In the beginning of the second half of the 19th century Russian officials realized the need for re-organization of the Imperial Russian Army to meet new circumstances.[7] During May 1862, the War Ministry, headed by Army GeneralDmitry Milyutin, introduced to Tsar Alexander II of Russia proposals for the reorganization of the army, which included the formation of fifteen military districts. A tsarist edict of 6 August 1864, announced in a Defence Minister’s order on 10 August of the same year, established ten military districts, including Moscow. The District’s territory then comprised 12 provinces: Vladimir, Vologda, Kaluga, Kostroma, Moscow, Nizhniy Novgorod, Ryazan, Smolensk, Tambov, Tver, Tula, and Yaroslavl. The District was intended as a reinforcement source for troops and equipment, being some distance from the frontier, rather than an operational area.
The District dispatched five infantry and a cavalry division south to the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–8, as well as sending another division to the Caucasus area. This force totaled around 30,000 men and 20,000 horses. Over 80,000 men were also called into reserve units. The District also housed 21,000 Turkish prisoners of war. During the First World War over a million men were stationed in the district. Much of the garrison was involved in the October Revolution of 1917, and consequent establishment of a Soviet regime in the cities of Bryansk, Vladimir, Voronezh, Kaluga, Nizhniy Novgorod, Orel, Tver, Yaroslavl. By a resolution of the Moscow military revolutionary committee on 17 November [O.S. 4 November] 1917, Corps Commander N.I. Muralov was assigned as the new commander of the district.
Soviet Russia & Soviet Union (1917–1991)
In the period of the Russian Civil War and military intervention in Russia 1917 - 22 the District prepared military personnel for all the fronts and supplied the Red Army with different forms of armament and allowances. From June to the middle of September 1919 the District conducted 33 callups totalling more than 500,000 people. In Moscow the 1 Moscow Rifle Division, Warsaw revolutionary infantry regiment, and 2nd revolutionary infantry regiment were formed, and Latvian forces were brought to the Latvian Rifles Division. In Voronezh two cavalry divisions were formed, two rifle divisions and two rifle regiments in Nizhniy Novgorod, and the 16th Rifle Division in Tambov. Artillery units too were also being raised in the capital area.
After the end of Civil War in the troops of region were demobilized, as a result of which their number was reduced from 580,000 (at the end of 1920) to 85,000 in January 1923, and the District was reorganised on a peacetime basis. In the 1920s the District had 10 rifle divisions: the 1st Moscow Proletariat Red Banner Rifle Division (first formed either in December 1924 or at the beginning of 1927), the 6th Oryol; the 14th Vladimir; the 17th Nikhegorodskaya; the 18th Yaroslavskaya; the 19th Voronekhskaya; the 48th Tverskaya; the 55th Kurskaya; the 81st Kaluga; and the 84th Tula.[8] Autumn maneuvers began to be conducted yearly here in the district. The 2nd Rifle Corps was stationed in the district from 1922 to 1936. In the beginning of the 1930 tanks started to be introduced, including the MS or T-18, T-26, T-27, BT, T-28, and the heavy T-35. In 1930 the first mechanized infantry brigade in the Soviet Army was formed in the district.
The Russian Ground Forces' official site notes that the first tactical parachute landing took place in the District on 2 August 1930.
In World War II the District formed three fronts, 23 armies, 128 divisions of all arms, and 197 brigades of all arms, an approximate total of 4.5 million men. In 1944–5 alone the District sent to the front 1,200,000 soldiers. From summer 1945 to summer 1946, in order to supervise the demobilisation process, the District was subdivided into four: the Moscow, Voronezh (1949–60), Gorki (1945—1947, 1949—1953) (where the 324th Rifle Division was probably demobilised), and Smolensk Military Districts (33rd Army, home from Germany, formed Smolensk MD headquarters in late 1945). General Kirill Moskalenko took command of the District in 1953 and would later be a Marshal of the Soviet Union after leaving his post.
On 22 February 1968, for the large contribution to the cause of strengthening the defense of the state, for its successes in combat and political training, and in view of the 50th anniversary of the Soviet Army plus its important role in the 2nd World War, the District was awarded with the Order of Lenin.
In 1979 Scott and Scott reported the HQ address as being Moscow, A-252, Chapayevskiy Per., Dom 14.
Post-Soviet era (1991–2010)
With the collapse of the USSR the District became for the first time in its history a boundary district and thus a new priority was put on building up combat forces within it, rather than the training and capital garrison focus of the Soviet period.
In the early 1990s the District received the headquarters of the First Guards Tank Army from the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. It was relocated to Smolensk, and consisted of the 4th Guards Tank Division and 144th Guards Motor Rifle Division (at Yelnya). In July 1992 the 336th Independent Helicopter Regiment returned from Germany to Oreshkovo airfield and was placed under the Moscow Military District. The regiment then came under 1st Guards Tank Army from 31 December 1992.[11] The 1st Guards Tank Army's headquarters disbanded later in the 1990s, along with the 144th Guards MRD. In addition, the 6th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade was withdrawn from Germany and restationed at Kursk.
The 22nd Army Headquarters was reformed from 13th Army Corps in the early 1990s, to control the new 3rd Motor Rifle Division among other formations. The 22nd Army had previously been inactive for a long period; it was last operational immediately after the war (when it participated in the Second Rzhev-Sychevka Offensive in late 1942) when its HQ along with the 109th Rifle Division arrived in the South Ukraine in May 1945. In the Northern summer of 1945, together with the headquarters of the Separate Coastal Army, located in the Crimea, it was reorganised as the new but short-lived Tavria Military District.
On 1 June 1997 the 59th Guards Motor Rifle Division in Transdnestr, Moldova, was reorganised as the 8th Guards Independent Motor-Rifle Brigade with four motor-rifle battalions, one tank battalion, two artillery battalions, and an anti-tank battalion plus other combat support and support units.[12] After several years reporting directly to the General Staff, the Operational Group of Russian Forces in Moldova was realigned under the command of the Moscow Military District in 1998.[13] Previously the 14th Guards Army (it was renamed in April 1995[14]), forces and individuals from this command played a major part in the early 1990s in establishing and maintaining the Transnistrian separatists of the Transnistria as a viable de facto state.
On 21 December 2022, citing the influx of conscripts from the 2022 Russian mobilization, Russian Minister of DefenceSergei Shoigu announced that the Moscow Military District was being re-established, alongside the Leningrad Military District.[15][16] On 20 March 2024, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced formation of the new 69th Motor Rifle Division and renewed 34th Guards Artillery Division as part of the Moscow Military District.[16]
Cold war
Order of battle c. 1989
Units directly subordinated to the District HQ
District Command and Headquarters (Управление командующего и штаб) - Moscow, RSFSR[17]
367th Separate Staff Security and Supply Battalion (367-й отдельный батальон охраны и обеспечения штаба) - Moscow
1st Separate Rifle Brigade for Security of the Ministry of Defence premises (1-я отдельная стрелковая бригада охраны МО) - Moscow (Feskov et al 2013, p505). Activated 1 October 1967 in Moscow, Moscow Oblast, from the 4th independent Regiment for Protection.
11th Separate Cavalry Regiment (11-й отдельный кавалерийский полк) - Alabino, Moscow Oblast, RSFSR (the regiment was a horse-riding display unit actually formed in 1962 at the suggestion of film director Sergei Bondarchuk for the filming of historical dramas)
16th Separate SpezNaz Brigade (16-я отдельная бригада специального назначения) - Chuchkovo, Ryazan Oblast, RSFSR
53rd Separate Radio-technical Brigade OsNaz (53-я отдельная радиотехническая бригада ОсНаз) - Kaluga, Kaluga Oblast, RSFSR (GRU formation operationally attached to the district)
312th Separate Radio-technical Regiment OsNaz (312-й отдельный радиотехнический полк ОсНаз) - Smolensk, Smolensk Oblast, RSFSR (GRU formation operationally attached to the district)
225th Separate Radio-electronic Warfare Regiment (225-й отдельный полк РЭБ) - Novomoskovsk, Tula Oblast, RSFSR (EW Directorate of the General Staff's (Управление РЭБ ГШ СССР) unit operationally attached to the district)
227th Separate Radio-electronic Warfare Regiment (227-й отдельный полк РЭБ) - Kursk, Kursk Oblast, RSFSR (EW Directorate of the General Staff's (Управление РЭБ ГШ СССР) unit operationally attached to the district)
1384th Separate Radio-electronic Warfare Battalion (1384-й отдельный батальон РЭБ) Kursk (EW Directorate of the General Staff's (Управление РЭБ ГШ СССР) unit operationally attached to the district)
106th Guards, awarded the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Kutuzov Airborne Landing Division (106-я гвардейская воздушно-десантная Краснознамённая, ордена Кутузова дивизия) - Tula, Tula Oblast, RSFSR (VDV division operationally attached to the district)
9th Separate Nuclear Blast Detection and Reconnaissance Regiment (9-й отдельный ордена Красной Звезды полк засечки и разведки ядерных взрывов) - Bobrov, Voronezh Oblast, RSFSR
? Signals Nod (?-й узел связи) - Moscow
1st Separate Sevastopolskaya, awarded the Order of the Red Banner, the Order of Alexander Nevsky and the Order of the Red Star Signals Brigade of the Supreme Command (1-я отдельная Севастопольская Краснознамённая, орденов Александра Невского и Красной Звезды бригада связи ВГК) - Khimki, Moscow Oblast, RSFSR
14th Separate Signals Brigade of the Supreme Command (14-я отдельная бригада связи ВГК) - Podolsk, Moscow Oblast, RSFSR
111th Separate Signals Brigade (111-я отдельная бригада связи) - Golitsino (possibly in Odintsovsky District), Moscow Oblast, RSFSR
112th Separate Signals Brigade for the Rear Services (112-я отдельная бригада связи тыла) - Yegoryevsk, Moscow Oblast, RSFSR
90th Separate Signals Regiment (90-й отдельный полк связи) - Kalinin, Kalinin Oblast, RSFSR
467th Guards Moskovsko-Tartuskiy Red Banner District Center for Junior Specialists (467-й гвардейский окружной учебный Московско-Тартуский Краснознамённый центр подготовки младших специалистов) - Vladimir, Vladimir Oblast, RSFSR (From October 3, 1987 on. Until then the 26th Guards Moskovsko-Tartuskaya Red Banner Tank Training Division (26-я гвардейская учебная танковая Московско-Тартуская Краснознамённая дивизия))
475th Separate Guards Signals Training Battalion (475-й отдельный учебный гвардейский батальон связи)
419th Guards Training Motor Rifle Regiment (419-й учебный гвардейский мотострелковый полк)
123rd Guards Artillery Training Regiment (123-й учебный гвардейский артполк)
422nd Air Defence Artillery Training Regiment (422-й учебный зенитный артполк)
84th Separate Ballistic Missile Training Battalion (84-й отдельный учебный ракетный дивизион)
Separate Reconnaissance Training Battalion (отдельный учебный разведывательный батальон)
105th Separate Medical Training Battalion (105-й отдельный учебный медицинский батальон)
852nd Separate Automobile Training Battalion (852-й отдельный учебный автомобильный батальон)
