Military academies in Russia

Russia has a number of military academies of different specialties. This article primarily lists institutions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation rather than those of the Soviet Armed Forces.
Russian institutions called "academy" are post-graduate professional military schools for experienced, commissioned officers who have the equivalent of a bachelor's degree. Upon graduation, officers receive the equivalent of a master's degree and, if trained in military leadership are appointed as battalion commanders or higher from Lt. Colonel and up. Graduates with non-command training are appointed to various staff positions equivalent to Major or Lt. Colonel. Commissioned officers can study on the Kandidat Nauk () level, equivalent to a Ph.D. degree. This research-oriented degree is required for faculty positions in military schools and defence research institutes. Carefully selected experienced researchers in military academies hold limited-term positions as senior scholars leading to the prestigious post-doctoral Doktor Nauk () degree, which is roughly the equivalent of a habilitation at Central European universities where it is a prerequisite for full professor positions in institutions of higher learning. There also are a number of "officer commissioning schools" for various services known as Higher Military Schools or Institutes.
As of 2010, a major reorganization of Russian military officer education, spanning the range from General Staff Academy to officer commissioning school, was underway.
National joint-service educational institutions.
Military Academy of the General Staff.
In 1936, Leonid Govorov founded the current General Staff Academy in Moscow. It has been the senior Russian professional school for officers in their late 1930s. The "best and the brightest" senior commissioned officers of all forces are selected to attend this most prestigious of all Soviet military academies. Students are admitted to the Academy in the ranks of lieutenant colonel, colonel, and Major General (one star). Most are colonels or newly promoted generals. Previous names include: Marshal Voroshilov Military Academy of the WPRA General Staff; General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR; General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
Military Academies of the Ground Forces.
The precedence and grouping of these academies are drawn from Michael Holm's site.
Combined Arms Academy.
In 1918 the Frunze Military Academy () in Moscow was established as the academy of the General Staff, which became the RKKA Military Academy in 1921. It is named after Mikhail Frunze then USSR Minister of Defence in mid-1920s. It is roughly the equivalent of the U.S. Army's Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas or the British Army's Staff College, Camberley. Officers in their late twenties up to thirty-two years at the rank of Captain or Major enter if they pass the competitive entry examinations.
In the 1930s, higher academic courses were added to the Frunze curriculum as an advanced training program for previous graduates. Later on, this program became the basis for the "Voroshilov General Staff Academy" and the Frunze Academy refocused upon combined arms ground warfare training at the tactical level. In September 1998 the Frunze Academy and the "Malinovsky Academy" were amalgamated into the Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, on the site of the former Frunze Academy, which since 2010 is known as "Military Educational and Scientific Centre". The "Military Educational and Scientific Centre" has been the site of a number of Russian-Western joint military activities, including an IISS conference in February 2001, and U.S.-Russian exercises.
After graduation from "Military Educational and Scientific Center", every graduate officer receives a diploma and a silver diamond-shaped badge which has to be worn on the right side of his uniform or civilian clothes above all other military or civilian decorations or ribbon bars.
Marshal Rodion Malinovsky Military Armored Forces Academy.
The Malinovsky Military Armored Forces Academy () was established in 1932 in Moscow as the "J.V. Stalin Academy of the WPRA Mechanization and Motorization Program". It was named after Marshal Rodion Malinovsky in 1967. Its mission was to train Soviet and Warsaw Pact commanders, staff officers, and engineers for armored and mechanized units. The best-qualified graduates were selected for the" centralized operations division" of the General Staff. Students entered as captains and majors, some as lieutenant colonels, about on an intermediate level with the Army's Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell AFB, Alabama. Commanding and staff officers underwent a three-year program while engineers were taught for 4 years. In 1998 the Academy merged with the Frunze Academy to become the "Combined Arms Academy".
Mikhailovskaya Military Artillery Academy/Military Artillery Academy "Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich".
The Mikhailovskaya Artillery Military Academy () in Saint Petersburg dates back to 1698. In 1849 it was named "Mikhailovskaya" after Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich of Russia. In 1925 it merged into the Red Army Military Technical Academy, was restored in 1953 as Kalinin Artillery Military Academy () as a spin-off of the Dzerzhinsky Academy, and in 1995 went back to the Grand Duke's name.
Marshal Aleksander Vasilevsky Military Academy of the Armed Forces Air Defence Branch.
The () was created in 1977 in Kiev as a spin-off of the Kalinin Artillery Military Academy. It was named after Marshal of the Soviet Union Aleksandr Vasilevsky. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, its Kiev campus evolved into the General Staff Academy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which became the Ivan Chernyakhovsky National Defence University of Ukraine from 2013. In 1992, most of the staff and cadets moved to Smolensk and the facilities of the Smolensk Higher Engineering Radioelectronic School of the Ground Forces Air Defence Branch (established 1970), which became its new home. It re-adopted the honorific "named for Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevskiy" on 11 May 2007.
Military Engineering Academy "V.V. Kuybyshev".
Located in Moscow, this military academy trained medium-rank commissioned officers for the Engineering Troops. Its full formal title until 1998 was the Military-Engineering order of Lenin Red Banner Academy named for V.V. Kuybyshev. After the 1998 merger with the Military Engineering University of St. Petersburg it is now called the "".
Marshal Semyon Budyonny Military Signals and Communications Corps Academy.
The Budyonny Military Academy of Communications () was created in 1932 in Leningrad. It is named after Semyon Budyonny. It trains the Russian military's future signals and communications experts.
Marshal Semyon Timoshenko NBC Protection Military Academy.
Timoshenko NBC Protection Military Academy () was established in 1932 in Moscow. It is named after Semyon Timoshenko. Its duties are for the training of officers and NCOs in chemical warfare and defence. It is located in Kostroma in Kostroma Oblast and has now opened its doors to engineering cadets as well.
General of the Army A. V. Khrulev Military Logistics Academy.
The Military Logistics Academy (Военная академия материально-технического обеспечения имени А. В. Хрулёва) was created in 1918 in Leningrad. It trains officers and NCO's for the various Armed Forces rear services and the Army Transportation Force, a part of the rear services. One of its graduates is Igor Levitin, a former Russian Minister of Transport.
Sergei Kirov Military Medical Academy.
The Kirov Military Medical Academy ( in Saint Petersburg was established in 1798. Senior medical staff are trained for the Armed Forces and conduct research in military medical services. By contemporary standards, it is a full-scale medical school complete with a network of teaching and research clinics and affiliated hospitals. Graduates are commissioned as officers with medical doctor credentials. The institution also provides advanced training for mid-career military medical doctors and trains graduate students to Ph.D. level.
Military schools, institutes of the Ground Forces, MOD etc.
Kuybyshev Military Medical Academy.
In 1939 a military medical academy was established in Kuybyshev, since 1991 renamed Samara Military-Medical Institute. Subordinate to Ministry of Defence for a period.
Moscow Higher Military Command School.
Established on 21 December 1917 as "Moscow 1st Machine-Gunners School", this school trains the future officers of the Russian Army in strategy, tactics and command skills, with a four-year study period for which graduates are commissioned Russian Army lieutenants.
The school's cadets are also known as the "Kremlin Cadets" or the "Kremlovtsy", for in December 1919 after just two years of operations, the Red Army took over the school administration, with headquarters and campus then at the Moscow Kremlin. It later became the "WPRA 1st Soviet High Military School "All-Russian Central Executive Committee"" and from 1925 to 1935, mounted the guard at Lenin's Mausoleum. The Kremlin was its campus until it moved to Moscow's Lefortovo District, giving way to the Kremlin Regiment, nowadays the President of Russia's escort and historical regiment.
In 1937, the school became the "ACEC" Moscow Military School and later the "Moscow Military School of Infantry Training". It received the first of its 3 order medals, the Order of the Red Banner in 1938. In joining the Battle of Khalkhin Gol, and the Second World War's Eastern Front it contributed to the defence of the Moscow Region, as well as other wars. In October 1945, 5 months after the allied victory in Europe, it moved to Kuzminki District in Moscow.
In 1958, it became the Moscow High Command Training School "Supreme Soviet of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic" . It received its two other awards, the Order of Lenin in 1965 and the Order of the October Revolution in 1978. In 1998, it became the Moscow Military School and was transformed into its present name in 2017.
Khabarovsk Military Commanders Training Academy.
This training center in Khabarovsk 19 miles from the Chinese border serves military officers stationed in the Eastern Military District, with a program to enhance their experience and command capability.
St. Petersburg Railway Troops Military Transportation Institute.
Located in historic St. Petersburg, the birthplace of the Russian railway industry, this institute trains all personnel of the world's oldest railway security force, the Russian Railway Troops, a part since 2004 of the rear services, in maintaining and securing one of the world's largest and oldest railway systems.
Ryazan Guards Airborne Higher Command School "General of the Army Vasily Margelov".
The Ryazan Guards Higher Airborne Command School is one of Russia's oldest military academies, having been established in 1918. The academy serves since 1941 as the premier academy and advanced training center of the Russian Airborne Troops, named first in honor of the Komsomol and at present after one of the greatest commanders of the Airborne Troops, Vasily Margelov, who was instrumental in the modernization and capability upgrades done to the service in the 1950s, as well as for its full independence as a separate arm directly responsible to the Defence Ministry.
Far Eastern Higher Combined Arms Command School "Marshal of the Soviet Union K. K. Rokossovsky".
The Far Eastern Higher Combined Arms Command School was established in 1940 as the Vladivostok Infantry School. It moved to Blagoveshchensk in 1949, and currently trains officers for motor rifle units, and for the Naval Infantry. It is the only military academy in Russia to offer command specialisations in mountain and arctic warfare.
St. Petersburg Military Engineering-Technical University.
In Soviet times this was named the "Leningrad Nikolaevsky Military Engineering Technical Institute of the Armed Forces of the USSR".
Nikolaevsky Military Engineering-Technical Institute of the Armed Forces, now the Military Engineering-Technical University () is in Saint Petersburg located in its own historical sites near to Engineers Castle, Summer Garden, the Suvorov Museum, Tauride Palace and Smolny Convent. It is one of Saint Petersburg's oldest military engineering schools, its history as a Higher learning institution began in 1810, training officers for service in the Navy, Russian engineering troops and other arms and services. This engineering school trained and graduated Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
Yekaterinburg Force Command School of Artillery.
Located in Yekaterinburg, it serves as the officer command training center of the Russian Ground Forces Artillery and Rocket Forces. Its mandate is for the enhanced and improved training of artillery officers in command and control.
Volsk High Rear Military School.
Located in Volsk, the school trains the various personnel of the Russian Armed Forces' rear services.
Military Institute of Physical Culture.
Established in 1909 during the Imperial era and known in the 1930s as the Leningrad Military Academy of Physical Fitness and Sports, the academy serves as the training hub for military sportsmen of the Russian Armed Forces. Its graduates include many medalists in the Olympic Games who were also active servicemen, and medalists in the Military World Games.
It was affiliated to both the Lesgaft National State University of Physical Education, Sport and Health and the Russian State University of Physical Education, Sport, Youth and Tourism. Based in Saint Petersburg, its colours carries two awards of the Order of the Red Banner for its invaluable contribution in sports development.
Suvorov Moscow Military Music College "General Lieutenant Valery Khalilov".
The Moscow Military Music College is a spin-off of the Suvorov Military School (affiliated with the school in 1944 but was established in 1937). Its mission was and still is to train future Soviet Army and Russian Army and Air Force military musicians and conductors and is famous for its Corps of Drums, a participant in the Moscow Victory Parade of 1945 and a regular participant in Revolution Day (1940 to 1990), Victory Day (1965, 1985, 1990, 1995–2008, 2012–present), and until 1966 May Day military parades. The corps is led by a drum major. The corps's instrumentation includes snare drums, fifes, trumpets, glockenspiels and during occasions, bass drums, tenor drums and fanfare bugles. A Turkish crescent from the college was used as its symbol in the Revolution Day and Victory Day parades from 1975 to 1990, later replaced in 1995 by the college's color guard squad carrying the collegiate Regimental Color (a new color was granted to the institution in 2008). It also has its own nationally and internationally famous training band wing that perform in various military tattoos in Russia and various European countries.
Just in time for its 80th anniversary the "Valery Khalilov" honorific title was bestowed on December 26, 2016, by the Minister of Defence General of the Army Sergei Shoygu - a day after the tragic crash that killed Khalilov and 91 others off Sochi while the Alexandrov Ensemble was on its way to perform for Russian troops deployed in Syria. The decision was made public by the spokesperson of the MoD Major General Igor Kinashenkov.
Other Ground-associated Officer Commissioning Schools.
