Armed Forces of Belarus
Minister of Defense Lieutenant General Viktor Khrenin | |
Chief of the General Staff | Major General Viktor Gulevich |
---|---|
Personnel | |
Conscription | Yes[1] |
Active personnel | 63,000[2][3] |
Reserve personnel | 365,400(2021) |
Expenditures | |
Budget | US$0.880 billion (2022)[4] |
Percent of GDP | 1.2% (2022) |
Industry | |
Domestic suppliers | Belarusian Plant of Precision Electromechanic Kalashnikov |
Foreign suppliers | Russia China Iran |
Related articles | |
Ranks | Military ranks of Belarus |
The Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus (Belarusian: Узброеныя сілы Рэспублікі Беларусь [УС РБ], romanized: Uzbrojenyja sily Respubliki Bielaruś [US RB]; Russian: Вооруженные силы Республики Беларусь, romanized: Vooruzhennyye sily Respubliki Belarus) are the military forces of Belarus. It consists of the Ground Forces and the Air Force and Air Defence Forces, all under the command of the Ministry of Defence. As a landlocked country, Belarus has no navy, however the Belarusian military does have control over some small Soviet inherited naval vessels in its rivers and lakes.
In 2017,
Belarus conducted military reforms in the early 2000s which reshaped its armed forces as a relatively effective force for a small state in somewhat difficult economic conditions.[6]
History
The
Until 1991, the Soviet
In late 1991 the 5th Guards Tank Army comprised the
On September 20, 1991, the Supreme Soviet of Belarus passed resolution "On the formation of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus" and on January 11, 1992, resolution "On the Armed Forces deployed in the territory of the Republic of Belarus." On March 18, 1992, the parliament passed resolution "On the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus" that bound the government "to start the formation of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus as of March 20, 1992" and "to submit to the Supreme Soviet for approval the suggested structure of the Armed Forces, their size and order of their material and technical supplies".
On May 6, 1992, the
On August 17, 1992, personnel from the
On November 3, 1992, Belarus passed the law "On the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus" defining the status, structure and guiding principles of the Armed Forces.[14] After the introduction of presidency the law was amended twice: on September 4, 1996, and on November 9, 1999, but on the whole the law retains its initial contents.
On January 1, 1993, all service personnel on Belarusian soil were required to either take an
In June 1995, President Alexander Lukashenko issued a decree on the Mobile Forces. By June 1996, they comprised a headquarters in Vitebsk, two brigades drawn from the 103rd Guards Airborne Division, the 38th Independent Mobile Brigade (Brest, Belarus), an air transport regiment, and communications, logistics, and engineer units.[15]
Membership in the
Structure
Belarus government websites say that the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Belarus is supported by Central Command Support Elements and the General Staff of the Armed Forces.[17] Combat Support Elements of the Armed Forces included Reconnaissance, Electronic Warfare, Signals, Engineer, NBC Defence, Navigation and Topography, and Maintenance organisations. Logistic Elements of the Armed Forces provided Material Support, Logistic Support, Medical Support, Veterinarian Support, and Military Construction.
In 1995 the Military Academy of Belarus was set up on the basis of two military educational institutions – the Minsk Air Defence and Rocket School of the Soviet Air Defence Forces and the Minsk Higher Military Command School. Its 10 departments train officers of 38 specialties for practically all arms of service. Also in 1995 it was given the status of a government institution of secondary special military education for young men.
Branches
Ground Forces
A
In 1993 the 7th Tank Army was reorganised as the 7th Army Corps. In 1994 the 7th Army Corps was redesignated as the 65th Army Corps, still located at Borisov.
By January 1, 1995, the composition of the Belarusian ground forces had changed.
Actually, the 103rd Guards Airborne Division had been reorganized as Headquarters, Mobile Forces, in 1993. On 1 August 1996 the 51st Guards Artillery Division was reorganised as the 51st Guards Central Group of Artillery, still located at
On 21 December 2001, a major reorganisation of the Ground Forces produced two operational-territorial commands, formed from two former corps headquarters.
Since about 2001, territorial defence forces, which as of 2002 number around 150,000, have been forming, organised into battalions, companies, and platoons spread across Belarus.[6]
In 2007, the Land Forces consisted of 29,600 soldiers (
In 2012 it was reported that there were six mechanised brigades in the Ground Forces: three full-strength, the 6th (Grodno), 11th (Slonim), and 120th Guards Mechanised Brigade at Minsk. The others were at reduced strength, where there was one battalion, the 19th (Zaslonova), 37th, and 50th (Baranovichi).[25] By 2017, the number of mechanised brigades had been further reduced to four, with two at full strength and two at reduced strength.[5]
Air Force and Air Defence Forces
The 28th Fighter Aviation Regiment,
In 2007 the Air Force and Air Defence Force of Belarus (AF & ADF) consisted of 18,170 personnel (two fighter/interceptor bases, four FGA/reconnaissance squadrons, one transport air base, training aircraft, and attack and support helicopters, SAM units). Air Force equipment included in 2004 260 fighter-ground attack/training aircraft and 80 attack helicopters. According to Belarus government websites, the Air Forces now have two commands, the Western Operational-Tactical Command and the North-Western Operational-Tactical Command.
The 61st and 927th Air Bases have now merged into the 61st (fighter) Air Base at
Independent forces
Special Forces
The
Transport Troops
The Belarusian Transport Troops is responsible for the movement of personnel and material by truck, rail, and air. It is also designed to carry the tasks of the transport support of the military formations from other service branches. General leadership is exercised by the Minister of Defense, while direct control is carried out by the Head of the Transport Support Department, a position that reports directly to the President.
Territorial Forces
The Territorial Forces (Belarusian: Тэрытарыяльныя войскі, Russian: Территориальные войска) are a homeland defence organization in the armed forces. It is managed by the Department of the Territorial Forces, being a support department of the Ministry of Defence of Belarus and is operated by the General Staff. It is currently located on Kommunisticheskaya Street in Minsk. The current head of the department of territorial forces is Colonel Andrei Paseko. The Territorial Defence system was established in the early 2000s. Over 120,000 troops constitute the size of the Territorial Forces, which is twice as much as it serves in the regular duty military.[29] During an address by President Alexander Lukashenko on 18 February 2016, he announced the allocation of arms and to the territorial forces and the minimum and maximum amount of district troops ranging from one company and a battalion. Personnel of these units are recruited from residents of their respective administrative-territorial regions.[30][31][32][33][34]
Specialized forces
Special troops are designed to support the combat activities of the Ground Forces and solve their inherent tasks. They include formations and military units of intelligence, communications, engineering, radiation, chemical and biological defense, electronic warfare, navigation and topographic.[35]
- Electronic Warfare Troops
- Signal Corps
- Engineer troops
- NBC Protection Troops
- Topographic Navigation Service
Security forces
Internal Troops
The
Border Guard Service
The Border Guard Service is the paramilitary force of the State Border Committee of the Republic of Belarus. It covers the borders with Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.[36][37]
Manpower
The Government Directive of 20 March 1992 'On the Establishment of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus' founded the Belarusian army. The Soviet troops of the BMD were smoothly converted into Belarusian military units. Yet one of the first tasks of the Belarusian government was a reduction in its numbers. 240,000 soldiers and officers were serving in the Belarusian Military District. By early 2013 the numbers of military personnel had been scaled down nearly fourfold since 1991. In February 2014, Belorusskaya Voyennaya Gazeta, the official publication of the Ministry of Defense revealed that the Belarusian Armed Forces contains about 59,500 personnel, including 46,000 soldiers and 13,000 civilians.[38]
Personnel
Military commandants
The military commandants of the Armed Forces of Belarus are regional administrations tasked with overseeing Belarusian regiments in the commandant's territory. Units are assigned to a specific commandant based on their location. There are 6 military commandants in the Belarusian Armed Forces.[39]
Commandant Name | Commander | Region |
---|---|---|
Belarus Supreme Commander | Supreme Commander Alexander Lukashenko | All Regions |
Baranavichy Military Commandant | Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Pivovar | Brest Region |
Babruysk Military Commandant | Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Gritsuk | Mogilev Region |
Barysaw Military Commandant | Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Kislyi | Minsk Region |
Brest Military Commandant | Lieutenant Colonel Yuri Ivanyuk | Brest Region |
Grodno Military Commandant[40] | Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Lupyrev | Grodno Region |
Minsk Military Commandant | Colonel Nikolai Kurash | Minsk Region |
Units under the command of commandants include military police, honour guards and military bands.[41]
Military education
- Military Academy of Belarus
- Ministry of the Interior Academy of Belarus
- Border Guard Service Institute of Belarus
- Military Institute of the Belarusian State Medical University[42]
- Military Faculty of the Great Patriotic War, military training classes were interrupted only to be resumed in 1943. In the post-war and subsequent years, the military department continued to train reserve officers from among the students in the required military accounting specialties. In 2003, the military department was reorganized into the modern military faculty of Belarusian State University.[43]
- Military Faculty of the Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics
- Military Faculty of the Belarusian National Technical University
- Military Faculty of the Grodno State University
- Military Faculty of the Belarusian State University of Transport
- Military Faculty of the Belarusian State Academy of Aviation
Equipment
The military forces of Belarus are almost exclusively armed with Soviet-era equipment inherited from the Soviet Union. Although large in numbers, some Western experts consider some of it outdated.
