, such as the Moscow Theatre Siege. Its first major operation in December, 1979 was the storming of the Presidential Palace in Kabul during which it took heavy casualties.

Currently believed to consist of 700 operatives with 400 being assigned to the MoscowDetachment and the remaining 300 being assigned to other important cities.

Beta Group similar, not known if it still exists.