Russian Defence Ministry
| Министерство обороны Российской Федерации | |
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Ministry emblem
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Official flag
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 A building of the ministry in Khamovniki District |
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| Agency overview | |
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| Formed | 1717 as College of War |
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| Jurisdiction | President of Russia |
| Headquarters | Znamenka 19, Moscow, Russia 55°44′56″N 37°36′8″E / 55.74889°N 37.60222°ECoordinates: 55°44′56″N 37°36′8″E / 55.74889°N 37.60222°E |
| Annual budget | US$ 69.3 billion (2014) |
| Minister responsible | |
| Child agency |
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| Website | www |
The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation (Russian: Министерство обороны Российской Федерации, Минобороны России, informally abbreviated as МО or МО РФ) exercises administrative and operational leadership of the Russian Armed Forces.
The Russian Minister of Defence is the nominal head of all the Armed Forces, serving under the president of Russia, who is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. In this capacity, the minister exercises day-to-day administrative and operational authority over the armed forces. The General Staff, the executive body of the Ministry of Defence, implements the defence minister's operational instructions and orders. The State Duma exercises legislative authority over the Ministry of Defence through the Government of Russia, which is nominally responsible for maintaining the armed forces at the appropriate level of readiness.
The main ministry building, built in the 1980s, is located on Arbatskaya Square, near Arbat Street. Other buildings of the ministry are located throughout the city of Moscow. The high supreme body that responsible for the Ministry's management and supervision of the Armed Forces is The National Defense Management Center (Национальный центр управления обороной РФ) which located in Frunze Naberezhnaya and responsible for centralization of the Armed Forces' command.
The current Russian minister of Defence is Sergey Shoygu.
The authors of the U.S. Library of Congress Country Studies' volume for Russia said in July 1996 that:
The structure of the Russian Defense Ministry does not imply military subordination to civilian authority in 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 held military rank. Josef Stalin in his later years in power frequently wore a military uniform, and he assumed the title Generalissimo of the Soviet Union. Likewise, Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev was named Marshal of the Soviet Union. By tradition dating back to the tsars, the Minister of Defense was a uniformed officer,' with military background (Dmitry Milyutin, Rodion Malinovsky) or without (Dmitriy Ustinov). 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.
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Wikipedia