The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation (russian: Министерство обороны Российской Федерации, Минобороны России, informally abbreviated as МО, МО РФ or Minoboron) is the governing body of the

Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (, ), commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military forces of Russia. In terms of active-duty personnel, they are the world's fifth-largest military force, with at least two m ...

. The

President of Russia The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...

is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and directs the activity of the Ministry. The

Defence Minister A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

exercises day-to-day administrative and operational authority over the armed forces. The

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

executes the president's and the defence minister's instructions and orders. The main building of the ministry, built in the 1940s, is located on Arbatskaya Square, near

Arbat Street Arbat Street (Russian ), mainly referred to in English as the Arbat, is a pedestrian street about one kilometer long in the historical centre of Moscow, Russia. The Arbat has existed since at least the 15th century, which makes it one of the o ...

. Other buildings of the ministry are located throughout the city of Moscow. The supreme body responsible for the Ministry's management and supervision of the Armed Forces is The National Defense Management Center (Национальный центр управления обороной РФ) located on

Frunzenskaya Embankment Frunzenskaya Embankment is a street and embankment in Khamovniki District of Moscow. It is a section of the embankment along the Moskva between the Krymsky and Novoandreevsky Bridges. Etymology Along with three adjacent streets, Frunzenskaya Em ...

and responsible for the centralization of the Armed Forces' command. The current Russian Minister of Defence is

Army General Army general is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the General officer#French (Revolutionary) system, French Revolutionary System.　 In countries that adopt the general officer four rank system, it is rank of genera ...

Sergei Shoigu Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu, ; tyv, Сергей Күжүгет оглу Шойгу, translit=Sergey Kyzhyget oglu Shoygu, . (russian: Сергей Кужугетович Шойгу; born 21 May 1955) is a Russian politician who has served as ...

History

The building of the Ministry of War 1817-1820 - panoramio

The authors of the U.S.

Library of Congress Country Studies The Country Studies are works published by the Federal Research Division of the United States Library of Congress, freely available for use by researchers. No copyright is claimed on them. Therefore, they have been dedicated to the public domain a ...

' volume for Russia said in July 1996 that:

Russian Federation

In May 1992,

Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...

appointed General of the Army

Pavel Grachev Pavel Sergeyevich Grachev (russian: Па́вел Серге́евич Грачё́в; 1 January 1948 – 23 September 2012), sometimes transliterated as Grachov or Grachyov, was a Russian Army General and the Defence Minister of the Russian Fed ...

to the post of Minister of Defence. Grachev's decision to side with Yeltsin in the

Russian constitutional crisis of 1993 The 1993 Russian constitutional crisis, also known as the 1993 October Coup, Black October, the Shooting of the White House or Ukaz 1400, was a political stand-off and a constitutional crisis between the Russian president Boris Yeltsin and t ...

, when the president called up tanks to shell the

Russian White House The White House ( rus, Белый дом, r=Bely dom, p=ˈbʲɛlɨj ˈdom; officially The House of the Government of the Russian Federation, rus, Дом Правительства Российской Федерации, r=Dom pravitelstva Ross ...

to blast his opponents out of parliament, effectively deprived the

Supreme Soviet of Russia The Supreme Soviet of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR (russian: Верховный Совет РСФСР, ''Verkhovny Sovet RSFSR''), later Supreme Soviet of the Russia, Russian Federation (russian: Верховны ...

of its nominal an opportunity to overturn the president's authority. At least partly for that reason, Yeltsin retained his defence minister despite intense criticism of Grachev's management of the

First Chechen War The First Chechen War, also known as the First Chechen Campaign,, rmed conflict in the Chechen Republic and on bordering territories of the Russian FederationФедеральный закон № 5-ФЗ от 12 января 1995 (в реда� ...

and the Russian military establishment in general. Finally, Yeltsin's victory in the first round of the

1996 Russian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Russia on 16 June 1996, with a second round being held on 3 July. It resulted in a victory for the incumbent President of Russia Boris Yeltsin, who ran as an independent politician. Yeltsin defeated Communist ...

spurred Yeltsin to dismiss Grachev. In March 2001,

Sergei Ivanov Sergei Borisovich Ivanov ( rus, Сергей Борисович Иванов, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej bɐˈrʲisəvʲɪtɕ ɪvɐˈnof; born 31 January 1953) is a Russian senior official and politician who has served as the Special Representative of ...

