Southern Military District

Background

The Southern Military District is one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces and serves as a major territorial command for forces deployed in southern Russia and nearby areas. Its jurisdiction primarily covers the North Caucasus region and includes Russian military bases in South Caucasian post-Soviet states. As a military district, it coordinates the command, control, and readiness of ground, naval, and supporting formations assigned to its area of responsibility, making it an important component of Russia’s regional defense posture.

Headquartered in Rostov-on-Don, the district is organized under the Russian Ministry of Defense as part of the national military command system. Its territory includes 13 federal subjects of Russia: Adygea, Astrakhan Oblast, Chechnya, Dagestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Kalmykia, Karachay-Cherkessia, Krasnodar Krai, North Ossetia-Alania, Rostov Oblast, Stavropol Krai, and Volgograd Oblast. The district also incorporates military commands linked to the Black Sea Fleet and the Caspian Flotilla, reflecting its role in coordinating land and maritime assets across a strategically sensitive region.

The district was created as part of the 2008 military reforms and formally established by Presidential Decree №1144 on September 20, 2010, replacing the North Caucasus Military District. It began operations on October 22, 2010, under Colonel-General Aleksandr Galkin, and is the smallest Russian military district by geographic size. After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, Russian authorities announced the addition of six Ukrainian territories to the district, including Crimea, Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk, Sevastopol, and Zaporozhye, all of which have been partially or fully occupied by Russian forces. The district’s current acting commander is Lieutenant General Sergey Medvedev, who has served since November 2025.