BARS ( Russian : Боевой Армейский Резерв Страны - БАРС, Boyevoy Armeyskiy Rezerv Strany ) or simply the Combat Army Reserve is a Russian military reserve force implemented in 2015.
33-589: The Combat Army Reserves was created by the Ministry of Defence in 2015 as an analogous organization to the British Territorial Army or the United States Army Reserve with members being paid a salary per a three year or a one-and-a-half-year contract, and participating in at least a month per year of part-time training, with the prospect of being called to active duty in the event of war. In 2019
66-628: A PMC, leaving the units in a legal grey-area. On 24 July 2023, Vladimir Putin signed a law increasing the maximum age for all BARS members by five years. The legislation increased the official retirement age of privates, sergeants, and warrant officers from 35 to 40, officers of subaltern and field ranks from 45 to 50, and high-ranking officers from 50 to 55. During the Ukrainian offensive into Kursk , three new BARS units where created, "BARS-Kursk", "BARS-Bryansk", and "BARS-Belgorod" which, according to governor of Kursk, Alexei Smirnov , will coordinate with
99-556: A former Minister of Defence of the Soviet Union, and Dmitri Yazov . Yazov was listed by the American analysts Scott and Scott in 2002 as a consultant to the (former 10th) Directorate for International Military Cooperation. The last of the four, Yazov, died in February 2020. Perhaps the first 'real' non-uniformed Defence Minister was Anatoliy Serdyukov , appointed in February 2007. Serdyukov
132-481: A former Minister of Defence of the Soviet Union, and Dmitri Yazov . Yazov was listed by the American analysts Scott and Scott in 2002 as a consultant to the (formerly 10th) Directorate for International Military Cooperation. Perhaps the first 'real' non-uniformed Defence Minister was Anatoly Serdyukov , appointed in February 2007. Serdyukov was a former Tax Minister with little siloviki or military associations beyond his two years of military service. Serdyukov launched
165-571: A hefty pension for their service, however, upon the completion of their service, most reservists saw little to none of the promised money or bonuses. Most BARS soldiers are older veterans of the War in the Donbass , with many being members of the Union of Donbass Volunteers , and are from smaller rural settlements. BARS units and Russian PMCs often overlap, with several BARS units being directly affiliated or even run by
198-591: A study by the RAND Corporation found that there were only 4,000 to 5,000 reservists in the whole of Russia. In 2021, during the build-up towards the Russian Invasion of Ukraine , the BARS were the subject of a massive recruitment campaign titled "BARS-21" which Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu stated in several speeches hoped would bolster the force to 80,000 to 100,000 reservists. Eligible BARS reservists in
231-575: Is the military-theoretical journal of the Ministry of Defence, and Krasnaya Zvezda is its daily newspaper. Senior staff in 2024 included: Senior staff in 2021 included: Entities directly subordinated to the Minister of Defence in August 2012 included: The Office of Inspectors General of the Ministry of Defence was established in 2008, consisting of around thirty retired senior officers. The main task of
264-649: The All-Russian Cossack Society ,"There are three battalions each from the Kuban and Terek hosts, two from Don, one from Orenburg, a Orenburg-Volga combined battalion, one from the Ussuriskiy host, one from the Zabaykalsky host, and one from the union of “Cossack” warriors from abroad" Some of the BARS are associated with the All-Russian Cossack Society . The Cossack brigades “Don”, “Dnepr” and “Terek” are united into
297-579: The Fifth inauguration of Vladimir Putin on the 14th, Sergey Shoigu was released from duty and several of his staff were investigated for corruption or other misdeeds: Yuri Vasilievich Kuznetsov, Timur Ivanov , Ruslan Tsalikov , as well as Vadim Shamarin , Ivan Ivanovich Popov , Vladimir Verteletsky, and Sukhrab Akhmedov . On 17 June 2024, it was noted that four deputy defence ministers, Nikolay Pankov , Ruslan Tsalikov , Tatiana Shevtsova and Pavel Popov , had been sacked for nepotism that had entered
330-731: The Russian Armed Forces . Marshal of Aviation Yevgeny Shaposhnikov was the last Minister of Defence of the Soviet Union . General Colonel Konstantin Kobets supported then President of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic Boris Yeltsin during the August coup of 1991. From 19 August until 9 September 1991, Konstantin Kobets was Defense Minister of the RSFSR, though there was no ministry. This post
363-644: The Russian White House to blast his opponents out of parliament, effectively deprived the Supreme Soviet of Russia of its nominal an opportunity to overturn the president's authority. At least partly for that reason, Yeltsin retained his defence minister despite intense criticism of Grachev's management of the First Chechen War and the Russian military establishment in general. Finally, Yeltsin's victory in
