Eastern Military District of the Russian Federation

The Armed Forces of Russia is a military state organization that is designed to repel a possible aggression against Russia, to protect its territory and integrity and to accomplish tasks in accordance with international treaties to which Russia is a party.

Its eastern borders are protected by the Eastern Military District, which will be discussed in this article.

The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation

Sixty-nine million people can be mobilized in the Armed Forces of Russia, according to the Business Insider magazine. This is the second, after the US, according to the same magazine, the world's largest in number.

The Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the RF Armed Forces is Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, the President of Russia. The Ministry of Defense is the body of command of the Armed Forces. And the General Staff is the main organ of the military and operational management of the RF Armed Forces.

The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are the basis of defense and ensuring the security of the state. It is impossible to overestimate the importance for the state of a reliable army, especially in such a difficult time for our country.

Therefore, in recent years, the number of military exercises has significantly increased, and the ongoing modernization of troops and the supply of modern military equipment show the Russian army in a completely different capacity. Especially if we compare with the fact that Russia is accustomed to talking about the world in the nineties and early 2000s.

The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are divided territorially, they consist of four military districts: Central, Western, Southern and Eastern.

Eastern Military District: basic information

VVO (Eastern Military District) is a military-administrative association of the Armed Forces, formed as a result of the reform in 2008-2010, when four new ones were formed on the basis of the former military districts.

The Eastern Military District was formed on the basis of the Far East, which included part of the Siberian Military District, as well as Transbaikal. It also included the Pacific Fleet, Air Force and Air Defense.

Territory of the VBO

This district occupies about forty-four percent of the land area and nearly one hundred and fifty million square miles in the Indian and Pacific oceans. It is located in Buryatia, Yakutia, Kamchatka, Transbaikal, Khabarovsk and Primorye, in the Sakha, Magadan, Amur regions, the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, and the Jewish Autonomous Region.

On its territory there are three military educational institutions. This Suvorov School in the Primorsky Territory in the city of Ussuriysk, the Far Eastern Military Institute in Vladivostok and the Pacific Naval Institute, also located in Vladivostok.

History of the VBI creation

The Far Eastern Military District was founded on July 31, 1918, when the Red Army soldiers of the Ussuri Front defeated the White Guard troops. However, in August Soviet power was overthrown and until 1920 a guerrilla struggle was fought. In 1920, the Far Eastern Republic was created on this territory , and from 1922, after the civil war, the Soviet power was completely restored.

The then-existing revolutionary army was renamed the Fifth Red Banner Army, whose headquarters were located in the city of Chita. And in 1924 all military units and institutions operating in the territory entered the Siberian Military District. In 1929 the troops of the Far East gained independence and began to bear the name of the Special Red Banner Far Eastern Army.

In 1938, the danger of an attack on the territory of the Soviet Union by Japan increased significantly, the Army was transformed into the Far Eastern Front, whose struggle showed the strength of the Russian spirit and real valor during the conflict.

During the Great Patriotic War, troops of the Far East fought in many strategically important battles and hundreds of thousands were awarded for military services to the Fatherland.

The Far Eastern Front after the war was transformed into military districts: Transbaikal-Amur, Primorsky and Far East. During the post-war period, military districts in this territory underwent a number of qualitative changes.

Throughout the history of the USSR, this eastern outpost was of particular importance. In the Russian Federation, the importance was not less. Despite the fact that the main task is to protect the eastern territory, servicemen of the Far Eastern forces took part in the Chechen wars, for which more than a thousand soldiers were awarded.

At present, the military districts are transformed into one and become known as the Eastern Military District.

Structure of the TSB

The VVO (Eastern Military District) consists of ground forces, airborne troops, marine infantry, air force, navy and air defense.

Land forces, airborne troops and marines consist of:

• Connections and parts of the district subordination.
• The twenty-ninth and thirty-sixth combined arms armies.
• The Fifth and Thirty-fifth Army of Red Banner Armies.
• Sixty-eighth army corps.
• Airborne Forces in the form of the eighty-third and eleventh separate assault-assault brigades.
• Reconnaissance compounds.
• Parts of the Marine Corps, coastal defense.

Commander of the Eastern Military District

From July 2010 to October 2013, the commander was Admiral Konstantin Sidenko, who is currently retired.

He was born in 1953, studied at the Naval School, served on a submarine. Over the years of his service he was appointed division commander, chief of staff, commander of the Baltic, and later of the Pacific Fleet.

He was promoted to the rank of admiral and in 2013 he resigned.

