115-891: The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation , commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces , are the military of Russia . They are organized into three service branches—the Ground Forces , Navy , and Aerospace Forces —two independent combat arms (the Strategic Rocket Forces and Airborne Forces ), and the Special Operations Forces Command . The Russian Armed Forces are the world's fifth largest military force , with 1.15 million active-duty personnel and close to two million reservists . They maintain
230-489: A military academy or the ROTC . Students of Russian civilian institutions of higher education wishing to join the reserve officer training program cannot choose a military occupational specialty, because each civilian specialty taught by civilian university is attached to a particular military occupational specialty taught by the military training center of the same university by the rector 's order. It also differs from
345-453: A sovereign state , with their members identifiable by a distinct military uniform . They may consist of one or more military branches such as an army , navy , air force , space force , marines , or coast guard . The main task of a military is usually defined as defence of their state and its interests against external armed threats. In broad usage, the terms "armed forces" and "military" are often synonymous, although in technical usage
460-429: A Russian passport. Under a 2010 Defence Ministry plan, foreigners without dual citizenship would be able to sign up for five-year contracts and will be eligible for Russian citizenship after serving three years. The change could open the way for CIS citizens to get fast-track Russian citizenship, and counter the effects of Russia's demographic crisis on its army recruitment. Each soldier in duty receives an Identity Card of
575-688: A centralized system of ranks , command, and service. The Chief Commander and Staff of the troops reported only to Ministry of Internal Affairs, maintaining their separate chain of command. The Chief Commander was concurrently First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs. VV units in the Soviet Union were predominantly formed up of conscripts drafted by the same system as for the Soviet Army . Modern Internal Troops in Russia, as in Ukraine , experienced
690-555: A childhood background of relative socio-economic deprivation . For example, after the US suspended conscription in 1973, "the military disproportionately attracted African American men, men from lower-status socioeconomic backgrounds, men who had been in nonacademic high school programs, and men whose high school grades tended to be low". However, a study released in 2020 on the socio-economic backgrounds of U.S. Armed Forces personnel suggests that they are at parity or slightly higher than
805-583: A civilian job while training under military discipline at weekends; he or she may be called out to deploy on operations to supplement the full-time personnel complement. After leaving the armed forces, recruits may remain liable for compulsory return to full-time military employment in order to train or deploy on operations . Military law introduces offences not recognized by civilian courts, such as absence without leave (AWOL) , desertion, political acts, malingering , behaving disrespectfully, and disobedience (see, for example, offences against military law in
920-480: A contract [with the armed forces] in 2007, and now there are only slightly more than 11,000 of them, including 4,300 officers of various rank." Lt. Col. Yelena Stepanova, the chief of the social processes monitoring department at the Russian armed forces' sociological research center, said. This trend [was] "not ..special" but correspond[ed] with the general .. reduction of the Russian armed forces." On 28 May 2022, on
1035-444: A crisis in the conscript service where there simply were not sufficient able-bodied men to draft and was forced to halve its conscription. In March 2013, Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu promised that all army quarters would have showers by the end of the year. In 2013, it was reported that: "Compared to 2007, the number of female officers and warrant-officers has dropped by nearly two thirds. There were over 30,000 women serving under
1150-537: A decree of President Medvedev on 14 July 2010. In July 2011, an Operational-Strategic Command of Missile-Space Defence has also been established on the basis of the former Special Purpose Command of the Russian Air Force . A Presidential decree of January 2011 named commanders for several of the new organisational structures. Russian security bodies not under the control of the Ministry of Defence include
1265-471: A distinction is sometimes made in which a country's armed forces may include other paramilitary forces such as armed police. A nation's military may function as a discrete social subculture , with dedicated infrastructure such as military housing, schools , utilities, logistics , hospitals , legal services, food production, finance, and banking services. Beyond warfare, the military may be employed in additional sanctioned and non-sanctioned functions within
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#17327831574801380-662: A force of internal suppression, especially after the disastrous Afghan War . The MVD was finding itself having to extinguish increasingly frequent and violent hot spots and to cope with growing and increasingly well organised and equipped criminals. For this the MVD needed more fire power. On 21 March 1989, the Presidium decided to take the Internal Troops out of the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defense and give them to
1495-525: A huge influence on Asian military doctrine, and from the late 19th century, on European and United States military planning . It has even been used to formulate business tactics, and can even be applied in social and political areas. The Classical Greeks and the Romans wrote prolifically on military campaigning . Among the best-known Roman works are Julius Caesar 's commentaries on the Gallic Wars , and
1610-477: A military position in particular military units and are involved in all operational, mobilization, and combat activities of these military units. As a rule, in peacetime time reservists perform their duties 2–3 days per month and during an annual military camp training of 20 to 30 days. The exact number of reservists is unknown because a relevant paragraph of the Presidential Decree which determines
