Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus
Clarification on Provided Reference
The Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus is the Belarusian government’s executive body and is not a Russian military site. Its headquarters are in the House of Government in Minsk. The head of the Council of Ministers is the Prime Minister; as of October 2024 this was Roman Golovchenko. Alexander Lukashenko is the President of Belarus and the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Belarusian Armed Forces, not the commander of the Council of Ministers.
Scope and Sources
This assessment summarizes publicly verifiable information on Russian military sites, including national command and control, military district headquarters, strategic rocket forces basing, early warning and anti-ballistic missile nodes, space launch and test ranges, long-range aviation bases, naval bases, air and missile defense, ground forces training areas and missile brigades, Russian-operated facilities in Belarus, overseas basing, and key defense industrial infrastructure. Classified or non-public operational details are excluded.
National Command and Control Infrastructure
Russia’s National Defense Management Center in Moscow has served since December 2014 as the central, real-time command and control hub integrating the Ministry of Defense, General Staff, and service branches. The General Staff is headquartered on Znamenka Street in Moscow and oversees the Ground Forces, Aerospace Forces, Navy, and Strategic Rocket Forces. These national nodes manage inter-service operations, strategic warning, and crisis response.
Military District Structure and Headquarters
In 2024, Russia officially re-established the Moscow and Leningrad Military Districts from the former Western Military District, according to government announcements. The other districts are the Southern Military District headquartered in Rostov-on-Don, the Central Military District in Yekaterinburg, and the Eastern Military District in Khabarovsk. The Northern Fleet previously held military-district-level status as a joint strategic command; in 2024 officials announced structural changes affecting that status.
Strategic Rocket Forces Basing and Capabilities
The Strategic Rocket Forces are headquartered at Vlasikha near Moscow and deploy a mix of silo-based and road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missiles. Key divisions publicly reported include Teykovo in Ivanovo Oblast, Nizhny Tagil in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Novosibirsk in Novosibirsk Oblast, Barnaul in Altai Krai, Irkutsk in Irkutsk Oblast, Yoshkar-Ola in the Mari El Republic, and Vypolzovo near Bologoye in Tver Oblast for mobile RS-24 Yars; Kozelsk in Kaluga Oblast for silo-based Yars; Tatishchevo in Saratov Oblast for silo-based Topol-M and Yars; Dombarovsky or Yasny in Orenburg Oblast for UR-100N UTTKh missiles carrying Avangard boost-glide vehicles; and Uzhur in Krasnoyarsk Krai where legacy R-36M2 missiles have been based and the RS-28 Sarmat has been announced by officials for introduction. Exact site inventories, alert statuses, and warhead assignments are not publicly disclosed.
Missile Early Warning and Anti-Ballistic Missile Sites
Russia’s ballistic missile early warning network includes the Voronezh-family ground-based radars at sites reported in Leningrad Oblast near Lekhtusi, Kaliningrad near Pionersky, Armavir in Krasnodar Krai, Barnaul in Altai Krai, Irkutsk region near Mishelevka, Krasnoyarsk Krai near Yeniseisk, and Orenburg region, among others, replacing older Dnepr and Daryal stations. The A-135 anti-ballistic missile system protects Moscow, centered on the Don-2N radar near Sofrino with 53T6 endoatmospheric interceptors; modernization to the A-235 system has been publicly acknowledged. The 29B6 Container over-the-horizon radar in Mordovia was declared operational in 2019 to provide long-range airspace monitoring.
Space Launch and Test Ranges
Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Arkhangelsk Oblast, established in 1957, is Russia’s principal military spaceport and a key site for ballistic missile test launches. Kapustin Yar in Astrakhan Oblast, established in 1946, serves as a major test range for ballistic, cruise, and air-defense systems. The Sary Shagan range in Kazakhstan supports anti-ballistic missile testing under bilateral agreements, and the Kura impact range in Kamchatka is used for ICBM reentry tests. Vostochny Cosmodrome in Amur Oblast began launches in 2016 and supports selected defense payloads in addition to civilian missions.
Long-Range Aviation Bases
Long-Range Aviation operates from key air bases including Engels-2 in Saratov Oblast, hosting Tu-160 and Tu-95MS bombers; Ukrainka in Amur Oblast, hosting Tu-95MS; Dyagilevo in Ryazan Oblast, supporting bombers and Il-78 tankers; Shaykovka in Kaluga Oblast and Soltsy-2 in Novgorod Oblast for Tu-22M3 bombers. Forward operating locations such as Olenya in Murmansk Oblast and Mozdok in North Ossetia are used for staging and support. Exact aircraft numbers and sortie rates are not publicly available.
