en Ministry of Defence (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
Formed	20 March 1992; 32 years ago
Preceding agency	Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union; Headquarters of the Belorussian Military District; ;
Jurisdiction	Government of Belarus; Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus; Security Council of Belarus;
Headquarters	Building 1 Kommunisticheskya Street Minsk, Belarus
Minister responsible	Major General Viktor Khrenin, Minister of Defense;
Agency executive	Major General Pavel Muraveiko, Chief of the General Staff;
Website	www.mil.by

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.

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]

Structure

Military Authorities

The following departments are under the control of the defence ministry:^[6]

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^[7]
  - 432nd Main Military Clinical Medical Centre^[8]^[9]
  - 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)^[10]^[11]

Military educational institutions

Military Academy of Belarus
Minsk Suvorov Military School
Border Guard Service Institute of Belarus
Belarusian State University
Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics
Belarusian National Technical University
Belarusian State Medical University
Grodno State University
Belarusian State University of Transport
Belarusian State Academy of Aviation

Leaders

Ministers of Defense

Pyotr Chaus (1992)
Pavel Kozlovski (1992–1994)
Anatoly Kostenko (1994–1995)
Leonid Maltsev (first term, 1996)
Aleksandr Chumakov (1996–2001)
Leonid Maltsev (second term, 2001–2009)
Yury Zhadobin (2009–2014)
Andrei Ravkov (2014–2020)
Viktor Khrenin (2020–present)

First Deputy Minister of Defence — Chief of the General Staff

Nikolay Churkin (1992–1994)
Leonid Maltsev (1994–1995)
Aleksandr Chumakov (1995–1997)
Mikhail Kozlov (1997–2001)
Sergey Gurulev (2001–2009)
Petr Tikhonovsky (2009–2013)
Oleg Belokonev (2014–2019)
Alexander Volfovich (2020–2021)
Viktor Gulevich (2021–2024)
Pavel Muraveiko (2024–present)^[12]

Deputy Ministers of Defence

Vladimir Uskhopchik (2000–2004)
Yuri Merentsov (2004–2009)^[13]
Mikhail Puzikov (2009–2015)^[14]
Sergei Potapenko (2016–2021)
Andrey Zhuk (2021–2024)
Alyaksandr Naumeka (2024-)^[15]

Defence ministry building

In the late 1940s, a hill above Svislach, Pukhavichy District, was used to lay the foundation for the HQ of the Byelorussian 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

^ 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.
^ Richard Woff, 'Minsk: making limited progress with reform,' Jane's Intelligence Review, June 1996, 248. However, Woff dates Chumakov's appointment to 'late 1995.'
^ ""Neutrali" Baltarusija įspūdingai didina savo karinį biudžetą". Archived from the original on 2018-05-17. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
^ "Military Spending". www.globalsecurity.org.
^ 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.
^ "Гербы и флаги Республики Беларусь - Минобороны". beloffice-g2n.zohosites.com.
^ "Медицинские центры — Военный информационный портал Министерства обороны Республики Беларусь". www.mil.by. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
^ "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.
^ "Almanac: Belarus, Republic of • Military Medicine Worldwide". military-medicine.com. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
^ "Кинологический центр — Военный информационный портал Министерства обороны Республики Беларусь". www.mil.by. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
^ "Кинологический центр в Колодищах". kolodischi.by (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-06-02.
^ "Lukashenko replaces chief of Belarusian military's General Staff". Ukrainska Pravda. May 23, 2024.
^ "Alexander Surikov gave Belarusian military men state awards for Union state defense strengthening". www.postkomsg.com.
^ "Пузиков Михаил Васильевич - Кадетские биографии - Суворовское военное училище". www.svu.ru.
^ "Произведены кадровые назначения в Вооруженных Силах | Официальный интернет-портал Президента Республики Беларусь". president.gov.by. Retrieved 2025-01-19.
^ "Здание Министерства обороны Беларуси".
^ "Символика органов государственной власти РБ". Archived from the original on 2012-08-07. Retrieved 2010-10-12.
^ "Военное информационное агентство ВАЯР". vayar.mil.by.
^ Твиттер

External links

[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.

[efrusi-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] "Гербы и флаги Республики Беларусь - Минобороны". beloffice-g2n.zohosites.com.

[7] "Медицинские центры — Военный информационный портал Министерства обороны Республики Беларусь". www.mil.by. Retrieved 2021-06-02.

[8] "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.

[9] "Almanac: Belarus, Republic of • Military Medicine Worldwide". military-medicine.com. Retrieved 2020-06-19.

[10] "Кинологический центр — Военный информационный портал Министерства обороны Республики Беларусь". www.mil.by. Retrieved 2021-06-02.

[11] "Кинологический центр в Колодищах". kolodischi.by (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-06-02.

[12] "Lukashenko replaces chief of Belarusian military's General Staff". Ukrainska Pravda. May 23, 2024.

[13] "Alexander Surikov gave Belarusian military men state awards for Union state defense strengthening". www.postkomsg.com.

[14] "Пузиков Михаил Васильевич - Кадетские биографии - Суворовское военное училище". www.svu.ru.

[15] "Произведены кадровые назначения в Вооруженных Силах | Официальный интернет-портал Президента Республики Беларусь". president.gov.by. Retrieved 2025-01-19.

[16] "Здание Министерства обороны Беларуси".

[миноб-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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Ministry of Defence (Belarus)