fbpx
Wikipedia

Leningrad Military District

The Leningrad Military District was a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Moscow Military District, the Northern Fleet and the Baltic Fleet to form the new Western Military District. In December 2022, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu proposed to reestablish it along with the Moscow Military District,[1] a decision confirmed in June 2023 by Deputy Chief of the General Staff Yevgeny Burdinsky.[2]

Leningrad Military District
Ленинградский военный округ
The territory of the Leningrad Military District in 1989.
FoundedAugust 6, 1864
CountryRussian Empire (1864–1918)
Soviet Union (1924–1991)
Russian Federation (1991–2010)
BranchSoviet Armed Forces
Russian Armed Forces
TypeMilitary district
Part ofMinistry of Defence
HeadquartersSaint Petersburg
Decorations Order of Lenin

History edit

The district was founded in 1864 as the Petersburg Military District in the Russian Empire during the military district reform of that year. After World War I began Saint Petersburg was renamed Petrograd and the district also changed its name to the Petrograd Military District.

The Leningrad Military District was originally formed as the Petrograd Military District after the October Revolution of 1917 up to the beginning of the formation of the Red Army. The Petrograd District was reestablished as a part of the Red Army (RKKA) by an order of the Highest Military Council of 6 September 1918. On 1 February 1924, the Petrograd military district was renamed the Leningrad Military District when the city was renamed Leningrad. The district included Leningrad, Pskov, Novgorod, Olonets, Cherepovets, and Murmansk Governorates and the Karelian SSR. In 1927 the governorates were merged into the new Leningrad Oblast, with the territory of the district remaining the same between the wars.[3]

By 1935 the district included the 1st Rifle Corps at Novgorod with the 16th and 56th Rifle Divisions, and the 19th Rifle Corps at Leningrad with the 4th Turkestan and 20th Rifle Divisions. The 19th Rifle Corps also included the Separate Karelian Rifle Brigade and Separate Murmansk Rifle Regiment.

Markian Popov was appointed District Commander in 1939. Its main purpose was the defence of the Kola Peninsula and the northern shores of the Gulf of Finland. On the right flank it bordered with the Arkhangelsk Military District, on the left — with the Baltic MD. Among the defensive works started in the 1930s to protect the frontiers was the Karelian Fortified Region.

World War II edit

The Winter War of 1939–40 with Finland prompted a close examination of the combat performance of the District's troops, and for the better control of the 7th and 13th Armies the North-Western Front was formed from the staff of the District on 7 January 1940. Three and a half months later the Front was dissolved back into the District headquarters.

On June 9, 1940, directive 02622ss/ov was given to the District by Semyon Timoshenko to be ready by June 12 to (a) capture the vessels of the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian Navy in their bases and/or at sea; (b) Capture the Estonian and Latvian commercial fleet and all other vessels; (c) Prepare for an invasion and landing in Tallinn and Paldiski; (d) Close the Gulf of Riga and blockade the coasts of Estonia and Latvia in Gulf of Finland and Baltic Sea; (e) Prevent an evacuation of the Estonian and Latvian governments, military forces and assets; (f) Provide naval support for an invasion towards Rakvere; (g) Prevent the Estonian and Latvian airplanes flying either to Finland or Sweden.[4]

On 22 June 1941 the District comprised the 7th Army, the 14th Army, the 23rd Army, the 1st Mechanised Corps (-), 177th Rifle Division, 191st Rifle Division, 8th Rifle Division, the 21st, 22nd, 25th, 29th Fortified Regions, Air Forces (six aviation divisions, including the 1st, 2nd, 5th, 39th, 41st, and 55th), and other formations and units.[5]

Two days after the German invasion of the Soviet Union, on 24 June 1941, the District was reorganised as the Northern Front, and two months later, on 23 August 1941, it was split into the Leningrad and Karelian Fronts. The Front's forces efforts played a major part in resisting the German attacks during the Siege of Leningrad.

By the joint efforts of troops of the Leningrad Front, Volkhov Front, and the 2nd Baltic Front during January 1944 the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive ended the siege of the city. Pressing home the attack, the forces of the Leningrad Front in summer and in the fall of 1944 helped seize Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The Front was reorganized under the Leningrad District into a peacetime status on 9 July 1945. Marshal Leonid Govorov took command shortly afterwards.

Cold War edit

 
Boundaries of the Leningrad Military District (in red) on 1 January 1989

The reestablished district was responsible for the Estonian SSR, Leningrad, Pskov, and Novgorod Oblasts. Initially the district controlled two combined arms armies: the 10th Guards in Estonia and the 23rd on the Karelian Isthmus. The 10th Guards Army was reduced to the 4th Guards Rifle Corps in April 1948, and that of the 23rd Army disbanded as a result of the postwar demobilization. The district was thus left with the 4th Guards Rifle Corps, the 30th Guards Rifle Corps, the 2nd Guards Tank Division, and the 1st and 2nd Machine Gun Artillery Divisions. Control of forces in the Estonian SSR, which included the 4th Guards Rifle Corps with three divisions, was transferred to the Baltic Military District on 27 January 1956.[6]

By 1946 the 2nd Guards Artillery Division had arrived at Pushkin, which would be its headquarters for nearly the next fifty years.[7] The 13th Air Army was the district air force component and was redesignated as the 76th Air Army in 1949. General-Colonel of Aviation Fyodor Polynin was the first commander of the 76th Air Army.[8] Apart from a brief period when the air army was redesignated the Air Forces of the Leningrad Military District from 1980 to 1988,[6] the 76th Air Army would be active in the region until 1998.