Naval Forces — Northern Fleet Sites
The Northern Fleet is headquartered at Severomorsk in Murmansk Oblast. Ballistic missile submarines are based primarily at Gadzhiyevo with piers in Yagelnaya Bay, operating Project 667BDRM and Project 955 or 955A submarines; each Borei class submarine carries up to 16 Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missiles. Attack submarines and surface combatants are supported at Polyarny, Vidyayevo, and Severomorsk. Sevmash and Zvezdochka shipyards in Severodvinsk on the White Sea handle nuclear submarine construction and overhaul.
Naval Forces — Pacific Fleet Sites
The Pacific Fleet’s ballistic missile submarine base is at Vilyuchinsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula, commonly known as Rybachiy, hosting Project 955 series submarines. Surface and attack submarine forces operate from bases in the Vladivostok area, including Ulysses Bay, and from facilities around Fokino in Primorsky Krai. The Zvezda shipyard at Bolshoy Kamen is a strategic industrial site supporting large-vessel construction and maintenance.
Naval Forces — Black Sea Fleet Sites
The Black Sea Fleet’s main base is at Sevastopol in Crimea, which remains internationally recognized as part of Ukraine but has been under Russian control since 2014; the status is disputed under international law. A major base at Novorossiysk on the Russian mainland has been expanded since the 2010s to host surface combatants and support vessels. Operational details and current ship deployments are not fully public.
Naval Forces — Baltic Fleet and Caspian Flotilla Sites
The Baltic Fleet is based at Baltiysk in Kaliningrad Oblast with additional facilities at Kronstadt and other St Petersburg area ports. The Caspian Flotilla operates from Kaspiysk in Dagestan and Astrakhan, with infrastructure upgrades announced in 2018 supporting missile corvettes and auxiliary units. These fleets provide regional sea control, coastal defense, and long-range strike options using ship- and shore-based missile systems.
Air and Missile Defense Network
Russia employs a layered air and missile defense network integrating S-300 variants, S-400, and newer S-350 systems, supported by early warning and battle-management radars. The 1st Air and Missile Defense Army protects Moscow alongside the A-135 missile defense system. Additional air defense divisions cover key regions including St Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Crimea, and the Far East. Specific battery locations, readiness levels, and engagement protocols are either classified or not publicly disclosed.
Ground Forces Training Areas and Missile Brigades
Major training and test areas include Mulino in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Alabino near Moscow, Pogonovo near Voronezh, Ashuluk in Astrakhan Oblast for live-fire air defense training, and the Kapustin Yar range for missile troops and combined-arms trials. Iskander-M short-range ballistic missile brigades are assigned across military districts; publicly reported garrisons include Luga in Leningrad Oblast and Chernyakhovsk in Kaliningrad Oblast, among others. Detailed unit inventories and deployment cycles are not publicly available.
Russian-Operated Facilities in Belarus
Russia operates two military facilities in Belarus under bilateral agreements. The 43rd Communications Center near Vileyka provides very low frequency communications to submarines. The early warning radar near Gantsevichi in Brest Region uses the 70M6 Volga radar as part of Russia’s missile attack warning system. Protocols signed in January 2021 extended the agreements governing both facilities for 25 years.
Overseas Basing and Facilities
Russia maintains long-term access to the naval logistics facility in Tartus, Syria, under a 2017 agreement that permits expanded infrastructure, and operates from Hmeymim Air Base in Latakia since September 2015. The 102nd Military Base in Gyumri, Armenia, has a basing agreement extended to 2044, and the 201st Military Base in Tajikistan has an agreement extended to 2042. Kant Air Base in Kyrgyzstan has operated under a 2003 agreement within the CSTO framework. The Operational Group of Russian Forces remains in Transnistria, Moldova, with its presence contested by the Moldovan government.
Defense Industrial Facilities of Strategic Importance
Sevmash in Severodvinsk builds Project 955A Borei-A ballistic missile submarines and Project 885M Yasen-M nuclear-powered attack submarines, while Zvezdochka handles refit and repair. The Kazan Aviation Plant produces and modernizes Tu-160M strategic bombers. Novosibirsk Aircraft Plant manufactures Su-34 bombers, and the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant produces Su-35S and Su-57 fighters. Votkinsk Machine Building Plant manufactures solid-fuel ballistic missiles including RS-24 Yars and components associated with the Bulava program. Production volumes and schedules are not fully public.
Security and Classification Considerations
Specific numbers of deployed systems at individual sites, warhead storage locations managed by the 12th Main Directorate, alert postures, detailed security measures, and operational timelines are classified or otherwise not publicly available. This analysis is limited to verifiable open-source information and official statements and deliberately omits sensitive details.