RIAN archive 626399 Karpov frontier post

The Soviet Border Troops () were the

border guard A border guard of a country is a national security agency that ensures border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard (as in Germany, Italy or Ukraine) and rescue service duties. Name and uniform In diff ...

of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, subordinated to the Soviet state security agency: first to the ''

Cheka The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission ( rus, Всероссийская чрезвычайная комиссия, r=Vserossiyskaya chrezvychaynaya komissiya, p=fsʲɪrɐˈsʲijskəjə tɕrʲɪzvɨˈtɕæjnəjə kɐˈmʲisʲɪjə, links=yes), ...

''/

OGPU The Joint State Political Directorate ( rus, Объединённое государственное политическое управление, p=ɐbjɪdʲɪˈnʲɵn(ː)əjə ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əjə pəlʲɪˈtʲitɕɪskəjə ʊprɐˈv ...

, then to

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

/ MGB and, finally, to the

KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...

. 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 (i.e., a

coast guard A coast guard or coastguard is a Maritime Security Regimes, maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with cust ...

). 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

In 1934, under the NKVD, Border Troops were immediately subordinated to the GUPVO (abbreviated "Chief Directorate of Border and Internal Guard"). In 1939 they were reorganized into the GUPV ("Chief Directorate of Border Troops"). 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 Headgear, headwear, or headdress is any element of clothing which is worn on one's head, including hats, helmets, turbans and many other types. Headgear is worn for many purposes, including protection against the elements, decoration, or for ...

and insignia (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 Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

World War II

After the

Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, officially the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and also known as the Hitler–Stalin Pact and the Nazi–Soviet Pact, was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Ge ...

, 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 The Fântâna Albă massacre took place on 1 April 1941 in Northern Bukovina when up to 3,000 civilians were killed by Soviet Border Troops as they attempted to cross the border from the Soviet Union to Romania near the village of Fântâna Alb� ...

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 (June–July 1941). They bore the brunt of the initial

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

assault, and due to this, suffered high casualty rates. Border Troop servicemen were among the defenders of the

Brest Fortress Brest Fortress (; ; ; ), formerly known as Brest-Litovsk Fortress, is a 19th-century fortress in Brest, Belarus. In 1965, the title Hero Fortress was given to the fortress to commemorate the defence of the frontier stronghold during the fi ...

. 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 The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula–Od ...

in 1945. During and after the war, 150 border guards were awarded the title of the

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...

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 The Ussuri ( ; ) or Wusuli ( ) is a river that runs through Khabarovsk and Primorsky Krais, Russia and the southeast region of Northeast China in the province of Heilongjiang. It rises in the Sikhote-Alin mountain range, flowing north and for ...

. After the formation of the

, Soviet Border Troops became subordinated to this agency and remained so until the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

. As such, the Troops were concentrating on the tasks of preventing

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...

infiltrations. The Border Guards were involved in the

Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War took place in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from December 1979 to February 1989. Marking the beginning of the 46-year-long Afghan conflict, it saw the Soviet Union and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic o ...

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 (From Norway to North Korea) 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

conscript Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it contin ...

s drafted by the same system as for the

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

, 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

. This made service in the troops privileged.

Landing Assault units

The Border Troops had Landing Assault Manoeuvre Groups (sing. ''десантно-штурмовая маневренная группа'' (''ДШМГ'')). The LAMGs of the KGB's Border Troops were temporary task forces, organised for a period of time by a Border Guard Detachment (''пограничный отряд'' (''ПОГО'')), 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 (''мото-маневренная группа'' (''ммг'')) and consisted of 3 or 4 Motorised Manoeuvre Border Outposts (sing. ''мото-маневренная пограничная застава''), the Border Troops equivalent of a company). The 1st MMBO was armed with

BMP-1 The BMP-1 is a Soviet Union, Soviet Amphibious vehicle, amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle that has been in service from 1966 to the present. BMP stands for ''Boyevaya Mashina Pyekhoty 1'' (), meaning "infantry fighting vehicle, 1st ...

BMP-2 The BMP-2 (''Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty'', , literally "combat machine/vehicle f theinfantry") is an amphibious infantry fighting vehicle introduced in the 1980s in the Soviet Union, following on from the BMP-1 of the 1960s. Development his ...

, the 2nd MMBO was armed with

BTR-70 The BTR-70 is an eight-wheeled armored personnel carrier () originally developed by the Soviet Union during the late 1960s under the manufacturing code GAZ-4905. On August 21, 1972, it was accepted into Soviet service and would later be widely exp ...

and the 3rd MMBO was armed with

BTR-60PB The BTR-60 is the first vehicle in a series of Soviet eight-wheeled armoured personnel carriers (APCs). It was developed in the late 1950s as a replacement for the BTR-152 and was seen in public for the first time in 1961. BTR stands for ''bronet ...

. 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 The GAZ-66 is a Soviet Union, Soviet and later Russian four wheel drive, 4x4 all-road (off-road) military truck produced by GAZ. It was one of the main cargo vehicles for motorized infantry of the Soviet Army and is still employed in former Sovi ...

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 (''группа управления''): 8 men - Commander (''начальник ДШМГ''); NCO; Translator; Paramedic; Radio Operator; 3 Sappers * 1st Landing Assault Manoeuvre Border Outpost (''1 ДШПЗ'') : 21 men ** Commander (''начальник ДШПЗ'') ** Fire Section (''огневое отделение''): 10 men - SPG-9 team of 3 men;

AGS-17 The AGS-17 Plamya ( Russian: Пламя; ''Flame'') is a Soviet-designed automatic grenade launcher in service worldwide. Description The AGS-17 is a heavy infantry support weapon designed to operate from a tripod or mounted on an installation ...

team of 2 men;

PK machine gun The PK (, transliterated as ''Pulemyot Kalashnikova'', or "Kalashnikov's machine gun"), is a belt-fed general-purpose machine gun, chambered for the 7.62×54mmR rimmed cartridge. The modernized and most commonly known variant, known as the PKM ...

team of 2 men;

RPG-7 The RPG-7 is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank, rocket launcher. The RPG-7 and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union, and are now manufactured by the Russian company Bazalt. The weapon has t ...

team of 2 men and 1 Sniper / Radio Operator armed with SVD and equipped with R-392 radio ** Rifle Section (''стрелковое отделение''): 10 men - 1 Commander and 9 Riflemen, armed with

Kalashnikov rifle Kalashnikov rifles (), also known as the AK platform, AK rifles, or simply the AK, are a family of assault rifles based on Mikhail Kalashnikov's original design. They are officially known in Russian as ''avtomat Kalashnikova'' (), and informally ...

s (some with night vision sights) and equipped with 1 R-392 radio * 2nd Landing Assault Manoeuvre Border Outpost (''2 ДШПЗ''): 21 men, identical to 1st LAMBO The LAMG relied on

Mil Mi-24 The Mil Mi-24 (; NATO reporting name: Hind) is a large helicopter gunship, attack helicopter and low-capacity transport helicopter, troop transport with room for eight passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and was introduced ...

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 The Supreme Soviet () was the common name for the legislative bodies (parliaments) of the Soviet socialist republics (SSR) in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). These soviets were modeled after the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, establ ...

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 The Armed Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, also known as the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union, the Red Army (1918–1946) and the Soviet Army (1946–1991), were the armed forces of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republi ...

. On top of the Border Troops stood the Main Directorate of the Border Troops (MDBT, ), 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 second highest-ranking official in the committee). The Commander of the Border Troops normally held the rank of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

when he took over the position and later was promoted to

Colonel general Colonel general is a military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically General officer#Old European system, general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, ...

