Russian Holidays - Day of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces

In 1763, Catherine II, in order to improve the efficiency of army management, issued a resolution to create a new military formation on the basis of the quartermaster unit According to the will of Her Majesty, on January 25, the General Staff for managing the ground forces of the Russian Empire was formed Later, the navy was also under his control Therefore, in modern Russia, January 25 is celebrated as the Day of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces The initiator of the establishment of the holiday in 2002 was the Minister of Defense Sergei Ivanov Despite the fact that over the 250-odd years of its existence, the General Staff has repeatedly changed its structure, name, purpose and location, it continued to remain the central body of the country's military command His powers include issues of defense and security of the Russian Federation in peacetime, training and mobilization of the army, leadership of intelligence, development of general plans for both military campaigns and specific operations The basis for the issuance by Catherine II of the already mentioned resolution was the ineffective management of army units by the staff of quartermaster generals during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) Peter I paid attention to the organization of clear command of troops during the Northern War (1700-1721) the position of quartermaster general, in his opinion, required accepting “a wise, reasonable and skillful person in geography and fortification,” who must understand artillery and thoroughly know the area where military operations are taking place Catherine II, guided by her observations and the behests of Peter the Great, decided to create a General Staff following the example of the armies of other European states From 1763 to 1917 it was located in St Petersburg After the October Revolution, the army leadership body, which at that time consisted of 2 structures - the All-Russian Headquarters and the Field Headquarters of the Revolutionary Military Council, moved to Moscow The Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Federation is the Deputy Minister of Defense Since 2012, this post has been held by Army General VV Gerasimov Appointment to the position is made by the President of Russia The post is a responsible and honorable place of service: during the harsh years of the Great Patriotic War, the General Staff was headed by Marshals GK Zhukov and AM Vasilevsky In the Red Army at different times this position was held by MV Frunze, MN Tukhachevsky, BM Shaposhnikov and other talented commanders Today, the General Staff employs specialists dedicated to duty and the Motherland who have high professional training His powers, according to Decree No 631 of the President of the Russian Federation, include issues of security and defense of the state, often beyond the scope of the tasks facing the Armed Forces Employees of the General Staff of the body, which can be called the military brain of the country, are annually congratulated on January 25 on their professional holiday