A plate from the commander's canteen of the 1st Guards Rifle Proletarian Division

The 2nd Rifle Regiment of the Moscow Proletarian Rifle Division (which later became the legendary 1st Guards Moscow-Minsk Motorized Rifle Division) has a unique history closely linked to the development of elite formations of the Red Army and the reform of the army on the eve of World War II.
The regiment was formed in December 1926 in Moscow at the same time as the creation of the Moscow Proletarian Rifle Division itself. A separate rifle training battalion at the Higher Tactical Courses "Shot" became the base for its creation. R. P. Khmelnitsky was appointed the first commander of the regiment.As part of the "Proletariat", the regiment was an exemplary unit of the Red Army. He was stationed in Moscow, regularly participated in military parades on Red Square, major maneuvers and inspections, and also served as a testing ground for the latest Soviet small arms and tactical techniques. In 1936, for its success in combat training, the regiment as part of the division was awarded the Honorary Revolutionary Red Banner.
A key turn in the history of the regiment took place in September 1939. At that time, the Red Army was undergoing a large—scale reorganization - the transition to covert mobilization and an increase in the number of rifle formations. Based on the experience and personnel of the 2nd Infantry Regiment, an entire independent infantry division was deployed (the regiment's personnel served as the basis for the deployment of new formations). The basic Proletarian division itself continued to exist, but on the basis of the reorganized 1st Regiment, and was soon transformed into the 1st Moscow Motorized Rifle Division, which met the Great Patriotic War on the western borders.
The second, no less glorious birth of the regiment with the same name took place in the autumn of 1941 during the Battle for Moscow. In October 1941, when German troops were breaking through to the capital, a new 1st Moscow Rifle Division was formed (not to be confused with the pre-war motorized rifle division), created from workers, fighter battalions and volunteers from the capital's districts.It included the newly formed 2nd Infantry Regiment. On October 24, 1941, the soldiers of the regiment took up defense on the outskirts of the city. In November 1941, the unit became part of the 2nd Moscow Rifle Division. The regiment defended the lines in the area of Kuntsevo, Poklonnaya Gora and Kaluzhskaya Zastava, made sorties northwest of the capital, and part of its personnel marched directly from defensive positions on Red Square during the famous parade on November 7, 1941. In January 1942, for the courage of the personnel, the division and its regiments were reorganized into regular units of the Red Army (becoming the basis of the 129th Rifle Division of the Oryol), which continued their military path to complete victory over Nazism.