Editing Strategic Rocket Forces (section)

== Post Soviet Union ==
Like most of the Russian Armed Forces, the Strategic Missile Forces had limited access to resources for new equipment in the [[Boris Yeltsin|Yeltsin]] era.<!-- Yeltsin was some time ago. --> However, the Russian government made a priority of ensuring that the Missile Forces received new missiles to phase out older, less-reliable systems, and to incorporate newer capabilities in the face of international threats to the viability of the nuclear deterrent effect provided by their missiles. In particular the development of missile defense systems in the United States.

In 1995, the "Strategic Missile Forces Day" and "Military Space Forces Day" were created. On July 16, 1997, President Boris Yeltsin signed a decree incorporating the [[Russian Space Forces]] and the Space Missile Defence Forces (Russian: Ракетно-космической обороны) into the SMT.<ref>Greg Austin and Alexiy D. Muraviev, The Armed Forces of Russia in Asia, Tauris, 2001, p.185-6</ref> In doing so, 'nearly 60' military units and establishments were dissolved. However, four years later, on June 1, 2001, the [[Russian Space Forces]] were reformed as a separate branch of service from the SMT.

[[Minister of Defence]] Marshal of the Russian Federation [[Igor Sergeyev|Igor Sergeev]], a former commander of the SMT from August 19, 1992 – May 22, 1997, played a major role in assuring funding for his former service.<ref name=Holm>Mike Holm, [http://www.ww2.dk/new/rvsn/rvsn.htm Strategic Missile Forces] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101201025156/http://www.ww2.dk/new/rvsn/rvsn.htm |date=December 1, 2010 }}</ref> He was succeeded by General of the Army [[Vladimir Yakovlev (general)|Vladimir Yakovlev]], who commanded the SMT from June 1997 until April 27, 2001. Yakovlev was succeeded by [[Colonel General]] [[Nikolay Solovtsov]].{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

In the early 2000s, Chief of the General Staff Army General [[Anatoly Kvashnin]] decided to downgrade the status of the Strategic Missile Forces from a branch of the armed forces to an independent combat arm. This was completed despite the opposition of Defense Minister Marshal Igor Sergeyev.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gavrilov |first=Yuri |date=20 July 2004 |newspaper=[[Rossiyskaya Gazeta]] |title=Президент поменял "силовиков" |trans-title=President changed "siloviks" |language=ru |url=https://rg.ru/2004/07/20/siloviki.html }}</ref>

Solovtsov was dismissed in July–August 2009. Speculation over why Solovtsov was dismissed included opposition to further cuts in deployed nuclear ballistic missile warheads below the April 2009 figure of 1,500, the fact that he had reached the retirement age of 60, despite that he had recently been extended another year's service, or the failure of the [[Russian Navy|Navy's]] [[Bulava]] missile).{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

After only a year, [[Lieutenant General]] Andrey Shvaichenko, appointed on August 3, 2009, by President [[Dmitry Medvedev]], was replaced. The current commander of the Strategic Missile Forces, Colonel General [[Sergey Karakayev]], was appointed to the post by a presidential decree of June 22, 2010.<ref name=PodvigSRF>Pavel Podvig, [http://russianforces.org/missiles/ Russian Strategic Missile Forces] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514085655/http://russianforces.org/missiles/ |date=May 14, 2011 }}, accessed September 2010</ref><ref name="krem">{{cite web|url=http://pravo.gov.ru:8080/page.aspx?23649|script-title=ru:Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 09.08.2012 № 1141 "О присвоении воинских званий высших офицеров военнослужащим Вооруженных Сил Российской Федерации"|trans-title=Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated 09.08.2012 number 1141 "About the assignment of ranks of senior officers of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation"|publisher=Kremlin.ru|date=9 August 2012|language=ru|access-date=14 August 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105112835/http://pravo.gov.ru:8080/page.aspx?23649|archive-date=November 5, 2013|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

The RVSN headquarters has a special sledgehammer that can be used to gain access to the launch codes if the commander feels the need to use it or if ordered directly, but does not have normal access to the safe.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} In 2020, the Strategic Missile Forces completed switching to digital information transmission technology.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://armstrade.org/includes/periodics/news/2021/0111/074061153/detail.shtml|title=ЦАМТО / / В 2020 году РВСН полностью перешли на цифровые технологии передачи информации|website=armstrade.org}}</ref>