The Volga Military District (PriVO) was a

military district Military districts (also called military regions) are formations of a state's armed forces (often of the Army) which are responsible for a certain area of territory. They are often more responsible for administrative than operational matters, and ...

of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

and the Russian Federation that existed from 1918 to 1989 and 1992 to 2001. The district headquarters was located at

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzan is the capital city, capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and t ...

Saratov Saratov (, ; rus, Сара́тов, a=Ru-Saratov.ogg, p=sɐˈratəf) is the largest city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River upstream (north) of Volgograd. Saratov had a population of 901, ...

and Kuibyshev (

Samara Samara ( rus, Сама́ра, p=sɐˈmarə), known from 1935 to 1991 as Kuybyshev (; ), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara rivers, with a population ...

) at different points in time.

History

During the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

from 1864–1917 the

Kazan Military District The Kazan Military District was a Military district of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, which existed between 1864—1918 and 1945–1946. History The Kazan Military District was originally formed as a military district of the Russian ...

covered the Volga area. The Volga Military District was established on May 4, 1918 on the territory of the Kazan Military District, and included

Astrakhan Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the ...

Simbirsk Ulyanovsk, known until 1924 as Simbirsk, is a city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River east of Moscow. Population: The city, founded as Simbirsk (), was the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin ( ...

and Penza Governorates, and the

Ural Oblast The Ural Oblast (russian: Уральская область) was an oblast of the RSFSR within the USSR. It was created November 3, 1923 by the merger of Perm, Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk and Tyumen Governorates. The capital of the oblast was ...

. Subsequently, the district boundaries were repeatedly changed.Soviet Military Encyclopedia 6 524–525 In 1941 the district included the

, Kuibyshev,

Penza Penza ( rus, Пе́нза, p=ˈpʲɛnzə) is the largest city and administrative center of Penza Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Sura River, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Census, Penza had a population of 517,311, making it the 38th-la ...

, Tambov,

Voronezh Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on ...

areas and the Orel Oblast,

Kursk Kursk ( rus, Курск, p=ˈkursk) is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym rivers. The area around Kursk was the site of a turning point in the Soviet–German stru ...

and

Stalingrad Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stalingrád, label=none; ) ...

regions of the RSFSR. The headquarters was located at Saratov. With the start of and during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

five armies, 132 divisions, 65 separate regiments, and 253 separate battalions were formed in the area. Polish and Czechoslovak military units were formed on the territory of the district. In October 1945 the 123rd Rifle Corps was at Kuibyshev. It became the 40th Rifle Corps in 1955 and then the 40th Army Corps in 1957, before disbanding in 1960. On September 14, 1954 in the Totskoye range north of the village

Totskoye Totskoye (russian: То́цкое) is a rural locality (a '' selo'') and the administrative center of Totsky District of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. Population: During World War I, it was the site of a prisoner-of-war camp that became notorio ...

in the

Orenburg Oblast Orenburg Oblast (russian: Оренбургская область, ''Orenburgskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Orenburg. From 1938 to 1957, it bore the name ''Chkalov Oblast'' () ...

(within the specified period the territory of the Orenburg region belonged to the South Urals Military District) under the leadership of

Marshal 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 ...

Georgy Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov ( rus, Георгий Константинович Жуков, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ ˈʐukəf, a=Ru-Георгий_Константинович_Жуков.ogg; 1 December 1896 – ...

was conducted the Totskoye nuclear exercise with real nuclear weapons. In this doctrine, which were worked out operational issues combined arms attack, was attended by about 45,000 soldiers. From 1957 to 1960 the 110th Motor Rifle Division was part of the 40th Army Corps of the District.Michael Holm
29th Motor Rifle Division
/ref> By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet on 15 January 1974 for their contributions to strengthening the defence capability of the USSR and its armed defence, the Volga and Ural Military Districts were awarded the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...

. By 1983, the Volga Military District included the territory of the Kuibyshev, Saratov, Ulyanovsk,

and

Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

, Bashkir, Chuvash, Mari, and Mordovian ASSR. The district headquarters was located in Kuibyshev. The following military units and formations were part of the district during the late 1980s. * 43rd Training Motor Rifle Division ( Kuibyshev) * 213th Motor Rifle Division (

) * 96th Motor Rifle Division (Mobilization) (

) * 130th Motor Rifle Division (Mobilization) (Kuibyshev) *238th Rear Defence Division (Mobilization) ( Kuibyshev) *249th Reserve Motor Rifle Division (Mobilization) (

Yoshkar-Ola Yoshkar-Ola ( Mari and russian: Йошкар-Ола) is the capital city of the Mari El Republic, Russia. Yoshkar-Ola means “red city” in Mari and was formerly known as Tsaryovokokshaysk () before 1919, as Krasnokokshaysk () between 1919 an ...

) *256th Reserve Motor Rifle Division (Mobilization) ( Kuibyshev) *274th Reserve Motor Rifle Division (Mobilization) ( Kryazh) *73rd Reserve Tank Division (Mobilization) (Kazan) *74th Reserve Tank Division (Mobilization) (Ulyanovsk) *112th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division (Mobilization) ( Donguz) The district's air forces included the

Orenburg Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots Orenburg (russian: Оренбу́рг, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Ural River, southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is also very close to the border with Kazakhst ...

and the Saratov Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots. In 1989 the district was merged with the Ural Military District to become the

Volga–Ural Military District The Volga–Ural Military District was a military district of the Russian Ground Forces, formed on 1 September 2001 by the amalgamation of the Volga Military District and the Ural Military District. The headquarters of the Ural Military District, ...

(PURVO). It was split in 1992 and then the two districts were merged again in 2001.

Commanders

*1918–1919:

Ivan Mezhlauk Ivan Ivanovich Mezhlauk (russian: Иван Иванович Межлаук; lv, Jānis Mežlauks) (30 September 1891 – 25 April 1938) was a Soviet politician and statesman who was the first general secretary of the Communist Party of the Turkme ...

*1924–1927: Alexander Sedyakin *1931–1932:

Boris Shaposhnikov , birth_name = Boris Mikhailovitch Shaposhnikov , birth_date = , death_date = , birth_place = Zlatoust, Ufa Governorate Russian Empire , death_place = Moscow, Soviet Union , placeofburial = Kremlin Wall Necropolis , place ...

*1932–1933: Ivan Fedko *1933–1937:

Pavel Dybenko Pavel Efimovich Dybenko (russian: Павел Ефимович Дыбенко), (February 16, 1889 – July 29, 1938) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and a leading Soviet officer and military commander. Prior to military service Pavel Dybenko was b ...

*1937: Marshal

Mikhail Tukhachevsky Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevsky ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Тухачевский, Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevskiy, p=tʊxɐˈtɕefskʲɪj; – 12 June 1937) nicknamed the Red Napoleon by foreign newspapers, was a Sovie ...

*1937: Mikhail Grigoryevich Yefremov *1938–1939: Kirill Meretskov *1939-1940: Trifon Shevaldin *1940–1941: Vasyl Herasymenko *1941-1944: Stepan Kalinin *1944-1945: Mikhail Khozin *1945-1946: Vasily Gordov *1946-1950: Vasily Yushkevich *1953-1957: Vasily Kuznetsov *1957-1960: Vladimir N. Komarov *1960-1961: Andrei Stuchenko *1961-1963: Ivan G. Pavlovsky *1963-1965: Nikolai Lyashchenko *1965-1968: Nikolai Ogarkov *1968-1971: Aleksey M. Parshikov *1971-1975: Yuri A. Naumenko *1975-1977:

Pyotr Lushev Pyotr Georgievich Lushev ( ru , Пётр Гео́ргиевич Лу́шев; 18 October 1923 – 23 March 1997) was an Army General of the Soviet Army during the Cold War who was the last Supreme Commander of the Unified Armed Forces of the Wa ...

*1977-1981: Vladimir N. Conchis *1981-1985: Anatoly Y. Ryakhov *1985-1989: V. A. Patrikaev *1989-1991: Albert Makashov *1991-2001: Anatoly Sergeyev

References

Bibliography

* {{coord missing, Russia Military districts of the Russian Federation Military districts of the Soviet Union Military units and formations established in 1918 Military units and formations disestablished in 2001 Military units and formations awarded the Order of the Red Banner