Russian military bands
Russian military bands fall under the jurisdiction of the Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of Russia, which is the official music service for the Russian Armed Forces, and led by the Senior Director of Music, a billet of an officer with the rank of a Colonel or a general officer. There are currently between 200 and 300 military bands in the Russian Armed Forces that span across the military as well as all uniformed services in the country. Unlike most western nations, the Armed Forces does not maintain any bands composed of volunteering civilian musicians , as all bands, active or reserve, are manned by graduates of the military music training centers stationed anywhere in the country, as well as of civilian conservatories. While choirs may be attached to military bands, individual staff choirs do not exist in the Russian Armed Forces, since they have attached instrumental ensembles or orchestras. As of 2009, all military musicians are paid around 13,000 rubles ($169.65) for their service in the Armed Forces. Purpose. The military band service is designed to provide encouragement and to increase patriotism for the military servicemen and women of the Ground Forces, the Navy  and the Aerospace Forces. Former director of bands in the Russian Armed Forces Valery Khalilov described the effect these bands have in the following 2005 interview: History. For a country that has not just one of the largest armed forces in the world but also has produced some of the greatest composers and musicians, the modern day military band tradition of Russia traces its origins to decree No. 2319 of Peter the Great enacted on February 19, 1711, which mandated the formation of military bands and field music formations within both the Imperial Russian Army and the nascent Imperial Russian  Navy following the Western practices. As both the Army's two foundation regiments (the Preobrazhensky Regiment and the Semyonovsky Regiment) had their own bands and corps of drums, which would also inspire the formation of the bands and fanfare band units within the artillery and the cavalry, the age of Peter the Great, aside from laying the foundation of the armed forces, also began centuries of the Russian military band tradition, which continues until today. Russian bands have evolved in every period since then, and as parts of the armed forces military bands were utilized more in wartime and peacetime  ceremonial duties during the Imperial era, bandsmen and field musicians (drummers, buglers, fanfare trumpeters and fifers) having fought in almost every military operation fought by the army and the navy. Under Catherine the Great, the number of military bands were increased. The Imperial Russian Army and the Imperial Russian Navy continued the practice, with composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, who was the civilian Inspector of Naval Bands from 1873–1884, being considered to be the pioneer of Russian naval music. By 1914, military bands had become a part of Russian daily life. The establishment of the Central Military Band of the People 's Commissariat of Defense in 1927 marked the creation of the first modern professional military band in the country, after which military bands became part of Russian/Soviet culture. During the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945, military bands flourished at the front. In 1941, the regiments of the Red Army had musical platoons, however, there were no regular bands. For example, in the 21st Division of the Narodnoe Opolcheniye, a 14-member jazz band appeared, who at the beginning of the war gave many concerts for soldiers and commanders. Close it the end of the war, Marshal of the Soviet  Union Georgy Zhukov gave Order Number 071 to the directive of the Main Political Directorate of the Red Army, making regimental and divisional bands into regular units in the forces. These regular bands served during the liberation of Poland from the Wehrmacht (often performing with polka and mazurka for the local population) as well as during the Prague Offensive and the Vienna Offensive. The reform of the bands began in 1948–1949 under the assistant director of the band service, Major General Ivan Petrov, and continued on until the 1970s. It was only in the late 1980s and early '90s was  the presence of Soviet military bands available in military tattoos in the West, with the Band of the Moscow Military District and the Band of the Odessa Military District both participating in tattoos in the Netherlands in 1990. Repertoire. The repertoire of the military band service spans across hundreds of pieces, which included ceremonial and marching music, as well as patriotic songs. Some of these musical pieces (particularly the formal ones) are used elsewhere in the militaries of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Many famous melodies such as "Katyusha", "Siny Platochek", and "Podmoskovnye vechera" have been converted into marches by  military composers. List. Bands of Russian Ministries and affiliate agencies. Not under the Armed Forces but under other agencies: Former bands. Under the Soviet Armed Forces and disbanded bands under the current Russian Armed Forces: Under the Imperial Russian Army and the Imperial Russian Navy: Musical training. One of the first steps of the new Soviet government was the 1921 opening of classes at the Tashkent and Petrograd Military Music Schools. A year later, the Tashkent Military Music School was transferred to Petrograd and merged into the Petrograd Military Music School before being disbanded a year later. The remaining 30  students were transferred to the 8th Petrograd Infantry School. Due to the transfer of the school to Kyiv, music conservatories became involved in the development of military music. In 1932, a bandmaster class was organized at the Frunze Military Academy with a three-year term of study was established. By the mid-thirties, with the increase in the number of the Red Army, a large number of new military educational institutions, including military faculties at civilian educational institutions, had been created for the training and preparation of senior musical personnel. Among these faculties, the Military Department of the Moscow Conservatory  on the basis of order No. 183 on 28 November 1935 was created. More institutions would be established in the 40s and 50s and advanced through the 60s and 70s. In October 1964, the first group of foreign students from the Mongolian People's Republic became enrolled in military musical institutions. In subsequent years, the number of students that came was expanded, with some coming form Bulgaria, the German Democratic Republic, Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Yemen, Ethiopia and Vietnam. Since 1994, a special department had been operating at the Military Conducting Department, students of which come from countries of the