The Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation serves as the official service of

military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the ti ...

s in active service within the Russian Armed Forces and formerly the

Soviet Armed Forces The Soviet Armed Forces, the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union and as the Red Army (, Вооружённые Силы Советского Союза), were the armed forces of the Russian SFSR (1917–1922), the Soviet Union (1922–1991), and th ...

. It is part of the Military Band Service Directorate of the

General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation The General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (russian: Генеральный штаб Вооружённых сил Российской Федерации, General'nyy shtab Vooruzhonnykh sil Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the mil ...

Senior Directors

* Major General

Semyon Tchernetsky Major General Semyon Alexanderovich Tchernetsky (Russian language, Russian:Семё́н Алекса́ндрович Черне́цкий) was a Ukrainian-born, Russian and Soviet military conductor. He is credited as the founder of modern Russia ...

(1924–1949) * Major General Ivan Petrov (1950–1958) * Major General

Nikolai Nazarov Nikolai or Nikolay is an East Slavic variant of the masculine name Nicholas. It may refer to: People Royalty * Nicholas I of Russia (1796–1855), or Nikolay I, Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855 * Nicholas II of Russia (1868–1918), or Niko ...

(1958–1976) * Major General Nikolai Mikhailov (1976–1993) * Lieutenant General Viktor Afanasyev (1993–2002) * Lieutenant General Valery Khalilov (2002–2016) * Major General Timofey Mayakin (2016–Present)

History

For a country that has not just one of the largest armed forces in the world but also has produced some of the greatest composers and musicians, the MBS-AFR is one of the oldest institutions of military music in Europe and the world, founded by Peter the Great as per Ukaz № 2319 enacted on Feb. 19, 1711, which mandated the formation of military bands and field music formations within both the Imperial Russian Army and the nascent

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from ...

following the Western practices. As both the Army's two foundation regiments (the

Preobrazhensky Regiment The Preobrazhensky Life-Guards Regiment (russian: Преображенский лейб-гвардии полк, ''Preobrazhensky leyb-gvardii polk'') was a regiment of the Imperial Guard of the Imperial Russian Army from 1683 to 1917. The P ...

and the

Semyonovsky Regiment The Semyonovsky Lifeguard Regiment (, ) was one of the two oldest guard regiments of the Imperial Russian Army. The other one was the Preobrazhensky Regiment. In 2013, it was recreated for the Russian Armed Forces as a rifle regiment, its na ...

) had their own bands and corps of drums, which would also inspire the formation of the bands and fanfare band units within the artillery and the cavalry, the age of Peter the Great, aside from laying the foundation of the armed forces, also began centuries of the Russian military band tradition, which continues until today. In the 1870s, a post called the Inspector of Naval Bands, held by composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov until its abolishment, became the starting point for the official organized arrangement of military bands. In 1922, the Inspectorate of the Military Bands of the Red Army and Navy was formed, renamed in 1955 as the current Military Band Service. In October 1924, the post of Inspector of Military Bands of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

. As of 1947, Inspectorate of Military Bands reported directly to the head of the 3rd Division of the Combat Training Department of the Soviet Army Headquarters, where it was transferred to on 1 December 1931. Its modern functions and duties were established in an order signed by the

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( United States) * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Af ...

Viktor Samsonov on 22 November 1996. In November 2007, by the approval of President Dmitry Medvedev, the band service created a charter for the conductors of garrison bands to have more authority over their events and activities. In 2011, the service celebrated 300 years of Russian military music.

Activities

Annual concert activity of the military band service began inside the hall of the Philharmonic Society of

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

in November 1813.

Senior Director of Music and regional directors

The office of Senior Director of Music of the Military Band Service is the operational and administrative leader of the service. His/her role is laid out in a decree from Soviet Defence Minister

Rodion Malinovsky Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky (russian: Родио́н Я́ковлевич Малино́вский, ukr, Родіо́н Я́кович Малино́вський ; – 31 March 1967) was a Soviet military commander. He was Marshal of the Sov ...

dating back to July 1963. Local military bands of military garrisons and units are managed by the chiefs of the military bands services of the military districts, with their appointment being as the Senior Director of Music. As such, local conductors report to the director and are accountable to him/her only.

Mass service-wide events

Over 1,000 musicians of the service divided into 40 bands participate in the annual

Victory Day Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may ob ...

parades and before 1991 the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...

and

May 1 Events Pre-1600 * 305 – Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman emperor. * 880 – The Nea Ekklesia is inaugurated in Constantinople, setting the model for all later cross-in-square Orthodox churches. *1169 – N ...

parades as well. The service is an active sponsor of the annual

Spasskaya Tower Military Music Festival and Tattoo The Spasskaya Tower International Military Music Festival is an annual military music event and military tattoo held in Moscow on Red Square. Participating in the festival are Russian and foreign military bands, folk groups, and honor guard units o ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

. Joint military concerts are commonly held between the bands of the service and foreign military bands on Russian and foreign soil. Mass events were held on the service's tricentennial in 2011. Every couple of years, officials from the service conduct contests to identify the best bands in the service as well as inspections to identify those that retain the standard for bands. In 1928, the first national competition of military bands being held.

Individual bands

The military band service provides military bands for the

Kremlin Regiment The Kremlin Regiment (russian: Кремлёвский полк, Kremlyovskiy polk), also called the Presidential Regiment (russian: Президентский полк, Prezidentskiy polk), is a unique military regiment and part of the Russian F ...

and the

154th Preobrazhensky Independent Commandant's Regiment 154th Preobrazhensky Independent Commandant's Regiment serves as the official honor guard regiment of the Russian Armed Forces and serves as the main honor guard unit of the armed forces, stationed in Moscow. Aside from being the honor guard ...

during special occasions and state visit.

