Ministry of Defence (Russia)

The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation () exercises operational leadership of the armed forces of Russia.

The Russian Minister of Defence is the nominal commander of all the armed forces, serving under the president of the Russian Federation, in whom executive authority over the military is vested. In this capacity, the minister exercises day-to-day operational authority over the armed forces. The General Staff, the executive body of the Ministry of Defence, implements instructions and orders of the defense minister. The Russian president is the commander in chief. The State Duma exercises legislative authority over the Ministry of Defence through the Government of Russia, which is nominally responsible for maintaining the armed forces at the appropriate level of readiness.

The main ministry building, built in the 1980s, is located on Arbatskaya Square, near Arbat Street. Other buildings of the ministry are located on Vozdvizhenka Street, and on the Frunzenskaya embankment.

The current Russian minister of Defence is Anatoly Serdyukov.

Historical context

The authors of the U.S. Library of Congress Country Studies' volume for Russia said in July 1996 that:

'The structure of the Russian defence ministry does not imply military subordination to civilian authority in the Western sense.Library of Congress Country Studies Russia, The historical tradition of military command is considerably different in Russia. The tsars were educated as officers,...
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