The Russian army today is one of the most combat-ready in the world. According to the portal Global Firepower Index, the armed forces of the Russian Federation occupy second place in the ranking of the most powerful armies in the world, second only to the United States. World-famous T-90 tanks, aircraft and the latest missile systems, as well as qualified officers, have transformed the army. And today, the troops of the Russian Federation can compete with any army in the world. Thanks to good funding and competent command, which is able to solve complex problems, the power of the Russian army is growing every day.
Army History
Although the Russian army has existed for only a few decades, the history of the Russian army itself has many centuries. To survive, the Russians had to have combat-ready troops at the end of the millennium before last. The backbone of the modern Russian army and Russian troops at earlier stages was made up of strong, intelligent and courageous commanders. And precisely because of this, Russia managed to maintain its sovereignty most of its history.
The Russian Federation is the successor state of the Soviet Union. The surviving military-industrial complex of the USSR was greatly weakened during the 90s. And military campaigns in the Chechen Republic showed all the shortcomings of the Russian troops. With the onset of zero, the power of the Russian army began to grow due to its reformation. The system of recruitment and command and control of troops was changing, funding was increasing, and the armament of the army itself was modernizing. This allowed Russia to be in the list of leaders in terms of size and quality of the armed forces.
The structure of the army of the Russian Federation
The power of the Russian army is built on iron discipline and a well-structured structure. The commander in chief of the armed forces of the Russian Federation is the president of the Russian Federation. The next important person in the structure of the army is the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation (Sergey Shoigu currently holds the post). The army is managed by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
The Russian army is a carefully structured organization. Its troops are divided into three types: land forces, air forces and the navy.
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have several special arms that are responsible for new types of weapons: airborne troops, strategic missile forces, and space forces.
An important part of the Russian army is not only the units responsible for military operations, but also special supply structures. This includes troops that are not part of the types and arms of the Russian troops, as well as the rear of the armed forces. Separately, it is worth highlighting the organizations responsible for the construction of military facilities and the housing of soldiers.
Military districts of the Russian Federation
The system of military districts allows you to competently respond to possible attacks of a potential enemy. At the moment, the territory of the Russian Federation is divided into four districts:
- Western military district with headquarters in St. Petersburg.
- Southern Military District with headquarters in Rostov-on-Don.
- The central military district with headquarters in Yekaterinburg.
- Eastern Military District with headquarters in Khabarovsk.
In 2014, a new structure was created to protect the military-political interests of Russia in the Arctic.
The number and quality of weapons
Today, the annual funding of the Russian army is 47 billion US dollars. The total number of soldiers in the army is 766 thousand people, not counting 2.5 million active reserve personnel. In total, about 50 million people are fit for military service. The military equipment of the Russian Federation is extremely diverse. Below is the number of different types of weapons of the Russian Federation:
- 15,400 tanks.
- 31 300 armored personnel carriers.
- 5972 self-propelled guns.
- 3,547 aircraft.
- 1 aircraft carrier.
- 60 submarines.
- 4 frigates.
- 15 destroyers.
- 81 warship type Corvette.
The power of the Russian army is amazing. Active investment in research and development makes it possible to equip the Russian army with advanced technologies. Many of the military equipment currently used by Russia is a legacy left to it from the Soviet Union. Here is a short list of obsolete models of military equipment:
- Tanks: T-72, T-80, BTR-80, BMP-1, BMP-2 and BMP-3, BMD-1, BMD-2 and BMD-3.
- Jet and barreled artillery: MLRS "Grad", "Hurricane", "Tornado".
- Aviation: MiG-29, Su-27, Su-25 and Su-24.
In the 90s, the situation with the modernization of the army was simply disastrous. However, today the process of rearmament is in full swing. The modern Russian army is able to repulse any enemy. In proper condition, our troops must be kept in order to correctly defend the interests of the Russian Federation. The new T-90 and Armata tanks are not only not far behind their Western counterparts, but ahead of them, and advances in aviation (Su-35, Su-30, Su-34) give hope for the development of the aircraft industry. A new fifth-generation PAK FA fighter is being tested. Actively rearmament and the naval forces of the Russian Federation. New submarine-rocket carriers of the Borey project regularly replenish the forces of the Russian Navy. There is a rearmament in the field of rocket science, for example, a new Sarmat missile was recently created. An important role was played by Russian tactical missile systems (such as Iskander).