Ministry of Defence (Belarus)

The Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Belarus (Belarusian: Мiнiстэрства абароны Рэспублікі Беларусь; Russian: Министерство обороны Республики Беларусь) is the government organisation that is charged with the duties of raising and maintaining the Armed Forces of Belarus.

Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Belarus
Мiнiстэрства абароны Рэспублікі Беларусь (Belarusian)
Министерство обороны Республики Беларусь (Russian)
Emblem of the Armed Forces of Belarus

The ministry building
Agency overview
Formed20 March 1992 (1992-03-20)
Preceding agency
Jurisdiction
HeadquartersBuilding 1 Kommunisticheskya Street Minsk, Belarus
Minister responsible
Agency executives
Websitewww.mil.by

The formation of the ministry began in March 1992, after the events of 1991 in which the Soviet Union had effectively dissolved. The ministry was formed on the basis of the former Headquarters of the Soviet Army's Belorussian Military District. Seven officers have served as Minister of Defence of Belarus: Petr Chaus, Pavel Kozlovskii, Anatoly Kostenko,[1] Leonid Maltsev (1995–96), Colonel General Alexander Chumakov, a Russian officer, (1996–2001),[2] Yuriy Zhadobin (2009–2014), Andrei Ravkov (2014–2020), and Viktor Khrenin (2020–present).

The ministry is part of the Security Council of Belarus, interdepartmental meeting with a mandate to ensure the security of the state. The President, currently Alexander Lukashenko, appoints the Minister of Defence, who heads the ministry, as well as the heads of the armed services. These four appointees meet with the Secretary of the Security Council every two months. Security Council decisions are approved by a qualified majority of those present. Since 2020, the position of Minister of Defence has been filled by Major General Viktor Khrenin.

The budget of the defence ministry in May 2018 was €560 million.[3][4] Another source said the military budget was pegged at around 1% GDP.[5]

Since 2022, the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Belarus has been under the sanctions of the European Union, the United States, Switzerland, Ukraine and Japan.[6] In August 2023, Canada also imposed sanctions against the Ministry.[7]

Structure

Military Authorities

The following departments are under the control of the defence ministry:[8]

  • Central Support Elements
    • Office of the Minister of Defense
    • Deputy Ministers
  • General Staff of the Armed Forces
    • Main Operations Directorate
    • Main Intelligence Directorate
    • Main Organizational Mobilization Directorate
    • Main Ideology Directorate
    • Main Policy Directorate
    • Department of Information-Analytics
    • Department of Communications
    • Department of Territorial Defense
    • Department of Missile Forces and Artillery
    • Department of Finance
  • Logistics
    • Food Management
    • Clothing Management
    • Military Medical Administration[9]
      • 432nd Main Military Clinical Medical Centre[10][11]
      • 592nd Military Clinical Medical Center
      • 1134th Military Clinical Medical Center
      • 23rd Sanitary and Epidemiological Center
      • 222nd Medical Center of the Air Force and Air Defense Forces
      • 223rd Aviation Medicine Center of the Air Force and Air Defense Forces
      • 2335th Storage Base for Medical Equipment and Property
    • Housing Management
  • Other elements
    • Sports Committee of the Armed Forces
    • General Financial and Economic Department
    • Legal Department
    • Central Archives
    • Dog Training Center (Kolodishchi)[12][13]

Military educational institutions

Leaders

Ministers of Defense

First Deputy Minister of Defence — Chief of the General Staff

Deputy Ministers of Defence

Defence ministry building

In the late 1940s, a hill above Śvisłač in the Pukhavichy District was used to lay the foundation for the HQ of the Belarusian Military District. The project was entrusted to the architect Valentin Gusev, who risked not demolishing the ancient buildings surrounding it. It later became the defense ministry in 1992.[16]

Symbols

Emblem

The heraldic sign - the emblem of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Belarus was approved in April 2003. The heraldic sign is a stylized golden image of the emblem of the Armed Forces, located in the center of a red figured shield (baroque type). The border of the shield is silvery.[17]

The banner of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Belarus was approved by the decree of the President on November 17, 2000. The banner consists of a double panel, a staff with a pommel and an inflow, a cord with tassels and a banner ribbon.

Media
  • Military News Agency "Vayar"  (includes the newspaper "To the Glory of the Motherland", the magazine "Army", and the TV show "Arsenal")[18]
  • Ministry of Defense website
  • Microblog[19]

References
  1. Yury Kasyanov, 'Maltsev's Reform,' NVO, No. 17, May 31–June 6, 2002, p.8. See also re Chaus, "Petr Chaus: schitayu, chto nam ne nuzhno …"', Krasnaya Zvezda, 16 July 1992.
  2. Richard Woff, 'Minsk: making limited progress with reform,' Jane's Intelligence Review, June 1996, 248. However, Woff dates Chumakov's appointment to 'late 1995.'
  3. ""Neutrali" Baltarusija įspūdingai didina savo karinį biudžetą". Archived from the original on 2018-05-17. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  4. "Military Spending". www.globalsecurity.org.
  5. Ferris, Emily (12 January 2023). "Could Russia's Reliance on Belarus be its Soft Underbelly?" (PDF). The Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies.
  6. "Belarus Ministry of Defence". National Agency for Prevention of Corruption.
  7. "Regulations Amending the Special Economic Measures (Belarus) Regulations: SOR/2023-178". Canada Gazette.
  8. "Гербы и флаги Республики Беларусь - Минобороны". beloffice-g2n.zohosites.com.
  9. "Медицинские центры — Военный информационный портал Министерства обороны Республики Беларусь". www.mil.by. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  10. "Государственное учреждение "432 ордена Красной Звезды главный военный клинический медицинский центр Вооруженных Сил Республики Беларусь" — Военный информационный портал Министерства обороны Республики Беларусь". www.mil.by.
  11. "Almanac: Belarus, Republic of • Military Medicine Worldwide". military-medicine.com. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  12. "Кинологический центр — Военный информационный портал Министерства обороны Республики Беларусь". www.mil.by. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  13. "Кинологический центр в Колодищах". kolodischi.by (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  14. "Alexander Surikov gave Belarusian military men state awards for Union state defense strengthening". www.postkomsg.com.
  15. "Пузиков Михаил Васильевич - Кадетские биографии - Суворовское военное училище". www.svu.ru.
  16. "Здание Министерства обороны Беларуси".
  17. "Символика органов государственной власти РБ". Archived from the original on 2012-08-07. Retrieved 2010-10-12.
  18. "Военное информационное агентство ВАЯР". vayar.mil.by.
  19. Твиттер
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