Wikipedia

International Army Games

"War Olympics" redirects here. For the effects of war on the Olympic Games, see Olympic Games § War and terrorism.

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]

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

History

edit
 
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

edit

[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

edit
  • 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

edit

[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

edit

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

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

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

See also

edit

References

edit
  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.
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=International_Army_Games&oldid=1258926826"
  NODES
INTERN 36
Note 2
Verify 2