VDV Paratrooper

     This mannequin display represents a combat medic of the 234th Air Assault Regiment, 76th Air Assault Division operating along the Kherson front in the fall of 2022.

     Although the pieces come from a smattering of units, the underlying smock and theme of this display is to represent the 234th Airborne, one of Russia’s more battle-hardened regiments of the war thus far. They first landed at Hostomel, failing to secure the site after weeks of harsh fighting, and since the summer of 2022 have been seeing action in the Kherson, and now Kharkiv, regions at whatever part of the line seemed the heaviest. They’ve suffered many casualties in the process and inflicted great damage upon Ukraine, notably in their massacre of civilians in Bucha during the first weeks of fighting.

     The setup includes a 6sh-122 smock which actually belonged to the 234th, sporting one of their signature sleeve-length St. George ribbons, a 6b27 helmet with goggles reissued to the airborne and graffitied on the cover, and a 6b45 ballistic vest with the callsign “Doc” and various pouches for ammunition and medical equipment. These are all fairly common-seen sights among the airborne forces during the period it represents.