The Culture of the Russian Armed Forces is widely varied, but unique amongst the branches of the armed forces, and shared with the other uniformed organizations within Russia. Military culture is the most important component of military life. The major cultural events held by the Russian military are primarily aimed at strengthening esprit de corps as well as advancing the historical traditions of the Armed Forces of Russia. The Ministry of Defence of Russia regularly holds cultural events at various levels. The central cultural institutions of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation are actively working in all military districts. [1]
These traditions are upheld by the Ground Forces, Aerospace Forces, the Navy, the Strategic Missile Forces and the Airborne Forces.
Victory Day Parades are held throughout the country, being unique to Russia and a common traditional military event on Victory Day. The Moscow Victory Day Parade is the main parade of these to be held in Russia, being held on the Russian capital's main square, Red Square. The first of these parades was held in 1995, just five years after the fall of the Soviet Union, held to commemorate the golden jubilee of the Soviet and allied victory in the Second World War. [4]
The goose step is the standard marching step utilized by the Russian military. Originating in Prussian Army in the mid-18th century, it spread to Russia in the 19th century and was fully utilized by the Imperial Russian Army in the early 20th century. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union trained the militaries of its client states (particularly those in the Warsaw Pact) with Soviet ceremonial military drill, leading to its adoption in many Third World countries. A notable example of this in action was the East German Nationale Volksarmee, in which the Soviets encouraged a Prussian-style goose step. [8]
Each branch of the Armed Forces has a representative colour, with a ceremonial colour also corresponding to the entire military. This coloured was first introduced on 8 December 2000. Being implemented later that month, it was simply a plain red field, symbolizing the traditional red color of the Soviet Armed Forces and its predecessor the Red Army. The present official colour was adopted by order of the State Duma in June 2003, consisting of two double-headed eagles and the coat of arms of the Russia on the obverse side. While having elements of the military flags dating back to the latter years of the Russian Empire, it also contains four golden stars in each corner to honor its Soviet heritage. The reverse side also contains two pieces of text written in old Russian, with the top and bottom sides containing the inscriptions "Fatherland" ("Отечество") and "Debt of Honor ("Долг Честь") respectively. [9]
List of unit mottos:
The following are service marches used by the armed forces:
"Farewell of Slavianka" and "Den Pobedy" are among the many internationally famous military marches from Russia. Many famous melodies as "Katyusha", "The Sacred War", "Siny Platochek", and "Moscow Nights" have been converted into marches by certain military composers. [20] These marches are used often at the Moscow Victory Day Parade among other events. [21] Some of these pieces are used elsewhere in the militaries of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Several army museums have been established, most notably the Moscow-based Central Armed Forces Museum. Memorials serve as a way to preserve the military history of Russia, with one of the most iconic memorials is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, notably featuring the eternal flame. Other memorials to Russian military forces include the Rzhev Memorial to the Soviet Soldier and the Mamayev Kurgan.
A House of Officers (Russian : Дом офицеров) is the Russian/Soviet equivalent to military officers' clubs that originated in the United States. It effectively serves as cultural center for the improvement of civil–military relations. In the early days of the USSR, these institutions were known as Houses of the Red Army. [23] [24] Events in the building include cultural activities that meet spiritual and cultural need for military/civilian personnel of the Armed Forces. [25] Similar tasks are present in the Officers Houses of the armed forces of post-Soviet republics. During the Soviet era, party conferences were held for members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The main Russian officer house is the Central House of Officers of the Russian Army, located on Suvorov Square in Moscow. [26]
The Federal State Treasury Institution of Culture and Art "Central Naval Library" of the Ministry of Defense is the oldest and largest library in the Armed Forces, serving as an information, bibliographic and methodological center for all libraries of the Russian Navy. The history of the Central Naval Library dates back to 25 November 1799, when the "Committee for Discussion of Issues on Shipbuilding and Navigation" was established under the Admiralty Board, subordinate to the President of the Admiralty Collegium, Tsar Paul I of Russia. The committee began to form a collection on maritime history, which laid the foundation for the first Maritime Library of St. Petersburg. The library has a color Atlas of Admiral Adam Johann von Krusenstern round-the-world travel, published by the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1813. In 2018, the library received as a gift documents from the personal archive of Minister of Defense, General Sergey Shoygu. In 2017, the book collections of the branch of the Central Naval Library returned to the Admiralty. In April 2018, the move of the Central Naval Library from the Mikhailovsky Castle to the reconstructed building on Vasilievsky Island was completed. [27]
The Armed Forces' theatrical production houses and entities include: [28]
The Mitrofan Grekov Military Artists' Studio is a creative team that was founded in 1934 in memory of Soviet artist Mitrofan Grekov, the founder of Soviet battle painting. The team employs more than ten folk artists. The main task of the studio is to recreate moments of Russian military glory through painting. More than 70 panoramas and dioramas, ranging from the first Soviet panorama "Battle of Stalingrad", to a recreation of Franz Roubaud's panorama "Battle of Borodino", have seen the involvement of the studio. It is a recipient of the Order of the Red Banner of Labor and the Order of the Red Star. [29]
The Film Studio of the Ministry of Defense (Киностудия Минобороны РФ) creates educational films for the Russian Armed Forces and is responsible for the distribution of military educational, documentary and technical propaganda for the MoD and the Russian government. The film studio was formed in 1960 in Leningrad in order to unite the scattered film studios, initially, being subordinate to the Main Directorate of Combat Training of the Ground Forces, and has been subordinate to the branch since 1998. In 1963, the film studio was transferred to Moscow on the territory of the former air defense town (Vykhino). In the same year, a film group was created at the General Staff to plan the production of films for the Armed Forces. Seven years later, it was transformed into the Department of Military Training Films of the Soviet Ministry of Defence. In 1985, the film studio was awarded the Order of the Red Star for its services in generalizing the experience of World War II. At its peak in the mid-1980s, the studio had 19 officers and 516 employees from the Soviet Army. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the film studio was greatly reduced and relocated to Bolshevo near Moscow, on the territory of its former branch. The level of funding has decreased, and, consequently, the number of films released was minimal. [30]
The Armed Forces hosts the following song and dance ensembles: [31]
Russian military bands fall under the jurisdiction of the Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of Russia, which is the official music service for the Armed Forces. It is led by the Senior Director of Music, who is a general officer. There are currently between 200 and 300 military bands in across the military and in the uniformed services in the country. [35] [36] As of 2009, all military musicians are paid around 13,000 rubles ($203.11) for their service. [37]
In 2018, more than 2,500 mass competitions were held with the involvement of all personnel in 37 disciplines of military applied sports, more than 3,000 instructor-methodological and demonstration classes in various sections of physical training, more than 600 seminars with non-staff physical training organizers and unit commanders. All-army competitions for the Cup of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation "Commander starts" were held, where more than 3,000 officers and generals took part in the competition. Military athletes from among the candidates for the national teams of the Russian Federation in Olympic sports serve in sports companies. [39]
The International Army Games is an annual Russian military sports event organized by the Russian military, with the first edition having been staged in August 2015, with the participation of close to 30 countries. [40] In addition to the main competition, the games includes a military theme park, a recruitment station, and souvenir shops. [41]
During World War Two, many films from the Central Newsreel Studio were produced as propaganda for the allied powers. Notable films among these include Fall of Berlin – 1945, Moscow Strikes Back, Encounter at the Elbe, and Ukraine in Flames.
The 4th Guards Tank Division is a Guards armoured division of the Russian Ground Forces. The division is named after Yuri Andropov.
The 150th Guards Motor Rifle Idritsa-Berlin Order of Kutuzov Division of the Russian Ground Forces is a motorized rifle division that was re-instituted in 2016. It is part of the 8th Guards Combined Arms Army, which was reformed in 2017, in the Southern Military District.
The military districts in Russia serve as administrative divisions for the Russian Armed Forces. Each has a headquarters administering the military formations within the Russian federal subjects that it includes.
The 13th Guards Airborne Division was a division of the Soviet Airborne Troops.
The S. M. Kirov Military Medical Academy is a higher education institution of military medicine in Saint Petersburg and the Russian Federation. Senior medical staff are trained for the Russian Armed Forces and conduct research in military medical services.
The Russian Aerospace Forces or Russian Air and Space Forces comprise the aerial, space warfare, and missile defence branches of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. It was established on 1 August 2015 with the merging of the Russian Air Force (VVS) and the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces (VVKO), as recommended by the Ministry of Defence to improve efficiency and logistical support. The VKS is headquartered in Moscow.
The Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation serves as the official service of military bands in active service within the Russian Armed Forces and formerly the Soviet Armed Forces. It is part of the Military Band Service Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
The All-Russian Military Patriotic Social Movement "Young Army" is a youth organization supported and funded by the Government of Russia through the Ministry of Defence of Russia (MOD) with a mission to train future personnel for the uniformed services. Established in October 2015, its purposes are to instill the values of patriotism, national service, national and military history, remembrance of past military operations and campaigns and of the fallen of its armed forces, and to help develop the country as its population grows.
Central Military Band of the Ministry of Defense of Russia, also known as the Red Army Band is a military band unit of the Russian Armed Forces. It is a branch of the Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of Russia. The current head of the band is Colonel Sergey Durygin.
Nikolay Mikhaylovich Mikhaylov was a Soviet military conductor. He was the Senior Director of the Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union from 1976 to 1993.
The Band of the 154th Preobrazhensky Regiment is a special military unit that is the official regimental band for the 154th Preobrazhensky Independent Commandant's Regiment. It is a branch of the Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of Russia. The band serves the entire Moscow Region, which earned it the nickname HQ Band of the Moscow Garrison. A notable member was Konstantin Petrovich, who later served in the band of the guard of honour and the band of the defence ministry, as well as Semyon Milsyteyn, a Russian-Soviet trumpeter and former soloist in the band.
The Military Band of the Eastern Military District is a military band unit of the Russian Armed Forces. It is a branch of the Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of Russia. The band mainly performs in Khabarovsk and in cities in the Eastern Military District. It is the oldest creative collective in the Russian Far East.
Russian military bands fall under the jurisdiction of the Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of Russia, which is the official music service for the Russian Armed Forces, and led by the Senior Director of Music, a billet of an officer with the rank of a Colonel or a general officer. There are between 200 and 300 military bands in the Russian Armed Forces that span across the military as well as all uniformed services in the country. All bands, active or reserve, are composed of graduates from the military music training centers stationed anywhere in the country, as well as of civilian conservatories. While choirs may be attached to military bands, individual staff choirs do not exist in the Russian Armed Forces, since they have attached instrumental ensembles or orchestras. As of 2009, all military musicians are paid around 13,000 rubles ($169.65) for their service in the Armed Forces and other uniformed organizations.
A House of Officers, sometimes officially referred to as the Central House of Officers or Officer Houses, is a military and cultural institution originating in the Soviet Army and present today in the Russian Armed Forces and the militaries of many Post-Soviet states. Being the Russian/Soviet equivalent to military officers' clubs in the United States, it effectively serves as cultural center serving to represent the military and to improve civil–military relations. It can be an independent formation in the national defence ministry or a public entity like a club-houses. In the early days of the Soviet Union the institution was called the House of the Red Army. The head of the building is a senior officer, usually with the rank of a Major or above.
The Military Logistics Academy, officially known as the Military Academy of Logistical Support "General of the Army A. V. Khrulyov" a subordinate school of the Russian Ground Forces, is located in the northern city Saint Petersburg. It was created in 1918. It trains officers and NCO's for the rear services and the Transportation Forces. It is currently led by Lieutenant General Andrey Toporov.
The Military Commandant of Moscow is an administration unit of the Military Police under the Ministry of Defence in the Russian capital of Moscow. The current Commandant of Moscow is Lieutenant General Yevgeny Seleznev. The Office of the Commandant supervises all work regarding to military activities in the federal capital city, and is the lead organizer of all national ceremonial activities within the capital's vicinity and its metropolitan region involving the Armed Forces as a whole.
Andrey Valeryevich Kartapolov is a Russian politician and former army officer of the Russian Army. From 30 July 2018 to October 2021 he served as Deputy Defence Minister, and headed the Main Military-Political Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces. He had commanded the Western Military District from 2015 to 2016, and again from 2017 to 2018. Kartapolov has held the rank of colonel general since 2015. He is currently a member of parliament, a deputy of the State Duma, elected on 19 September 2021.
Aleksandr Yuryevich Chaiko is a Russian army officer and alleged war criminal who was formerly the commander of the Eastern Military District from 12 November 2021 until he was replaced with Rustam Muradov on October 7, 2022. He was awarded the title Hero of the Russian Federation in 2020, and is a colonel general as of 2021.
Pavel Anatolyevich Popov, is a retired Russian army officer who was the Deputy Minister of Defense between 7 November 2013 and 17 June 2024. He holds the rank of General of the Reserve Army.
Curiously, the East German Army retained the old Prussian military goose step until December 1989.