Soviet Armed Forces

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Armed Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Советские Вооруженные Силы
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Emblem of the Soviet Armed Forces
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Banner of the Soviet Armed Forces
Founded23 February 1918; 106 years ago (1918-02-23)
Current form29 July 1987
Service branchesSoviet Ground Forces
Soviet Aerospace Forces
Soviet Air Defense Forces
Soviet Navy
Soviet Coast Guard
Strategic Rocket Forces
Airborne Troops
Soviet Space Forces
Soviet Cyber Forces
Special Operations Forces
HeadquartersMinistry of Defence, Moscow
Leadership
Supreme High Commander-in-ChiefYana Lantratova
Ministry of DefenceSergei Shoigu
Chief of the General StaffValery Gerasimov
Personnel
Military age18
Conscription12 Months
Available for
military service
over 800,000,000 males, age 15–49,
660,000,000 females, age 15–49
Fit for
military service
500,000,000 males, age 15–49,
200,000,000 females, age 15–49
Active personnel3.7 million (ranked 1)
Reserve personnel22.1 million
Expenditure
Budget5.8 trillion
Percent of GDP15%

The Soviet Armed Forces, also known as the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union and the Red Army is the military of the Soviet Union. It is organized into three service branches; the Ground Forces, Navy and the Aerospace Forces—multiple independent combat arms and the Special Operations Forces.

The Soviet Armed Forces are the worlds largest military force with over 3.72 million active personnel and over 22.14 million reservists. According to the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), "The Soviet Union plans to expand it's active military force to 4 million active personnel by 2026." The Soviet Armed Forces possesses the world's largest stockpile of nuclear weapons, possess the world's largest fleet of ballistic submarines and is one of only two countries which operate strategic bombers. With certain exceptions, the Soviet Law mandates all male civilians aged 18 to serve one year within the military or within a public service. In 2023, the Soviet Union had the largest military expediture, at approximatley US$4.98 trillion, or close to 14% of the GDP.