1725-524: A minimum period of service of several years; between two and six years is typical of armed forces in Australia, the UK and the US, for example, depending on role, branch, and rank. Some armed forces allow a short discharge window, normally during training, when recruits may leave the armed force as of right. Alternatively, part-time military employment, known as reserve service , allows a recruit to maintain
1840-506: A new decree was signed in March 2007, which cut the conscription service term from 24 to 18 months. The term was cut further to one year on 1 January 2008. Thirty percent of Russian Armed Forces' personnel were contract servicemen at the end of 2005. For the foreseeable future, the Armed Forces will be a mixed contract/conscript force. The Russian Armed Forces need to maintain a mobilization reserve to have manning resources capable of reinforcing
1955-529: A number of other important cities and regions. In Moscow alone 15,000 personnel expressed their desire to service in the new Russian Army, mostly former Soviet Armed Forces servicemen. In the end, President Yeltsin tabled a decree "On the temporary position of the Russian Guard", but it was not put into practice. After signing the Belavezha Accords on 21 December 1991, the countries of
2070-527: A period of up to one month. The federal law also detailed the important role that the Russian Ministry of Defense played in the affairs of the MVD's Internal Troops when crises arose. For example, MOD was responsible for providing airliners for supporting Internal Troop activities during emergency situations, and conditions of armed conflicts ; carrying out the stockpiling and echelon armaments and military equipment, ammunition, fuel and supplies for
2185-464: A sense of military tradition , which is used to create cohesive military forces. Still, another is to learn to prevent wars more effectively. Human knowledge about the military is largely based on both recorded and oral history of military conflicts (war), their participating armies and navies and, more recently, air forces . Despite the growing importance of military technology , military activity depends above all on people. For example, in 2000
2300-631: A shortage of officers since 1998. The final commander-in-chief of the Internal Troops was Colonel General Viktor Zolotov from 2014 to 2016. The Internal Troops claimed descent from the Special Corps of Gendarmes of the Russian Empire founded in 1811 and entered their modern form as a paramilitary of the interior ministry of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in 1918. It
2415-618: A significant impact at the strategic level. This concept was pioneered by the German army prior to and during the Second World War . At this level, planning and duration of activities takes from one week to a month, and are executed by Field Armies and Army Corps and their naval and air equivalents. Military tactics concerns itself with the methods for engaging and defeating the enemy in direct combat. Military tactics are usually used by units over hours or days, and are focused on
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#17327831574802530-663: A slow transition to the contract personnel system. VV officers were trained in both own special academies and the Army's military academies. The main kinds of Internal Troops were field units, various facility-guarding units, special motorized units, riot control and patrol units, and special forces like Rus . Since the 1980s, spetsnaz units were created within the VV to deal with terrorism and hostage crises. Fields units were essentially light motorized infantry , similar to respective regular army units by their organization and weapons. They and
2645-653: A victory more often than that achieved by the Romans in praying to the gods before the battle. Later this became known as military science , and later still, would adopt the scientific method approach to the conduct of military operations under the influence of the Industrial Revolution thinking. In his seminal book On War , the Prussian Major-General and leading expert on modern military strategy , Carl von Clausewitz defined military strategy as 'the employment of battles to gain
2760-562: Is a paramilitary organization of the Federal Security Service , the country's main internal intelligence agency. Both organizations have significant wartime tasks in addition to their main peacetime activities and operate their own land, air and maritime units. The number of personnel is specified by decree of the President of Russia . On 1 January 2008, a number of 2,019,629 units, including military of 1,134,800 units,
2875-431: Is also an area in which much effort is invested – it includes everything from global communication networks and aircraft carriers to paint and food. Possessing military capability is not sufficient if this capability cannot be deployed for, and employed in combat operations. To achieve this, military logistics are used for the logistics management and logistics planning of the forces military supply chain management ,
2990-407: Is arguably one of the most complex activities known to humanity; because it requires determining: strategic, operational, and tactical capability requirements to counter the identified threats; strategic, operational , and tactical doctrines by which the acquired capabilities will be used; identifying concepts, methods, and systems involved in executing the doctrines; creating design specifications for
3105-420: Is carried out by taking into account the age category under the article 53 of Federal Law of 28 March 1998, No.53-FZ "About military duty and military service": in order from first category to third category. Military A military , also known collectively as armed forces , is a heavily armed , highly organized force primarily intended for warfare . Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by
3220-405: Is conducted by determining a military budget , which is administered by a military finance organization within the military. Military procurement is then authorized to purchase or contract provision of goods and services to the military, whether in peacetime at a permanent base, or in a combat zone from local population. Capability development, which is often referred to as the military 'strength',
3335-602: Is entitled "On the Russian Federation Ministry of Internal Affairs Internal Troops". When supporting a state-of-emergency regime, Internal Troops were paid salary increases and additional monetary payments according to federal laws and other legal acts approved by the Minister of Internal Affairs. Article 38 granted senior operational commanders the right to call in subunits of special motorized formations and military units outside their deployment areas for
