Soviet Border Troops

Tsarist and Imperial Russia One can trace the origin of border services in Russia to 1571 and the work of Prince Mikhail Vorotynsky (died 1573) and his Great Abatis Border built along the southern boundaries of the Tsardom of Russia in the 16th century. In 1782 the Empress Catherine II of Russia established Border Customs Guard units, originally manned by Russian Cossacks as well as by low-ranking cavalry troops. In 1810 General Mikhail Barklay de Tolly organized numerous border posts along the entire western Russian border, manned by 11 regiments of Don and Bug Cossacks. Within two years Russian Border Guards became the first to oppose Napoleon's invasion of Russia (June 1812). In 1832 Cossacks and cavalry were replaced by armed customs officials subordinate to the Ministry of Finance in peacetime (in wartime the border guards were automatically transferred to the army). In the same year the government of Emperor Nicholas I established a coast guard – originally to observe coasts of the Black Sea and of the Sea of Azov. Count Sergei Witte, the Russian Minister of Finance (1892–1903) in the government of Alexander III (reigned 1881–1894), reformed the service on 13 October 1893 into the Independent Border Guards Corps (IBGC – a para-military rather than a civilian organization) headed by an army general and reporting directly to the ministry. In 1906 about 40,000 soldiers and officers served in the IBGC – maintaining the defence of the lengthy Imperial border. They served in 8 division-sized districts as well as in the Saint Petersburg headquarters unit. • 29 September 1918 – The headquarters of the hull forces (internal security) VChK (Cheka) • 1 April 1921 – The Office of troops VChK-OGPU • 1 December 1922 – The headquarters of the troops OGPU • 3 October 1923 – Inspectorate of the GPU-OGPU Troops • 6 November 1926 – The Directorate of Border Guard Troops and OGPU In July 1934 the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs, the NKVD, was created. Thus from 10 July 1934, under the NKVD, the protection of the Soviet borders was carried out by the Chief Directorate of Border and Internal Guard (GUPVO). Four years later on 29 September 1938 this became the General Directorate of Border and Interior Troops (GUPVV). By a Council of People's Commissioner's resolution of February 2, 1939, six separate departments were created within the Main Directorate of Border and Internal Troops within the NKVD of the USSR: • Chief/Main Directorate of Border Troops (GUPV) • Main Directorate for the Protection of Railway Facilities • Main Directorate for the Protection of Particularly Important Industrial Enterprises • Main Directorate of Convoy Troops (GUKV) – jointly manned by the Red Army and the NKVD • Main Directorate of Military Support (GUVS) • Main Military Construction Directorate Among the border districts formed that year was the Leningrad Border District. NKVD Border Troops consisted of infantry, cavalry, reconnaissance, naval and aviation units. Since the 1920s, the distinctive part of Soviet Border Troops uniform was the medium-green colored headgear and insignia. The Russian Empire's Separate Corps of the Border Guard has it distinction since 1893. The color is also present on a maritime Border Troops ensign. After the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, the Border Troops assisted the pacification of the newly acquired Soviet territory adjoining the state border. The mass execution of Romanian civilians known as the Fântâna Albă massacre happened at this time. Second World War On March 8, 1939, by the decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR "On the Reorganization of the Command of Border and Internal Troops," the NKVD border and internal troops were divided. The same day, a reform of the NKVD border troops took place, during which they were disaggregated. In the northern spring of 1939, 18 directorates of border troops were active within the NKVD districts: Murmansk District; Karelian District; Leningrad District; UPV NKVD Belarusian SSR; UPV NKVD of the Ukrainian SSR; UPV NKVD Crimean ASSR; the Georgian District; the Armenian District; the Azerbaijan District; the Turkmen District; the Central Asian Border District; the Kazakh District; the Buryato-Mongol District; the West Siberian District; the Chita District; the Khabarovsk District, and the UPV NKVD of the Primorsky District. As of June 1941, the composition of the Border Troops and the naval border guard was: • 18 border districts; • 94 border detachments; • eight separate detachments of border courts; • 23 separate border commandant's offices; • 10 separate aviation squadrons; • two cavalry regiments. The personnel of the Border Troops and the NKVD Maritime Border Guard amounted to 168,135 people. The Border Troops and the Maritime Border Guard were equipped with: • 11 patrol ships; • 223 patrol boats; • 180 raid and auxiliary boats (414 units in total); • and 129 aircraft. In wartime, the Border Troops fought on the frontline. Border Troops units on the western frontier saw particularly fierce combat