The 2nd Guards Tank Division was transferred to the district from the Estonian SSR in 1958, based at Garbolovo and Vladimirsky Lager.[9]

In May 1960 the Northern Military District, controlling forces in the Karelian and Komi ASSRs, and Arkhangelsk, Murmansk and Vologda Oblasts, was subsumed into the Leningrad Military District. Accordingly, Headquarters Northern Military District became Headquarters 6th Combined Arms Army.[10] That year, the 37th Guards Motor Rifle Division of the 30th Guards Army Corps was reorganized as the district's motor rifle training division, returning to its wartime designation as the 63rd Guards in 1964. In the late 1960s the 14th Separate Machine Gun Artillery Regiment of the 30th Guards Army Corps was used to create the mobilization 37th Motor Rifle Division.[11]

In 1962 the troops of the district participated in Operation Anadyr, the Soviet military deployment to Cuba that resulted in the Cuban Missile Crisis. As a result of tensions with China in the late 1960s, the headquarters of the 44th Army Corps, 2nd Guards Tank Division, the 279th Motor Rifle Regiment of the 54th Motor Rifle Division and other units were sent to the Far East. New units were formed to replace them, with the 26th Army Corps headquarters replacing the 44th, and a reshuffling of units to replace the 279th Regiment: the 221st Guards Motor Rifle Regiment of the 77th Guards Motor Rifle Division replaced the 279th in the 54th Motor Rifle Division. In turn the new 481st Motor Rifle Regiment was formed to complete the 77th Guards. During the 1970s and 1980s the 6th Combined Arms Army and the 30th Guards and 26th Army Corps were based in the territory of the district.[6]

General, later Marshal, Sergei Sokolov assumed command in 1965. Marshal Sokolov later became the Minister of Defence in 1984. On 22 February 1968, in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the Soviet Army and for its successes in combat and in political training, the District was awarded the Order of Lenin.[12]

On 3 June 1968 the District was placed on alert. The Norwegian Army raised its alert levels in response. Within a couple of days the mobilized forces in the Leningrad region reached 11,000 soldiers, 4,000 naval infantry, 210 tanks, 500 troop transports, 265 self-propelled cannons, 1,300 logistics transports, 50 helicopters and 20 Antonov An-12 transport aircraft, all of which were staged in the Petchenga-Murmansk area near Norway.[13] On the evening of 7 June, the Norwegian Garnisonen i Sør-Varanger garrison heard the noise of powerful engines coming from the manoeuvres along the entire Soviet front of the Norwegian-Soviet border. Actual observations were not possible over the border in the dark. On that same night the GSV commanding officer ordered all GSV reserve forces to report to their emergency muster locations. The Soviet demonstration of strength lasted until 10 June, when the Soviet forces stood down.[13]

In 1979, Scott and Scott reported the headquarters address as Leningrad, L-13, Pod'ezdnoy Per., Dom 4.

In 1988 the district's forces were reported as consisting of the 6th Army (Petrozavodsk) with the 54th (Alakurtti), 111th (Sortavala) and 131st Motor Rifle Divisions, plus three zero-strength mobilisation divisions at Petrozavodsk, Alakurtti, and Nagornyy;[14] the 26th Army Corps at Arkhangelsk, formed in 1967, with the 69th (Vologda)[15] and 77th Guards Motor Rifle Divisions (Arkhangelsk), the 258th Independent Helicopter Squadron at Luostari/Pechenga airfield near Luostari,[16] and other smaller units; the 30th Guards Leningrad Red Banner Army Corps at Vyborg, with the 45th Guards Motor Rifle Division, the 64th Guards Motor Rifle Division, and the 37th Motor Rifle Division (a mobilisation division, the double of the 63 MRTD) at Chernaya Rechka; and the 63rd Guards Training Motor Rifle Division, and the 76th Guards Airborne Division, under district control.[17] At Garbolovo ([60 20 14N, 30 29 55E]) there was the 36th Air Assault Brigade (effectively an airmobile brigade), which had been activated in autumn 1979.[18]

By 1990 the district included 60,000 servicemen, 822 tanks, 2,000 armored fighting vehicles, 1,100 guns, mortars and MLRS systems, and 100 helicopters.[6]

Forces in 1990 edit

The composition of the troops of the district was as follows:[19]

Formations and units of district subordination
  • District Headquarters - Leningrad
  • 2nd Guards Artillery Perekop Red Banner, Order of the Suvorov Division (HQ Pushkin)
  • 229th Rear Guard Division (DOT) (Garbolovo)
  • 250th Reserve Motor Rifle Division (Vladimirsky Lager)[9]
  • 359th separate security and support battalion
  • 2nd Spetsnaz Brigade (Promezhitsy, Pskov Region)
  • 1071st Training Regiment of Special Designation (Pechory, Pskov Oblast) (Military Unit Number 51064)[20]
  • 36th Separate Air Assault Brigade (Garbolovo)
  • 21st Rocket Brigade (Oselki, Leningrad Oblast)[21]
  • 131st Rocket Brigade (Luga, Leningrad Oblast)[22]
  • 186th Training Rocket Brigade (Luga, Leningrad Oblast)
  • 195th Training Rocket Brigade (Medved, Novgorod Oblast (Arakcheevsky barracks)
  • 141st Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade (Nenimyaki, Leningrad Oblast)
  • 289th High Power Artillery Brigade (Meadows)
  • 451st separate anti-tank artillery battalion
  • 332nd Separate Guards Transport and Combat Helicopter Regiment (Pribilovo)
  • 317th separate mixed aviation squadron (Taibola)
  • 33rd Engineer Regiment (Kotly)
  • 170th Engineer Regiment
  • 7th Guards Pontoon-Bridge Kingisepp Red Banner Order of Alexander Nevsky Regiment (Kerro)
  • 639th separate engineering road and bridge battalion
  • 95th Leningrad Red Banner Communications Brigade named after the 50th anniversary of the formation of the USSR (Chernaya Rechka)
  • 97th Communications Brigade (Agalatovo, Vsevolozhsk District)
  • 192nd separate communications regiment
  • 1611th training separate communications battalion
  • 73rd Radio Engineering Brigade (Toksovo)
  • 146th Separate Radio Engineering Red Banner Special Purpose Brigade ( Bugry, Vsevolozhsky District)
  • 164th Separate Electronic Warfare Regiment
  • 41st Chemical Protection Brigade (Vologda)
  • 69th Logistics Brigade
  • 71st Logistics Brigade
  • 3rd Automobile Brigade
  • 34th Pipeline Brigade
  • 209th Medical Brigade
  • Repair enterprises of district subordination
    • 75th Automobile Repair Plant (Petrozavodsk)
    • 775th Artillery Repair Plant
    • 521st Communications Repair Plant
  • Bases and warehouses of district subordination
    • 10th air base (helicopters)
    • 970th central base of reserve vehicles
    • 1873th Automobile Base
    • 2124th NRB
    • 3807th military equipment storage base (Chernaya Rechka) (The disbanded 37th (146th?) Motor Rifle Division)
    • 5188th military equipment storage base (Ivanteevo)
  • training centers and spare parts
  • 1494th Reserve Rocket and Artillery Regiment