3450-571: Is in the nature of the secrecy of the information they seek, and the clandestine nature that intelligence operatives work in obtaining what may be plans for a conflict escalation , initiation of combat , or an invasion . An important part of the military intelligence role is the military analysis performed to assess military capability of potential future aggressors, and provide combat modelling that helps to understand factors on which comparison of forces can be made. This helps to quantify and qualify such statements as: " China and India maintain
3565-520: Is used in Russia; the term of service is 12 months; and the eligible age is between 18 and 27 years old. Deferments are provided to undergraduate and graduate students, men supporting disabled relatives, parents of at least two children and—upon Presidential proclamation—to some employees of military-oriented enterprises. Men holding a Ph.D., as well as sons and brothers of servicemen killed or disabled during their military service, are released from conscription. There were widespread problems with hazing in
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3680-599: The American military education system in which students can choose between available types of ROTC . The Russian military education system includes: Russian Armed Forces have reserves ( Russian : запас; transliteration : zapas) which includes 2 components: By default, at the end of active duty each military personnel is enrolled as a mobilization human resource . This applies equally to conscripts and volunteers regardless of ranks . Furthermore, graduates of civilian institutions of higher education, who have graduated
3795-891: The Border Guard of the Federal Security Service , the National Guard , the Ministry of Internal Affairs , the Federal Protective Service , the Foreign Intelligence Service , and the Ministry of Emergency Situations . Armed forces under the Ministry of Defence are divided into: There are additionally two further separate troop branches , the National Guard and the Border Service . These retain
3910-451: The First and Second Chechen Wars , where it fell under direct military command during wartime and fulfilled missions of local defence and rear area security. The Internal Troops consisted of both volunteers and conscripts , which caused the number of active service members to fluctuate, with less than 200,000 upon their disestablishment from a peak strength of 350,000, and had experienced
4025-725: The Imperial Russian Army . The Corps evolved into a uniformed security police agency responsible for law enforcement and state security for most of the 19th century and a small part of the 20th century. The Corps also fell under the command of the Ministry of Police of the Russian Empire and the Guberniya . The modern Internal Troops of Russia were raised in 1918 by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee , one of
4140-690: The Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (now the National Guard of Russia 's National Guard Forces Command ), the Border Guard Service of Russia (part of the Federal Security Service ), the Kremlin Regiment and the rest of the Federal Protective Service , and the Ministry of Emergency Situations , the country's civil defence service since 1995 and successor to earlier civil defence units. The Navy consists of four fleets and one flotilla : Conscription
4255-942: The Main Military-Political Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces was created, restoring a responsibility for ideological training that had been done away with in the Soviet Armed Forces . The Russian military is divided into three services: the Russian Ground Forces , the Russian Navy , and the Russian Aerospace Forces . In addition there are two independent arms of service : the Strategic Missile Troops and
4370-593: The Roman Civil war – written about 50 BC. Two major works on tactics come from the late Roman period: Taktike Theoria by Aelianus Tacticus , and De Re Militari ('On military matters') by Vegetius . Taktike Theoria examined Greek military tactics, and was most influential in the Byzantine world and during the Golden Age of Islam . De Re Militari formed the basis of European military tactics until
4485-924: The Russian Airborne Troops . The Armed Forces as a whole are traditionally referred to as the Army ( armiya ), except in some cases, the Navy is specifically singled out. Since late 2010, the Ground Forces as well as the Aerospace Forces and Navy are distributed among four military districts : Western Military District , Southern Military District , Central Military District , and the Eastern Military District which also constitute four Joint Strategic Commands—West, South, Central, and East. Previously from 1992 to 2010,
4600-407: The history of war , with military history focusing on the people and institutions of war-making, while the history of war focuses on the evolution of war itself in the face of changing technology, governments, and geography. Military history has a number of facets. One main facet is to learn from past accomplishments and mistakes, so as to more effectively wage war in the future. Another is to create
4715-418: The military training centers of their almae matres, trained under reserve officer program , are enrolled as mobilization Human Resources after their promotion to officer's rank (unlike graduates of such centers, trained under active duty officer program, who are due to be enrolled for active duty after their promotion to officer's rank). Mobilization human resource are replenished with males who reach
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4830-742: The secret police agencies of the RSFSR and later the Soviet Union . On 28 July 1988, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet issued a decree "On duties and rights of the Internal Troops of the USSR MVD when safeguarding public order", clarifying its role in the cracking Soviet regime. However, the Internal Troops were still a part of the Soviet Armed Forces and this state of affairs pleased no one. The Armed Forces did not want to be seen as
4945-477: The world's largest stockpile of nuclear weapons , possess the world's second-largest fleet of ballistic missile submarines , and are the only armed forces outside the United States and China that operate strategic bombers . As of 2024, Russia has the world's third-highest military expenditure , at approximately US$ 130 billion, or over six percent of GDP, compared to approximately to US$ 86.5–$ 109 billion
5060-478: The Army, known as dedovshchina , where first-year draftees are abused by second-year draftees, a practice that appeared in its current form after the change to a two-year service term in 1967. According to Anna Politkovskaya , in 2002, "a complete battalion, more than five hundred men, had been killed not by enemy fire but by beatings". Over a period of 9 months in 2003, 2,500 personnel were accused of dedovshchina, of which half were sentenced. To combat this problem,
