View source for Ministry of Defence (Belarus)

{{Short description|Belarusian government ministry}}
{{refimprove|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox government agency
| name = Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Belarus
| nativename_a = {{native name|be|Мiнiстэрства абароны Рэспублікі Беларусь}}<br />{{native name|ru|Министерство обороны Республики Беларусь}}
| nativename_r =
| logo = Эмблема Министерства обороны Республики Беларусь.png
| logo_caption = Emblem of the Armed Forces of Belarus
| logo_width =
| seal =
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| image = МО РБ.jpg
| image_caption = The ministry building
| formed = {{start date and age|1992|03|20|df=y}}
| dissolved =
| superseding =
| preceding1 = {{bulletedlist|[[Ministry of Defense (Soviet Union)|Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union]]|Headquarters of the [[Belorussian Military District]]}}
| jurisdiction = {{bulletedlist|[[Government of Belarus]]|[[Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus]]|[[Security Council of Belarus]]}}
| headquarters = Building 1 Kommunisticheskya Street [[Minsk]], [[Belarus]]
| employees =
| budget =
| minister1_name = Major General [[Viktor Khrenin]]
| minister1_pfo = Minister of Defense
| website = {{url|http://www.mil.by}}
| footnotes =
| chief1_name = Major General [[Pavel Muraveiko]]
| chief1_position = [[General Staff of the Armed Forces of Belarus|Chief of the General Staff]]
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The '''Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Belarus''' ({{langx|be|Мiнiстэрства абароны Рэспублікі Беларусь}}; {{langx|ru|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]],<ref>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.</ref> [[Leonid Maltsev]] (1995–96), Colonel General [[Alexander Chumakov (general)|Alexander Chumakov]], a Russian officer, (1996–2001),<ref>Richard Woff, 'Minsk: making limited progress with reform,' [[Jane's Intelligence Review]], June 1996, 248. However, Woff dates Chumakov's appointment to 'late 1995.'</ref> [[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 of Belarus|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 [[EUR|€]]560 million.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tv3.lt/m/naujiena/936490/neutrali-baltarusija-ispudingai-didina-savo-karini-biudzeta|title="Neutrali" Baltarusija įspūdingai didina savo karinį biudžetą|access-date=2018-05-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180517154523/https://www.tv3.lt/m/naujiena/936490/neutrali-baltarusija-ispudingai-didina-savo-karini-biudzeta|archive-date=2018-05-17|url-status=live}}
</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/belarus/budget.htm|title=Military Spending|website=www.globalsecurity.org}}</ref> Another source said the military budget was pegged at around 1% GDP.<ref name="efrusi">{{cite news |last1=Ferris |first1=Emily |title=Could Russia's Reliance on Belarus be its Soft Underbelly? |url=https://static.rusi.org/could-russias-reliance-on-belarus-be-its-soft-underbelly.pdf |publisher=The Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies |date=12 January 2023}}</ref>
==Structure==
===Military Authorities===
The following departments are under the control of the defence ministry:<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://beloffice-g2n.zohosites.com/mobile/минобороны.html|title=Гербы и флаги Республики Беларусь - Минобороны|website=beloffice-g2n.zohosites.com}}</ref>
*Central Support Elements
**Office of the Minister of Defense
**Deputy Ministers
*[[General Staff of the Armed Forces of Belarus|General Staff of the Armed Forces]]
**Main Operations Directorate
**Main Intelligence Directorate
**Main Organizational Mobilization Directorate
**[[Main Directorate of Ideology of the Ministry of Defence of Belarus|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<ref>{{Cite web|title=Медицинские центры — Военный информационный портал Министерства обороны Республики Беларусь|url=https://www.mil.by/ru/health/medicine/|access-date=2021-06-02|website=www.mil.by}}</ref>
***432nd Main Military Clinical Medical Centre<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mil.by/ru/health/medicine/950/|title=Государственное учреждение "432 ордена Красной Звезды главный военный клинический медицинский центр Вооруженных Сил Республики Беларусь" — Военный информационный портал Министерства обороны Республики Беларусь|website=www.mil.by}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Almanac: Belarus, Republic of • Military Medicine Worldwide|url=https://military-medicine.com/almanac/20-belarus-republic-of.html|access-date=2020-06-19|website=military-medicine.com}}</ref>
***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)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Кинологический центр — Военный информационный портал Министерства обороны Республики Беларусь|url=https://www.mil.by/ru/forces/kc/|access-date=2021-06-02|website=www.mil.by}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Кинологический центр в Колодищах|url=https://kolodischi.by/catalog-social/main/140|access-date=2021-06-02|website=kolodischi.by|language=ru}}</ref>
===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===
* [[Peter Chaus|Pyotr Chaus]] (1992)
* [[Pavel Pavlovich Kozlovsky|Pavel Kozlovski]] (1992–1994)
* [[Anatoly Kostenko]] (1994–1995)
* [[Leonid Maltsev]] (first term, 1996)
* [[Aleksandr Petrovich Chumakov|Aleksandr Chumakov]] (1996–2001)
* [[Leonid Maltsev]] (second term, 2001–2009)
* [[Yuri Zhadobin|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 Petrovich 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)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/05/23/7457220/|title=Lukashenko replaces chief of Belarusian military's General Staff|website=[[Ukrainska Pravda]]|date=May 23, 2024}}</ref>
===Deputy Ministers of Defence===
* [[Vladimir Uskhopchik]] (2000–2004)
* Yuri Merentsov (2004–2009)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.postkomsg.com/en/news/27/146503/|title=Alexander Surikov gave Belarusian military men state awards for Union state defense strengthening|website=www.postkomsg.com}}</ref>
* Mikhail Puzikov (2009–2015)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.svu.ru/biographies/biography/38.html|title=Пузиков Михаил Васильевич - Кадетские биографии - Суворовское военное училище|website=www.svu.ru}}</ref>
* [[Sergei Potapenko]] (2016–2021)
* Andrey Zhuk (2021–present)
==Defence ministry building==
In the late 1940s, a hill above [[Svislach, Pukhavichy District|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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://planetabelarus.by/sights/zdanie-ministerstva-oborony-belarusi/|title = Здание Министерства обороны Беларуси}}</ref>
== 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.<ref name="миноб">{{Cite web|title=Символика органов государственной власти РБ|url=http://gossluzhba.narod.ru/seals/bg/index.html|accessdate=2010-10-12|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120807070453/http://gossluzhba.narod.ru/seals/bg/index.html|archivedate=2012-08-07|url-status=dead}}</ref>
=== Banner ===
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")<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vayar.mil.by/|title=Военное информационное агентство ВАЯР|website=vayar.mil.by}}</ref>
* Ministry of Defense website
* Microblog<ref>[https://twitter.com/#!/mod_by Твиттер<!-- Заголовок добавлен ботом -->]</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*{{official|http://www.mil.by/by/ }}
*[http://belarusdigest.com/story/belaruss-new-military-doctrine-what%E2%80%99s-message-27047/ Belarus's New Military Doctrine: What’s The Message?]
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{{Armed Forces of Belarus}}
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[[Category:Ministry of Defence (Belarus)| ]]
[[Category:1992 establishments in Belarus]]
[[Category:Defence ministers of Belarus]]
[[Category:Defence ministries]]
[[Category:Government ministries of Belarus|Defense]]