"The Belarusian armed forces receive around 100 brand-new and upgraded systems a year", said in late July 2018, Belarusian Deputy Minister of Defence for Armament and Chief of Armament Major General Sergei Simonenko.
The Air Force is equipped with
Military cooperation
CSTO
The armed forces took part in a joint
Military advisors
The armed forces have sent their military specialists to countries such as Côte d'Ivoire, Venezuela, Libya, Yemen and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, acting both officially and secretly. In Belarus, they have previously trained military personnel from the Nigerian Army. In 2014 and 2015, the special forces of the Nigerian Army were trained on the territory of Belarus, with the Belarusians training the Nigerians in counterterrorism.[53][54]
In 2007, an agreement was signed in Caracas with Venezuela, according to which Belarusian military specialists for the
Institutions and special units of the armed forces
Museum of Military History of Belarus
The Museum of Military History of Belarus (Russian: Музей военной истории Беларуси) is located in the Pyershamayski District of Minsk.[59] It was established as the Museum of the History of the Belarusian Military District, opened in Minsk on February 21, 1978. In July 1993, it was converted into a museum on the military history of Belarus. The exhibits are the same as before the collapse of the USSR, with a small section on the medieval history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania having since been added.[60] Its collection numbers over 18 thousand exhibits. The most ancient of them date back to the 6th century.[61]
Drama Theatre of the Belarusian Army
Belarusian Union of Officers
The Public Association "Belarusian Union of Officers" (hereinafter referred to as BSO) is a public association of officers and warrant officers who are on active duty and in retirement. It was established on 20 September 1992 at its founding congress. On September 18, 1993, Deputy of the Supreme Soviet Alexander Lukashenko took part in the 2nd Congress. From October 2005 to January 2015, the Republican Council of the BSO was headed by retired Lieutenant General E. Mikulchik, and until November 2017 was led by retired Major General V. Bamburov.[62]
Other
- Military Band Service of the Armed Forces
- Belarusian Armed Forces Academic Song and Dance Ensemble
- Central House of Officers (Minsk)
- Honor Guard of the Armed Forces of Belarus
- Belarusian Great Patriotic War Museum
- Belaya Rus demonstration team
Military holidays
- In Belarus, the holiday annual Defender of the Fatherland Day (known as Дзень абаронцы Айчыны in the Belarusian language) celebrations on 23 February also coincide with the Day of the Armed Forces (Дзень Узброеных Сіл). It commemorates that day 1918 when the first unified military in the country was established as part of the Red Army. Officially declared a public holiday by President Lukashenko on 25 March 2004, it has traditionally been honoured with a wreath laying ceremony by the President of Belarus on Victory Square. Joint festive events with soldiers of the Russian Armed Forces soldiers are also hold on 23 February in connection with their professional holiday. During the centennial of the armed forces in 2018, events were held throughout the year, including a military parade in Gomel and celebrations in Vitebsk.[63][64][65]
- Although a national holiday, Minsk Offensive. The Minsk Independence Day Paradeis the main military event done on this day.
Combat Banners and military marches
The Battle Banner of a military unit is a symbol of the unit, retained throughout its lineage. Changes in the name and numbering of a military unit are entered in the Certificate of the President of the Republic of Belarus, issued upon presentation of the Battle Banner. The Battle Banner is awarded to formations, brigades/regiments, battalions, divisions, air squadrons, training units, and military educational institutions. Guards units are awarded with a black-and-orange guards ribbon attached to its shaft. Upon presentation of the Battle Banner to a military unit, a Diploma of the President of the Republic of Belarus is issued. In the event of the loss of the Battle Banner, the commander of a military unit and its servicemen are subject to legal consequences and the military unit is disbanded.[66]
The following is a list of notable Belarusian military pieces:[67][68]
- Motherland My Dear (Радзіма мая дарагая)
- Victory March (Марш Перамогi)
- Anthem of the Military Academy (Гимн Военной академии)
- Grenadier March (Марш Грэнадыі)
- Our Fatherland's Flag (Айчыны нашай сцяг)[69]
- Song from 45 (Письмо из 45-го)
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External links
- Official website of the Belarusian defense ministry Archived 2019-06-05 at the Wayback Machine