Southern Military District
| Southern Military District Южный военный округ | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | October 20th, 2010 - present |
| Country |  Russia |
| Type | Military district |
| Part of | .svg){kind=small} Russian Armed Forces |
| Headquarters | Budennovsky prospekt 43, Rostov-on-Don[1] |
| Decorations | Order of the Red Banner |
| Commanders | |
| General Colonel | Aleksandr Galkin |
The Southern Military District (Russian: Южный военный округ) is one of the four operational strategic commands of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was formed in accordance with Presidential Decree №1144 signed on September 20, 2010.[2] The district includes the territory of former North Caucasus Military District, the Black Sea Fleet and Caspian Flotilla.
History
The Southern Military District was formed on October 22, 2010.[3] According to Presidential Decree of 20 September 2010 № 1144 "On the Military Administrative Division Of the Russian Federation" the Southern Military District was created, encompassing the administrative borders of the Republic of Adygea, Dagestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria Republic, the Republic of Kalmykia, Karachay-Cherkessia, Republic of North Ossetia - Alania, Chechen Republic, Krasnodar, Stavropol, Astrakhan, Volgograd and Rostov regions.
The Southern Military District also comprises two military bases in the Republic of Armenia: the 102nd Military Base in Gyumri and the civil-military Erebuni Airport in the capital Yerevan, home to the 3624th Air Base and under the joint control of Armenian and Russian authorities.
By order of then Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, on July 22, 2010, interim commanders were named for the new military districts. Thus, the new position of commander of the Southern Military District, was Lt. Gen. Aleksandr Galkin, former Commander of the North Caucasus Military District, with Maj. Gen. Nikolai Pereslegin as the chief of staff for the district. Galkin was later promoted to Colonel General.
As of April 2nd, 2014, Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia, Crimea and Sevastopol, are also de facto part of the Southern Military District.
District organization
As part of the larger reorganisation, the 49th Army appears to have reformed with its headquarters seemingly in the former Institute of Communications of the Strategic Rocket Forces at Stavropol.[4] According to warfare.ru, 49th Army (listed at Stavropol/Maikop) has under control the 4th Guards and 7th Military Bases (South Ossetia and Abkhazia) and the 8th (former Taman Guards Motor Rifle Division), 33rd and 34th separate Mountain Motor Rifle Brigades (Borzoi, Chechniya, Maikop, and Storozhevaya-2), as well as the 66th Communications Brigade.[5]
There are also three Spetsnaz brigades (the 100th, 10th, and 22nd), plus two Russian Airborne Troops units also stationed in the district (the 7th Guards Airborne Division at Novorossiysk and the 56th Guards Air Assault Brigade at Kamyshin).[6] The Russian Air Force has the 4th Air and Air Defence Forces Command in the district. Also under the district's control are the Navy's Black Sea Fleet and Caspian Flotilla, including their respective air and Naval Infantry components.
District units
| External image | |
|---|---|
 IISS estimate of major unit dispositions in the Southern Military District, 20 March 2014 |
- 33rd Motor Rifle Brigade (Mountain)
- 4th Military Base [693rd Motor Rifle Brigade] in Dzhava-Tskhinval (South Ossetia)
- 17th Motor Rifle Brigade in Shali
- 18th Motorized Brigade in Khankala
- 19th Motorized Brigade in Sputnik (Vladikavkaz)
- 136th Motor Rifle Brigade in Dagestan
- 205th Independent Motor Rifle Brigade in Budennovsk
- 67th Air Defense Brigade in Volgograd
- 34th C3 Brigade in Vladikavkaz
- 8th Motorized Brigade (Mountain) in Borzoi
- 20th Motor Rifle Brigade in Volgograd
- 34th Motorized Brigade (Mountain) in Storozhevaya-2
- 66th C3 Brigade in Stavropol
- 1st Missile Brigade in Krasnodar
- 439th MLRS Brigade
- 291st Artillery Brigade in Troitskaya
- 21st NBC Defense Brigade Kamyshin
- 175th C3 Brigade in Aksai
- 176th Communications Brigade in Novocherkassk
- 154th ECM Brigade OSN in Izobilny
- Logistics Brigade in Stavropol
102nd Military Base in Gyumri, Armenia
- 76th Motorized Brigade Gyumri, Armenia
- 73rd Motorized Brigade Erevan (Armenia)
- 988th Air Defense Regiment Gyumri (Armenia)
Airborne Troops
Spetsnaz/Reconnaissance
- 100th Reconnaissance Brigade in Mozdok
- 10th Spetsnaz Brigade in Krasnodar
- 22nd Spetsnaz Brigade in Rostov
Air Force units
Naval Forces
- Black Sea Fleet
- 810th Marine Brigade[7]
- 382nd Independent Marine Battalion
- 11th Independent Coastal Defense Missile-Artillery Brigade
- 126th Independent Coastal Defense Brigade
- 1096th Fleet Independent Rocket Artillery Regiment (Coastal Defense)
- 8th Independent Field Artillery Regiment (Coastal Defense)
- 68th Fleet Independent Naval Engineers Regiment
- Caspian Flotilla
- 414th and 727th Independent Marine Battalions
- 46th Independent Coastal Defense Missile Artillery Battalion (Surface to Air)
References
- ^ http://eng.mil.ru/en/structure/okruga/south/contacts.htm
- ^ УКАЗ Президента РФ от 20.09.2010 N 1144 "О ВОЕННО - АДМИНИСТРАТИВНОМ ДЕЛЕНИИ РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ"
- ^ http://www.ryadovoy.ru/forum/index.php/topic,2479.0.html
- ^ http://russiandefpolicy.wordpress.com/2011/01/10/more-appointments-dismissals-etc/, accessed January 2011, and http://www.ryadovoy.ru/forum/index.php/topic,2479.0.html
- ^ Warfare.ru, Southern Military District, accessed September 2011
- ^ Michael Holm, 56th independent Guards Landing-Assault Brigade, accessed January 2014.
- ^ "Ukraine says Russian Marines ring coast guard base". Huffington Post. Associated Press. 28 March 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2014.