Composition

90th anniversary of the Central Military Band of the Ministry of Defense

The composition of the Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation include: * General Office of the Military Band Service of the Russian Defense Ministry * Exemplary Bands (bands that have specific duties and representative activities that therefore make them the seniormost in the armed forces) **

Central Military Band of the Ministry of Defense of Russia 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 ba ...

Central Navy Band of Russia The Central Exemplary Concert Band of the Russian Navy "Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov" ( Russian:Центральный концертный образцовый оркестр ВМФ им. Н.А. Римского-Корсакова), also known as the C ...

** Exemplary Military Band (Honor Guard) * Training Schools ** Military University College of Military Music and Military Band Conductors School (formerly the Military Bandmaster department of the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory) ** Moscow Suvorov Military Music College Lieutenant-General VM Khalilov * Regional Bands ** Headquarters bands of military districts ** Unit bands ** Bands of

groups of forces A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

and separate armies ** Bands of

naval fleet A fleet or naval fleet is a large formation of warships – the largest formation in any navy – controlled by one leader. A fleet at sea is the direct equivalent of an army on land. Purpose In the modern sense, fleets are usually, but not ne ...

s and marine bases * Bands within military units and formations and in military schools Not under the armed forces but affiliated to the Band Service: *

Presidential Band of the Russian Federation The Presidential Band of the Commandant's Office of the Moscow Kremlin of the Federal Protective Service of the Russian Federation (Russian language, Russian:Президентский оркестр Службы коменданта Москов� ...

– under the

of the Federal Protective Service * Military Band Service of the National Guard of Russia * Military Band Service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia * Central Band of the Border Guard Service of the Federal Security Service of Russia * Police Band Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia The Band of the Moscow Garrison is in that it consists of the 190 quality musicians who come together from different exemplary bands throughout the former

Moscow Military District The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010 it was merged with the Leningrad Military D ...

. At one time, it included the Headquarter Band of the MVO, the Combined Band of the Internal Troops, the Band of the Military Institute of Military Conductors, the Band of the Military Academy of the Strategic Rocket Forces, the Band of the Moscow Higher Military Command School, and the Band of the 147 Automobile Base of the Ministry of Defense. The support all important state events and special events in the Russian capital, including

military parades A military parade is a formation of soldiers whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as drilling or marching. The military parade is now almost entirely ceremonial, though soldiers from time immemorial up until the lat ...

on Red Square and international music festivals.

Current Formation of Massed Bands

Formation in Moscow * Chromatic Fanfare Trumpets, Field Drums, 1st Glockenspiels * Trumpets, Cornets, Flugelhorns * 1st Trombones * 1st and 2nd Marching Percussion ** Snare drums ** Bass drums and Cymbals ** Turkish crescents ** 2nd Glockenspiels * 2nd Trombones * Horns, Mellophones * Clarinets, Oboes, Saxophones, Bassoons, Flutes and Piccolos * Baritone horns, Tenor horns, Saxhorns * Euphoniums, Wagner Tubas, Tubas, Sousaphones Formation in St Petersburg Orchestra of the St

* Chromatic Fanfare Trumpets (optional) * Field Drums (optional) * Trumpets * 1st Trombones, Horns and Woodwinds ** Clarinets, Saxophones * Marching Percussion ** Snare Drums ** Bass drums ** Cymbals ** Turkish crescent (since 2011) ** Glockenspiels * 2nd Trombones and Horns * 2nd Woodwinds ** Clarinets, Oboes, Bassoons, Flutes, Piccolos ** Saxophones * Saxhorns, Baritone and tenor horns, Euphoniums, Wagner tubas * Tubas, Sousaphones (optional) Formation in Yekaterinburg * Chromatic Fanfare Trumpets * Field Drums (optional) * Trumpets, Cornets * Trombones and Horns * Saxophones * Clarinets, Oboes, Bassoons, Flutes, Piccolos * Marching Percussion ** Snare Drums ** Bass drums ** Cymbals ** Turkish crescent ** Glockenspiels * Saxhorns, Baritone and tenor horns, Euphoniums, Wagner tubas * Tubas, Sousaphones (optional)

Symbols

File:Great emblem of the Special Exemplary Military Band of the Guard of Honor Battalion of Russia.svg, Emblem File:Great emblem of the Military Band Service of the Russian Armed Forces.svg, Variant Emblem File:Mo narznaki113 1.png, Shoulder patch File:USSR Military musicians emblem.jpg, Shoulder Patch (1960-1991) File:Mo narznaki114 1.png, Patch for Organs of the Military Band Service Directorate File:Mo narznaki115 1.png, Patch of the Moscow Military Conservatory File:Mo narznaki116 1.png, Patch of the Moscow Military Music College File:Mo narznaki117 1.png, Patch of the Band of the Ministry of Defence The emblems and patches of the band service were adopted by order of Defence Minister

Sergei Ivanov Sergei Borisovich Ivanov ( rus, Сергей Борисович Иванов, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej bɐˈrʲisəvʲɪtɕ ɪvɐˈnof; born 31 January 1953) is a Russian senior official and politician who has served as the Special Representative of ...

on 7 February 2005. Common elements of military band symbols include: * Lyre (traditional emblem of military musicians worldwide) *Red color (traditional color of the instrument cloth of military personnel in military bands) *Emblem of the Russian Armed Forces *Oak wreath