5175-620: The British Army declared: "Man is still the first weapon of war." The military organization is characterized by a command hierarchy divided by military rank , with ranks normally grouped (in descending order of authority) as officers (e.g. colonel ), non-commissioned officers (e.g. sergeant ), and personnel at the lowest rank (e.g. private ). While senior officers make strategic decisions, subordinated military personnel ( soldiers , sailors , marines , or airmen ) fulfil them. Although rank titles vary by military branch and country,
5290-436: The Ground Forces were divided into six military districts : Moscow , Leningrad , North Caucausian , Privolzhsk-Ural , Siberian and Far Eastern , with the seventh military district: Kaliningrad formed in 1997; in service until 2010. Russia's four naval fleets and one flotilla were organizations on par with the Ground Forces' Military Districts. These seven MDs were merged into the four new MDs, which now also incorporate
5405-599: The Internal Affairs Ministry. In 1990, the establishment of the Russian SFSR's MVD meant that the Internal Troops in the SFSR were now subordinated to the republican ministry. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union at the end of 1991, the Internal Troops of the Soviet Union were reconstituted in the Russian Federation as the Internal Troops of Russia on 23 January 1992, with their last commander as
5520-611: The Internal Troops were removed from the MVD and dissolved, becoming the National Guard Forces ( Войска национальной гвардии , Voyska Natsionalnoy Gvardi ) which now reported directly to the Security Council of Russia and its chairman, the President of Russia . The Federal Law No.27-173 was signed into law on 6 February 1997. The law set the operational standards for the Internal Troops of Russia. The law
5635-478: The MI their true capabilities, and to impress potential ideological recruits. Having military intelligence representatives participate in the execution of the national defence policy is important, because it becomes the first respondent and commentator on the policy expected strategic goal , compared to the realities of identified threats . When the intelligence reporting is compared to the policy, it becomes possible for
5750-828: The Russian Armed Forces , Railway Troops , Signal Troops and Construction Troops . The Ministry of Defence incorporated the Main Directorate of the Military Police Since 1 December 2012. The Main Directorate of the Military Police oversees subordinated military districts regional directorates of military police . The Chief of the General Staff is currently General of the Army Valery Gerasimov . In July 2018,
5865-623: The Russian Armed Forces . On 20 September 2022 the State Duma passed a bill which would make Russian citizenship available to foreign soldiers upon 12 months service in the AFRF; previously the service requirement had been set at three years. Awards and decorations of the Armed Forces are covered at the Awards and Emblems of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation . On 17 November 2011, General Nikolai Makarov said that Russia had reached
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#17327831574805980-573: The Soviet force, General-Polkovnik Vasily Savvin , becoming their first commander as a Russian one. In 1997, 14 controllers of the Internal Troops were arrested for corruption and collaboration with a local organized crime group for having stolen more than 400 kg of gold from an industry of gold in Kasimov , during the Kasimov war . With the April 2016 foundation of the National Guard of Russia ,
6095-603: The Supreme Commander of NATO Allied Forces Europe Christopher Cavoli : "The Russians are very cleverly adapting technologically and procedurally to many of the challenges that they run into in Ukraine". Cavoli also said in April 2024 that the Russian military has replaced its troop and equipment losses and is larger than it was before the start of the conflict. On June 26, 2024, the UK -based Royal United Services Institute think tank reported that Russia continues to increase
6210-423: The U.S. and China). The Soviet Union officially dissolved on 25 December 1991. For the next year various attempts to keep its unity and to transform it into the military of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) failed. Over time, some units stationed in the newly independent republics swore loyalty to their new national governments, while a series of treaties between the newly independent states divided up
6325-488: The UN-brokered deal to resume Ukraine's Black Sea grain exports, Russia bombed the Port of Odesa . According to Forbes Moscow had committed, as of the end of July 2022, 10 of its Combined Arms Armies to the invasion. The Wagner Group has made a name for itself as Putin's "private army." In June 2023, Putin backed the Ministry of Defense's plan to make mercenary groups sign contracts, which Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin pushed against: these contracts would have placed
6440-911: The United Kingdom ). Penalties range from a summary reprimand to imprisonment for several years following a court martial . Certain rights are also restricted or suspended, including the freedom of association (e.g. union organizing) and freedom of speech (speaking to the media). Military personnel in some countries have a right of conscientious objection if they believe an order is immoral or unlawful, or cannot in good conscience carry it out. Personnel may be posted to bases in their home country or overseas, according to operational need, and may be deployed from those bases on exercises or operations . During peacetime, when military personnel are generally stationed in garrisons or other permanent military facilities, they conduct administrative tasks, training and education activities, technology maintenance , and recruitment . Initial training conditions recruits for
6555-412: The Wagner Group under the Ministry's command structure as subordinates and limited Prigozhin's own influence. Later in June, the Wagner Group turned against the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Ministry of Defense until a peace deal was reached. According to Prigozhin, part of the reason for his march against Russia was to stop the government from "[dismantling] PMC Wagner." By July 2024, according to
6670-401: The administrative body of the Armed Forces. Since Soviet times, the General Staff has acted as the main commanding and supervising body of the Russian armed forces. "[T]he Soviet General Staff without the MoD is conceivable, but the MoD without the General Staff is not." Other departments include the Main Intelligence Directorate , the personnel directorate as well as the Logistical Support of
