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class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle History subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-History-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Origins" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Origins"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.1</span> <span>Origins</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Origins-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Civil_War" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Civil_War"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.2</span> <span>Civil War</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Civil_War-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Polish–Soviet_War" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Polish–Soviet_War"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.3</span> <span>Polish–Soviet War</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Polish–Soviet_War-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Far_East" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Far_East"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.4</span> <span>Far East</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Far_East-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Second_World_War" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Second_World_War"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.5</span> <span>Second World War</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Second_World_War-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-The_Polish_Campaign" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_Polish_Campaign"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.5.1</span> <span>The Polish Campaign</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_Polish_Campaign-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-The_Finnish_campaigns" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_Finnish_campaigns"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.5.2</span> <span>The Finnish campaigns</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_Finnish_campaigns-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Barbarossa,_1941–1945_(Great_Patriotic_War)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Barbarossa,_1941–1945_(Great_Patriotic_War)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.5.3</span> <span>Barbarossa, 1941–1945 (Great Patriotic War)</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Barbarossa,_1941–1945_(Great_Patriotic_War)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-The_Manchurian_Campaign" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_Manchurian_Campaign"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.5.4</span> <span>The Manchurian Campaign</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_Manchurian_Campaign-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-The_Cold_War" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_Cold_War"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.6</span> <span>The Cold War</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_Cold_War-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Military_doctrine" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Military_doctrine"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.6.1</span> <span>Military doctrine</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Military_doctrine-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-The_limited_contingent_in_Afghanistan" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_limited_contingent_in_Afghanistan"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.6.2</span> <span>The limited contingent in Afghanistan</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_limited_contingent_in_Afghanistan-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-The_end_of_the_Soviet_Union" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_end_of_the_Soviet_Union"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.7</span> <span>The end of the Soviet Union</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_end_of_the_Soviet_Union-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Structure_and_leadership" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Structure_and_leadership"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Structure and leadership</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Structure_and_leadership-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Personnel" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Personnel"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Personnel</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Personnel-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Personnel subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Personnel-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Ranks_and_titles" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Ranks_and_titles"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.1</span> <span>Ranks and titles</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Ranks_and_titles-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-General_Staff" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#General_Staff"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.2</span> <span>General Staff</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-General_Staff-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Military_education" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Military_education"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.3</span> <span>Military education</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Military_education-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Manpower_and_enlisted_men" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Manpower_and_enlisted_men"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.4</span> <span>Manpower and enlisted men</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Manpower_and_enlisted_men-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Ethnic_Composition_and_Tension" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Ethnic_Composition_and_Tension"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.5</span> <span>Ethnic Composition and Tension</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Ethnic_Composition_and_Tension-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Purge" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Purge"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.6</span> <span>Purge</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Purge-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Party_control_of_the_Armed_Forces" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Party_control_of_the_Armed_Forces"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>Party control of the Armed Forces</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Party_control_of_the_Armed_Forces-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Weapons_and_equipment" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Weapons_and_equipment"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>Weapons and equipment</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Weapons_and_equipment-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Notes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Notes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8</span> <span>Notes</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Notes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Further_reading" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Further_reading"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">10</span> <span>Further reading</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Further_reading-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">11</span> <span>External links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Soviet Armed Forces</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 40 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-40" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">40 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AA_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%A9_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%88%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%AA%D9%8A%D8%A9" title="القوات المسلحة السوفيتية – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="القوات المسلحة السوفيتية" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ast mw-list-item"><a href="https://ast.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuercies_Armaes_Sovi%C3%A9tiques" title="Fuercies Armaes Soviétiques – Asturian" lang="ast" hreflang="ast" data-title="Fuercies Armaes Soviétiques" data-language-autonym="Asturianu" data-language-local-name="Asturian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Asturianu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-az mw-list-item"><a href="https://az.wikipedia.org/wiki/SSR%C4%B0_Silahl%C4%B1_Q%C3%BCvv%C9%99l%C9%99ri" title="SSRİ Silahlı Qüvvələri – Azerbaijani" lang="az" hreflang="az" data-title="SSRİ Silahlı Qüvvələri" data-language-autonym="Azərbaycanca" data-language-local-name="Azerbaijani" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Azərbaycanca</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bn mw-list-item"><a href="https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A6%B8%E0%A7%8B%E0%A6%AD%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BC%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%A4_%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%B6%E0%A6%B8%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B0_%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B9%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%A8%E0%A7%80" title="সোভিয়েত সশস্ত্র বাহিনী – Bangla" lang="bn" hreflang="bn" data-title="সোভিয়েত সশস্ত্র বাহিনী" data-language-autonym="বাংলা" data-language-local-name="Bangla" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>বাংলা</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ba mw-list-item"><a href="https://ba.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A0_%D2%A0%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%BB%D1%8B_%D0%9A%D3%A9%D1%81%D1%82%D3%99%D1%80%D0%B5" title="СССР Ҡораллы Көстәре – Bashkir" lang="ba" hreflang="ba" data-title="СССР Ҡораллы Көстәре" data-language-autonym="Башҡортса" data-language-local-name="Bashkir" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Башҡортса</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-be mw-list-item"><a href="https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A3%D0%B7%D0%B1%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%8B%D1%8F_%D0%A1%D1%96%D0%BB%D1%8B_%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A0" title="Узброеныя Сілы СССР – Belarusian" lang="be" hreflang="be" data-title="Узброеныя Сілы СССР" data-language-autonym="Беларуская" data-language-local-name="Belarusian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Беларуская</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-be-x-old mw-list-item"><a href="https://be-tarask.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A3%D0%B7%D0%B1%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%8B%D1%8F_%D1%81%D1%96%D0%BB%D1%8B_%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A0" title="Узброеныя сілы СССР – Belarusian (Taraškievica orthography)" lang="be-tarask" hreflang="be-tarask" data-title="Узброеныя сілы СССР" data-language-autonym="Беларуская (тарашкевіца)" data-language-local-name="Belarusian (Taraškievica orthography)" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Беларуская (тарашкевіца)</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forces_Armades_de_la_Uni%C3%B3_Sovi%C3%A8tica" title="Forces Armades de la Unió Soviètica – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Forces Armades de la Unió Soviètica" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Català</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cs mw-list-item"><a href="https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozbrojen%C3%A9_s%C3%ADly_SSSR" title="Ozbrojené síly SSSR – Czech" lang="cs" hreflang="cs" data-title="Ozbrojené síly SSSR" data-language-autonym="Čeština" data-language-local-name="Czech" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Čeština</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de badge-Q70894304 mw-list-item" title=""><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streitkr%C3%A4fte_der_Sowjetunion" title="Streitkräfte der Sowjetunion – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Streitkräfte der Sowjetunion" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-et mw-list-item"><a href="https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/NSV_Liidu_relvaj%C3%B5ud" title="NSV Liidu relvajõud – Estonian" lang="et" hreflang="et" data-title="NSV Liidu relvajõud" data-language-autonym="Eesti" data-language-local-name="Estonian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Eesti</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-el mw-list-item"><a href="https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%A3%CE%BF%CE%B2%CE%B9%CE%B5%CF%84%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%AD%CF%82_%CE%88%CE%BD%CE%BF%CF%80%CE%BB%CE%B5%CF%82_%CE%94%CF%85%CE%BD%CE%AC%CE%BC%CE%B5%CE%B9%CF%82" title="Σοβιετικές Ένοπλες Δυνάμεις – Greek" lang="el" hreflang="el" data-title="Σοβιετικές Ένοπλες Δυνάμεις" data-language-autonym="Ελληνικά" data-language-local-name="Greek" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Ελληνικά</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuerzas_Armadas_Sovi%C3%A9ticas" title="Fuerzas Armadas Soviéticas – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Fuerzas Armadas Soviéticas" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C_%D9%85%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%AD_%D8%B4%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%88%DB%8C" title="نیروهای مسلح شوروی – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="نیروهای مسلح شوروی" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arm%C3%A9e_Rouge" title="Armée Rouge – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Armée Rouge" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%86%8C%EB%A0%A8%EA%B5%B0" title="소련군 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="소련군" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hy mw-list-item"><a href="https://hy.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D4%BD%D5%8D%D5%80%D5%84_%D4%B6%D5%AB%D5%B6%D5%BE%D5%A1%D5%AE_%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%AA%D5%A5%D6%80" title="ԽՍՀՄ Զինված ուժեր – Armenian" lang="hy" hreflang="hy" data-title="ԽՍՀՄ Զինված ուժեր" data-language-autonym="Հայերեն" data-language-local-name="Armenian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Հայերեն</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-id mw-list-item"><a href="https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkatan_Bersenjata_Uni_Soviet" title="Angkatan Bersenjata Uni Soviet – Indonesian" lang="id" hreflang="id" 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.infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme)>div:not(.notheme)[style]{background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme) div:not(.notheme){background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media(min-width:640px){body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table{display:table!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>caption{display:table-caption!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>tbody{display:table-row-group}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table tr{display:table-row!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table th,body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table td{padding-left:inherit;padding-right:inherit}}</style><table class="infobox" style="width:25.5em;border-spacing:2px;"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-above" style="background-color:#C3D6EF;color:inherit;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;font-size:110%;">Armed Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-subheader" style="background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;"><span title="Russian-language text"><span lang="ru">Вооружённые Силы Союза Советских Социалистических Республик</span></span><br /><i>Vooruzhonnyye Sily Soyuza Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik</i></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image" style="text-align:center;border-bottom:1px solid #aaa;line-height:1.5em;"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Communist_star_with_golden_border_and_red_rims.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Communist_star_with_golden_border_and_red_rims.svg/150px-Communist_star_with_golden_border_and_red_rims.svg.png" decoding="async" width="150" height="143" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Communist_star_with_golden_border_and_red_rims.svg/225px-Communist_star_with_golden_border_and_red_rims.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Communist_star_with_golden_border_and_red_rims.svg/300px-Communist_star_with_golden_border_and_red_rims.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="2000" data-file-height="1904" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image" style="text-align:center;border-bottom:1px solid #aaa;line-height:1.5em;"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/200px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png" decoding="async" width="200" height="100" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/300px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/400px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="600" /></a></span><div class="infobox-caption">The <a href="/wiki/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Flag of the Soviet Union">Soviet flag</a> was also being used as<br />the Banner of the USSR Armed Forces</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Founded</th><td class="infobox-data">23 February 1918<span class="noprint">; 106 years ago</span><span style="display:none"> (<span class="bday dtstart published updated">1918-02-23</span>)</span><br />(as the <a href="/wiki/Red_Army" title="Red Army">Red Army</a>)<br />25 February 1946<span class="noprint">; 78 years ago</span><span style="display:none"> (<span class="bday dtstart published updated">1946-02-25</span>)</span><br />(as the Soviet Armed Forces)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Disbanded</th><td class="infobox-data">26 December 1991<span class="noprint">; 32 years ago</span><span style="display:none"> (<span class="dtend">1991-12-26</span>)</span><br />(<a href="/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_USSR" class="mw-redirect" title="Dissolution of the USSR">Soviet Union dissolved</a>)<br />24 December 1993<span class="noprint">; 30 years ago</span><span style="display:none"> (<span class="dtend">1993-12-24</span>)</span><sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> (<a href="/wiki/United_Armed_Forces_of_the_Commonwealth_of_Independent_States" title="United Armed Forces of the Commonwealth of Independent States">United Armed Forces</a> disbanded)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/Military_branch" title="Military branch">Service branches</a></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Soviet_Army" title="Soviet Army">Soviet Army</a><br /><a href="/wiki/Soviet_Air_Forces" title="Soviet Air Forces">Soviet Air Forces</a><br /><a href="/wiki/Soviet_Air_Defence_Forces" title="Soviet Air Defence Forces">Soviet Air Defence Forces</a><br /><a href="/wiki/Strategic_Rocket_Forces" title="Strategic Rocket Forces">Strategic Rocket Forces</a><br /><a href="/wiki/Soviet_Navy" title="Soviet Navy">Soviet Navy</a><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEZickelKeefe1991697_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEZickelKeefe1991697-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><br /><a href="/wiki/Soviet_Airborne_Forces" title="Soviet Airborne Forces">Soviet Airborne Forces</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/Headquarters#Military" title="Headquarters">Headquarters</a></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Main_Building_of_the_Ministry_of_Defense_(Russia)" title="Main Building of the Ministry of Defense (Russia)">Ministry of Defence</a>, <a href="/wiki/Khamovniki_District" title="Khamovniki District">Khamovniki District</a>, <a href="/wiki/Moscow" title="Moscow">Moscow</a>, <a href="/wiki/Russian_Soviet_Federative_Socialist_Republic" title="Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic">RSFSR</a></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header" style="background-color:#C3D6EF;color:inherit;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;font-size:110%;"><a href="/wiki/Category:Military_leadership" title="Category:Military leadership">Leadership</a></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/General_Secretary_of_the_Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union">General Secretary</a></th><td class="infobox-data"><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Joseph_Stalin" title="Joseph Stalin">Joseph Stalin</a> (1922–1953)<br /> <a href="/wiki/Mikhail_Gorbachev" title="Mikhail Gorbachev">Mikhail Gorbachev</a> (1985–1991)</span></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/Minister_of_Defence_(Soviet_Union)" title="Minister of Defence (Soviet Union)">Minister of Defence</a></th><td class="infobox-data"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1126788409">.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul{line-height:inherit;list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol li,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul li{margin-bottom:0}</style><div class="plainlist"><ul><li><a href="/wiki/Nikolai_Podvoisky" title="Nikolai Podvoisky">Nikolai Podvoisky</a> (1917–1918)</li><li><a href="/wiki/Yevgeny_Shaposhnikov" title="Yevgeny Shaposhnikov">Yevgeny Shaposhnikov</a> (1991–1993)</li></ul></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/Chief_of_the_General_Staff_(Russia)" title="Chief of the General Staff (Russia)">Chief of the General Staff</a></th><td class="infobox-data"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><div class="plainlist"><ul><li><a href="/wiki/Pavel_Pavlovich_Lebedev" class="mw-redirect" title="Pavel Pavlovich Lebedev">Pavel Lebedev</a> (1921–1924)</li><li><a href="/wiki/Viktor_Samsonov" title="Viktor Samsonov">Viktor Samsonov</a> (1991–1992)</li></ul></div></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header" style="background-color:#C3D6EF;color:inherit;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;font-size:110%;">Personnel</th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Military age</th><td class="infobox-data">18–35</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/Conscription" title="Conscription">Conscription</a></th><td class="infobox-data">2 years (Army & Air Force)<br />3 years (Navy)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Available for<br />military service</th><td class="infobox-data">92,345,764 (1991), age 18–35</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Active personnel</th><td class="infobox-data">4,900,000 (1985)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/Military_reserve" title="Military reserve">Reserve personnel</a></th><td class="infobox-data">12,750,000</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header" style="background-color:#C3D6EF;color:inherit;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;font-size:110%;">Expenditure</th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/Military_budget" title="Military budget">Budget</a></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/USD" class="mw-redirect" title="USD">US$</a>128 billion (official, 1988)<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><br /><a href="/wiki/USD" class="mw-redirect" title="USD">US$</a>200-300 billion (CIA, Pentagon estimate, 1988)<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/Gross_domestic_product" title="Gross domestic product">Percent of GDP</a></th><td class="infobox-data">4.9% (official, 1988)<br />7.7–11.5% (CIA, Pentagon estimate, 1988)</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header" style="background-color:#C3D6EF;color:inherit;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;font-size:110%;">Related articles</th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">History</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Military_history_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Military history of the Soviet Union">Military history of the Soviet Union</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/Military_rank" title="Military rank">Ranks</a></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Military_ranks_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Military ranks of the Soviet Union">Military ranks of the Soviet Union</a></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>The <b>Soviet Armed Forces</b>,<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>a<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> also known as the <b>Armed Forces of the Soviet Union</b>,<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>b<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> the <a href="/wiki/Red_Army" title="Red Army">Red Army</a> (1918–1946) and the <a href="/wiki/Soviet_Army" title="Soviet Army">Soviet Army</a> (1946–1991), were the armed forces of the <a href="/wiki/Russian_Soviet_Federative_Socialist_Republic" title="Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic">Russian SFSR</a> (1917–1922) and the <a href="/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a> (1922–1991) from their beginnings in the <a href="/wiki/Russian_Civil_War" title="Russian Civil War">Russian Civil War</a> of 1917–1923 to the <a href="/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Dissolution of the Soviet Union">collapse of the USSR</a> in 1991. In May 1992, Russian President <a href="/wiki/Boris_Yeltsin" title="Boris Yeltsin">Boris Yeltsin</a> issued decrees forming the <a href="/wiki/Russian_Armed_Forces" title="Russian Armed Forces">Russian Armed Forces</a>, which subsumed much of the Soviet Armed Forces. Multiple sections of the former Soviet Armed Forces in the other, smaller Soviet republics gradually came under those republics' control. </p><p>According to the all-union military service law of September 1925, the Soviet Armed Forces consisted of the <a href="/wiki/Red_Army" title="Red Army">Ground Forces</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Soviet_Air_Forces" title="Soviet Air Forces">Air Forces</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Soviet_Navy" title="Soviet Navy">Navy</a>, the <a href="/wiki/State_Political_Directorate" title="State Political Directorate">State Political Directorate</a> (OGPU), and the <a href="/wiki/Internal_Troops" class="mw-redirect" title="Internal Troops">convoy guards</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEScottScott197913_7-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEScottScott197913-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The OGPU was later made independent and amalgamated with the <a href="/wiki/NKVD" title="NKVD">NKVD</a> in 1934, and thus its <a href="/wiki/Internal_troops" title="Internal troops">Internal Troops</a> were under the joint management of the Defence and Interior Commissariats. In 1989, the Soviet Armed Forces consisted of the <a href="/wiki/Strategic_Rocket_Forces" title="Strategic Rocket Forces">Strategic Rocket Forces</a>, the Ground Forces, the <a href="/wiki/Soviet_Air_Defence_Forces" title="Soviet Air Defence Forces">Air Defence Forces</a>, the Air Forces, and the Navy, listed in their official order of importance.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEZickelKeefe1991697_2-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEZickelKeefe1991697-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In the USSR, general <a href="/wiki/Conscription" title="Conscription">conscription</a> applied, which meant that all able-bodied males aged eighteen and older were drafted into the armed forces.<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> International observers regarded the armed organizations as collectively one of the strongest such forces in <a href="/wiki/Human_history" title="Human history">world history</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Manual_9-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Manual-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The relative advancement and development of <a href="/wiki/Government_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Government of the Soviet Union">the government's</a> militaries was a key part of <a href="/wiki/History_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="History of the Soviet Union">the history of the USSR</a>. </p><p>In the context of the <a href="/wiki/Cold_War" title="Cold War">Cold War</a>, an academic study by the <a href="/wiki/Rivalry" title="Rivalry">rival</a> <a href="/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Defense" title="United States Department of Defense">U.S. Department of Defense</a> in 1984 found that the Soviets maintained a notable reach across <a href="/wiki/Earth" title="Earth">the world</a> and particularly inside <a href="/wiki/Europe" title="Europe">Europe</a>. The analysis explicitly concluded that "Soviet armies have always been massive" while "they are also highly modernized, well-equipped, and have great firepower... [as well as] mobility", which meant that "manpower and materiel combined make the present Soviet ground forces a very formidable land army." Although Soviet <a href="/wiki/Military_strategy" title="Military strategy">military strategy</a> in general merited comment, "the ground forces constituted the largest of the five Soviet military services" as of the date the research ended.