Ministry of Defence (Belarus)

Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Belarus
Мiнiстэрства абароны Рэспублікі Беларусь (Belarusian)
Министерство обороны Республики Беларусь (Russian)
Emblem of the Armed Forces of Belarus

The ministry building
Agency overview
Formed20 March 1992 (1992-03-20)
Preceding agency
Jurisdiction
HeadquartersBuilding 1 Kommunisticheskya Street Minsk, Belarus
Minister responsible
Agency executive
Websitewww.mil.by

The Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Belarus (Belarusian: Мiнiстэрства абароны Рэспублікі Беларусь; Russian: Министерство обороны Республики Беларусь) is the government organisation that is charged with the duties of raising and maintaining the Armed Forces of Belarus.

The formation of the ministry began in March 1992, after the events of 1991 in which the Soviet Union had effectively dissolved. The ministry was formed on the basis of the former Headquarters of the Soviet Army's Belorussian Military District. Seven officers have served as Minister of Defence of Belarus: Petr Chaus, Pavel Kozlovskii, Anatoly Kostenko,[1] Leonid Maltsev (1995–96), Colonel General Alexander Chumakov, a Russian officer, (1996–2001),[2] Yuriy Zhadobin (2009–2014), Andrei Ravkov (2014–2020), and Viktor Khrenin (2020–present).

The ministry is part of the Security Council of Belarus, interdepartmental meeting with a mandate to ensure the security of the state. The President, currently Alexander Lukashenko, appoints the Minister of Defence, who heads the ministry, as well as the heads of the armed services. These four appointees meet with the Secretary of the Security Council every two months. Security Council decisions are approved by a qualified majority of those present. Since 2020, the position of Minister of Defence has been filled by Major General Viktor Khrenin.

The budget of the defence ministry in May 2018 was 560 million.[3][4] Another source said the military budget was pegged at around 1% GDP.[5]

Since 2022, the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Belarus has been under the sanctions of the European Union, the United States, Switzerland, Ukraine and Japan.[6] In August 2023, Canada also imposed sanctions against the Ministry.[7]

  1. ^ Yury Kasyanov, 'Maltsev's Reform,' NVO, No. 17, May 31–June 6, 2002, p.8. See also re Chaus, "Petr Chaus: schitayu, chto nam ne nuzhno …"', Krasnaya Zvezda, 16 July 1992.
  2. ^ Richard Woff, 'Minsk: making limited progress with reform,' Jane's Intelligence Review, June 1996, 248. However, Woff dates Chumakov's appointment to 'late 1995.'
  3. ^ ""Neutrali" Baltarusija įspūdingai didina savo karinį biudžetą". Archived from the original on 2018-05-17. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  4. ^ "Military Spending". www.globalsecurity.org.
  5. ^ Ferris, Emily (12 January 2023). "Could Russia's Reliance on Belarus be its Soft Underbelly?" (PDF). The Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies.
  6. ^ "Belarus Ministry of Defence". National Agency for Prevention of Corruption.
  7. ^ "Regulations Amending the Special Economic Measures (Belarus) Regulations: SOR/2023-178". Canada Gazette.

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