Rivalry between the Russian Naval Infantry and the 4th Black Sea Fleet Special Forces

The rivalry between the Russian Naval Infantry and the 4th Black Sea Fleet Special Forces turns an internal military fault line into a concrete obstacle during Boychenko’s forces’ retreat toward Kerch. The text distinguishes the two formations by service and role: naval Spetsnaz could cooperate with the Naval Infantry, but Boychenko’s brigade was an army unit caught up in the wider rivalry between army and naval forces. Near Kerch, that institutional distinction matters on the ground: Naval Infantry hold the route ahead, Boychenko’s column is unable to pass, and the possibility of escape narrows to evacuation by helicopter.

Institutional Identities

The tension is not presented as a simple opposition between special forces and marines. Spetsnaz units in the navy normally worked closely with the Naval Infantry, supplying frogman and reconnaissance capabilities. The passage therefore establishes a customary working relationship even as it identifies a broader rivalry between naval and army units across the Russian military. Cooperation in particular functions did not erase competition between services.

The 4th Black Sea Fleet Special Forces, despite its naval-sounding designation, belonged to the army. Some of its men jokingly called it Boychenko’s Bodyguard, a nickname that associates the formation with the commander it serves while underscoring its separate identity. The narrator identifies the brigade as one participant in the sharper army–navy rivalry, rather than treating it as interchangeable with naval Spetsnaz simply because both were special forces.

The institutional distinction is reinforced by the account of Spetsnaz itself: the name is given as a contraction of Russian Spetsialnoye Nazranie, rendered as Special Designation Forces, and the units technically belonged to the GRU. These details place the special forces within military intelligence, while the Naval Infantry remain a distinct combat formation. The rivalry thus operates across organizations with different affiliations, even where their military work could overlap.

Rivalry and Allegiance

As Boychenko’s forces approach Kerch, the opposing troops are described as composed mostly of Spetsnaz, and the narrative notes that there was little affection between the Russian special forces and the marines. This observation contrasts with the broader possibility of personal ties across opposing lines: troops could have friends or relatives among the forces facing them. Here, however, the account emphasizes the sharper institutional antagonism between the formations.

The contrast makes the encounter more than a generic clash between retreating and advancing troops. The passage has already identified a standing rivalry within the Russian military; it then places the 4th Black Sea Fleet Special Forces and Naval Infantry on opposite sides of a route that Boychenko’s column needs to use. It does not claim that service rivalry alone caused the fighting, but it gives the confrontation an additional organizational dimension beyond the immediate struggle for passage.

The Kerch Roadblock

Scouts report the rebel position on a low ridge near the Arsincevo refinery and storage facility south of Kerch, while American fleet units are reported approaching from the south. The position and the approaching fleet establish the pressure surrounding Boychenko’s force: it is moving toward Kerch as outside forces converge, rather than maneuvering in an open-ended contest between services.

Boychenko points to a map and explains that an armored force coming out of Kerch has spread along the ridge’s eastern side, between his column and the port. Natalie relays that the blocking troops are Naval Infantry. Boychenko identifies them as Morskaya Pekhota and compares them to American Marines, calling them good soldiers. The acknowledgment of their competence makes the danger practical, not merely rhetorical: these are trained troops holding the ground that stands between his force and its destination.

The lead elements of Boychenko’s column have already been skirmishing with the Naval Infantry for several minutes. Gunfire carries over the ridge. Boychenko says there is no way through and doubts that the column can go around; he asks whether helicopters can come to pick them up. The service rivalry therefore reaches its clearest expression as a tactical impasse. The column is stuck between the blocking force and the terrain, and its commander has to consider extraction from the air instead of continuing toward the port.

Significance in the Retreat

The episode gives the rivalry a specific consequence without reducing the battle to factional animosity. The Naval Infantry’s position closes the route, the skirmish confirms that the barrier is actively defended, and the ridge limits the alternatives Boychenko sees. His request for helicopters follows from those circumstances. In this scene, the institutional divide is embedded in an urgent problem of movement and survival.

The passage also complicates the label of a unified Russian military. Naval Spetsnaz and Naval Infantry can work closely together, while an army special-forces brigade associated with Boychenko belongs to a rival service tradition; at Kerch, the difference is no abstraction, because a Russian formation blocks the retreat of another Russian-led force. The account leaves the rivalry’s wider history and ultimate resolution unstated. Its significance here lies in how a persistent internal division meets the immediate geography of the ridge, the road to Kerch, and a column that can neither break through nor confidently go around.