The Uniforms of Colonel Vladimir Yureivich Korolev, Part I (Soviet Armed Forces, 1979-1992)
Important - The events described below take place within our timeline, but the character himself and specific events relating to him are fictional. Any similarity to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
Korolev Vladimir Yurievich (Королев Владимир Юрьевич) was born June 29th, 1961 in the city of Velikiye Luki, near the Belarusian border. He was the son of Korolev Yuri Grigorevich (Королев Юрий Григорьевич), a Soviet Air Force pilot, and Koroleva Anastasia Alexandrovna (Королева Анастасия Александровна), a Belarusian nurse. At the age of 18, Vladimir joined the Soviet Armed Forces, attending the Ryazan Higher Airborne Command Red Banner School and being commissioned as a Lieutenant in 1983.
Vladimir's first assignment was to the 98th Guards Airborne Svirskaya Red Banner, Order of Kutuzov Division, a unit he would remain with until 1988. He was promoted to Senior Lieutenant in 1986 and transferred to the 39th Separate Air Assault Brigade in 1988. The 39th had previously seen fighting in Afghanistan (1st Battalion) and had assisted in the cleanup at Chernobyl in 1986. Vladimir did not serve in Afghanistan, something he grew to be thankful for after seeing how it had affected his comrades, though he also felt regret that he had not fought alongside them. While stationed in Khyriv, Vladimir met his future wife Yuliya whom he would marry in 1991. In 1990, the 39th deployed to the Caucasus as a part of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, returning in April.
The 39th Separate Air Assault Brigade was transferred from the Soviet Ground Forces to the Soviet Airborne Forces in June 1990, becoming the 224th Training Center of the Soviet Airborne Forces and, following the fall of the Soviet Union, was incorporated into the Ukrainian Armed Forces in May 1992. Vladimir, now a Captain, chose to become a Ukrainian citizen and joined the Ukrainian Armed Forces, remaining in the newly-renamed 39th Separate Airborne Brigade. He retired in December 1994 at the rank of Major after a combined 15 years of service, purchasing a small aircraft and starting a charter business.
Biography will continue in Part II...