January 25 is the Day of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation: history, traditions, how to congratulate

Every year on January 25, Russia celebrates the Day of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, a professional holiday for employees of one of the key units of the military administration, often referred to as the "brain of the army." In 2026, the date falls on a Sunday. Read about the history of the establishment of the department, the traditions of celebration, as well as who and how it is customary to congratulate, in the Izvestia article.

General Staff Day of the Russian Armed Forces — 2025: the history of the holiday

The holiday was fixed in the modern calendar by the order of the Minister of Defense of Russia dated January 30, 2002. January 25 was chosen as the date in memory of the 1763 imperial decree of Empress Catherine II, which established the General Staff of the Russian Army as a permanent center for strategic and operational command of troops.

The organizational basis of the new structure was the quartermaster unit, which had been operating in the Russian army since 1711 and was created with a focus on the experience of the leading European armies.

Already under Peter the Great, the name "General Staff" appeared in official documents — in February 1711, he approved the "Staff Regulations of the General Staff" and formed the first quartermaster units, led by the Quartermaster General. However, until the reforms of Catherine II, such bodies were usually created only for the period of military campaigns and did not serve as the permanent supreme headquarters of the army.

The imperial reform was caused by the overload and inefficiency of the quartermaster service during the Seven Years' War of 1756-1763. A permanent structure was required, capable of developing operational solutions, communicating orders to the troops, providing material support and preparing for future conflicts.

For more than 260 years, the General Staff has worked its way from the departmental service to the highest governing body of the army. In 1796, Paul I abolished it, replacing it with a quartermaster Retinue.

Under Emperor Nicholas I, in 1827, the Retinue of the quartermaster unit was again named the General Staff. During the reforms of the 1860s and 1870s, he finally secured the status of the highest governing body of the army. According to the Regulations on the Ministry of War of 1869, its jurisdiction included the deployment of troops, geodetic and reconnaissance work, and military statistics.

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At the beginning of the 20th century, the structure of Russia's military administration underwent another transformation. In 1905, the General Directorate of the General Staff received the status of an autonomous department and became directly subordinate to the Emperor. This decision caused a systemic conflict of interest with the Ministry of War, since a dual power actually arose in the management of the army.

Already in 1908, in an effort to eliminate the managerial imbalance, the structure was re-integrated into the Ministry of War, where it continued to function until the revolutionary events of 1917.

With the establishment of Soviet power, the former system was abolished. In 1918, the All-Russian General Staff was established, as well as the Field Headquarters of the Revolutionary Military Council, which performed the tasks of strategic planning and organizational management during the civil war. In 1921, these structures were merged into a single body — the Headquarters of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. Its renaming to the General Staff of the Red Army took place in 1935 and marked the formation of a centralized command authority of the new state.

In the pre-war decade, the Red Army General Staff focused on developing strategic scenarios for the use of the USSR Armed Forces, improving the organizational and staff structure of troops, forming a system of mobilization readiness, ordering weapons and equipment, as well as training top-level commanders. With the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, he became the key executive officer of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, taking over the leadership of military operations on all fronts and the overall planning of the strategy of the armed struggle.

After the end of the war, the structure was transformed into the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR. He was tasked with coordinating the work of the main headquarters of all types of the armed forces, managing the rear structures, as well as the activities of the central departments of the Ministry of Defense. The General Staff formed the military doctrine, developed the statutory documents, determined the directions of combat use of the army and conducted military scientific work on a systematic basis.

With the collapse of the USSR in 1991, the department ceased to exist, and the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation was established on its basis in 1992 by decree of the President of Russia.

Today, the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces is responsible for strategic planning, command and control, mobilization, intelligence, coordination with other structures, and defense policy development. Since 2012, it has been headed by Army General Valery Gerasimov.

Traditions of celebrating the Day of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation

On January 25, solemn meetings are held at the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff, the command summarizes the work for the year, notes the contribution of the units, presents state and departmental awards, and regular military ranks.

On this day, flower-laying takes place at the memorials of outstanding generals, obelisks, monuments to war heroes and the Grave of the Unknown Soldier. Veterans of the staff service are invited to meetings with current officers and students of the Military Academy of the General Staff, where the experience of past campaigns, the specifics of planning operations, and the evolution of military command are discussed.

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Lectures and conferences on military management strategies in modern conflicts are held in specialized educational institutions.

General Staff Day of the Russian Armed Forces on January 25 — best wishes

On the Day of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, congratulations are addressed to current generals and officers of the central military administration, specialists of analytical, operational, organizational, mobilization and intelligence departments, teachers and students of the Military Academy of the General Staff, veterans of the service, as well as civilian personnel involved in ensuring the work of the central office of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff. Izvestia has prepared several examples of how this can be done.

"Congratulations on your professional holiday! Your daily work determines the security of the country, the stability of the army and the confidence of society in the future. On General Staff Day, we wish you clarity in assessing the situation, precision in calculations, and firmness in making decisions. Happy General Staff Day!"

"Happy holidays, dear officers! There are no ordinary tasks at headquarters, each of them requires precision, coherence and responsibility. On General Staff Day, we wish you reliable colleagues, sound decisions, and a service organization where every day brings tangible results. Let your ability to plan, calculate risks and manage resources help not only in the professional sphere, but also in your personal life, making it stable and predictable."

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"Congratulations on the Day of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation! Your work is a difficult job, where the cost of a mistake is measured not in numbers, but in human lives and the fate of the state. We wish you to keep professional composure in the most stressful moments, find optimal solutions in conditions of uncertainty and always see a few steps ahead."

"Dear defenders of the Fatherland, staff officers and veterans of the General Staff! On this day, we wish you good health, reliable logistics, respect in the team and a sense of satisfaction from the work done. May every operation carried out and every decision taken serve to strengthen peace and stability. Thank you for your hard work. Happy holidays!"

"Congratulations on your professional holiday! You work in a place where government policy, military science and practice combine. We wish you to maintain a high level of professionalism, be demanding of yourself and be able to see the main thing behind numbers and schemes — the safety of citizens. May there always be enough information in your work for correct conclusions, time for informed decisions and support from friends and management."

Earlier, Izvestia told when and how the Day of the Air Defense Forces is celebrated in Russia.