<sup id="cite_ref-Manual_9-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Manual-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Names">Names</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Soviet_Armed_Forces&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Names"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist 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.sidebar-title-with-pretitle a{color:var(--color-progressive)!important}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-list-title,html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle{background:transparent!important}html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle a{color:var(--color-progressive)!important}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .sidebar{display:none!important}}</style><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><table class="sidebar nomobile nowraplinks"><tbody><tr><th class="sidebar-title"><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Soviet Armed Forces</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-image"><span class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Frameless"><a href="/wiki/File:Red_Army_Badge.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/Red_Army_Badge.svg/170px-Red_Army_Badge.svg.png" decoding="async" width="170" height="162" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/Red_Army_Badge.svg/255px-Red_Army_Badge.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/Red_Army_Badge.svg/340px-Red_Army_Badge.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="257" data-file-height="245" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading" style="background-color:#798050; color:white"> Components</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content plainlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/General_Staff_of_the_Armed_Forces_of_the_Russian_Federation" title="General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation">General Staff</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Strategic_Rocket_Forces" title="Strategic Rocket Forces">Strategic Rocket Forces</a></li> <li><div class="hlist"><ul><li><a href="/wiki/Red_Army" title="Red Army">Red Army</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_Army" title="Soviet Army">Soviet Army</a></li></ul></div></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_Air_Defence_Forces" title="Soviet Air Defence Forces">Air Defence Forces</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_Air_Forces" title="Soviet Air Forces">Air Forces</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_Navy" title="Soviet Navy">Navy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_Airborne_Forces" title="Soviet Airborne Forces">Airborne Forces</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading" style="background-color:#798050; color:white"> Ranks of the Soviet Military</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content plainlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Military_ranks_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Military ranks of the Soviet Union">Military ranks of the Soviet Union</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading" style="background-color:#798050; color:white"> History of the Soviet Military</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content plainlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Military_history_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Military history of the Soviet Union">Military history of the Soviet Union</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Russian_military_ranks" title="History of Russian military ranks">History of Russian military ranks</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-navbar"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar 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nomobile nowraplinks vcard hlist"><tbody><tr><th class="sidebar-title"><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Politics of the Soviet Union">Politics of the Soviet Union</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-image"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Coat_of_arms_of_the_Soviet_Union_(1956%E2%80%931991).svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Coat_of_arms_of_the_Soviet_Union_%281956%E2%80%931991%29.svg/120px-Coat_of_arms_of_the_Soviet_Union_%281956%E2%80%931991%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="120" height="124" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Coat_of_arms_of_the_Soviet_Union_%281956%E2%80%931991%29.svg/180px-Coat_of_arms_of_the_Soviet_Union_%281956%E2%80%931991%29.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Coat_of_arms_of_the_Soviet_Union_%281956%E2%80%931991%29.svg/240px-Coat_of_arms_of_the_Soviet_Union_%281956%E2%80%931991%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="587" data-file-height="605" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content">  </td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:center;;color: var(--color-base)">Leadership</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_leaders_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="List of leaders of the Soviet Union">Leaders</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/President_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="President of the Soviet Union">President</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_heads_of_state_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="List of heads of state of the Soviet Union">list</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vice_President_of_the_Soviet_Union" class="mw-redirect" title="Vice President of the Soviet Union">Vice President</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Collective_leadership_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Collective leadership in the Soviet Union">Collective leadership</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/State_Council_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="State Council of the Soviet Union">State Council</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Presidential_Council_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Presidential Council of the Soviet Union">Presidential Council</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:center;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Communist Party of the Soviet Union">Communist Party</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"><table class="sidebar nomobile nowraplinks" style="background-color: transparent; color: var( --color-base ); border-collapse:collapse; border-spacing:0px; border:none; width:100%; margin:0px; font-size:100%; clear:none; float:none"><tbody><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Congress_of_the_Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union">Congress</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Central_Committee_of_the_Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union">Central Committee</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union">History</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <i><a href="/wiki/General_Secretary_of_the_Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union">General Secretary</a></i></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Politburo_of_the_Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union">Politburo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Secretariat_of_the_Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Secretariat of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union">Secretariat</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Orgburo" title="Orgburo">Orgburo</a></li></ul> </div></td> </tr></tbody></table></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:center;;color: var(--color-base)">Legislature</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"><table class="sidebar nomobile nowraplinks" style="background-color: transparent; color: var( --color-base ); border-collapse:collapse; border-spacing:0px; border:none; width:100%; margin:0px; font-size:100%; clear:none; float:none"><tbody><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <i><a href="/wiki/Congress_of_Soviets_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Congress of Soviets of the Soviet Union">Congress of Soviets</a></i></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Central_Executive_Committee_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union">Central Executive Committee</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <i><a href="/wiki/Supreme_Soviet_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union">Supreme Soviet</a></i></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_of_the_Union" title="Soviet of the Union">Soviet of the Union</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_of_Nationalities" title="Soviet of Nationalities">Soviet of Nationalities</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Presidium_of_the_Supreme_Soviet" title="Presidium of the Supreme Soviet">Presidium</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <i><a href="/wiki/Congress_of_People%27s_Deputies_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union">Congress of People's Deputies</a></i></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_heads_of_state_of_the_Soviet_Union#Chairmen_of_the_Supreme_Soviet_of_the_Soviet_Union_(1989–1990)" title="List of heads of state of the Soviet Union">Speaker</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1989_Soviet_Union_legislative_election" title="1989 Soviet Union legislative election">1989 Legislative election</a></li></ul></li></ul></td> </tr></tbody></table></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:center;;color: var(--color-base)">Governance</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"><table class="sidebar nomobile nowraplinks" style="background-color: transparent; color: var( --color-base ); border-collapse:collapse; border-spacing:0px; border:none; width:100%; margin:0px; font-size:100%; clear:none; float:none"><tbody><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <i><a href="/wiki/Constitution_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Constitution of the Soviet Union">Constitution</a></i></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Official_names_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Official names of the Soviet Union">Official names</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1924_Soviet_Constitution" class="mw-redirect" title="1924 Soviet Constitution">1924</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1936_Soviet_Constitution" class="mw-redirect" title="1936 Soviet Constitution">1936</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1977_Soviet_Constitution" class="mw-redirect" title="1977 Soviet Constitution">1977</a></li></ul> </div></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <i><a href="/wiki/Government_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Government of the Soviet Union">Government</a></i></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Ministries_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Ministries of the Soviet Union">Ministries</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/State_Committee_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="State Committee of the Soviet Union">State Committees</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_governments_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="List of governments of the Soviet Union">Cabinets</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <i><a href="/wiki/Premier_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Premier of the Soviet Union">Premiership</a></i></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/First_Deputy_Premier_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="First Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union">First Deputy Premier</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Deputy_Premier_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union">Deputy Premier</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Administrator_of_Affairs_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Administrator of Affairs of the Soviet Union">Administrator of Affairs</a></li></ul></td> </tr></tbody></table></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:center;;color: var(--color-base)">Judiciary</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Law_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Law of the Soviet Union">Law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Supreme Court of the Soviet Union">Supreme Court</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Military_Collegium_of_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union">Military Collegium</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/People%27s_Court_(Soviet_Union)" title="People's Court (Soviet Union)">People's Court</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Procurator_General_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Procurator General of the Soviet Union">Procurator General</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:center;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Ideology_of_the_Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Ideology of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union">Ideology</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"><table class="sidebar nomobile nowraplinks" style="background-color: transparent; color: var( --color-base ); border-collapse:collapse; border-spacing:0px; border:none; width:100%; margin:0px; font-size:100%; clear:none; float:none"><tbody><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_democracy" title="Soviet democracy">Soviet democracy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Marxism%E2%80%93Leninism" title="Marxism–Leninism">Marxism–Leninism</a></li> <li><div class="hlist"><ul><li><a href="/wiki/Leninism" title="Leninism">Leninism</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Stalinism" title="Stalinism">Stalinism</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Khrushchevism" class="mw-redirect" title="Khrushchevism">Khrushchevism</a></li></ul></div></li> <li><a href="/wiki/De-Stalinization" title="De-Stalinization">De-Stalinization</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Perestroika" title="Perestroika">Perestroika</a></i> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Glasnost" title="Glasnost">Glasnost</a></i></li></ul></li></ul></td> </tr></tbody></table></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:center;;color: var(--color-base)">Society</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"><table class="sidebar nomobile nowraplinks" style="background-color: transparent; color: var( --color-base ); border-collapse:collapse; border-spacing:0px; border:none; width:100%; margin:0px; font-size:100%; clear:none; float:none"><tbody><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <i><a href="/wiki/Economy_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Economy of the Soviet Union">Economy</a></i></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Agriculture_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Agriculture in the Soviet Union">Agriculture</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Consumer_goods_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Consumer goods in the Soviet Union">Consumer goods</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Five-year_plans_for_the_national_economy_of_the_Soviet_Union" class="mw-redirect" title="Five-year plans for the national economy of the Soviet Union">Five-Year Plan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1965_Soviet_economic_reform" title="1965 Soviet economic reform">Kosygin reform</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/New_Economic_Policy" title="New Economic Policy">New Economic Policy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Science_and_technology_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Science and technology in the Soviet Union">Science and technology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Era_of_Stagnation" title="Era of Stagnation">Era of Stagnation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Material_balance_planning" title="Material balance planning">Material balance planning</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Transport_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Transport in the Soviet Union">Transport</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/War_communism" title="War communism">War communism</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <i><a href="/wiki/Culture_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Culture of the Soviet Union">Culture</a></i></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Demographics_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Demographics of the Soviet Union">Demographics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Education_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Education in the Soviet Union">Education</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Family_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Family in the Soviet Union">Family</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_phraseology" title="Soviet phraseology">Phraseology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Religion_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Religion in the Soviet Union">Religion</a></li></ul> </div></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <i>Repression</i></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Censorship_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Censorship in the Soviet Union">Censorship</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Censorship_of_images_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Censorship of images in the Soviet Union">Censorship of images</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Great_Purge" title="Great Purge">Great Purge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gulag" title="Gulag">Gulag system</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Collectivization_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Collectivization in the Soviet Union">Collectivization</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Human_rights_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Human rights in the Soviet Union">Human rights</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ideological_repression_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Ideological repression in the Soviet Union">Ideological repression</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Political_abuse_of_psychiatry_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Political abuse of psychiatry in the Soviet Union">Political abuse of psychiatry</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Political_repression_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Political repression in the Soviet Union">Political repression</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Population_transfer_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Population transfer in the Soviet Union">Population transfer</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Propaganda_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Propaganda in the Soviet Union">Propaganda</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Suppressed_research_in_the_Soviet_Union" class="mw-redirect" title="Suppressed research in the Soviet Union">Suppressed research</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Red_Terror" title="Red Terror">Red Terror</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_Empire" class="mw-redirect" title="Soviet Empire">Soviet Empire</a></li></ul></td> </tr></tbody></table></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-below"> <span class="nowrap"><span class="mw-image-border noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="flag" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/16px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="8" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/24px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/32px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="600" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/Portal:Soviet_Union" title="Portal:Soviet Union">Soviet Union portal</a> <div class="hlist" style="text-align:center;font-weight:normal;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Outline_of_political_science#Politics_by_region" title="Outline of political science">Other countries</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-navbar"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231"><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Politics_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Template:Politics of the Soviet Union"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Politics_of_the_Soviet_Union" 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Sotsialistychnykh Respublik</i></span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Belarusian_language" title="Belarusian language">Belarusian</a>: <span title="Belarusian-language text"><span lang="be">Узброеныя Сілы Саюза Савецкіх Сацыялістычных Рэспублік</span></span>, <span title="Belarusian-language romanization"><i lang="be-Latn">Uzbrojenyja Sily Sajuza Savieckich Sacyjalistyčnych Respublik</i></span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Uzbek_language" title="Uzbek language">Uzbek</a>: <span title="Uzbek-language text"><span lang="uz">Совет Социалистик Республикалари Иттифоқининг қуролли кучлари</span></span>, <span title="Uzbek-language romanization"><i lang="uz-Latn">Sovet Sotsialistik Respublikalari Ittifoqining qurolli kuchlari</i></span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kazakh_language" title="Kazakh language">Kazakh</a>: <span title="Kazakh-language text"><span lang="kk">Кеңестік Социалистік Республикалар Одағы Қарулы Күштері</span></span>, <span title="Kazakh-language romanization"><i lang="kk-Latn">Keńestik Socıalistik Respýblıkalar Odaǵy Qarýly Kúshteri</i></span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Georgian_language" title="Georgian language">Georgian</a>: <span title="Georgian-language text"><span lang="ka">საბჭოთა სოციალისტური რესპუბლიკების კავშირის შეიარაღებული ძალები</span></span>, <span title="Georgian-language romanization"><i lang="ka-Latn">Sabch’ota Sotsialist’uri Resp’ublik’ebis K’avshiris Sheiaraghebuli Dzalebi</i></span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Azerbaijani_language" title="Azerbaijani language">Azerbaijani</a>: <span title="Azerbaijani-language text"><span lang="az">Совет Сосиалист Республикалары Иттифагынын Силаһлы Гүввәләри</span></span>, <span title="Azerbaijani-language romanization"><i lang="az-Latn">Sovet Sosialist Respublikaları İttifaqının Silahlı Qüvvələri</i></span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_language" title="Lithuanian language">Lithuanian</a>: <span title="Lithuanian-language text"><i lang="lt">Tarybų Socialistinių Respublikų Sąjungos Ginkluotosios Pajėgos</i></span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Romanian_language" title="Romanian language">Romanian</a> (called "Moldavian" in the USSR; also known as <a href="/wiki/Moldovan_language" title="Moldovan language">Moldovan language</a>): Форцеле армате але Униуна Републичилори Сочиалисть Советичь, <span title="Romanian-language romanization"><i lang="ro-Latn">Forțele armate ale Uniuna Republicilori Socialisti Sovietici</i></span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Latvian_language" title="Latvian language">Latvian</a>: <span title="Latvian-language text"><i lang="lv">Padomju Sociālistisko Republiku Savienības Bruņotie Spēki</i></span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kyrgyz_language" title="Kyrgyz language">Kyrgyz</a>: <span title="Kyrgyz-language text"><span lang="ky">Советтик Социалисттик Республикалар Союзу Куралдуу Күчтөрү</span></span>, <span title="Kyrgyz-language romanization"><i lang="ky-Latn">Sovettik Sotsialisttik Respublikalar Soyuzu Kuralduu Küçtörü</i></span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tajik_language" title="Tajik language">Tajik</a>: <span title="Tajik-language text"><span lang="tg">Қувваҳои Мусаллаҳи Иттиҳоди Ҷумҳуриҳои Шӯравии Сосиалистӣ</span></span>, <span title="Tajik-language romanization"><i lang="tg-Latn">Quvvahoji Musallahi Ittihodi Çumhurihoji Şūraviji Sosialistī</i></span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Armenian_language" title="Armenian language">Armenian</a>: <span title="Armenian-language text"><span lang="hy">Սովետական սոցիալիստական հանրապետությունների միության զինված ուժեր</span></span>, <span title="Armenian-language romanization"><i lang="hy-Latn">Sovetakan sots’ialistakan hanrapetut’yunneri miut’yan zinvats uzher</i></span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Turkmen_language" title="Turkmen language">Turkmen</a>: <span title="Turkmen-language text"><span lang="tk">Совет Сосиалистик Республикалары Союзы Яраглы Гүйчлери</span></span>, <span title="Turkmen-language romanization"><i lang="tk-Latn">Sowet Sosialistik Respublikalary Soýuzy Ýaragly Güýçleri</i></span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Estonian_language" title="Estonian language">Estonian</a>: <span title="Estonian-language text"><i lang="et">Nõukogude Sotsialistlike Vabariikide Liidu Relvajõud</i></span></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="History">History</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Soviet_Armed_Forces&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: History"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Military_history_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Military history of the Soviet Union">Military history of the Soviet Union</a></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Origins">Origins</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Soviet_Armed_Forces&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Origins"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:DesfileDeInfanter%C3%ADaDelEj%C3%A9rcitoRojoEnMosc%C3%BA1922.jpeg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/DesfileDeInfanter%C3%ADaDelEj%C3%A9rcitoRojoEnMosc%C3%BA1922.jpeg/240px-DesfileDeInfanter%C3%ADaDelEj%C3%A9rcitoRojoEnMosc%C3%BA1922.jpeg" decoding="async" width="240" height="177" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/DesfileDeInfanter%C3%ADaDelEj%C3%A9rcitoRojoEnMosc%C3%BA1922.jpeg/360px-DesfileDeInfanter%C3%ADaDelEj%C3%A9rcitoRojoEnMosc%C3%BA1922.jpeg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/DesfileDeInfanter%C3%ADaDelEj%C3%A9rcitoRojoEnMosc%C3%BA1922.jpeg/480px-DesfileDeInfanter%C3%ADaDelEj%C3%A9rcitoRojoEnMosc%C3%BA1922.jpeg 2x" data-file-width="7000" data-file-height="5153" /></a><figcaption>A <a href="/wiki/Red_Army" title="Red Army">Red Army</a> parade in Moscow, 1922</figcaption></figure> <p>The <a href="/wiki/Council_of_People%27s_Commissars" title="Council of People's Commissars">Council of People's Commissars</a> set up the <a href="/wiki/Red_Army" title="Red Army">Red Army</a> by decree on January 15, 1918 (<a href="/wiki/Adoption_of_the_Gregorian_calendar#Adoption_in_Eastern_Europe" title="Adoption of the Gregorian calendar">Old Style</a>) (January 28, 1918), basing it on the already-existing <a href="/wiki/Red_Guards_(Russia)" title="Red Guards (Russia)">Red Guard</a>. The official <a href="/wiki/Red_Army_Day" class="mw-redirect" title="Red Army Day">Red Army Day</a> of February 23, 1918, marked the day of the first mass draft of the Red Army in <a href="/wiki/Petrograd" class="mw-redirect" title="Petrograd">Petrograd</a> and <a href="/wiki/Moscow" title="Moscow">Moscow</a> and the first combat action against the <a href="/wiki/Operation_Faustschlag" title="Operation Faustschlag">rapidly advancing</a> <a href="/wiki/Imperial_German_Army" title="Imperial German Army">Imperial German Army</a>. February 23 became an important national holiday in the Soviet Union, later celebrated as "Soviet Army Day", and it continues as a celebration day in present-day<sup class="plainlinks noexcerpt noprint asof-tag update" style="display:none;"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Soviet_Armed_Forces&action=edit">[update]</a></sup> Russia as <a href="/wiki/Defenders_of_the_Motherland_Day" class="mw-redirect" title="Defenders of the Motherland Day">Defenders of the Motherland Day</a>. Credit as the founder of the Red Army generally goes to <a href="/wiki/Leon_Trotsky" title="Leon Trotsky">Leon Trotsky</a>, the <a href="/wiki/People%27s_Commissar_for_War" class="mw-redirect" title="People's Commissar for War">People's Commissar for War</a> from 1918 to 1924. </p><p>At the beginning of its existence, the Red Army functioned as a voluntary formation, without ranks or insignia. Democratic elections selected the officers. However, a decree of May 29, 1918, imposed obligatory military service for men of ages 18 to 40. To service the massive draft, the Bolsheviks formed regional <a href="/wiki/Military_commissariat" title="Military commissariat">Military commissariats</a> (voenkomats), which still carry out this function in Russia. They should not be confused with military <a href="/wiki/Political_commissar" title="Political commissar">political commissars</a>. Democratic election of officers was also abolished by decree, while separate quarters for officers, special forms of address, saluting, and higher pay were all reinstated. </p><p>After General <a href="/wiki/Aleksei_Brusilov" title="Aleksei Brusilov">Aleksei Brusilov</a> offered the Bolsheviks his professional services in 1920, they decided to permit the conscription of <a href="/wiki/Tsarist_officers_in_the_Red_Army" title="Tsarist officers in the Red Army">former officers</a> of the <a href="/wiki/Imperial_Russian_Army" title="Imperial Russian Army">Imperial Russian Army</a>. The Bolshevik authorities set up a special commission under the chair of <a href="/w/index.php?title=Lev_Glezarov&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Lev Glezarov (page does not exist)">Lev Glezarov</a> (Лев Маркович Глезаров), and by August 1920 had drafted about 315,000 ex-officers. Most often they held the position of <a href="/wiki/Military_advisor" title="Military advisor">military advisor</a> (<i>voyenspets</i>: "военспец" an abbreviation of "военный специалист", i.e., "<a href="/wiki/Military_specialist" class="mw-redirect" title="Military specialist">military specialist</a>"). A number of prominent Red Army commanders had previously served as Imperial Russian generals. In fact, a number of former Imperial military men, notably a member of the <a href="/wiki/Revolutionary_Military_Council" title="Revolutionary Military Council">Supreme Military Council</a>, <a href="/wiki/Mikhail_Bonch-Bruevich" class="mw-redirect" title="Mikhail Bonch-Bruevich">Mikhail Bonch-Bruevich</a>, had joined the Bolsheviks earlier. </p><p>The Bolshevik authorities assigned to every unit of the Red Army a political commissar, or <i>politruk</i>, who had the authority to override unit commanders' decisions if they ran counter to the principles of the <a href="/wiki/Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Communist Party of the Soviet Union">Communist Party of the Soviet Union</a>. Although this sometimes resulted in inefficient command, the Party leadership considered political control over the military necessary, as the Army relied more and more on experienced officers from the pre-revolutionary <a href="/wiki/Tsar" title="Tsar">Tsarist</a> period. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Civil_War">Civil War</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Soviet_Armed_Forces&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Civil War"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Russian_Civil_War" title="Russian Civil War">Russian Civil War</a></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Polish–Soviet_War"><span id="Polish.E2.80.93Soviet_War"></span>Polish–Soviet War</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Soviet_Armed_Forces&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Polish–Soviet War"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Soviet_War" title="Polish–Soviet War">Polish–Soviet War</a></div> <p>The <a href="/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Soviet_War" title="Polish–Soviet War">Polish–Soviet War</a> represented the first foreign campaign of the Red Army. The Soviet counter-offensive following the <a href="/wiki/Kiev_offensive_(1920)" title="Kiev offensive (1920)">1920 Polish invasion of Ukraine</a> at first met with success, but Polish forces halted it at the disastrous (for the Soviets) <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Warsaw_(1920)" title="Battle of Warsaw (1920)">Battle of Warsaw (1920)</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Far_East">Far East</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Soviet_Armed_Forces&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Far East"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1251242444"><table class="box-Contradicts_other plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><span typeof="mw:File"><span title="Accuracy dispute"><img alt="Accuracy dispute" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/Ambox_contradict.svg/40px-Ambox_contradict.svg.png" decoding="async" width="40" height="40" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/Ambox_contradict.svg/60px-Ambox_contradict.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/Ambox_contradict.svg/80px-Ambox_contradict.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="620" data-file-height="620" /></span></span></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This article <b>appears to contradict the article <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Khalkhin_Gol" class="mw-redirect" title="Battle of Khalkhin Gol">Battle of Khalkhin Gol</a></b>.<span class="hide-when-compact"> Please discuss at the <a href="/wiki/Talk:Soviet_Armed_Forces" title="Talk:Soviet Armed Forces">talk page</a> and do not remove this message until the contradictions are resolved.</span> <span class="date-container"><i>(<span class="date">August 2009</span>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Khalkhin_Gol" class="mw-redirect" title="Battle of Khalkhin Gol">Battle of Khalkhin Gol</a></div> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_102-00635,_Rotarmist_mit_Budjonny-M%C3%BCtze.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Bundesarchiv_Bild_102-00635%2C_Rotarmist_mit_Budjonny-M%C3%BCtze.jpg/160px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_102-00635%2C_Rotarmist_mit_Budjonny-M%C3%BCtze.jpg" decoding="async" width="160" height="236" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Bundesarchiv_Bild_102-00635%2C_Rotarmist_mit_Budjonny-M%C3%BCtze.jpg/240px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_102-00635%2C_Rotarmist_mit_Budjonny-M%C3%BCtze.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Bundesarchiv_Bild_102-00635%2C_Rotarmist_mit_Budjonny-M%C3%BCtze.jpg/320px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_102-00635%2C_Rotarmist_mit_Budjonny-M%C3%BCtze.jpg 2x" data-file-width="543" data-file-height="800" /></a><figcaption>A soldier of the Red Army, 1926, wearing the <a href="/wiki/Budenovka" title="Budenovka">budenovka</a></figcaption></figure> <p>In 1934, <a href="/wiki/Mongolia" title="Mongolia">Mongolia</a> and the USSR, recognising the threat from the mounting Japanese military presence in <a href="/wiki/Manchuria" title="Manchuria">Manchuria</a> and <a href="/wiki/Inner_Mongolia" title="Inner Mongolia">Inner Mongolia</a>, agreed to co-operate in the field of defence. On March 12, 1936, the co-operation increased with the ten-year Mongolian-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, which included a mutual defence protocol. </p><p>In May 1939, a Mongolian <a href="/wiki/Cavalry" title="Cavalry">cavalry</a> unit clashed with <a href="/wiki/Manchukuo" title="Manchukuo">Manchukuoan</a> cavalry in the disputed territory east of the <a href="/wiki/Halha_River" class="mw-redirect" title="Halha River">Halha River</a> (also known in Russian as Халхин-Гол, Halhin Gol). There followed a clash with a Japanese <a href="/wiki/Detachment_(military)" title="Detachment (military)">detachment</a>, which drove the Mongolians over the river. The Soviet troops quartered there in accordance with the mutual defence protocol intervened and obliterated the detachment. Escalation of the conflict appeared imminent, and both sides spent June amassing forces. On July 1 the Japanese force numbered 38,000 troops. The combined Soviet-Mongol force had 12,500 troops. The Japanese crossed the river, but after a three-day battle their opponents threw them back over the river. The Japanese kept probing the Soviet defences throughout July, without success. </p><p>On August 20 <a href="/wiki/Georgy_Zhukov" title="Georgy Zhukov">Georgy Zhukov</a> opened a major offensive with heavy air attack and three hours of <a href="/wiki/Artillery" title="Artillery">artillery</a> <a href="/wiki/Bombardment" title="Bombardment">bombardment</a>, after which three <a href="/wiki/Infantry" title="Infantry">infantry</a> <a href="/wiki/Division_(military)" title="Division (military)">divisions</a> and five <a href="/wiki/Armoured_warfare" title="Armoured warfare">armoured</a> <a href="/wiki/Brigade" title="Brigade">brigades</a>, supported by a <a href="/wiki/Fighter_aircraft" title="Fighter aircraft">fighter</a> <a href="/wiki/Regiment" title="Regiment">regiment</a> and masses of artillery (57,000 troops in total), stormed the 75,000 Japanese force deeply entrenched in the area. On August 23 the entire Japanese force found itself encircled, and on August 31 largely destroyed. Artillery and air attacks wiped out those Japanese who refused to surrender. Japan requested a <a href="/wiki/Cease-fire" class="mw-redirect" title="Cease-fire">cease-fire</a>, and the conflict concluded with an agreement between the USSR, Mongolia and Japan signed on September 15 in Moscow. In the conflict, the Red Army losses were 9,703 killed in action (KIA) and missing in action (MIA) and 15,952 wounded. The Japanese lost 25,000 KIA; the grand total was 61,000 killed, missing, wounded and taken prisoner. </p><p>Shortly after the cease-fire, the Japanese negotiated access to the battlefields to collect their dead. Finding thousands upon thousands of dead bodies came as a further shock to the already shaken morale of the Japanese soldiers. The scale of the defeat probably became a major factor in discouraging a Japanese attack on the USSR during World War II, which allowed the Red Army to switch a large number of its <a href="/wiki/Far_Eastern" class="mw-redirect" title="Far Eastern">Far Eastern</a> troops into the <a href="/wiki/European_Theatre" class="mw-redirect" title="European Theatre">European Theatre</a> in the desperate autumn of 1941. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Second_World_War">Second World War</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Soviet_Armed_Forces&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Second World War"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Saur-Mogila_Soviet_soldiers_colorized.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/Saur-Mogila_Soviet_soldiers_colorized.png/200px-Saur-Mogila_Soviet_soldiers_colorized.png" decoding="async" width="200" height="119" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/Saur-Mogila_Soviet_soldiers_colorized.png/300px-Saur-Mogila_Soviet_soldiers_colorized.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/Saur-Mogila_Soviet_soldiers_colorized.png/400px-Saur-Mogila_Soviet_soldiers_colorized.png 2x" data-file-width="1813" data-file-height="1080" /></a><figcaption>A colorized photo of Red Army soldiers during World War II</figcaption></figure> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="The_Polish_Campaign">The Polish Campaign</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Soviet_Armed_Forces&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: The Polish Campaign"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Soviet_invasion_of_Poland" title="Soviet invasion of Poland">Soviet invasion of Poland</a></div> <p>On September 17, 1939, the Red Army marched its troops into the eastern territories of <a href="/wiki/Second_Polish_Republic" title="Second Polish Republic">Poland</a> (now part of <a href="/wiki/Belarus" title="Belarus">Belarus</a> and <a href="/wiki/Ukraine" title="Ukraine">Ukraine</a>), using the official pretext of coming to the aid of the Ukrainians and the Belarusians threatened by Germany,<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> which had attacked Poland on September 1, 1939. The Soviet invasion opened a second front for the Poles and forced them to abandon plans for defence in the <a href="/wiki/Romanian_bridgehead" class="mw-redirect" title="Romanian bridgehead">Romanian bridgehead</a> area, thus hastening the Polish defeat. The Soviet and German advance halted roughly at the <a href="/wiki/Curzon_Line" title="Curzon Line">Curzon Line</a>. </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Molotov%E2%80%93Ribbentrop_Pact" title="Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact">Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact</a>, which had included a secret protocol delimiting the "spheres of interest" of each party, set the scene for the remarkably smooth partition of Poland between Germany and the USSR. The defined Soviet sphere of interest matched the territory subsequently captured in the campaign. The Soviet and German troops met each other on a number of occasions. Most remarkably, on 22 September 1939, the German <a href="/wiki/XIX_Panzer_Corps" class="mw-redirect" title="XIX Panzer Corps">XIX Panzer Corps</a> had occupied Brest-Litovsk, which lay within the Soviet sphere of interest. When the Soviet 29th Tank Brigade approached Brest-Litovsk, the commanders negotiated a German withdrawal, and a <a href="/wiki/German%E2%80%93Soviet_military_parade_in_Brest-Litovsk" title="German–Soviet military parade in Brest-Litovsk">joint parade was held</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEFischer1999_11-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEFischer1999-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Just three days earlier, however, the parties had a more damaging encounter near <a href="/wiki/Lviv" title="Lviv">Lviv</a>, when the German 137th Gebirgsjägerregimenter (mountain infantry regiment) attacked a Soviet reconnaissance detachment.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (October 2015)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup>; After a few casualties on both sides, the parties negotiated, the German troops left the area, and the Red Army troops entered L'viv on 22 September. </p><p>According to post-1991 Russian sources, the Red Army force in Poland numbered 466,516.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKrivosheev1997_12-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEKrivosheev1997-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The Red Army troops faced little resistance, mainly due to the entanglement of the majority of the Polish forces in fighting Germans along the Western border, but partly due to an official order by the Polish Supreme Command not to engage in combat with the Soviet troops, and also partly because many Polish citizens in the <a href="/wiki/Kresy" title="Kresy">Kresy</a> region—Ukrainians and Belarusians—viewed the advancing troops as liberators.<sup id="cite_ref-Piotr_p199_13-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Piotr_p199-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Organization_of_Ukrainian_Nationalists" class="mw-redirect" title="Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists">Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists</a> rose against the Poles, and communist partisans organised local revolts, e.g. in <a href="/wiki/Skidel" class="mw-redirect" title="Skidel">Skidel</a>, robbing and murdering Poles.<sup id="cite_ref-Sanford_20-24_14-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Sanford_20-24-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Nonetheless, the Red Army sustained losses of 1,475 killed and missing and 2,383 wounded.<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The losses of the opposing Polish troops are estimated at 6,000–7,000.<sup id="cite_ref-Wojsko_16-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Wojsko-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="The_Finnish_campaigns">The Finnish campaigns</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Soviet_Armed_Forces&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: The Finnish campaigns"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The <a href="/wiki/Winter_War" title="Winter War">Winter War</a> began when the Soviet Union attacked Finland on 30 November 1939, two months after the invasion of Poland by Germany that started World War II. Because the attack was judged as illegal, the Soviet Union was expelled from the <a href="/wiki/League_of_Nations" title="League of Nations">League of Nations</a> on 14 December.<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The war ended on 13 March 1940. </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Continuation_War" title="Continuation War">Continuation War</a> was the second of two wars fought between Finland and the Soviet Union during World War II. On 25 June 1941 the Soviet Union conducted an air raid on Finnish cities, prompting Finland to declare war and to allow German troops stationed in Finland to begin an offensive. By September 1941, Finland had regained its post–Winter War concessions to the Soviet Union: the <a href="/wiki/Finnish_invasion_of_the_Karelian_Isthmus" title="Finnish invasion of the Karelian Isthmus">Karelian Isthmus</a> and <a href="/wiki/Finnish_invasion_of_Ladoga_Karelia" title="Finnish invasion of Ladoga Karelia">Ladoga Karelia</a>. However, the Finnish Army continued the offensive past the 1939 border during the <a href="/wiki/Finnish_invasion_of_East_Karelia_(1941)" title="Finnish invasion of East Karelia (1941)">conquest of East Karelia</a>, including <a href="/wiki/Petrozavodsk" title="Petrozavodsk">Petrozavodsk</a>, and halted only around 30–32 km (19–20 mi) from the centre of <a href="/wiki/Leningrad" class="mw-redirect" title="Leningrad">Leningrad</a>. It participated in <a href="/wiki/Siege_of_Leningrad" title="Siege of Leningrad">besieging the city</a> by cutting the northern supply routes and by digging in until 1944.<sup id="cite_ref-GlantzLen_18-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-GlantzLen-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In <a href="/wiki/Lapland_(Finland)" title="Lapland (Finland)">Lapland</a>, <a href="/wiki/Operation_Silver_Fox" title="Operation Silver Fox">joint German-Finnish forces failed</a> to capture <a href="/wiki/Murmansk" title="Murmansk">Murmansk</a> or to cut the Kirov (Murmansk) Railway, a transit route for Soviet <a href="/wiki/Lend-lease" class="mw-redirect" title="Lend-lease">lend-lease</a> equipment. The conflict stabilised with only minor skirmishes until the tide of the war turned against the Germans and the Soviet strategic <a href="/wiki/Vyborg%E2%80%93Petrozavodsk_Offensive" class="mw-redirect" title="Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive">Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive</a> occurred in June 1944. The attack drove the Finns from most of the territories that they had gained during the war, but the Finnish Army halted the offensive in August 1944. Hostilities between Finland and the USSR ended with a ceasefire, which was called on 5 September 1944, formalised by the signing of the <a href="/wiki/Moscow_Armistice" title="Moscow Armistice">Moscow Armistice</a> on 19 September 1944. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Barbarossa,_1941–1945_(Great_Patriotic_War)"><span id="Barbarossa.2C_1941.E2.80.931945_.28Great_Patriotic_War.29"></span>Barbarossa, 1941–1945 (Great Patriotic War)</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Soviet_Armed_Forces&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Barbarossa, 1941–1945 (Great Patriotic War)"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/Eastern_Front_(World_War_II)" title="Eastern Front (World War II)">Eastern Front (World War II)</a> and <a href="/wiki/Great_Patriotic_War_(term)" title="Great Patriotic War (term)">Great Patriotic War (term)</a></div> <figure class="mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:1941._%D0%97%D0%B0_%D0%A0%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%83.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/68/1941._%D0%97%D0%B0_%D0%A0%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%83.jpg/160px-1941._%D0%97%D0%B0_%D0%A0%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%83.jpg" decoding="async" width="160" height="240" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/68/1941._%D0%97%D0%B0_%D0%A0%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%83.jpg/240px-1941._%D0%97%D0%B0_%D0%A0%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%83.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/68/1941._%D0%97%D0%B0_%D0%A0%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%83.jpg/320px-1941._%D0%97%D0%B0_%D0%A0%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%83.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1438" data-file-height="2157" /></a><figcaption>Soviet war poster, 1941</figcaption></figure> <p>By the autumn of 1940, <a href="/wiki/Nazi_Germany" title="Nazi Germany">Nazi Germany</a> and its allies dominated most of the European continent. Only the United Kingdom (in the West) was actively challenging <a href="/wiki/National_socialist" class="mw-redirect" title="National socialist">national socialist</a> and <a href="/wiki/Fascist" class="mw-redirect" title="Fascist">fascist</a> hegemony. Nazi Germany and Britain had no common land border, but a state of war existed between them; the Germans had an extensive land border with the Soviet Union, but the latter remained neutral, adhering to a <a href="/wiki/Molotov%E2%80%93Ribbentrop_Pact" title="Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact">non-aggression pact</a> and by numerous <a href="/wiki/German%E2%80%93Soviet_Commercial_Agreement_(disambiguation)" class="mw-disambig" title="German–Soviet Commercial Agreement (disambiguation)">trade agreements</a>. </p> <figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:RIAN_archive_543_A_battalion_commander.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/RIAN_archive_543_A_battalion_commander.jpg/200px-RIAN_archive_543_A_battalion_commander.jpg" decoding="async" width="200" height="149" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/RIAN_archive_543_A_battalion_commander.jpg/300px-RIAN_archive_543_A_battalion_commander.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/RIAN_archive_543_A_battalion_commander.jpg/400px-RIAN_archive_543_A_battalion_commander.jpg 2x" data-file-width="8000" data-file-height="5974" /></a><figcaption>A Soviet junior political officer (<i><a href="/wiki/Political_commissar" title="Political commissar">Politruk</a></i>) urges Soviet troops forward against German positions (12 July 1942)</figcaption></figure> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Moscow_Strikes_Back_-_ski_soldiers_march_to_battle.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/Moscow_Strikes_Back_-_ski_soldiers_march_to_battle.jpg/200px-Moscow_Strikes_Back_-_ski_soldiers_march_to_battle.jpg" decoding="async" width="200" height="151" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/Moscow_Strikes_Back_-_ski_soldiers_march_to_battle.jpg/300px-Moscow_Strikes_Back_-_ski_soldiers_march_to_battle.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/Moscow_Strikes_Back_-_ski_soldiers_march_to_battle.jpg/400px-Moscow_Strikes_Back_-_ski_soldiers_march_to_battle.jpg 2x" data-file-width="634" data-file-height="480" /></a><figcaption>Soviet ski troops during World War II</figcaption></figure> <p>For <a href="/wiki/Adolf_Hitler" title="Adolf Hitler">Adolf Hitler</a>, no dilemma ever existed in this situation. <i><a href="/wiki/Drang_nach_Osten" title="Drang nach Osten">Drang nach Osten</a></i> (German for "Drive towards the East") remained the order of the day. This culminated, on December 18, in the issuing of 'Directive No. 21 – Case <a href="/wiki/Operation_Barbarossa" title="Operation Barbarossa">Barbarossa</a>', which opened by saying "the German Armed Forces must be prepared to crush Soviet Russia in a quick campaign before the end of the war against England". Even before the issuing of the directive, the German <a href="/wiki/General_Staff" class="mw-redirect" title="General Staff">General Staff</a> had developed detailed plans for a Soviet campaign. On February 3, 1941, the final plan of Operation Barbarossa gained approval, and the attack was scheduled for the middle of May, 1941. However, the events in Greece and <a href="/wiki/Yugoslavia" title="Yugoslavia">Yugoslavia</a> necessitated a delay—to the second half of June. </p><p>At the time of the Nazi assault on the Soviet Union in June 1941, the Red Army had 303 divisions and 22 brigades (4.8 million troops), including 166 divisions and 9 brigades (2.9 million troops) stationed in the western military districts. Their Axis opponents deployed on the <a href="/wiki/Eastern_Front_(World_War_II)" title="Eastern Front (World War II)">Eastern Front</a> 181 divisions and 18 brigades (3.8 million troops). The first weeks of the war saw the annihilation of virtually the entire <a href="/wiki/Soviet_Air_Force" class="mw-redirect" title="Soviet Air Force">Soviet Air Force</a> on the ground, the loss of major equipment, tanks, artillery, and major Soviet defeats as German forces trapped hundreds of thousands of Red Army soldiers in vast pockets. </p><p>Soviet forces suffered heavy damage in the field as a result of poor levels of preparedness, which was primarily caused by a reluctant, half-hearted and ultimately belated decision by the Soviet Government and High Command to mobilize the army. Equally important was a general tactical superiority of the German army, which was conducting the kind of warfare that it had been combat-testing and fine-tuning for two years. The hasty pre-war growth and over-promotion of the Red Army cadres as well as the removal of experienced officers caused by the <a href="/wiki/Great_Purge" title="Great Purge">Purges</a> offset the balance even more favourably for the Germans. Finally, the sheer numeric superiority of the Axis cannot be underestimated. </p><p>A generation of brilliant Soviet commanders (most notably <a href="/wiki/Georgy_Zhukov" title="Georgy Zhukov">Georgy Zhukov</a>) learned from the defeats, and Soviet victories in the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Moscow" title="Battle of Moscow">Battle of Moscow</a>, at <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_stalingrad" class="mw-redirect" title="Battle of stalingrad">Stalingrad</a>, <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_kursk" class="mw-redirect" title="Battle of kursk">Kursk</a> and later in <a href="/wiki/Operation_Bagration" title="Operation Bagration">Operation Bagration</a> proved decisive in what became known to the Soviets as the <a href="/wiki/Great_Patriotic_War_(term)" title="Great Patriotic War (term)">Great Patriotic War</a>. </p><p>The Soviet government adopted a number of measures to improve the state and morale of the retreating Red Army in 1941. Soviet propaganda turned away from political notions of <a href="/wiki/Class_struggle" class="mw-redirect" title="Class struggle">class struggle</a>, and instead invoked the deeper-rooted patriotic feelings of the population, embracing Tsarist Russian history. Propagandists proclaimed the War against the German aggressors as the "Great Patriotic War", in allusion to the <a href="/wiki/Patriotic_War_of_1812" class="mw-redirect" title="Patriotic War of 1812">Patriotic War of 1812</a> against <a href="/wiki/Napoleon_I_of_France" class="mw-redirect" title="Napoleon I of France">Napoleon</a>. References to ancient Russian military heroes such as <a href="/wiki/Alexander_Nevski" class="mw-redirect" title="Alexander Nevski">Alexander Nevski</a> and <a href="/wiki/Mikhail_Kutuzov" title="Mikhail Kutuzov">Mikhail Kutuzov</a> appeared. Repressions against the <a href="/wiki/Russian_Orthodox_Church" title="Russian Orthodox Church">Russian Orthodox Church</a> stopped, and priests revived the tradition of blessing arms before battle. The Communist Party abolished the institution of <a href="/wiki/Political_commissar" title="Political commissar">political commissars</a>—although it soon restored them. The Red Army re-introduced military ranks and adopted many additional individual distinctions such as medals and orders. The concept of a <a href="/wiki/Russian_Guards" title="Russian Guards">Guard</a> re-appeared: units which had shown exceptional heroism in combat gained the names of "Guards Regiment", "Guards Army", etc. </p><p>During the <a href="/wiki/Eastern_Front_(World_War_II)" title="Eastern Front (World War II)">German–Soviet War</a>, the Red Army drafted a staggering 29,574,900 in addition to the 4,826,907 in service at the beginning of the war. Of these it lost 6,329,600 KIA, 555,400 deaths by disease and 4,559,000 MIA (most captured). Of these 11,444,100, however, 939,700 re-joined the ranks in the subsequently re-took Soviet territory, and a further 1,836,000 returned from German captivity. Thus the grand total of losses amounted to 8,668,400. The majority of the losses were ethnic Russians (5,756,000), followed by ethnic Ukrainians (1,377,400).<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKrivosheev1993_19-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEKrivosheev1993-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The German losses on the Eastern Front consisted of an estimated 3,604,800 KIA/MIA (most killed) and 3,576,300 captured (total 7,181,100). </p> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Poster_russian.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/Poster_russian.jpg/200px-Poster_russian.jpg" decoding="async" width="200" height="277" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/Poster_russian.jpg/300px-Poster_russian.