30th Guards Army Corps edit

26th Army Corps edit

In December 1989, the 77th Guards Motorized Rifle Division Moscow-Chernigov was transformed into a coastal defense division of the same name, and the 69th Sevsk Motorized Rifle Division in Vologda was transformed into the 5189th Base for Storage of Weapons and Equipment (Russian acronym VKhVT). Accordingly, in 1991, the 26th ("Arkhangelsk") Army Corps had more than a modest set of corps units and the 5189th BKhVT in Vologda. The 77th Guards Coastal Defence Division was then reorganised as a separate coastal defence brigade by 1 December 1994.

  • Corps Headquarters - Arkhangelsk
  • 258th Separate Helicopter Squadron (Luostari)
  • Collapsed divisions:
  • 14th Engineer Regiment
  • 293rd Engineer Regiment
  • 1068th separate communications battalion (Arkhangelsk)
  • 55th Logistics Brigade
  • 709th separate repair and restoration battalion
  • 5189th military equipment storage base (Vologda)

In 1989 V.I. Feskov et al. reported that the 71st MRD became the 5186th VKhVT, the 115th Guards became a storage base, and the Motor Rifle Division at Chernaya Rechka (the 37th, it was apparent later) was reduced to become the 3807th Base for Storage of Weapons and Equipment.

The 36th Landing-Assault Brigade was under district control until June 1990, when it was transferred to the Soviet Airborne Troops. Becoming part of the Russian Airborne Troops as the country dissolved, it was active until February 1997.

In 1990 the 63rd Guards became the 56th Guards District Training Centre.[23]

In 1993 the 5189th Base for Storage of Weapons and Equipment was disbanded.

Post-Cold War edit

The fall of the Soviet Union caused much reassessment of the Russian Federation’s military situation. During most of the 1990s, economic constraints greatly hampered military effectiveness. Several formations, such as the 25th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade, formed on 1 January 1993 from the disbanding 24th Tank Training Division at Riga, arrived in the district having been withdrawn from the former Baltic Military District. Since 1992 many formations and units of the District have participated in local conflicts and peace-keeping missions, especially in the North Caucasus.

The 111th Motor Rifle Division (still part of 6th Army) was active until 1994, and then seemingly became the 20th Independent MR Bde, which became a VKhVT between January 1997 and June 1998.[24] As the 20th Independent Motor Rifle Brigade it shifted formations into the 30th Guards Army Corps. Also in 1994 the 5186th VkHVT at Petrozavodsk was seemingly upgraded into the 30th Independent Motor Rifle Brigade.[23]

In early December 1997, President Boris Yeltsin said in Sweden that Russia would make unilateral reductions to forces in the northwest, which included the Leningrad Military District. He promised that land and naval units would be reduced by 40 per cent by January 1999.[25] In May 1999, when Russian defense minister Marshal Igor Sergeyev confirmed that the cuts had taken place, Sergeyev said that the personnel of the Leningrad Military District had been drawn down by 52 per cent.[26] In terms of formations, the series of disbandments left the district almost unrecognisable.[23] The 6th Army’s staff at Petrozavodsk, the staff of the 30th Guards Army Corps at Vyborg, and all the motor rifle divisions previously in the district disbanded (including the 54th Guards MRD, reduced in size to a brigade and then which became a storage base, and the 64th Guards, reduced to a storage base). Left in their place were a number of weapons and equipment storage sites, and two motor rifle brigades (between January 1997 and June 1998 the 45th Guards MRD was reduced in size to become the 138th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade, and the 131st was reduced in size to become the 200th Independent Motor Rifle Brigade).[27]

In terms of air forces, after the collapse of the Soviet Union the 76th Army of the Soviet Air Forces and the 6th Air Army of the Soviet Air Defence Forces, were left operating in the district. The two forces were merged as the 6th Army of VVS and PVO in 1998.[28]

 
Leningrad Military District Map

The 138th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade at Kamenka was deployed for operations during the Second Chechen War, in which, along with other Russian Ground Forces units, its personnel was reported to have behaved badly at times.[29] A 22-year-old woman in Ingushetia was shot by drunken soldiers from the brigade scavenging for alcohol. The deployment of a tank battalion of the brigade was apparently halted when it was

discovered that soldiers had been selling the explosive from their tanks' reactive armour. The second fully operational brigade in the district, the 200th Motor Rifle Brigade descends from the World War II-era 45th Rifle Division, which later became the 131st Motor Rifle Division.

In 2006–07, the 35th Base for Storage of Weapons & Equipment, the former 54th Motor Rifle Division at Alakurtti, was disbanded.[30]

The Russian Airborne Troops' 76th Air Assault Division was also based within the district's boundaries, at Pskov.

Presidential Decree 900 dated July 27, 1998 gave the District's composition as the Republic of Karelia, the Komi Republic, Arkhangelsk, Vologda, Leningrad, Murmansk, Novgorod, and Pskov oblasts, Saint Petersburg, and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The district headquarters is now in the General Staff Building on Palace Square in Saint Petersburg.

The last commander of the district, General Lieutenant Nikolai Bogdanovsky, commanded between March 2009 and September 2010. On the abolition of the district General Bogdansky became Deputy Commander of the Russian Ground Forces.