These included the Leningrad, Orenburg (), and Poltava Higher Anti-Aircraft Missile Command Schools of the Ground Forces, and the Smolensk Higher Anti-Aircraft Missile Engineering School.
Also the Kharkov Guards Higher Tank Command School, plus Tashkent, Ulyanovsk VTKUs.
Military academies of the Missile Forces.
Peter the Great Military Academy of the Strategic Missile Troops.
The Academy descended from Mikhailovskaya Artillery Academy of Imperial Russia created in 1820 in St. Petersburg. The Dzerzhinsky Military Academy () was created in 1932 as F.E. Dzerzhinsky Artillery Academy (Артиллерийская академия имени Ф. Э. Дзержинского) of the "Red Army from the "Artillery Department and the Powder and Explosives" section of the Military Technical Academy's chemistry department that was disbanded at the time.
Dzerzhinsky Academy was moved from Leningrad to Moscow in 1958, the year before the Strategic Rocket Forces were formed. Now named the Dzerzhinsky Missile Force Academy, its main facility was 'located at Kitayskiy Proyezd 9/5, within a block' of the Rossiya Hotel off Red Square. Other sources report that it was in the historical building of the Moscow Orphanage. Officers in command positions in the Strategic Missile Troops would seek admission to this academy. Information about this academy was highly classified. Its two major faculties were "command" and "engineering." The Academy was renamed after Peter the Great in 1997, and its Commandant is now Colonel General (three star) Yuriy F. Kirillov.
Military academies of the Air Forces, Air Defence Forces and Space Forces.
Yuri Gagarin Military Air Academy.
The Gagarin Military Air Academy is located at Monino, northeast of Moscow, in an area closed to foreigners, nearby the Central Air Force Museum. Almost all the senior officers in the Soviet Air Force have attended this academy. It is charged with the preparation of "command cadres of various aviation specialties and is a research center for working out problems of operational art of the Air Force and tactics of branches and types of aviation." Part of the mandate involves developing new techniques in the operational use of the military aircraft.
Marshal Leonid Govorov Air Defence and Radio Engineering Academy.
The “Marshal of the Soviet Union L.A. Govorov Air Defence Radio Engineering Academy” () was first established in Moscow in 1941 as a subsidiary of the “Frunze Military Academy” and then moved to Kharkiv (Russian: “Kharkov”) in 1946. This graduate school trained commissioned officers of the Air Defence Force in radars, aerospace defence and surface-to-air missile sites, and command and control and communications facilities. Its graduates were granted an equivalent of the Master of Electrical or Systems Engineering degree. Also about 50 officers were annually graduating with a "Kandidat Nauk" degree (an equivalent of a Ph.D.). Of the total of some 300 faculty members, more than 10 per cent held the prestigious post-doctoral "Doktor Nauk" degree. Faculty members were highly engaged in applied research; their textbooks and research publications were known throughout the Soviet Union.
This school was re-organized into the “Kharkiv Military University” of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in 1992, soon after the collapse of the USSR. According to the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers’ directive #433 (10.09.2003) the Military University and the Air Force Institute combined to become the Kharkiv National University of the Ukrainian Air Force.
Alexander Mozhaysky Military Space Engineering Academy.
Also in St. Petersburg, this is the academy responsible for the training of the future officers and NCOs of the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces, the armed forces' youngest branch of service. It was most recently renamed the Military Space Engineering Academy in November 2002.
Yaroslavl Higher Military Air Defence School.
Located in Yaroslavl, this academy trains officers and NCOs of the air defence component of the Russian Air Force in proper treatment and handling of air defence rocket artillery systems.
Other Air-Associated Officer Commissioning Schools.
Shelton lists a total of 140 officer commissioning schools, drawn from a KZ list of 17 January 1980. That total included 15 Air Defence Forces schools (four Fighter Aviation, five radio-electronics, and six Anti-Aircraft Rocket), and 24 Air Forces (nine Higher Aviation Schools of Pilots, including the Borisoglebsk Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots at Borisoglebsk, two navigator schools (including the Chelyabinsk Higher Military Aviation School of Navigators "50th Anniversary of the Komsomols"), the Khar'kov Higher Military Aviation Command School of Signals, five three-year technical secondary schools, six Air Force engineering schools (including the Kiev Higher Military Aviation Engineering School), and the Kurgan Higher Military-Political Aviation School.
