ABSTRACT
Soviet combat forces, other than the Strategic Rocket Forces and Troops of National Air Defense, are deployed primarily in sixteen military districts, four groups of forces abroad, and four fleets. Military districts and groups of forces abroad are subordinate to the Ministry of Defense, through the General Staff, and are not under any one of the five services. The Red Army officially came into being on 23 February 1918. In less than a month, on 20 March 1918, the Petrograd Military District was established, the first in the new Soviet state. During the 1939-1940 Winter War with Finland, the Leningrad Military District served as the primary headquarters for the combat forces. The Ural Military District was created by a decree signed on 4 May 1918 by V. I. Lenin. After the Civil War, with the introduction of territorial militia, the Ural Military District was abolished. It was formed again in 1935.