468th District Training Center (468-й окружной учебный центр) - Mulino, Gorkiy Oblast, RSFSR (previously the 20th Artillery Training Division, the sole artillery training division of the Soviet Ground Forces)
1685th Separate Signals Training Battalion (1685-й отдельный учебный батальон связи)
922nd Artillery Training Regiment (922-й учебный артиллерийский полк)
280th Anti-Tank Artillery Training Regiment (280-й учебный противотанковый артиллерийский полк)
932nd Artillery Reconnaissance Training Regiment (932-й учебный разведывательный артиллерийский полк)
63rd Material Support Brigade (63-я бригада материального обеспечения) (Серпухов) - Serpukhov, Moscow Oblast, RSFSR
6450th Repair and Overhaul Base (6450-я ремонтно-восстановительная база) - Kubinka
6451st Repair and Overhaul Base (6451-я ремонтно-восстановительная база) - Naro-Fominsk, Moscow Oblast, RSFSR
149th Motor Rifle Division [cadred] (149-я мотострелковая дивизия кадра) - Klintsy, Bryansk Oblast, RSFSR
196th Motor Rifle Division [cadred] (196-я мотострелковая дивизия кадра) - Kursk, Kursk Oblast, RSFSR
206th Motor Rifle Division [cadred] (206-я мотострелковая дивизия кадра) - Kalinin
16th Artillery Division [cadred] (16-я артиллерийская дивизия кадра) (converted into the 1874th Armament and Equipment Storage Base (Artillery Hardware Storage) (1874-я БХВТ (БХИ-А)) in the autumn of 1989) - Kalinin
17th Artillery Division [cadred] (17-я артиллерийская дивизия кадра) (converted into the 1875th Armament and Equipment Storage Base (Artillery Hardware Storage) (1875-я БХВТ (БХИ-А)) in the autumn of 1989) - Tambov, Tambov Oblast, RSFSR
228th Rear Area Defence Division [cadred] (228-я дивизия охраны тыла кадра) - Moscow
65th Deep Reserve Tank Division [cadred] (65-я запасная танковая дивизия кадра) - Ryazan
255th Deep Reserve Motor Rifle Division [cadred] (255-я запасная мотострелковая дивизия кадра) - Kursk
Land Forces
In addition to the ground forces divisions directly subordinated to the district HQ, the Moscow MD had the 13th Guards Army Corps as its main ground forces formation:
876th Separate Guards Combat Engineer Battalion (876-й отдельный гвардейский инженерно-сапёрный батальон) - Balakhna, Gorkiy Oblast, RSFSR
385th Separate Road and Bridge Construction Engineer Battalion (385-й отдельный инженерный дорожно-мостовой батальон) - Balakhna, Gorkiy Oblast, RSFSR
60th Sevsko-Varshavskaya, awarded the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Suvorov Tank Division (60-я танковая Севско-Варшавская Краснознамённая ордена Суворова дивизия), Gorkiy, Gorkiy Oblast, RSFSR (former 60th Rifle Div. then briefly 65th Mech Div. and 43rd Tank Div. before becoming 60th Tank Div. in 1965; transformed on March 9, 1989 into the 5409th Armament and Equipment Storage Base (5409-я БХВТ), the 5409th AESB itself disbanded on February 13, 1990, as formations from the Western Group of Forces, such as the 47th Guards Tank Division and the 31st Tank Division transferred to the 13th Guards Army Corps, which in turn expanded into the 22nd Guards Combined Arms Army)[19] (Division HQ in Gorkiy, the whole division based in Dzerzhinsk, Gorkiy Oblast, RSFSR)
Division HQ
509th Separate Signals Battalion (509-й отдельный батальон связи)
14th Guards Zhytomyrsko-Shepetovskiy, awarded the Order of the Red Banner, the Order of Suvorov and the Order of Kutuzov Tank Regiment (14-й гвардейский танковый Житомирско-Шепетовский Краснознамённый, орденов Суворова и Кутузова полк)
142nd Tank Regiment (142-й танковый полк)
272nd Tank Regiment (272-й танковый полк)
422nd Awarded the Order of the Red Banner, the Order of Suvorov, the Order of Kutuzov and the Order of Alexander Nevsky Motor Rifle Regiment (422-й мотострелковый орденов Суворова, Кутузова и Александра Невского полк)
