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International Army Games

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
International Army Games
Армейские международные игры
Emblem of the games
First event2015
Occur every2 years
Last event2022
HeadquartersMoscow
OrganizerRussian MoD

The International Army Games (Russian: Армейские международные) is an annual international military sports event organized by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Russia. The event, which was first staged in August 2015, involves close to 30 countries taking part in dozens of competitions over two weeks to prove which is the most skilled.[1] The games have been referred to as the War Olympics.[2] In addition to the competition, the International Army Games includes a military theme park, a recruitment station, and souvenir shops.[3]

History

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Participant countries of the 2019 International Army Games
  • 2015 International Army Games: Took place in Russia from August 1–15.[4]
  • 2016 International Army Games: Took place from July 30 to August 13. 3,500 servicemen from 19 states fought in 23 competitions.[5]
  • 2017 International Army Games: Held from July 29 to August 12 in 5 countries: Russia, China, Azerbaijan, Belarus, and Kazakhstan. During the games 28 international competitions were held, including 5 new ones.
  • 2018 International Army Games: Held from July 28 to August 11. The competitions were held in Armenia and Iran for the first time. Teams from Algeria, Vietnam, Myanmar, Pakistan, the Sudan and the Philippines also took part in the games for the first time.[6]
  • 2019 International Army Games: Planned to be organized in 32 disciplines hosted in 10 countries starting on August 3 in Korla.[7] Russia, India, China, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Iran, Mongolia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are the countries hosting it. India hosted and won Stage 2 of the games, known as the 5th International Army Scout Masters Competition. Uzbekistan came second and Russia fourth.[8]
  • 2020 International Army Games: Held from August 22 to September 5. Russia won the competition while Belarus was second and Uzbekistan was third.[9][10]
  • 2021 International Army Games: Held from August 22 to September 4, 2021.
  • 2023–2024: Not held due to shortages stemming from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[11][12] In 2023, Russian Deputy Minister of Defence Alexander Fomin stated the games would take place in even years.[13]

Editions

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[14][15][16][17][18][19][20]

Year Edition Dates Host Country Events Champion
2015 1  Russia 13  Russia[21]
2016 2  Russia 23  Russia[22]
2017 3  Russia 28
2018 4  Russia 28  Russia[23]
2019 5  Russia
2020 6  Russia 30  Russia[10]
2021 7  Russia  Russia[24]
2022 8  Russia 34

Competitions

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  • Tank biathlon
  • Suvorov Attack ("Suvorov Onslaught"): competition between crews/specialists of infantry combat vehicles[25]
  • Aviadarts: competition for flight crews
  • Masters of artillery fire: artillery calculation competition
  • Clear skies: competition among anti-aircraft units
  • Excellence troop intelligence: competition between intelligence departments
  • Open water: competition among dispatching units
  • Safe route: competition among engineering units
  • Safe environment: radiation, chemical and biological defense forces' competition[26]
  • International Army Scout Masters' Competition[27]

2020 events

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[28]

Hosts:

  1. Russia
  2. Iran
  3. India
  4. Mongolia
  5. Kazakhstan
  6. Uzbekistan
  7. Armenia
  8. Azerbaijan
  9. Belarus
  10. China
Events
  1. Tank Biathlon = Tank Crews Competition
  2. Suvorov Attack = IFV Crews Competition
  3. Sniper Frontier = Snipers Competition
  4. Aviadarts = Flight Crews Competition
  5. Airborne Platoon = Airborne Forces Platoons Competition
  6. Seaborne Assault = Naval Infantry Units Competition
  7. Sea Cup = Combat Ship Crews Competition
  8. Depth = Divers Multidiscipline Competition
  9. Masters Of Artillery Fire = Mortar Battery Squads Competition
  10. Gunsmith Master = Maintenance Platoons Competition
  11. Clear Sky = Ad Units Competition
  12. Confident Reception = Competition Of Anti-Aircraft Missile Troops Units
  13. Army Scout Masters = Army Reconnaissance Units Competition
  14. Open Water = Pontoon Bridge Crews Competition
  15. Safe Route = Combat Engineering Units Competition
  16. Engineering Formula = Engineering Units Competition
  17. Safe Environment = NBC Reconnaissance Crews Competition
  18. Masters Of Armored Vehicles = Armored Vehicles Crews Competition
  19. Elbrus Ring = Mountain Infantry Units Competition
  20. True Friend = Dog Handlers Competition
  21. Military Medical Relay Race = Medical Staff Competition
  22. Field Kitchen = Food Service Specialists Competition
  23. Guardian Of Order = Military Police Competition
  24. Military Rally = Armored Vehicles Crews Competition
  25. Warrior Of Peace = International Competition Of Military-Professional Servicemen Skills
  26. Falcon Hunting = Uavs' Crews Competition
  27. Road Patrol = Military Police Officers Competition
  28. Emergency Area = Competition Among Emergency Rescue Units
  29. Equestrian Marathon = Competition Among Horse Mounted Units
  30. Polar Star = Special Operation Units Competition

Participants

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Note: O = Observer

For the first time, Bolivia and Rwanda participated in the 2022 Games.

