January 21 is Combat Engineer’s Day in Russia. Russian airborne engineers traverse a minefield in a matter of minutes.

Independent engineer battalions are available to every section of the armed forces including the airborne troops. The main mission of these “engineers in blue berets” is to plant mines and act as members of sabotage and scout groups in enemy territory. They also need to know how to disarm a wide range of explosive devices and clear paths through minefields.