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#1732890965638396-561: The Security Council of Russia , was appointed defence minister by President Vladimir Putin , becoming Russia's first non-uniformed civilian defence minister. Putin called the personnel changes in Russia's security structures coinciding with Ivanov's appointment as defence minister "a step toward demilitarizing public life." Putin also stressed Ivanov's responsibility for overseeing military reform as defence minister. What Putin did not emphasise
429-551: The military reform in 2008 . On 19 August 2010, Serdyukov appointed Tatyana Shevtsova as his deputy. As of that date, more than 50 women had been appointed by Serdyukov, and mainly in the tax accountant profession. In 2012, he was substituted by General of the Army Sergey Shoigu , who held at that moment the position of the Minister of Civil Defence, Emergency Situations and Disaster Relief . In May 2024 simultaneous with
462-711: The Armed Forces and the centralization of the Armed Forces' command is the National Defense Management Center , located in the Main Building of the Ministry of Defense , built in the 1940s on Frunzenskaya Embankment . The current Minister of Defence is Andrey Belousov (since 14 May 2024). The U.S. Library of Congress Country Studies ' volume for Russia said in July 1996 that: [The] structure [...] does not imply military subordination to civilian authority in
495-651: The Army Pavel Grachev to the post of Minister of Defence. Despite intense criticism of Grachev's management of the First Chechen War and the Russian military establishment in general, Yeltsin retained Grachev till 18 June 1996. The new minister of defence became General of the Army Igor Rodionov , who subsequently was substituted by Marshal of the Russian Federation Igor Sergeyev . In March 2001, Sergei Ivanov , previously secretary of
528-477: The Ministry of Defence includes the groupings below, but this structure was in transition when it was recorded in 2004, with several deputy minister posts being abolished: , Deputy Minister of Defence for Financial-Economic Work Minister of Defence (Russia) The Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation ( Russian : Министр обороны Российской Федерации ) is the minister responsible for
561-472: The Ministry. Russian energy minister Sergey Tsivilyov 's wife, Anna Tsivileva , the daughter of a cousin of the President, was appointed deputy defence minister. Her responsibilities include improving social and housing support for military personnel. Leonid Gornin, previously the first deputy finance minister, was appointed as the first deputy defence minister. Other personnel changes included Oleg Savelyev and
594-541: The MoD is conceivable, but the MoD without the General Staff is not." Russian General Staff officers exercise command authority in their own right. In 1996 the General Staff included fifteen main directorates and an undetermined number of operating agencies. The staff is organized by functions, with each directorate and operating agency overseeing a functional area, generally indicated by the organization's title. Military Thought
627-537: The Russian military "counterterrorism" operations. Various Registered Cossacks of the Russian Federation were identified operating in Eastern Ukraine and Crimea in 2014 during the Russo-Ukrainian War . They are heavily involved in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine where they are part of 18 ‘Cossack’ BARS (Combat Reserve Forces) battalions taking part in the invasion. Per Ataman Nikolai Doluda , head of
660-539: The Terek brigade. Ministry of Defence (Russia) The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation ( Russian : Министерство обороны Российской Федерации ; MOD ) is the governing body of the Russian Armed Forces . The President of Russia is the Commander-in-Chief of the forces and directs the activity of the ministry. The Minister of Defence exercises day-to-day administrative and operational authority over
693-533: The Volunteer Assault Corps (DShK): Three battalions (BARS-1, BARS-11 and BARS-16) are united into the Kuban Cossack brigade. Cossack brigade "Kuban" (BARS-3 and BARS-10) is part of the "Volunteer Shock Brigade" created by Dmitry Rogozin . BARS-6 (“Forstadt”) - Orenburg BARS-15 (“Ermak”) - Yekaterinburg BARS-18 (“Vympel”) - “Great Don Army” BARS-22 (“Tiger”) - Cossacks from Primorye BARS-35 (Skif) - part of
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#1732890965638726-521: The Western sense [...]. The historical tradition of military command is considerably different in Russia. The tsars were educated as officers, and they regularly wore military uniforms and carried military ranks. Stalin always wore a military uniform, and he assumed the title generalissimo . Even General Secretary Leonid I. Brezhnev [...] appointed himself general of the army, and he encouraged portraits of himself in full uniform. By tradition dating back to