6785-404: The aerospace forces and naval forces. There is one remaining Russian military base, the 102nd Military Base , in Armenia left of the former Transcaucasus Group of Forces and is incorporated into the Southern Military District. In mid-2010 a reorganisation was announced which consolidated military districts and the navy's fleets into four Joint Strategic Commands (OSC). In 2014 the Northern Fleet
6900-456: The age of 27 years old and were not in military service for any reason. Enrolling in the mobilization human reserve is voluntary and implies the special contract. This possibility is available for each persons, who is in the mobilization human resource already. The initial contract is concluded for 3 years period. Military personnel of mobilization human reserve (reservists) perform part-time duties in military units. Reservists are appointed to
7015-407: The armed forces (with, for comparison, the total defence budget for 2001 being 214 billion rubles). Areas of particular concern identified by a researcher at the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment in 2007 included the State Defence Order (perhaps 10-15% realised in 2004); " ghost soldiers ," as "it is generally acknowledged that the number of actually serving personnel differs substantially from
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#17327831574807130-497: The armed forces, and at all levels of the military hierarchy of command. Although concerned with research into military psychology , particularly combat stress and how it affects troop morale , often the bulk of military science activities is directed at military intelligence technology, military communications , and improving military capability through research. The design, development, and prototyping of weapons , military support equipment, and military technology in general,
7245-446: The authorized number of personnel," and officers at various levels can pocket excess money for themselves; and "the domestic purchases of goods and services, where corrupt officers overpay civilian providers in return for bribes." On 24 February 2022, Russian president Vladimir Putin gave the execute order to for the Armed Forces to begin the Russian invasion of Ukraine . On 10 April 2022 General Aleksandr Dvornikov assumed command of
7360-424: The background of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine , Vladimir Putin signed the law which removed the upper age limit for signing first contract for the performance of voluntary military service (earlier this limit was 40 years old). In November 2024, following heavy personnel losses, Russia reduced payments to troops injured in the invasion of Ukraine amidst the Russian government facing increasing war costs due to
7475-513: The civilian population with respect to socio-economic indicators such as parental income, parental wealth and cognitive abilities. The study found that technological, tactical, operational and doctrinal changes have led to a change in the demand for personnel. Furthermore, the study suggests that the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups are less likely to meet the requirements of the modern U.S. military. The obligations of military employment are many. Full-time military employment normally requires
7590-536: The commanding forces and other military, as well as often civilian personnel participate in identification of these threats. This is at once an organization, a system and a process collectively called military intelligence (MI). Areas of study in Military intelligence may include the operational environment, hostile, friendly and neutral forces, the civilian population in an area of combat operations, and other broader areas of interest. The difficulty in using military intelligence concepts and military intelligence methods
7705-454: The concepts and methods used by the command to employ appropriately military skilled, armed and equipped personnel in achievement of the tangible goals and objectives of the war , campaign , battle , engagement, and action. The line between strategy and tactics is not easily blurred, although deciding which is being discussed had sometimes been a matter of personal judgement by some commentators, and military historians. The use of forces at
7820-410: The concerns of military command. Military strategy is more concerned with the supply of war and planning, than management of field forces and combat between them. The scope of strategic military planning can span weeks, but is more often months or even years. Operational mobility is, within warfare and military doctrine , the level of command which coordinates the minute details of tactics with
7935-512: The consumables, and capital equipment of the troops. Although mostly concerned with the military transport , as a means of delivery using different modes of transport; from military trucks , to container ships operating from permanent military base , it also involves creating field supply dumps at the rear of the combat zone, and even forward supply points in a specific unit's tactical area of responsibility . These supply points are also used to provide military engineering services, such as
8050-429: The demands of military life, including preparedness to injure and kill other people, and to face mortal danger without fleeing. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process which resocializes recruits for the unique nature of military demands. For example: The next requirement comes as a fairly basic need for the military to identify possible threats it may be called upon to face. For this purpose, some of
8165-524: The end of 2024, which will make it the second largest active military force after China. Despite its perceived military strength, deficiencies have been noted in Russia's overall combat performance and its ability to effectively project hard power . The ongoing invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has exposed weaknesses such as endemic corruption , rigid command and control structure , inadequate training, and poor morale; Russian Armed Forces have experienced successive losses of occupied/annexed territory ,
8280-463: The end of war'. According to Clausewitz: strategy forms the plan of the War, and to this end it links together the series of acts which are to lead to the final decision, that is to say, it makes the plans for the separate campaigns and regulates the combats to be fought in each. Hence, Clausewitz placed political aims above military goals , ensuring civilian control of the military . Military strategy