863rd Prazhskiy, awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky Artillery Regiment (863-й артиллерийский Пражский ордена Александра Невского полк)
? Air Defence Artillery Regiment (зенитный артиллерийский полк)
? Separate Ballistic Missile Battalion (отдельный ракетный дивизион)
? Separate Reconnaissance Battalion (отдельный разведывательный батальон)
696th Separate Combat Engineer Battalion (696-й отдельный инженерно-сапёрный батальон)
Separate Chemical Defence Company (отдельная рота химической защиты)
? Separate Repair and Overhaul Battalion (отдельный ремонтно-восстановительный батальон)
491st Separate Medical Battalion (491-й отдельный медицинский батальон)
? Separate Material Supply Battalion (отдельный батальон материального обеспечения)
5347th Armament and Equipment Storage Base (5347-я БХВТ) - Tambov, Tambov Oblast, RSFSR (formerly the 89th Motor Rifle Division [cadred] (89-я мотострелковая дивизия кадра), transformed in the autumn of 1987 into the 1042nd Territorial Training Center (1042-й ТУЦ) and later in the autumn of 1989 into the 5347th AESB)
225th Motor Rifle Division [cadred] (225-я мотострелковая дивизия кадра) - Mulino, Gorkiy Oblast, RSFSR
Air Forces of the Moscow Military District
In the last days of the Soviet Union there was a considerable Soviet Air Defence Forces presence, and a smaller Air Forces presence, in the Moscow Military District. The Air Forces of the Moscow Military District consisted of a reconnaissance regiment, the 47th Guards Separate Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment at Shatalovo flying Su-24MPs, and the 9th Fighter Aviation Division (9 iad), at Kubinka, with three regiments.[20] The division incorporated the 32nd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, also at Shatalovo, with MiG-23MLDs, the 234th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment at Kubinka with MiG-29s, and the 274th Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment at Migalovo (274 apib) with Su-17s. Also part of the force was a ground signals regiment, the 131st.
There was also a transport squadron, an independent helicopter regiment, and an independent helicopter squadron for electronic warfare.
32nd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment served in Cuba as part of 'Operation Anadyr' during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1963.[21] The regiment was temporarily renamed 213th Fighter Aviation Regiment while in Cuba. It was disbanded in 1989.
In October 1990 the 1080th Red Banner Training Aviation Center for retraining of personnel im. V.P. Chkalov was activated in Borisoglebsk, Voronezh Oblast, from the 796th Center for Preparation of Officers for Fighter and Fighter-Bomber Aviation, and the Borisoglebsk Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots. It came under the command of the Air Forces of the Moscow Military District. It comprised four instructor aviation regiments, the fourth being the 343rd Fighter Aviation Regiment at Sennoy with MiG-29s.
Air Forces of the Moscow Military District (ВВС Московского военного округа)(formerly the 78th Air Army)[23]
Command and Headquarters (Командование и штаб ВВС МВО) - Moscow, RSFSR
131st Separate Signals and Automatized Command and Control Systems Regiment (131-отдельный полк связи и АСУ) - Donino village (near Ramenskoye), Moscow Oblast, RSFSR
297th Separate Helicopter Squadron for Radio-Electronic Warfare (297-я отдельная вертолётная эскадрилья радиоэлектронной борьбы (297-я овэ рэб)) - Alabino, Moscow Oblast, RSFSR - Mi-8/9
9th Red Banner Fighter Aviation Division (9-я Краснознамённая истребительная авиационная дивизия) - Kubinka, Moscow Oblast, RSFSR (designated Fighter Aviation Division for historic reasons, not due to its composition)
234th Guards Proskurovskiy, awarded the Order of the Red Banner, the Order of Kutuzov and the Order of Alexander Nevsky Fighter Aviation Regiment (234-й гвардейский истребительный авиационный Проскуровский Краснознамённый орденов Кутузова и Александра Невского полк (234-й гвиап)) - Kubinka - Su-27, MiG-29, MiG-23, Su-24M, Su-17M, Su-25, L-39 (although designated a combat aviation regiment, its main task was air display of Soviet-produced combat aircraft for foreign dignitaries and official delegations and for that reason in 1989 its designation was changed to the more fitting 237th Guards Center for Display of Aircraft Types (237-й гвардейский центр показа авиационной техники (237 ЦПАТ))
274th Aviation Regiment of Fighter-Bombers (274-й авиационный полк истребителей-бомбардировщиков (274-й апиб)) - Tver (Migalovo), Tver Oblast, RSFSR - Su-17M4
(940th Aviation Regiment of Fighter-Bombers (940-й авиационный полк истребителей-бомбардировщиков (940-й апиб)) - Rzhev, Tver Oblast, RSFSR - MiG-27))(disbanded in 1988)
(32nd Guards Vilenskiy, awarded the Order of Lenin and the Order of Kutuzov Fighter Aviation Regiment (32-й гвардейский истребительный авиационный Виленский орденов Ленина и Кутузова полк (32 гвиап)) - Shatalovo, Smolensk Oblast, RSFSR - MiG-23MLD)(disbanded in 1989)
47th Separate Guards Borisovskiy, awarded the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Suvorov Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment (47-й отдельный гвардейский разведывательный авиационный Борисовский Краснознаменный ордена Суворова полк (47-й огврап)) - Shatalovo, SMolensk Oblast, RSFSR - Su-24MR (also Su-17M3R from November 1989 on, upgraded to the Su-17M4R variant in 1991)
269th Separate Helicopter Regiment (269-й отдельный вертолётный полк (269-й овп)) - Malino, Moscow Oblast, RSFSR - Mi-24, Mi-8, Mi-2
186th Training Aviation Regiment (186-й учебный авиационный полк (186-й уап)) - Buturlinovka, Voronezh Oblast, RSFSR - MiG-21
123rd Training Aviation Regiment (123-й учебный авиационный полк (123-й уап)) - Zherdyovka, Voronezh Oblast, RSFSR - L-39 (disbanded in 1990)
TambovskoyeHigher Military School for Pilots, named afterM. M. Raskova (Тамбовское военное авиационное училище лётчиков имени М. М. Расковой) - Tambov, Tambov Oblast, RSFSR
127th Training Aviation Regiment (127-й учебный авиационный полк (127-й уап)) - Ryazhsk (Atashovo) - L-39
643rd Training Aviation Regiment (643-й учебный авиационный полк (643-й уап)) - Tula, Tula Oblast, RSFSR - L-39 (disbanded in 1990)
644th Training Aviation Regiment (644-й учебный авиационный полк (644-й уап)) - Michurinsk - L-29
652nd Training Aviation Regiment (652-й учебный авиационный полк (652-й уап)) - Tambov - Tu-134UBL
Aircraft Storage Base (обаз) - Tambov - stored MiG-23
Tambovskoye, awarded the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Lenin Higher Military Aviation Engineering School, named after F. E. Dzerzhinsky (Тамбовское высшее военное авиационное инженерное ордена Ленина Краснознаменное училище имени Ф. Э. Дзержинского) - Tambov
In addition the following formations, units and establishments were based within the Moscow Military District, but were outside the control of the district's Air Forces:
8th Aviation Division of Specific Purpose (8-я авиационная дивизия особого назначения (8-я ад он)) - Chkalovsky - subordinated directly under the Ministry of Defence. The transport aviation regiments provided airlift for high ranking government officials and repositioning of troops at very short notice. The separate squadron provided command and control.