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/Poster_russian.jpg/400px-Poster_russian.jpg 2x" data-file-width="422" data-file-height="585" /></a><figcaption>A U.S. government poster showing a friendly Soviet soldier as portrayed by the Allies during World War II</figcaption></figure> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:%D0%A1%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%82%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B5_%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B4%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%8B_%D0%BE%D0%B1%D1%89%D0%B0%D1%8E%D1%82%D1%81%D1%8F_%D1%81_%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%82%D1%8C%D0%BC%D0%B8,_%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BE%D0%B6%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%BC%D0%B8_%D0%B8%D0%B7_%D0%9E%D1%81%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B0.jpeg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/58/%D0%A1%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%82%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B5_%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B4%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%8B_%D0%BE%D0%B1%D1%89%D0%B0%D1%8E%D1%82%D1%81%D1%8F_%D1%81_%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%82%D1%8C%D0%BC%D0%B8%2C_%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BE%D0%B6%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%BC%D0%B8_%D0%B8%D0%B7_%D0%9E%D1%81%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B0.jpeg/200px-%D0%A1%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%82%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B5_%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B4%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%8B_%D0%BE%D0%B1%D1%89%D0%B0%D1%8E%D1%82%D1%81%D1%8F_%D1%81_%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%82%D1%8C%D0%BC%D0%B8%2C_%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BE%D0%B6%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%BC%D0%B8_%D0%B8%D0%B7_%D0%9E%D1%81%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B0.jpeg" decoding="async" width="200" height="133" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/58/%D0%A1%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%82%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B5_%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B4%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%8B_%D0%BE%D0%B1%D1%89%D0%B0%D1%8E%D1%82%D1%81%D1%8F_%D1%81_%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%82%D1%8C%D0%BC%D0%B8%2C_%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BE%D0%B6%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%BC%D0%B8_%D0%B8%D0%B7_%D0%9E%D1%81%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B0.jpeg/300px-%D0%A1%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%82%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B5_%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B4%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%8B_%D0%BE%D0%B1%D1%89%D0%B0%D1%8E%D1%82%D1%81%D1%8F_%D1%81_%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%82%D1%8C%D0%BC%D0%B8%2C_%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BE%D0%B6%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%BC%D0%B8_%D0%B8%D0%B7_%D0%9E%D1%81%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B0.jpeg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/58/%D0%A1%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%82%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B5_%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B4%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%8B_%D0%BE%D0%B1%D1%89%D0%B0%D1%8E%D1%82%D1%81%D1%8F_%D1%81_%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%82%D1%8C%D0%BC%D0%B8%2C_%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BE%D0%B6%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%BC%D0%B8_%D0%B8%D0%B7_%D0%9E%D1%81%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B0.jpeg/400px-%D0%A1%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%82%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B5_%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B4%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%8B_%D0%BE%D0%B1%D1%89%D0%B0%D1%8E%D1%82%D1%81%D1%8F_%D1%81_%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%82%D1%8C%D0%BC%D0%B8%2C_%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BE%D0%B6%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%BC%D0%B8_%D0%B8%D0%B7_%D0%9E%D1%81%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B0.jpeg 2x" data-file-width="1600" data-file-height="1065" /></a><figcaption>Liberation of the <a href="/wiki/Auschwitz_concentration_camp" title="Auschwitz concentration camp">Auschwitz concentration camp</a> by Red Army soldiers, January 1945</figcaption></figure> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:A_German_civilian_looks_at_a_large_poster_portrait_of_Stalin_on_the_Unter-den-Linden_in_Berlin,_3_June_1945._BU8572.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/A_German_civilian_looks_at_a_large_poster_portrait_of_Stalin_on_the_Unter-den-Linden_in_Berlin%2C_3_June_1945._BU8572.jpg/180px-A_German_civilian_looks_at_a_large_poster_portrait_of_Stalin_on_the_Unter-den-Linden_in_Berlin%2C_3_June_1945._BU8572.jpg" decoding="async" width="180" height="201" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/A_German_civilian_looks_at_a_large_poster_portrait_of_Stalin_on_the_Unter-den-Linden_in_Berlin%2C_3_June_1945._BU8572.jpg/270px-A_German_civilian_looks_at_a_large_poster_portrait_of_Stalin_on_the_Unter-den-Linden_in_Berlin%2C_3_June_1945._BU8572.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/A_German_civilian_looks_at_a_large_poster_portrait_of_Stalin_on_the_Unter-den-Linden_in_Berlin%2C_3_June_1945._BU8572.jpg/360px-A_German_civilian_looks_at_a_large_poster_portrait_of_Stalin_on_the_Unter-den-Linden_in_Berlin%2C_3_June_1945._BU8572.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1772" data-file-height="1974" /></a><figcaption>A giant poster of <a href="/wiki/Stalin" class="mw-redirect" title="Stalin">Stalin</a> in Berlin, June 1945</figcaption></figure> <p>In the first part of the war, the Red Army fielded weaponry of mixed quality. It had excellent artillery, but it did not have enough trucks to manoeuvre and supply it; as a result the Wehrmacht (which rated it highly) captured much of it. Red Army <a href="/wiki/T-34_tank" class="mw-redirect" title="T-34 tank">T-34 tanks</a> outclassed any other tanks the Germans had when they appeared in 1941, yet most of the Soviet armoured units were less advanced models; likewise, the same supply problem handicapped even the formations equipped with the most modern tanks. The Soviet Air Force initially performed poorly against the Germans. The quick advance of the Germans into the Soviet territory made reinforcement difficult, if not impossible, since much of the Soviet Union's military industry lay in the west of the country. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="The_Manchurian_Campaign">The Manchurian Campaign</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Soviet_Armed_Forces&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: The Manchurian Campaign"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Soviet_invasion_of_Manchuria" title="Soviet invasion of Manchuria">Soviet invasion of Manchuria</a></div> <p>After the end of the war in Europe, the Red Army attacked Japan and <a href="/wiki/Manchukuo" title="Manchukuo">Manchukuo</a> (Japan's <a href="/wiki/Puppet_state" title="Puppet state">puppet state</a> in <a href="/wiki/Manchuria" title="Manchuria">Manchuria</a>) on 9 August 1945, and in combination with Mongolian and Chinese Communist forces rapidly overwhelmed the outnumbered <a href="/wiki/Kwantung_Army" title="Kwantung Army">Kwantung Army</a>. Soviet forces also attacked in <a href="/wiki/Sakhalin" title="Sakhalin">Sakhalin</a>, in the <a href="/wiki/Kuril_Islands" title="Kuril Islands">Kuril Islands</a> and in northern <a href="/wiki/Korea" title="Korea">Korea</a>. Japan surrendered unconditionally on 2 September 1945. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="The_Cold_War">The Cold War</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Soviet_Armed_Forces&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: The Cold War"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Cold_War" title="Cold War">Cold War</a></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/Warsaw_Pact" title="Warsaw Pact">Warsaw Pact</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:1958_CPA_2124.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/1958_CPA_2124.jpg/220px-1958_CPA_2124.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="156" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/1958_CPA_2124.jpg/330px-1958_CPA_2124.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/1958_CPA_2124.jpg/440px-1958_CPA_2124.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1781" data-file-height="1264" /></a><figcaption>1958 stamp depicting the three main branches: Air Force, Navy and Army.</figcaption></figure> <p>The Soviet Union only had Ground Forces, Air Forces, and the Navy in 1945.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEScottScott1979131_20-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEScottScott1979131-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The two ministries (<a href="/wiki/Narkomat" class="mw-redirect" title="Narkomat">Narkomats</a>), one supervising the Ground Forces and Air Forces, and the other directing the <a href="/wiki/Soviet_Navy" title="Soviet Navy">Navy</a>, were combined into the Ministry of the Armed Forces in March 1946. A fourth service, the <a href="/wiki/Soviet_Air_Defence_Forces" title="Soviet Air Defence Forces">Troops of National Air Defence</a>, was formed in 1948. The Ministry was briefly divided into two again from 1950 to 1953, but then was amalgamated again as the <a href="/wiki/Minister_of_Defence_of_Soviet_Union" class="mw-redirect" title="Minister of Defence of Soviet Union">Ministry of Defence</a>. Six years later the <a href="/wiki/Strategic_Rocket_Forces" title="Strategic Rocket Forces">Strategic Rocket Forces</a> were formed. The <a href="/wiki/Soviet_Airborne_Forces" title="Soviet Airborne Forces">Soviet Airborne Forces</a>, were also active by this time as a <a href="/wiki/Reserve_of_the_Supreme_High_Command" title="Reserve of the Supreme High Command">Reserve of the Supreme High Command</a>. Also falling within the Soviet Armed Forces were the <a href="/wiki/Rear_Services_of_the_Armed_Forces_of_Russia" class="mw-redirect" title="Rear Services of the Armed Forces of Russia">Tyl, or Rear Services</a>. </p><p>Men within the Soviet Armed Forces dropped from around 11.3 million to approximately 2.8 million in 1948.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTETsouras199437_21-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTETsouras199437-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In order to control this demobilisation process, the number of <a href="/wiki/Military_district" title="Military district">military districts</a> was temporarily increased to thirty-three, dropping to twenty-one in 1946.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEScottScott1979176_22-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEScottScott1979176-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The size of the Ground Forces during most of the Cold War remained between 4 million and 5 million, according to Western estimates. However, there was a large-scale reduction in force size in 1953–56; 1.1 million personnel were released from the armed forces.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEFeskov_et_al200422_23-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEFeskov_et_al200422-23"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Two military districts were disestablished in 1956. Soviet law required all able-bodied males of age to serve a minimum of two years. As a result, the Soviet Ground Forces remained the largest active army in the world from 1945 to 1991. Soviet units which had taken over the countries of Eastern Europe from German rule remained to secure the régimes in what became <a href="/wiki/Satellite_states" class="mw-redirect" title="Satellite states">satellite states</a> of the Soviet Union and to deter and to fend off pro-independence resistance and later <a href="/wiki/NATO" title="NATO">NATO</a> forces. The greatest Soviet military presence was in <a href="/wiki/East_Germany" title="East Germany">East Germany</a>, in the <a href="/wiki/Group_of_Soviet_Forces_in_Germany" title="Group of Soviet Forces in Germany">Group of Soviet Forces in Germany</a>, but there were also smaller forces elsewhere, including the <a href="/wiki/Northern_Group_of_Forces" title="Northern Group of Forces">Northern Group of Forces</a> in Poland, the <a href="/wiki/Central_Group_of_Forces" title="Central Group of Forces">Central Group of Forces</a> in <a href="/wiki/Czechoslovakia" title="Czechoslovakia">Czechoslovakia</a>, and the <a href="/wiki/Southern_Group_of_Forces" title="Southern Group of Forces">Southern Group of Forces</a> in Hungary. In the Soviet Union itself, forces were divided by the 1950s among fifteen military districts, including the <a href="/wiki/Moscow_Military_District" title="Moscow Military District">Moscow</a>, <a href="/wiki/Leningrad_Military_District" title="Leningrad Military District">Leningrad</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Baltic_Military_District" title="Baltic Military District">Baltic Military Districts</a>. </p><p>The trauma of the devastating <a href="/wiki/Operation_Barbarossa" title="Operation Barbarossa">German invasion of 1941</a> influenced the Soviet Cold War doctrine of fighting enemies on their own territory, or in a buffer zone under Soviet hegemony, but in any case preventing any war from reaching Soviet soil. In order to secure Soviet interests in Eastern Europe, the Soviet Army moved in to quell anti-Soviet uprisings in the <a href="/wiki/German_Democratic_Republic" class="mw-redirect" title="German Democratic Republic">German Democratic Republic</a> (1953), Hungary (1956) and Czechoslovakia (1968). As a result of the <a href="/wiki/Sino-Soviet_border_conflict" title="Sino-Soviet border conflict">Sino-Soviet border conflict</a>, a sixteenth military district was created in 1969, the Central Asian Military District, with headquarters at <a href="/wiki/Almaty" title="Almaty">Alma-Ata</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEScottScott1979176_22-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEScottScott1979176-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> To improve capabilities for war at a theatre level, in the late 1970s and early 1980s four high commands were established, grouping the military districts, groups of forces, and fleets.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEOdom199829_24-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEOdom199829-24"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The Far Eastern High Command was established first, followed by the Western and South-Western High Commands towards Europe, and the Southern High Command at Baku, oriented toward the Middle East. </p><p>Confrontation with the US and NATO during the Cold War mainly took the form of threatened mutual deterrence with <a href="/wiki/Nuclear_weapons" class="mw-redirect" title="Nuclear weapons">nuclear weapons</a>. But a number of <a href="/wiki/Proxy_war" title="Proxy war">proxy wars</a> took place. The Soviet Union and the United States supported loyal <a href="/wiki/Client_state" title="Client state">client régimes</a> or rebel movements in <a href="/wiki/Third_World" title="Third World">Third World</a> countries. During the <a href="/wiki/Korean_War" title="Korean War">Korean War</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Soviet_Air_Forces" title="Soviet Air Forces">Soviet Air Forces</a> directly fought against United States and <a href="/wiki/United_Nations_Command" title="United Nations Command">United Nations Command</a> (UNC) forces. Two Soviet air divisions flying <a href="/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-9" title="Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-9">MiG-9</a> and <a href="/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-15" title="Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15">MiG-15</a> fighter jets were sent against U.S. <a href="/wiki/Boeing_B-29_Superfortress" title="Boeing B-29 Superfortress">Boeing B-29 Superfortress</a> bombers and their U.S. and allied fighter escorts<sup id="cite_ref-25" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-25"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The Soviet Union invested heavily in nuclear capabilities, especially in the production of ballistic missiles and of nuclear submarines to deliver them. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Military_doctrine">Military doctrine</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Soviet_Armed_Forces&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: Military doctrine"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The Soviet meaning of <a href="/wiki/Military_doctrine" title="Military doctrine">military doctrine</a> was much different from U.S. military usage of the term. Soviet Minister of Defence Marshal <a href="/wiki/Andrei_Grechko" title="Andrei Grechko">Andrei Grechko</a> defined it in 1975 as 'a system of views on the nature of war and methods of waging it, and on the preparation of the country and army for war, officially adopted in a given state and its armed forces.' Soviet theorists emphasised both the political and 'military-technical' sides of military doctrine, while from the Soviet point of view, Westerners ignored the political side. According to Harriet F Scott and William Scott, the political parts of Soviet military doctrine best explained the international moves that the Soviet Union undertook during the Cold War.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEScottScott197937,_59_26-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEScottScott197937,_59-26"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>24<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="The_limited_contingent_in_Afghanistan">The limited contingent in Afghanistan</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Soviet_Armed_Forces&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: The limited contingent in Afghanistan"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Soviet%E2%80%93Afghan_War" title="Soviet–Afghan War">Soviet–Afghan War</a></div> <figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Evstafiev-Soviet-soldier-Afghanistan.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/Evstafiev-Soviet-soldier-Afghanistan.jpg/240px-Evstafiev-Soviet-soldier-Afghanistan.jpg" decoding="async" width="240" height="160" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/Evstafiev-Soviet-soldier-Afghanistan.jpg/360px-Evstafiev-Soviet-soldier-Afghanistan.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/Evstafiev-Soviet-soldier-Afghanistan.jpg/480px-Evstafiev-Soviet-soldier-Afghanistan.jpg 2x" data-file-width="700" data-file-height="467" /></a><figcaption>A Soviet soldier in Afghanistan, 1988</figcaption></figure> <p>In 1979, however, the Soviet Army <a href="/wiki/Soviet%E2%80%93Afghan_War" title="Soviet–Afghan War">intervened in a civil war</a> raging in <a href="/wiki/Afghanistan" title="Afghanistan">Afghanistan</a>. The Soviet Army came to back a Soviet-friendly communist government threatened by multinational, mainly Afghan, insurgent groups called the mujahideen. The insurgents received military training in neighboring Pakistan, China, and billions of dollars from the United States, Saudi Arabia, and other countries. Technically superior, the Soviets did not have enough troops to establish control over the countryside and to secure the border. This resulted from hesitancy in the <a href="/wiki/Politburo" title="Politburo">Politburo</a>, which allowed only a "limited contingent", averaging between 80,000 and 100,000 troops. Consequently, local insurgents could effectively employ hit-and-run tactics, using easy escape-routes and good supply-channels. This made the Soviet situation hopeless from the military point of view (short of using "<a href="/wiki/Scorched_earth" title="Scorched earth">scorched earth</a>" tactics, which the Soviets did not practice except in World War II in their own territory). The understanding of this made the war highly unpopular within the Army. With the coming of <a href="/wiki/Glasnost" title="Glasnost">glasnost</a>, Soviet media started to report heavy losses, which made the war very unpopular in the USSR in general, even though actual losses remained modest, averaging 1670 per year. The war also became a sensitive issue internationally, which finally led General Secretary <a href="/wiki/Mikhail_Gorbachev" title="Mikhail Gorbachev">Mikhail Gorbachev</a> to withdraw the Soviet forces from Afghanistan. The "<a href="/w/index.php?title=Afghan_Syndrome&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Afghan Syndrome (page does not exist)">Afghan Syndrome</a>" suffered by the Army parallels the American <a href="/wiki/Vietnam_Syndrome" class="mw-redirect" title="Vietnam Syndrome">Vietnam Syndrome</a> trauma over their own unsuccessful war in <a href="/wiki/Vietnam" title="Vietnam">Vietnam</a>. Tactically, both sides concentrated on attacking supply lines, but Afghan mujahideen were well dug-in with tunnels and defensive positions, holding out against artillery and air attacks. The decade long war resulted in millions of Afghans fleeing their country, mostly to Pakistan and Iran. At least half a million Afghan civilians were killed in addition to the rebels in the war. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="The_end_of_the_Soviet_Union">The end of the Soviet Union</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Soviet_Armed_Forces&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: The end of the Soviet Union"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1251242444"><table class="box-No_footnotes plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-style ambox-No_footnotes" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><span typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Text_document_with_red_question_mark.svg/40px-Text_document_with_red_question_mark.svg.png" decoding="async" width="40" height="40" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Text_document_with_red_question_mark.svg/60px-Text_document_with_red_question_mark.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Text_document_with_red_question_mark.svg/80px-Text_document_with_red_question_mark.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="48" data-file-height="48" /></span></span></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This section includes a <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources" title="Wikipedia:Citing sources">list of references</a>, <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Further_reading" title="Wikipedia:Further reading">related reading</a>, or <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:External_links" title="Wikipedia:External links">external links</a>, <b>but its sources remain unclear because it lacks <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources#Inline_citations" title="Wikipedia:Citing sources">inline citations</a></b>.<span class="hide-when-compact"> Please help <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Fact_and_Reference_Check" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:WikiProject Fact and Reference Check">improve</a> this section by <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:When_to_cite" title="Wikipedia:When to cite">introducing</a> more precise citations.</span> <span class="date-container"><i>(<span class="date">May 2012</span>)</i></span><span class="hide-when-compact"><i> (<small><a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a></small>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Bronzestatue,_Sowjetisches_Ehrenmal,_Berlin-Tiergarten,_160328,_ako.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/62/Bronzestatue%2C_Sowjetisches_Ehrenmal%2C_Berlin-Tiergarten%2C_160328%2C_ako.jpg/220px-Bronzestatue%2C_Sowjetisches_Ehrenmal%2C_Berlin-Tiergarten%2C_160328%2C_ako.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="330" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/62/Bronzestatue%2C_Sowjetisches_Ehrenmal%2C_Berlin-Tiergarten%2C_160328%2C_ako.jpg/330px-Bronzestatue%2C_Sowjetisches_Ehrenmal%2C_Berlin-Tiergarten%2C_160328%2C_ako.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/62/Bronzestatue%2C_Sowjetisches_Ehrenmal%2C_Berlin-Tiergarten%2C_160328%2C_ako.jpg/440px-Bronzestatue%2C_Sowjetisches_Ehrenmal%2C_Berlin-Tiergarten%2C_160328%2C_ako.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3648" data-file-height="5472" /></a><figcaption>Monument to the Red Army in Berlin</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:%D0%93%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D1%85%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BC_%D0%92%D0%BE%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%83%D0%B6%D1%91%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D1%85_%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%BB_%D0%A0%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%B9%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D0%A4%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%B8_2021_18.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/%D0%93%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D1%85%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BC_%D0%92%D0%BE%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%83%D0%B6%D1%91%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D1%85_%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%BB_%D0%A0%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%B9%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D0%A4%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%B8_2021_18.jpg/220px-%D0%93%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D1%85%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BC_%D0%92%D0%BE%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%83%D0%B6%D1%91%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D1%85_%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%BB_%D0%A0%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%B9%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D0%A4%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%B8_2021_18.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="293" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/%D0%93%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D1%85%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BC_%D0%92%D0%BE%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%83%D0%B6%D1%91%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D1%85_%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%BB_%D0%A0%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%B9%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D0%A4%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%B8_2021_18.jpg/330px-%D0%93%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D1%85%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BC_%D0%92%D0%BE%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%83%D0%B6%D1%91%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D1%85_%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%BB_%D0%A0%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%B9%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D0%A4%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%B8_2021_18.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/%D0%93%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D1%85%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BC_%D0%92%D0%BE%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%83%D0%B6%D1%91%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D1%85_%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%BB_%D0%A0%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%B9%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D0%A4%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%B8_2021_18.jpg/440px-%D0%93%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D1%85%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BC_%D0%92%D0%BE%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%83%D0%B6%D1%91%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D1%85_%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%BB_%D0%A0%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%B9%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D0%A4%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%B8_2021_18.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3024" data-file-height="4032" /></a><figcaption>A <a href="/wiki/Mosaic" title="Mosaic">mosaic</a> in the <a href="/wiki/Main_Cathedral_of_the_Russian_Armed_Forces" title="Main Cathedral of the Russian Armed Forces">Main Cathedral of the Russian Armed Forces</a> commemorating the Soviet Armed Forces and some of its most important World War II battles – <a href="/wiki/Defense_of_Brest_Fortress" title="Defense of Brest Fortress">Defense of Brest Fortress</a>, <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Smolensk_(1941)" title="Battle of Smolensk (1941)">Battle of Smolensk</a> and <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Moscow" title="Battle of Moscow">Battle of Moscow</a></figcaption></figure> <p>From 1985 to 1991, the new leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, attempted to reduce the strain the Army placed on economic demands. His government slowly reduced the size of the army. By 1989 Soviet troops were leaving their <a href="/wiki/Warsaw_Pact" title="Warsaw Pact">Warsaw Pact</a> neighbors to fend for themselves. That same year Soviet forces left Afghanistan. By the end of 1990, the entire Eastern Bloc had collapsed in the wake of democratic revolutions. As a result, Soviet citizens quickly began to turn against the Soviet government as well. As the Soviet Union moved towards disintegration, the reduced military was rendered feeble and ineffective and could no longer prop up the ailing Soviet government. The military got involved in trying to suppress conflicts and unrest in <a href="/wiki/Central_Asia" title="Central Asia">Central Asia</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Caucasus" title="Caucasus">Caucasus</a> but it often proved incapable of restoring peace and order. On April 9, 1989, the army, together with <a href="/wiki/MVD" class="mw-redirect" title="MVD">MVD</a> units, massacred about 190 demonstrators in <a href="/wiki/Tbilisi" title="Tbilisi">Tbilisi</a> in Georgia. The next major crisis occurred in <a href="/wiki/Azerbaijan" title="Azerbaijan">Azerbaijan</a>, when the Soviet army forcibly entered <a href="/wiki/Baku" title="Baku">Baku</a> on January 19–20, 1990, removing the rebellious republic government and allegedly killing hundreds of civilians in the process. On January 13, 1991, Soviet forces stormed the State Radio and Television Building and the television retranslation tower in <a href="/wiki/Vilnius" title="Vilnius">Vilnius</a>, <a href="/wiki/Lithuania" title="Lithuania">Lithuania</a>, both under opposition control, killing 14 people and injuring 700. This action was perceived by many as heavy-handed and achieved little. </p><p>By mid-1991, the Soviet Union had reached a state of emergency. According to the official commission (the Soviet Academy of Sciences) appointed by the <a href="/wiki/Supreme_Soviet" title="Supreme Soviet">Supreme Soviet</a> (the higher chamber of the Russian parliament) immediately after the <a href="/wiki/Soviet_coup_attempt_of_1991" class="mw-redirect" title="Soviet coup attempt of 1991">events of August 1991</a>, the Army did not play a significant role in what some describe as <a href="/wiki/Coup_d%27%C3%A9tat" title="Coup d'état">coup d'état</a> of old-guard communists.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (August 2009)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> Commanders sent tanks into the streets of Moscow, but (according to all the commanders and soldiers) only with orders to ensure the safety of the people. It remains unclear why exactly the military forces entered the city, but they clearly did not have the goal of overthrowing Gorbachev (absent on the Black Sea coast at the time) or the government. The coup failed primarily because the participants did not take any decisive action, and after several days of their inaction the coup simply stopped. Only one confrontation took place between civilians and the tank crews during the coup, which led to the deaths of three civilians. Although the victims became proclaimed heroes, the authorities acquitted the tank crew of all charges. Nobody issued orders to shoot at anyone. </p><p>Following the coup attempt of August 1991, the leadership of the Soviet Union retained practically no authority over the component republics. Nearly every Soviet Republic declared its intention to secede and began passing laws defying the Supreme Soviet. On December 8, 1991, the Presidents of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine declared the Soviet Union dissolved and signed the document setting up the <a href="/wiki/Commonwealth_of_Independent_States" title="Commonwealth of Independent States">Commonwealth of Independent States</a> (CIS). Gorbachev finally resigned on December 25, 1991, and the following day the Supreme Soviet, the highest governmental body, dissolved itself, officially ending the Soviet Union's existence. For the next year and a half various attempts were made to keep the Soviet military in existence as the <a href="/wiki/United_Armed_Forces_of_the_Commonwealth_of_Independent_States" title="United Armed Forces of the Commonwealth of Independent States">United Armed Forces of the Commonwealth of Independent States</a>. Steadily, the units stationed in <a href="/wiki/Ukraine" title="Ukraine">Ukraine</a> and some other breakaway republics swore loyalty to their new national governments, while a series of treaties between the newly independent states divided up the military's assets. Following <a href="/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Dissolution of the Soviet Union">dissolution of the Soviet Union</a>, the Soviet Army dissolved and the USSR's successor states shared out its assets among themselves. The share out mostly occurred on a regional basis, with Soviet soldiers from Russia becoming part of the new Russian Army, while Soviet soldiers originating from Kazakhstan became part of the new <a href="/wiki/Military_of_Kazakhstan" class="mw-redirect" title="Military of Kazakhstan">Kazakh Army</a>. </p> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Soviet_and_Russian_military_expenditures_in_constant_2015_dollars_(SIPRI_figures).png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/Soviet_and_Russian_military_expenditures_in_constant_2015_dollars_%28SIPRI_figures%29.png/220px-Soviet_and_Russian_military_expenditures_in_constant_2015_dollars_%28SIPRI_figures%29.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="128" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/Soviet_and_Russian_military_expenditures_in_constant_2015_dollars_%28SIPRI_figures%29.png/330px-Soviet_and_Russian_military_expenditures_in_constant_2015_dollars_%28SIPRI_figures%29.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/Soviet_and_Russian_military_expenditures_in_constant_2015_dollars_%28SIPRI_figures%29.png/440px-Soviet_and_Russian_military_expenditures_in_constant_2015_dollars_%28SIPRI_figures%29.png 2x" data-file-width="965" data-file-height="561" /></a><figcaption>Soviet and Russian military expenditures in billions of 2015 US dollars</figcaption></figure> <p>In mid-March 1992, Yeltsin appointed himself as the new Russian Minister of Defence, marking a crucial step in the creation of the new <a href="/wiki/Armed_Forces_of_the_Russian_Federation" class="mw-redirect" title="Armed Forces of the Russian Federation">Armed Forces of the Russian Federation</a>, comprising the bulk of what was still left of the military. The last vestiges of the old Soviet command structure were finally dissolved in June 1993. In the next few years, the former Soviet forces withdrew from central and Eastern Europe (including the <a href="/wiki/Baltic_states" title="Baltic states">Baltic states</a>), as well as from the newly independent post-Soviet republics of <a href="/wiki/Azerbaijan" title="Azerbaijan">Azerbaijan</a>, <a href="/wiki/Georgia_(country)" title="Georgia (country)">Georgia</a> (partially), <a href="/wiki/Moldova" title="Moldova">Moldova</a> (partially), <a href="/wiki/Turkmenistan" title="Turkmenistan">Turkmenistan</a> and <a href="/wiki/Uzbekistan" title="Uzbekistan">Uzbekistan</a>. In 2020, Russian forces remained in <a href="/wiki/Abkhazia" title="Abkhazia">Abkhazia</a>, <a href="/wiki/Armenia" title="Armenia">Armenia</a>, <a href="/wiki/Belarus" title="Belarus">Belarus</a>, <a href="/wiki/Kazakhstan" title="Kazakhstan">Kazakhstan</a>, <a href="/wiki/Kyrgyzstan" title="Kyrgyzstan">Kyrgyzstan</a>, <a href="/wiki/South_Ossetia" title="South Ossetia">South Ossetia</a>, <a href="/wiki/Tajikistan" title="Tajikistan">Tajikistan</a> and <a href="/wiki/Transnistria" title="Transnistria">Transnistria</a>. While in many places the withdrawal and division took place without any problems, the Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet remained in the <a href="/wiki/Crimea" title="Crimea">Crimea</a>, Ukraine, with the fleet division and a Russian leasehold for fleet facilities in Crimea finally achieved in 1997. </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Baltic_states" title="Baltic states">Baltic states</a> (<a href="/wiki/Estonia" title="Estonia">Estonia</a>, <a href="/wiki/Latvia" title="Latvia">Latvia</a> and <a href="/wiki/Lithuania" title="Lithuania">Lithuania</a>) became successful members of <a href="/wiki/NATO" title="NATO">NATO</a> since 2004. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine maintain cooperation with NATO as well. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Structure_and_leadership">Structure and leadership</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Soviet_Armed_Forces&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: Structure and leadership"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:%D0%A1%D1%85%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%B0_%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%B3%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%BE_%D1%83%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%92%D0%A1_%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A0.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/%D0%A1%D1%85%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%B0_%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%B3%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%BE_%D1%83%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%92%D0%A1_%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A0.png/400px-%D0%A1%D1%85%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%B0_%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%B3%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%BE_%D1%83%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%92%D0%A1_%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A0.png" decoding="async" width="400" height="330" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/%D0%A1%D1%85%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%B0_%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%B3%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%BE_%D1%83%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%92%D0%A1_%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A0.png/600px-%D0%A1%D1%85%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%B0_%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%B3%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%BE_%D1%83%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%92%D0%A1_%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A0.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/%D0%A1%D1%85%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%B0_%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%B3%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%BE_%D1%83%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%92%D0%A1_%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A0.png/800px-%D0%A1%D1%85%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%B0_%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%B3%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%BE_%D1%83%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%92%D0%A1_%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A0.png 2x" data-file-width="5935" data-file-height="4901" /></a><figcaption>The scheme of command and control of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union at the beginning of 1989 (V.I. Feskov et al. 2013)</figcaption></figure> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/Formations_of_the_Soviet_Army" title="Formations of the Soviet Army">Formations of the Soviet Army</a></div> <p>The Soviet Armed Forces were controlled by the <a href="/wiki/Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Communist Party of the Soviet Union">Communist Party of the Soviet Union</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Ministry_of_Defence_(Soviet_Union)" class="mw-redirect" title="Ministry of Defence (Soviet Union)">Ministry of Defence</a>. At its head was the <a href="/wiki/Minister_of_Defence_(Soviet_Union)" title="Minister of Defence (Soviet Union)">Minister of Defence</a>, generally a full member of the <a href="/wiki/Politburo_of_the_Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union">Politburo</a> (the Politburo, in turn, was chaired by the <a href="/wiki/General_Secretary_of_the_Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union">General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union</a>, generally the <i><a href="/wiki/De_facto" title="De facto">de facto</a></i> <a href="/wiki/Leader_of_the_Soviet_Union" class="mw-redirect" title="Leader of the Soviet Union">leader of the Soviet Union</a>) and from 1934 onwards, a <a href="/wiki/Marshal_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Marshal of the Soviet Union">Marshal of the Soviet Union</a>. Stalin was the last civilian/politician Minister of Defence; from 1947 onwards, the Minister of Defence was a serving general (though the last was an airman). Between 1934 and 1946, 1950 and 1953, a separate Ministry of the Navy existed and the Ministry of Defence was responsible only for land and air forces. In practice, the Navy Minister was a far more junior official and the Defence Ministry continued to dominate policymaking. </p><p>Beneath the Minister of Defence were two First Deputy Ministers of Defence; the <a href="/wiki/Chief_of_the_General_Staff_(Russia)" title="Chief of the General Staff (Russia)">Chief of the General Staff</a>, who was responsible for operations and planning, and the First Deputy Minister of Defence for General Affairs, who was responsible for administration. From 1955 the <a href="/wiki/Supreme_Commander_of_the_Unified_Armed_Forces_of_the_Warsaw_Treaty_Organisation" class="mw-redirect" title="Supreme Commander of the Unified Armed Forces of the Warsaw Treaty Organisation">Supreme Commander of the Warsaw Pact</a> also held the title of First Deputy Minister of Defence. By the 1980s there was another eleven Deputy Minister of Defence; including the commanders-in-chief of the five service branches.<sup id="cite_ref-27" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-27"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In 1989, the Soviet Armed Forces consisted of the <a href="/wiki/Strategic_Rocket_Forces" title="Strategic Rocket Forces">Strategic Rocket Forces</a>, the Ground Forces, <a href="/wiki/Soviet_Air_Defence_Forces" title="Soviet Air Defence Forces">Air Defence Forces</a>, the Air Forces, and the Navy, listed in their official order of importance.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEZickelKeefe1991697_2-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEZickelKeefe1991697-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The <a href="/wiki/Rear_services" title="Rear services">Rear services</a>, "Tyl", had their own deputy minister of defence. In 1970 the troops of the All-Union National <a href="/wiki/Civil_Defence" class="mw-redirect" title="Civil Defence">Civil Defence</a> Forces were added. </p><p>There were also a number of armed organisations beyond the Ministry of Defence; in 1989 these included <a href="/wiki/Internal_Troops" class="mw-redirect" title="Internal Troops">Internal Troops</a> and the <a href="/wiki/KGB_Border_Troops" class="mw-redirect" title="KGB Border Troops">KGB Border Troops</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Personnel">Personnel</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Soviet_Armed_Forces&action=edit&section=17" title="Edit section: Personnel"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Lenin,_Trotsky_and_Voroshilov_with_Delegates_of_the_10th_Congress_of_the_Russian_Communist_Party_(Bolsheviks).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Lenin%2C_Trotsky_and_Voroshilov_with_Delegates_of_the_10th_Congress_of_the_Russian_Communist_Party_%28Bolsheviks%29.jpg/220px-Lenin%2C_Trotsky_and_Voroshilov_with_Delegates_of_the_10th_Congress_of_the_Russian_Communist_Party_%28Bolsheviks%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="165" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Lenin%2C_Trotsky_and_Voroshilov_with_Delegates_of_the_10th_Congress_of_the_Russian_Communist_Party_%28Bolsheviks%29.jpg/330px-Lenin%2C_Trotsky_and_Voroshilov_with_Delegates_of_the_10th_Congress_of_the_Russian_Communist_Party_%28Bolsheviks%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Lenin%2C_Trotsky_and_Voroshilov_with_Delegates_of_the_10th_Congress_of_the_Russian_Communist_Party_%28Bolsheviks%29.jpg/440px-Lenin%2C_Trotsky_and_Voroshilov_with_Delegates_of_the_10th_Congress_of_the_Russian_Communist_Party_%28Bolsheviks%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1000" data-file-height="749" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Vladimir_Lenin" title="Vladimir Lenin">Vladimir Lenin</a>, <a href="/wiki/Leon_Trotsky" title="Leon Trotsky">Leon Trotsky</a> and soldiers of the Red Army in <a href="/wiki/Petrograd" class="mw-redirect" title="Petrograd">Petrograd</a>, 1921</figcaption></figure> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Ranks_and_titles">Ranks and titles</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Soviet_Armed_Forces&action=edit&section=18" title="Edit section: Ranks and titles"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/Military_ranks_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Military ranks of the Soviet Union">Military ranks of the Soviet Union</a> and <a href="/wiki/History_of_Russian_military_ranks" title="History of Russian military ranks">History of Russian military ranks</a></div> <p>The early Red Army never adopted the idea of a professional <a href="/wiki/Officer_(armed_forces)" title="Officer (armed forces)">officer corps</a>. It was seen as a "heritage of tsarism.". In particular, the Bolsheviks condemned the use of the word "officer" and used the word "<a href="/wiki/Commander" title="Commander">commander</a>" instead. The Red Army never adopted <a href="/wiki/Epaulette" title="Epaulette">epaulettes</a> and <a href="/wiki/Military_rank" title="Military rank">ranks</a>, using purely functional titles such as "Division Commander", "Corps Commander", and similar titles. In 1924 it supplemented this system with "service categories", from K-1 (lowest) to K-14 (highest). The service categories essentially operated as ranks in disguise: they indicated the experience and qualifications of a commander. The insignia now denoted the category, not the position of a commander. However, one still had to use functional titles to address commanders, which could become as awkward as "comrade deputy head-of-staff of corps". If one did not know a commander's position, one used one of the possible positions—for example: "Regiment Commander" for K-9. </p><p>On September 22, 1935, the Red Army abandoned service categories and introduced personal ranks. These ranks, however, used a unique mix of functional titles and traditional ranks. For example, the ranks included "<a href="/wiki/Lieutenant" title="Lieutenant">Lieutenant</a>" and "<a href="/wiki/Komdiv" title="Komdiv">Komdiv</a>" (Комдив, Division Commander). Further complications ensued from the functional and categorical ranks for political officers (e.g., "Brigade Commissar", "Army Commissar 2nd Rank"), for technical corps (e.g., "Engineer 3rd Rank", "Division Engineer"), for administrative, medical and other non-combatant branches. The year before (1934), the revival of personal ranks began with the <a href="/wiki/Marshal_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Marshal of the Soviet Union">Marshal of the Soviet Union</a> rank bestowed upon 5 Army Commanders. </p><p>There were further modifications to the system. 1937 saw the Junior Lieutenant and Junior Military Technician ranks being added. On May 7, 1940, the ranks of "<a href="/wiki/General" class="mw-redirect" title="General">General</a>" or "<a href="/wiki/Admiral" title="Admiral">Admiral</a>" replaced the senior functional ranks of <a href="/wiki/Kombrig" title="Kombrig">Kombrig</a>, Komdiv, <a href="/wiki/Komkor" title="Komkor">Komkor</a>, <a href="/wiki/Komandarm" title="Komandarm">Komandarm</a>; the other senior functional ranks ("Division Commissar", "Division Engineer", etc.) remained unaffected. On November 2, 1940, the system underwent further modification with the abolition of functional ranks for <a href="/wiki/Non-commissioned_officer" title="Non-commissioned officer">non-commissioned officers</a> (NCOs) and the introduction of the Podpolkovnik (<a href="/wiki/Lieutenant_Colonel" class="mw-redirect" title="Lieutenant Colonel">Lieutenant Colonel</a>) rank. </p><p>In early 1942 all the functional ranks in technical and administrative corps became regularised ranks (e.g., "Engineer Major", "Engineer Colonel", "Captain of the Intendant Service", etc.). On October 9, 1942, the authorities abolished the system of military commissars, together with the commissar ranks. The functional ranks remained only in medical, veterinary and legislative corps. By then the Naval rank of Midshipman was revived in the <a href="/wiki/Soviet_Navy" title="Soviet Navy">Soviet Navy</a> as an NCO rank, a role lasting until the 1970s. </p><p>In early 1943 a unification of the system saw the abolition of all the remaining functional ranks. The word "officer" became officially endorsed, together with the <a href="/wiki/Epaulette" title="Epaulette">epaulettes</a> that superseded the previous rank insignia. The ranks and insignia of 1943 did not change much until the last days of the USSR; the contemporary <a href="/wiki/Russian_Ground_Forces" title="Russian Ground Forces">Russian Army</a> uses largely the same system. The old functional ranks of <a href="/wiki/Kombat_(military_rank)" title="Kombat (military rank)">Kombat</a> (Battalion or Battery Commander), Kombrig (Brigade Commander) and Komdiv (Division Commander) continue in informal use. </p><p>By the end of the Second World War, the <a href="/wiki/Admiral_of_the_Fleet" class="mw-redirect" title="Admiral of the Fleet">Admiral of the Fleet</a> rank (which, from 1945 was already equivalent to Marshal) was later renamed <a href="/wiki/Admiral_of_the_Fleet_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union">Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union</a> in 1955. In the 1960s however, it became a rank of its own when new regulations revived the Fleet Admiral rank in the Soviet Navy, thus becoming the naval equivalent to General of the Army. </p><p>By 1972, the final transformation of military ranks began as the rank of Praporshchik (<a href="/wiki/Warrant_officer" title="Warrant officer">Warrant officer</a>) ranks being added in the Army and Air Force for contract NCOs since the rank of Starshina (Sergeant Major) was from now on for conscripts. But in the Soviet Navy, it meant that the Naval rank of Midshipman became a rank for Naval warrant officers since the Navy created the new rank of Ship Chief Sergeant Major for its NCOs in naval service. The year of 1974 saw the rank insignia changed for Army Generals and Navy Fleet Admirals in their parade dress and working and combat dress uniforms. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="General_Staff">General Staff</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Soviet_Armed_Forces&action=edit&section=19" title="Edit section: General Staff"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>On September 22, 1935, the authorities renamed the RKKA Staff as the <a href="/wiki/General_Staff_of_the_Armed_Forces_of_the_Russian_Federation" title="General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation">General Staff</a>, which essentially reincarnated the General Staff of the <a href="/wiki/Russian_Empire" title="Russian Empire">Russian Empire</a>. Many of the former RKKA Staff officers had served as General Staff officers in the Russian Empire and became General Staff officers in the USSR. General Staff officers typically had extensive combat experience and solid academic training. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Military_education">Military education</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Soviet_Armed_Forces&action=edit&section=20" title="Edit section: Military education"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>During the <a href="/wiki/Russian_Civil_War" title="Russian Civil War">Civil War</a> the commander cadres received training at the <a href="/wiki/General_Staff_Academy_(Imperial_Russia)" class="mw-redirect" title="General Staff Academy (Imperial Russia)">General Staff Academy</a> of the RKKA (Академия Генерального штаба РККА), an alias of the Nicholas General Staff Academy (Николаевская академия Генерального штаба) of the Russian Empire. On August 5, 1921, the academy became the <a href="/wiki/Military_Academy" class="mw-redirect" title="Military Academy">Military Academy</a> of the RKKA (Военная академия РККА), and in 1925 the <a href="/wiki/Mikhail_Frunze" title="Mikhail Frunze">Frunze</a> (М.В. Фрунзе) Military Academy of the RKKA. The senior and supreme commanders received training at the Higher Military Academic Courses (Высшие военно-академические курсы), renamed in 1925 as the Advanced Courses for Supreme Command (Курсы усовершенствования высшего начальствующего состава); in 1931, the establishment of an Operations Faculty at the Frunze Military Academy supplemented these courses. On April 2, 1936, the <a href="/wiki/General_Staff_Academy_(Soviet)" class="mw-redirect" title="General Staff Academy (Soviet)">General Staff Academy</a> was re-instated; it became a principal school for the senior and supreme commanders of the Red Army and a centre for advanced military studies. </p><p>Red Army (and later <a href="/wiki/Soviet_Army" title="Soviet Army">Soviet Army</a>) educational facilities called "academies" do not correspond to the <a href="/wiki/Military_academies" class="mw-redirect" title="Military academies">military academies</a> in Western countries. Those <a href="/wiki/Soviet_military_academies" class="mw-redirect" title="Soviet military academies">Soviet Academies</a> were the <a href="/wiki/Post-graduate" class="mw-redirect" title="Post-graduate">post-graduate</a> schools, mandatory for officers applying for senior ranks (e.g., the rank of <a href="/wiki/Colonel" title="Colonel">colonel</a> since the 1950s). While a basic <a href="/wiki/Officer_(armed_forces)" title="Officer (armed forces)">officer</a> education in the Red Army was provided by the facilities named <i>военная школа</i> or <i>военное училище</i>–which may be generally translated as "school" and compared to Western "academies" like <a href="/wiki/West_Point" class="mw-redirect" title="West Point">West Point</a> or <a href="/wiki/Royal_Military_Academy_Sandhurst" title="Royal Military Academy Sandhurst">Sandhurst</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Manpower_and_enlisted_men">Manpower and enlisted men</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Soviet_Armed_Forces&action=edit&section=21" title="Edit section: Manpower and enlisted men"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1251242444"><table class="box-Expand_section plainlinks metadata ambox mbox-small-left ambox-content" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="[icon]" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg/20px-Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg.png" decoding="async" width="20" height="14" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg/30px-Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg/40px-Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="44" data-file-height="31" /></a></span></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This section <b>needs expansion</b>. You can help by <a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Soviet_Armed_Forces&action=edit&section=">adding to it</a>. <span class="date-container"><i>(<span class="date">June 2008</span>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>The Soviet Armed Forces were manned through conscription, which had been reduced in 1967 from three to two years (with remaining three years service in naval forces). This system was administered through the thousands of <a href="/wiki/Military_commissariat" title="Military commissariat">Military commissariats</a> (voenkomats) located throughout the Soviet Union. Between January and May of every year, every young Soviet male citizen was required to report to the local voenkomat for assessment for military service, following a summons based on lists from every school and employer in the area. The voenkomat worked to quotas sent out by a department of the General Staff, listing how young men are required by each service and branch of the Armed Forces.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESchofield199167–70_28-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESchofield199167–70-28"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The new conscripts were then picked up by an officer from their future unit and usually sent by train across the country. On arrival, they would begin the Young Soldiers' course, and become part of the system of hazing and domination by an older class of draftees, known as <a href="/wiki/Dedovshchina" title="Dedovshchina">dedovshchina</a>, literally "rule by the grandfathers." The "..armed forces of the USSR and Warsaw Pact, working to a common Soviet model, ..relied on young officers to conduct in units [rather than in training depots] all the junior command and training tasks which in many Western armies are done in depots or by regular professional long-service NCOs."<sup id="cite_ref-29" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-29"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>27<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> There were only a very small number of professional <a href="/wiki/Non-commissioned_officers" class="mw-redirect" title="Non-commissioned officers">non-commissioned officers</a> (NCOs), as most NCOs were conscripts sent on short courses<sup id="cite_ref-30" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>28<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> to prepare them for section commanders' and platoon sergeants' positions. These conscript NCOs were supplemented by <i><a href="/wiki/Praporshchik" title="Praporshchik">praporshchik</a></i> warrant officers, positions created in the 1960s to support the increased variety of skills required for modern weapons.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEOdom199843_31-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEOdom199843-31"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>29<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Ethnic_Composition_and_Tension">Ethnic Composition and Tension</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Soviet_Armed_Forces&action=edit&section=22" title="Edit section: Ethnic Composition and Tension"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>For years, Soviet leadership argued that Soviet military played a role in decreasing ethnic tensions and nationalist loyalties. According to professor Deborah Yarsike Ball, Soviet historians, such as B. F. Klochkov, argued that, "the Red Army strengthened friendship between soldiers of various nationalities." The official view of the military was that it was a "school of internationalism," where all the various people of the Soviet Union could develop unity and respect for each other.<sup id="cite_ref-jstor.org_32-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-jstor.org-32"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> During the <a href="/wiki/Russian_Civil_War" title="Russian Civil War">Russian Civil War</a>, the Bolshevik government employed non-Slavic ethnic groups, who were known as national military units. </p><p>Despite the official view, the history of inter-ethnic relations in the military was more complicated. As the Bolsheviks consolidated power in the late 1910s and early 1920s, the central leadership became suspicious of the size of the national units. Their sizes were restricted, they were put under close supervision, and eventually disbanded by 1938. The national units were briefly brought back during World War II before being disbanded again in the mid-1950s. In 1956, when soldier were ordered to respond to protesters in the Georgian capital of <a href="/wiki/Tbilisi" title="Tbilisi">Tbilisi</a>, the ethnic-Georgian unit refused to follow orders from their Russian higher-ranking officers.<sup id="cite_ref-cejiss.org_33-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-cejiss.org-33"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>31<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Soviet minorities were not treated equally and many carried anti-regime views. According to a 1983 <a href="/wiki/RAND_Corporation" title="RAND Corporation">RAND Corporation</a> report by Alexander Alexiev and S. Enders Wimbush, the <a href="/wiki/Second_World_War" class="mw-redirect" title="Second World War">Second World War</a> saw the recruitment of 600,000 to 1,400,000 former Soviet citizens into the German military on the <a href="/wiki/Eastern_Front_(World_War_II)" title="Eastern Front (World War II)">Eastern Front</a>. Interestingly, more than 50% of these auxiliaries came from non-Russian backgrounds, such as <a href="/wiki/Ukrainians" title="Ukrainians">Ukrainians</a>, <a href="/wiki/Lithuanians" title="Lithuanians">Lithuanians</a>, <a href="/wiki/Latvians" title="Latvians">Latvians</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Estonians" title="Estonians">Estonians</a>. In addition, more than 250,000 volunteer nationals of <a href="/wiki/Central_Asian" class="mw-redirect" title="Central Asian">Central Asian</a> and <a href="/wiki/Peoples_of_the_Caucasus" class="mw-redirect" title="Peoples of the Caucasus">Caucasian</a> origin were organized in the <i><a href="/wiki/Ostlegionen" title="Ostlegionen">Ostlegionen</a></i>. As the authors noted, "some Soviet nationalities may have been better represented in the <a href="/wiki/Wehrmacht" title="Wehrmacht">Wehrmacht</a> than in the Red Army." At the height of World War II, infantry units in the armed forces were composed of Russians (62.95%), Ukrainians (14.52%), Belarusians (1.9%), and various other ethnicities (20.63%).<sup id="cite_ref-cejiss.org_33-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-cejiss.org-33"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>31<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The war had shown that the integration of various ethnic groups was questionable and fragile.<sup id="cite_ref-34" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-34"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>32<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Inter-ethnic relations in the military did not improve after World War II. In fact, although the <a href="/wiki/Russian_language" title="Russian language">Russian language</a> was crucial in the organization, many non-Slavic servicemen entered the military with "no previous to communicate in Russian." According to a 1980 <a href="/wiki/Time_(magazine)" title="Time (magazine)"><i>Time</i> magazine</a> article citing an analyst from the <a href="/wiki/RAND_Corporation" title="RAND Corporation">RAND Corporation</a>, <a href="/wiki/Demographics_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Demographics of the Soviet Union">Soviet non-Slavs</a> were also generally barred from joining elite or strategic positions (like the <a href="/wiki/Strategic_Rocket_Forces" title="Strategic Rocket Forces">Strategic Rocket Forces</a>, <a href="/wiki/Soviet_Air_Force" class="mw-redirect" title="Soviet Air Force">Soviet Air Force</a> and the Soviet Navy) of the late-Cold War military because of suspicions of loyalty of ethnic minorities to the Kremlin.<sup id="cite_ref-35" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-35"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>33<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Around 80% or more of combat units were staffed by Slavic nationalities while non-combat units usually contained 70% to 90% non-Slavs, especially Central Asians and Caucasians.<sup id="cite_ref-36" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-36"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>34<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The military branches associated with high technology services, such as the Navy, Strategic Rocket Forces, and the Air Force, were disproportionately made up of Russians. In addition, Russians made up 69.4% of the officer corps, while the Slavic number is up to 89.7%.<sup id="cite_ref-jstor.org_32-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-jstor.org-32"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>By 1990, Slavic troops still made a majority of Soviet soldiers. In total, 69.2% of all military members were ethnic Slavic (Russian, Ukrainian, Belorussian), 1.9% were Baltic people, 20.6% were Muslim-Turkic people and 8.3% were all other types of people.<sup id="cite_ref-cejiss.org_33-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-cejiss.org-33"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>31<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Purge">Purge</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Soviet_Armed_Forces&action=edit&section=23" title="Edit section: Purge"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The late 1930s saw the "Purges of the Red Army cadres", occurring against the historical background of the <a href="/wiki/Great_Purge" title="Great Purge">Great Purge</a>. The Purges had the objective of cleansing the Red Army of "politically unreliable elements", mainly among the higher-ranking officers. This inevitably provided a convenient pretext for settling personal vendettas and eventually resulted in a <a href="/wiki/Witch-hunt" class="mw-redirect" title="Witch-hunt">witch-hunt</a>. In 1937, the Red Army numbered around 1.3 million, and it grew to almost three times that number by June 1941. This necessitated quick promotion of junior officers, often despite their lack of experience or training, with obvious grave implications for the effectiveness of the Army in the coming war against Germany. </p><p>In the highest echelons of the Red Army the Purges removed 3 of the 5 marshals, 13 of 15 generals of the army, 8 of 9 admirals, 50 of 57 army corps generals, 154 out of 186 division generals, 16 of 16 army commissars, and 25 of 28 army corps commissars. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Party_control_of_the_Armed_Forces">Party control of the Armed Forces</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Soviet_Armed_Forces&action=edit&section=24" title="Edit section: Party control of the Armed Forces"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:%D0%92%D0%BE%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D0%91%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B5%D1%82_%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A0.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/%D0%92%D0%BE%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D0%91%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B5%D1%82_%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A0.jpg/240px-%D0%92%D0%BE%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D0%91%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B5%D1%82_%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A0.jpg" decoding="async" width="240" height="114" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/%D0%92%D0%BE%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D0%91%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B5%D1%82_%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A0.jpg/360px-%D0%92%D0%BE%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D0%91%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B5%D1%82_%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A0.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/%D0%92%D0%BE%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D0%91%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B5%D1%82_%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A0.jpg/480px-%D0%92%D0%BE%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D0%91%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B5%D1%82_%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A0.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1009" data-file-height="480" /></a><figcaption>Soviet Army conscript's military service book.#1, Place of birth, #2 Nationality (i.e. <a href="/wiki/Ethnicity" title="Ethnicity">ethnicity</a>), #3 Party affiliation (i.e. the year of joining the <a href="/wiki/CPSU" class="mw-redirect" title="CPSU">CPSU</a>), #4 Year of entering the VLKSM (<a href="/wiki/Komsomol" title="Komsomol">Komsomol</a>), #5 Education, #6 Main specialty, #7 Marital status. (Document number and the name are removed).</figcaption></figure> <p>The <a href="/wiki/Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Communist Party of the Soviet Union">Communist Party</a> had a number of mechanisms of control over the country's armed forces. First, starting from a certain rank, only a Party member could be a military commander, and was thus subject to Party discipline. Second, the top military leaders had been systematically integrated into the highest echelons of the party. Third, the party placed a network of <a href="/wiki/Political_commissar" title="Political commissar">political officers</a> throughout the armed forces to influence the activities of the military. </p><p>A political commander (<i>zampolit</i>) served as a political commissar of the armed forces. A <i>zampolit</i> supervised party organizations and conducted party political work within a military unit. He lectured troops on Marxism–Leninism, the Soviet view of international affairs, and the party's tasks for the armed forces. During World War II the zampolit lost veto authority over the commander's decisions but retained the power to report to the next highest political officer or organization on the political attitudes and performance of the unit's commander. </p><p>In 1989 over 20% of all armed forces personnel were party members or <a href="/wiki/Komsomol" title="Komsomol">Komsomol</a> members. Over 90% of all officers in the armed forces were party or Komsomol members. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Weapons_and_equipment">Weapons and equipment</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Soviet_Armed_Forces&action=edit&section=25" title="Edit section: Weapons and equipment"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:1986_map_showing_the_Soviet_Military_Forces.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/1986_map_showing_the_Soviet_Military_Forces.jpg/220px-1986_map_showing_the_Soviet_Military_Forces.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="144" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/1986_map_showing_the_Soviet_Military_Forces.jpg/330px-1986_map_showing_the_Soviet_Military_Forces.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/1986_map_showing_the_Soviet_Military_Forces.jpg/440px-1986_map_showing_the_Soviet_Military_Forces.jpg 2x" data-file-width="9899" data-file-height="6501" /></a><figcaption>1986 map showing the Soviet Military Forces</figcaption></figure> <p>The Soviet Union established an indigenous arms industry as part of <a href="/wiki/History_of_the_Soviet_Union_(1927%E2%80%931953)#Industrialization_in_practice" title="History of the Soviet Union (1927–1953)">Stalin's industrialization program</a> in the 1920s and 1930s. The five-round, <a href="/wiki/Clip_(firearms)" title="Clip (firearms)">stripper clip</a>-fed, <a href="/wiki/Bolt-action" class="mw-redirect" title="Bolt-action">bolt-action</a> <a href="/wiki/Mosin%E2%80%93Nagant" title="Mosin–Nagant">Mosin–Nagant</a> rifle remained the primary shoulder firearm of the Red Army through World War II. Over 17 million model 91/30 Mosin–Nagant rifles were manufactured from 1930 to 1945 by various Soviet arsenals. In 1943 design started on the M44, designed to replace the <a href="/wiki/M91/30" class="mw-redirect" title="M91/30">M91/30</a>. Full production began in 1944, and remained in production until 1948, when it was replaced by the <a href="/wiki/SKS" title="SKS">SKS</a> <a href="/wiki/Semiautomatic_rifle" class="mw-redirect" title="Semiautomatic rifle">semiautomatic rifle</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-37" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-37"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>35<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The Red Army suffered from a shortage of adequate <a href="/wiki/Machine_gun" title="Machine gun">machine guns</a> and semiautomatic firearms throughout World War II. The semiautomatic Tokarev <a href="/wiki/SVT40" class="mw-redirect" title="SVT40">SVT</a> Model 38 and Model 40 were chambered for the same <a href="/wiki/7.62%C3%9754mmR" title="7.62×54mmR">7.62×54mmR</a> cartridge used by the Mosin–Nagants. The rifle, though of sound design, was never manufactured in the same numbers as the Mosin–Nagants and did not replace them. Soviet experimentation with small-arms began during the Second World War. In 1945 the Red Army adopted the Simonov SKS, a semi-automatic <a href="/wiki/7.62%C3%9739mm" title="7.62×39mm">7.62×39mm</a> carbine. In 1949 production of the 7.62×39mm Kalashnikov <a href="/wiki/AK-47" title="AK-47">AK-47</a> assault rifle began: planners envisaged troops using it in conjunction with the SKS, but it soon replaced the SKS completely. In 1959 the <a href="/wiki/AKM" title="AKM">AKM</a> came out as a modernised version of the AK-47, this was created to ease manufacture and improve aspects of the AK-47. In 1978 the <a href="/wiki/5.45%C3%9739mm" title="5.45×39mm">5.45×39mm</a> <a href="/wiki/AK-74" title="AK-74">AK-74</a> assault rifle replaced the AKM: it utilized no less than 51% of the AKM's parts. Designers put together the new weapon as a counterpart to the American <a href="/wiki/5.56%C3%9745mm" class="mw-redirect" title="5.56×45mm">5.56×45mm</a> cartridge used in the <a href="/wiki/M16_rifle" title="M16 rifle">M-16</a> assault rifle, and the Russian army continues<sup class="plainlinks noexcerpt noprint asof-tag update" style="display:none;"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Soviet_Armed_Forces&action=edit">[update]</a></sup> to use it today. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Soviet_Armed_Forces&action=edit&section=26" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239009302">.mw-parser-output .portalbox{padding:0;margin:0.5em 0;display:table;box-sizing:border-box;max-width:175px;list-style:none}.mw-parser-output .portalborder{border:1px solid var(--border-color-base,#a2a9b1);padding:0.1em;background:var(--background-color-neutral-subtle,#f8f9fa)}.mw-parser-output .portalbox-entry{display:table-row;font-size:85%;line-height:110%;height:1.9em;font-style:italic;font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .portalbox-image{display:table-cell;padding:0.2em;vertical-align:middle;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .portalbox-link{display:table-cell;padding:0.2em 0.2em 0.2em 0.3em;vertical-align:middle}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .portalleft{clear:left;float:left;margin:0.5em 1em 0.5em 0}.mw-parser-output .portalright{clear:right;float:right;margin:0.5em 0 0.5em 1em}}</style><ul role="navigation" aria-label="Portals" class="noprint portalbox portalborder portalright"> <li class="portalbox-entry"><span class="portalbox-image"><span class="mw-image-border noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="flag" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/32px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png" decoding="async" width="32" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/48px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/64px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="600" /></span></span></span><span class="portalbox-link"><a href="/wiki/Portal:Soviet_Union" title="Portal:Soviet Union">Soviet Union portal</a></span></li></ul> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Soviet_Union_military_bases_abroad" title="List of Soviet Union military bases abroad">List of Soviet Union military bases abroad</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Comparative_military_ranks_of_World_War_II" class="mw-redirect" title="Comparative military ranks of World War II">Comparative military ranks of World War II</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_military_aircraft_of_the_Soviet_Union_and_the_CIS" title="List of military aircraft of the Soviet Union and the CIS">List of military aircraft of the Soviet Union and the CIS</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_war_crimes" title="Soviet war crimes">Soviet war crimes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mikhail_Tukhachevsky" title="Mikhail Tukhachevsky">Mikhail Tukhachevsky</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Notes">Notes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Soviet_Armed_Forces&action=edit&section=27" title="Edit section: Notes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist reflist-lower-alpha"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Russian: <span lang="ru">Вооружённые Силы Союза Советских Социалистических Республик</span>, <small>romanized: </small><span title="Russian-language romanization"><i lang="ru-Latn">Vooruzhonnyye Sily Soyuza Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik</i></span>, <small><abbr title="literal translation">lit.</abbr> </small>'Armed Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics'</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Russian: <span lang="ru">Вооружённые Силы Советского Союза</span>, <small>romanized: </small><span title="Russian-language romanization"><i lang="ru-Latn">Vooruzhyonnyye Sily Sovetskogo Soyuza</i></span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Soviet_Armed_Forces&action=edit&section=28" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239543626"><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150511073849/http://cis.minsk.by/reestr/ru/index.html#reestr/view/text?doc=293">"Loading"</a>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://cis.minsk.by/reestr/ru/index.html#reestr/view/text?doc=293">the original</a> on 2015-05-11<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2017-03-03</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Loading&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fcis.minsk.by%2Freestr%2Fru%2Findex.html%23reestr%2Fview%2Ftext%3Fdoc%3D293&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASoviet+Armed+Forces" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEZickelKeefe1991697-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEZickelKeefe1991697_2-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEZickelKeefe1991697_2-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEZickelKeefe1991697_2-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFZickelKeefe1991">Zickel & Keefe 1991</a>, p. 697.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation news cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/31/world/soviet-military-budget-128-billion-bombshell.html">"Soviet Military Budget: $128 Billion Bombshell"</a>. <i>The New York Times</i>. 31 May 1989. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170312024757/http://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/31/world/soviet-military-budget-128-billion-bombshell.html">Archived</a> from the original on 2017-03-12<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2017-02-12</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+New+York+Times&rft.atitle=Soviet+Military+Budget%3A+%24128+Billion+Bombshell&rft.date=1989-05-31&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F1989%2F05%2F31%2Fworld%2Fsoviet-military-budget-128-billion-bombshell.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASoviet+Armed+Forces" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150924163711/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-7863803.html">"Soviets to trim military production by 1990"</a>. <i>Defense Daily</i>. 24 July 1989. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-7863803.html">the original</a> on 24 September 2015<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">9 August</span> 2015</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Defense+Daily&rft.atitle=Soviets+to+trim+military+production+by+1990&rft.date=1989-07-24&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.highbeam.com%2Fdoc%2F1G1-7863803.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASoviet+Armed+Forces" class="Z3988"></span>; <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150924164925/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-8923367.html">"Soviet military spending put at 20–25% of GNP"</a>. <i>Defense Daily</i>. 24 April 1990. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-8923367.html">the original</a> on 24 September 2015<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">9 August</span> 2015</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Defense+Daily&rft.atitle=Soviet+military+spending+put+at+20%E2%80%9325%25+of+GNP&rft.date=1990-04-24&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.highbeam.com%2Fdoc%2F1G1-8923367.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASoviet+Armed+Forces" class="Z3988"></span>; <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150924165020/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-9022647.html">"Soviets have not hardened position on SLCM – Akhromeyev"</a>. <i>Defense Daily</i>. 9 May 1990. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-9022647.html">the original</a> on 24 September 2015<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">9 August</span> 2015</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Defense+Daily&rft.atitle=Soviets+have+not+hardened+position+on+SLCM+%E2%80%93+Akhromeyev&rft.date=1990-05-09&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.highbeam.com%2Fdoc%2F1G1-9022647.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASoviet+Armed+Forces" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEScottScott197913-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEScottScott197913_7-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFScottScott1979">Scott & Scott 1979</a>, p. 13.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-8">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.prlib.ru/history/619624">"Принят закон "О всеобщей воинской обязанности"<span class="cs1-kern-right"></span>"</a>. Translated by A law on the mandatory military draft. prlib.ru. 12 October 1967.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=%D0%9F%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%8F%D1%82+%D0%B7%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BD+%22%D0%9E+%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%BE%D0%B1%D1%89%D0%B5%D0%B9+%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B9+%D0%BE%D0%B1%D1%8F%D0%B7%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BD%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8%22&rft.pub=prlib.ru&rft.date=1967-10-12&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.prlib.ru%2Fhistory%2F619624&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASoviet+Armed+Forces" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Manual-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Manual_9-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Manual_9-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://irp.fas.org/doddir/army/fm100-2-1.pdf">"The Soviet Army: Operations and Tactics"</a>. <a href="/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Defense" title="United States Department of Defense">United States Department of Defense</a> - <a href="/wiki/Department_of_the_Army_(United_States)" class="mw-redirect" title="Department of the Army (United States)">Department of the Army</a>. <i>Field Manual</i> (No. 100-2-1). 16 July 1984. <a href="/wiki/Washington,_D.C." title="Washington, D.C.">Washington, D.C.</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-10">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/nazsov/ns069.htm">Telegram from the German Ambassador in the Soviet Union, (Schulenburg) to the German Foreign Office</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091107175858/http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/nazsov/ns069.htm">Archived</a> 2009-11-07 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a>, 10 September 1939, at Yale Law School's <i>Avalon Project: Nazi-Soviet Relations 1939–1941</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEFischer1999-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEFischer1999_11-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFFischer1999">Fischer 1999</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEKrivosheev1997-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKrivosheev1997_12-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFKrivosheev1997">Krivosheev 1997</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Piotr_p199-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Piotr_p199_13-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFPiotrowski1988" class="citation book cs1">Piotrowski, Tadeusz (1988). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/polandsholocaust00piot/page/177">"Ukrainian Collaborators"</a>. <i>Poland's Holocaust: Ethnic Strife, Collaboration with Occupying Forces and Genocide in the Second Republic, 1918–1947</i>. McFarland. pp. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/polandsholocaust00piot/page/177">177–259</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0786403713" title="Special:BookSources/0786403713"><bdi>0786403713</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Ukrainian+Collaborators&rft.btitle=Poland%27s+Holocaust%3A+Ethnic+Strife%2C+Collaboration+with+Occupying+Forces+and+Genocide+in+the+Second+Republic%2C+1918%E2%80%931947&rft.pages=177-259&rft.pub=McFarland&rft.date=1988&rft.isbn=0786403713&rft.aulast=Piotrowski&rft.aufirst=Tadeusz&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fpolandsholocaust00piot%2Fpage%2F177&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASoviet+Armed+Forces" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Sanford_20-24-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Sanford_20-24_14-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#Reference-Sanford">Sanford</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=tV2AAgAAQBAJ&q=3000%2B7000">pp. 20–24</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-15">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><i>Ibid</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Wojsko-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Wojsko_16-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><span class="languageicon">(in Polish)</span> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.dzp.wojsko.pl/dzial/wydawnictwa/zwarte/pdf/EHW_1_2005.pdf">Edukacja Humanistyczna w wojsku</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070929020932/http://www.dzp.wojsko.pl/dzial/wydawnictwa/zwarte/pdf/EHW_1_2005.pdf">Archived</a> 2007-09-29 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a>. 1/2005. Dom wydawniczy Wojska Polskiego. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISSN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISSN (identifier)">ISSN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.worldcat.org/search?fq=x0:jrnl&q=n2:1734-6584">1734-6584</a>. (Official publication of the Polish Army). Last accessed on 28 November 2006.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-17">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/policy/1939/391214a.html">"LEAGUE OF NATIONS' EXPULSION OF THE U.S.S.R., DECEMBER 14, 1939"</a>. <i>www.ibiblio.org</i>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081219073143/http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/policy/1939/391214a.html">Archived</a> from the original on 2008-12-19<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2009-03-12</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=www.ibiblio.org&rft.atitle=LEAGUE+OF+NATIONS%27+EXPULSION+OF+THE+U.S.S.R.%2C+DECEMBER+14%2C+1939&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ibiblio.org%2Fpha%2Fpolicy%2F1939%2F391214a.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASoviet+Armed+Forces" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-GlantzLen-18"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-GlantzLen_18-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFGlantz2002" class="citation book cs1">Glantz, David M. (2002). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/battleforleningr00glan/page/416"><i>The Battle for Leningrad: 1941–1944</i></a>. University Press of Kansas. pp. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/battleforleningr00glan/page/416">416</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780700612086" title="Special:BookSources/9780700612086"><bdi>9780700612086</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Battle+for+Leningrad%3A+1941%E2%80%931944&rft.pages=416&rft.pub=University+Press+of+Kansas&rft.date=2002&rft.isbn=9780700612086&rft.aulast=Glantz&rft.aufirst=David+M.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fbattleforleningr00glan%2Fpage%2F416&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASoviet+Armed+Forces" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEKrivosheev1993-19"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKrivosheev1993_19-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFKrivosheev1993">Krivosheev 1993</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEScottScott1979131-20"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEScottScott1979131_20-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFScottScott1979">Scott & Scott 1979</a>, p. 131.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTETsouras199437-21"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTETsouras199437_21-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFTsouras1994">Tsouras 1994</a>, p. 37.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEScottScott1979176-22"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEScottScott1979176_22-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEScottScott1979176_22-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFScottScott1979">Scott & Scott 1979</a>, p. 176.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEFeskov_et_al200422-23"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEFeskov_et_al200422_23-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFFeskov_et_al2004">Feskov et al 2004</a>, p. 22.<span class="error harv-error" style="display: none; font-size:100%"> sfn error: no target: CITEREFFeskov_et_al2004 (<a href="/wiki/Category:Harv_and_Sfn_template_errors" title="Category:Harv and Sfn template errors">help</a>)</span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEOdom199829-24"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEOdom199829_24-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFOdom1998">Odom 1998</a>, p. 29.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-25"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-25">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFO'Neill2000" class="citation journal cs1">O'Neill, Mark (2000). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/25163360">"Soviet Involvement in the Korean War: A New View from the Soviet-Era Archives"</a>. <i>OAH Magazine of History</i>. <b>14</b> (3): 20–24. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fmaghis%2F14.3.20">10.1093/maghis/14.3.20</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISSN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISSN (identifier)">ISSN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0882-228X">0882-228X</a>. <a href="/wiki/JSTOR_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="JSTOR (identifier)">JSTOR</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/25163360">25163360</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=OAH+Magazine+of+History&rft.atitle=Soviet+Involvement+in+the+Korean+War%3A+A+New+View+from+the+Soviet-Era+Archives&rft.volume=14&rft.issue=3&rft.pages=20-24&rft.date=2000&rft.issn=0882-228X&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jstor.org%2Fstable%2F25163360%23id-name%3DJSTOR&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1093%2Fmaghis%2F14.3.20&rft.aulast=O%27Neill&rft.aufirst=Mark&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jstor.org%2Fstable%2F25163360&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASoviet+Armed+Forces" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEScottScott197937,_59-26"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEScottScott197937,_59_26-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFScottScott1979">Scott & Scott 1979</a>, pp. 37, 59.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-27"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-27">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFWarnerBonan,_Packman1984" class="citation book cs1">Warner, Edward; Bonan, Packman (April 1984). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/notes/2009/N2567.pdf"><i>Key Personnel and Organisations of the Soviet Military High Command</i></a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. RAND Notes. RAND Corporation. p. 8. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20140531105450/http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/notes/2009/N2567.pdf">Archived</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span> from the original on 2014-05-31<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">30 May</span> 2014</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Key+Personnel+and+Organisations+of+the+Soviet+Military+High+Command&rft.series=RAND+Notes&rft.pages=8&rft.pub=RAND+Corporation&rft.date=1984-04&rft.aulast=Warner&rft.aufirst=Edward&rft.au=Bonan%2C+Packman&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rand.org%2Fcontent%2Fdam%2Frand%2Fpubs%2Fnotes%2F2009%2FN2567.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASoviet+Armed+Forces" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTESchofield199167–70-28"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTESchofield199167–70_28-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFSchofield1991">Schofield 1991</a>, pp. 67–70.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-29"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-29">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Christopher Donnelly, "The Pattern of Military Transformation in Central and Eastern Europe," IISS conference paper, Moscow, March 2001.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-30"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-30">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Suvorov 1982 gives the figure of six months with a training division.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEOdom199843-31"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEOdom199843_31-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFOdom1998">Odom 1998</a>, p. 43.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-jstor.org-32"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-jstor.org_32-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-jstor.org_32-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBall1994" class="citation journal cs1">Ball, Deborah Yarsike (Winter 1994). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/45346578">"Ethnic Conflict, Unit Performance, and the Soviet Armed Forces"</a>. <i>Armed Forces & Society</i>. <b>20</b> (2): 239–258. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0095327X9402000205">10.1177/0095327X9402000205</a>. <a href="/wiki/JSTOR_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="JSTOR (identifier)">JSTOR</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/45346578">45346578</a>. <a href="/wiki/S2CID_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="S2CID (identifier)">S2CID</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:143940494">143940494</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">3 September</span> 2023</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Armed+Forces+%26+Society&rft.atitle=Ethnic+Conflict%2C+Unit+Performance%2C+and+the+Soviet+Armed+Forces&rft.ssn=winter&rft.volume=20&rft.issue=2&rft.pages=239-258&rft.date=1994&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.semanticscholar.org%2FCorpusID%3A143940494%23id-name%3DS2CID&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jstor.org%2Fstable%2F45346578%23id-name%3DJSTOR&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1177%2F0095327X9402000205&rft.aulast=Ball&rft.aufirst=Deborah+Yarsike&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jstor.org%2Fstable%2F45346578&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASoviet+Armed+Forces" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-cejiss.org-33"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-cejiss.org_33-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-cejiss.org_33-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-cejiss.org_33-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFAnisin2022" class="citation journal cs1">Anisin, Alexei (2022). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.cejiss.org/military-defection-during-the-collapse-of-the-soviet-union-2">"Military Defection During the Collapse of the Soviet Union"</a>. <i>Central European Journal of International and Security Studies</i>. <b>16</b> (2): 26–53. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<span class="id-lock-free" title="Freely accessible"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.51870%2FUNYW3133">10.51870/UNYW3133</a></span><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">3 September</span> 2023</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Central+European+Journal+of+International+and+Security+Studies&rft.atitle=Military+Defection+During+the+Collapse+of+the+Soviet+Union&rft.volume=16&rft.issue=2&rft.pages=26-53&rft.date=2022&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.51870%2FUNYW3133&rft.aulast=Anisin&rft.aufirst=Alexei&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cejiss.org%2Fmilitary-defection-during-the-collapse-of-the-soviet-union-2&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASoviet+Armed+Forces" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-34"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-34">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFAlexievWimbush1983" class="citation web cs1">Alexiev, Alexander; Wimbush, S. Enders (August 1983). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/reports/2007/R2930.1.pdf">"The Ethnic Factor in the Soviet Armed Forces"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=The+Ethnic+Factor+in+the+Soviet+Armed+Forces&rft.date=1983-08&rft.aulast=Alexiev&rft.aufirst=Alexander&rft.au=Wimbush%2C+S.+Enders&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rand.org%2Fcontent%2Fdam%2Frand%2Fpubs%2Freports%2F2007%2FR2930.1.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASoviet+Armed+Forces" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-35"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-35">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110629002107/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,922025-3,00.html">"The U.S.S.R.: Moscow's Military Machine"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/Time_(magazine)" title="Time (magazine)">Time</a></i>. 1980-06-23. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,922025-3,00.html">the original</a> on 2011-06-29.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Time&rft.atitle=The+U.S.S.R.%3A+Moscow%27s+Military+Machine&rft.date=1980-06-23&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.time.com%2Ftime%2Fmagazine%2Farticle%2F0%2C9171%2C922025-3%2C00.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASoviet+Armed+Forces" class="Z3988"></span>; Zickel, Country Study, p747</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-36"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-36">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFAlexievWimbush1983" class="citation web cs1">Alexiev, Alexander; Wimbush, S. Enders (August 1983). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/reports/2007/R2930.1.pdf">"The Ethnic Factor in the Soviet Armed Forces"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=The+Ethnic+Factor+in+the+Soviet+Armed+Forces&rft.date=1983-08&rft.aulast=Alexiev&rft.aufirst=Alexander&rft.au=Wimbush%2C+S.+Enders&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rand.org%2Fcontent%2Fdam%2Frand%2Fpubs%2Freports%2F2007%2FR2930.1.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASoviet+Armed+Forces" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-37"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-37">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Terence W. Lapin, <i>The Mosin-Nagant Rifle</i> (3rd Ed., North Cape 2003)</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <ul><li>Donnelly, Christopher, <i>Red Banner: the Soviet military system in peace and war</i>, Coulsdon, Surrey: Janes's Information Group; Alexandria, VA: 1988. <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="https://archive.org/details/redbannersovietm0000donn">[1]</a></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFFischer1999" class="citation web cs1">Fischer, Benjamin B. (1999). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070613112054/https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/winter99-00/art6.html">"The Katyn Controversy: Stalin's Killing Field"</a>. <i>Studies in Intelligence</i>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/winter99-00/art6.html">the original</a> on 13 June 2007<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">16 July</span> 2007</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Studies+in+Intelligence&rft.atitle=The+Katyn+Controversy%3A+Stalin%27s+Killing+Field&rft.date=1999&rft.aulast=Fischer&rft.aufirst=Benjamin+B.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cia.gov%2Flibrary%2Fcenter-for-the-study-of-intelligence%2Fcsi-publications%2Fcsi-studies%2Fstudies%2Fwinter99-00%2Fart6.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASoviet+Armed+Forces" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFKrivosheev1997" class="citation book cs1">Krivosheev, G. F. (1997). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=CTTfAAAAMAAJ"><i>Soviet Casualties and Combat Losses in the Twentieth Century</i></a>. Greenhill Books. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-85367-280-4" title="Special:BookSources/978-1-85367-280-4"><bdi>978-1-85367-280-4</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Soviet+Casualties+and+Combat+Losses+in+the+Twentieth+Century&rft.pub=Greenhill+Books&rft.date=1997&rft.isbn=978-1-85367-280-4&rft.aulast=Krivosheev&rft.aufirst=G.+F.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DCTTfAAAAMAAJ&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASoviet+Armed+Forces" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFKrivosheev1993" class="citation web cs1">Krivosheev, G. F. (1993). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/SovietLosses.pdf">"Soviet Armed Forces Losses in Wars, Combat Operations and Military Conflicts: A Statistical Study"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. Translated by U.S. government. Moscow: Military Publishing House<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">11 March</span> 2018</span> – via The Black Vault.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Soviet+Armed+Forces+Losses+in+Wars%2C+Combat+Operations+and+Military+Conflicts%3A+A+Statistical+Study&rft.place=Moscow&rft.pub=Military+Publishing+House&rft.date=1993&rft.aulast=Krivosheev&rft.aufirst=G.+F.&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fdocuments.theblackvault.com%2Fdocuments%2FSovietLosses.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASoviet+Armed+Forces" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFOdom1998" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/William_Eldridge_Odom" title="William Eldridge Odom">Odom, William E.</a> (1998). <i>The Collapse of the Soviet Military</i>. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Collapse+of+the+Soviet+Military&rft.place=New+Haven+and+London&rft.pub=Yale+University+Press&rft.date=1998&rft.aulast=Odom&rft.aufirst=William+E.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASoviet+Armed+Forces" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFSchofield1991" class="citation book cs1">Schofield, Carey (1991). <i>Inside the Soviet Army</i>. London: Headline Book Publishing PLC. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-7472-0418-7" title="Special:BookSources/0-7472-0418-7"><bdi>0-7472-0418-7</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Inside+the+Soviet+Army&rft.place=London&rft.pub=Headline+Book+Publishing+PLC&rft.date=1991&rft.isbn=0-7472-0418-7&rft.aulast=Schofield&rft.aufirst=Carey&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASoviet+Armed+Forces" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFScottScott1979" class="citation book cs1">Scott, Harriet Fast; Scott, William Fontaine (1979). <span class="id-lock-registration" title="Free registration required"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/armedforcesofuss00scot/"><i>The armed forces of the USSR</i></a></span>. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press. p. <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="https://archive.org/details/armedforcesofuss00scot/">[2]</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-89158-276-2" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-89158-276-2"><bdi>978-0-89158-276-2</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+armed+forces+of+the+USSR&rft.place=Boulder%2C+Colorado&rft.pages=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Farmedforcesofuss00scot%2F&rft.pub=Westview+Press&rft.date=1979&rft.isbn=978-0-89158-276-2&rft.aulast=Scott&rft.aufirst=Harriet+Fast&rft.au=Scott%2C+William+Fontaine&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Farmedforcesofuss00scot%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASoviet+Armed+Forces" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFSuvorov1982" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Viktor_Suvorov" title="Viktor Suvorov">Suvorov, Viktor</a> (1982). <i><a href="/wiki/Inside_the_Soviet_Army" title="Inside the Soviet Army">Inside the Soviet Army</a></i>. <a href="/wiki/Macmillan_Publishers" title="Macmillan Publishers">MacMillan</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Inside+the+Soviet+Army&rft.pub=MacMillan&rft.date=1982&rft.aulast=Suvorov&rft.aufirst=Viktor&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASoviet+Armed+Forces" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFTsouras1994" class="citation book cs1">Tsouras, Peter G. (1994). <i>Changing Orders: The Evolution of the World's Armies, 1945 to the Present</i>. New York: Facts on File.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Changing+Orders%3A+The+Evolution+of+the+World%27s+Armies%2C+1945+to+the+Present&rft.place=New+York&rft.pub=Facts+on+File&rft.date=1994&rft.aulast=Tsouras&rft.aufirst=Peter+G.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASoviet+Armed+Forces" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFZickelKeefe1991" class="citation book cs1">Zickel, Raymond E; Keefe, Eugene K (1991). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.loc.gov/item/90025756/"><i>Soviet Union: a country study</i></a>. Washington, D.C.: Library Of Congress. Federal Research Division.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Soviet+Union%3A+a+country+study&rft.place=Washington%2C+D.C.&rft.pub=Library+Of+Congress.+Federal+Research+Division&rft.date=1991&rft.aulast=Zickel&rft.aufirst=Raymond+E&rft.au=Keefe%2C+Eugene+K&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.loc.gov%2Fitem%2F90025756%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASoviet+Armed+Forces" class="Z3988"></span> For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Further_reading">Further reading</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Soviet_Armed_Forces&action=edit&section=29" title="Edit section: Further reading"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>Lehrke, Jesse Paul. "The Transition to National Armies in the Former Soviet Republics, 1988–2005." Oxfordshire, UK: Routledge (2013). See especially Chapters 1–4 (see: <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415688369/">The Transition to National Armies in the Former Soviet Republics, 1988–2005</a>)</li> <li>Lester W. Grau and Ali Ajmad Jalali, "The Campaign for the Caves: The Battles for Ahawar in the Soviet-Afghan War" Foreign Military Studies Office, Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, reprinted from <i>Journal of Slavic Military Studies</i>, Vol. 14, September 2001, Number 3.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Michael_MccGwire" title="Michael MccGwire">Michael MccGwire</a>, 1987. <i><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=m94vLNiCfUgC">Military Objectives in Soviet Foreign Policy</a></i>. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0815755524" title="Special:BookSources/978-0815755524">978-0815755524</a></li> <li>Brenda J. Vallance, "Corruption and reform in the Soviet military," The Journal of Slavic Military Studies, Volume 7, 1994 - Issue 4</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Soviet_Armed_Forces&action=edit&section=30" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/SovietLosses.pdf">Losses Suffered by USSR Armed Forces in Wars, Combat Operations, and Military Conflicts</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://sites.google.com/view/nuclear-weapons-in-hungary/">Soviet Nuclear Weapons in Hungary 1961–1991</a></li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236075235">.mw-parser-output .navbox{box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;width:100%;clear:both;font-size:88%;text-align:center;padding:1px;margin:1em auto 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbox{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox-styles+.navbox{margin-top:-1px}.mw-parser-output .navbox-inner,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{width:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-title,.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow{padding:0.25em 1em;line-height:1.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group{white-space:nowrap;text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{background-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list{line-height:1.5em;border-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list-with-group{text-align:left;border-left-width:2px;border-left-style:solid}.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output 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style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Army_of_the_Tsardom_of_Russia" title="Army of the Tsardom of Russia">Army of the Tsardom of Russia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Streltsy" title="Streltsy">Streltsy</a> <abbr title="circa">c.</abbr><span style="white-space:nowrap;"> 1550</span>–1721</li> <li><a href="/wiki/New_Order_Regiments" title="New Order Regiments">New Order Regiments</a> 1648–98</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Army_of_Peter_the_Great" title="Army of Peter the Great">Army of Peter the Great</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Toy_army_of_Peter_the_Great" title="Toy army of Peter the Great">Toy army of Peter the Great</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Russian_Empire" title="Russian Empire">Russian Empire</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Imperial_Russian_Army" title="Imperial Russian Army">Imperial Russian Army</a> 1721–1917</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Russian_Republic" title="Russian Republic">Russian Republic</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Russian_Army_(1917)" title="Russian Army (1917)">Russian Army (1917)</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Russian_Civil_War" title="Russian Civil War">Russian Civil War</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/White_Army" title="White Army">White Army</a> 1918–23</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Red_Army" title="Red Army">Red Army</a> 1918–22</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Red_Army" title="Red Army">Red Army</a> 1922–46</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_Army" title="Soviet Army">Soviet Army</a> 1946–92</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Russian_Federation" class="mw-redirect" title="Russian Federation">Russian Federation</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/United_Armed_Forces_of_the_Commonwealth_of_Independent_States" title="United Armed Forces of the Commonwealth of Independent States">CIS Armed Forces</a> 1991–93</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Russian_Ground_Forces" title="Russian Ground Forces">Ground Forces</a> 1992–present<sup class="plainlinks noexcerpt noprint asof-tag update" style="display:none;"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Soviet_Armed_Forces&action=edit">[update]</a></sup></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235"></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Soviet_Union_topics" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231"><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Soviet_Union_topics" title="Template:Soviet Union topics"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Soviet_Union_topics" title="Template talk:Soviet Union topics"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Soviet_Union_topics" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Soviet Union topics"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Soviet_Union_topics" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a> topics</div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="History of the Soviet Union">History</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Index_of_Soviet_Union%E2%80%93related_articles" title="Index of Soviet Union–related articles">Index of Soviet Union–related articles</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Russian_Revolution" title="Russian Revolution">Russian Revolution</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/February_Revolution" title="February Revolution">February</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/October_Revolution" title="October Revolution">October</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Russian_Civil_War" title="Russian Civil War">Russian Civil War</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Russian_Soviet_Federative_Socialist_Republic" title="Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic">Russian SFSR</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Treaty_on_the_Creation_of_the_Union_of_Soviet_Socialist_Republics" title="Treaty on the Creation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics">Creation treaty</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/New_Economic_Policy" title="New Economic Policy">New Economic Policy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Stalinism" title="Stalinism">Stalinism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Great_Purge" title="Great Purge">Great Purge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_Union_in_World_War_II" title="Soviet Union in World War II">Great Patriotic War</a> (World War II) <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Evacuation_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Evacuation in the Soviet Union">Evacuation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/The_Holocaust_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="The Holocaust in the Soviet Union">The Holocaust</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cold_War" title="Cold War">Cold War</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Khrushchev_Thaw" title="Khrushchev Thaw">Khrushchev Thaw</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sino-Soviet_split" title="Sino-Soviet split">Sino-Soviet split</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_space_program" title="Soviet space program">Soviet space program</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1965_Soviet_economic_reform" title="1965 Soviet economic reform">1965 economic reform</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Era_of_Stagnation" title="Era of Stagnation">Stagnation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Soviet%E2%80%93Afghan_War" title="Soviet–Afghan War">Soviet–Afghan War</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Perestroika" title="Perestroika">Perestroika</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Glasnost" title="Glasnost">Glasnost</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Revolutions_of_1989" title="Revolutions of 1989">Revolutions of 1989</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Dissolution of the Soviet Union">Dissolution</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Post-Soviet_states" title="Post-Soviet states">Post-Soviet states</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nostalgia_for_the_Soviet_Union" title="Nostalgia for the Soviet Union">Nostalgia</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Geography_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Geography of the Soviet Union">Geography</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Subdivisions_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Subdivisions of the Soviet Union">Subdivisions</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Republics_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Republics of the Soviet Union">Republics</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Autonomous_Soviet_Socialist_Republics" title="Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics">Autonomous</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Krais_of_Russia" title="Krais of Russia">Krais</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Oblasts_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Oblasts of the Soviet Union">Oblasts</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Autonomous_oblasts_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Autonomous oblasts of the Soviet Union">Autonomous</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Autonomous_okrugs_of_Russia" title="Autonomous okrugs of Russia">Autonomous okrugs</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Closed_city" title="Closed city">Closed city</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Regions</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Caspian_Sea" title="Caspian Sea">Caspian Sea</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Caucasus_Mountains" title="Caucasus Mountains">Caucasus Mountains</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/European_Russia" title="European Russia">European Russia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/North_Caucasus" title="North Caucasus">North Caucasus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Siberia" title="Siberia">Siberia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ural_Mountains" title="Ural Mountains">Ural Mountains</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/West_Siberian_Plain" title="West Siberian Plain">West Siberian Plain</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Politics of the Soviet Union">Politics</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">General</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Constitution_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Constitution of the Soviet Union">Constitution</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/1936_Constitution_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="1936 Constitution of the Soviet Union">1936</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1977_Constitution_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="1977 Constitution of the Soviet Union">1977</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Elections_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Elections in the Soviet Union">Elections</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Foreign relations of the Soviet Union">Foreign relations</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Brezhnev_Doctrine" title="Brezhnev Doctrine">Brezhnev Doctrine</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gun_control_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Gun control in the Soviet Union">Gun control</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Government_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Government of the Soviet Union">Government</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_governments_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="List of governments of the Soviet Union">List</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Human_rights_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Human rights in the Soviet Union">Human rights</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_the_post-Soviet_states" class="mw-redirect" title="LGBT rights in the post-Soviet states">LGBT</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Law_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Law of the Soviet Union">Law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Capital punishment in the Soviet Union">Capital punishment</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_leaders_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="List of leaders of the Soviet Union">Leaders</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Collective_leadership_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Collective leadership in the Soviet Union">Collective leadership</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/National_delimitation_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="National delimitation in the Soviet Union">National delimitation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Passport_system_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Passport system in the Soviet Union">Passport system</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Propiska_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Propiska in the Soviet Union">Propiska</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="List of political parties in the Soviet Union">Political parties</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ideology_of_the_Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Ideology of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union">State ideology</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Marxism%E2%80%93Leninism" title="Marxism–Leninism">Marxism–Leninism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Leninism" title="Leninism">Leninism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Stalinism" title="Stalinism">Stalinism</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_anti-Zionism" title="Soviet anti-Zionism">Soviet anti-Zionism</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Bodies</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Communist Party of the Soviet Union">Communist Party</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Organization_of_the_Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Organization of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union">organisation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Congress_of_the_Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union">Congress</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Central_Committee_of_the_Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union">Central Committee</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Politburo_of_the_Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union">Presidium/Politburo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Secretariat_of_the_Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Secretariat of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union">Secretariat</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/General_Secretary_of_the_Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union">General Secretary</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Congress_of_Soviets_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Congress of Soviets of the Soviet Union">Congress of Soviets</a> (1922–1936)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Supreme_Soviet_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union">Supreme Soviet</a> (1938–1991)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Congress_of_People%27s_Deputies_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union">Congress of People's Deputies</a> (1989–1991)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Supreme Court of the Soviet Union">Supreme Court</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Military_Collegium_of_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union">Military Collegium</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Offices</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_heads_of_state_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="List of heads of state of the Soviet Union">Heads of state</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/President_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="President of the Soviet Union">President</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Premier_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Premier of the Soviet Union">Premier</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Deputy_Premier_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union">Deputy Premier</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/First_Deputy_Premier_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="First Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union">First Deputy Premier</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Chronology_of_Soviet_secret_police_agencies" title="Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies">Security services</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Cheka" title="Cheka">Cheka</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/State_Political_Directorate" title="State Political Directorate">GPU</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/NKVD" title="NKVD">NKVD</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Destruction_battalions" class="mw-redirect" title="Destruction battalions">Destruction battalions</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ministry_of_Internal_Affairs_(Soviet_Union)" title="Ministry of Internal Affairs (Soviet Union)">MVD</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Militsiya" title="Militsiya">Militsiya</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ministry_of_State_Security_(Soviet_Union)" title="Ministry of State Security (Soviet Union)">MGB</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/KGB" title="KGB">KGB</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_chairmen_of_the_KGB" title="List of chairmen of the KGB">Chairmen</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_Border_Troops" title="Soviet Border Troops">Soviet Border Troops</a></li></ul></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Soviet Armed Forces</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_Army" title="Soviet Army">Soviet Army</a>/<a href="/wiki/Spetsnaz_GRU" title="Spetsnaz GRU">Spetsnaz GRU</a> • <a href="/wiki/Soviet_Navy" title="Soviet Navy">Soviet Navy</a> • <a href="/wiki/Soviet_Air_Forces" title="Soviet Air Forces">Soviet Air Forces</a>/<a href="/wiki/Soviet_Airborne_Forces" title="Soviet Airborne Forces">Soviet Airborne Forces</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Political_repression_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Political repression in the Soviet Union">Political repression</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Red_Terror" title="Red Terror">Red Terror</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Collectivization_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Collectivization in the Soviet Union">Collectivization</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Great_Purge" title="Great Purge">Great Purge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Population_transfer_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Population transfer in the Soviet Union">Population transfer</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Forced_labor_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Forced labor in the Soviet Union">Forced labor</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gulag" title="Gulag">Gulag</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Gulag_camps" title="List of Gulag camps">List</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Holodomor" title="Holodomor">Holodomor</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Political_abuse_of_psychiatry_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Political abuse of psychiatry in the Soviet Union">Political abuse of psychiatry</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Ideological_repression_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Ideological repression in the Soviet Union">Ideological repression</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Religion_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Religion in the Soviet Union">Religion</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Repression_of_science_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Repression of science in the Soviet Union">Science</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Censorship_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Censorship in the Soviet Union">Censorship</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Censorship_of_images_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Censorship of images in the Soviet Union">Censorship of images</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Economy_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Economy of the Soviet Union">Economy</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Agriculture_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Agriculture in the Soviet Union">Agriculture</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gosbank" class="mw-redirect" title="Gosbank">Central Bank</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Soviet-type_economic_planning" title="Soviet-type economic planning">Economic planning</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Energy_policy_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Energy policy of the Soviet Union">Energy policy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Five-year_plans_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Five-year plans of the Soviet Union">Five-year plans</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/.su" title=".su">Internet domain</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Timeline_of_Russian_innovation#Soviet_Union" title="Timeline of Russian innovation">Inventions</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Net_material_product" title="Net material product">Net material product</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/OGAS" title="OGAS">OGAS</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Science_and_technology_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Science and technology in the Soviet Union">Science and technology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_ruble" title="Soviet ruble">Rouble <span style="font-size:85%;">(currency)</span></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Transport_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Transport in the Soviet Union">Transport</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Railway_system_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Railway system of the Soviet Union">Railway system</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Rail transport in the Soviet Union">Rail transport</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_metro_systems_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="List of metro systems in the Soviet Union">List of metro systems</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Science_and_technology_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Science and technology in the Soviet Union">Science</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Communist_Academy" title="Communist Academy">Communist Academy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cybernetics_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Cybernetics in the Soviet Union">Cybernetics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Russian_Academy_of_Sciences#In_the_Soviet_Union" title="Russian Academy of Sciences">Academy of Sciences</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/USSR_Academy_of_Medical_Sciences" title="USSR Academy of Medical Sciences">Academy of Medical Sciences</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/VASKhNIL" title="VASKhNIL">Lenin All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sharashka" title="Sharashka">Sharashkas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Naukograd" title="Naukograd">Naukograds</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Naukograds" title="Category:Naukograds">List</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Category:Society_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Category:Society of the Soviet Union">Society</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Antisemitism_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Antisemitism in the Soviet Union">Antisemitism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Crime_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Crime in the Soviet Union">Crime</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Demographics_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Demographics of the Soviet Union">Demographics</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_people" title="Soviet people">Soviet people</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_working_class" title="Soviet working class">Working class</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1989_Soviet_census" title="1989 Soviet census">1989 census</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Drug_policy_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Drug policy of the Soviet Union">Drug policy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Family_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Family in the Soviet Union">Family</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Languages_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Languages of the Soviet Union">Languages</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Linguistics_of_the_Soviet_Union" class="mw-redirect" title="Linguistics of the Soviet Union">Linguistics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cyrillisation_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Cyrillisation in the Soviet Union">Cyrillisation</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Prohibition_in_the_Russian_Empire_and_the_Soviet_Union" title="Prohibition in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union">Prohibition</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Racism_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Racism in the Soviet Union">Racism</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Culture_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Culture of the Soviet Union">Culture</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Russian_ballet" title="Russian ballet">Ballet</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cinema_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Cinema of the Soviet Union">Cinema</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fashion_in_the_Soviet_Union" class="mw-redirect" title="Fashion in the Soviet Union">Fashion</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Russian_literature#20th_century" title="Russian literature">Literature</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Music_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Music of the Soviet Union">Music</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Russian_opera#20th_century" title="Russian opera">Opera</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_phraseology" title="Soviet phraseology">Phraseology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Printed_media_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Printed media in the Soviet Union">Printed media</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Propaganda_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Propaganda in the Soviet Union">Propaganda</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Radio_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Radio in the Soviet Union">Radio</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sport_in_Russia" title="Sport in Russia">Sports</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Stalinist_architecture" title="Stalinist architecture">Stalinist architecture</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Television_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Television in the Soviet Union">Television</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Anti-Sovietism" title="Anti-Sovietism">Opposition</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_dissidents" title="Soviet dissidents">Soviet dissidents</a> and their groups <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Soviet_opposition_groups" title="Category:Soviet opposition groups">List</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Symbols</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/State_Anthem_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="State Anthem of the Soviet Union">Anthem</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Anthems_of_the_Soviet_Republics" title="Anthems of the Soviet Republics">Republics</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/State_Emblem_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="State Emblem of the Soviet Union">Emblem</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Emblems_of_the_Soviet_Republics" title="Emblems of the Soviet Republics">Republics</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Flag of the Soviet Union">Flag</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Flags_of_the_Soviet_Republics" title="Flags of the Soviet Republics">Republics</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hammer_and_sickle" title="Hammer and sickle">Hammer and sickle</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="2" style="font-weight:bold;"><div> <ul><li><b><span class="nowrap"><span class="mw-image-border noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="flag" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/32px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png" decoding="async" width="32" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/48px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/64px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="600" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/Portal:Soviet_Union" title="Portal:Soviet Union">Soviet Union portal</a></b></li> <li><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span title="Category"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/16px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/23px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/31px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="180" data-file-height="185" /></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Category:Soviet_Union" title="Category:Soviet Union">Category</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235"></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Soviet_occupations" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="3"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231"><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Soviet_occupation" title="Template:Soviet occupation"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Soviet_occupation" title="Template talk:Soviet occupation"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Soviet_occupation" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Soviet occupation"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Soviet_occupations" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Military_occupations_by_the_Soviet_Union" title="Military occupations by the Soviet Union">Soviet occupations</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Europe</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Allied-occupied_Austria" title="Allied-occupied Austria">Austria</a></i></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Occupation_of_the_Baltic_states" title="Occupation of the Baltic states">Baltic states</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Estonian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic" title="Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic">Estonia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Latvian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic" title="Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic">Latvia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic" title="Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic">Lithuania</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_occupation_of_Bessarabia_and_Northern_Bukovina" title="Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina">Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Bornholm" title="Bornholm">Bornholm</a></i></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Warsaw_Pact_invasion_of_Czechoslovakia" title="Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia">Czechoslovakia</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_annexation_of_Transcarpathia" title="Soviet annexation of Transcarpathia">Transcarpathia</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Finnish_Democratic_Republic" title="Finnish Democratic Republic">Finland</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Soviet_occupation_zone_of_Germany" class="mw-redirect" title="Soviet occupation zone of Germany">Germany</a></i> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Kaliningrad_Oblast" title="Kaliningrad Oblast">East Prussia</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_occupation_of_Hungary" class="mw-redirect" title="Soviet occupation of Hungary">Hungary</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_invasion_of_Poland" title="Soviet invasion of Poland">Poland</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_annexation_of_Eastern_Galicia_and_Volhynia" title="Soviet annexation of Eastern Galicia and Volhynia">Western Ukraine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_annexation_of_Western_Belorussia" title="Soviet annexation of Western Belorussia">Western Belorussia</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_occupation_of_Romania" title="Soviet occupation of Romania">Romania</a></li></ul> </div></td><td class="noviewer navbox-image" rowspan="2" style="width:1px;padding:0 0 0 2px"><div><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Coat_of_arms_of_the_Soviet_Union_(1956%E2%80%931991).svg" class="mw-file-description" title="Soviet hammer-and-sickle symbol"><img alt="Soviet hammer-and-sickle symbol" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Coat_of_arms_of_the_Soviet_Union_%281956%E2%80%931991%29.svg/50px-Coat_of_arms_of_the_Soviet_Union_%281956%E2%80%931991%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="52" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Coat_of_arms_of_the_Soviet_Union_%281956%E2%80%931991%29.svg/75px-Coat_of_arms_of_the_Soviet_Union_%281956%E2%80%931991%29.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Coat_of_arms_of_the_Soviet_Union_%281956%E2%80%931991%29.svg/100px-Coat_of_arms_of_the_Soviet_Union_%281956%E2%80%931991%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="587" data-file-height="605" /></a></span></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Asia</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Soviet%E2%80%93Afghan_War" title="Soviet–Afghan War">Afghanistan</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Anglo-Soviet_invasion_of_Iran" title="Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran">Northern Iran</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Soviet_occupation_of_Manchuria" title="Soviet occupation of Manchuria">Manchuria</a></i></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_Civil_Administration" title="Soviet Civil Administration">Northern half of the Korean Peninsula</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="3"><div><i>Italics</i> indicate countries occupied while the Soviet Union was a member of the <a href="/wiki/Allies_of_World_War_II" title="Allies of World War II">Allies of World War II</a>.</div></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235"></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Warsaw_Pact_militaries" style=";wide;padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="3" style="background-color:#C3D6EF;color:inherit;"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231"><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Warsaw_Pact_militaries" title="Template:Warsaw Pact militaries"><abbr title="View this template" style="color:inherit">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Warsaw_Pact_militaries" title="Template talk:Warsaw Pact militaries"><abbr title="Discuss this template" style="color:inherit">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Warsaw_Pact_militaries" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Warsaw Pact militaries"><abbr title="Edit this template" style="color:inherit">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Warsaw_Pact_militaries" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Warsaw_Pact" title="Warsaw Pact">Warsaw Pact</a> militaries</div></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/People%27s_Socialist_Republic_of_Albania" title="People's Socialist Republic of Albania"><img alt="People's Socialist Republic of Albania" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2a/Flag_of_Albania_%281946%E2%80%931992%29.svg/21px-Flag_of_Albania_%281946%E2%80%931992%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="21" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2a/Flag_of_Albania_%281946%E2%80%931992%29.svg/32px-Flag_of_Albania_%281946%E2%80%931992%29.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2a/Flag_of_Albania_%281946%E2%80%931992%29.svg/42px-Flag_of_Albania_%281946%E2%80%931992%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="980" data-file-height="700" /></a></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Albanian_People%27s_Army" title="Albanian People's Army">Albanian People's Army</a> (until <a href="/wiki/People%27s_Socialist_Republic_of_Albania#Withdrawal_from_the_Warsaw_Pact" title="People's Socialist Republic of Albania">1968</a>)</li> <li><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/People%27s_Republic_of_Bulgaria" title="People's Republic of Bulgaria"><img alt="People's Republic of Bulgaria" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/07/Flag_of_Bulgaria_%281971%E2%80%931990%29.svg/23px-Flag_of_Bulgaria_%281971%E2%80%931990%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="14" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/07/Flag_of_Bulgaria_%281971%E2%80%931990%29.svg/35px-Flag_of_Bulgaria_%281971%E2%80%931990%29.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/07/Flag_of_Bulgaria_%281971%E2%80%931990%29.svg/46px-Flag_of_Bulgaria_%281971%E2%80%931990%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1000" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Bulgarian_People%27s_Army" title="Bulgarian People's Army">Bulgarian People's Army</a></li> <li><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Czechoslovak_Socialist_Republic" title="Czechoslovak Socialist Republic"><img alt="Czechoslovak Socialist Republic" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic.svg/45px-Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Czechoslovak_People%27s_Army" title="Czechoslovak People's Army">Czechoslovak People's Army</a></li> <li><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/East_Germany" title="East Germany"><img alt="East Germany" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a1/Flag_of_East_Germany.svg/23px-Flag_of_East_Germany.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="14" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a1/Flag_of_East_Germany.svg/35px-Flag_of_East_Germany.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a1/Flag_of_East_Germany.svg/46px-Flag_of_East_Germany.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1000" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></span> <a href="/wiki/National_People%27s_Army" title="National People's Army">National People's Army</a></li> <li><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Hungarian_People%27s_Republic" title="Hungarian People's Republic"><img alt="Hungarian People's Republic" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Flag_of_Hungary.svg/23px-Flag_of_Hungary.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Flag_of_Hungary.svg/35px-Flag_of_Hungary.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Flag_of_Hungary.svg/46px-Flag_of_Hungary.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Hungarian_People%27s_Army" title="Hungarian People's Army">Hungarian People's Army</a></li> <li><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Polish_People%27s_Republic" title="Polish People's Republic"><img alt="Polish People's Republic" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Flag_of_Poland_%281928%E2%80%931980%29.svg/23px-Flag_of_Poland_%281928%E2%80%931980%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="14" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Flag_of_Poland_%281928%E2%80%931980%29.svg/35px-Flag_of_Poland_%281928%E2%80%931980%29.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Flag_of_Poland_%281928%E2%80%931980%29.svg/46px-Flag_of_Poland_%281928%E2%80%931980%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1280" data-file-height="800" /></a></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Polish_People%27s_Army" title="Polish People's Army">Polish People's Army</a></li> <li><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Socialist_Republic_of_Romania" title="Socialist Republic of Romania"><img alt="Socialist Republic of Romania" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Flag_of_Romania_%281965%E2%80%931989%29.svg/23px-Flag_of_Romania_%281965%E2%80%931989%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Flag_of_Romania_%281965%E2%80%931989%29.svg/35px-Flag_of_Romania_%281965%E2%80%931989%29.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Flag_of_Romania_%281965%E2%80%931989%29.svg/45px-Flag_of_Romania_%281965%E2%80%931989%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Army_of_the_Socialist_Republic_of_Romania" title="Army of the Socialist Republic of Romania">Army of the Socialist Republic of Romania</a></li> <li><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union"><img alt="Soviet Union" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/46px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></span> <a class="mw-selflink selflink">Soviet Armed Forces</a></li></ul> </div></td><td class="noviewer navbox-image" rowspan="1" style="width:1px;padding:0 0 0 2px"><div><span typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Warsaw_Pact_Logo.svg/80px-Warsaw_Pact_Logo.svg.png" decoding="async" width="80" height="95" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Warsaw_Pact_Logo.svg/120px-Warsaw_Pact_Logo.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Warsaw_Pact_Logo.svg/160px-Warsaw_Pact_Logo.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="721" data-file-height="860" 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