The brigade was put together in the fall of 1995 from elements of the 76th and 98th Guards Airborne Divisions, and it arrived at the Tuzla Air Base in Bosnia and Herzegovina in January 1996, just after being officially activated.

Its efforts were directed at separating the warring factions from each other, clearing mines, and creating safe conditions for the civilian population and international humanitarian organizations.

The mission was considered to be a success by both sides, with the Russian brigade having contributed to the achievement of its military objectives, and according to U.S. General George Joulwan the development of the Russian–NATO relationship in that process created the basis for the signing of the NATO-Russia Founding Act in May 1997.

The only serious disruption to the command structure occurred during the Kosovo War in 1999, but relations between NATO and the Russian military were restored after that, and elements of the 1st Airborne Brigade remained in Bosnia until 2003, though it was significantly downsized starting after 1999.

On the ground in Bosnia, the brigade would be working with the U.S. Army's 1st Armored Division, and its commander Major General William L. Nash would have tactical control over the Russian unit.

"[7] But the 1st Separate Airborne Brigade in Bosnia represented the first time that Russian military forces took part in a NATO-led mission,[2] under NATO operational command.

[3] Their other tasks included mine clearing, assisting the UN, and providing a safe environment for civilians and the activities of international humanitarian aid organizations as well as the local government.

[10] In late December 1995, a Russian general, Nikolai Staskov, arrived in Bosnia and met with the indicted Bosnian Serb war criminal Ratko Mladic without the approval of NATO.

Other instances included U.S. forces taking control of Serbian TV transmitters in October 1997 and arresting a Bosnian Serb corps commander in December 1998, with the Russian troops not wanting to participate in either situation even though it was in their sector.

[21] Russia, which historically had close relations with Serbia, was put into a difficult position, and the Russian leadership believed that it was going to be left out of the peacekeeping mission in Kosovo that NATO wanted the Serbian government to accept.

From early June 1999 the brigade was kept at a high level of readiness, and experienced personnel were selected by the Russian command staff for the mission, which was to seize a strategically important location, the Pristina Airport, before NATO forces could get to it.

On 10 June the Russian brigade began a training exercise that served as a cover for their final preparations, and on the next day it received the order from Moscow to enter Kosovo ahead of the NATO force.

[19][22] On the same day a group of 206 paratroopers, driving in 15 BTR armored vehicles and 35 Ural trucks or cars, led by former Russian military representative to NATO Viktor Zavarzin, departed Bosnia and crossed the border into Serbia on their way to Kosovo.

[22] When the British commander, Lieutenant General Mike Jackson, was ordered by Clark to take control of the runway, he famously told him "I'm not starting World War III for you.

[19][22] Major General Valery Yevtukhovich, the former head of the VDV operational group in Bosnia, was appointed as the first commander of the Russian military contingent in Kosovo Force.

[5] Despite some disagreements between them and the events of the Kosovo crisis, the close military relationship between the Russian and NATO troops in Bosnia held up during the years of Russia's participation in IFOR/SFOR.

[26] The NATO supreme commander, General George Joulwan, said that "I firmly believe that our cooperation at SHAPE and in Bosnia was instrumental in the creation of the NATO-Russia Founding Act, which was signed in May 1997 in Paris.

'"[27] In 2003, one of his successors, General James L. Jones, said at the conclusion of the Russian participation in SFOR and KFOR that "History will show that NATO-Russia military cooperation ended civil war in the Balkans, and sparked the development of a new, broader, special partnership in Europe.