Subordinate Units edit

 
Structure and units of the Leningrad Military District 2010

Order of Lenin Leningrad Military District 2010:

Commanders edit

During its existence, the district was commanded by the following officers:

Notes edit

References edit

Citations edit

  1. ^ "Russia's defense chief proposes re-establishing Moscow, Leningrad military districts". TASS. 2022-12-21. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
  2. ^ Rezchikov, Andrey (2023-06-05). "Why does Russia need two new armies?" (in Russian). Vzglyad. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
  3. ^ Ogarkov 1979, pp. 614–617.
  4. ^ *Petrov, Pavel (2008) (in Estonian, translated from Russian). Punalipuline Balti Laevastik ja Eesti 1939–1941. Tänapäev. ISBN 978-9985-62-631-3. p. 154
  5. ^ "Leningrad Military District, Red Army, 22.06.41". niehorster.org.
  6. ^ a b c d Feskov et al. 2013, pp. 430–433.
  7. ^ Michael Holm, 2nd Guards Artillery Division at http://www.ww2.dk/new
  8. ^ "Biography of Colonel-General of Aviation Fedor Petrovich Polynin - (Федор Петрович Полынин) - (Fiodor Połynin) (1906 – 1981), Soviet Union". generals.dk.
  9. ^ a b Yefimov, Aleksey Nikolayevich (2006). "Владимирский Лагерь". Псков. Научно-практический, историко-краеведческий журнал (in Russian). Pskov State University (24): 187–212. ISSN 2219-7923.
  10. ^ Feskov et al. 2013, p. 429, 435.
  11. ^ Feskov et al. 2013, p. 438.
  12. ^ Feskov et al. 2013, pp. 430–431.
  13. ^ a b . Pasvikelva.no (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 16 February 2009.
  14. ^ "6th Combined Arms Army". www.ww2.dk. Retrieved 2016-03-17.
  15. ^ Activated 4 June 1957 in Vologda, Vologda Oblast, from the 69th Rifle Division. On 1 June 1989 redesignated the 5189th Weapons and Equipment Storage Base. Disbanded 1993. http://www.ww2.dk/new/army/msd/69msd.htm.
  16. ^ Holm, 258th Independent Helicopter Squadron
  17. ^ Feskov et al. 2013.
  18. ^ Feskov et al. 2013, p. 244.
  19. ^ Lensky A. G., Tsybin M. M. Soviet Ground Forces in the last year of the USSR. Directory. - St. Petersburg; V&K, 2001, pp. 43-55.
  20. ^ "1071 ОУПСпН (в/ч 51064)". www.spec-naz.org.
  21. ^ Holm, Michael. "21st Missile Brigade". www.ww2.dk. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
  22. ^ Holm, Michael. "131st Missile Brigade". www.ww2.dk. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  23. ^ a b c Andrew Duncan, 'Russian forces in decline – Part 2,' Jane's Intelligence Review, October 1996, 444–445.
  24. ^ Duncan, Jane's Intelligence Review, October 1996, 444–445, and Duncan 1998.
  25. ^ James Meek and David Fairhall, ‘Yeltsin Slashes Baltic Force’, The Guardian, Dec. 4, 1997
  26. ^ Interfax, ‘Defense Minister Segeyev gives details of cuts to northwest forces’, May 6, 1999
  27. ^ Andrew Duncan, 'Russia and Ukraine: Restructuring for a New Era,' Jane's Intelligence Review, June 1998, 6–7. See also motor rifle division – motor rifle brigade transition list at Feskov et al. 2013, 179.
  28. ^ Piotr Butowski, 'Russia's new air force enters a tight manoeuvre,' Jane's Intelligence Review, May 1999, p.18
  29. ^ "Some Provisional Notes On Current Russian Operations In Dagestan & Chechnya". www.globalsecurity.org.
  30. ^ According to Soldat.ru online forum conversation in August 2007, as from 1 December 2006 (Форум); according to Michael Holm, in 2007: Holm, Michael. "54th Red Banner Motorised Rifle Division". ww2.dk. Retrieved 16 April 2017..
  31. ^ http://www.redstar.ru/2009/10/07_10/2_02.html[dead link]
  32. ^ Krasnaya Zvezda 13 Dec 91 1st ed p1. Confirmation appointment by President Yel'tsin, KZ 8 Oct 92 p 1.

Bibliography edit

  • Feskov, V.I.; Golikov, V.I.; Kalashnikov, K.A.; Slugin, S.A. (2013). Вооруженные силы СССР после Второй Мировой войны: от Красной Армии к Советской [The Armed Forces of the USSR after World War II: From the Red Army to the Soviet: Part 1 Land Forces] (in Russian). Tomsk: Scientific and Technical Literature Publishing. ISBN 9785895035306.

See also edit

  • Russian official site at www.mil.ru
  • Scott and Scott, The Armed Forces of the USSR, Eastview, 1979
  • See Also – Leningrad MD at Warfare.ru

leningrad, military, district, this, article, lead, section, short, adequately, summarize, points, please, consider, expanding, lead, provide, accessible, overview, important, aspects, article, august, 2020, military, district, armed, forces, russian, federati. This article s lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article August 2020 The Leningrad Military District was a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation In 2010 it was merged with the Moscow Military District the Northern Fleet and the Baltic Fleet to form the new Western Military District In December 2022 Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu proposed to reestablish it along with the Moscow Military District 1 a decision confirmed in June 2023 by Deputy Chief of the General Staff Yevgeny Burdinsky 2 Leningrad Military DistrictLeningradskij voennyj okrugThe territory of the Leningrad Military District in 1989 FoundedAugust 6 1864CountryRussian Empire 1864 1918 Soviet Union 1924 1991 Russian Federation 1991 2010 BranchSoviet Armed ForcesRussian Armed ForcesTypeMilitary districtPart ofMinistry of DefenceHeadquartersSaint PetersburgDecorations Order of Lenin Contents 1 History 2 World War II 3 Cold War 3 1 Forces in 1990 3 2 30th Guards Army Corps 3 3 26th Army Corps 4 Post Cold War 4 1 Subordinate Units 5 Commanders 6 Notes 7 References 7 1 Citations 7 2 Bibliography 8 See alsoHistory editThe district was founded in 1864 as the Petersburg Military District in the Russian Empire during the military district reform of that year After World War I began Saint Petersburg was renamed Petrograd and the district also changed its name to the Petrograd Military District The Leningrad Military District was originally formed as the Petrograd Military District after the October Revolution of 1917 up to the beginning of the formation of the Red Army The Petrograd District was reestablished as a part of the Red Army RKKA by an order of the Highest Military Council of 6 September 1918 On 1 February 1924 the Petrograd military district was renamed the Leningrad Military District when the city was renamed Leningrad The district included Leningrad Pskov Novgorod Olonets Cherepovets and Murmansk Governorates and the Karelian SSR In 1927 the governorates were merged into the new Leningrad Oblast with the territory of the district remaining the same between the wars 3 By 1935 the district included the 1st Rifle Corps at Novgorod with the 16th and 56th Rifle Divisions and the 19th Rifle Corps at Leningrad with the 4th Turkestan and 20th Rifle Divisions The 19th Rifle Corps also included the Separate Karelian Rifle Brigade and Separate Murmansk Rifle Regiment Markian Popov was appointed District Commander in 1939 Its main purpose was the defence of the Kola Peninsula and the northern shores of the Gulf of Finland On the right flank it bordered with the Arkhangelsk Military District on the left with the Baltic MD Among the defensive works started in the 1930s to protect the frontiers was the Karelian Fortified Region World War II editThe Winter War of 1939 40 with Finland prompted a close examination of the combat performance of the District s troops and for the better control of the 7th and 13th Armies the North Western Front was formed from the staff of the District on 7 January 1940 Three and a half months later the Front was dissolved back into the District headquarters On June 9 1940 directive 02622ss ov was given to the District by Semyon Timoshenko to be ready by June 12 to a capture the vessels of the Estonian Latvian and Lithuanian Navy in their bases and or at sea b Capture the Estonian and Latvian commercial fleet and all other vessels c Prepare for an invasion and landing in Tallinn and Paldiski d Close the Gulf of Riga and blockade the coasts of Estonia and Latvia in Gulf of Finland and Baltic Sea e Prevent an evacuation of the Estonian and Latvian governments military forces and assets f Provide naval support for an invasion towards Rakvere g Prevent the Estonian and Latvian airplanes flying either to Finland or Sweden 4 On 22 June 1941 the District comprised the 7th Army the 14th Army the 23rd Army the 1st Mechanised Corps 177th Rifle Division 191st Rifle Division 8th Rifle Division the 21st 22nd 25th 29th Fortified Regions Air Forces six aviation divisions including the 1st 2nd 5th 39th 41st and 55th and other formations and units 5 Two days after the German invasion of the Soviet Union on 24 June 1941 the District was reorganised as the Northern Front and two months later on 23 August 1941 it was split into the Leningrad and Karelian Fronts The Front s forces efforts played a major part in resisting the German attacks during the Siege of Leningrad By the joint efforts of troops of the Leningrad Front Volkhov Front and the 2nd Baltic Front during January 1944 the Leningrad Novgorod Offensive ended the siege of the city Pressing home the attack the forces of the Leningrad Front in summer and in the fall of 1944 helped seize Estonia Latvia and Lithuania The Front was reorganized under the Leningrad District into a peacetime status on 9 July 1945 Marshal Leonid Govorov took command shortly afterwards Cold War edit nbsp Boundaries of the Leningrad Military District in red on 1 January 1989The reestablished district was responsible for the Estonian SSR Leningrad Pskov and Novgorod Oblasts Initially the district controlled two combined arms armies the 10th Guards in Estonia and the 23rd on the Karelian Isthmus The 10th Guards Army was reduced to the 4th Guards Rifle Corps in April 1948 and that of the 23rd Army disbanded as a result of the postwar demobilization The district was thus left with the 4th Guards Rifle Corps the 30th Guards Rifle Corps the 2nd Guards Tank Division and the 1st and 2nd Machine Gun Artillery Divisions Control of forces in the Estonian SSR which included the 4th Guards Rifle Corps with three divisions was transferred to the Baltic Military District on 27 January 1956 6 By 1946 the 2nd Guards Artillery Division had arrived at Pushkin which would be its headquarters for nearly the next fifty years 7 The 13th Air Army was the district air force component and was redesignated as the 76th Air Army in 1949 General Colonel of Aviation Fyodor Polynin was the first commander of the 76th Air Army 8 Apart from a brief period when the air army was redesignated the Air Forces of the Leningrad Military District from 1980 to 1988 6 the 76th Air Army would be active in the region until 1998 The 2nd Guards Tank Division