The history of the Russian Army goes back to early medieval times – to Kievan Rus. This ancient state consisted of small principalities. Each prince had his own armies (druzhina) that were called Prince Guards. Time went by, Tsar’s druzhina turned into the Army of His Imperial Majesty. Then it turned into the Red Army, and then, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, into the Army of the Russian Federation.

The country was changing names and borders, but the Army had always stayed the same: “ready to secure the global safety, protect Russia from all the attempts to establish military and political pressing, and all military threats” (President of the Russian Federation V. V. Putin).

And the Russian Armed Forces will definitely be able to do it! The Russian Army was always famous for its power, and Russian soldiers for their braveness, mutual help, and sharpness. Generals of enemy forces were always so surprised by the ability of Russian soldiers to combat effectively even if all their commanders had been killed! The invaders from all around the world tested the strength of Russia and its Army, sometimes even achieving temporary success – but they always got chased out of the country in the end.

It took centuries to develop these traditions, and it can be said that they mirror the very soul of Russian people.

It’s not only courage that makes the Russian Armed Forces so strong, military engineering has always been one of the leading Russian industries. From Kalashnikov, the military has occupied a worthy place among the world’s automatic arms after 50 years of faultless service, to “hovering” tanks, T-90, and real flying dragons of the 21st century – fighting machines Su, Mig, Tu, Yak.

Russian Strategic Forces deserve even more attention, they form the Russian “Nuclear shield”. Underground launching shafts, ground-based mobile launching complexes “Topol M”, ballistic and cruise missiles based on land and underwater.

The history of Russian nuclear weapons begun after the United States destroyed the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. The USA announced that it was a state that possessed nuclear weapons but the construction of the nuclear bombs was kept secret. However in 1947, The Soviet Union (not without the assistance of the Foreign Reconnaissance Service) found out about this “secret” and in 1949 the first trial explosions in the USA were set off. In August, 1953, the first H-bomb was tested. By that time the United States scientists had only set off a laboratory sample which represented a construction placed on top of a special tower while the Russian bomb was ready for practical use.

In 1961 the biggest ever H-bomb was blown up at the Russian range located on the Novaya Zemlya island. The soviet “tsar-bomb’s” power was estimated at 50 megatons. Nikita Khrushchev, the leader of the Soviet Union at that time, joked that they “were planning to blow up a 100-megaton bomb at first but they had to miniaturize it in order to keep the windows in Moscow intact”. The bomb would be too big – the model didn’t fit the bomb hatch of the carrier plane Tu-95 and was hanging out of it during the flight.

The Russian government never forgets about the Army modernization. Soon a brand-new type of nuclear missile launchers will be added to the arsenal of the Russian Armed Forces. This launcher doesn’t have any analogues in the world yet!

Even though there weren’t any direct armed conflicts between Russia and the USA, “military specialists” were constantly testing new weaponry and tactics in the local conflicts of third world countries. The practical experience gained during the wars in Indochina, Africa, and Afghanistan has shown the advantages and disadvantages of military equipment and brought up the new generation of commanders who have come through real battles.