Moscow Military District


The [423rd Guards Yampolsky Motor Rifle Regiment|]Order of Lenin Moscow Military District is a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Originally it was a district of the Imperial Russian Army until the Russian Empire's collapse in 1917. It was then part of the Soviet Armed Forces. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010, it was merged with the Leningrad Military District to form the new Western Military District. In December 2022, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu proposed to reestablish it along with the Leningrad Military District, a decision confirmed in June 2023 by Deputy Chief of the General Staff Yevgeny Burdinsky. The district was formally reconstituted on 26 February 2024 by a Presidential Decree №141, after the Western Military District was split.
Colonel General Sergey Kuzovlev took over as the new district's commander on 15 May 2024. The Moscow Military District is one of the smallest military districts in Russia by geographic size. It is one of two military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, with its jurisdiction primarily within the western central region of European Russia. The Moscow Military District contains 20 federal subjects of Russia: Belgorod Oblast, Bryansk Oblast, Ivanovo Oblast, Kaluga Oblast, Kostroma Oblast, Kursk Oblast, Lipetsk Oblast, Moscow, Moscow Oblast, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Oryol Oblast, Ryazan Oblast, Smolensk Oblast, Tambov Oblast, Tver Oblast, Tula Oblast, Vladimir Oblast, Vologda Oblast, Voronezh Oblast, Yaroslavl Oblast. It lies in the Central Federal District.
Military units of the internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the FSB Border Service of Russia, as well as units of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and other ministries and departments of the Russian Federation performing tasks on the territory of the district are under its operational subordination.

History

Russian Empire (1864–1917)

In the beginning of the second half of the 19th century Russian officials realized the need for re-organization of the Imperial Russian Army to meet new circumstances. During May 1862, the War Ministry, headed by Army General Dmitry Milyutin, introduced to Tsar Alexander II of Russia proposals for the reorganization of the army, which included the formation of fifteen military districts. A tsarist edict of 6 August 1864, announced in a Defence Minister’s order on 10 August of the same year, established ten military districts, including Moscow. The District’s territory then comprised 12 provinces: Vladimir, Vologda, Kaluga, Kostroma, Moscow, Nizhniy Novgorod, Ryazan, Smolensk, Tambov, Tver, Tula, and Yaroslavl. The District was intended as a reinforcement source for troops and equipment, being some distance from the frontier, rather than an operational area.
The District dispatched five infantry and a cavalry division south to the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–8, as well as sending another division to the Caucasus area. This force totaled around 30,000 men and 20,000 horses. Over 80,000 men were also called into reserve units. The District also housed 21,000 Turkish prisoners of war. During the First World War over a million men were stationed in the district. Much of the garrison was involved in the October Revolution of 1917, and consequent establishment of a Soviet regime in the cities of Bryansk, Vladimir, Voronezh, Kaluga, Nizhniy Novgorod, Orel, Tver, Yaroslavl. By a resolution of the Moscow Military Revolutionary Committee on, Corps Commander N.I. Muralov was assigned as the new commander of the district.

Soviet Russia & Soviet Union (1917–1991)

