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 ...
has a number of military academies of different specialties. This article primarily lists institutions of the
Armed Forces of the Russian Federation rather than those of the
Soviet Armed Forces
The Armed Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, also known as the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union, the Red Army (1918–1946) and the Soviet Army (1946–1991), were the armed forces of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republi ...
.
Russian institutions designated as an "academy" are
post-graduate
Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...
professional military schools for experienced commissioned officers who graduated from
higher military school or
military training center within civilian
university
A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
and have some years of active duty service after graduation. Thus, military academies are educational institutions conducting the advance training career commissioned officer programmes. These programmes are named magistratura () and take 2 years. Military academies are the second (operational-tactical) level of officer training. Their graduates can be appointed to battalion/regiment/brigade commander or equivalent positions.
At the moment, some military academies also conduct programmes for the training of
warrant officers
Warrant officer (WO) is a Military rank, rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ...
and
commissioned officers .
A special case is
Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia which is the third (strategic) level of officer training. This academy prepares highest ranking military officers. The educational programme at Military Academy of the General Staff takes 2 years.
Admission
Magistratura (operational-tactical level)
Officer wishing to join the program shall comply with the entry requirements illustrated below
Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces (strategic level)
Officer wishing to join the program shall comply with the entry requirements illustrated below
Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces
In 1936,
Leonid Govorov
Leonid Aleksandrovich Govorov (; – 19 March 1955) was a Soviet Union, Soviet military commander. Trained as an artillery officer, he joined the Red Army in 1920. He graduated from several Soviet military academies, including the Military Aca ...
founded the current
General Staff Academy in Moscow. It has been the senior Russian professional school for officers in their late 1930s. The "best and the brightest" senior commissioned officers of all forces are selected to attend this most prestigious of all Soviet military academies. Students are admitted to the Academy in the
ranks of lieutenant colonel,
colonel
Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
, and Major General (one star). Most are colonels or newly promoted generals. Previous names include: Marshal Voroshilov Military Academy of the WPRA General Staff; General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR; General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
Magistratura level military academies
General-purpose Military Academies
S. M. Kirov Military Medical Academy
The
S. M. Kirov Military Medical Academy () in Saint Petersburg was established in 1798. Senior medical staff are trained for the Armed Forces and conduct research in military medical services. The institution also provides advanced training for mid-career military medical doctors and trains graduate students to Ph.D. level.
Krasnodar Higher Military School named for Army General S.M. Shtemenko
The academy was founded in 1929. Since 1954, it is located in
Krasnodar
Krasnodar, formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern Russia, with a population of 1,154,885 residents, and up to 1.263 millio ...
.
Military University of Radioelectronics
The academy was founded in 1957 in
Cherepovets.
Military Academies of the Ground Forces
Budyonny Military Academy of the Signal Corps
The
Budyonny Military Academy of the Signal Corps () was created in 1932 in
Leningrad
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
. It is named after
Semyon Budyonny
Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny ( rus, Семён Миха́йлович Будённый, Semyon Mikháylovich Budyonnyy, p=sʲɪˈmʲɵn mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ bʊˈdʲɵnːɨj, a=ru-Simeon Budyonniy.ogg; – 26 October 1973) was a Russian and ...
. It trains the Russian military's future signals and communications experts.
Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation

In 1918 the
Frunze Military Academy
The M. V. Frunze Military Academy (), or in full the Military Order of Lenin and the October Revolution, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Academy in the name of M. V. Frunze (), was a military academy of the Soviet and later the Russian Armed Forces ...
in
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
was established as the academy of the General Staff, which became the
RKKA Military Academy in 1921. It is named after
Mikhail Frunze
Mikhail Vasilyevich Frunze (; ; 2 February 1885 – 31 October 1925) was a Soviet revolutionary, politician, army officer and military theory, military theorist.
Born to a Bessarabian father and a Russian mother in Russian Turkestan, Frunze at ...
, the then USSR Minister of Defence in mid-1920s. It is roughly the equivalent of the U.S. Army's
Command and General Staff College
The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...
at
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas or the British Army's
Staff College, Camberley
Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which ...
. Officers in their late twenties up to thirty-two years at the rank of Captain or Major enter if they pass the competitive entry examinations.
In the 1930s, higher academic courses were added to the Frunze curriculum as an advanced training program for previous graduates. Later on, this program became the basis for the "Voroshilov General Staff Academy" and the Frunze Academy refocused upon combined arms ground warfare training at the tactical level. In September 1998 the Frunze Academy and the "Malinovsky Academy" were amalgamated into the
Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, on the site of the former Frunze Academy, which since 2010 is known as ''Military Educational and Scientific Centre''. The ''Military Educational and Scientific Centre'' has been the site of a number of Russian-Western joint military activities, including an
IISS conference in February 2001, and U.S.-Russian exercises.
After graduation from ''Military Educational and Scientific Center'', every graduate officer receives a diploma and a silver diamond-shaped badge which has to be worn on the right side of his uniform or civilian clothes above all other military or civilian decorations or ribbon bars.
Mikhailovskaya Military Artillery Academy
The Mikhailovskaya Artillery Military Academy () in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
dates back to 1698. In 1849 it was named ''Mikhailovskaya'' after
Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich of Russia. In 1925 it merged into the Red Army Military Technical Academy, was restored in 1953 as
Kalinin Artillery Military Academy () as a spin-off of the Dzerzhinsky Academy, and in 1995 went back to the Grand Duke's name.
Military Academy of Field Anti-Aircraft Defense
Military Academy of Field Anti-Aircraft Defense () was founded in 1970 in
Smolensk
Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow.
First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...
.
Military Logistics Academy

The
Military Logistics Academy () was created in 1918 in Leningrad. It trains officers and NCO's for the various Armed Forces
rear services and the Army Transportation Force, a part of the rear services. One of its graduates is
Igor Levitin, a former Russian
Minister of Transport.
NBC Protection Military Academy
Timoshenko NBC Protection Military Academy () was established in 1932 in Moscow. It is named after
Semyon Timoshenko
Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko (; ; – 31 March 1970) was a Soviet military commander, Marshal of the Soviet Union, and one of the most prominent Red Army commanders during the Second World War.
Born to a Ukrainian family in Bessarabia, ...
. Its duties are for the training of officers and NCOs in chemical warfare and defence. It is located in
Kostroma
Kostroma (, ) is a historic city and the administrative center of Kostroma Oblast, Russia. A part of the Golden Ring of Russian cities, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Volga and Kostroma. In the 2021 census, the population is 267, ...
in Kostroma Oblast and has now opened its doors to engineering cadets as well.
Military Academies of the Navy
Kuznetsov Naval Academy
Formerly known as Marshal
Andrey Grechko Naval Academy, the
Kuznetsov Naval Academy is located in St. Petersburg and is the Russian Navy's only senior service school. The students are lieutenants commander, commanders, and some captains, with ages from 30–35 years. All naval officers (including naval aviation) holding positions of Executive Officers, Commanding Officers, formation, fleet, or naval staff command positions are graduates of this academy. First established in 1827 as the Advance Officers' Class of the
Imperial Russian Navy and later the Nikolayev Naval Academy and reorganized as the Petrograd Maritime Academy in 1917, and at various times renamed as the WPRF Naval Academy, the Marshal of the Soviet Union Kliment Voroshilov Naval Academy and the Marshal of the Soviet Union Andrey Grechko Naval Academy, it gained its current name and title in 1990.
Military Academies of the Aerospace Forces
A.F. Mozhaysky Military-Space Academy
This is the academy responsible for the training of officers of the
Russian Aerospace Defence Forces, the armed forces' youngest branch of service. It was most recently renamed the Military Space Engineering Academy in November 2002.
