Leningrad Military District - History

The history of the Leningrad Military District (Leningrad Military District) began March 20, 1918, when it was formed the Petrograd Military District. In 1924 it was renamed in Leningrad. In 1922, the troops of the county took part in the defeat of White Finnish troops who invaded in Karelia, and in 1939-1940. - In the Soviet-Finnish War. Moreover, in the first stage (before the North-Western Front) leadership in the war fighting headquarters of the Leningrad Military District exercised.

Since the beginning of the Great Patriotic War LenVO management was reorganized in the field command of the northern front, which is August 23, 1941 has been divided into Karelia and Leningrad fronts. Field management of the North, and then Leningrad fronts at the same time continued to serve the military district administration. The fronts were bloody battles with German troops defended Leningrad and participated in the removal of its blockade.

After the end of World War II has been re-established Leningrad Military District. In the formation of his administration involved field command of the Leningrad front. The troops in the short term have been translated into peace establishment, then proceeded to the systematic combat training. In 1968, for his contribution to strengthening the power of the state and its armed defense for success in combat training and in connection with the 50th anniversary of the Armed Forces of the USSR, Leningrad Military District was awarded the Order of Lenin. Since May 1992, the troops of the Leningrad Military District were included in the set up of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (Armed Forces).

Moscow Military District (MVO) was founded May 4, 1918 During the Civil War and military intervention in Russia (1917-1922). Preparing personnel for all fronts, supplied the Red Army with various types of weapons and materiel. On the territory of the Moscow Military District there were a large number of military academies, schools, courses and schools that only in 1918-1919. prepared and sent to the fronts of about 11 thousand commanders.

With the start of World War II on the basis of MBO was formed field command of the Southern Front, led by Commander-in-Chief Gen. IV Tyulenev. Order of the Supreme High Command of 18 July 1941 at the same time became the headquarters of the Moscow Military District headquarters created Mozhaiskaya front line of defense. Along with this, CVM carried out extensive work on the formation and training of reserve units and units for active fronts. Also in Moscow, was formed 16 divisions militia, entered into by 160 thousand volunteers. After the defeat of the German troops near Moscow CVM continued shaping and fitting of units and formations of all arms, the supply of the army weapons, military equipment and other supplies.

All the years of the Great Patriotic War in Moscow Military District was formed by front-line 3, 23 and 11 army corps offices, 128 divisions, 197 teams and sent 4,190 troops to the existing propulsion units totaling about 4.5 million people.

After the war, stationed in the territory of the Moscow Military District elite military units, most of which were honorable names Guards. District retained its importance as a major source of mobilization of resources, is the largest base of military command personnel. In 1968, for his contribution to strengthening the defense capability of the state and progress in combat training district was awarded the Order of Lenin. After the collapse of the Soviet Union joined the CVM formed the Armed Forces.

Russia has some pretty good historical reasons to fear a NATO invasion, even if the idea “sounds crazy” to Americans, believes military observer and journalist Peter Suciu. In a 2020 article for The National Interest, Suciu points out that “while the idea of NATO attacking Russia may seem farfetched to most Americans, the Russians have reasons to fear an invasion from the west. Over the past several centuries Russia has been repeatedly invaded by such powers as Poland, Sweden, France and Germany.”

And the US doesn’t get off the hook in terms of aggression against Russia, either, the observer admits, pointing out that Washington “also too took part in what could be seen as an ‘invasion’ of sorts when troops were sent to Russia during the nation’s Civil War in 1918.” Suggesting that that mission was actually intended “to prevent the German advance and to help reopen the Eastern Front following Communist Russia’s acceptance of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk,” Suciu noted that in reality, US troops found themselves fighting Russians in the form of the newly formed Red Army.

Two decades after that, the Soviets faced off against Nazi Germany, its allies, and the material and economic resources of all of occupied Europe, facing the largest and most brutal invasion in human history. The war led to the loss of as many as 26.6 million Soviet lives, and the destruction of hundreds of cities and thousands of villages, and roughly 30 percent of the country’s entire national wealth, including much of what was built during the costly and difficult industrialization of the 1930s.

In the late 1980s, after Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev agreed to withdraw Soviet troops from Germany and to end Soviet influence over Eastern Europe for the sake of ending the Cold War, US officials repeatedly promised that NATO would not expand eastward beyond a reunified Germany. On February 9, 1990, Bush-era Secretary of State James Baker famously gave private verbal assurances to Gorbachev that the alliance would more “not one inch eastward” beyond Germany’s eastern frontier [illustrating the benefits of written agreements openly arrived at].

But the US since 1999 swallowed up every member of the former Warsaw Pact, along with three former Soviet and three former Yugoslav republics. “Following the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia is arguably more vulnerable while many of its former communist-era satellite states- including Poland, Hungary and Romania, along with the Czech and Slovak Republics – now being members of NATO,” Suciu suggested.

“Thus, it is not surprising that the Russian bear would be sharping its claws – by upgrading its naval fleets and conducting regular military drills and exercises, while also developing new hardware such as its T-14 Armata tank and its hypersonic undersea missiles. Such military hardware could be seen not for their offensive capabilities, but rather as deterrents to ensure that Russia does not face yet another invasion from the west,” the observer concluded.