Among the main and central departments of the military department there are leaders in secrecy. These include the 9th Central Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, colloquially referred to as the "nine". From 1987 to 1993, it was led by Lieutenant General Oleg Baikov, Hero of Socialist Labor. Behind his shoulders are unique construction sites - combat starting positions, control and communication lines for missile forces, objects of an anti-missile attack system. He headed the 101st Directorate of Special Construction (Komsomolsk-on-Amur), held the posts of deputy commander of the Baltic Military District for the construction and quartering of troops, first deputy chief of the Main Directorate of Special Construction.
- Oleg Alexandrovich, in March 1987 you were appointed head of the 9th department of the USSR Ministry of Defense. Was it easy to delve into new problems? What do you remember?
“At the request of Saddam Hussein, we built a closed command post. The Americans found out its whereabouts, used artillery, aviation, cruise missiles, but the special object survived. "
- It was quite easy to delve into management problems, because I built just such objects. What caught my eye was the very high level secrecy. All control objects are secure. Therefore, the places of their construction, conventional and actual names, degree of protection, level of penetration, habitability, autonomy, strength characteristics and design features are secret, state and military secrets. Of course, at the present time, when the capabilities of reconnaissance, especially aerospace and electronic, have sharply increased, it is not easy to hide all this data. But we have the golden rule of fortification in the Nine: the best defense is complete concealment.
In this sense, government was like a small state, living by its own rules. One example. Marshal arrives at the site Soviet Union Victor Kulikov. He must get out of his car and transfer to the 9th control car. The marshal grumbles with displeasure that, they say, you are talking nonsense, you are sick with the bureaucracy, forgot, they say, that I am a marshal, an easy mother is slipping through. I show him the sentry at the post - he will not open the gate and will not let someone else's car pass. And I add: you yourself approved these rules. “Okay,” Kulikov surrenders and obediently changes into our transport ...
- So what, in fact, does the management do and why is there such a halo of mystery around it?
- If we speak in the “rough language” of documents, it deals with special fortifications.
Here it is necessary to do small digression... The oldest military tradition of our army is to protect the commander and provide him with the conditions for leading the troops. We still have this, as they say, since the days of "The Lay of Igor's Campaign." It is clear that with the improvement of the forms and methods of armed struggle, this function also underwent changes. When in the middle of the last century appeared nuclear weapon, decided to create these very fortification defenses. On April 22, 1955, according to the tradition of those times, a joint Resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR appeared, which dealt, in particular, with this. And for the concrete implementation of the idea in practice, on May 4, 1955, the then Minister of Defense of the USSR, Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, issued an order on the creation of the 9th department, which was entrusted with the implementation of the customer's functions for the design and construction of such structures. Later by the directive of the chief General Staff of May 13, 1955, the number was determined by the department, it is subordinate to the Deputy Minister of Defense for the construction and quartering of troops.
- It's about in-depth command posts that will be used in case of war. But many of our control centers are already fifty years old, and a potential enemy's nuclear weapons have changed significantly: their power, accuracy, and damaging factors have increased.
- Since its inception, the 9th control has been in constant competition with the means of destruction of a potential enemy, this can be compared with the competition between the "shield" and the "sword". I can say that hundreds of special exercises and tests were carried out to make the control points feel safe. For this, the latest scientific discoveries, materials, mechanisms, and new technologies are used.
But it is important not only to build powerful facilities, but also to equip them with the appropriate equipment. We have achieved that the life support systems of closed command posts can freely operate under conditions of powerful seismic explosive effects, with significant overloads, accelerations, displacements, burning electromagnetic interference, high temperatures and high radioactivity environment... Even the latest submarines did not have such equipment, but we used it to the fullest.
Of course, in this competition the “sword” sets the tone, and here it is very important to react promptly to changes in the damaging factors. Time becomes the primary factor. Therefore, in close connection with the designers, we have developed new fortification structures of the prefabricated-monolithic type, as they say in the instructions, “high factory readiness”. Such armored and concrete "Lego", which allows to reduce the time and reduce the cost of construction of objects.
So rest assured, our fortifications are not some ancient bunkers buried in the ground, but modern formidable command posts frozen in constant combat readiness.
- I remember that during the years of “perestroika and glasnost” the locations of many defense facilities were declassified, and “guidebooks” to them were printed in newspapers. Has this affected the institutions and parts of the Nine?
- Unfortunately, it did. The system of protecting military and state secrets was destroyed. Everything that was carefully and skillfully hidden from prying eyes was rude and cynical, sometimes defiantly deciphered and revealed. You will remember that the then media were filled with information about the geography and the purpose of top secret objects, just about, "guidebooks" were printed on them. Unfortunately, no one answered for this.
A very difficult period for us. With the hasty withdrawal of troops from the countries - participants of the former Warsaw Pact, the fundamental foundations of the current command and control system became the property of the "broad circles of the democratic public". In addition, special fortifications on the territory of the former Soviet republics were not dismantled or destroyed - information about them also went around the world.
- But it didn't get any easier later. Under Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, the 9th Directorate was generally merged with the signalmen ...
- Then they tried to save money and earn money on everything. Thank God it's over. Now the management has begun a new period. By the way, when it was discussed whether it was necessary to resume his activities, one of the military leaders expressed doubt about this. They say a lot has already been blabbed. But he was given the following reason: to control the armed forces of Iraq, at the request of Saddam Hussein, we built a closed command post. The Americans found out his whereabouts, used all their capabilities (aviation, cruise missiles, artillery), but the special object survived. And this circumstance played a role in the resumption of the activities of the department.
- Where else, in which countries have we built such closed control points?
- Actually, in many states. When I was there, they built in Poland and Bulgaria, modernized an object in Hungary. I must say that the Bulgarian leadership was very attentive to the construction of special fortifications, asked for help, and I had to fly there very often. A powerful, well-closed command post was created in the mountains.
Work in Hungary is memorable. A helicopter with our delegation crashed there, killing five generals. Among them is the Deputy Chief of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff, Colonel-General Vladimir Shutov, he was in charge of the closed command posts. I was also supposed to fly in this helicopter, but the pilot, the lieutenant colonel, excused himself and said there were no seats. And I flew another helicopter, with the captain at the helm. He turned out to be happier and more fortunate.
- Such a bike goes to the Ministry of Defense. Following the order of the chief to find a room for a billiard room, the officer went down to the basement of the house and began to inspect the premises. Opens the door, and there is an entrance to the subway, trains under steam and a sentry in the rank of ensign. Is this also an object of the 9th control?
- No, this is an anecdote. It's impossible to get to our facility so easily. Although the "nine" is not only engaged in the creation and operation of facilities, but also provides transportation, safe delivery of leadership to the command post. This can be done both in the subway and in other ways. We ordered the manufacture of a special vehicle that could deliver guidance even to the area where a nuclear strike was struck ... By the way, in Soviet times, special shelters were erected for the political leadership of the country, families, and even a special medical institution was built for sick members of the Politburo on the same principles as specialized fortifications. We must pay tribute, they trained a lot at our facilities. Starting from the first person of the state, they came in the established order and practiced the necessary skills. They were not lazy and were not shy, they understood responsibility for the fate of the Fatherland.
- You happened to meet with many famous military leaders and politicians. Who is the most memorable?
- A very interesting person was the Minister of Defense of the USSR, Marshal of the Soviet Union Dmitry Fedorovich Ustinov. He apparently worked at night since Stalin's times. The person is very accessible and specific - no unnecessary bureaucracy. When I was deputy commander of the Baltic Military District, we had dachas near Jurmala. It sounds loud, but in fact there are such miserable houses - about 400. Wherever they turned, they could not get money for their repair. Dmitry Fedorovich, having heard about our difficulties, asked to write an appeal in his name. I immediately, as they say, on my knee wrote a document in which I also asked for money for the construction of a new building in the district sanatorium. He imposed a resolution - that's all! He had fantastic authority.
The same workaholic was the chief of the General Staff, Marshal of the Soviet Union Sergei Fedorovich Akhromeev, he also slept three to four hours a day. Was very obliging and well mannered. If he invited me to his place, then five minutes before the appointed time he went into the reception room himself, called him into the office. And until he delved into the problem, he did not let go. We singled out our management, instantly responded to all our requests. Some "jealous colleagues" called us his favorites.
“But there is also a spot on this brilliant background - the construction of a“ Foros fortress ”for Gorbachev. The country was falling apart, and you were building a golden palace there ...
- You are a little confused here. Indeed, the 9th Directorate acted as the customer for the construction of the Zarya facility, which was the dacha of Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev. But then he was the President of the USSR, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, and we were building the "Foros fortress" in accordance with his position and ranks. It was the residence of the first person of our state, and everything here had to be at the highest level.
How did you come to this decision? In the summer of 1985, the Gorbachevs were vacationing at Brezhnev's Crimean residence in Oreanda. There was a large complex of houses and dachas for rest and work, houses for guests, including for the highest party and statesmen... However, Gorbachev and especially his wife did not like the rest. It was decided to create a new residence - near the village of Foros.
In 1986, construction work began and was carried out on a large scale and intensity. At that time, the Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR, Colonel-General Nikolai Chekov, did not have a more important object. Why Chekov, the Minister of Defense of the USSR Marshal of the Soviet Union Dmitry Yazov did not have a more important construction site than the Zarya facility. Marshal delved into all the problems of construction, regularly flew to Foros. On his private plane, they carried marble to decorate the dacha. Colonel-General Chekov, Marshal Yazov, not without irony called the "foreman", and called himself "the senior foreman."
- Have you been there often?
- Didn't get out of there. The main attention was paid to the "recreation area", where a beautiful three-story palace was erected, faced with the best varieties of marble and covered with aluminum tiles specially created for this building. Three military plants received an order for it - in Leningrad, Riga and Moscow. The use of ordinary tiles in the earthquake-prone Crimea was prohibited. Finishing materials were also brought from Italy, bathroom tiles - from Germany.
There was a guest house, an outdoor pool, and sports grounds nearby. On the ground floor there is a cinema. The economic zone included garages, a boiler room, storage rooms, buildings for security workers, a communications center and many other structures that ensured the life of the facility.
The area was not only earthquake-prone, but also landslide. Therefore, all structures were erected on solid bored piles, which rested on the rock. To protect the main palace from constant and strong winds, we exploded into the mountain that stood here, making it a cover. In part, it also became a disguise for the Foros palace. From the side of the mountains, the first and basement floors are not visible - it seemed that there was a modest cottage by the sea.
Gorbachev closely followed the work, but mainly from photographs and models. But Raisa Maksimovna flew to Foros many times, forcing to redo the already built parts of the palace. The project was constantly supplemented with new and expensive details: a summer cinema, a grotto, a winter garden, covered escalators from the main palace to the sea, etc. The panel in the pool was made of semi-precious stones ...
One of the newspapers wrote: “In the XX century, only two architectural wonders were built on the southern coast of Crimea - the Livadia Palace of Emperor Nicholas II and the gorgeous villa of Gorbachev in Foros with revolutionary name Zarya.
- Was it hard to look at this "feast during the plague"?
- Yes, it is difficult and incomprehensible. But I do not consider the Foros construction site a dark spot on the reputation of the 9th department. We were following orders. I guess a stain on your conscience former first the communist of the country who proclaimed modesty, but lived in a completely different way. This discrepancy between word and deed basically destroyed our country.
- During the Emergency Committee Gorbachev was really arrested there and, according to him, turned out to be a Foros prisoner?
- Nonsense. Nearby, in Mukhalatka, our department has already built a special command post for him. Half an hour on a regular bus - and all power in the country is in his hands.
- Do you have any comments on current state "Nines"?
- No, I think: now management is in good hands, it is developing successfully.
Military license plates have their own specifics. The code available on them is mistaken by many for the code of the region of Russia. This error causes a special resonance in the cities in which operations to strengthen law and order are being carried out (as in Moscow after the elections to the State Duma-2011), the population begins to spread rumors about the arrival military equipment from this or that region.
In fact, the code of a military license plate indicates belonging to one or another branch and type of troops, units and formations, the main and central departments of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. For example, code 15 means that automobiles belong to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Below is a table of codes of car numbers of military vehicles:
| The code | Code holder | Decoding of affiliation |
| 01-09, 13 | Others | - |
| 10 | FSB RF | Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation |
| 11, 15, 19 | Interior Ministry of the Russian Federation | Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation |
| 12 | FPS RF | Federal Border Troops border service RF |
| 14 | FS Zheldorvoysk RF | Federal Railway Troops Service of the Russian Federation |
| 16 | FAPSI (will change) | Federal Agency for Government Communications and Information under the President of the Russian Federation |
| 17 | TsS OSTO RF | Central Council of Defense Sports and Technical Organizations of the Russian Federation |
| 18 | EMERCOM of the Russian Federation | Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defense Emergency situations and liquidation of the consequences of natural disasters |
| 20 | FDSU MO RF | Federal Road Construction Directorate under the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation |
| 21 | SKVO | North Caucasian Military District |
| 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 31, 33, 35-38, 40-42, 44, 46-49, 51, 52-55, 57-64, 66, 68-75, 78-80, 84-86, 88-90, 95-99 | Reserve | - |
| 23 | Strategic Missile Forces | Strategic missile forces |
| 25 | DalVO | Far Eastern Military District |
| 27 | Air Defense Troops | Air defense troops |
| 29 | 9 Central Administration of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation | 9th Central Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation |
| 32 | ZabVO | Trans-Baikal Military District |
| 34 | Air force | Air Force |
| 39 | 12th Glavk of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation | 12th Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation |
| 43 | LenVO | Leningrad military district |
| 45 | Navy | Navy |
| 50 | MVO | Moscow military district |
| 56 | Videoconferencing | Military space forces |
| 65 | PrivO | Volga Military District |
| 67 | Airborne forces | Airborne troops |
| 76 | URVO | Ural military district |
| 77 | Motor depots of the RF Ministry of Defense and General Staff | Automobile base of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation; Automobile base of the RF Ministry of Defense; Automobile base of trucks and special vehicles of the RF Ministry of Defense; Automobile base of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces |
| 81 | GVSU MO RF | Main Military Construction Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation |
| 82 | GUS MO RF | Main Construction Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation |
| 83 | GU of the construction industry of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation | Main Directorate of the Construction Industry of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation |
| 87 | Siberian Military District | Siberian military district |
| 91 | 11 separate army | 11 separate army |
| 92 | 201st Motorized Rifle Division (Tajikistan) | 201 motorized rifle division |
| 93 | OGRV in Transnistria | Operational group of Russian troops in the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova |
| 94 | GRVZ | Group russian troops in Transcaucasia |
Information taken from the site
Defense Department Russian Federation is an government agencyresponsible for defense policy and defense activities in the state.
Historical excursion
The Russian state appeared and developed in a difficult situation. That is why almost immediately, with the emergence of the army, the need arose for a single body responsible for carrying out various military measures, as well as commanding the troops. The situation changed in 1531. It was then that the Discharge Order (or Discharge) was created. The competence of this body was to recruit rati and provide it with supplies. Later, the interests of the Division also included the construction of fortresses and a notch line. In addition, the Discharge Order carried out command and control of the troops on the southern outskirts of the state. During the second half of the 16th, as well as the entire 17th centuries, the discharge order continued to dispose of the military affairs of the state.
The situation changed only at the beginning of the 18th century, when the reforms of Peter I touched practically all spheres of life of the Russian state. Naturally, they did not bypass military affairs. Thus, the Discharge Order was replaced by the Military Collegium, which performed essentially the same functions with the only difference that the time of the Tatar raids on Russia had passed, and special attention was no longer required to the southern borders of the state. It was with and thanks to the Military Collegium that Russian weapons won glorious victories over Turkey, Sweden, Poland and Prussia, annexing vast territories to the country.
At the beginning of the 19th century, a special manifesto of Emperor Alexander I was issued. According to it, the Military Collegium was abolished. It was replaced by the Ministry of the Army. Six years later, in 1808, this Ministry was reformed into War Department with the same functions and powers.
The Patriotic War of 1812 ushered in a new era military history... The difficult situation on the battlefields with France required a radical change in the Ministry of War in accordance with the new requirements, which was carried out in the same year. Thanks to changes in the structure of the ministry, a number of departments were formed: engineering, inspector, artillery, auditor, provision, medical and commissariat. Separately, it is worth mentioning the ministerial council and the chancellery, which were not part of any of the departments, but were part of ministries.
In 1815, for a short period of time (about a year), the Russian War Ministry temporarily became part of the General Staff. Nevertheless, this method of organizing the administration of military affairs quickly proved to be ineffective.
Twenty years later, it was the turn to reunite the General Staff and the War Department. Moreover, this time the General Staff became part of the latter. However, no qualitative changes in the structure of the War Ministry took place for another 24 years. Everything was changed by the Crimean War, during which the Russian army suffered serious losses. The backwardness of the Russian army in technical and organizational aspects became obvious.
In 1861, Emperor Alexander II appointed Field Marshal D.A.Milyutin as Minister of War. It was Milyutin who initiated an extensive military reform in the state, which became like a fresh breath of air for the army, barely recovering from defeat. In the course of the reform, a territorial system of military control was introduced, which manifested itself in the creation of military districts on the territory of the country. Also introduced conscription for all classes, which solved a number of problems with the manning of the army. A separate item was also the adoption of new small arms.
Military reform DA Milyutina was also reflected in the structure of the War Ministry. So, as of 1870 it included: the imperial headquarters, Main Headquarters, the office of the minister of war, the military council, as well as the main directorates (artillery, military educational institutions, cossack troops, quartermaster, engineering, military-judicial and military-medical).
However, Russia did not have to take advantage of these military reforms for long: during the Russo-Japanese War in 1904-1905, its shortcomings were revealed and, if for the 1870s it was quite modern, then by the beginning of the 20th century it was completely outdated. For more efficient army management during russo-Japanese War Council was established national defense, abolished in 1908. A number of measures also followed, designed to seriously reorganize the army. Russian Empire, but they could not be fully implemented.
Ministry of Defense at the present stage
On March 16, 1992, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation was created. This federal body is responsible for public policy in the military sphere, as well as management in the field of defense.
In difficult conditions, the Ministry of Defense managed to preserve the Armed Forces, as well as to ensure their development and equipping with new types of equipment. In the early 2000s, the situation began to improve. The same period was marked by a number of major changes in the structure of the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. From 1991 to 2007, six people were replaced at the post of Minister of Defense (Boris N. Yeltsin, P. S. Grachev, M. P. Kolesnikov, I. N. Rodionov, I. D. Sergeev, S. B. Ivanov).
In 2007, after A. Serdyukov was appointed to the post of Minister of Defense, a military reform began, which was to completely change the Armed Forces of Russia and significantly modernize them. The military reform assumed:
- The abolition of military districts and their replacement with operational strategic directions. So, instead of six military districts, four directions were formed: "Center", "East", "West" and "South".
- The elimination of such operational and tactical units as divisions and corps and the transition to the brigade structure of the Armed Forces.
- Widespread use of civilian specialists in the life support of the army (for example, civilian cooks in the cafeteria).
- Deep reform of the system of military educational institutions.
- Significant relaxation of the conditions of carrying military service for conscripts (for example, permission to use telephones, running in sneakers instead of army boots, etc.).
- Transfer to the brigade system of the Air Force.
- Reduction of military command and control bodies.
- The beginning of a large-scale army rearmament process.
However, this reform was not completed. In 2012, instead of Anatoly Serdyukov, Sergei Shoigu was appointed Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation. The beginning of a qualitatively new period in the history of the Armed Forces of Russia and the Ministry of Defense in particular is associated with his name.
Structure of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
Today the Russian Ministry of Defense is a complex, but very harmonious and well-organized structure. The main structural units of the Ministry are: the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Main Directorates and Services, Central Directorates, Economy and Finance Services, Quarters and Accommodation Services, Staff, High Commands, Commands and Press of the Ministry of Defense.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation is the central body of the military command of the Ministry of Defense, as well as the main body exercising operational control of the Armed Forces. It consists of the following departments:
- The Main Operations Directorate is an organ of the General Staff responsible for planning military operations at various levels.
- The Main Directorate (also known as the Main Intelligence Directorate) is an organ of the General Staff responsible for conducting foreign intelligence.
- The Main Organizational and Mobilization Directorate of the Ministry of Defense has its function to carry out mobilization activities in the country, and also deals with the preparation for possible hostilities.
- The Military Topographic Directorate is an organ of the General Staff that provides topographic support to the army (for example, with maps or terrain plans).
- Directorate 8 - Directorate responsible for encryption, decryption, and electronic intelligence.
- The Operational Preparation Department carries out operational planning of actions.
- Unmanned aerial vehicle construction and development department aircraft (UAV).
- The National Defense Control Center of the Russian Federation - serves as the main command post for the General Staff.
- Military band service.
- Archival service.
- Military Scientific Committee.
The central directorates within the Russian Ministry of Defense are represented by the following structures:
- Central Office of Military Communications, which is the representative of the Ministry of Defense on land, air, river and railways.
- Central Automobile and Road Administration.
- The Central Food Administration, which provides food for the Armed Forces.
- Central Office of Rocket Fuel and Fuel.
- Command of the railway troops.
- Central clothing control.
- Department of the Chief of Environmental Safety.
- A single center for ordering and delivering the rear.
- Veterinary and sanitary service.
- 9th Central Directorate - this department ensures the functioning of special facilities at the disposal of the Ministry of Defense.
The quartering and accommodation service is responsible for the resettlement of the personnel of the Armed Forces, as well as solving a number of housing problems. This service has the following divisions:
- Directly the quartering and arrangement service.
- Department of Arrangement of Troops.
- Department for the implementation of housing programs.
- Main apartment maintenance department.
- The Central Organizational and Planning Administration for Capital Construction, which organizes the construction of new houses for military personnel and their families.
The Economy and Finance Service provides the personnel of the Armed Forces with monetary allowances, and also performs all functions related to finance. Subdivided into:
- Main Financial and Economic Department.
- Office of Labor and Wages of Civilian Personnel.
- Accounting and Reporting Department.
- Financial Planning Department.
The Service of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (Apparatus) includes the following structures:
- Main Directorate of International Military Cooperation.
- Department for control over the implementation of contracts.
- Main Legal Department.
- Department of Affairs of the Ministry of Defense.
- Financial inspection.
- Press service and information department.
- Office.
- Reception room.
- Expert Center of the Apparatus.
- Economic management.
- Office of Inspectors General. Airborne Forces and Strategic Rocket Forces.
The printed organs of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation are represented by such periodicals as: "Military Historical Journal", "Voin of Russia" and "Krasnaya Zvezda".
Conclusion
Today the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation is a powerful body capable of efficiently exercising military control in the country. It makes no sense to prove that the power and strength of the army lies precisely in the ability to control this force. The structure of the Ministry of Defense is designed in such a way as to make the command and control of the army as clear and precise as possible. This is helped not only by the strict selection of staff for the Ministry, but also by new technologies.
Control system Armed Forces RF is constantly being improved. The experience gained as a result of the hostilities in Syria is analyzed in every possible way, systematized and taken into account when planning further actions of the army. Another important task entrusted, however, not only to the Ministry of Defense, is the fight against international terrorism, which is aimed at causing enormous damage to the whole world.
Nevertheless, in such a difficult international situation, the Russian Ministry of Defense continues to carry out its direct duties with honor and dignity and carry them out with great success, and the efficiency of its work is very high. Based on all this, I would like, of course, to conclude that with the beginning of the 2010s the long-awaited period of the revival of the Russian Army began.
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