8395-493: The entire period of being in mobilization human resource can not exceed 12 months, and a person may be enlisted in such training no more than once every three years. As of 2009, the number of citizens who can be used for mobilization deployment on an involuntary basis in the case of wartime mobilization was estimated at 31 million. Reservists are subject to mobilization in wartime first of all. Non-reservists are subject to mobilization secondarily. The mobilization of non-reservists
8510-401: The existence of the military is to engage in combat , should it be required to do so by the national defence policy, and to win. This represents an organisational goal of any military, and the primary focus for military thought through military history . How victory is achieved, and what shape it assumes, is studied by most, if not all, military groups on three levels. Military strategy is
8625-793: The form of military camouflage or misdirection using decoys , is used to confuse the enemy as a tactic. A major development in infantry tactics came with the increased use of trench warfare in the 19th and 20th centuries. This was mainly employed in World War I in the Gallipoli campaign , and the Western Front . Trench warfare often turned to a stalemate, only broken by a large loss of life, because, in order to attack an enemy entrenchment, soldiers had to run through an exposed ' no man's land ' under heavy fire from their opposing entrenched enemy. As with any occupation, since ancient times,
8740-636: The former Soviet Republics. In late 2000 Gazeta.ru reported that of 600,000 personnel planned to be dismissed from the various "power ministries," the Armed Forces would be reduced by 365,000. Both in Soviet and Russian times, corruption has been a significant impediment to the Armed Forces. "The change from Yeltsin to Putin ..had minimal effect on Russian military corruption. Putin, despite his desire to rebuild Russian strength, has not shown himself willing or able to seriously deal with" corruption. From 1991 to 2001, Russian authorities uncovered at least 350 billion rubles' (US$ 11.5 billion) worth of corruption in
8855-404: The large amount of injuries. The Russian military education system, inherited from the Soviet Union , trains officer-specialists in narrowly-defined military occupational specialties. In this it differs greatly from the American military education system in which newly qualified second lieutenants receive particular specialties in the framework of their "career branch" only after graduation from
8970-477: The large-scale destruction and squandering of their equipment, and a notably high casualty rate. Researchers from the U.S.-funded RAND Corporation have observed that Russia continues struggling with military professionalization, but remains capable of rapidly reconstituting its capabilities. Directly controlled by the Security Council of Russia , the Russian Armed Forces form part of the country's defence services under Russian law, fulfilling this capacity alongside
9085-517: The largest armed forces in the World" or that "the U.S. Military is considered to be the world's strongest". Although some groups engaged in combat, such as militants or resistance movements , refer to themselves using military terminology, notably 'Army' or 'Front', none have had the structure of a national military to justify the reference, and usually have had to rely on support of outside national militaries. They also use these terms to conceal from
9200-540: The late 17th century. Perhaps its most enduring maxim is Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum (let he who desires peace prepare for war). Due to the changing nature of combat with the introduction of artillery in the European Middle Ages , and infantry firearms in the Renaissance , attempts were made to define and identify those strategies, grand tactics , and tactics that would produce
9315-468: The legal status of "Armed Forces", while falling outside of the jurisdiction of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation . The National Guard is formed on the basis of the former Internal Troops of Russia . The new structure has been detached from the Ministry of Internal Affairs into a separate agency, directly subordinated to the President of Russia . The Border Service
9430-482: The level of organization between strategic and tactical is called operational mobility . Because most of the concepts and methods used by the military, and many of its systems are not found in commercial branches, much of the material is researched, designed, developed, and offered for inclusion in arsenals by military science organizations within the overall structure of the military. Therefore, military scientists can be found interacting with all Arms and Services of
9545-730: The main government bodies of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR), as a paramilitary force attached to of the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs, the interior ministry of the RSFSR. In 1919, it was reorganized into the Internal Security Forces ( Voyska vnutrenney okhrany Respubliki , VOHR) and transferred to the Cheka , then in 1922 into the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) in 1922. The Cheka and OGPU were
9660-426: The management of forces in wars and military campaigns by a commander-in-chief , employing large military forces, either national and allied as a whole, or the component elements of armies , navies and air forces ; such as army groups , naval fleets , and large numbers of aircraft . Military strategy is a long-term projection of belligerents' policy, with a broad view of outcome implications, including outside
9775-630: The manufacturers who would produce these in adequate quantity and quality for their use in combat; purchase the concepts, methods, and systems; create a forces structure that would use the concepts, methods, and systems most effectively and efficiently; integrate these concepts, methods, and systems into the force structure by providing military education , training , and practice that preferably resembles combat environment of intended use; create military logistics systems to allow continued and uninterrupted performance of military organizations under combat conditions, including provision of health services to
9890-497: The military has been distinguished from other members of the society by their tools: the weapons and military equipment used in combat. When Stone Age humans first took flint to tip the spear , it was the first example of applying technology to improve the weapon. Since then, the advances made by human societies, and that of weapons, has been closely linked. Stone weapons gave way to Bronze Age and Iron Age weapons such as swords and shields . With each technological change