. Out of the three officers who commanded the troops the second one (Vadim Alexandrovich Matrosov) has reached the rank of

Army general Army general or General of the army is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the French Revolutionary System. Army general is normally the highest rank used in peacetime. In countries that adopt the general officer fou ...

at that position. The Commander had several Lieutenant generals and Major generals as his deputies. The Main Directorate administered approximately nine border districts (pogranichnye okruga), 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:

Main Directorate of the Border Troops

Main Directorate of the Border Troops (''Главное управление пограничных войск'') * Command (''Руководство'') ** Commander -

Lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

; Office of the Commander * Secretariat (''Секретариат'') * Staff (''Штаб'') - Lieutenant general (the Chief of Staff of the BT is simultaneously the First Deputy Commander of the BT) * Military Political Directorate (''Военно-политическое управление'') - Major general / Lieutenant general * Combat Training Directorate (''Управление боевой подготовки'') - Major general * Operations Directorate (''Оперативное управление'') - Lieutenant general * Naval Directorate (''Морское управление'') -

Rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

* Engineering Technical Directorate (''Инженерно-техническое управление'') - Lieutenant general * Personnel Directorate (''Управление кадров'') - Major general / Lieutenant general * Automotive and Armored Fighting Vehicles Department (''Отдел автобронетанковой техники'') - Major general * Aviation Department (''Авиационный отдел'') - Major general of aviation * Military Construction Department (''Военно-строительный отдел'') - Major general * Military Education Establishments Department (''Отдел военно-учебных заведений'') - Major general / Lieutenant general * Military Scientific Directorate (''Военно-научное управление'') - Major general / Lieutenant general * Military Medical Department (''Военно-медицинский отдел'') - Major general * Military Veterinary Service (''Военно-ветеринарная служба'') * Financial Department (''Финансовый отдел'') - Major general * Rear Services (''Тыл ПВ'') - Major general / Lieutenant general Under the Main Directorate was the

Border Troops Staff

Border Troops Staff (''Штаб пограничных войск'') * Chief of Staff / 1st Deputy Commander of the Border Troops - Lieutenant general ** First Deputy Chief of Staff - Lieutenant general * 1st Directorate (Operations) (''1-е Управление'' (''оперативное'')) - Major general / Lieutenant general * Directorate of Organization and Mobilization (''Организационно-мобилизационное управление'') - Major general * 3rd Department (Signals and Warning Systems) (''3-й отдел'' (''связи и сигнализации'') - Major general * Department of Information and Analysis (Информационно-аналитический отдел) - Major general * Directorate of Border-crossing Checkpoints (''Управление КПП'') - Major general * Department of Programs in Planning (''Отдел программ планирования'') - Major general

Directly subordinated to the MDBT

Border Districts

The Border Districts were combined arms formations of the KGB, which included border guards similar to motor-rifle infantry, border crossings and their organic aviation units (air regiments, squadrons and flights), signals (battalions and companies), combat engineers, construction engineers (battalions and companies), medical, repair and supply units. The districts bordering oceans and seas also included brigades of ''guard ships'' (''сторожевые корабли'' (''СКР'') - patrol frigates, corvettes and boats, which next to their patrol tasks also had substantial anti-submarine role). The personnel of the Naval Service within the Border Troops held navy style ranks. The Chief of the Naval Directorate within the Main Directorate of the Border Troops was the highest-ranking officer in the service with the rank of

. The Maritime Border Troops of the Russian Border Troops (Ru:Морские части Пограничных Войск КГБ СССР) operated within the twelve-mile limit of Soviet territorial waters. It was equipped with frigates and corvettes, fast patrol boats, hydrofoils, helicopters, and light aircraft. In 1991 the Border Troops numbered ten Border Districts (singular: ''Пограничный округ,'' abbr. ''ПО''): Note: The border districts and their subordinated formations are listed clockwise, starting with the easternmost area of the Soviet Union.

= Northeastern Border District

= The Northeastern Border District () had its headquarters in

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (, ) is a city and the administrative center of Kamchatka Krai, Russia. It is located in the Far East of the country and lies along the coast of Avacha Bay by the Pacific Ocean, nearby Khalaktyrskoye Lake. As of the 202 ...