, previously secretary of the

Security Council of Russia The Security Council of the Russian Federation (SCRF or Sovbez; russian: Совет безопасности Российской Федерации (СБРФ), Sovet bezopasnosti Rossiyskoy Federatsii (SBRF)) is a constitutional consultative bo ...

was appointed defence minister by President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

, becoming Russia's first non-uniformed civilian defence minister. Putin called the personnel changes in Russia's security structures coinciding with Ivanov's appointment as defence minister "a step toward demilitarizing public life." Putin also stressed Ivanov's responsibility for overseeing military reform as defence minister. What Putin did not emphasise was Ivanov's long service within the

KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...

and FSB and his then rank of General-Lieutenant within the FSB. Such military and security agency associated men are known as

siloviki In the politics of Russia, Russian political lexicon, a ''silovik'' ( rus, силови́к, p=sʲɪlɐˈvʲik; plural: ''siloviki'', rus, силовики́, p=sʲɪləvʲɪˈkʲi) is a person who works in the Russian Armed Forces, the Police ...

. As of 2002 there were four living

Marshals of the Soviet Union Marshal of the Soviet Union (russian: Маршал Советского Союза, Marshal sovetskogo soyuza, ) was the highest military rank of the Soviet Union. The rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union was created in 1935 and abolished in 19 ...

. Such men are automatically Advisors to the Defence Minister. The Marshals alive at that time were

Viktor Kulikov Viktor Georgiyevich Kulikov (russian: Виктор Георгиевич Куликов; 5 July 1921 – 28 May 2013) was the Warsaw Pact commander-in-chief from 1977 to 1989. He was awarded the rank of the Marshal of the Soviet Union on 14 Jan ...

Vasily Petrov Vasili, Vasily, Vasilii or Vasiliy ( Russian: Василий) is a Russian masculine given name of Greek origin and corresponds to ''Basil''. It may refer to: *Vasili I of Moscow Grand Prince from 1389–1425 *Vasili II of Moscow Grand Prince fr ...

, Sergei Sokolov, a former Minister of Defence of the Soviet Union, and

Dmitri Yazov Dmitry Timofeyevich Yazov (russian: Дми́трий Тимофе́евич Я́зов; 8 November 1924 – 25 February 2020) was a Marshal of the Soviet Union. A veteran of the Great Patriotic War, Yazov served as Minister of Defence from 1987 ...

. Yazov was listed by the American analysts Scott and Scott in 2002 as a consultant to the (former 10th) Directorate for International Military Cooperation Perhaps the first 'real' non-uniformed Defence Minister was

Anatoliy Serdyukov Anatoly Eduardovich Serdyukov (russian: Анатолий Эдуардович Сердюков; born 8 January 1962) is a Russian politician and businessman. He was Russia's Minister of Defense from 15 February 2007 to 6 November 2012, and made ...

, appointed in February 2007. Serdyukov was a former Tax Minister with little

or military associations beyond his two years' military service.

Structure

The Ministry of Defence is managed by a collegium chaired by the Defence Minister and including the deputy Defence Ministers, heads of Main Defence Ministry and General Staff Directorates, and the commanders of the Joint Strategic Commands/Military Districts, the three Services, and three branches, who together form the principal staff and advisory board of the Minister of Defence. The executive body of the Ministry of Defence is the

General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation The General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (russian: Генеральный штаб Вооружённых сил Российской Федерации, General'nyy shtab Vooruzhonnykh sil Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the mil ...

