154th Preobrazhensky Independent Commandant ' s Regiment 154th Preobrazhensky Independent Commandant ' s Regiment serves as the official honor guard regiment of the Russian Armed Forces and serves as the main honor guard unit of the armed forces , stationed in Moscow . Aside from being the honor guard unit it is also charged with duties assisting the Commander , Moscow Garrison , and to serve garrison and protection duties in the protection of the capital city and its military infrastructure . Its barracks is at Lefortovo District , Moscow , part of the South - Eastern Administrative Okrug . History . As the Second World War was beginning to end in Europe in 1944 the Soviet NKVD in Moscow was charged with raising a full - time honor guard company as part of the 1st Regiment , OMSDON ( then the NKVD 1st Special Duties Division ) , in the style and manner of the British Household Division ' s Foot Guards , the 3rd US Infantry Regiment ( The Old Guard ) and the French Republican Guard ' s First Infantry Regiment . It later joined the 73rd Special Duties Battalion ( later the 465th Special Duties Company , later itself renamed the 465th Special Commandant ' s Company ) in 1948 , now part of the regular armed forces . This was the precursor of the Honor Guard Company that would later form the 154th ICR of today , the very company in which the Victory Banner was welcomed with full honors in June 1945 into Moscow . On April 10 , 1949 , the 465th SCC , by order of the Soviet Armed Forces General Staff , became the 99th Independent Commandant ' s Battalion . On November 29 , 1956 , by order of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union , the 1st Independent Honor Guard Company and the Military Band of the Honor Guard were raised , both under the supervision of the Office of the Moscow Military Garrison Commandant . The company adopted full parade dress in 1960 in the uniforms of the 3 service arms of the Soviet Armed Forces : the Soviet Army , Soviet Air Forces and the Soviet Navy in its three platoons . The regulations for such use were amended via a 1971 General Orders of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union , to be used only in state occasions , ceremonies and national holidays when permitted . On December 1979 , on the recommendation of the Soviet Army General Staff the 99th ICB became the 154th Independent Commandant ' s Regiment , therefore merging the 99th ICB and the 1st IHGC and raising new component units . Its duty was for the protection of the Moscow Garrison Commandant ' s headquarters and providing ceremonial guards in state events . In 1980 several servicemen from the regiment took part in the 1980 Olympic opening ceremony wearing civilian formal dress escorting the Olympic Flag . The regiment ' s Special Duties Company took part in Exercise Zapad - 81 the following year as part of the Soviet Armed Forces contingent , and received the Medal " For Courage in a Fire " for its fire fighting efforts that year when a fire broke out in the Moscow Oblast . The regiment took part in the 1985 World Festival of Youth and Students and in the 1987 commemorations of the 175th anniversary of the Battle of Borodino . In May 1991 , the 1st Independent Honor Guard Company became the Honor Guard Battalion of the 154th ICR as another honor guard company was raised . The 154th Independent Commandant ' s Regiment formally became the 154th ' Preobrazhensky ' Independent Commandant ' s Regiment ( the " Preobrazhensky " honorific title was in tribute to the Preobrazhensky Regiment ] ) on 9 April 2013 by presidential decree no . 326 signed by Russian president Vladimir Putin . Putin had previously outlined a plan to reinstate the regiment ' s honorific title in an address to the Russian Federal Assembly in 2012 , with the stated aim being to " strengthen the historical continuity " of the Russian Armed Forces by resurrecting the names of " famous , legendary units and formations of the Russian and Soviet armies " . The regiment today is made of more than a thousand servicemen from all units of the Russian Armed Forces , composed of 3 battalions ( the Honor Guard Btn . and the 1st and 2nd Commandant ' s Battalions ) and other independent units comprising it , including its Special Duties Company . The 154th Independent Commandant ' s Regiment , and its predecessors , have been involved in various state and international events through the years . Aside from its duties at sporting events , other activities where they were involved include their attendance in various Soviet state funerals ( including the Death and state funeral of Leonid Brezhnev and in the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow from 1965 onward , where they always provide the honor guard unit for the commemorative activities .