Volga Military District Explained

Unit Name:Volga Military District
Dates:1918–1989; 1992–2001
Type:Military district
Command Structure:Soviet Armed Forces
Garrison:Kuybyshev/Samara
Notable Commanders:Pavel Dybenko
Mikhail Khozin
Vasily Kuznetsov
Nikolai Ogarkov

The Volga Military District (PriVO) was a military district of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation that existed from 1918 to 1989 and 1992 to 2001.

The district headquarters was located at Kazan, Saratov and Kuibyshev (Samara) at different points in time.

History

During the Russian Empire from 1864–1917 the Kazan Military District covered the Volga area. The Volga Military District was established on May 4, 1918 on the territory of the Kazan Military District, and included Astrakhan, Saratov, Samara, Simbirsk and Penza Governorates, and the Ural Oblast. Subsequently, the district boundaries were repeatedly changed.[1] In 1941 the district included the Saratov, Kuibyshev, Penza, Tambov, Voronezh areas and the Orel Oblast, Kursk and Stalingrad regions of the RSFSR. The headquarters was located at Saratov.

With the start of and during World War II five armies, 132 divisions, 65 separate regiments, and 253 separate battalions were formed in the area. Polish and Czechoslovak military units were formed on the territory of the district.

In October 1945 the 123rd Rifle Corps was at Kuibyshev. It became the 40th Rifle Corps in 1955 and then the 40th Army Corps in 1957, before disbanding in 1960.[2]

On September 14, 1954 in the Totskoye range north of the village Totskoye in the Orenburg Oblast (within the specified period the territory of the Orenburg region belonged to the South Urals Military District)[3] under the leadership of Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov was conducted the Totskoye nuclear exercise with real nuclear weapons.[4] In this doctrine, which were worked out operational issues combined arms attack, was attended by about 45,000 soldiers.

From 1957 to 1960 the 110th Motor Rifle Division was part of the 40th Army Corps of the District.[5]

By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet on 15 January 1974 for their contributions to strengthening the defence capability of the USSR and its armed defence, the Volga and Ural Military Districts were awarded the Order of the Red Banner.By 1983, the Volga Military District included the territory of the Kuibyshev, Saratov, Ulyanovsk, Penza and Orenburg Oblasts, Tatar, Bashkir, Chuvash, Mari, and Mordovian ASSR. The district headquarters was located in Kuibyshev.

Formations and units in the late 1980s

The following military units and formations were part of the district during the late 1980s.[6]

In total, in 1990, in addition to about 90 thousand military personnel, there were still 400 tanks, 700 armored combat vehicles, 200 guns, mortars and MLRS, 200 combat and transport helicopters, including those under repair and storage.

The district's air forces included the Orenburg Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots[7] and the Saratov Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots.

In 1989 the district was merged with the Ural Military District to become the Volga–Ural Military District (PURVO). It was split in 1992 and then the two districts were merged again in 2001.

Commanders

References

  1. Soviet Military Encyclopedia 6 524–525
  2. http://www.ww2.dk/new/army/corps/40ak.htm, and V.I. Feskov, Golikov V.I., K.A. Kalashnikov, and S.A. Slugin, The Armed Forces of the USSR after World War II, from the Red Army to the Soviet (Part 1: Land Forces), Тоmsk, 2013, 508.
  3. The South Urals Military District existed from 1 December 1941 to 15 January 1958. Order of the territorial structure of the military districts of the European part of the USSR number 0444, November 26, 1941.
  4. Web site: Fifty five years ago Zhokov tested nuclear weapons on people (Russian) This link provides old video records of the actual nuclear exercise. . podrobnosti.ua . ru . 2009-09-20 . 2011-03-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110603070402/http://podrobnosti.ua/video/podrobnosti/2009/09/20/630445.html . 2011-06-03 . dead .
  5. Michael Holm, 29th Motor Rifle Division
  6. Web site: Общий сквозной перечень номеров, учебных МСД, запасных МСД, дивизий охраны тыла.
  7. Web site: Syzran Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots . Ww2.dk . 2022-09-18.

Bibliography

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