Leningrad Military District | |
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Ленинградский военный округ | |
Founded | Historic: 6 August 1864 Current: 26 February 2024 |
Country | Russian Empire (1864–1917) RSFSR (1917–1922) Soviet Union (1922–1991) Russian Federation (1991–2010; 2024–present) |
Branch | Russian Ground Forces |
Type | Military district |
Part of | Ministry of Defence |
Headquarters | General Staff Building, Saint Petersburg |
Engagements | Russo-Turkish War of 1877–8 World War I October Revolution Russian Civil War World War II Russian invasion of Ukraine |
Decorations | Order of Lenin |
Commanders | |
Commander | Colonel General Aleksandr Lapin |
Deputy Commander | Major General Valery Mumindzhanov |
The Order of Lenin Leningrad Military District (Russian: Ленингра́дский вое́нный о́круг) is a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010, it was merged with the Moscow Military District, the Northern Fleet and the Baltic Fleet to form the new Western Military District. In December 2022, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu proposed to reestablish it along with the Moscow Military District,[1] a decision confirmed in June 2023 by Deputy Chief of the General Staff Yevgeny Burdinsky.[2] On December 17, 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced plans to recreate the Leningrad Military District as a reaction to Finland joining NATO.[3] The district was formally reconstituted on 26 February 2024 by a Presidential Decree No.141, transferring the Northern Fleet under its command.[4]
Colonel General Aleksandr Lapin took over as the new district's commander on 16 May 2024.[5] 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 Leningrad Military District contains 11 federal subjects of Russia: the Republic of Karelia, the Komi Republic, Arkhangelsk, Vologda, Kaliningrad, Leningrad, Murmansk, Novgorod and Pskov oblasts, Saint Petersburg, and the Nenets Autonomous District. Additionally, the command contains most of Russia's islands in the Arctic Ocean, including those located in federal subjects not within the district. It lies in the Northwestern 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.[6]