“There is such a profession - to defend the Motherland!”. This "winged" phrase from the feature film "Officers" (directed by V. Rogov), probably, reflects the meaning and essence of the border guard profession in the best possible way.
On May 28, Russian border guards, regular officers and veterans of the border troops traditionally celebrate their professional holiday. The Day of the Border Guards or the Day of the Border Guard was established by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 1011 of May 23, 1994 "On the Establishment of the Day of the Border Guard" "in order to revive the historical traditions of Russia and its border troops."
It is no exaggeration to say that the history of this type of troops is counted in hundreds of years - from the moment the first centralized border outposts appeared. For example, in Ancient Russia, defensive structures - ramparts and a notch line were used to protect against raids of nomads and to protect its borders. They were built along the borders of Russian territories. A serif guard was created to look after them. Sniffer guard - the first mention of the border service.
In 1571, the "Code of the village service" appeared, which regulated the rights and duties of the guard and the procedure for protecting the borders. Border protection was carried out by dragoon regiments, which were based at outposts, and by customs civilian patrolmen. In 1782, by the decree of Empress Catherine II, the institution of "customs chain and guards" was established to guard the borders and carry out border control. In 1827, the "Regulation on the structure of the border customs guard" came into force, which was subordinate to the Department of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Finance of Russia.
At the end of the 19th century, the border guards were separated from the Department of Foreign Trade into a separate Border Guard Corps of the Ministry of Finance (OKPS). With the outbreak of World War I, most of the OKPS units were taken over by the military command and joined the field armies. In subsequent years, the border guard passed into the jurisdiction of various departments, but always the tasks of the service remained the fight against smuggling and illegal crossing of the borders of our state.
And the historical event that became the basis for choosing the date of the holiday was the establishment by the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars on May 28, 1918 of the Border Guard of the RSFSR Border (but officially the Day of the Border Guard in the USSR was established in 1958).
At the same time, the Main Directorate of the Border Guard was created, into which the officers of the former Directorate of the Separate Corps of the Russian Border Guard were transferred in full force.
After the collapse of the USSR, the Federal Border Service of Russia (FPS RF), created by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation in December 1993, became the legal successor of the Main Directorate. Since May 2003, the FPS of Russia came under the jurisdiction of the FSB and is called the "Border Service of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FS FSB of Russia)".
The Russian Federation has the longest borders in the world and borders 18 countries. No other state has so many neighboring countries. Border cooperation has been established and secured by contractual documents with thirty-two foreign states. More than 11 thousand border guards, dozens of ships and boats go out daily to protect the state border.
The main tasks of the Russian Border Guard Service are - to ensure the implementation of the state border policy of the country in the field of protecting the state border, territorial sea, continental shelf and the exclusive economic zone of Russia; organizing (within the limits of its powers in cooperation with other structures of state authorities) the fight against organized crime, smuggling, illegal migration, illegal circulation of weapons, narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, as well as countering the activities of illegal armed formations within the border territory.
Border guards-pilots are on duty to protect air borders. Border guards-sailors are on duty to protect the sea borders.Border guards are also on duty at the coastal outposts. The border guard service is very dangerous, but very honorable.
Border guards celebrate their professional holiday on a grand scale. After all, the Day of the Border Guard is a demonstration of the combat power of this type of troops, the establishment of this holiday also serves to raise the morale of soldiers performing their official duty to the people, the Motherland and the state.
Border Guard Day is widely celebrated throughout the country - traditionally, many celebrations are timed to it in Russian cities and units of the border troops, the laying of flowers and wreaths on the graves of the Unknown Soldier and other memorable places, as a tribute to those who were the first, not sparing their lives and blood, repelled enemy attacks on all borders of the immense homeland. Also on this day, many concerts and other festive events take place, and in Moscow, the hero cities and in the cities where the border districts and groups of border troops are located, the sky is illuminated with festive fireworks.
After gaining independence, a number of republics of the former USSR have preserved and continue to celebrate this holiday, bringing the context closer to the national one. So, in Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan "Day of the border guard" is celebrated on May 28, as in the Russian Federation.
In Ukraine Border Guard Day on April 30, celebrated since 2018.
In Turkmenistan The Day of Border Guards is celebrated on August 11, since on this day in 1992 the State Border Service of Turkmenistan was established.
In Kazakhstan Border Guard Day is celebrated on August 18.
In Latvia Border Guard Day - November 7, celebrated since 2015.
In Azerbaijan The same Day of the Border Guard is celebrated on August 18, since it was on August 18, 1919 that the Parliament of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic signed the Decree "On protection of the state border of the Azerbaijan Republic" and "Law on the establishment of border customs protection in the Azerbaijan Republic". Article I of the Law, which consisted of 8 articles, said: "Create 99 border posts with 992 border guards along the entire border of Azerbaijan, in accordance with additional points of deployment in order to protect the borders of the Republic of Azerbaijan from illegal trade and fight against smuggling." And in 2000, the President of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev declared August 18 as the day of the professional holiday of border guards.
7 fun facts from the history of the border service.
1. The ball will not pass!
Soviet border guards successfully ensured not only the inviolability of the state border, but also the inaccessibility of the football goal. After the end of the Tehran conference, a football tournament for the Cup of Iranian Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi was held. The tournament was held in a circular system, two teams from Iran, the English "Arsenal" and the team of the 131st rifle regiment of the border troops of the NKVD of the USSR, took part in it. The team of border guards and Arsenal reached the final. The border guards won with a score of 1: 0. The Soviet team took the Shah's Cup home. It is interesting that the Armenian diaspora in Tehran helped with providing border guards with uniforms.
2. Everyone to the temple!
On May 28, 1918, by the decree of the Council of People's Commissars, the border guard of the RFSR was established, so today's border guards celebrate the holiday on this day. In pre-revolutionary Russia there was no official secular holiday of this type of troops and the border guards celebrated the so-called temple holiday. For the border guards, the day of the Entry into the Temple of the Most Holy Theotokos was considered a temple holiday, December 4, according to the new style. Until now, in many churches on this day, a prayer service is performed for border guards. December 4 is considered the day of the founding of the Border Guard Corps.
3. Birds on the border
Until the 60s of the twentieth century, our border guards used carrier pigeons. It was a kind of "mobile communication". At the outposts, there were dovecotes with specially trained birds.Going out to guard the border, the border detachment always took two pigeons with them. In case of military necessity, one of the pigeons was sent with a report, the second was left for safety net. In order to preserve the "valuable frames", pigeons were often repainted, disguising them as crows and other birds.
4 the writer's son on guard at the border
Among the first leaders of the Soviet border troops was Andrei Nikolaevich Leskov, the son of the great writer Nikolai Leskov. The son of the author of "The Enchanted Wanderer" devoted more than 30 years to the border service, was a colonel in the tsarist army and an excellent staff officer. At one time he even served as chief of staff of the Petrograd border district. In 1923, Andrei Leskov developed instructions for the protection of the northwestern borders. While performing his official duties, Andrei Nikolaevich did not forget about family traditions: he is the author of a biography of his father.
5. Border Guard Legend
The most famous Russian border guard is deservedly Nikita Fedorovich Karatsupa. His combat experience commands legitimate respect. Karatsupa detained 338 border violators, participated in 130 armed battles with saboteurs, and personally destroyed 129 violators who did not want to surrender. During the service, the experienced border guard changed five dogs. A stuffed Hindu, one of the legendary dogs of Karatsupa, is on display in the museum of the border troops. The legendary border guard wrote the book "Notes of a Pathfinder" about the experience of his service. In 1965, Nikita Fedorovich was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, the outpost where Karatsupa served was named after him.
6. Borders of radiation
During the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the border guards were among the first who, in conditions of constant danger, did everything possible to prevent the consequences of the disaster. It was necessary to punch the route for about 200 km, install about 70,000 supports, stretch 4 million meters of barbed wire strands, establish communication and signaling lines, and much more. The border troops allocated from their reserves and funds signaling equipment, special insulators, anthracene oil for impregnating wooden poles, barbed wire, as well as specialists for the technical guidance of workers.
7. Shura Golubev
The young hero border guard The border guards were the first to fight the fascist forces. On the night of June 23, 1941, the soldiers of the consolidated 92nd border detachment, together with units of the Red Army, drove the Nazis out of the border Przemysl and occupied the city for several days until the order to retreat was received. In those days, the twelve-year-old son of the assistant commandant of the Rava-Russian border detachment Shura Golubev showed courage. he brought shells and even destroyed several Nazis, taking a dead soldier's submachine gun. For the feat, the boy was awarded the Order of the Red Star. At the age of 16, in the summer of 1945, as part of the 55th border detachment, Shura Golubev fought the Japanese samurai, for which he was awarded the second Order of the Red Star.
About the establishment of the Border Guard
The Council of People's Commissars decided:
- The Border Guard is established in the department of the People's Commissariat for Financial Affairs.
- The Border Guard is responsible for protecting the border interests of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, and within the border strip - protecting the identity and property of citizens, in particular:
- obstruction of the secret transportation of goods and the secret passage of persons across the land and sea borders of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic;
- protection against plundering of water resources in our border and territorial waters;
- supervision of compliance with the rules of international navigation on border rivers;
- protection of our fishermen and industrialists in the border seas, lakes and rivers;
- protecting our border villages from attacks by robbers and nomadic tribes;
- implementation, if necessary, of border quarantine, etc.
- The Border Guard is located in one or more lines. The People's Commissioner for Financial Affairs is given the right to authorize, at his discretion, the location of Border Guard outposts and railway stations.
- The space from the border line to the location of the outposts of the first line and the seven-mile space from these outposts to the interior of the Republic is considered a border strip.
- The area of water twelve nautical miles from the low tide line of the seacoasts of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic both on the mainland and on the islands is recognized as a maritime customs strip, within which all both Russian and foreign ships are subject to supervision by the Border Guard.
- The Border Guard must observe that along the entire border there is a free passage of 6 arshins wide, why all buildings, arable lands and vegetable gardens should be at a certain distance from the border.
- Citizens of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic are admitted to the Border Guard on free recruitment on the same grounds as are established for admission to the Red Army. The reception of border guards is carried out by commissions organized by the order of the Border Guard Council, which include one representative of the local Soviets of Workers 'and Peasants' Deputies with the right to vote on each commission.
- The direct management of the Border Guard in all respects rests with the General Directorate of the Border Guard. Under him, the Border Guard Council is formed, consisting of two commissars and one military leader.
- The equipment and uniforms of the Border Guard officers, as well as the provision of medical and sanitary assistance to them, is carried out on the grounds adopted for the Red Army. The release from the stocks of the military department to the officers of the Border Guard of weapons, equipment, items of uniform and food, as well as engineering and medical and sanitary means is carried out according to the requirements of the Main Directorate of the Border Guard, sent by it to the relevant institutions of the military districts
