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TheCulture of theRussian Armed Forces is widely varied, but unique amongst the branches of the armed forces, and shared with the other uniformed organizations withinRussia. Military culture is the most important component of military life. The major cultural events held by the Russian military are primarily aimed at strengtheningesprit de corps as well as advancing the historical traditions of the Armed Forces of Russia. TheMinistry of Defence of Russia regularly holds cultural events at various levels. The central cultural institutions of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation are actively working in all military districts.[1]
These traditions are upheld by theGround Forces,Aerospace Forces, theNavy, theStrategic Missile Forces and theAirborne Forces.
Victory Day Parades are held throughout the country, being unique to Russia and a common traditional military event onVictory Day. TheMoscow Victory Day Parade is the main parade of these to be held in Russia, being held on the Russian capital's main square,Red Square. The first of these parades was held in 1995, just five years after thefall of the Soviet Union, held to commemorate thegolden jubilee of the Soviet and allied victory in theSecond World War.[4]
Thegoose step is the standardmarching step utilized by the Russian military. Originating inPrussian Army in the mid-18th century, it spread toRussia in the 19th century and was fully utilized by theImperial Russian Army in the early 20th century. During theCold War, theSoviet Union trained the militaries of itsclient states (particularly those in theWarsaw Pact) with Soviet ceremonial military drill, leading to its adoption in manyThird World countries. A notable example of this in action was the East GermanNationale Volksarmee, in which the Soviets encouraged aPrussian-style goose step.[8]
Each branch of the Armed Forces has a representative colour, with a ceremonial colour also corresponding to the entire military. This colour was first introduced on 8 December 2000. Being implemented later that month, it was simply a plain red field, symbolizing the traditional red color of theSoviet Armed Forces and its predecessor theRed Army. The presentofficial colour was adopted by order of the State Duma in June 2003, consisting of thecoat of arms of Russia on the obverse side and the emblem of the armed forces, adouble-headed eagle holding a sword and a laurel wreath, on the reverse side. While having elements of the military flags dating back to the latter years of theRussian Empire, it also contains four golden stars in each corner to honor its Soviet heritage. The reverse side also contains two pieces of text stylised asOld Slavonic script, with the top side containing the inscription "Fatherland" ("Отечество") and the bottom side containing "Duty" ("Долг") and "Honor" ("Честь").[9]
List of unit mottos:
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The following are service marches used by the armed forces:
"Farewell of Slavianka" and "Den Pobedy" are among the many internationally famous military marches from Russia. Many famous melodies as "Katyusha", "The Sacred War", "Siny Platochek", and "Moscow Nights" have been converted into marches by certain military composers.[20] These marches are used often at theMoscow Victory Day Parade among other events.[21] Some of these pieces are used elsewhere in the militaries of theCommonwealth of Independent States.
Several army museums have been established, most notably theMoscow-basedCentral Armed Forces Museum. Memorials serve as a way to preserve themilitary history of Russia, with one of the most iconic memorials is theTomb of the Unknown Soldier, notably featuring theeternal flame. Other memorials to Russian military forces include theRzhev Memorial to the Soviet Soldier and theMamayev Kurgan.