759-692: The commanders of the Joint Strategic Commands/Military Districts, the three Services, and three branches, who together form the principal staff and advisory board of the Minister of Defence. The executive body of the Ministry of Defence is the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation , which is headed by the Chief of the General Staff . U.S. expert William Odom said in 1998 that "the Soviet General Staff without
792-424: The days before the invasion included soldiers younger than 42, junior officers younger than 47, colonels younger than 57, and other senior officials younger than 52. When the war did break out, 20 BARS units consisting of an estimated 10,000 reservists, were sent to Ukraine to take part in the initial invasion. BARS reservists were, on paper, paid a much higher salary than Russian conscripts and were to supposed receive
825-609: The first round of the 1996 Russian presidential election spurred Yeltsin to dismiss Grachev. In March 2001, Sergei Ivanov , previously secretary of the Security Council of Russia , was appointed defence minister by President Vladimir Putin , becoming Russia's first non-uniformed civilian defence minister. Putin called the personnel changes in Russia's security structures coinciding with Ivanov's appointment as defence minister "a step toward demilitarizing public life." Putin also stressed Ivanov's responsibility for overseeing military reform as defence minister. What Putin did not emphasise
858-459: The forces. The General Staff of the Armed Forces executes the instructions and orders of the president and the defence minister. The ministry is headquartered in the General Staff building , built-in 1979–1987 on Arbatskaya Square, near Arbat Street in Moscow. Other buildings of the ministry are located throughout Moscow. The supreme body responsible for the ministry's management and supervision of
891-468: The office is "to promote the organization of combat and operational training of troops, the construction and further development of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the development of the theory and history of military art, and the education of personnel." It is the successor to the Soviet Armed Forces 's Group of Inspectors General , which was dissolved in 1992. An outline structure of
924-676: The signals corps and military communications. On 24 July the Deputy Chief of the Satellite Communications Center for Strategic Nuclear Missile Forces Andrei Torgashev was apparently victimized at his residence by a car bomb. The Ministry of Defence is managed by a collegium chaired by the Defence Minister and including the deputy Defence Ministers, heads of the Main Defence Ministry and General Staff Directorates,
957-421: The son of former Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov . Pavel Fradkov would oversee the management of property, land and construction relating to the military. Other reports had Tsivileva as Putin's niece. On 18 July it was revealed that Lt Gen Shamarin had been formally dismissed from his post because he had accepted bribes from a supplier. He had been serving as deputy chief of the army’s general staff overseeing
990-497: The tsars, the minister of defence normally is a uniformed officer. The State Duma also seats a large number of deputies who are active-duty military officers—another tradition that began in the Russian imperial era . These combinations of military and civilian authority ensure that military concerns are considered at the highest levels of the Russian government. On 18 May 1992, President of Russia Boris Yeltsin appointed General of
1023-493: Was Ivanov's long service within the KGB and FSB and his then rank of General-Lieutenant within the FSB. Such military and security agency associated men are known as siloviki . As of 2002 there were four living Marshals of the Soviet Union . Such men were automatically Advisors to the Defence Minister. The Marshals alive at that time were Viktor Kulikov , Vasily Petrov , Sergei Sokolov ,
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1056-402: Was Ivanov's long service within the KGB and FSB and his then rank of General-Lieutenant within the FSB. Such military and security agency-associated men are known as siloviki . As of 2002, there were four living Marshals of the Soviet Union . Such men are automatically Advisors to the Defence Minister. The Marshals alive at that time were Viktor Kulikov , Vasily Petrov , Sergei Sokolov ,
1089-435: Was then abolished. The first Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation was Boris Yeltsin, who appointed himself to the position by a decree of mid March 1992. In May 1992, President of Russia Boris Yeltsin appointed General of the Army Pavel Grachev to the post of Minister of Defence. Grachev's decision to side with Yeltsin in the Russian constitutional crisis of 1993 , when the president called up tanks to shell
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