stamp featuring the Fire Service The first fire service in
Russia was established by
Czar Alexey Mikhailovich under signed decree named "Direction on Municipal rescue", which signed on April 30, 1649, in Moscow. Six months after the
October Revolution, on April 17, 1918,
Vladimir Lenin signed a decree on organisation of activities for firefighting, which was considered the birth date for the Soviet State Fire service. Up to 2001 the Fire Service was part of the
Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. By 1927, the heterogeneity in uniforms and insignia in the republics practically disappeared and the uniform of firefighters of the RSFSR came to be used as a model for introduction for a long time. Fire protection was provided by both professional and voluntary fire brigades (1927–1932), subordinate to the NKVD of the RSFSR. In 1930, the militarization of the transport fire department was carried out, on the basis of which the militarized fire department of the
People's Commissariat of Communication Routes of the Soviet Union of the USSR was created. The service life of paramilitary personnel was at least two years. At the end of 1930, the Main Directorate of Public Utilities and the Police Department were separated from the NKVD and transferred to the direct subordination of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR. On March 4, 1931, the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR issues a document on the centralization of the republic's fire service. The departmental ones remained: the fire protection of the NKPS, the Navy and the People's Commissariat of Water Transport. July 20, 1931, by resolution of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR, fire protection was transferred to the People's Commissariat of Public Utilities (NKKH). The Central Fire Department (TsPO) of the NKVD was transformed into the Central Fire Department (TsUPO) of the NKKH. Between 1934 and 1946 the fire services were under the Main Directorate of Fire Security () of the NKVD. Simultaneously with the transfer of the fire department to the jurisdiction of the NKKH, a militarized fire department is being organized under the OGPU to protect strategic facilities. In 1934, the Main Fire Department was formed as part of the NKVD of the USSR. The City Fire Department was responsible for ensuring fire safety in populated areas, while the departmental fire department was responsible for enterprises and transport. To protect fire-hazardous and especially important industrial facilities and large administrative centers, the militarized Fire Protection Service of the NKVD was created. In 1957, the Faculty of Fire Safety and Safety Engineers was opened at the Higher School of the
Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs. Fire testing stations were established in large cities. Since 1958 the fire services became a member of the International Technical Committee for the Prevention and Extinction of Fire. Since 1966, the management of fire protection was carried out by the General Directorate of Fire Protection () in the
Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR, which included the State Fire Supervision, which carried out work on the prevention of fires in buildings and structures under construction and in operation, as well as units of paramilitary fire protection and professional fire protection, which extinguished fires in cities, industrial and other objects of the
national economy. Some ministries and departments such as the
Ministry of Railways of the Soviet Union, the
Ministry of Forestry and Glavneftesnab company had their own departmental fire protection. Militarized fire protection was organized in cities that were the most important administrative centers of the USSR, as well as at industrial and other facilities of particular importance or increased fire and explosion hazard. Professional fire protection was created in cities, urban-type settlements, regional centers, as well as at national economic facilities. Since 1965, units and divisions of the Moscow paramilitary fire department began to be staffed by persons called up for active military service. In 1991, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the firefighting service became part of the successor to the Soviet MVD, the
Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. On December 21, 1994, the Federal Law "On Fire Safety" was adopted, which laid the foundations for a unified fire safety system. On 17 April 1998 the decree "On the organization of state measures to combat fire" was issued and that date was considered as the unofficial professional holiday. In 1999 a presidential decree set the date on 30 April. On April 30, 1999,
Russian president Boris Yeltsin signed a directive that declared April 30 as the celebratory date for Fire Services in Russia, 350 years after their creation. From 1 January 2002 in accordance with a presidential decree issued on 9 November 2001, the Fire Service was transferred from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to the Ministry of Emergencies with all 278,000 firefighters transferred after 84 years under the MVD. ==Forms of fire services in Russia==