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Russian Armed Forces

The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation,[a] commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military of Russia. In terms of active-duty personnel, they are the world's fifth-largest military force, with 1.15 million and at least two million reserve personnel.[10] According to the United States' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), "Russia plans to expand its active personnel force to 1.5 million by 2026, which will make it the third largest in the world, after China and India."[11] The country has three primary branches of service: the Ground Forces, the Navy, and the Aerospace Forces, as well as two independent arms of service: the Strategic Rocket Forces and Airborne Forces.[12] In addition, the Special Operations Forces Command was established in 2013, with an estimated strength in 2022 of 1,000, possibly with additional supporting staff.[13]

Armed Forces of the Russian Federation

In 2023, Russia had the world's third-highest military expenditure, allocating a budget of approximately US$86.4 billion to the military.[14][5] The Russian Armed Forces maintain the world's largest stockpile of nuclear weapons,[15] and possess the world's second-largest fleet of ballistic missile submarines;[16] they are also one of only three national militaries (alongside those of the United States and China) that operate strategic bombers.[17] With certain exceptions, Russian law mandates one year of military service for all male citizens aged 18–27.[1][18]


In spite of Russia's perceived military strength, as recorded in various assessments, deficiencies have been noted in the country's combat performance on both the tactical and operational scales. According to multiple reports, endemic corruption within the Russian Armed Forces has had a major impact on Russia's ability to effectively project hard power.[19][20][21] Amidst the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, severe logistical failures have greatly impacted the operational performance of Russian troops, as different service branches have struggled to coordinate and work together. Continuous shortcomings have led Russia's war effort to suffer extensive setbacks since the initial invasion; the Russian Armed Forces have experienced successive losses of occupied/annexed territory, the large-scale destruction and squandering of their equipment, and a notably high casualty rate.[22][23][24] Researchers from the US-funded RAND Corporation have observed that Russia continues to struggle with military professionalization.[25]


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 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.

The three branches of Armed Forces: the , Aerospace Forces, and Navy

Ground Forces

The two separate troop branches: the and Airborne Forces

Strategic Rocket Forces

The special forces of Armed Forces: the

Special Operations Forces

The , which has a separate status of its own

Logistical Support of the Russian Armed Forces

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 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 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, was set.[26] 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).[27] 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.[28]


According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, between 2005–2009 and 2010–2014, Russian exports of major weapons increased by 37 percent;[29] Russia spent $66.4 billion on arms in 2015,[30] then $69.2 billion in 2016, having taken 3rd place (after the U.S. and China).[31]

Joint Strategic Command West – (HQ in St. Petersburg), includes the Baltic Fleet;

Western Military District

Joint Strategic Command North – (HQ in Severomorsk), includes the Northern Fleet;

Northern Military District

Joint Strategic Command South – (HQ in Rostov-on-Don) includes the Black Sea Fleet and Caspian Flotilla;

Southern Military District

Joint Strategic Command Center – (HQ in Yekaterinburg);

Central Military District

Joint Strategic Command East – (HQ in Khabarovsk), includes the Pacific Fleet.

Eastern Military District

which prepare career warrant officers for active duty service.

Warrant officer schools

which prepare career commissioned officers for active duty service as platoon/company commanders and at equivalent positions (tactical level).

Higher military schools

within civilian institutions of higher education, which prepare reserve commissioned officers who can serve as platoon/company commanders and at equivalent positions (tactical level).

Military training centers

which improve the military occupational specialty knowledge of commissioned officers to allow them to be appointed to battalion/regiment/brigade commander or equivalent positions (operational-tactical level).

Military academies

which improves skills of officers graduated from military academies to allow them to become highest ranking military officers (strategic level).

Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia

is a military analogue of civilian graduate school, which allow commissioned officers to get academic degree of candidate of sciences in military oriented specialties and be appointed to a teaching positions in military academies, military schools, military training centers.

Adjunctura

Active reserve – Mobilization human reserve (: мобилизационный людской резерв; transliteration: mobilizatsionnyy lyudskoy reserv)

Russian

Inactive reserve – Mobilization human resource (: мобилизационный людской ресурс; transliteration: mobilizatsionnyy lyudskoy resurs)

Russian

Adjunctura in Russia

Awards and emblems of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation

History of Russian military ranks

Army ranks and insignia of the Russian Federation

Main Cathedral of the Russian Armed Forces

Military academies in Russia

Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of Russia

Military commissioning schools in Russia

Reserve Officer Training in Russia

Uniforms of the Russian Armed Forces

Warrant officer schools of the Russian Armed Forces

Bowen, Andrew (2017). "Coercive Diplomacy and the Donbas: Explaining Russian Strategy in Eastern Ukraine". Journal of Strategic Studies. 42 (3–4): 312–343. :10.1080/01402390.2017.1413550. S2CID 158522112.

doi

Galeotti, Mark, "Organised crime and Russian security forces: mafiya, militia and militar", Journal of Conflict, Security and Development, issue 1:2, 2001.

Ivanov, Henry, , Jane's Defence Weekly, 28 April 2006

"Country Briefing: Russia—Austere Deterrence"

Lehrke, Jesse Paul (2013). . Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-10886-1.

The Transition to National Armies in the Former Soviet Republics, 1988-2005

Pynnöniemi, K., (Archived 22 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine), FIIA Briefing Paper 126, 26 March 2013, Finnish Institute of International Affairs.

"Russia's Defence Reform: Assessing the real 'Serdyukov heritage'"

Tian, Nan; Fleurant, Aude; Kuimova, Alexandra; Wezeman, Pieter D.; Wezeman, Siemon T. (27 April 2020). (PDF). Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Retrieved 8 January 2020.

"Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2019"

Turbiville, G., "Organized crime and the Russian Armed Forces", Transnational Organized Crime, vol. 1, issue 4, 1995, pp. 55–73.  4769433034.

OCLC

Waters, T., "Crime in the Russian Military", CSRC Paper C90, Camberley: Conflict Studies Research Centre, 1996.

Archived 4 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine (in English)

Russian Ministry of Defense