was transferred to the district from the Estonian SSR in 1958 based at Garbolovo and Vladimirsky Lager 9 In May 1960 the Northern Military District controlling forces in the Karelian and Komi ASSRs and Arkhangelsk Murmansk and Vologda Oblasts was subsumed into the Leningrad Military District Accordingly Headquarters Northern Military District became Headquarters 6th Combined Arms Army 10 That year the 37th Guards Motor Rifle Division of the 30th Guards Army Corps was reorganized as the district s motor rifle training division returning to its wartime designation as the 63rd Guards in 1964 In the late 1960s the 14th Separate Machine Gun Artillery Regiment of the 30th Guards Army Corps was used to create the mobilization 37th Motor Rifle Division 11 In 1962 the troops of the district participated in Operation Anadyr the Soviet military deployment to Cuba that resulted in the Cuban Missile Crisis As a result of tensions with China in the late 1960s the headquarters of the 44th Army Corps 2nd Guards Tank Division the 279th Motor Rifle Regiment of the 54th Motor Rifle Division and other units were sent to the Far East New units were formed to replace them with the 26th Army Corps headquarters replacing the 44th and a reshuffling of units to replace the 279th Regiment the 221st Guards Motor Rifle Regiment of the 77th Guards Motor Rifle Division replaced the 279th in the 54th Motor Rifle Division In turn the new 481st Motor Rifle Regiment was formed to complete the 77th Guards During the 1970s and 1980s the 6th Combined Arms Army and the 30th Guards and 26th Army Corps were based in the territory of the district 6 General later Marshal Sergei Sokolov assumed command in 1965 Marshal Sokolov later became the Minister of Defence in 1984 On 22 February 1968 in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the Soviet Army and for its successes in combat and in political training the District was awarded the Order of Lenin 12 On 3 June 1968 the District was placed on alert The Norwegian Army raised its alert levels in response Within a couple of days the mobilized forces in the Leningrad region reached 11 000 soldiers 4 000 naval infantry 210 tanks 500 troop transports 265 self propelled cannons 1 300 logistics transports 50 helicopters and 20 Antonov An 12 transport aircraft all of which were staged in the Petchenga Murmansk area near Norway 13 On the evening of 7 June the Norwegian Garnisonen i Sor Varanger garrison heard the noise of powerful engines coming from the manoeuvres along the entire Soviet front of the Norwegian Soviet border Actual observations were not possible over the border in the dark On that same night the GSV commanding officer ordered all GSV reserve forces to report to their emergency muster locations The Soviet demonstration of strength lasted until 10 June when the Soviet forces stood down 13 In 1979 Scott and Scott reported the headquarters address as Leningrad L 13 Pod ezdnoy Per Dom 4 In 1988 the district s forces were reported as consisting of the 6th Army Petrozavodsk with the 54th Alakurtti 111th Sortavala and 131st Motor Rifle Divisions plus three zero strength mobilisation divisions at Petrozavodsk Alakurtti and Nagornyy 14 the 26th Army Corps at Arkhangelsk formed in 1967 with the 69th Vologda 15 and 77th Guards Motor Rifle Divisions Arkhangelsk the 258th Independent Helicopter Squadron at Luostari Pechenga airfield near Luostari 16 and other smaller units the 30th Guards Leningrad Red Banner Army Corps at Vyborg with the 45th Guards Motor Rifle Division the 64th Guards Motor Rifle Division and the 37th Motor Rifle Division a mobilisation division the double of the 63 MRTD at Chernaya Rechka and the 63rd Guards Training Motor Rifle Division and the 76th Guards Airborne Division under district control 17 At Garbolovo 60 20 14N 30 29 55E there was the 36th Air Assault Brigade effectively an airmobile brigade which had been activated in autumn 1979 18 By 1990 the district included 60 000 servicemen 822 tanks 2 000 armored fighting vehicles 1 100 guns mortars and MLRS systems and 100 helicopters 6 Forces in 1990 edit The composition of the troops of the district was as follows 19 Formations and units of district subordinationDistrict Headquarters Leningrad 2nd Guards Artillery Perekop Red Banner Order of the Suvorov Division HQ Pushkin 229th Rear Guard Division DOT Garbolovo 250th Reserve Motor Rifle Division Vladimirsky Lager 9 359th separate security and support battalion 2nd Spetsnaz Brigade Promezhitsy Pskov Region 1071st Training Regiment of Special Designation Pechory Pskov Oblast Military Unit Number 51064 20 36th Separate Air Assault Brigade Garbolovo 21st Rocket Brigade Oselki Leningrad Oblast 21 131st Rocket Brigade Luga Leningrad Oblast 22 186th Training Rocket Brigade Luga Leningrad Oblast 195th Training Rocket Brigade Medved Novgorod Oblast Arakcheevsky barracks 141st Anti Aircraft Rocket Brigade Nenimyaki Leningrad Oblast 289th High Power Artillery Brigade Meadows 451st separate anti tank artillery battalion 332nd Separate Guards Transport and Combat Helicopter Regiment Pribilovo 317th separate mixed aviation squadron Taibola 33rd Engineer Regiment Kotly 170th Engineer Regiment 7th Guards Pontoon Bridge Kingisepp Red Banner Order of Alexander Nevsky Regiment Kerro 639th separate engineering road and bridge battalion 95th Leningrad Red Banner Communications Brigade named after the 50th anniversary of the formation of the USSR Chernaya Rechka 97th Communications Brigade Agalatovo Vsevolozhsk District 192nd separate communications regiment 1611th training separate communications battalion 73rd Radio Engineering Brigade Toksovo 146th Separate Radio Engineering Red Banner Special Purpose Brigade Bugry Vsevolozhsky District 164th Separate Electronic Warfare Regiment 41st Chemical Protection Brigade Vologda 69th Logistics Brigade 71st Logistics Brigade 3rd Automobile Brigade 34th Pipeline Brigade 209th Medical Brigade Repair enterprises of district subordination 75th Automobile Repair Plant Petrozavodsk 775th Artillery Repair Plant 521st Communications Repair Plant Bases and warehouses of district subordination 10th air base helicopters 970th central base of reserve vehicles 1873th Automobile Base 2124th NRB 3807th military equipment storage base Chernaya Rechka The disbanded 37th 146th Motor Rifle Division 5188th military equipment storage base Ivanteevo training centers and spare parts 56th Guards District Training Krasnoselsky Order of Lenin Red Banner Order of Suvorov and Bogdan Khmelnitsky Junior Specialist Training Center motorized rifle troops Sertolovo 323rd 391st 406th 731st 987th training centers 321st School of Ensigns Garbolovo 1494th Reserve Rocket and Artillery Regiment 30th Guards Army Corps edit Office of the commander headquarters and a separate company of protection and support the city of Vyborg 93rd independent Helicopter Squadron Kasimovo Airfield Other connections and parts of corps subordination 45th Guards Motor Rifle Krasnoselskaya Order of Lenin Red Banner Division Kamenka 64th Guards Motor Rifle Krasnoselskaya Order of Lenin Red Banner Division 26th Army Corps edit In December 1989 the 77th Guards Motorized Rifle Division Moscow Chernigov was transformed into a coastal defense division of the same name and the 69th Sevsk Motorized Rifle Division in Vologda was transformed into the 5189th Base for Storage of Weapons and Equipment Russian acronym VKhVT Accordingly in 1991 the 26th Arkhangelsk Army Corps had more than a modest set of corps units and the 5189th BKhVT in Vologda The 77th Guards Coastal Defence Division was then reorganised as a separate coastal defence brigade by 1 December 1994 Corps Headquarters Arkhangelsk 258th Separate Helicopter Squadron Luostari Collapsed divisions 14th Engineer Regiment 293rd Engineer Regiment 1068th separate communications battalion Arkhangelsk 55th Logistics Brigade 709th separate repair and restoration battalion 5189th military equipment storage base Vologda In 1989 V I Feskov et al reported that the 71st MRD became the 5186th VKhVT the 115th Guards became a storage base and the Motor Rifle Division at Chernaya Rechka the 37th it was apparent later was reduced to become the 3807th Base for Storage of Weapons and Equipment The 36th Landing Assault Brigade was under district control until June 1990 when it was transferred to the Soviet Airborne Troops Becoming part of the Russian Airborne Troops as the country dissolved it was active until February 1997 In 1990 the 63rd Guards became the 56th Guards District Training Centre 23 In 1993 the 5189th Base for Storage of Weapons and Equipment was disbanded Post Cold War editThe fall of the Soviet Union caused much reassessment of the Russian Federation s military situation During most of the 1990s economic constraints greatly hampered military effectiveness Several formations such as the 25th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade formed on 1 January 1993 from the disbanding 24th Tank Training Division at Riga arrived in the district having been withdrawn from the former Baltic Military District Since 1992 many formations and units of the District have participated in local conflicts and peace keeping missions especially in the North Caucasus The 111th Motor Rifle Division still part of 6th Army was active until 1994 and then seemingly became the 20th Independent MR Bde which became a VKhVT between January 1997 and June 1998 24 As the 20th Independent Motor Rifle Brigade it shifted formations into the 30th Guards Army Corps Also in 1994 the 5186th VkHVT at Petrozavodsk was seemingly upgraded into the 30th Independent Motor Rifle Brigade 23 In early December 1997 President Boris Yeltsin said in Sweden that Russia would make unilateral reductions to forces in the northwest which included the Leningrad Military District He promised that land and naval units would be reduced by 40 per cent by January 1999 25 In May 1999 when Russian defense minister Marshal Igor Sergeyev confirmed that the cuts had taken place Sergeyev said that the personnel of the Leningrad Military District had been drawn down by 52 per cent 26 In terms of formations the series of disbandments left the district almost unrecognisable 23 The 6th Army s staff at Petrozavodsk the staff of the 30th Guards Army Corps at Vyborg and all the motor rifle divisions previously in the district disbanded including the 54th Guards MRD reduced in size to a brigade and then which became a storage base and the 64th Guards reduced to a storage base Left in their place were a number of weapons and equipment storage sites and two motor rifle brigades between January 1997 and June 1998 the 45th Guards MRD was reduced in size to become the 138th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade and the 131st was reduced in size to become the 200th Independent Motor Rifle Brigade 27 In terms of air forces after the collapse of the Soviet Union the 76th Army of the Soviet Air Forces and the 6th Air Army of the Soviet Air Defence Forces were left operating in the district The two forces were merged as the 6th Army of VVS and PVO in 1998 28 nbsp Leningrad Military District MapThe 138th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade at Kamenka was deployed for operations during the Second Chechen War in which along with other Russian Ground Forces units its personnel was reported to have behaved badly at times 29 A 22 year old woman in Ingushetia was shot by drunken soldiers from the brigade scavenging for alcohol The deployment of a tank battalion of the brigade was apparently halted when it wasdiscovered that soldiers had been selling the explosive from their tanks reactive armour The second fully operational brigade in the district the 200th Motor Rifle Brigade descends from the World War II era 45th Rifle Division which later became the 131st Motor Rifle Division In 2006 07 the 35th Base for Storage of Weapons amp Equipment the former 54th Motor Rifle Division at Alakurtti was disbanded 30 The Russian Airborne Troops 76th Air Assault Division was also based within the district s boundaries at Pskov Presidential Decree 900 dated July 27 1998 gave the District s composition as the Republic of Karelia the Komi Republic Arkhangelsk Vologda Leningrad Murmansk Novgorod and Pskov oblasts Saint Petersburg and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug The district headquarters is now in the General Staff Building on Palace Square in Saint Petersburg The last commander of the district General Lieutenant Nikolai Bogdanovsky commanded between March 2009 and September 2010 On the abolition of the district General Bogdansky became Deputy Commander of the Russian Ground Forces Subordinate Units edit nbsp Structure and units of the Leningrad Military District 2010Order of Lenin Leningrad Military District 2010 Combat formations 25th independent Guards Motor Rifle Brigade Sevastopol Latvian Rifles in Vladimirsky Lager equipped with MT LBV 31 138th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade Krasnoselskaya in