State Border Committee of the Republic of Belarus
The State Border Committee of the Republic of Belarus is a state security agency that manages the international borders of Belarus. Its armed paramilitary force is known as the Border Guard Service, carrying out committee orders and policy. The primary tasks of the State Border Committee include: border policy and enhancing border security.
The service covers the borders with Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.
History
The State Border Committee of the Republic of Belarus traces its history back to the troops that oversaw the border with the German Empire in 1918 and the formal creation of the Soviet Border Troops in the same year.In 1939, a border with Germany was established, but the previous Polish-Soviet border was not liquidated. Upon the German invasion of the Soviet Union, approximately 16,000 of the 20,000 border troops became casualties in the first days of the war. The service was essentially recreated from scratch in 1944.
On September 20, 1991, the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Belarus passed legislation subordinating the border troops to itself, effectively creating a national service. Most of the legislation governing the service was adopted by August 1993. From 1994 to 1997, the first border units were formed and deployed, and agreements were made with neighboring countries to facilitate cooperation between their respective border troops. On January 11, 1997, President Alexander Lukashenko signed a decree renaming the General Directorate to the State Committee of the Border Troops.
On September 18, 2020, the committee announced it had tightened border security with Poland and Lithuania, calling up reserves to patrol the borders although Poland and Lithuania said their borders with Belarus remained open.
After the start of the Belarus–EU border crisis, the leadership of the State Border Committee, including its chairman Lappo, was included in the sanctions lists of the European Union, the United States and Canada on December 2, 2021. Switzerland joined the EU sanctions on December 20.
Structure
The Border Service of Belarus controls 11 territorial units, the Border Guard Institute, and a Military Hospital:| Unit | Founded | Notes |
| Brest Border Group | 1944 | Named after Felix Dzerzhinsky |
| Lida Border Group | 1997 | |
| Smorgon Border Group | 1992 | |
| Grodno Border Group | 1944 | |
| Gomel Border Group | 1997 | |
| Pinsk Border Detachment | 1993 | |
| Polotsk Border Detachment | 1992 | |
| Mozyr Border Detachment | 2014 | |
| Border Control Detachment "Minsk" | 1945 | It serves Minsk National Airport |
| Logistics Support Group | 1938 | |
| Communications and Support Group | 2014 | |
| Border Guard Service Institute | 1993 | |
| Border Guard Military Hospital | 1994 |