In the period of the Russian Civil War and military intervention in Russia 1917 - 22 the District prepared military personnel for all the fronts and supplied the Red Army with different forms of armament and allowances. From June to the middle of September 1919 the District conducted 33 callups totalling more than 500,000 people. In Moscow the 1 Moscow Rifle Division, Warsaw revolutionary infantry regiment, and 2nd revolutionary infantry regiment were formed, and Latvian forces were brought to the Latvian Rifles Division. In Voronezh two cavalry divisions were formed, two rifle divisions and two rifle regiments in Nizhniy Novgorod, and the 16th Rifle Division in Tambov. Artillery units too were also being raised in the capital area.
After the end of Civil War in the troops of region were demobilized, as a result of which their number was reduced from 580,000 to 85,000 in January 1923, and the District was reorganised on a peacetime basis. In the 1920s the District had 10 rifle divisions: the 1st Moscow Proletariat Red Banner Rifle Division, the 6th Oryol; the 14th Vladimir; the 17th Nikhegorodskaya; the 18th Yaroslavskaya; the 19th Voronekhskaya; the 48th Tverskaya; the 55th Kurskaya; the 81st Kaluga; and the 84th Tula. Autumn maneuvers began to be conducted yearly here in the district. The 2nd Rifle Corps was stationed in the district from 1922 to 1936. In the beginning of the 1930 tanks started to be introduced, including the MS or T-18, T-26, T-27, BT, T-28, and the heavy T-35. In 1930 the first mechanized infantry brigade in the Soviet Army was formed in the district.
The Russian Ground Forces' official site notes that the first tactical parachute landing took place in the District on 2 August 1930.
In World War II the District formed three fronts, 23 armies, 128 divisions of all arms, and 197 brigades of all arms, an approximate total of 4.5 million men. In 1944–5 alone the District sent to the front 1,200,000 soldiers. From summer 1945 to summer 1946, in order to supervise the demobilisation process, the District was subdivided into four: the Moscow, Voronezh, Gorki , and Smolensk Military Districts. General Kirill Moskalenko took command of the District in 1953 and would later be a Marshal of the Soviet Union after leaving his post.
The Voronezh Military District was reactivated in 1949 and was active until 1960.
In January 1954 the district's forces comprised the Guards Rifle Corps">Russian Guards">Guards Rifle Corps ; the 11th Guards Rifle Corps, the 13th Guards Rifle Corps, 38th Guards Airborne Corps and the 4th Guards Kantemirovskaya Tank Division. Among the 1957 reorganisations was the creation of the 23rd Guards Motor Rifle Division from the 23rd Guards Mechanized Division.
On 22 February 1968, for the large contribution to the cause of strengthening the defense of the state, for its successes in combat and political training, and in view of the 50th anniversary of the Soviet Army plus its important role in the 2nd World War, the District was awarded with the Order of Lenin.
In 1979 Scott and Scott reported the HQ address as being Moscow, A-252, Chapayevskiy Per., Dom 14.

Post-Soviet era (1991–2010)

With the collapse of the USSR the District became for the first time in its history a boundary district and thus a new priority was put on building up combat forces within it, rather than the training and capital garrison focus of the Soviet period.
In the early 1990s the District received the headquarters of the First Guards Tank Army from the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. It was relocated to Smolensk, and consisted of the 4th Guards Tank Division and 144th Guards Motor Rifle Division. In July 1992 the 336th Independent Helicopter Regiment returned from Germany to Oreshkovo airfield and was placed under the Moscow Military District. The regiment then came under 1st Guards Tank Army from 31 December 1992. The 1st Guards Tank Army's headquarters disbanded later in the 1990s, along with the 144th Guards MRD. In addition, the 6th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade was withdrawn from Germany and restationed at Kursk.
The 22nd Army Headquarters was reformed from 13th Army Corps in the early 1990s, to control the new 3rd Motor Rifle Division among other formations. The 22nd Army had previously been inactive for a long period; it was last operational immediately after the war when its HQ along with the 109th Rifle Division arrived in the South Ukraine in May 1945. In the Northern summer of 1945, together with the headquarters of the Separate Coastal Army, located in the Crimea, it was reorganised as the new but short-lived Tavria Military District.
On 1 June 1997 the 59th Guards Motor Rifle Division in Transdnestr, Moldova, was reorganised as the 8th Guards Independent Motor-Rifle Brigade with four motor-rifle battalions, one tank battalion, two artillery battalions, and an anti-tank battalion plus other combat support and support units. After several years reporting directly to the General Staff, the Operational Group of Russian Forces in Moldova was realigned under the command of the Moscow Military District in 1998. Previously the 14th Guards Army, forces and individuals from this command played a major part in the early 1990s in establishing and maintaining the Transnistrian separatists of the Transnistria as a viable de facto state.
In 1994 the 16th Air Army took over most air forces from the Air Forces of the Moscow Military District. In 2010, the district was merged with the Leningrad Military District to form the new Western Military District.

