Reserve of the Supreme High Command
The Reserve of the Supreme High Command or RGK — the President of the Russian Federation.
History
World War II
Forces from the Reserve were assigned by the Stavka to individual fronts that were conducting major operations. These formations were designed to support any forms of operations but especially penetrations and exploitations in accordance with the Soviet deep battle doctrine.Beginning in 1943, the formations and units in the Reserve ranged from battalions to whole armies, with an emphasis on artillery and mechanised formations, and were capable of large-scale, independent operations. For example, as of April 1943, an artillery penetration corps contained as many as 1,500 gun tubes and rocket launchers each. Tank armies, which also emerged in 1943, included one or two tank corps and one mechanised corps, plus supporting units. These mechanised formations were capable of conducting operational exploitations of up to 500 kilometers.
Post-war period
The special-purpose brigades of the Supreme Command Reserve became the first missile units, in accordance with the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, dated May 13, 1946:- 22nd Special Purpose Brigade of the Supreme Command
- 23rd Special Purpose Brigade of the Supreme Command
- 54th Special Purpose Brigade of the Supreme Command
- 56th Special Purpose Brigade of the Artillery Reserve of the Supreme High Command
Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union No. 3540-1647 "On special formations and special construction in the Military Armed Forces of the USSR" was issued on September 19, 1951, for the improvement of the special-purpose brigades of the Artillery Reserve of the Supreme High Command as part of the Soviet Armed Forces. The BrOsNaz played a major role in developing the organizational and staff structure of the missile forces, methods of combat use of the main weapons, and training combat crews to launch ballistic missiles. In 1951-1955, five further such brigades were created, which in 1953 received a new name - engineering brigades of the Artillery Reserve of the Supreme High Command, in accordance with the directive of the General Staff, dated February 26, 1953. Until 1955 they were armed with R-1 and R-2 ballistic missiles with a range of 270 kilometers and 600 km, equipped with warheads with conventional explosives. These brigades were part of the Artillery Reserve of the Supreme High Command and reported to the commander of the artillery of the Soviet Army of the Soviet Armed Forces. They were led by a special department of the artillery headquarters of the Soviet Army of the USSR Armed Forces. In March 1955, the position of Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR for special weapons and rocket technology was introduced, under which a headquarters of rocket units was created. The combat use of engineering brigades was determined by the order of the Supreme High Command, the decision of which provided for the assignment of these units to the fronts. The front commander exercised control over the engineering brigades through the artillery commander.
Modern period
In modern Russia, the only reserve of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief is the Russian Airborne Forces. Most of the Airborne Troops military units that are part of the Reserve of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief are also Guards. In relation to the Russian Airborne Troops, as the reserve of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, two largely equivalent terms are officially used: reserve and means - the latter reflects the instrumental status of the troops among a set of other military and non-military measures for the implementation of state power, at the disposal of the country's top leader. According to the Commander of the Airborne Forces, Colonel General Vladimir Shamanov specific status is that the Airborne Forces, being the reserve of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, are always ready to carry out any order of the President of Russia and the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, — at the same time, as the Commander specifically noted, in light of the reforms and structural changes in the military department, the status of the Airborne Forces and their role remain unchanged, their independence as a separate branch of the Russian Armed Forces is preserved. According to the Commander of the Airborne Forces "We remain the operational-strategic reserve of the Minister of Defense and the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces". Being the reserve of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the troops will be intended to conduct independent actions in selected areas, as well as to strengthen the ground group, based on the decisions made by the General Staff.The Airborne Forces have always been the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's reserve. The most important, but not the only factor that makes the Airborne Forces the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's reserve is their mobility, it is possible to ensure the defense of such a large territory as Russia has only by using airmobile units that can be airdropped into any theater of military operations at any time. The Airborne Forces, which de facto perform the function of rapid reaction forces, are considered best suited to this task.
The term elite troops is often used in relation to the Russian Airborne Forces, but this term is journalistic, while the official term that enshrines the special status of a particular branch of the military is the very fact of belonging to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's reserve. According Federation Council (Russia)|Chairman] of the Federation Council, Sergey Mironov, "The Airborne Forces are a special branch of the military, which is held in special regard by the Ministry of Defense and the country's leadership. The Airborne Forces have always been and must remain the reserve of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief".