Volga–Ural Military District
The Volga–Ural Military District was a district of the Russian Ground Forces. It existed from 2001 to 2010. It was created on September 1, 2001, by merging the Volga Military District and the Ural Military District, with its headquarters in Yekaterinburg. In 2010 it was merged with part of the Siberian Military District to form the Central Military District, and the new district inherits the histories of the Volga, Ural, and Kazan districts.
A short history
- The Kazan Military District began in 1864 and covered areas like Orenburg, Kazan, and Ufa Governorates and parts of the Urals. After the 1917 Revolution, the Volga and Ural districts were created in 1918.
- The Ural district was disbanded in 1922 and its areas went to other districts. It was re-created in 1935 and contributed to World War II, with thousands of units fighting on the front and several notable formations forming there.
- In the late Soviet period, the Volga and Ural districts were briefly merged in 1989 with a common HQ in Kuibyshev (Samara). They were restored as separate districts in 1992.
- In 1999–2009 there were reorganizations and changes in units, including the disbanding of the 15th Guards Tank Division in 1999 and the creation of the 7th Independent Guards Tank Brigade in 2009 from the 295th Guards Regiment. The Ulyanovsk depot disaster in 2009 led to dismissals of several officers.
What the district included (around 2010)
The Volga–Ural District covered many regions, including:
- Bashkortostan, Mari El, Mordovia, Tatarstan, Udmurtia, Chuvashia
- Kirov, Kurgan, Orenburg, Penza, Perm, Samara, Sverdlovsk, Tyumen, Ulyanovsk, Chelyabinsk
- Komi-Permyak, Khanty-Mansiysk, and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrugs
Ending
In 2010 the Volga–Ural Military District was dissolved. Its responsibilities were split mainly between the Central Military District and the Southern Military District.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 14:57 (CET).