10005-659: The military's assets. Apart from assuming control of the bulk of the former Soviet Internal Troops and the KGB Border Troops , seemingly the only independent defence move the new Russian government made before March 1992 involved announcing the establishment of a National Guard . Until 1995, it was planned to form at least 11 brigades numbering 3,000 to 5,000 each, with a total of no more than 100,000. National Guard military units were to be deployed in 10 regions, including in Moscow (three brigades), (two brigades), and
10120-422: The mobilization deployment of the Internal Troops in wartime; and transferring arms and military equipment free of charge to the Internal Troops through support services based on special decisions of the federal government, and rendering assistance in the repair and restoration of damaged arms and military equipment. Despite being subordinated to civilian MVD authority, Internal Troops were a paramilitary force with
10235-425: The national leadership to consider allocating resources over and above the officers and their subordinates military pay, and the expense of maintaining military facilities and military support services for them. Source: SIPRI Defense economics is the financial and monetary efforts made to resource and sustain militaries, and to finance military operations , including war. The process of allocating resources
10350-484: The newly formed CIS signed a protocol on the temporary appointment of Marshal of Aviation Yevgeny Shaposhnikov as Minister of Defence and commander of the armed forces in their territory, including strategic nuclear forces. On 14 February 1992 Shaposhnikov formally became Supreme Commander of the CIS Armed Forces. On 16 March 1992 a decree by Boris Yeltsin created the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation,
10465-694: The next few years, Russian forces withdrew from central and eastern Europe, as well as from some newly independent post-Soviet republics. While in most places the withdrawal took place without any problems, the Russian Armed Forces remained in some disputed areas such as the Sevastopol naval base in the Crimea as well as in Abkhazia , South Ossetia and in Transnistria . The Armed Forces have several bases in foreign countries, especially on territory of
10580-436: The number of reserve troops is classified. The military units manned by reservists are determined by General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation , and this information is classified too. The persons who are in mobilization human resource (non-reservists) may be enlisted to military camp trainings in peacetime. The duration of each training can not exceed 2 months, herewith the total duration of such trainings for
10695-404: The operation. In July 2022, at the same time as the Armed Forces began suffering severe casualties , the Ground Forces began to site ammunition in or near structures which are frequented by civilians due to the human shield benefit, ostensibly because Ukrainian HIMARS had tilted the odds of his strategy of attrition by artillery. Within hours after Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu 's signature on
10810-520: The operational control of Allied High Command and the Ministry of Defence, which was headed by President . Finally, on 7 May 1992, Yeltsin signed a decree establishing the armed forces and Yeltsin assumed the duties of the Supreme Commander. In May 1992, General Colonel Pavel Grachev became the Minister of Defence, and was made Russia's first Army General on assuming the post. By August or December 1993 CIS military structures had become CIS military cooperation structures with all real influence lost. In
10925-421: The overarching goals of strategy . A common synonym is operational art. The operational level is at a scale bigger than one where line of sight and the time of day are important, and smaller than the strategic level, where production and politics are considerations. Formations are of the operational level if they are able to conduct operations on their own, and are of sufficient size to be directly handled or have
11040-632: The permanent readiness forces if the permanent readiness forces cannot deter or suppress an armed conflict on their own. Recruitment into the Russian military are also open to non-Russian citizens of the Commonwealth of Independent States , of which Russia is the largest member. By December 2003, the Russian parliament had approved a law in principle to permit the Armed Forces to employ foreign nationals on contract by offering them Russian citizenship after several years service yet, up to 2010, foreigners could only serve in Russia's armed forces after getting
11155-417: The personnel, and maintenance for the equipment; the services to assist recovery of wounded personnel, and repair of damaged equipment; and finally, post-conflict demobilization , and disposal of war stocks surplus to peacetime requirements. Development of military doctrine is perhaps the most important of all capability development activities, because it determines how military forces are used in conflicts,
11270-486: The physicality of armed forces, their personnel , equipment , and the physical area which they occupy. As an adjective, military originally referred only to soldiers and soldiering, but it broadened to apply to land forces in general, and anything to do with their profession. The names of both the Royal Military Academy (1741) and United States Military Academy (1802) reflect this. However, at about
11385-399: The production and sophistication of its main weapons and its defense industry remained highly dependent on foreign imports of critical components. The Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi said on 24 July 2024 that Russians were much better resourced now but also suffer three times higher losses than Ukraine. The Defence Ministry of the Russian Federation serves as
11500-445: The rank hierarchy is common to all state armed forces worldwide. In addition to their rank, personnel occupy one of many trade roles, which are often grouped according to the nature of the role's military tasks on combat operations: combat roles (e.g. infantry ), combat support roles (e.g. combat engineers ), and combat service support roles (e.g. logistical support ). Personnel may be recruited or conscripted , depending on
11615-415: The recovery of defective and derelict vehicles and weapons, maintenance of weapons in the field, the repair and field modification of weapons and equipment; and in peacetime, the life-extension programmes undertaken to allow continued use of equipment. One of the most important role of logistics is the supply of munitions as a primary type of consumable, their storage, and disposal . The primary reason for