A House of Officers (Russian:Дом офицеров) is the Russian/Soviet equivalent tomilitary officers' clubs that originated in theUnited States. It effectively serves ascultural center for the improvement ofcivil–military relations. In the early days of the USSR, these institutions were known as Houses of theRed Army.[23][24] Events in the building include cultural activities that meet spiritual and cultural need for military/civilian personnel of the Armed Forces.[25] Similar tasks are present in the Officers Houses of the armed forces ofpost-Soviet republics. During theSoviet era, party conferences were held for members of theCommunist Party of the Soviet Union. The main Russian officer house is theCentral House of Officers of the Russian Army, located onSuvorov Square inMoscow.[26]
The Federal State Treasury Institution of Culture and Art "Central Naval Library" of the Ministry of Defense is the oldest and largest library in the Armed Forces, serving as an information, bibliographic and methodological center for all libraries of theRussian Navy. The history of the Central Naval Library dates back to 25 November 1799, when the "Committee for Discussion of Issues on Shipbuilding and Navigation" was established under theAdmiralty Board, subordinate to the President of the Admiralty Collegium, TsarPaul I of Russia. The committee began to form a collection on maritime history, which laid the foundation for the first Maritime Library of St. Petersburg. The library has a color Atlas of AdmiralAdam Johann von Krusenstern round-the-world travel, published by theRussian Academy of Sciences in 1813. In 2018, the library received as a gift documents from the personal archive of Minister of Defense, GeneralSergey Shoygu. In 2017, the book collections of the branch of the Central Naval Library returned to theAdmiralty. In April 2018, the move of the Central Naval Library from theMikhailovsky Castle to the reconstructed building onVasilievsky Island was completed.[27]
The Armed Forces' theatrical production houses and entities include:[28]
The Mitrofan Grekov Military Artists' Studio is a creative team that was founded in 1934 in memory of Soviet artistMitrofan Grekov, the founder of Soviet battle painting. The team employs more than ten folk artists. The main task of the studio is to recreate moments of Russian military glory through painting. More than 70 panoramas and dioramas, ranging from the first Soviet panorama "Battle of Stalingrad", to a recreation ofFranz Roubaud's panorama "Battle of Borodino", have seen the involvement of the studio. It is a recipient of theOrder of the Red Banner of Labor and theOrder of the Red Star.[29]
The Film Studio of the Ministry of Defense (Киностудия Минобороны РФ) creates educational films for the Russian Armed Forces and is responsible for the distribution of military educational, documentary and technical propaganda for the MoD and theRussian government. The film studio was formed in 1960 inLeningrad in order to unite the scattered film studios, initially, being subordinate to theMain Directorate of Combat Training of the Ground Forces, and has been subordinate to the branch since 1998. In 1963, the film studio was transferred to Moscow on the territory of the former air defense town (Vykhino). In the same year, a film group was created at the General Staff to plan the production of films for the Armed Forces. Seven years later, it was transformed into the Department of Military Training Films of theSoviet Ministry of Defence. In 1985, the film studio was awarded theOrder of the Red Star for its services in generalizing the experience of World War II. At its peak in the mid-1980s, the studio had 19 officers and 516 employees from theSoviet Army. After thedissolution of the Soviet Union, the film studio was greatly reduced and relocated toBolshevo near Moscow, on the territory of its former branch. The level of funding has decreased, and, consequently, the number of films released was minimal.[30]
The Armed Forces hosts the following song and dance ensembles:[31]
Russianmilitary bands fall under the jurisdiction of theMilitary Band Service of the Armed Forces of Russia, which is the official music service for the Armed Forces. It is led by the Senior Director of Music, who is a general officer. There are currently between 200 and 300 military bands in across the military and in the uniformed services in the country.[35][36] As of 2009, all military musicians are paid around 13,000rubles ($203.11) for their service.[37]
In 2018, more than 2,500 mass competitions were held with the involvement of all personnel in 37 disciplines of military applied sports, more than 3,000 instructor-methodological and demonstration classes in various sections of physical training, more than 600 seminars with non-staff physical training organizers and unit commanders. All-army competitions for the Cup of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation "Commander starts" were held, where more than 3,000 officers and generals took part in the competition. Military athletes from among the candidates for the national teams of the Russian Federation in Olympic sports serve in sports companies.[39]
TheInternational Army Games is an annual Russianmilitary sports event organized by the Russian military, with the first edition having been staged in August 2015, with the participation of close to 30 countries.[40] In addition to the main competition, the games includes amilitary theme park, arecruitment station, andsouvenir shops.[41]
During World War Two, many films from theCentral Newsreel Studio were produced aspropaganda for the allied powers. Notable films among these includeFall of Berlin – 1945,Moscow Strikes Back,Encounter at the Elbe, andUkraine in Flames.
Curiously, the East German Army retained the old Prussian military goose step until December 1989.