A military district is a combined-arms association located in a certain territory. In many states, it is customary to divide the country into districts for various military events. Russia shares the same division. New military districts of the Russian Federation are being formed to optimize the management of the Armed Forces of Russia.
History of Military Districts
The districts appeared in the Russian Empire in 1862-1864. At first there were fifteen of them. In the nineteenth century, after serfdom was abolished, the duration of military service was reduced to six years. And those who were exempted from service were enlisted in the militia. The structure of the military districts consisted of a council, a headquarters, a quartermaster’s administration, an artillery, engineering and military medical departments, and an inspection of military hospitals.
By the First World War, the number of military districts was reduced to thirteen, in the RSFSR - to eleven. In the USSR at the beginning of World War II, there were sixteen military districts. The Western, Baltic, Kiev and Leningrad transformed into the Western, Northern, North-Western and South-Western front. In the remaining districts, mobilization work was carried out. Already in August 1941, two hundred and ninety-one divisions and ninety-four brigades from internal units went into the army. The number of military districts during the war years varied, as some of them were also transformed into fronts.
After the war, the fronts were again transformed into military districts. In addition to existing ones, new ones were created. In total, immediately after the war, there were thirty-two districts. However, by 1948 their number again decreased significantly. In 1983, there were sixteen of them in the USSR again.
The military districts of the Russian Federation were reduced to five, and in 2010 - to four. Now they are called: South, West, East and Central. Let us dwell on the latter in more detail.
Central Military District
In the course of the reform carried out in 2008-2010, by the Decree of the President of September 20, 2010, the Central Military District was formed in the Volga, Urals and Siberia.
This is the largest Russian military district, located on an area of seven million sixty thousand square kilometers, which makes up more than forty percent of the territory of Russia, with a population of about sixty million people (thirty-nine percent of the population).
History of CVO
On December 1, 2010, the Central Military District was formed. Yekaterinburg became the city where its headquarters was located. The Central Military District included the troops of the Volga-Ural and Siberian military districts, as well as the Second Command of the Air Force and Air Defense. The troops of the Central Military District are located in three federal districts: the Ural, Volga and parts of the Siberian.
The commander of the troops of the Central Military District is subordinate to all types and arms of the Russian troops , except for the Strategic Space and Rocket Forces. He is also subordinate to other departments, such as the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Border Guard Service, the Ministry of Emergencies and other departments and ministries that perform certain tasks on the territory of the okrug.
Headquarters
The headquarters of the Central Military District is located in the Sverdlovsk region in the city of Yekaterinburg. Headquarters address: city of Yekaterinburg, Lenin street, 71, index - 620219.
CVO Command
From the beginning of the formation of the Central Military District, Lieutenant General VV Chirkin was appointed Acting Commander, and from the next year he became the Central Military Command Commander.
In 2012, three people were replaced in this position at once:
- Gerasimov V.V., Colonel General (since April).
- Dvornikov A.V., major general (acting since November).
- Bogdanovsky N.V., Colonel General (since December).
The commander of the Central Military District is currently Colonel General Zarudnitsky VB He was born in 1958 in the city of Abinsk, Krasnodar Territory, he graduated from the Combined-Arms Command School in Vladikavkaz, the Military Academy named after M.V. Frunze and the Military Academy of the General Staff. He went the way of the platoon commander, regiment reconnaissance chief, regiment commander, chief of staff and reached the deputy chief of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces. He has been the commander of the Central Military District since June 12, 2014.
Zarudnitsky V.B. was replaced by Colonel General N.V. Bogdanovsky, who held this position since the end of 2012. By the way, N.V. Bogdanovsky did not resign, but, on the contrary, took up the newly reinstated post of deputy head of the General Staff of the Russian Federation.
CVO structure
The Central Military District combines combined arms armies (as part of the second guards Red Banner Combined Army and forty-first combined arms), combined arms formations (second Command of the Air Force and Air Defense), military units and comprehensive security organizations (two hundred and first Gatchina Order of Zhukov, twice The Red Banner Military Base and Kant Air Base in Kyrgyzstan).
Modernization of the Armed Forces of Russia
In 2011, the State Armament Program for 2011-2020 was adopted. A large-scale replacement of obsolete equipment with modern one and its updating is being carried out. The military districts of the Russian Federation have already received a significant amount of modern military equipment and this work will continue.
However, in connection with the economic and political crisis, the re-equipment of the Russian Armed Forces may take a longer time than previously planned. The president and the prime minister have already spoken about this. According to V.V. Putin's program implementation period will have to be increased, and D.A. Medvedev said that the defense budget in 2015 will be reduced by five percent and that, in general, expenditures declared in the state program in the amount of more than twenty trillion rubles need to be adjusted.
However, despite the complexity of the situation, the state program continues to function and all military districts receive updated modern equipment, including the Central Military District of the Russian Federation. In 2014, the ground forces appeared 294 repaired and modernized tanks, 296 repaired and new armored vehicles, almost five thousand cars. The missile units received two Iskander-M missile systems and two S-300B4 anti-aircraft systems.
The Air Force has in service 142 aircraft and 135 helicopters of various types. Three new submarines were delivered to the Navy: the Vladimir Monomakh missile carrier, the Severodvinsk and Novorossiysk nuclear submarines. In the coming years, five ships and ten combat boats will be commissioned.
Marine strategic nuclear forces received the nuclear missile submarine cruiser "Yuri Dolgoruky", ballistic missiles R-30 "Bulava". In general, last year the fleet was replenished with 22 missiles for submarines. New launches were built at the Plesetsk cosmodrome by aerospace defense troops. They also put two radar stations on combat alert. The other two began experimental combat duty.
Strategic missile forces replenished with three regiments, which are armed with the Yars RK. The Strategic Missile Forces of sixteen intercontinental missiles were built.
In 2015, after the military tests of the previous year, sixty-four BMD-4Ms and twenty armored personnel carriers BTR-MDM will receive the Airborne Forces.
The equipment in service is constantly being repaired and modernized.
The military department creates types of equipment with similar characteristics purchased abroad, which is why it is planned to significantly reduce the cost of re-equipping the army.
CVO modernization
By the spring of 2015, new electronic warfare systems, upgraded navigators and the latest thermal imagers for reconnaissance, the latest Tahion drones, the digital communications system Resettlement, 1P63 collimator sights, and UAZ Patriot vehicles had already arrived in the Central Military District.
Events in the military districts in 2014
Last year, on the orders of the Commander-in-Chief, sudden checks of combat readiness continued. They touched the Western, Eastern and Central military districts.
Their main goal is to check the condition of the troops and their combat readiness.
The verification of the ground forces focused on the preparation of battalion tactical groups and command and control bodies for the performance of tasks in unfamiliar areas.
During inspections, the Air Force increased pilots 'flying time, and the Navy increased sailors' sail.
The number of parachute jumps in the Airborne Forces increased by sixty percent.
As part of the Tank Biathlon and Aviadarts projects, one hundred and twenty-five tanker competitions and eighty-five pilot pilots were held. They involved more than six hundred tanks and five hundred aircraft. In total, eighty-seven thousand people took part in all sporting events and competitions.
The work of the National Center for Defense Management, intended for tracking and command and control, began. This Center is able to manage individual units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, interdepartmental and even international groups.
In each of the military districts, similar command centers began to function, interacting with the main Center and the troops. Such an organization provides high combat readiness of the troops, based on the correct and timely adoption of the necessary decisions.
CEO exercises in 2015
The main exercises of the Russian army in 2015 will be the Center-2015 exercises, which will be held on the territory of the Central Military District. It will be attended by troops of the Central Military District, military personnel of various power structures. In total, the number of troops will be tens of thousands.
Events will take place in unfamiliar areas. In some regions, the mobilization task will be tested. All types of the latest weapons will be involved, the application of which will also address research issues. The commanders of battalion tactical groups should use all possible forces and means, reducing, as much as possible, the time for making decisions.