Military Regulations

official directives defining the goals, tasks, methods, and principles governing large units, units, and subunits of various branches and services of the armed forces during combat operations. Military regulations also define the duties of military personnel, the chain of command, daily procedure, and the services to be performed by the troops. Military regulations are revised as new weapons are developed, as troops and naval forces are reorganized, and as combat experience is accumulated.

The first Russian military regulations date from the 16th and 17th centuries and include The Boyars’ Rules of Stanitsa Guard Service (1571), Regulations Concerning Combat Cannon and Other Matters Which Relate to Military Science (1607 and 1621; 2nd ed., parts 1–2, 1777–81), and The Science and Technique of Infantry Combat Formations (1647). For the regular army, Peter I drafted the Army Regulations in 1716. From the 18th to the beginning of the 20th century, military regulations in the Russian army were issued on several occasions.

The first regulations issued for the Soviet armed forces included the Regulations of the Interior Services, the Regulations of Garrison Duty, and the Regulations of the Rear Services, all published in 1918, and the Disciplinary Code, published in 1919. Later, field service regulations, combat regulations, and others were put into effect. Contemporary regulations binding on military personnel in all units and subunits of the Armed Forces of the USSR are the Regulations of the Interior Services of the Armed Forces of the USSR, the Disciplinary Code, and the Garrison and Guard Duty Regulations of the Armed Forces of the USSR, all of which are approved by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. The Drill Manual is also considered part of the military regulations of the armed forces of the USSR.