Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus

The Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus (Ваенна-аркестравая служба Узброеных Сіл Рэспублікі Беларусь, Военно-оркестровая служба Вооруженных Сил Республики Беларусь) is the central military band service of the Armed Forces of Belarus. The band was formed on 1 April 1950 as the Band of the Belorussian Military District. It was expanded into a service in the 1990s after the Independence of Belarus occurred. It's bands participate in military parades, military tattoos, and official ceremonies of Belarus. They perform domestically, regularly performing in the Central Officers House in Minsk, as well as other garrison clubs. The massed bands of the Minsk Garrison is an annual participant in the parades of the Minsk Garrison on Victors Avenue since 2004. The repertoire of the band includes more than 500 compositions of the most important classical music composers and contemporary ones. Bands have performed in festivals in Great Britain, Ireland, Germany, France, Poland, Sweden, and Russia. The band has also played in the Spasskaya Tower military tattoo in 2013, 2016, and 2017. The band is commanded by its Senior Director of Music/Chief Conductor, Lieutenant Colonel Igor Khlebus, since 2019. The artistic director of the band is Colonel Evgueny Dovzhik.

Structure of the Service
As a grouping of military bands of the armed services of the republic the Military Band Service of the Armed Forces is composed of the following flagship units and other formations:

Exemplary Military Band
The Exemplary Military Band (also known as the Central Band of the Armed Forces), is the seniormost military unit in the service. It was founded on the basis of the Staff Band of the Belorussian Military District, which itself was founded on 1 April 1950. It has been given high praise as one of the best military bands in the Soviet Union, next to the massed bands of the Kiev Military District and the Moscow Military District. In 1992, after the Fall of the Soviet Union and the Independence of Belarus, the orchestra acquired a new status as the Main Exemplary Military Band of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus. Years later, the concert band of the Ministry of Defense was added as a component of the band. The purpose of the band is to promote the military-patriotic education of servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus through the means of musical art.

Band of the Guard of Honor
The Band of the Honor Guard Company of the Minsk Military Commandant of the Armed Forces of Belarus was founded on July 1, 1995, as the Military Band of the Minsk Garrison's Office. Since 2018, the band has used chromatic fanfare trumpets in its ranks. For 21 years until 2016, the commander of the orchestra was Serguei Kostiuchenko. It works alongside the honor guard company in taking part in ceremonies in Belarus and abroad. The orchestra's repertoire is based on Belarusian, Russian and foreign music.

Band of the Ministry of Internal Affairs
The Band of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was founded on July 20, 1945 as a military band of the 21st Motorized Rifle Detachment of the Ministry of State Security of the USSR. On April 28, 1995 the band was re-branded as the band of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus. Its first concert in its new capacity took place on the Day of the Militia parade on March 4, 1995 at October Square. It is currently led by Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Kalinin.

Band of the Ministry of Emergency Situations
The Band of the Ministry of Emergency Situations is the official band supporting the everyday ceremonial activities of the Ministry of Emergency Situations It is an affiliated military brass band composed 25 musicians who have an extensive touring experience (performing at military tattoos in Poland, Germany, Belgium and Denmark).

Band of the Border Guard Service
The Band of the Border Guard Service is the official band supporting the everyday ceremonial activities of the Border Guard Service of Belarus, which reports to the State Border Committee of the Republic of Belarus, rather than to the Ministry of Defense.

Band of the Belarusian Air Force
The Band of the Air Force is the official band supporting the everyday ceremonial activities of the Belarusian Air Force.

Band of the Belarusian Transport Troops
The Band of the Transport Troops is the official band supporting the everyday ceremonial activities of the Belarusian Transport Troops.

Cadet Bands
Cadet bands affiliated to the Band Service of the Armed Forces are drawn from military academies of the armed forces and ministries of the state.


 * Band of the Military Academy of Belarus
 * Band of the Minsk Suvorov Military School
 * Band of the Border Guard Service Institute of Belarus – It is a unit of the artistic ensemble of the Border Guard Service Institute. It is currently led by Captain Pavel Pashkin.
 * Band of the Ministry of the Interior Academy of the Republic of Belarus

Regional Bands
Together with the component bands of the MBSAFRB and the cadet bands of the Armed Forces, the regional bands from each of the military commandants are also components of the Band Service and are affiliated to the senior bands in Minsk. The bands of the regional departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, while not being part of the Band Service, are also affiliated to it as well.


 * Band of the Baranavichy Military Commandant
 * Band of the Babruysk Military Commandant
 * Band of the Barysaw Military Commandant
 * Band of the Brest Military Commandant – Created on 3 August 2001 under the direction of Alexander Nosov, the band jas been led by Lieutenant Colonel Sergey Minich since 2007.
 * Band of the Grodno Military Commandant
 * Band of the Minsk Military Commandant
 * Band of the Vitebsk Military Commandant

Unit Bands
In addition to the baseline military bands, it maintains additional active-duty fields bands that are assigned to an active duty unit, usually the size of a regiment/brigade, following the Russian tradition.

Directors of the Exemplary Military Band

 * V. Shalygin – (1950–1952)
 * I. Mironovich – (1952–1959)
 * A. Mayzler (1959–1968)
 * P. Chebanenko (1968–1974)
 * B. Chudakov – (1974–1979)
 * J. Kraokotin – (1979–1983)
 * M. Bersan – (1983–1990)
 * Alexander Fedorov – (1990–2004)
 * V. Ermolaev – (2004–2008)
 * Serguei Kostiuchenko – (2008–2019)
 * Igor Khlebus – (2019-Present)

Directors of the Band of the Honor Guard

 * Lieutenant Colonel Igor Khelbus (1993–1995)
 * Lieutenant Colonel Serguei Kostiuchenko (1995–2005)
 * Major Aleksandr Kantsyal (2016–Present)