Kamenka equipped with MT LBV former 45th Guards MRD 200th Independent Motor Rifle Brigade Pechenga in Pechenga equipped with MT LBV 216th Reserve Base 4th Independent Motor Rifle Brigade in Petrozavodsk 2nd Independent Spetsnaz Brigade in Cherekhi 56th Guards District Training Center Krasnoselskyy Missile and Artillery formations 26th Rocket Brigade Nemanskaya in Luga 9th Guards Artillery Brigade Kelecko Berlin in Luga 7014th Artillery Reserve Base in Luga Air defence formations 5th Anti Aircraft Rocket Brigade equipped with the Buk missile system 1013th Air defence Center Engineering formations 140th Guards Engineer Regiment Kingisepskyy in Kerro Vsevolozhskyy 7022nd Engineer Reserve Base NBC defence formations 10th Independent NBC defence Battalion in Sertolovo Signal formations 95th Communications Hub Signal Brigade 50th years of USSR 132nd Territorial Signal Brigade Konstancskaya 60th Signal Center 1269th Independent Electronic Warfare Center 140th Independent Rear Signal BattalionCommanders editDuring its existence the district was commanded by the following officers Boris Pozern 1918 1919 Dmitry Nikolayevich Avrov 1920 1921 Alexander Yegorov 1921 Vladimir Gittis 1921 1925 Boris Shaposhnikov 1925 1927 August Kork 1927 1928 Mikhail Tukhachevsky 1928 1931 Ivan Panfilovich Belov 1931 1935 Komandarm 1st rank Boris Shaposhnikov September 1935 June 1937 Komandarm 2nd rank Pavel Dybenko June 10 September 1937 Mikhail Khozin 1937 1939 Komandarm 2nd rank Kirill Meretskov January 1939 January 1940 Komandarm 1st rank promoted to Marshal of the Soviet Union May 1940 Semyon Timoshenko January June 1940 Lieutenant General Mikhail Kirponos June 1940 January 1941 Lieutenant General Markian Popov January June 1941 Lieutenant General Trifon Shevaldin July September 1941 Marshal of the Soviet Union Leonid Govorov July 1945 April 1946 Lieutenant General Dmitry Gusev April 1946 September 1949 Lieutenant General Alexander Luchinsky September 1949 May 1953 General of the Army Matvei Zakharov May 1953 October 1957 General of the Army Nikolay Krylov January 1958 October 1960 General of the Army Mikhail Kazakov October 1960 October 1965 Lieutenant General Sergei Sokolov October 1965 April 1967 Lieutenant General Ivan Shavrov May 1967 January 1973 Lieutenant General Anatoly Gribkov February 1973 September 1976 Colonel General Mikhail Sorokin October 1976 October 1981 General of the Army Boris Snetkov November 1981 December 1987 Colonel General Viktor Yermakov December 1987 July 1990 Colonel General Viktor Samsonov July 1990 December 1991 Lieutenant General Sergey Seleznyov 7 December 1991 17 December 1996 appointed by USSR President Gorbachev as of 7 Dec 1991 32 Lieutenant General promoted to Colonel General May 1997 and General of the Army February 2003 Valentin Bobryshev December 1996 9 March 2005 General of the Army Igor Puzanov 9 March 2005 11 December 2007 Colonel General Valery Gerasimov 11 December 2007 5 February 2009 Lieutenant General Nikolai Bogdanovsky 23 March 2009 September 2010 Notes editReferences editCitations edit Russia s defense chief proposes re establishing Moscow Leningrad military districts TASS 2022 12 21 Retrieved 2023 10 09 Rezchikov Andrey 2023 06 05 Why does Russia need two new armies in Russian Vzglyad Retrieved 2023 10 09 Ogarkov 1979 pp 614 617 sfn error no target CITEREFOgarkov1979 help Petrov Pavel 2008 in Estonian translated from Russian Punalipuline Balti Laevastik ja Eesti 1939 1941 Tanapaev ISBN 978 9985 62 631 3 p 154 Leningrad Military District Red Army 22 06 41 niehorster org a b c d Feskov et al 2013 pp 430 433 Michael Holm 2nd Guards Artillery Division at http www ww2 dk new Biography of Colonel General of Aviation Fedor Petrovich Polynin Fedor Petrovich Polynin Fiodor Polynin 1906 1981 Soviet Union generals dk a b Yefimov Aleksey Nikolayevich 2006 Vladimirskij Lager Pskov Nauchno prakticheskij istoriko kraevedcheskij zhurnal in Russian Pskov State University 24 187 212 ISSN 2219 7923 Feskov et al 2013 p 429 435 Feskov et al 2013 p 438 Feskov et al 2013 pp 430 431 a b Cold War Pasvikelva no in Norwegian Archived from the original on 24 July 2011 Retrieved 16 February 2009 6th Combined Arms Army www ww2 dk Retrieved 2016 03 17 Activated 4 June 1957 in Vologda Vologda Oblast from the 69th Rifle Division On 1 June 1989 redesignated the 5189th Weapons and Equipment Storage Base Disbanded 1993 http www ww2 dk new army msd 69msd htm Holm 258th Independent Helicopter Squadron Feskov et al 2013 Feskov et al 2013 p 244 Lensky A G Tsybin M M Soviet Ground Forces in the last year of the USSR Directory St Petersburg V amp K 2001 pp 43 55 1071 OUPSpN v ch 51064 www spec naz org Holm Michael 21st Missile Brigade www ww2 dk Retrieved 2016 02 16 Holm Michael 131st Missile Brigade www ww2 dk Retrieved 2016 03 31 a b c Andrew Duncan Russian forces in decline Part 2 Jane s Intelligence Review October 1996 444 445 Duncan Jane s Intelligence Review October 1996 444 445 and Duncan 1998 James Meek and David Fairhall Yeltsin Slashes Baltic Force The Guardian Dec 4 1997 Interfax Defense Minister Segeyev gives details of cuts to northwest forces May 6 1999 Andrew Duncan Russia and Ukraine Restructuring for a New Era Jane s Intelligence Review June 1998 6 7 See also motor rifle division motor rifle brigade transition list at Feskov et al 2013 179 Piotr Butowski Russia s new air force enters a tight manoeuvre Jane s Intelligence Review May 1999 p 18 Some Provisional Notes On Current Russian Operations In Dagestan amp Chechnya www globalsecurity org According to Soldat ru online forum conversation in August 2007 as from 1 December 2006 Forum according to Michael Holm in 2007 Holm Michael 54th Red Banner Motorised Rifle Division ww2 dk Retrieved 16 April 2017 http www redstar ru 2009 10 07 10 2 02 html dead link Krasnaya Zvezda 13 Dec 91 1st ed p1 Confirmation appointment by President Yel tsin KZ 8 Oct 92 p 1 Bibliography edit Feskov V I Golikov V I Kalashnikov K A Slugin S A 2013 Vooruzhennye sily SSSR posle Vtoroj Mirovoj vojny ot Krasnoj Armii k Sovetskoj The Armed Forces of the USSR after World War II From the Red Army to the Soviet Part 1 Land Forces in Russian Tomsk Scientific and Technical Literature Publishing ISBN 9785895035306 See also editRussian official site at www mil ru Scott and Scott The Armed Forces of the USSR Eastview 1979 See Also Leningrad MD at Warfare ru Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Leningrad Military District amp oldid 1182244800, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.