The Order of the Red Banner Central Military District () is a military district of

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. It is one of the five military districts of the

Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military of Russia. They are organized into three service branches—the Russian Ground Forces, Ground Forces, Russian Navy, Navy, and Russi ...

, with its

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...

primarily within the central

Volga The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...

, Ural and

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

regions of the country and Russian bases in

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

post-Soviet states The post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union or the former Soviet republics, are the independent sovereign states that emerged/re-emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to their independence, they ...

. The Central Military District was created as part of the 2008 military reforms, and founded by

Presidential Decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, royal figure, or other relevant authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislative laws, or customary l ...

No.1144 signed on September 20, 2010, as an amalgamation of the Volga–Urals Military District and a majority of the Siberian Military District. The district began operation on October 21, 2010, under the command of Lieutenant-General Vladimir Chirkin.Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 20 сентября 2010 года № 1144 «О военно-административном делении Российской Федерации»
The Central Military District is the largest military district in Russia by geographic size at (40% of Russian territory) and population at 54.9 million people (39%). The district contains 29 of the 85 federal subjects of Russia:

Altai Krai Altai Krai (, ) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai). It borders, clockwise from the west, Kazakhstan ( East Kazakhstan Region, Abai Region and Pavlodar Region), Novosibirsk and Kemerovo, and the Altai Republic. The krai's administrative ce ...

Altai Republic The Altai Republic, also known as the Gorno-Altai Republic, is a republic of Russia located in southern Siberia. The republic borders Kemerovo Oblast to the north, Khakassia to the northeast, Tuva to the east, Altai Krai to the west, as well ...

Bashkortostan Bashkortostan, officially the Republic of Bashkortostan, sometimes also called Bashkiria, is a republic of Russia between the Volga river and the Ural Mountains in Eastern Europe. The republic borders Perm Krai to the north, Sverdlovsk Oblast ...

Chelyabinsk Oblast Chelyabinsk Oblast; , is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an oblast) of Russia in the Ural Mountains region, on the border of Europe and Asia. Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Chel ...

Chuvashia Chuvashia, officially known as Chuvash Republic — Chuvashia, is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. It is the homeland of the Chuvash people, a Turkic languages, Turkic ethnic group. Its capital city, capital i ...

Irkutsk Oblast Irkutsk Oblast (; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in southeastern Siberia in the basins of the Angara River, Angara, Lena River, Lena, and Nizhnyaya Tunguska Rivers. The administrative center is ...

Kemerovo Oblast Kemerovo Oblast (, ), also known as Kuzbass (, ), after the Kuznetsk Basin, is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Kemerovo is the administrative center and largest city of the oblast. Kemerovo Oblast is one of Rus ...

Khakassia Khakassia (), officially the Republic of Khakassia, is a republic of Russia located in southern Siberia. It is situated between Krasnoyarsk Krai to the north and the Altai Republic to the south. The capital city of Khakassia is Abakan, and the ...

Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug–Yugra, also known as Khanty-Mansia (Khantia-Mansia), is a federal subject of Russia (an autonomous okrug of Tyumen Oblast). It has a population of 1,532,243 as of the 2010 Census. Its administrative center is lo ...

Kirov Oblast Kirov Oblast ( rus, Кировская область, p=ˈkʲirəfskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) located in Eastern Europe. Its administrative center is the city of Kirov. As of the 2010 census, the population ...

Krasnoyarsk Krai Krasnoyarsk Krai (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (a krai) of Russia located in Siberia. Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Krasnoyarsk, the second-largest city in Siberia after ...

Kurgan Oblast Kurgan Oblast () is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Kurgan. According to the 2021 Census, the population was 776,661, down from 910,807 recorded in the 2010 Census. History Formed by De ...

Mari El Mari El,; ; officially the Mari El Republic, is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is in the European Russia, European region of the country, along the northern bank of the Volga River, and administratively part of the Volga Federal ...

, Mordovia, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug,

Novosibirsk Oblast Novosibirsk Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast) located in southwestern Siberia. Its administrative center, administrative and economic center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of N ...

Omsk Oblast Omsk Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in southwestern Siberia. The oblast has an area of . Its population is 1,977,665 (Russian Census (2010), 2010 Census) with the majority, 1.12 million, ...

Orenburg Oblast Orenburg Oblast (also Orenburzhye) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), mainly located in Eastern Europe. Its administrative center is the city of Orenburg. From 1938 to 1957, it bore the name Chkalov Oblast in honor of Valery Chkal ...

Penza Oblast Penza Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Penza. As of the Russian Census (2010), 2010 Census, its population was ...

Perm Krai Perm Krai (, ; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a Krais of Russia, krai), located in Eastern Europe. Its administrative center is Perm, Russia, Perm. The population of the krai was 2,532,405 (2021 Russian census, 2021 ...

Samara Oblast Samara Oblast (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Samara. From 1935 to 1991, it was known as Kuybyshev Oblast. As of the Rus ...

Saratov Oblast Saratov Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Volga Federal District. Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Saratov. As of the 2021 Russian cens ...

Sverdlovsk Oblast Sverdlovsk Oblast ( rus, Свердловская область, Sverdlovskaya oblastʹ, p=svʲɪrdˈlofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject (an oblast) of Russia located in the Ural Federal District. Its administrative center is the c ...

Tatarstan Tatarstan, officially the Republic of Tatarstan, sometimes also called Tataria, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. It is a part of the Volga Federal District; and its capital city, capital and largest city i ...

Tomsk Oblast Tomsk Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It lies in the southeastern West Siberian Plain, in the southwest of the Siberian Federal District. Its administrative center is the types of inhabited loca ...

Tuva Tuva (; ) or Tyva (; ), officially the Republic of Tyva,; , is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. Tuva lies at the geographical center of Asia, in southern Siberia. The republic borders the Federal subjects of Russia, federal sub ...

Tyumen Oblast Tyumen Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an oblast) of Russia. It is located in Western Siberia, and is administratively part of the Ural Federal District. The oblast has administrative jurisdiction over two autonomous ...

Udmurtia Udmurtia, officially the Udmurt Republic, is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. It is administratively part of the Volga Federal District. Its capital city, capital is the types of inhabited localities in Russi ...

Ulyanovsk Oblast Ulyanovsk Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It is located in the Volga Federal District. Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Ulyanovsk. It has a populat ...

. The Central Military District is headquartered in

Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg (, ; ), alternatively Romanization of Russian, romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( ; 1924–1991), is a city and the administrative centre of Sverdlovsk Oblast and the Ural Federal District, Russia. The ci ...

, and its current district commander is Lieutenant-General Valery Solodchuk, who has held the position since 15 February 2025.

History

It was reported that a new mountain motorised rifle brigade, the 55th, would be formed in

Kyzyl Kyzyl ( ) is the capital city of the Republic of Tuva within the Russian Federation. Kyzyl's population is approximately History The city was founded in 1914 as Belotsarsk. It was renamed Hem-Beldir from 1918 to 1926. When the city was the ca ...

, Tyva Republic, in 2015. The brigade was formed in November 2015. In June 2015, Leslie H. Gelb wrote that the role of the Central Military District is to "orchestrate Russian engagement in local conflicts within

, to manage Russia’s bases in

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

and

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

, and to supply reinforcements from its two armies either to the east or the west in the event of war" and that their purpose is to "forestall instability that might spill over into Russia and to remind everyone that Russia’s Armed Forces are mightier than China’s". In February 2019, there were Russian-language reports that the Central Military District (as well as the Western Military District) were to be divided, to leave a military district organisation more like the pre-2010 situation. After the signing of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement on 9 November 2020, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that Russian peacekeepers would be deployed to

Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh (, ; ) is a region in Azerbaijan, covering the southeastern stretch of the Lesser Caucasus mountain range. Part of the greater region of Karabakh, it spans the area between Lower Karabakh and Syunik Province, Syunik. Its ter ...

the following day for monitoring the cease-fire and the cessation of military actions in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone. The contingent will consist of 1,960 servicemen, 90 armored vehicles, 380 units of vehicles and special equipment mainly formed of units of the 15th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade of the Central Military District.

Component units

The following list is mostly sourced from milkavkaz, 2017.

Ground forces

* 2nd Guards Combined Arms Army (

Samara Samara, formerly known as Kuybyshev (1935–1991), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast in Russia. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with a population of over 1.14 ...

) ** 27th Guards Motor Rifle Division ** 15th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade ** 385th Guards Artillery Brigade * 41st Guards Combined Arms Army (

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and the Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 1,633,595, making it the most populous city in Siber ...

) ** 35th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade ** 74th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade ** 55th Mountain Motor Rifle Brigade * 25th Combined Arms Army (

) ** 67th Motorized Rifle Division *** 31st Motorized Rifle Regiment (Bashkortostan) *** 36th Motorized Rifle Regiment *** 37th Motorized Rifle Regiment *** 19th Tank Regiment ** 164th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade (Aleysk) ** 11th Separate Tank Brigade ** 73rd Artillery Brigade ** 75th Artillery Brigade * 3rd Army Corps ( Mulino) ** 6th Motor Rifle Division *** 54th Motor Rifle Regiment *** 57th Motor Rifle Regiment *** 10th Tank Regiment *** 27th Artillery Regiment *** 52nd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade ** 72nd Separate Motor Rifle Brigade ** 17th Heavy Duty Brigade * 90th Guards Tank Division ( Chebarkul) * 201st Military Base (

Dushanbe Dushanbe is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Tajikistan. , Dushanbe had a population of 1,564,700, with this population being largely Tajiks, Tajik. Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe, and from 1929 to 1961 as St ...

) * 232nd Rocket Artillery Brigade ( Chebarkul) (see :ru:232-я реактивная артиллерийская бригада) * 28th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade (Chebarkul) * 59th Command Brigade ( Verkhnyaya Pyshma) * 179th Signal Brigade (

) * 12th Separate Guards Engineer Brigade ( Ufa) * 15th Separate Motor Rifle Peacekeeping Brigade (Roshchinsky,

) * 1st Mobile NBC Protection Brigade ( Shikhany) * 29th Separate NBC Protection Brigade (Yekaterinburg) * 5th Separate Railway Brigade ( Abakan) * 43rd Separate Railway Brigade (Yekaterinburg) * 48th Separate Railway Brigade (Omsk) * 105th Separate Logistics Support Brigade ( Kryazh) * 106th Separate Logistics Support Brigade ( Yurga) * 24th Separate Repair and Recovery Regiment ( Karabash) * 473rd District Training Center (Yelansky,

) * 1311 Central Base for Storage and Repair of Weapons and Military Equipment (TsBHiRT) (

Military Unit Number A Military Unit Number (Russian: войсковая часть, в/ ч; Ukrainian: військова частина, в/ ч) is a numeric alternate designation for military units in the armed forces and internal troops of post-Soviet ...

42716, Verkhnyaya Pyshma), former Volga-Urals Military District;Za Uralom
/ref> - 415 tanks are relatively combat-ready (of which 289 are being preserved under dry air) * 3018 Central Tank Reserve Base (military unit 75485, 624852, Kamyshlov, Sverdlovsk Oblast)

Main Directorate of General Staff

* 3rd Guards Special Purpose Brigade (

Tolyatti Tolyatti or Togliatti ( , ; , ), known before 1964 as Stavropol, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Samara Oblast, Russia. It is the largest city in Russia which is neither the administrative center of a federal subjects of Rus ...

) * 24th Special Purpose Brigade (Novosibirsk) * 39th Separate Special Purpose Radio-Technical Brigade (Orenburg)

Airborne troops

* 31st Guards Airborne Brigade (

Ulyanovsk Ulyanovsk,, , known as Simbirsk until 1924, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River east of Moscow. Ulyanovsk has been the only Russian UNESCO Ci ...

) * 242nd Training Centre

Aerospace Forces

* 14th Air and Air Defence Forces Army (Yekaterinburg) ** 337th Separate Helicopter Regiment

Unmanned Systems Forces

* 7th Separate Unmanned Systems Reconnaissance Strike Regiment

Joint-service ceremonial units

* Military Band of the Central Military District (Yekaterinburg) * Honour Guard of the Central Military District * Song and Dance Ensemble of the Central Military District

Leadership

Volga ural military district headquarters

Commanders

* Lieutenant-General Vladimir Chirkin (9 July – 13 December 2010 (acting), 13 December 2010 – 26 April 2012) * Colonel-General

Valery Gerasimov Valery Vasilyevich Gerasimov (born 8 September 1955) is a Russian Army general (Russia), army general serving as the Chief of the General Staff (Russia), Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces and First Deputy Ministry of Defen ...

(26 April – 9 November 2012) * Major-General

Aleksandr Dvornikov Aleksandr Vladimirovich Dvornikov (; born 22 August 1961) is a former Russian army general (Russia), army general who commanded the Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war, Russian military intervention in Syria and the Russian in ...

(9 November – 24 December 2012 (interim)). * Colonel-General Nikolay Bogdanovsky (24 December 2012 – 12 June 2014) * Colonel-General Vladimir Zarudnitsky (12 June 2014 – 22 November 2017) * Lieutenant-General Aleksandr Lapin (22 November 2017 – 29 October 2022) (later Colonel General) * Major-General Aleksandr Linkov (29 October 2022 – 17 February 2023 (acting)) * Colonel-General Andrey Mordvichev (17 February 2023 – 15 May 2025) * Colonel-General Valery Solodchuk (15 May 2025 – present)

Chiefs of Staff - First Deputy Commanders

* Lieutenant General Mikhail Teplinsky (February 2019 – June 2022) (Colonel General since 8 December 2021)

Deputy commanders

* Deputy commander ** Lieutenant General Yevgeny Poplavsky (November 2018 – present) * Deputy commander for Military-Political Work and Head of the Department for Military-Political Work ** Major General Rustam Minnekaev (December 2020 – present)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* {{coord missing, Russia Military districts of the Russian Federation Military units and formations established in 2010 2010 establishments in Russia