. It guarded the easternmost territories of the Soviet Union from

Wrangel Island Wrangel Island (, ; , , ) is an island of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is the List of islands by area, 92nd-largest island in the world and roughly the size of Crete. Located in the Arctic Ocean between the Chukchi Sea and East Si ...

and Mys Shmidta on the Arctic Ocean through the Bering Strait, the coastline of the Chukotka and

Kamchatka Peninsula The Kamchatka Peninsula (, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and western coastlines, respectively. Immediately offshore along the Pacific ...

s to the island of

Simushir Simushir (, , ), meaning ''Large Island'' in Ainu, is an uninhabited volcanic island near the center of the Kuril Islands chain in the Sea of Okhotsk in the northwest Pacific Ocean. It was formerly known as Marikan. History Simushir was inha ...

, where it met the Pacific Border District's AOR. The security of the

Sea of Okhotsk The Sea of Okhotsk; Historically also known as , or as ; ) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands on the southeast, Japan's island of Hokkaido on the sou ...

was also within the tasks of the NEBD and from Simushir its AOR ran in a strait line to the northern tip of

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, p=səxɐˈlʲin) is an island in Northeast Asia. Its north coast lies off the southeastern coast of Khabarovsk Krai in Russia, while its southern tip lies north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. An islan ...

and from there it continued to the mainland and the village of

Ayan, Russia Ayan () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, rural locality (a ''village#Russia, selo'') and the administrative center of Ayano-Maysky District of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, located on the shore of a well-protected bay of the Sea of Okhotsk ...

. Land units: * 110th '' Koenigsbergskiy, awarded the

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...

'' Border Detachment () —

Anadyr Anadyr may refer to: *Anadyr (town), a town and the administrative center of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia * Anadyr District * Anadyr Estuary * Anadyr (river), a river in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia * Anadyr Highlands * Anadyr Lowlands * A ...

* 60th ''Awarded the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

and the

Order of Alexander Nevsky The Order of Alexander Nevsky () is an Order (distinction), order of merit of the Russia, Russian Federation named in honour of saint Alexander Nevsky (1220–1263) and bestowed to civil servants for twenty years or more of highly meritorious ser ...

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

Kuril Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands are a volcanic archipelago administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the Russian Far East. The islands stretch approximately northeast from Hokkaido in Japan to Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, separating the ...

'' Border Detachment () —

* 61st ''Magadanskiy'' Border Detachment () —

Magadan Magadan ( rus, Магадан, p=məɡɐˈdan) is a Port of Magadan, port types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative centre of Magadan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the isthmus of the Staritsky Peninsula by the ...

Naval units: * 1st ''Red Banner'' Division of Border Guard Ships () —

** 1st Brigade of Border Guard Ships () ** 2nd Brigade of Border Guard Ships () ** Supply Ships Battalion () (some sources list the battalion (''divizyon'' ()) as a unit of the 1st Brigade) Air units: *15th Separate Aviation Regiment () — Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky – Yelizovo Airport (helicopters detached to Yelizovo – Khalakhtyrka Airfield) ** Detachment at Klyuchi-1 Air Base * 21st Separate Aviation Squadron () — Magadan – Sokol Airport ** Forward Operating Location at

Okhotsk Okhotsk ( rus, Охотск, p=ɐˈxotsk) is an urban locality (a work settlement) and the administrative center of Okhotsky District of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, located at the mouth of the Okhota River on the Sea of Okhotsk. Population: ...

* 7th Separate Aviation Squadron () — Providence Bay Airfield ** Forward Operating Locations at Anadyr Airport, Mys Shmidta Airport,

Cape Dezhnev Cape Dezhnyov or Cape Dezhnev (; ; Iñupiaq language, Inupiaq: ''Nuuġaq''), formerly known as East Cape or Cape Vostochny, is a Cape (geography), cape that forms the easternmost mainland point of Asia. It is located on the Chukchi Peninsula i ...