Zhukov Air and Space Defence Academy
The academy, formed in 1956, is named after
Soviet Marshal Georgy Zhukov
Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov ( 189618 June 1974) was a Soviet military leader who served as a top commander during World War II and achieved the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union. During World War II, Zhukov served as deputy commander-in-ch ...
.
Zhukovsky – Gagarin Air Force Academy
The Gagarin Military Air Academy is located at
Monino, northeast of Moscow, in an area closed to foreigners, nearby the Central Air Force Museum. Almost all the senior officers in the Soviet Air Force have attended this academy. It is charged with the preparation of "command cadres of various aviation specialties and is a research center for working out problems of operational art of the Air Force and tactics of branches and types of aviation."
Military Academies of the Strategic Rocket Forces
Peter the Great Military Academy of the Strategic Missile Forces
The Academy descended from Mikhailovskaya Artillery Academy of
Imperial Russia
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imperial, Nebraska
* Imperial, Pennsylvania
* ...
created in 1820 in St. Petersburg. The Dzerzhinsky Military Academy () was created in 1932 as
F.E. Dzerzhinsky Artillery Academy (Артиллерийская академия имени Ф. Э. Дзержинского) of the "Red Army from the "Artillery Department and the Powder and Explosives" section of the Military Technical Academy's chemistry department that was disbanded at the time.
Dzerzhinsky Academy was moved from Leningrad to Moscow in 1958, the year before the
Strategic Rocket Forces
The Strategic Rocket Forces of the Russian Federation or the Strategic Missile Forces of the Russian Federation (RVSN RF; ) is a military branch, separate combat arm of the Russian Armed Forces that controls Russia's land-based intercontinenta ...
were formed. Now named the Dzerzhinsky Missile Force Academy, its main facility was 'located at Kitayskiy Proyezd 9/5, within a block' of the
Rossiya Hotel off
Red Square
Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', p=ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːɪtʲ) is one of the oldest and largest town square, squares in Moscow, Russia. It is located in Moscow's historic centre, along the eastern walls of ...
.
[Scott and Scott, The Armed Forces of the USSR, Westview Press, 1984, 373.] Other sources report that it was in the historical building of the
Moscow Orphanage. Officers in command positions in the Strategic Missile Troops would seek admission to this academy. Information about this academy was highly classified. Its two major faculties were "command" and "engineering." The Academy was renamed after Peter the Great in 1997, and its Commandant is now Colonel General (three star) Yuriy F. Kirillov.
[Scott and Scott, Russian Military Directory 2004, p.195]
Academies of other militarized agencies
Academies of the Federal Security Service
Federal Security Service Academy
Established on 25 December 1921 and relaunched on August 24, 1992, this training academy of the Russian Federal Security Service is mandated for the enhanced education of all FSS personnel in various fields of law enforcement. Since 2007, Colonel General Victor Ostroukhov is its commandant.
Academies of the Ministry of Emergency Situations
Civil Defense Academy of the Ministry of Emergency Situations
As part of the
Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia, this academy conducts magistratura training programmes for the service of the country's civil defence capabilities and disaster response services.
See also
*
Military-focused secondary schools in Russia
*
Warrant officer schools of the Russian Armed Forces
*
Military commissioning schools in Russia
*
Reserve Officer Training in Russia
*
Adjunctura in Russia
*
Military education in the Soviet Union
There existed an evolved system of military education in the Soviet Union that covered a wide range of ages. The Soviet Armed Forces had many tri-service educational opportunities as well as educational institutions for the Soviet Ground Forces, t ...
*
Academy of Foreign Intelligence
References
External links
List of Russian military educational institutionsMilitary Education list of military schools and academy at the official Ministry of Defence web site)
Moscow Defense Brief, 1/2006, January 2006 on current status Soviet Aviation Test Facilities* Scott, William F., and Harriet Fast Scott
''Air University Review'', November–December 1986, airpower.maxwell.af.mil
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soviet Military Academies