Soviet Border Troops

The Soviet Border Troops were the border guard of the Soviet Union, subordinated to the Soviet state security agency: first to the Cheka/OGPU, then to NKVD/MGB and, finally, to the KGB. Accordingly, they were known as NKVD Border Security and KGB Border Troops. Unlike the border guards of many other countries, Soviet Border Troops also included the maritime border guarding units, and aviation units.
The mission of the Border Troops included repulsing armed incursions into Soviet territory; preventing illegal crossings of the border or the transport of weapons, explosives, contraband or subversive literature across the border; monitoring the observance of established procedures at border crossing points; monitoring the observance by Soviet and foreign ships of navigation procedures in Soviet territorial waters; and assisting state agencies in the preservation of natural resources and the protection of the environment from pollution. Border guards were authorized to examine documents and possessions of persons crossing the borders and to confiscate articles; to conduct inquiries in cases of violations of the state border; and to take such actions as arrest, search and interrogation of individuals suspected of border violations.
With the end of the Soviet Union, the Soviet Border troops remained under the command of the Commonwealth of Independent States but later were divided between the Union's constituent republics.

History

Tsarist and Imperial Russia

One can trace the origin of border services in Russia 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.
In 1934, under the NKVD, Border Troops were immediately subordinated to the GUPVO. In 1939 they were reorganized into the GUPV.
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 parts of headwear and insignia. The color is also present on a maritime Border Troops ensign.

World War II

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.
Border Troops units on the western USSR frontier saw particularly fierce combat in the first weeks of the German invasion of the USSR. They bore the brunt of the initial German assault, and due to this, suffered high casualty rates. Border Troop servicemen were among the defenders of the Brest Fortress.
Border troops were involved in all major campaigns of the war. Notably, the 105th, 157th, and 333rd Border Troops regiments 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.

Post-War history

In wartime, the Border Troops would become a frontline combat service. The Border Troops also saw combat in 1969 in border clashes with Chinese soldiers on islands in the Ussuri River.
After the formation of the KGB, Soviet Border Troops became subordinated to this agency and remained so until the dissolution of the Soviet Union. As such, the Troops were concentrating on the tasks of preventing espionage infiltrations. The Border Guards were involved in the Soviet–Afghan War and a number of them were even awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union for their bravery during these conflicts.
The Soviet border was the longest in the world and it comprised harsh terrain and climates; accordingly the Border Troops employed significant manpower, intensive maritime presence, and a dense and sophisticated system of field engineering devices. The most notable in that system was the trace-control strip - a wide strip of plowed soil to make it apparent where a crossing had occurred.
The Border Troops consisted of conscripts drafted by the same system as for the Soviet Army, and a small number of professional enlistees. Officers were trained in specialized academies. Both conscripts and officer candidates for Border Troops were carefully selected and checked by the KGB. This made service in the troops privileged.

Landing Assault units

The Border Troops had Landing Assault Manoeuvre Groups. The LAMGs of the KGB's Border Troops were temporary task forces, organised for a period of time by a Border Guard Detachment, the border guard equivalent of an army brigade. The BG detachments formed temporary task forces, equivalent to battalions, for manoeuvre warfare. The land component units were called Motorised Manoeuvre Group and consisted of 3 or 4 Motorised Manoeuvre Border Outposts. The 1st MMBO was armed with BMP-1 or BMP-2, the 2nd MMBO was armed with BTR-70 and the 3rd MMBO was armed with BTR-60PB. Each MMBO had 5 BMPs or BTRs. The MMG also had a motorised mortar battery, an anti-tank platoon and additional support units for a total of ca. 300 men. The fire and service support units were motorised with GAZ-66 light trucks. The Landing Assault Manoeuvre Group formed the airmobile component, which operated in concert with the MMGs. While both types of units were commanded by Border Troops Lieutenant-Colonels, with manpower of less than 50 an LAMG number far fewer men than both the Border Troops's MMGs and the Landing Assault Battalions of the Ground Forces. An LAMG consisted of a command element and two Landing Assault Manoeuvre Border Outposts and had the following structure:
Landing Assault Manoeuvre Group

command group : 8 men - Commander ; NCO; Translator; Paramedic; Radio Operator; 3 Sappers
1st Landing Assault Manoeuvre Border Outpost : 21 men
* Commander
* Fire Section : 10 men - SPG-9 team of 3 men; AGS-17 team of 2 men; PK machine gun team of 2 men; RPG-7 team of 2 men and 1 Sniper / Radio Operator armed with SVD and equipped with R-392 radio
* Rifle Section : 10 men - 1 Commander and 9 Riflemen, armed with Kalashnikov rifles and equipped with 1 R-392 radio
2nd Landing Assault Manoeuvre Border Outpost : 21 men, identical to 1st LAMBO

The LAMG relied on Mil Mi-24 attack helicopters and Mi-8MTV-1 assault helicopters from the KGB Border Troops' own aviation assets.

Commanders of the Soviet Border Guards

Aram Martirosyan, 1940–1942
Nikolai Stakhanov, 1942–1952
Pavel Zyryanov, 1952–1956
Timofey Strokach, 1956–1957
Pavel Zyryanov, 1957–1972
Vadim Matrosov, 1972–1989
Ilya Kalinichenko, 1989–1991
Legal authority

The legal status, duties, and rights of the Border Troops were set forth in the Law on the State Border, confirmed by the Supreme Soviet on November 24, 1982. Article 28 defined the basic duties of the Border Troops. Their duties included repulsing armed incursions into Soviet territory; preventing illegal crossings of the border or the transport of weapons, explosives, contraband, or subversive literature across the border; monitoring the observance of established procedures at border crossing points; monitoring the observance by Soviet and foreign ships of navigation procedures in Soviet territorial waters; and assisting state agencies in the preservation of natural resources and the protection of the environment from pollution. Border guards were authorized to examine documents and possessions of persons crossing the borders and to confiscate articles; to conduct inquiries in cases of violations of the state border; and to take such actions as arrest, search, and interrogation of individuals suspected of border violations.

Structure

The Border Troops strength was estimated in 1989 to be in the range of 230,000 men. Although under the operational authority of the KGB, the Border Troops were conscripted as part of the biannual call-up of the Ministry of Defense, and their induction and discharge were regulated by the 1967 Law on Universal Military Service, which covered all armed forces of the Soviet Union.
On top of the Border Troops stood the Main Directorate of the Border Troops, which played a role similar to that of the General Staff for the armed forces. The Main Directorate was subordinated to the First Deputy Chairman of the KGB. The Commander of the Border Troops normally held the rank of lieutenant general when he took over the position and later was promoted to Colonel general. Out of the three officers who commanded the troops the second one has reached the rank of Army general at that position. The Commander had several Lieutenant generals and Major generals as his deputies. The Main Directorate administered approximately nine border districts, which covered the nearly 63,000 kilometers of the state border and additional smaller formations and independent units. Border district boundaries were distinct from civil or military district boundaries. At the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 the Border Troops included the following operational forces: