Southern Military District


The Order of the Red Banner Southern Military District is a military district of Russia.
It is one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, with its jurisdiction primarily within the North Caucasus region of the country, and Russian bases in South Caucasian post-Soviet states. The Southern Military District was created as part of the 2008 military reforms, and founded by Presidential Decree №1144 signed on September 20, 2010, to replace the North Caucasus Military District, and absorbing the military commands of the Black Sea Fleet and Caspian Flotilla. The district began operation on October 22, 2010, under the command of Colonel-General Aleksandr Galkin.
The Southern Military District is the smallest military district in Russia by geographic size. The district contains 13 federal subjects of Russia: Adygea, Astrakhan Oblast, Chechnya, Dagestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Kalmykia, Karachay-Cherkessia, Krasnodar Krai, North Ossetia-Alania, Rostov Oblast, Stavropol Krai and Volgograd Oblast. After the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine was launched on 24 February 2022, six oblasts of Ukraine, partially occupied by Russia, were announced as being added to the district: the [Republic of Republic of Crimea (Russia)|Crimea (Russia)|Crimea], Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk, Sevastopol and Zaporozhye. These territories are components of Ukraine which since early 2022 have been partially or fully militarily occupied by Russian military forces.
The Southern Military District is headquartered in Rostov-on-Don, and its acting district commander is Lieutenant General Sergey Medvedev, who has served since November 2025.
WWW structure.mil.ru/structur...

History

[image:Buildind of Kunduri revenue house and Palace Hotel.jpg|thumb|left|Headquarters of the district at 53 Pushkinskaya Street / 43 Budenovsky avenue, Rostov-on-Don]
The Southern Military District was formed on 22 October 2010, according to Presidential Decree of 20 September 2010 № 1144 "On the Military Administrative Division Of the Russian Federation" the Southern Military District was created along with two other new larger military districts: the Central Military District and the Eastern Military District. By order of then Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, on 22 July 2010, interim commanders were named for the new military districts. Thus, the new position of commander of the Southern Military District, was Lieutenant-General Aleksandr Galkin, former Commander of the North Caucasus Military District, with Major-General Nikolai Pereslegin as the chief of staff for the district. Galkin was later promoted to Colonel General soon after his appointment as district commander.
The Southern Military District also directs two Russian military bases in Armenia: the 102nd Military Base in Gyumri, and the 3624th Air Base at the civil-military Erebuni Airport in the capital Yerevan, under the joint control of Armenian and Russian authorities.
In April 2014, Crimea and Sevastopol were added to the Southern Military District following the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation. The legal status of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol is currently under dispute: Ukraine and the majority of the international community considers them an integral part of Ukraine, while Russia considers them an integral part of Russia, with Crimea and Sevastopol approved as federal subjects of Russian Federation.
In 2016, the District was 98% staffed by contract servicemen.
In November 2020, following the aftermath of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, Russian military peacekeepers were deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh for securing the Lachin corridor and along the line of contact for at least five years. A military base was set up with its headquarters at Stepanakert and is part of the Southern Military District commanded by First deputy commander of the military district Lieutenant General Rustam Muradov. He was replaced by Deputy military district commander Lieutenant General Alexey Avdeev on 13 May 2021.
In January–February 2021, the 1061st Centre for Material-Technical Support, the district's logistics command, was reorganised. A storage base for missile and artillery weapons was formed and transferred to the direct subordination of the 1061 CMTO. The centre itself is located in the 4, 6 7 and 21 Military towns in Novocherkassk. One of the other units of the 1061 CMTO is the warehouse which has been headed by Stanislav Valerievich Yazykov 2011–2018.
On 24 June 2023, the headquarters of the district was captured by Wagner Group during the Wagner Group rebellion.
In April 2024, the Ukrainian Main Directorate of Intelligence claimed that some 18,000 Russian soldiers had deserted the Southern Military District, including 2,000 contract and 10,000 mobilised soldiers.

District organization

As part of the larger reorganisation, the 49th Army reformed with its headquarters seemingly in the former Institute of Communications of the Strategic Rocket Forces at Stavropol. According to warfare.ru, 49th Army has under control the 7th Military Base and the 8th, 33rd Mountain Motor Rifle and 34th separate Mountain Motor Rifle Brigades, as well as the 66th Communications Brigade.
There are also two Spetsnaz brigades an experimental reconnaissance brigade, plus one Russian Airborne Troops unit also stationed in the district: the 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division at Novorossiysk. The Russian Aerospace Forces has the 4th Air and Air Defence Forces Army in the district. Also under the district's control are the Navy's Black Sea Fleet and Caspian Flotilla, including their respective air and Naval Infantry components, including – in the case of the Black Sea Fleet – the 22nd Army Corps.
In early 2017, the reformation of the 8th Guards Combined Arms Army, successor to the Soviet 8th Guards Army, began within the Southern Military District. The army's headquarters is located at Novocherkassk and it is to include the 150th Motor Rifle Division and the 20th Guards Motor Rifle Division. The first phase of its formation was completed in June 2017.
The 58th Guards Combined Arms Army comprising two further motorized rifle divisions, plus other army level units and the 4th Guards Military Base in South Ossetia is the third army-level formation in the District.

Component units

  • 175th Luninets-Pinsk Order of Alexander Nevsky Twice Red Star Headquarters Brigade
  • 176th Communications Brigade
  • 11th Guards Kingisepp Red Banner Order of Alexander Nevsky Engineering Brigade
  • 28th NBC Defence Brigade
  • 439th Rocket Artillery Brigade
  • 1270th Electronic Warfare Center
  • 37th Railway Brigade
  • 39th Railway Brigade
  • 333rd Railway Pontoon Bridge Battalion
  • Mountain Training Center of the Armed Forces
  • 54th Training Center of Intelligence Units
  • 27th Training Center of Railway Troops 102nd Military Base
  • *76th Motorized Brigade
  • *73rd Motorized Brigade
  • *988th Air Defense Regiment
  • Unnamed Military Base in
58th Combined Arms Army
Note: the 42nd Guards Motor Rifle Division, reforming from late 2016 in Chechniya, is drawn from the 8th Guards, 17th, and 18th Guards Motor Rifle Brigades
8th Guards Combined Arms Army
  • 150th Guards Motor Rifle Division
  • * 103rd Motorized Rifle Regiment
  • * 163rd Tank Regiment
  • * 102nd Motorized Rifle Regiment
  • * 68th Tank Regiment
  • * 174th Reconnaissance Battalion
  • * 381st Artillery Regiment
  • * Additional Motorized Rifle Regiment reported forming within the Division as of 2018
  • * 933rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment
  • 20th Guards Motor Rifle Division
  • * 242nd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment ;
  • * 255th Motor Rifle Regiment ;
  • * 33rd Motor Rifle Regiment ;
  • * 944th Guards Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment;
  • * 358th Guards Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment;
  • * 428th Separate Tank Battalion
  • * 487th Separate Anti-Tank Artillery Battalion.
  • 464th Rocket Brigade
  • 47th Missile Brigade
  • 238th Guards Artillery Brigade
  • 77th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade
  • Additional SAM brigade reported forming in 2021/22 with Buk-M3 surface-to-air missile systems
51st Combined Arms Army '':
  • 7 motorized rifle brigades
  • 9 rifle regiments
  • 3 special forces battalions
  • 1 tank regiment
  • 1 tank battalion
  • 6 territorial defense battalion
  • 1 reconnaissance battalion
  • 1 artillery brigade
3rd Guards Luhansk-Severodonetsk Combined Arms Army :
  • 3 Motorized Rifle Brigades
  • 1 Motorized Rifle Regiment
  • 1 tank battalion
  • 1 reconnaissance battalion
  • 1 artillery brigade
18th Combined Arms Army
  • 70th Motor Rifle Division
  • *24th Motor Rifle Regiment
  • *26th Motor Rifle Regiment
  • *28th Motor Rifle Regiment
  • *17th Tank Regiment
  • *81st Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment
  • 22nd Army Corps, HQ in Sevastopol
  • 40th Army Corps
  • *144th Motor Rifle Brigade
  • *47th Motor Rifle Division
  • 74th Artillery Brigade
49th Combined Arms Army
Airborne Troops
Special forces/Reconnaissance
Aerospace Forces units
Naval Forces
  • Black Sea Fleet
  • *11th Coastal Defense Missile-Artillery Brigade
  • *Naval Infantry Brigade
  • * 382nd Naval Infantry Battalion
  • *68th Fleet Naval Engineers Regiment
  • *133rd Fleet Logistics and Materiel Regiment
  • *4th Fleet NBC Regiment
  • Caspian Flotilla
  • * 177th Naval Infantry Regiment
  • ** Regimental HQ
  • ** 414th and 727th Naval Infantry Battalions
  • ** Tank Battalion
  • * 46th Coastal Defense Missile Artillery Battalion

Leadership

Commanders

Chiefs of Staff – First Deputy Commanders

Deputy Commanders

Commanders of the Russian contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh