| Agency Name: | Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces |
| Nativename A: | Russian: Главное оперативное управление Генерального штаба Вооружённых сил Российской Федерации |
| Seal: | Great emblem of the Main Operations Directorate.svg |
| Headquarters: | General Staff Building, Moscow |
| Employees: | Classified |
| Budget: | Classified |
| Chief1 Name: | Sergey Rudskoy |
| Chief1 Position: | Director |
| Parent Agency: | General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation |
| Website: | Ministry of Defense Website |
The Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (ru|Главное оперативное управление Генерального штаба Вооружённых сил Российской Федерации; official abbreviation GOU GSh VS RF ru|ГОУ ГШ ВС РФ) is the main body of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, whose tasks include planning military operations at various levels. His role in the system of combat command and control of the Armed Forces is traditionally so great that it is often people from the GOU who occupy the post of Chief of the General Staff, as was the case, in particular, with Generals A.V. Kvashnin and Yu.N. Baluevsky.[1]
The Operational Directorate of the General Staff was established on the basis of the 1st (Operations) Department in October 1939 and immediately became the leading working body of the General Staff. During the Great Patriotic War, the Operations Directorate provided reliable leadership of the active fronts. Its structure changed significantly in 1941 and in 1943, after a number of small changes in 1943 it remained unchanged until the end of the war.[2]
In March 1946, the department was upgraded in status and became known as the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff. From that time on, for decades to come it acquired the role of the leading troop command and control authority in peacetime and wartime. As a rule, now the chiefs of the GOU simultaneously became deputy chiefs of the General Staff.[3]
On January 24, 2013, Putin approved the Defense Plan of the Russian Federation. Such a document has been developed for the first time in the history of Russia. It brought together almost all documents on preparation for the armed defense of Russia. At the same time, the State Educational Institution was tasked with developing the main documents of the Defense Plan and coordinating the joint activities of 49 federal ministries and departments participating in its creation.[4]
Main activities of the directorate:[5]