Recreation (2024–present)

On 21 December 2022, citing the influx of conscripts from the 2022 Russian mobilization, Russian Minister of Defence Sergei Shoigu announced that the Moscow Military District was being re-established, alongside the Leningrad Military District. On 20 March 2024, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced formation of the new 69th Motor Rifle Division and renewed 34th Guards Artillery Division as part of the Moscow Military District.

Cold war

Units directly subordinated to the District HQ

District Command and Headquarters - Moscow, RSFSR

Land Forces

In addition to the ground forces divisions directly subordinated to the district HQ, the Moscow MD had the 13th Guards Army Corps as its main ground forces formation:
  • 13th Guards Kyonigsbergskiy Order of the Red Banner Army Corps. In 1990 this corps was under the command of General Fyodor Reut.
  • *Corps Command and HQ - Gorkiy, Gorkiy Oblast, RSFSR
  • *785th Separate Staff Security and Supply Company - Gorkiy, Gorkiy Oblast, RSFSR
  • *779th Signals Nod - Gorkiy, Gorky Oblast, RSFSR
  • *72nd Separate Guards Signals Battalion - Pyra, Gorkiy Oblast, RSFSR
  • *635th Separate Radio Relay and Cable Communications Battalion - Mulino, Gorkiy Oblast, RSFSR
  • *298th Separate Radio Intercept and ELINT Battalion - Gorkiy, Gorkiy Oblast, RSFSR
  • *88th Air Defence Radar Battalion - Pyra, Gorkiy Oblast, RSFSR
  • *50th Ballistic Missile Brigade - Shuya, Ivanovo Oblast, RSFSR
  • *876th Separate Guards Combat Engineer Battalion - Balakhna, Gorkiy Oblast, RSFSR
  • *385th Separate Road and Bridge Construction Engineer Battalion - Balakhna, Gorkiy Oblast, RSFSR
  • *60th Sevsko-Varshavskaya, Orders of the Red Banner and Suvorov Tank Division, Gorkiy, Gorkiy Oblast, RSFSR
  • **Division HQ
  • **509th Separate Signals Battalion
  • **14th Guards Zhytomyrsko-Shepetovskiy, awarded the Order of the Red Banner, the Order of Suvorov and the Order of Kutuzov Tank Regiment
  • **142nd Tank Regiment
  • **272nd Tank Regiment
  • **422nd Awarded the Order of the Red Banner, the Order of Suvorov, the Order of Kutuzov and the Order of Alexander Nevsky Motor Rifle Regiment
  • **863rd Prazhskiy, awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky Artillery Regiment
  • **? Air Defence Artillery Regiment
  • **? Separate Ballistic Missile Battalion
  • **? Separate Reconnaissance Battalion
  • **696th Separate Combat Engineer Battalion
  • **Separate Chemical Defence Company
  • **? Separate Repair and Overhaul Battalion
  • **491st Separate Medical Battalion
  • **? Separate Material Supply Battalion
  • *5347th Armament and Equipment Storage Base - Tambov, Tambov Oblast, RSFSR, transformed in the autumn of 1987 into the 1042nd Territorial Training Center
  • *225th Motor Rifle Division - Mulino, Gorkiy Oblast, RSFSR

Air Forces of the Moscow Military District

In the last days of the Soviet Union there was a considerable Soviet Air Defence Forces presence, and a smaller Air Forces presence, in the Moscow Military District. The Air Forces of the Moscow Military District consisted of a reconnaissance regiment, the 47th Guards Separate Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment at Shatalovo flying Su-24MPs, and the 9th Fighter Aviation Division, at Kubinka, with three regiments. The division incorporated the 32nd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, also at Shatalovo, with MiG-23MLDs, the 234th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment at Kubinka with MiG-29s, and the 274th Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment at Migalovo with Su-17s. Also part of the force was a ground signals regiment, the 131st.
There was also a transport squadron, an independent helicopter regiment, and an independent helicopter squadron for electronic warfare.
32nd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment served in Cuba as part of 'Operation Anadyr' during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1963. The regiment was temporarily renamed 213th Fighter Aviation Regiment while in Cuba. It was disbanded in 1989.
In October 1990 the 1080th Red Banner Training Aviation Center for retraining of personnel im. V.P. Chkalov was activated in Borisoglebsk, Voronezh Oblast, from the 796th Center for Preparation of Officers for Fighter and Fighter-Bomber Aviation, and the Borisoglebsk Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots. It came under the command of the Air Forces of the Moscow Military District. It comprised four instructor aviation regiments, the fourth being the 343rd Fighter Aviation Regiment at Sennoy with MiG-29s.
Joseph Stalin's son Vasily Stalin commanded the Moscow district air forces from June 1948 to August 1952. He was succeeded by General Colonel Stepan Krasovsky, Lieutenant General Stepan Rybanov, and, later, Lieutenant General Igor Dmitriev and Nikolai Antoshkin .
Also part of the Moscow District air forces was the 4th Centre for Combat Employment and Retraining of Personnel at Lipetsk.
Air Forces of the Moscow Military District
Command and Headquarters - Moscow, RSFSR
  • 131st Separate Signals and Automatized Command and Control Systems Regiment - Donino village, Moscow Oblast, RSFSR
  • - Kubinka, Moscow Oblast, RSFSR - Tu-134, An-12 An-26, Mi-8, An-2
  • 297th Separate Helicopter Squadron for Radio-Electronic Warfare - Alabino, Moscow Oblast, RSFSR - Mi-8/99th Red Banner Fighter Aviation Division - Kubinka, Moscow Oblast, RSFSR
  • * 234th Guards Proskurovskiy, awarded the Order of the Red Banner, the Order of Kutuzov and the Order of Alexander Nevsky Fighter Aviation Regiment - Kubinka - Su-27, MiG-29, MiG-23, Su-24M, Su-17M, Su-25, L-39, Tver Oblast, RSFSR - Su-17M4
  • * )
  • *
  • 47th Separate Guards Borisovskiy, awarded the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Suvorov Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment - Shatalovo, SMolensk Oblast, RSFSR - Su-24MR
  • 269th Separate Helicopter Regiment - Malino, Moscow Oblast, RSFSR - Mi-24, Mi-8, Mi-2Borisoglebskoye, awarded the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Lenin Higher Military School for Pilots, named after V. P. Chkalov - Borisoglebsk (air base), Voronezh Oblast, RSFSR
  • * 160th Instructor Fighter Aviation Regiment - Borisoglebsk - MiG-21
  • * 186th Training Aviation Regiment - Buturlinovka, Voronezh Oblast, RSFSR - MiG-21
  • * 123rd Training Aviation Regiment - Zherdyovka, Voronezh Oblast, RSFSR - L-39
  • Tambovskoye Higher Military School for Pilots, named after M. M. Raskova - Tambov, Tambov Oblast, RSFSR
  • * 127th Training Aviation Regiment - Ryazhsk - L-39
  • * 643rd Training Aviation Regiment - Tula, Tula Oblast, RSFSR - L-39
  • * 644th Training Aviation Regiment - Michurinsk - L-29
  • * 652nd Training Aviation Regiment - Tambov - Tu-134UBL
  • * Aircraft Storage Base - Tambov - stored MiG-23Tambovskoye, awarded the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Lenin Higher Military Aviation Engineering School, named after F. E. Dzerzhinsky - Tambov
In addition the following formations, units and establishments were based within the Moscow Military District, but were outside the control of the district's Air Forces:8th Aviation Division of Specific Purpose - Chkalovsky - subordinated directly under the Ministry of Defence. The transport aviation regiments provided airlift for high ranking government officials and repositioning of troops at very short notice. The separate squadron provided command and control.
  • * 353th Aviation Regiment of Specific Purpose - Chkalovsky - Il-62, Tu-154, Tu-134, Il-18, Il-76, An-72
  • * 354th Aviation Regiment of Specific Purpose - Chkalovsky - Il-76, Il-22, An-12, An-26, An-24
  • *
  • * Separate Composite Aviation Squadron - Chkalovsky - Il-80, Il-76RT and had no command task force on board. They provided Ultra high frequency link between the Soviet nuclear triad and the command centers and were equipped with drag antennae array, which could extend to a total length of 6 kilometers. The Navy's SSBNs and the Air Force's Long Range Aviation normally used alternative communications channels, so the main task for the Il-76RTs remained to provide a link to the Strategic Rocket Forces. The command and control system was designated "Chain Link"
  • 12th [Military Transport Aviation Division|12th Mginskaya Red Banner Military Transport Aviation Division], Tver, RSFSR - part of the Military Transport Aviation branch of the Air Force
  • * 566th Solnechnogorskiy, awarded the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Kutuzov Military Transport Aviation Regiment, Seshta, RSFSR - Antonov An-124
  • * 978th Military Transport Aviation Regiment, Seshta, RSFSR - Antonov An-124, Ilyushin Il-76
  • * 8th Military Transport Aviation Regiment, Tver, RSFSR - Antonov An-22
  • * 81st Military Transport Aviation Regiment, Ivanovo - Severny - Antonov An-22
  • 4th Center for Combat Training and Re-qualification of Flight Personnel - Lipetsk, Lipetsk Oblast, RSFSR - MiG-25RB, MiG-29, MiG-27, Su-24, Su-17М, Su-25 - fighter pilot training and re-qualification
  • 1046th Training Aviation Center - Shatalovo, Smolensk Oblast, RSFSR - MiG-25RB, Su-24MR, Su-17M3R - training pilots for the reconnaissance aviation
  • HQ 37th Air Army of the High Command - Moscow, RSFSR - strategic aviation
  • HQ 46th Red Banner Air Army of the High Command - Smolensk, SMolensk Oblast, RSFSR - strategic aviation

''Order of Lenin'' Moscow Air Defence District

Unlike the Air Forces of the Moscow Military District, which were part of the district, the units and formations of the Air Defence Forces were kept separate, reporting to their own Main Staff. The Moscow MD came under the air defence umbrella of the Moscow Air Defence District, which was the sole such district within the ADF.
  • District Command and Staff - Moscow, RSFSR
  • 118th District Communications Nod - Moscow
  • 436th Separate Transport Aviation Regiment - Stupino, Moscow Oblast, RSFSR - An-12, An-26, An-24, Mi-8
  • 1082nd Separate Automobile Battalion of the Moscow District of Air Defence, awarded the Order of Lenin 1st Red Banner Air Defence Army of Specific Purpose - Balashikha, Moscow Oblast, RSFSR
  • * 1082nd Command Post  - Balashikha
  • * 9th Communications Nod  - Balashikha
  • * 2366th Separate Cable Communications Battalion - Mytishchi, Moscow Oblast, RSFSR
  • * 1081st Separate Automobile Battalion
  • * 1092nd Separate Automobile Battalion
  • * 669th Separate Equipment Service and Overhaul Battalion - Istra, Moscow Oblast, RSFSR
  • * - 26 S-300 missile air defence regiments between the four divisions -
  • * 52nd Radio-Technical Brigade - Mytishchi
  • ** 4 separate radio-technical battalions :
  • *** 2317th, 2318th, 2319th and 2320th
  • * 86th Air Defence Division of Specific Purpose - Vidnoye
  • ** 499th Separate Signals Battalion - Vidnoye
  • ** 6 missile air defence regiments :
  • *** 635th, 628th, 705th, 16th, 614th and 549th
  • ** 9th Radio-Technical Regiment - Kashira
  • ** 1486th Missile Technical Base - Tolbino
  • ** 225th Technical Base - Belye Stolby
  • * 87th Air Defence Division of Specific Purpose - Balashikha
  • ** 501st Separate Signals Battalion - Balashikha
  • ** 6 missile air defence regiments:
  • *** 674th, 799th, 654th, 756th, 629th and 606th
  • ** 14th Radio-Technical Regiment - Kosteryovo
  • ** 1488th Missile Technical Base - Makarovo
  • ** 194th Technical Base - Fryazevo
  • * 88th Air Defence Division of Specific Purpose - Dolgoprudny
  • ** 187th Separate Signals Battalion - Dolgoprudny
  • ** 7 missile air defence regiments:
  • *** 789th, 17th, 658th, 722nd, 748th, 584th and 566th
  • ** 21st Radio-Technical Regiment - Savyolovo
  • ** 1491st Missile Technical Base - Trudovaya
  • * 89th Air Defence Division of Specific Purpose - Odintsovo
  • ** 250th Separate Signals Battalion - Odintsovo
  • ** 7 missile air defence regiments:
  • *** 791st, 662nd, 650th, 6th, 709th, 612th and 625th
  • ** 25th Radio-Technical Regiment - Goretovo
  • ** 1494th Missile Technical Base - Istra
  • ** 190th Technical Base - Golitsyno2nd Air Defence Corps - Rzhev, Tver Oblast, RSFSR
  • * Corps Command and Staff
  • * Corps Command Post
  • * Corps Automatised Command and Control Systems Center
  • * 4 fighter aviation regiments
  • ** 28th Guards Leningradskiy, awarded the Order of Kutuzov Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Air Defence Forces - Krichev, Mogilyov Oblast, Belarus SSR - MiG-25P/U
  • ** 790th Awarded the Order of Kutuzov Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Air Defence Forces - Khotilovo (air base)|Khotilovo], Tver Oblast, RSFSR - MiG-25P/U
  • ** 28th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Air Defence Forces - Andreapol, Tver Oblast, RSFSR - MiG-23P/UB
  • ** 401st Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Air Defence Forces - Smolensk, Smolensk Oblast, RSFSR - MiG-23P/UB
  • * 6 missile air defence regiments:
  • ** 242nd Guards, 47th, 195th, 210th Red Star, 713th and 1281th
  • * 3rd Radio-Technical Brigade - Rzhev, Tver Oblast, RSFSR3rd Air Defence Corps - Yaroslavl, Yaroslavl Oblast, RSFSR
  • * Corps Command and Staff
  • * Corps Command Post
  • * Corps Automatised Command and Control Systems Center
  • * 124th Communications Nod - Yaroslavl
  • * 114th Separate Radio-Relay Battalion
  • * 380th Separate Electronic Warfare Battalion
  • * 2 fighter aviation regiments
  • ** 415th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Air Defence Forces - Tunoshna, Yaroslavl Oblast, RSFSR - MiG-23P
  • ** 611th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Air Defence Forces - Dorokhovo, Tver Oblast, RSFSR - Su-15
  • * 79th Guards Missile Air Defence Brigade - Pitino village, Vologda Oblast, RSFSR
  • * 7 missile air defence regiments:
  • ** 48th, 164th, 380th, 474th, 485th, 488th and 1257th
  • * 6th Red Banner Radio-Technical Brigade - Yaroslavl, Yaroslavl Oblast, RSFSR
  • * 66th Radio-Technical Regiment - Vologda, Vologda Oblast, RSFSR 7th Air Defence Corps - - Bryansk, Bryansk Oblast, RSFSR
  • * Corps Command and Staff
  • * Corps Command Post
  • * Corps Automatised Command and Control Systems Center
  • * 208th Communications Nod - Bryansk
  • * 2 fighter aviation regiments
  • ** 191st Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Air Defence Forces - Yefremov - MiG-23P/UB
  • ** 472nd Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Air Defence Forces - Kursk (Vostochny), Kursk Oblast, RSFSR - MiG-23P/UB
  • * 8 missile air defence regiments:
  • ** 80th Guards, 493rd Guards Venskiy, awarded the Order of the Red Banner, the Order of Kutuzov and the Order of Alexander Nevsky, 108th Tulskiy, 260th Red Banner, 326th, 559th, 791st and 1284th
  • * 41st Radio-Technical Brigade - Oryol16th Air Defence Corps - - Gorky, Gorky Oblast, RSFSR
  • * Corps Command and Staff
  • * Corps Command Post
  • * Corps Automatised Command and Control Systems Center
  • * 101st Communications Nod - Gorky
  • * 904th Separate Radio-Relay Signals Battalion - Gorky
  • * 412th Separate Electronic Warfare Battalion - Gorky
  • * 2 fighter aviation regiments
  • ** 153rd Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Air Defence Forces - Morshansk, Tambov Oblast, RSFSR - Su-15
  • ** 786th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Air Defence Forces - Pravdinsk, Gorky Oblast, RSFSR - MiG-31
  • * 72nd Missile Air Defence Brigade - Gorodets, Gorky Oblast, RSFSR
  • * 4 missile air defence regiments:
  • ** 371st Guards Bobruysko-Berlinskiy, awarded the Order of the Red Banner, the Order of Alexander Nevsky, the Order of Kutuzov and the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, 291st, 356th and 387th
  • * 9th Radio-Technical Brigade - Gorky
  • * 65th Radio-Technical Regiment - Morshansk