11730-579: The reign of Ramses II , features in bas-relief monuments. The first Emperor of a unified China , Qin Shi Huang , created the Terracotta Army to represent his military might. The Ancient Romans wrote many treatises and writings on warfare, as well as many decorated triumphal arches and victory columns . The first recorded use of the word "military" in English, spelled militarie ,
11845-518: The special forces have been heavily engaged in the armed conflicts in Chechnya and the broader North Caucasus . The Russian Internal Troops comprised headquarters, military units, military training institutions and the institutions for Internal Troops activities, and maintenance and administration bodies. The largest units were located in all major cities. Internal Troops districts: Military units under direct subordination: Commanders-in-chief of
11960-453: The specific tasks and objectives of squadrons , companies , battalions , regiments , brigades , and divisions , and their naval and air force equivalents. One of the oldest military publications is The Art of War , by the Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu . Written in the 6th century BCE, the 13-chapter book is intended as military instruction, and not as military theory , but has had
12075-428: The state, including internal security threats, crowd control , promotion of political agendas , emergency services and reconstruction, protecting corporate economic interests, social ceremonies, and national honour guards . The profession of soldiering is older than recorded history . Some images of classical antiquity portray the power and feats of military leaders . The Battle of Kadesh in 1274 BC from
12190-698: The system chosen by the state. Most military personnel are males; the minority proportion of female personnel varies internationally (approximately 3% in India, 10% in the UK, 13% in Sweden, 16% in the US, and 27% in South Africa ). While two-thirds of states now recruit or conscript only adults, as of 2017 50 states still relied partly on children under the age of 18 (usually aged 16 or 17) to staff their armed forces. Whereas recruits who join as officers tend to be upwardly-mobile , most enlisted personnel have
12305-471: The time of the Napoleonic Wars , military began to be used in reference to armed forces as a whole, such as " military service ", " military intelligence ", and " military history ". As such, it now connotes any activity performed by armed force personnel. Military history is often considered to be the history of all conflicts, not just the history of the state militaries. It differs somewhat from
12420-550: The year before. Its military budget is set to expand by 30 percent, to US$ 145 billion, in 2025. The Russian military is a hybrid system that combines conscripts with contracted volunteers ; with certain exceptions, Russian law mandates one year of military service for all male citizens aged 18–27. Despite efforts to professionalize its ranks since the early 2000s, it remains heavily reliant on conscripts, with contract soldiers being concentrated in cadre and elite units . Russia plans to expand its active personnel to 1.5 million by
12535-480: Was a paramilitary force of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia from 1991 to 2016. The Internal Troops was a gendarmerie -like force that supported the Russian police , dealt with crowd control during riots and internal conflicts, and guarded highly-important facilities such as nuclear power plants . The Internal Troops was involved in all conflicts and violent disturbances in modern Russia, including
12650-587: Was formed from the Russian branch of the Internal Troops of the Soviet Union in 1991 shortly before the dissolution of the Soviet Union . On 5 April 2016, the Interior Troops was officially split from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to form the basis of the National Guard of Russia . The Internal Troops claimed descent from the Separate Corps of Gendarmes of the Russian Empire , which began forming on 27 March 1811 as gendarmerie units of
12765-455: Was in 1582. It comes from the Latin militaris (from Latin miles ' soldier ' ) through French, but is of uncertain etymology, one suggestion being derived from *mil-it- – going in a body or mass. As a noun phrase, "the military" usually refers generally to a country's armed forces, or sometimes, more specifically, to the senior officers who command them. In general, it refers to
12880-718: Was one of a triumvirate of ' arts ' or 'sciences' that governed the conduct of warfare, the others being: military tactics , the execution of plans and manoeuvring of forces in battle , and maintenance of an army. The meaning of military tactics has changed over time; from the deployment and manoeuvring of entire land armies on the fields of ancient battles, and galley fleets; to modern use of small unit ambushes , encirclements , bombardment attacks, frontal assaults , air assaults , hit-and-run tactics used mainly by guerrilla forces, and, in some cases, suicide attacks on land and at sea. Evolution of aerial warfare introduced its own air combat tactics . Often, military deception , in
12995-484: Was realized some tangible increase in military capability, such as through greater effectiveness of a sharper edge in defeating armour , or improved density of materials used in manufacture of weapons. Internal Troops of Russia The Internal Troops of the Ministry for Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation ( Russian : Внутренние войска Министерства внутренних дел (ВВ МВД) , romanized : Vnutrenniye voyska Ministerstva vnutrennikh del (VV MVD) )
13110-529: Was reorganized in separate Joint Strategic Command. Since 1 January 2021, this Command has the status of military district. Geographically divided, the five commands/districts are: The plan was put in place on 1 December 2010 and mirrors a proposed reorganisation by former Chief of the General Staff Army General Yuri Baluyevsky for a Regional Command East which was not implemented. The four commands were set up by
13225-944: Was set. In 2010 the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) estimated that the Russian Armed Forces numbered about 1,027,000 active troops and in the region of 2,035,000 reserves (largely ex-conscripts). As opposed to personnel specified by decree, actual personnel numbers on the payroll was reported by the Audit Chamber of Russia as 766,000 in October 2013. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute , between 2005–2009 and 2010–2014, Russian exports of major weapons increased by 37 percent; Russia spent $ 66.4 billion on arms in 2015, then $ 69.2 billion in 2016, having taken 3rd place (after
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