Russian Armed Forces

Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
Вооружённые си́лы Росси́йской Федера́ции
Emblem of the Russian Armed Forces
Banner of the Russian Armed Forces
Founded1721 (Imperial Russian Army)
Current form7 May 1992
Service branches Ground Forces
 Navy
Aerospace Forces
Strategic Rocket Forces
Airborne Forces
Special Operations Forces
HeadquartersMinistry of Defence, Moscow
Leadership
Supreme Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Putin
Minister of Defence Andrey Belousov
Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov
Personnel
Military age18[1]
Conscription12 months[2]
Active personnel1,500,000 (September 2024 Decree)[3] (ranked 4th)
Reserve personnelc. 2,000,000[4][Note 1]
Expenditure
BudgetUS$86.4 billion (2023)[5]
(ranked 3rd)
Percent of GDP4.1% (2023)[5]
Industry
Domestic suppliers
Foreign suppliers Belarus (MZKT)
 Italy (Iveco)[6][7]
 Iran (HESA)[8]
 Democratic People's Republic of Korea[9]
Annual importsUS$905 million (2010–2021)[10]
Annual exportsUS$74.535 billion (2010–2021)[10]
Related articles
HistoryMilitary history of the Russian Federation
RanksArmy ranks
Navy ranks
Aerospace Forces ranks

The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation,[a] commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military of Russia. They are organized into three service branches—the Ground Forces, Navy, and Aerospace Forces—two independent combat arms (the Strategic Rocket Forces and Airborne Forces),[11] and the Special Operations Forces Command.[12]

The Russian Armed Forces are the world's fifth largest military force, with 1.15 million active-duty personnel and close to two million reservists.[13] They maintain the world's largest stockpile of nuclear weapons,[14] possess the world's second-largest fleet of ballistic missile submarines,[15] and are the only armed forces outside the United States and China that operate strategic bombers.[16] As of 2024, Russia has the world's third-highest military expenditure, at approximately US$130 billion, or over six percent of GDP,[5] compared to approximately to US$86.5–$109 billion the year before.[17] Its military budget is set to expand by 30 percent, to US$145 billion, in 2025.[18]

The Russian military is a hybrid system that combines conscripts with contracted volunteers;[19] with certain exceptions, Russian law mandates one year of military service for all male citizens aged 18–27.[1][20] Despite efforts to professionalize its ranks since the early 2000s,[21] it remains heavily reliant on conscripts, with contract soldiers being concentrated in cadre and elite units. Russia plans to expand its active personnel to 1.5 million by the end of 2024,[22] which will make it the second largest active military force after China.[23][24]

Despite its perceived military strength,[25] deficiencies have been noted in Russia's overall combat performance and its ability to effectively project hard power.[26] The ongoing invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has exposed weaknesses such as endemic corruption,[27][28][29] rigid command and control structure, inadequate training, and poor morale;[30] 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.[31][32][33] Researchers from the U.S.-funded RAND Corporation have observed that Russia continues struggling with military professionalization,[34] but remains capable of rapidly reconstituting its capabilities.[35]

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.

