Russian Armed Forces

The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (Russian: Вооружённые Си́лы Росси́йской Федера́ции, tr. Vooruzhonnije Síly Rossíyskoj Federátsii) are the military service of Russia, established after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. On May 7th, 1992, Boris Yeltsin signed a presidential decree establishing the Russian Ministry of Defence and placing all Soviet Armed Forces troops on the territory of the Russian SFSR under Russian control. The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces is the President of Russia. The Russian Armed Forces were formed in 1992.

Armed forces under the Ministry of Defence are divided into: the three "branches of Armed Forces" (вида вооружённых сил): the Ground Force, Aerospace Forces, and the Navy the two "separate troop branches" (Отдельные рода войск): the Strategic Missile Troops and the Airborne Troops the Rear of the Armed Forces, which has a separate status of its own

There are additionally two further "separate troop branches" maintained by the Ministry of the Interior, the Internal Troops and the Border Service. These are not normally included as branches of the "Armed Forces" but are nonetheless used in armed conflicts.

The number of personnel is specified by decree of the President of Russia. On January 1st, 2008, a number of 2,019,629 units, including military of 1,134,800 units, was set. In 2010 the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) estimated that the Russian Armed Forces numbered about 1,027,000 active troops and in the region of 2,035,000 reserves (largely ex-conscripts). As opposed to personnel specified by decree, actual personnel in the forces are paid was reported by the Audit Chamber of Russia as 766,000 in October 2013. As of December 2013, the armed forces are at 82 percent of the required manpower.

According to SIPRI, Russia spent $66.4 billion on arms in 2015. Between the years 2005-2009 and 2010-2014, Russian exports of major weapons increased by 37 percent according to SIPRI. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, share of modern weapons in the Armed Forces reached from 26 to 48% among different kinds of troops in December 2014. This was raised to 30.5–70.7% as of July 2015. Average was 48 per cent over the first half of 2016.

The Russian Armed Forces has a budget of 98.064 billion USD (or 3.6% of Russia's gross domestic product).