From October 2013, the commander of the Eastern Military District was Colonel-General Sergei Surovikin.

Sergei Surovikin was born in 1966 in Novosibirsk. After completing the all-arms command school, he served in the army. In 1991, while performing tasks in Moscow, when three young people were killed, he was arrested and was under investigation for more than six months. But Yeltsin's personal order not only was released from custody, but also promoted to rank.

In 1995, he was involved in the acquisition and sale of firearms, and in 2004 he was accused of beating by Lieutenant-Colonel Tsibizov. However, the guilt was refuted, and the charges were dropped.

Command of VVO

The commander of the Eastern Military District has in his operational subordination:

1. Regional Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation.
2. Border management.
3. Far Eastern legal institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
4. The FSO special communication centers in the cities of Khabarovsk, Chita and Ulan-Ude.

Address of the VVO Headquarters

The headquarters of the Eastern Military District is located in the Khabarovsk Territory at the following address: 680038, Khabarovsk-38, Serysheva Street, 15.

The WWII upgrade program

As in other military districts, the Eastern Military District (VVO) undergoes a complete modernization, during which, from 2011 to 2013, the old automotive equipment was completely replaced.

New types of aircraft, as well as helicopters Ka-52, Mi-8, AMTSh, Mi-26 and fighters of the "4+" generation - Su-30, are on service. Re-armed with anti-aircraft missile systems S-400, "Tor", missile-gun "Pantsir".

In general, according to the state defense order until 2020, more than thirteen thousand units of equipment are planned to be delivered to the Eastern Military District. In addition to re-equipping military units and units, basic military towns are being built and infrastructure facilities are being developed.

The VVO exercises

In recent years, due to the exacerbation of the foreign policy situation, the number of exercises conducted in all districts of Russia has increased. So, in 2014, the exercises of the Eastern Military District were conducted jointly with Mongolia on its territory ("Selenga-2014"), as well as with China ("Peace Mission") in China. Passed and Russian-Indian exercises "Indra-2014" in the Pacific Ocean.

The strategic exercise "East-2014" was held on the territory of the military district. Russian troops demonstrated a high level of combat readiness. There was noted an improved leadership of the operational staff and combat training of servicemen in general.

In addition, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief in 2014 announced a sudden check of Russian troops, after which Defense Minister S. Shoigu reported to the President on the high level of preparation and improvement of interaction between staffs, commissariats and authorities, although it was acknowledged that certain shortcomings that had occurred before, Still remained.

So, the Sakhalin Oblast administration was not ready to mobilize citizens from the reserve at the call of citizens, as a result of which the task was not fully implemented and it was solved at the expense of other subjects of the Russian Federation.

From the Western Military District, battalion tactical groups and military equipment were sent to Sakhalin and the Khabarovsk Territory.

Mobilization bases were deployed in the Primorsky, Kamchatka, Trans-Baikal and Khabarovsk regions, the Sakhalin and Amur regions.

Situation in the TSB today

Some believe that it is necessary to significantly change the grouping of troops and strengthen the Eastern Military District. The command should be conducted in such a way that soldiers are ready to fight for a long time without outside help, if there is an aggression from neighboring countries. However, at the moment, the troops of the Airborne Forces are not ready for this turn of events.

It is in this part of the military-political leadership of Russia should focus its main military capabilities. After all, it is already publicly announced that this is the main region where it is necessary to exert all military efforts, this is East Asia. The military potential of Japan and the United States is much higher, therefore, with the possible aggression of these countries, the region becomes vulnerable. As the military analyst A. Khramchikhin notes, it is necessary to remove all the bases where the equipment is stored from the Russian-Chinese border.

Nevertheless, it is assumed that in the coming years the equipment of the TSB with the necessary equipment will be achieved.

According to Colonel Viktor Tarayev, the head of the TSB maintenance department, the most important task now is the implementation of the armament program until 2020. Need to establish the needs, the amount of technology and timing of its receipt for the TSB, actively interact with manufacturers and plan to supply ammunition. At the same time, all personnel should be trained in working with new equipment and repair specialists, too, should be properly prepared. There are also premises for storage of equipment.

In addition to works on its territory, the TSB also takes part in the reconstruction of military infrastructure, which is located on the territory of the Novosibirsk Islands and Yakutia. Together with the Western Military District, the runway "Temp" on Kotelny Island, which is part of the archipelago, is being built, expanded and extended.

One can not but note the active participation of the Eastern Military District in the annual forest fires that destroy many hectares of forest. Military personnel use special equipment and military transport aircraft during their liquidation.