Commonwealth  of Independent States, with many graduates organizing military bands in their newly created home countries. Characteristics. Garrison conductors. The military conductor of the massed city garrison bands is responsible for providing general garrison events with military bands of military units and for the preparation, training, administration and formation of massed garrison bands in their area of responsibility. In addition, they are, according to Article 36 of a decree by the President of Russia, responsible for coordinating the musical accompaniment of military units without military bands and assist the commanders of these military units in the training of drummers and extra  musicians. They also lead instruction classes with military conductors and senior military band personnel. Drum majors. In the Russian military, drum majors () are commissioned officers who also serve as deputy band leaders and conductors. Fanfare trumpets. Fanfare trumpets in the military band service are an important part of state events and military band culture. Usually located at the front of a single band formation or in massed bands formation, the area of expertise of fanfare trumpeters in the armed forces includes playing specially composed fanfares such as the "Moscow Fanfare" or the "Fanfare of the President of the Russian Federation . They were first seen in modern military parades in the 1920s, equipped with an elongated bell allowing for a flag or tabard to be hung. Most soldiers who were in the position of fanfare trumpeter were dressed in slightly different uniforms than the rest of the band, usually a different color of the full dress uniform. The natural chromatic fanfare trumpet model is used in many military bands in Russia, with similar ones also being used in military styled marching bands in Germany, France and the United Kingdom. During the Imperial period and up to the early decades of the 	Russian military bands
12717278	Soviet Armed Forces these fanfare trumpets were kept as an important regalia for the unit, having the same status as a regimental colour, the first such instruments were granted as battle honours in 1737 and Guards Fanfare Trumpets with the Ribbon of St. George debuted for the Imperial Guard in 1805. When a unit band was disbanded, the fanfare trumpets were transferred to the Museum of the Red Army (now the Central Armed Forces Museum). In 1944, an order to revive the practice, this time for distinguished service in the Red Army, failed to pass in the Presidum of the 	Russian military bands
12717279	Supreme Soviet, but nevertheless the fanfare trumpets were given to outstanding bands of units for service to the homeland in times of war. In the ground forces and air force bands the fanfare trumpets, then as is now, have scarlet tabbards with the symbol of the Band Service on them in gold at the center and is surrounded with gold fringe, the symbol is that of two crossed natural chromatic fanfare trumpets with a lyre, symbol of military music, at the center. Field snare drummers of massed bands. The late decades of Soviet rule also saw the reintroduction of another 	Russian military bands
12717280	aspect of military bands in Russia: the field snare drummers, which are a modern form of the days wherein snare drummers lead out their bands or their respective units on parade (the latter when with buglers, fifers and/or fanfare trumpeters) or when in massed bands formation. Corps of drums. Most military academies and cadet schools, as well as a number of HQ and support units of military formations and commands, maintain a corps of drums (known locally as rota barabanshchiki) that are specifically brought out during military parades. These formations too are of Imperial origin. Corps of drums are always 	Russian military bands
12717281	made a separate part of military bands and are usually led by a drum major in the place of the director of music of a certain band and are the first formation to march past the saluting grandstand in parades, with its drummers first sounding a drumbeat cadence that keeps the parade on the beat before they march past. If possible, the corps of drums of the local Suvorov or Nakhimov Naval School would be used during events of national importance. The most famous of these special units in the international sphere would be the Corps of Drums of the 	Russian military bands
12717282	Valery Khalilov Moscow Military Music College, first unveiled during the Moscow Victory Parade of 1945 and has since been regular participant in the October Revolution Day (1938 to 1990), May Day (1938 to 1968) and Victory Day (1965, 1985, 1990, 1995–2008, 2012-) parades on Red Square. Uniform. The uniforms of Russian military bands vary depending on the unit. Most unit bands utilize the standard dress uniform with the closed collar of the Russian Army (updated in 2017), although the everyday service uniform can also be worn. The Exemplary Band of the Honor Guard has from 1958-1971 and since 2013 	Russian military bands
12717283	worn the full dress uniform of the 3rd Honor Guard Battalion, 154th Preobrazhensky Independent Commandant's Regiment (known in the Soviet era as the M-1955), which consists of a closed collar uniform with a red plastron with golden piping. From 1971-2013, the band wore the standard dress uniform of the armed forces. Size and composition. There are 4 variant sizes of military bands. The size depends on the status of the unit/institution of which it is attached. For example, a band of a regiment/brigade formation may only have 18 people (they are usually referred to as полковом  оркестре", meaning "regimental bands"), whereas a band of a military academies may have 26 people. Bands of district of headquarters and fleets have 44 people, recruiting personnel from all over their area of responsibility. The largest ones are the bands of service branches and specialized units called Exemplary Bands, numbering around 63 people each. Most military bands are filled with a variety of different types of soldier, whether it be conscripts, cadets or recently civilian musician graduates of civilian conservatories who serve in the bands. Formation of city massed bands for military parades. The Red Square military parade films from  the 1920s and 1930s and photographs from these decades would often feature the massed military bands of the Moscow Military District formed up in a form that had been used many times during the Imperial era during major military parades: the percussion, glockenspiels and Turkish crescents being at the front ranks behind the senior director, lead bandmasters and the drum major/s together with the chromatic fanfare trumpeters and the trombonists, with the trumpeters and clarinet players behind in front of the conductors and bandmasters followed by the remainder of the bandsmen, with the tubas, euphoniums, wagner tubas and helicons  in the rear ranks.