Border Service of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation


The Border Service of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation is a branch of Federal Security Service of Russia tasked with patrol of the Russian border.
The terms Border Service of Russia and Border Force of Russia are also common, while in English, the terms "Border Guards" and "Border Troops" are frequently used to designate this service. The Border service numbers around 170,000 active members, which includes the Russian maritime border guard units.

History

Tsarist and Imperial Russia

One can trace the origin of the Russian border service to 1571 and the work of Prince Mikhail Vorotynsky 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. In 1832 Cossacks and cavalry were replaced by armed customs officials subordinate to the Ministry of Finance in peacetime. 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 in the government of Alexander III, reformed the service on 13 October 1893 into the Independent Border Guards Corps 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.

Soviet period

Soviet Border Troops, were the militarized border guard of the Soviet Union, subordinated to its subsequently reorganized state security agency: first to Cheka/OGPU, then to NKVD/MGB and, finally, to KGB. Accordingly, they were known as NKVD Border Troops and KGB Border Troops. Unlike border guards of many other countries, Soviet Border Troops were a centralized force including also the maritime border guard units.

Modern period

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Federal Border Guard Service of Russia was created on December 30, 1993 as a separate government agency. The agency retained some old traditions, most notably the dark green-coloured uniform and "Border Guarder's Day". The First minister of the FBS was Andrei Nikolayev,a young and outspoken general who later became deputy of the State Duma. Russian Border Guards were also stationed outside of Russia most notably in southern Tajikistan, in order to guard the border with Afghanistan, until summer 2005. On the Afghan-Tajik border on many occasions they were engaged in heavy fighting with drug-traffickers and Islamic extremists. Armenia's closed border with Turkey and open border with Iran is also still guarded by the Russians. On March 11, 2003, the Russian president Vladimir Putin changed the status of the Border Guard Service from a separate agency into a branch of the Russian Federal Security Service. The current head of the Border Guard Service of Russia is General Vladimir Pronichev. The Border Guard Service of Russia is tasked with a defence of the longest national border in the world.
In April 2012 Vladimir Pronichev announced that the country was planning to build 20 frontier posts in the Arctic region. Reasons for this development can be found in the increased abilities to explore hydrocarbon deposits in the north. It will also give Russia an ability to patrol and service the Northern Sea Route.
In July 2014 Ukraine opened a criminal case against the head of the Border Guard Service Vladimir Kulishov; he was accused of financing “illegal military groups” in Eastern Ukraine who at the time fought against the Ukrainian army.

Mission

Responsibilities of the Border Guard Service of Russia include:

Command

FPS Russia, the Federal Border Service, active from 30 December 1994 to 30 June 2003, was headed by a single centralized system, which included:
Changes in the regional structure of the Border Service, instead of ten regional border for the new scheme includes regional offices of the border and 30 border offices. Includes the Maritime Border Guard.
Regional border districts:
As adopted by presidential decree No. 457, dated April 23, 2001, the following educational institutions form part of the BS-FSS:
Enterprises, institutions and organizations which are subordinate to the Border Service:

Timeline

From 1938 to 1957:
The border troops :

Aircraft