Post-Cold war

Order of battle c. 2006

The District had around 75,000 troops assigned and consisted of the following formations. The entire Ground Forces began to go through a major reorganisation, which apparently began in March 2009, in which armies become operational commands and divisions were redesignated brigades.
In addition to normal units, the district was home at least until 2001 to the 11th Separate Cavalry Regiment, a unit used for producing war films. The unit was based at Kobyakovo.

''[Order of Lenin]'' Moscow Military District 2010

  • Combat formations:
  • * 4th Guards Independent Tank Brigade "Kantemir", in Naro-Fominsk
  • * 5th Guards Independent Motor-Rifle Brigade "Taman", in Kalininec equipped with BTR
  • * 6th Independent Tank Brigade "Chentokhovskaya", in Mulino
  • * 9th Guards Independent Motor-Rifle Brigade, in Nizhny Novgorod equipped with BMP
  • * 16th Independent Spetsnaz Brigade, in
  • * 27th Guards Sevastopol Motor Rifle Brigade, in Vidnoye equipped with BMP
  • * Operational Group of Russian Forces
  • * 99th Reserve Base, in Tver
  • * 262nd Reserve Base, in Boguchar
  • * 467th Guards District Training Centre, in Kovrov
  • Missile and Artillery formations:
  • * 45th Heavy Artillery Brigade "Svir", in Tambov
  • * 79th Guards MLRS Brigade, in Tver
  • * 112th Guards Missile Brigade, in Shuya
  • * 288th Artillery Brigade "Warsaw-Brandenburg", in Mulino
  • * 448th Missile Brigade, in Durnevo
  • * 7015th Artillery Reserve Base, in Mulino
  • Air-defence formations:
  • * 53rd Air-defence Missile Brigade, in Kursk equipped with the Buk missile system
  • * 886th Air-defence Command Center
  • Radar formations:
  • * 70th Independent Radio Technical Brigade, in Naro-Fominsk
  • * 51st Independent Radio Technical Battalion, in Dmitriev-Lgovskyy
  • Engineering formations:
  • * 7th Independent Engineer Regiment, in Belev
  • * 841st Independent Engineer Battalion
  • NBC-defence formations:
  • * 27th Independent NBC-defence Brigade, in Kursk
  • * 465th Independent NBC-defence Battalion, in Kineshma
  • Signal formations:
  • * 1st Signal Brigade "Sevastopol", in Selyatino
  • * 16th Independent Electronic Warfare Brigade
  • * 119th Signal Brigade, in Selyatino
  • * 147th Independent Signal Battalion
Formations of the Airborne Forces, including the 98th Guards Airborne Division and 106th Guards Airborne Division "Tula", also are based within the District's boundaries, but report directly to VDV headquarters.
Army General Vladimir Bakin was the former chief of staff – first deputy commander-in-chief of forces of the Volga-Ural Military District.

Component units

Direct reporting units and formations

Ground forces

;1st Guards Tank Army
423rd Motor Rifle Regiment
;20th Guards Combined Arms Army