Military Air Combat Training Centers.
Military Air Combat Training Centers () do a great deal of scientific and technical work in mastering new aircraft, equipment, and air combat tactics for the Russian Air Forces.
Naval Educational Institutions.
As part of the ongoing military reform, the Defence Ministry has undertaken to create large consolidated educational entities within the Armed Forces. In the naval sphere the leading institution is the Military Educational and Scientific Center - Fleet Admiral Of the Soviet Union N.G. Kuznetsov Naval Academy (). This organization is responsible for the direct oversight of all naval training and educational institutions spanning students from grade school age through post-command senior officers destined to hold the highest positions in the Russian military.
Pre-commissioning Schools.
Kronstadt Sea Cadet Corps.
Located in Kronshtadt on Kotlin Island this school is for upper grade school aged youths interested in eventually attending the Nakhimov Naval School, a preparatory school for the several officers' commissioning institutions of the Russian Navy.
Nakhimov Naval School.
Founded in 1944 and located in St. Petersburg in an impressive baroque building adjacent to the AURORA, the Navy's oldest commissioned warship and the ship that has been credited with signaling the beginning of the October Revolution, this institution can be considered a naval preparatory school. Successful graduates from its program can directly enter the officer commissioning schools without sitting for the competitive entrance examinations. Originally, the Nakhimov Schools and their army equivalents, the Suvorov Schools, were established to provide education for the sons of officers who perished during the war. There were three Nakhimov Schools (Leningrad-1944, Tbilisi-1944, and Riga-1945) but the Tbilisi and Riga schools were closed in 1955 and 1952, respectively. Only the school in St. Petersburg continues to function until 2016, when the School was expanded to include campuses in major Russian naval base towns.
Naval Officer Commissioning Institutions.
Peter the Great Naval Corps - St. Petersburg Naval Institute.
This is Russia's oldest naval officer commissioning school and institution of higher learning. Originally established as the School of Mathematics and Navigational Sciences in Moscow by Peter the Great the school was later moved to St. Petersburg. It is located on the embankment of the Neva River opposite the Admiralty Shipyard. In Soviet times it was known as the M.V. Frunze Higher Naval School. The great majority of Imperial Russia's and the Soviet Union's most outstanding naval officers and admiralty leadership are graduates of this school. Recently, the Leninskiy Komsomol Submarine Navigation Higher Naval School in St. Petersburg was absorbed by this institution.
Baltic Naval Military Institute "Admiral Fyodor Ushakov".
Located in Kaliningrad, this naval officer commissioning school educates general profile officers as well as specialists in communications and intelligence.
Pacific Naval Military Institute "Admiral Stepan Makarov".
Located in Vladivostok, this naval officer commissioning school educates general profile officers for service in the Russian Navy's Pacific Fleet.
Black Sea Higher Naval Military Institute "Admiral Pavel Nakhimov".
Located in Sevastopol, this naval officer commissioning school educates general profile officers for service in the Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet.
A.S. Popov Naval Radioelectronics Institute.
This is the Russian Navy's officer commissioning school for specialists in naval electronics and computer technologies. It is located near the imperial summer palace in Peterhof, St. Petersburg.
Naval Engineering Institute.
This naval school commissions engineering officers, specializing in both conventional and nuclear propulsion and associated systems. This institute is located in Pushkin, St. Petersburg and now combines the F. Dzerzhinskiy Higher Naval Engineering School formerly located in the Admiralty building and the Higher Naval Engineering School which had been located in Pushkin near the lake of the imperial Catherine Palace.
Advanced Officer Education.
Advanced Special Officers' Courses are located in St. Petersburg and a distinct branch of the Higher Educational-Scientific Center "N.G. Kuznetsov Naval Academy" in its own location, this institution provides advanced education for prospective Executive and Commanding Officers as well as for officers going on to be "flag specialists" on the commands and staff officers of large naval formations and fleets.
Naval Post-graduate Institutions.
Kuznetsov Naval Academy.
Formerly known as Marshal Andrey Grechko Naval Academy, the Kuznetsov Naval Academy is located in St. Petersburg and is the Russian Navy's only senior service school. The students are lieutenants commander, commanders, and some captains, with ages from 30–35 years. All naval officers (including naval aviation) holding positions of Executive Officers, Commanding Officers, formation, fleet, or naval staff command positions are graduates of this academy. First established in 1827 as the Advance Officers' Class of the Imperial Russian Navy and later the Nikolayev Naval Academy and reorganized as the Petrograd Maritime Academy in 1917, and at various times renamed as the WPRF Naval Academy, the Marshal of the Soviet Union Kliment Voroshilov Naval Academy and the Marshal of the Soviet Union Andrey Grechko Naval Academy, it gained its current name and title in 1990. Among its alumni are decorated naval officers of the Imperial Russian, Soviet, and now Russian navies, and recipients of various state orders and decorations.
Beyond the Naval Academy.
In order to qualify to command any naval or MOD operational-strategic or strategic formation (command) senior naval officers must complete the course of study at the Military Academy of the General Staff in order also to be promoted to senior and flag officer ranks.
Academies and Institutes of Non-MOD armed forces: MVD, EMERCOM, FSS and other agencies.
Ministry of the Interior of Russia High Command Academy.
This academy trains future officers of the Ministry of the Interior's various military forces. It was founded in 1932 as a training venue for the NKVD's future command officers, entitled as a post graduate school for the advanced officers in the interior services.
St. Petersburg National Guard Forces Command Military Institute.
Located in St. Petersburg, the NGFCMI serves as the training facility for personnel of the National Guard Forces Command of the National Guard of Russia, both officers, warrant officers and non-commissioned officers. It was established on September 4, 1947 as the MVD Central School and since then as gone on many transformations before acquiring its present title in 2016.
St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.
As one of the premier post-graduate schools of Russia's Internal Affairs Ministry its purpose is for the enhancement and continued training for officers and NCOs of the Ministry's various arms and services, including the Police, Drug Control Administration and the Tax Police. Both men and women study as advanced officers and NCOs in the university.
Ministry of Emergency Situations Civil Defence Academy.
As part of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia, this academy trains troops (both officers and NCOs) for the service of the country's civil defence capabilities and disaster response services.
Saint Petersburg Military Institute of Civil Defence.
This institute is the training center for improved training of all male and female MES personnel, and since Saint Petersburg is the historic birthplace of the Russian civil defence services, many graduate here as professionals in civil defence, search and rescue skills and fire prevention.
Moscow Felix Dzerzhinsky Federal Security Service Academy.
Established on 25 December 1921 and relaunched on August 24, 1992, this training academy of the Russian Federal Security Service is mandated for the enhanced education of all FSS personnel in various fields of law enforcement. Since 2007, Colonel General Victor Ostroukhov is its commandant.
Moscow City Council Border Protection and Security Institute of the FSS.
Established in the 1930s, the institute educates all service personnel of the Border Guard Service of Russia (part of the FSS), officers and NCOs, on border security and policing in the wide Russian border.
Moscow Military Institute of the Russian FSS.
It trains the future officers and NCO's of the various service fields of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, especially in border protection and federal security.
Military Technical University of the Federal Agency for Special Construction.
The Military Technical University of the Federal Agency for Special Construction was opened in 1964, with the MTU-FASC serving as the main training school for service personnel of the Federal Agency for Special Construction in construction techniques, mechanical engineering and construction engineering to train them to become full-time military engineers in all sectors of the construction industry.
Former military academies.
V.I. Lenin Political-Military Academy.
The Lenin Military-Political Academy () specialized in training political officers for the Soviet Armed Forces, and until 1942, political commissars for the Armed Forces. After a number of reorganizations, it was in 1994 merged with the "Military Institute of Foreign Languages" and the "Armed Forces Humanities Academy" into the Military University of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation which offers cadets (both officers and NCOs) various courses and postgraduate studies.
Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy.
The Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy named after Nikolai Yegorovich Zhukovsky was founded in Moscow in 1920 to train engineers for the Soviet Air Force as well as lecturers and scientists for military academies and research institutions. The main facility of this academy is located on the Leningrad Prospekt immediately across from the Moscow Central Airfield. Course of instruction length is five years. In addition to being an institution of higher learning, it also is a scientific center for working out problems in the areas of aviation technology, its maintenance, and combat utilization. Since 2008, the Gagarin Air Academy is a part of the school apparatus, and both have become the "Gagarin-Zhukovsky Military Combined Air Force Academy", with its Moscow main campus retained.