. It is commanded by the Chief of General Staff. U.S. expert

William Odom William Eldridge Odom (June 23, 1932 – May 30, 2008) was a United States Army lieutenant general who served as Director of the National Security Agency under President Ronald Reagan, which culminated a 31-year career in military intelligence, ma ...

said in 1998 that 'the Soviet General Staff without the MoD is conceivable, but the MoD without the General Staff is not.' Russian General Staff officers exercise command authority in their own right. In 1996 the General Staff included fifteen main directorates and an undetermined number of operating agencies. The staff is organized by functions, with each directorate and operating agency overseeing a functional area, generally indicated by the organization's title. ''Military Thought'' is the military-theoretical journal of the Ministry of Defence, and

Krasnaya Zvezda ''Krasnaya Zvezda'' (russian: Кра́сная звезда́, literally "Red Star") is the official newspaper of the Soviet and later Russian Ministry of Defence. Today its official designation is "Central Organ of the Russian Ministry of Defen ...

its daily newspaper.

Structure in 2021

Senior staff in 2021 included:RF MOD website www.mil.ru accessed 18 August 2019. Minister of Defence: * Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation – General of the Army

(since 6 November 2012) First Deputy Minister(s) of Defence: * Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation – First Deputy Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation – General of the Army

Valery Gerasimov Valery Vasilyevich Gerasimov ( rus, Валерий Васильевич Герасимов, p=vɐˈlʲerʲɪj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪdʑ ɡʲɪˈrasʲɪməf; born 8 September 1955) is a Russian army general serving as the Chief of the General Sta ...

(since 9 November 2012) * First Deputy Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation – Active State Advisor of the Russian Federation, 1st Class

Ruslan Tsalikov Ruslan Khadzhismelovich Tsalikov (russian: Руслан Хаджисмелович Цаликов) is a Russian First Deputy Minister of Defence and Order of Honour recipient. Biography Tsalikov was born on July 31, 1956 in Ordzhonikidze (now Vl ...

(since 24 December 2015) Deputy Minister(s) of Defence: * State Secretary – Deputy Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation – General of the Army (Retired)

Nikolay Pankov Nikolay Vasilyevich Pankov (russian: Никола́й Васи́льевич Панко́в; born January 5, 1965) is a Russian political figure and a deputy of the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th State Dumas. In 2008, he was granted Candidate of Sc ...

(since 13 September 2005) * Deputy Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation (Responsible for Organising Material-Technical Support for the Armed Forces) –

Colonel General Colonel general is a three- or four-star military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a ra ...

Mikhail Mizintsev Mikhail Yevgenyevich Mizintsev (russian: Михаил Евгеньевич Мизинцев; born 10 September 1962) is a Russian colonel general currently serving as the deputy minister of defence of Russia for overseeing logistics since 24 Sep ...

(since 24 September 2022) * Deputy Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation (Responsible for Organising Financial Support for the Armed Forces) – Active State Advisor of the Russian Federation, 1st Class

Tatiana Shevtsova Tatiana Viktorovna Shevtsova (russian: Татьяна Викторовна Шевцова; born 22 July 1969) is a Russian Deputy Minister of Defence and Order of Honour recipient. Early life and education Shevtsova was born in 1969 in Kozelsk ...

(since 4 August 2010) * Deputy Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation – Supervisor of the Apparatus of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation – Colonel General

Yuriy Sadovenko Yuriy Eduardovich Sadovenko (russian: Юрий Эдуардович Садовенко) is a Russian Deputy Minister of Defence and recipient of Order of Military Merit and Medal of Suvorov. Biography Sadovenko was born on September 11, 1969, ...

(since 7 January 2013) * Deputy Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation (Responsible for the Development of the Technical Basis for the Management System and Information Technology) – General of the Army

Pavel Popov Pavel Anatolyevich Popov (russian: Павел Анатольевич Попов; born 1 January 1957), is a Russian army officer who is the Deputy Minister of Defense since 7 November 2013. He holds the rank of General of the Army as of 11 Decemb ...

(since 7 November 2013) * Deputy Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation (Responsible for Organising Property Management, Quartering of Troops (Forces), Housing, and Medical Support for the Armed Forces) – Active State Advisor of the Russian Federation, 2nd Class

Timur Ivanov Timur Vadimovich Ivanov (Russian: Тимур Вадимович Иванов; born on 15 August 1975), is a Russian statesman and army officer, who is currently the Deputy Minister of Defense since 23 May 2016. He is also an acting State Advisor o ...

(since 23 May 2016) * Deputy Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation (Responsible for Organising International Military and Military-Technical Cooperation) – Colonel General

Alexander Fomin Alexander Vasilyevich Fomin (russian: Александр Васильевич Фомин, born May 25, 1959) is the Russian Deputy Minister of Defence. Biography Alexander Fomin was born on May 25, 1959, in Leninogorsk. He attended the Mil ...

(since 31 January 2017) * Deputy Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation (Responsible for Organising Military-Technical Support for the Armed Forces) – Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation, 1st Class (since 13 June 2018) * Deputy Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation (Responsible for Combat Training) – Colonel General Yunus-Bek Yevkurov (since 8 July 2019) * Deputy Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation – Chief of the Main Directorate for Political-Military Affairs of the Russian Armed Forces – Colonel General (since 28 July 2022) Entities directly subordinated to the Minister of Defence in August 2012 included: * MOD Press Service and Information Directorate * MOD Physical Training Directorate * MOD Financial Auditing Inspectorate * MOD

Main Military Medical Directorate The Main Military Medical Directorate, (russian: link=no, Главное военно-медицинское управление Министерства обороны Российской Федерации). also known as Military Medical Di ...

* MOD State Order Placement Department * MOD Property Relations Department * Expert Center of the MOD Staff * MOD Administration Directorate * MOD State Defence Order Facilitation Department * MOD Department of the State Customer for Capital Construction * MOD State Architectural-Construction Oversight Department * MOD Sanatoria-resort Support Department * MOD Housekeeping Directorate * MOD State Review/Study Group * MOD Educational Department * MOD Legal Department * MOD Organizational-inspection Department * MOD Personnel Inspectorate * MOD Military Inspectorate * MOD State Technical Oversight Directorate * MOD Aviation Flight Safety Service * MOD Nuclear and Radiation Safety Oversight Directorate * MOD Autotransport Directorate * MOD Staff Protocol Department * MOD Armed Force Weapons Turnover Oversight Service * MOD Main Military Police Directorate The

Office of Inspectors General The Office of Inspectors General of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation (russian: Управление генеральных инспекторов Министерства обороны Российской Федерации) i ...

of the Ministry of Defence was established in 2008, consisting of around thirty retired senior officers. The main task of the office is "to promote the organization of combat and operational training of troops, the construction and further development of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the development of the theory and history of military art, and the education of personnel." It is the successor to the

Soviet Armed Forces The Soviet Armed Forces, the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union and as the Red Army (, Вооружённые Силы Советского Союза), were the armed forces of the Russian SFSR (1917–1922), the Soviet Union (1922–1991), and th ...

Group of Inspectors General The Group of Inspectors General of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union (), colloquially known as the paradise group, was a body of the Soviet Ministry of Defense established in 1958. A sinecure position for semi-retired senior officers, th ...

, which was dissolved in 1992.

Outline structure 2004

An outline structure of the Ministry of Defence includes the groupings below, but this structure was in transition when it was recorded in 2004, with several deputy minister posts being abolished: *Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation *Federal Service for the Defence Order *Federal Service for Technical and Export Control *Federal Special Construction Agency of the MOD *11th Directorate of the MOD (function unclear) * 12th Main Directorate of the MOD (nuclear weapons) *16th Directorate of the MOD (function unclear) *Hydrometrological Service of the Armed Forces *Military Inspectorate *Directorate of Information and Public Relations *1st Separate Brigade of Protection of the MOD *Archives of the Armed Forces (see also

Central Archives of the Russian Ministry of Defence The Central Archives of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation (russian: Центральный архив Министерства обороны Российской Федерации (ЦАМО РФ); TsAMO RF) are located in Podols ...

) *State Corporation for Air Traffic Control *Central Theater of the Russian Army *All-Russian Centre for Retraining Officers *

**directorates, departments, etc. **

Russian Ground Forces The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �ВSukhoputnyye voyska V}), also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces ...

Russian Air Force " Air March" , mascot = , anniversaries = 12 August , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = , decorations = , bat ...

** Russian Navy **

Strategic Rocket Forces The Strategic Rocket Forces of the Russian Federation or the Strategic Missile Forces of the Russian Federation (RVSN RF; russian: Ракетные войска стратегического назначения Российской Фед� ...

Russian Airborne Troops The Russian Airborne Forces (russian: Воздушно-десантные войска России, ВДВ, Vozdushno-desantnye voyska Rossii, VDV) are the airborne forces branch of the Russian Armed Forces. It was formed in 1992 from units of ...

Russian Aerospace Defence Forces The Russian Aerospace Defence Forces (VVKO) ( rus, Войска воздушно-космической обороны (ВВКО), Voyska vozdushno-kosmicheskoy oborony (VVKO)) was a branch of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation responsi ...

*First Deputy Minister of Defence **Main Directorate for Combat Training of the Armed Forces **Directorate of Force Management and Security of Military Service *Army General Nikolay Pankov, State Secretary – Deputy Min. of DefenceState Secretary, Deputy Minister of Defence
, Russian Ministry of Defence, accessed May 2008. **Liaison with Political Power Institutions **

ain Ain (, ; frp, En) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Named after the Ain river, it is bordered by the Saône and Rhône rivers. Ain is located on the country's eastern edge, on the Swiss border, where it ...

Directorate for Indoctrination olitical Work, Morale**

Directorate for International Military Cooperation **Directorate for Military Education of the Ministry of Defence **Directorate of Foreign Relations **Directorate of Force Management & Security of Military Service **Directorate of Ecology & Special Means of Protection Min Def RF **Press Service of the Ministry of Defence **Flight Safety Service of Aviation of the Armed Forces RF *Deputy Minister of Defence – Chief of Rear of the Armed Forces **Military medical, trade, transportation, food, clothing, etc. *Deputy Minister of Defence – Chief of Armaments of the Armed Forces **Test ranges, study centres,

Military research institutes A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

etc. **

GRAU The Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (), commonly referred to by its transliterated Russian acronym GRAU (), is a department of the Russian Ministry of Defense. It is subordinate to the ...

** Main Automotive-Armoured Tank Directorate of the MOD (GABTU) **Autobase of Ministry of Defence **Military Registry **Federal State Unitary Enterprise

Rosoboronexport JSC Rosoboronexport (russian: AO Рособоронэкспорт, ''Rosoboroneksport'') is the sole state intermediary agency for Russia's exports/imports of defense-related and dual use products, technologies and services. The Rosoboronexport F ...

**Military Industrial Council *Deputy Minister of Defence – Chief of Construction and Billeting Service **Main Military Construction Directorate **Main Quarters Exploitation Directorate **other Directorates, departments etc. *

Lyubov Kudelina Lyubov, Liubov or Lubov is a female given name, meaning “love”. It is of Slavic origin, coming from the basic word ''l'ub'' ( la, caritas). Variants * Russian: ''Любовь'' (Lyubov, Liubov, Lubov), ''Люба'' (Lyuba, Liuba, Luba) * U ...

, Deputy Minister of Defence for Financial-Economic Work **Financial-Economic Section of the MOD **Directorate of Military-Economic Analysis and Expertise **Financial Inspectorate of the MOD **Federation of Trade Unions for Civilian Workers of the Armed Forces *Deputy Minister of Defence – Chief of the Main Department of Cadres ersonnel**military schools, military academies, etc.

List of Ministers of Defence

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ministry Of Defence (Russia)

Defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Defence, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Russian and Soviet military-related lists 1717 establishments in Russia