353th Aviation Regiment of Specific Purpose (353-й авиационный полк особого назначения (353-й ап он)) - Chkalovsky - Il-62, Tu-154, Tu-134, Il-18, Il-76, An-72
354th Aviation Regiment of Specific Purpose (354-й авиационный полк особого назначения (354-й ап он)) - Chkalovsky - Il-76, Il-22, An-12, An-26, An-24
(355th Aviation Regiment of Specific Purpose (355-й авиационный полк особого назначения (355-й ап он)) - Chkalovsky - disbanded in 1989 and absorbed into the 353rd Aviation Regiment along with its Tu-134 and Tu- 154 aircraft)
Separate Composite Aviation Squadron (отдельная смешанная авиационная эскадрилья (осаэ)) - Chkalovsky - Il-80 (4 aircraft), Il-76RT (2 aircraft) (attached to the 8th ADSP for air traffic control, ground support and maintenance, but reporting directly to the Ministry of Defence. The Il-80 was the airborne command center variant of the Il-86 and the Soviet counterpart to the E-4. The four Il-80 received command task force of officers detailed from the Ministry of Defence when on airborne duty. The two Il-76RT were relay aircraft (RT - 'retranslator') and had no command task force on board. They provided Ultra high frequency link between the Soviet nuclear triad and the command centers and were equipped with drag antennae array, which could extend to a total length of 6 kilometers. The Navy's SSBNs and the Air Force's Long Range Aviation normally used alternative communications channels, so the main task for the Il-76RTs remained to provide a link to the Strategic Rocket Forces. The command and control system was designated "Chain Link" ("Звено") and included the Il-80s, the Il-76RTs, the underground silo-based 'Perimetr' and the railway-based 'Gorn' command alert missiles.)
566th Solnechnogorskiy, awarded the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Kutuzov Military Transport Aviation Regiment (566-й Солнечногорский Краснознаменный ордена Кутузова военно-транспортный авиационный полк), Seshta (near Bryansk), RSFSR - Antonov An-124
1046th Training Aviation Center (1046-й учебный авиационный центр) - Shatalovo, Smolensk Oblast, RSFSR - MiG-25RB, Su-24MR, Su-17M3R - training pilots for the reconnaissance aviation[24]
HQ 37th Air Army of the High Command (Strategic Purpose) (штаб 37-й воздушной армии ВГК СН) - Moscow, RSFSR - strategic aviation
HQ 46th Red Banner Air Army of the High Command (Strategic Purpose) (штаб 46-й воздушной армии ВГК СН) - Smolensk, SMolensk Oblast, RSFSR - strategic aviation
Order of Lenin Moscow District of Air Defence
Unlike the Air Forces of the Moscow Military District, which were part of the district, the units and formations of the Air Defence Forces were kept separate, reporting to their own Main Staff. The Moscow MD came under the air defence umbrella of the Moscow Air Defence District (Московский ордена Ленина округа ПВО), which was the sole such district within the ADF.
District Command and Staff (Командование и штаб округа) - Moscow, RSFSR
118th District Communications Nod (118-й узел связи округа) - Moscow
436th Separate Transport Aviation Regiment (436-й отдельный транспортный авиационный полк) - Stupino, Moscow Oblast, RSFSR - An-12, An-26, An-24, Mi-8
1082nd Separate Automobile Battalion of the Moscow District of Air Defence, awarded the Order of Lenin (1082-й отдельный ордена Ленина Московского Округа ПВО автомобилный батальон)
2366th Separate Cable Communications Battalion (2366-й отдельный батальон кабельной связи) - Mytishchi, Moscow Oblast, RSFSR
1081st Separate Automobile Battalion (1081-й отдельный автомобилный батальон)
1092nd Separate Automobile Battalion (1092-й отдельный автомобилный батальон)
669th Separate Equipment Service and Overhaul Battalion (669-й отдельный батальон по обслуживанию и восстановлению техники) - Istra, Moscow Oblast, RSFSR
- 26 S-300 missile air defence regiments between the four divisions -
790th Awarded the Order of Kutuzov Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Air Defence Forces (790-й истребительный авиационный ордена Кутузова полк ПВО) - Khotilovo (Noviy), Tver Oblast, RSFSR - MiG-25P/U
28th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Air Defence Forces (28-й истребительный авиационный полк ПВО) - Andreapol, Tver Oblast, RSFSR - MiG-23P/UB (not to be confused with the 28th Guards FAR)