  1. ^ a b О воинской обязанности и военной службе [About military duty and military service] (Federal Law 53-FZ) (in Russian). State Duma. 28 March 1998. "Законодательство России. Расширенный поиск". Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2022."Законодательство России. Расширенный поиск". Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  2. ^ Masters, Jonathan (28 September 2015). "The Russian Military". Council on Foreign Relations. Archived from the original on 17 September 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  3. ^ Barros, George; Mappes, Grace; Harward, Christina; Hird, Karolina; Zehrung, Haley; Gasparyan, Davit; Ganzeveld, Annika (16 September 2024). "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, September 16, 2024". Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  4. ^ IISS 2021, p. 191.
  5. ^ a b c "Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2022" (PDF). Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. April 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  6. ^ "The War Trade: How Italy Sold Armoured Vehicles To Russia + Their Deployment With Syrian Army Militias". bellingcat. 20 December 2019. Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  7. ^ Korolkov, Alexander (25 January 2016). "Russia continues to buy Iveco LMV armored cars from Italy". Russia Beyond. Archived from the original on 25 July 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  8. ^ "Russia's use of Iranian drones shows up domestic weakness". France 24. 17 October 2022. Archived from the original on 27 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  9. ^ "North Korean weapons extending Russian stockpiles, German general says". Reuters. 9 September 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ a b "TIV of arms imports/exports from Russia, 2010-2021". Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. 7 February 2022. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  11. ^ "Russia". Central Intelligence Agency. 28 February 2023. Archived from the original on 9 January 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2022 – via CIA.gov.
  12. ^ IISS, The Military Balance 2022, 201.
  13. ^ Nichol, Jim (21 December 2022). "Russian military announces plan to expand, create new units". The Associated Press. Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022. Russia expands active personnel to 1.5 million from 1.15 forces
  14. ^ "Nuclear Weapons: Who Has What at a Glance". Arms Control Association. August 2020. Archived from the original on 24 January 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  15. ^ "Ballistic missile submarines data". Asia Power Index. Lowy Institute. 2021. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  16. ^ Paul, T. V.; Wirtz, James J.; Fortmann, Michael (2004). Balance of power: theory and practice in the 21st century. Stanford University Press. p. 332. ISBN 978-0-8047-5017-2. Archived from the original on 28 October 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  17. ^ Tian, Nan; Fleurant, Aude; Kuimova, Alexandra; Wezeman, Pieter D.; Wezeman, Siemon T. (26 April 2021). "Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2020" (PDF). Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 August 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  18. ^ "Russia plans to boost defence spending by a quarter for 2025". France 24. 30 September 2024. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  19. ^ "Institute for the Study of War". Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference cia was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ Russian Military Personnel Policy and Proficiency: Reforms and Trends, 1991–2021; Anika Binnendijk, Dara Massicot, Anthony Atler, John J. Drennan, Khrystyna Holynska, Katya Migacheva, Marek N. Posard, Yuliya Shokh; published Aug 15, 2023.
  22. ^ Atlamazoglou, Stavros (19 September 2024). "Russia's Military Will Soon Have 1.5 Million Troops". The National Interest. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  23. ^ "Russia". Central Intelligence Agency. 28 February 2023. Archived from the original on 9 January 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2022 – via CIA.gov.
  24. ^ "Putin orders Russian army to expand to become the world's second largest". NBC News. 17 September 2024. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  25. ^ "Understanding the Russian Military Today | Russia and Eurasia | CSIS". www.csis.org. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  26. ^ Russian Military Performance and Outlook Congressional Research Services. Updated October 10, 2024.
  27. ^ ""Вывозили на КАМАЗе". Как российские солдаты и офицеры воровали у армии трусы, берцы и бронежилеты". BBC News Русская служба (in Russian). Archived from the original on 20 October 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  28. ^ Kovalev, Alexey (19 October 2022). "As War Hits the Homefront, Russia's Defeat Inches Closer". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 17 December 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  29. ^ "'The army has nothing': new Russian conscripts bemoan lack of supplies". the Guardian. 20 October 2022. Archived from the original on 25 February 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  30. ^ Russian Military Performance and Outlook Congressional Research Service. Updated October 10, 2024.
  31. ^ Sonne, Paul; Lamothe, Dan; Ilyushina, Mary (13 September 2022). "Rapid loss of territory in Ukraine reveals spent Russian military". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 14 September 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  32. ^ "The woes of the Russian war machine are big and real. Are they also temporary?". The Economist. 28 February 2022. ISSN 0013-0613. Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  33. ^ "The Russian Military's Debacle in Ukraine". The New Yorker. 11 March 2022. Archived from the original on 23 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  34. ^ Posard, Marek N.; Holynska, Khrystyna (21 March 2022). "Russia has a military professionalism problem, and it is costing them in Ukraine". Breaking Defense. Archived from the original on 5 August 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  35. ^ Grisé, Michelle (5 July 2024). Russia's Speedy Military Rebuild Doesn't Tell the Whole Story (Report).


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