Countries Participated in
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
 Russia (Host) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
 Abkhazia Yes Yes Yes
 Afghanistan Yes Yes
 Algeria O Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
 Angola Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
 Armenia Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
 Austria O
 Azerbaijan Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
 Bangladesh Yes Yes Yes
 Belarus Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
 Bolivia Yes
 Brazil O O
 Burkina Faso Yes Yes
 Cambodia Yes Yes Yes
 Cameroon Yes
 China Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
 Cuba O Yes
 Denmark O
 Egypt Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
 Equatorial Guinea Yes
 Eswatini Yes
 Finland O
 France O
 Germany O O
 Greece Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
 Guinea Yes
 India Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
 Indonesia O Yes
 Iran O Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
 Israel O Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
 Jordan Yes
 Kazakhstan Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
 Kuwait Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
 Kyrgyzstan Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
 Laos Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
 Mali Yes Yes Yes Yes
 Mongolia Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
 Morocco Yes Yes Yes
 Mozambique Yes Yes
 Myanmar O O Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
 Namibia O Yes
 Netherlands O
 Nicaragua Yes Yes Yes Yes
 North Korea O
 Pakistan Yes Yes Yes Yes
 Palestine Yes Yes
 Peru Yes
 Philippines Yes
 Qatar O Yes Yes
 Republic of Congo Yes Yes Yes Yes
 Rwanda Yes
 Saudi Arabia O Yes
 Serbia Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
 Slovenia O
 South Africa Yes Yes Yes Yes
 South Korea O
 South Ossetia Yes Yes Yes
 Sri Lanka Yes
 Sudan Yes Yes Yes Yes
  Switzerland O
 Syria Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
 Tajikistan Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
 Thailand Yes
 Turkey O
 Turkmenistan O
 Uganda Yes Yes Yes
 United States O O
 Uzbekistan Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
 Venezuela Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
 Vietnam O Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
 Yemen Yes
 Zimbabwe Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Greece was the only NATO member state that has officially participated in the games. Since 2020, three largely-unrecognised countries have participated.

Russian groups in opening and closing ceremonies

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Members of the ensemble during the closing ceremony of the International Army Games in 2020.
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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Rebecca Wright; Oren Liebermann; Darya Tarasova; Mary Ilyushina (13 August 2017). "Russia's International Army Games showcase military might". CNN. Archived from the original on 2 August 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  2. ^ "The Russian military is building a mini-Reichstag at its amusement park so that kids have 'a real building to storm". Washington Post. 22 February 2017. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  3. ^ Galeotti, Mark (August 24, 2018). "The International Army Games are Decadent and Depraved". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on June 16, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  4. ^ "Russia holds its first International Army Games". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2018-08-02. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  5. ^ "Министры обороны стран-участниц АРМИ-2016 приехали на игры в Россию". 30 July 2016. Archived from the original on 31 July 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  6. ^ "What are Russia's International Army Games?". Newsweek. 28 July 2018. Archived from the original on 28 July 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  7. ^ "China competitions for Int'l Army Games 2019 kicks off - Xinhua | English.news.cn". Archived from the original on August 3, 2019.
  8. ^ "Indian Army wins Scout Masters contest". The Hindu. 16 August 2019. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  9. ^ "International Army Games expected to highlight Russian-Chinese cooperation". Foreign Brief. 2020-08-22. Archived from the original on 2021-07-15. Retrieved 2021-07-15.
  10. ^ a b "Participants of the International Army Games 2020 summed up the results and discussed the procedure for their holding in 2021 : Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation". eng.mil.ru. Archived from the original on 2021-07-16. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
  11. ^ van Brugen, Isabel (April 28, 2023). "Russia Cancels Symbolic 'War Olympics' Over Tank Shortage: U.K." Newsweek. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
  12. ^ "British intelligence cited possible reasons for Russia's cancellation of the military games". The Odessa Journal. May 29, 2024. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
  13. ^ "В МО РФ сообщили, что АрМИ будут проводиться по четным годам с 2024 года" [The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that the Army Games will be held in even years from 2024]. Argumenty i Fakty. August 19, 2023. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
  14. ^ "Army Games International". armygames2020.mil.ru.
  15. ^ https://eng.mil.ru/en/news_page/country.htm?f=1&blk=10340619&id=9474@egClassification&ra=egNews&objInBlock=25 [not specific enough to verify]
  16. ^ "VIII International Army Games end today". eng.mil.ru. 27 August 2022.
  17. ^ "Int'l Army Games 2022 ends in Russia - China Military". Eng.chinamil.com.cn. 2022-08-27. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  18. ^ "Army Games Vietnam 2022". armygames.vn. 30 June 2023.
  19. ^ http://eng.mil.ru/en/news_page/country.htm?f=1&blk=10340619&id=9474@egClassification&ra=egNews&objInBlock=25 [not specific enough to verify]
  20. ^ "VIII International Army Games end today". Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation. 27 August 2022.
  21. ^ Gady, Franz-Stefan. "Russia Beats China in This Year's International Army Games". thediplomat.com. Archived from the original on 2021-07-12. Retrieved 2021-07-12.
  22. ^ "Kazakhstan's Armed Forces Team Ranked Second at 2016 International Army Games". astanatimes. 20 August 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-09-10. Retrieved 2016-08-20.
  23. ^ "Closing Ceremony of the International Army Games 2018 to take place in Alabino". eng.mil.ru. Archived from the original on 2022-01-07. Retrieved 2018-10-08.
  24. ^ "International Army Games Winners of 16 competitions declared". aviation-defence-universe. 31 August 2021. Archived from the original on 2022-01-07. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  25. ^ "Regulations on the contest "Suvorov onslaught"" (PDF). Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 June 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  26. ^ "Армейские игры-2019". armygames2019.mil.ru. Archived from the original on 2019-06-23. Retrieved 2019-06-22.
  27. ^ "Indian Army wins International Army Scout Masters competition". aninews.in. Archived from the original on 15 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  28. ^ "Army Games International". armygames2020.mil.ru.
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