401st Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Air Defence Forces (401-й истребительный авиационный полк ПВО) - Smolensk (Severniy), Smolensk Oblast, RSFSR - MiG-23P/UB
6 missile air defence regiments:
242nd Guards (Mozhaysk), 47th (Turginovo), 195th (Valday), 210th Red Star (Dubrovka), 713th (Narynka (Klin-10 military encampment), Klinsky District) and 1281th (Toropets)
191st Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Air Defence Forces (191-й истребительный авиационный полк ПВО) - Yefremov - MiG-23P/UB
472nd Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Air Defence Forces (472-й истребительный авиационный полк ПВО) - Kursk (Vostochny), Kursk Oblast, RSFSR - MiG-23P/UB
8 missile air defence regiments:
80th Guards (Stukalovo village near Tula), 493rd Guards Venskiy, awarded the Order of the Red Banner, the Order of Kutuzov and the Order of Alexander Nevsky (Ryazan), 108th Tulskiy (Shilovo village near Voronezh), 260th Red Banner (Bryansk), 326th (Podolsk), 559th (?), 791st (?) and 1284th (Yerdenyovo village near Maloyaroslavets)
904th Separate Radio-Relay Signals Battalion (904-й отдельный радиорелейный батальон) - Gorky
412th Separate Electronic Warfare Battalion (412-й отдельный батальонРЭБ) - Gorky
2 fighter aviation regiments
153rd Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Air Defence Forces (153-й истребительный авиационный полк ПВО) - Morshansk, Tambov Oblast, RSFSR - Su-15 (converted to MiG-31 in 1990)
786th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Air Defence Forces (786-й истребительный авиационный полк ПВО) - Pravdinsk, Gorky Oblast, RSFSR - MiG-31
371st Guards Bobruysko-Berlinskiy, awarded the Order of the Red Banner, the Order of Alexander Nevsky, the Order of Kutuzov and the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky (Kosteryovo, Vladimir Oblast), 291st (Neya village, Kostroma Oblast), 356th (Sharya, Kostroma Oblast) and 387th (Arzamas 16)(often mentioned as the most secretive closed city within the USSR)
The District had around 75,000 troops assigned and consisted of the following formations. The entire Ground Forces began to go through a major reorganisation (the 2008 Russian military reform), which apparently began in March 2009, in which armies become operational commands and divisions were redesignated brigades.
1st Separate Rifle Brigade for Security of the Ministry of Defence premises (1-я отдельная стрелковая бригада охраны МО) - Moscow. Disbanded 2008, and absorbed by the 27th independent Guards Motor Rifle Brigade.[25]
In addition to normal units, the district was home at least until 2001 to the 11th Separate Cavalry Regiment (ru:11-й отдельный кавалерийский полк), a unit used for producing war films.[27] The unit was based at Kobyakovo.
^Father's little watchman, Time magazine, 1950. Time says Air Defence Forces, but this is incorrect. Exact time period from Holm/Feskov et al 2013 (ref 9).
^Drozdov, Sergey. ""Была такая авиация... Эхо былой воздушной мощи" [There Was Such Aviation... Echo of Air Power Past]". Авиация и космонавтика [Aviation and Spaceflight]. March 2016: 6.
^ abDrozdov, Sergey. ""Была такая авиация... Эхо былой воздушной мощи" [There Was Such Aviation... Echo of Air Power Past]". Авиация и космонавтика [Aviation and Spaceflight]: 29.
Feskov, V. I., Golikov, V. I., Kalashnikov, K. A., Slugin, S. A., (authors collective) (2013). Вооруженные Силы СССР после Второй мировой войны: от Красной Армии к Советской (часть 1: Сухопутные войска) [The Soviet Armed Forces after WWII: from the Red Army into the Soviet Army (Volume 1: Land Forces)]. Tomsk: ООО «Издательство научно-технической литературы» [Scientific and Technical Literature Publishing House Ltd.] ISBN978-5-89503-530-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Galeotti, Mark (2017). The Modern Russian Army 1992–2016. Elite 217. Oxford: Osprey. ISBN978-1-47281-908-6.
Harriet Fast Scott and William F Scott, The Armed Forces of the USSR, Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado, 1979.
Order of Lenin Moscow Military District, translation of Russian 'Ordena lenina moskovskii voennyi okrug' by Air Force Foreign Technology Division, 1973. Original publication Moscow: Voenizdat (Military Publishing House), 1971