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| Strategic Rocket Forces (RVSN) | |
|---|---|
| Unit name | Strategic Rocket Forces (RVSN) |
| Native name | Ракетные войска стратегического назначения |
| Caption | Emblem of the Strategic Rocket Forces |
| Dates | 1960–present |
| Country | Soviet Union; Russian Federation |
| Branch | Armed Forces of the Russian Federation |
| Type | Strategic nuclear forces |
| Role | Strategic nuclear deterrence |
| Garrison | Vlasikha; Vologda Oblast |
| Nickname | RVSN |
| Anniversaries | 12 December (Formation Day) |
Strategic Rocket Forces (RVSN)
The Strategic Rocket Forces (RVSN) are the strategic land-based ballistic missile arm responsible for a major portion of the strategic nuclear deterrent of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation. Established during the Cold War, the RVSN developed and fielded intercontinental ballistic missiles that shaped competition with the United States and influenced arms control negotiations such as the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks. The service has interacted with major commands and institutions including the Ministry of Defense (Soviet Union), Ministry of Defence (Russia), and national leaderships such as Nikita Khrushchev and Vladimir Putin.
Origins trace to missile research programs centered at Nikolai Kibalchich-era institutes and design bureaus like OKB-1 led by Sergei Korolev and Yuri Solomonov's successors that produced early theater and strategic systems. The RVSN was formally created in December 1960 amid competition sparked by the Sputnik crisis and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Throughout the 1960s–1980s the force expanded during leaderships of Leonid Brezhnev and Mikhail Gorbachev, deploying families of missiles developed by NPO Mashinostroyeniya, Yuzhnoye Design Office, and Tula KBP elements. Arms control agreements including the SALT I, SALT II, Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, and START I influenced force structure, while the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 transferred most assets to the Russian Federation and triggered reorganization during the 1990s financial crisis and reform periods under Boris Yeltsin and Dmitry Medvedev. Modernization accelerated under Vladimir Putin with deployments of mobile and silo-based systems such as the RS-24 Yars and RS-28 Sarmat in response to NATO enlargement debates and strategic dialogues involving North Atlantic Treaty Organization and United States Department of Defense officials.
The RVSN is organized into several missile armies and divisions headquartered in strategic districts like the Moscow Military District and Siberian Military District. Units include missile armies (for example, formations comparable to the historic 27th Guards Rocket Army), divisions, regiments, and support formations drawn from institutions such as the Military Academy of the General Staff and Frunze Military Academy. A network of logistics and maintenance establishments includes ties to industrial centers: Tula Oblast, Omsk Oblast, Kursk Oblast, and design bureaus like Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology. Political oversight historically involved the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and currently the Security Council of the Russian Federation.
RVSN arsenals have included the families of ICBMs: early R-7 Semyorka derivatives, the R-16 series, the UR-100 (SS-11) family, the R-36 (SS-18 "Satan"), mobile RT-21 Temp 2S, the RT-2PM Topol (SS-25) and its successor RT-2UTTH Topol-M (SS-27), the RS-24 Yars, and the heavy silo-based RS-28 Sarmat. Warhead technology involved cooperation with institutes such as the All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Experimental Physics and All-Russian Research Institute of Experimental Physics personnel linked to designers like Yuri Khariton. Supporting equipment includes silo complexes, road-mobile transport erector launchers, command posts derived from GRAU designations, and telemetry ranges such as Kapustin Yar and Sary Shagan. Detection and warning assets from the Main Centre for Missile Attack Warning and satellite systems like Kosmos series contribute to operational awareness.
Doctrine evolved from massive retaliation under Nikita Khrushchev to flexible response concepts tested during Cold War crises and later to assured retaliatory strike doctrines used in post-Soviet nuclear deterrence policy. Exercises such as those conducted alongside the Strategic Rocket Forces command and joint drills with the Russian Aerospace Forces and Northern Fleet validated launch readiness. Operational concepts incorporate survivability through mobility, hardening, and distributed command, and are framed by arms control regimes like New START and strategic dialogues with the United States. Deterrence policy references presidential directives and coordination with the Ministry of Defence (Russia) and the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
Personnel recruitment, education, and career paths draw on military academies including the Peter the Great Military Academy of the Strategic Missile Forces and the Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Training ranges and simulation centers at Kapustin Yar and the Plesetsk Cosmodrome support live launches and telemetry. Specialized technical cadres are trained at engineering universities such as Bauman Moscow State Technical University and institutions linked to the Roscosmos legacy. Ranks and honors include awards conferred by the Order of Lenin in Soviet times and modern commendations from the Ministry of Defence (Russia) and the President of Russia.
Strategic command architecture integrates the RVSN with national command authorities housed in locations tied to the General Staff and national crisis centers such as facilities near Moscow. Missile launch authorization procedures involve the President of the Russian Federation and the Minister of Defence (Russia), coordinated via secure communication links and early warning centers like Serpukhov-15 and satellite networks. Technical control systems incorporate redundant command nodes, hardened fiber and radio relays, and protocols developed alongside Soviet-era projects in Moscow Oblast and modernized with industrial partners such as Rostec.
Notable accidents include early rocket failures during testing at sites like Baikonur Cosmodrome and accidents involving silo or mobile systems that impacted safety protocols and treaties, prompting investigations by commissions that involved figures from Rosaviakosmos successor agencies. Specific incidents such as the 1983 false alarm episode involving the Soviet early warning system underscored command dilemmas and were analyzed in publications by former officials like Stanislav Petrov. Infrastructure failures and safety reviews occurred during transitions in the 1990s Russian military reform period, leading to changes in maintenance regimes and international concern addressed in dialogues with United States counterparts.
Category:Military units and formations of Russia Category:Military units and formations established in 1960