in the first weeks of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the USSR, in June–July 1941. They bore the brunt of the initial assault, and suffered high casualty rates. The 17th Frontier Guard Detachment of the Border Troops were among the defenders of the Brest Fortress. On June 5, 1943, the Krygyz Border District was established. The Border Troops were involved in all major campaigns of the war. Notably, the 105th, 157th, and 333rd Border Troops regiments (operating like regular army units) took part in the Battle for Berlin in 1945. During and after the war, 150 border guards were awarded the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union and over 13,000 of them were decorated with different orders and medals. The Soviet border was the longest in the world (from Norway to North Korea) and it compassed harsh terrain and climates; accordingly the Border Troops had significant manpower, an intensive maritime presence, and built up a dense and sophisticated system of field engineering devices. Post-War history at the Khorgos Soviet-Chinese frontier post On October 17, 1949, the border troops were transferred from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the MVD, to the Ministry of State Security (MGB). The MGB and MVD merged again in 1953, orchestrated by Lavrentiy Beria, who was then arrested and executed. The KGB took on the mantle of the NKGB/MGB and, in 1954, broke off from the reformed MVD. In 1953 the Krygyz Border District was disestablished, and in 1954, the Kazakh Border District was renamed the Eastern Border District. • 9 June 1956 – GUPVV USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs • 2 April 1957 – GUPVV USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs was disbanded in connection with the transfer of the border troops to the KGB. The Border Troops saw combat in 1969 in border clashes with Chinese soldiers on islands in the Ussuri River. On October 23, 1975, the Baltic Border District was formed on the basis of the border guard forces of the Northwestern Border Guard District located in the territories of the Estonian SSR, the Latvian SSR, the Lithuanian SSR and the Kaliningrad Oblast. The Border Guards were involved in the Soviet–Afghan War and a number of them were awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union for their bravery during these conflicts. From the Central Asian Border District, two officers became Heroes of the Soviet Union. On June 28, 1982, Captain , commander of a Mi-8 helicopter of the 23rd Separate Aviation Regiment of the Central Asian District, was awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union. He had completed over 2,000 combat sorties, flying day and night, in the most difficult weather conditions. Lieutenant Colonel V.I. Ukhabov was also posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union on November 10, 1983. On the night of October 11-12, 1983, he personally led a combined combat detachment, which, operating in difficult high-altitude conditions, fought its way through to units repelling attacks by superior enemy forces. At the decisive moment of the battle, he personally led his personnel into the attack and was mortally wounded. The most notable border control device was the trace-control strip () - a wide strip of plowed soil to make it apparent where a crossing had occurred. Dissolution and legacy . With the Dissolution of the Soviet Union, Border Troops formations in most Soviet republics became border guards of the respective independent states. On August 18, 1992, Eastern Border District units were divided between Kazakhstan and Russia. Most of the district's units and formations became part of the Kazakhstan Border Troops. The Red Banner Baltic Border District was disbanded on 2 September 1992. The border units and activities in the Kaliningrad Oblast were transferred to the Kaliningrad Group of Border Forces. Most of the remaining Border Guard Districts on rUssian soil endured until another reorganisation in 1998. The new states' border guards mostly changed their name and subordination. Armenia and the new state of Tajikistan were unique exceptions. Tajikistan's border with Afghanistan was guarded by the Border Guard Service of Russia (engaging in heavy fighting) until the late 1990s under a special treaty. Until 2024-25, Armenia's border was still guarded by Russians under similar conditions. In Russia and some other post-Soviet states, the Border Troops retained some Soviet traditions, most notably the green shoulder boards on their uniforms and "Border Guards Day" (), an official holiday celebrated both by active service and former border guards. Successors • State Border Service of Azerbaijan • Armenian Border Guard • Border Guard Service of Belarus • Border Police of Georgia • Border Service of Kazakhstan • State Border Guard Service of Kyrgyzstan • Moldovan Border Police • Border Guard Service of Russia • Tajik Border Troops • State Border Service of Turkmenistan • State Border Guard Service of Ukraine • Border Troops of Uzbekistan == Personnel, politics, and training ==