, Vankarem, Kresta Bay, Saint Lawrence Bay and Egvekinot

= Red Banner Pacific Border District

= The Red Banner Pacific Border District (

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

: ''Краснознамённый Тихоокеанский пограничный округ'') had its headquarters in

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...

. It guarded the coastline of the larger southern Kuril Islands from

Kunashir Kunashir Island (; ; ), possibly meaning ''Black Island'' or ''Grass Island'' in Ainu language, Ainu, is the southernmost island of the Kuril Islands. The island has been under Russia, Russian administration since the end of World War II, when S ...

, through the southern tip of

it reached the Asian mainland at the border between the

Khabarovsk Krai Khabarovsk Krai (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (a krai) of Russia. It is located in the Russian Far East and is administratively part of the Far Eastern Federal District. The administrative centre of the krai is the types of ...

and

Primorsky Krai Primorsky Krai, informally known as Primorye, is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (a krais of Russia, krai) of Russia, part of the Far Eastern Federal District in the Russian Far East. The types of inhabited localities in Russia, ...

. From there the district's AOR followed the coastline, the border with North Korea and the border with China to the place where the territory of the Primorsky Krai met the territory of the

and the AOR of the Red Banner Far Eastern Border District. Land units: * 114th ''Rushtukskiy'', ''Awarded the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky (2nd grade)'' Border Detachment (''114-й ПОГО'') — Goryachiy Plyazh,

* 52nd ''

skiy Rizhskiy, Awarded the

'' Border Detachment (''52-й ПОГО'') —

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (, , ) is a city and the administrative center of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia. It is located on Sakhalin Island in the Russian Far East, north of Japan. Gas and oil extraction as well as processing are amongst the main industries on ...

* 62nd ''Nakhodkinskiy'' Sea Border Detachment (''62-й МПОГО'') —

Nakhodka Nakhodka ( rus, Нахо́дка, p=nɐˈxotkə, means "''finding''") is a port city in Primorsky Krai, Russia, located on the Trudny Peninsula jutting into the Nakhodka Bay of the Sea of Japan, about east of Vladivostok (169 kilometers by ...

* 59th ''Khasanskiy'' ''Red Banner'' and awarded the Order of Kutuzov (2nd grade) Border Detachment (''59-й ПОГО'') —

Posyet Posyet () is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) in Khasansky District of Primorsky Krai, Russia, and an ice-free port on the Possiet Bay. Population: Etymology It is named after the Russian navigator Konstantin Posyet (1819–1899) ...

: **1st Border outpost "Mramornaya" **2nd Border outpost "named after Ovchinnikov" **3rd Border outpost "Sinny Utyos" **4th Border outpost "Slavyanka land" **5th Border outpost "Ryazanovka" **6th Border outpost "Shkolnaya" **7th Border outpost "Ugolovaya" **8th Border outpost "Verkhnya" **9th Border outpost "named after Krainov" **10th Border outpost "Ugolnaya" **11th Border outpost "Utinaya" **12th Border outpost "Zareche" **13th Border outpost "named after A. E. Makhalin" **14th Border outpost "named after P.F. Tereshkin" **15th Border outpost "Pesechanaya" **16th Border outpost "Zarubino" **17th Border outpost "Slavyanka sea" **18th Border outpost "Barabash" **19th Border outpost "Kraskino" **20th Border outpost "Checkpoint Khasan" **21st Border outpost "Posyet Checkpoint" * 58th ''Grodekovskiy'' ''Red Banner'' and awarded the Order of Kutuzov (2nd grade) Border Detachment (''58-й ПОГО'') — Pogranichny * 69th ''Kamen-Rybolovskiy'' ''Red Banner'' Border Detachment (''69-й ПОГО'') — Kamen-Rybolov * 57th ''Ussuriyskiy'' '' Red Banner and awarded the

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

, "V. R. Menzhinsky"'' Border Detachment (''57-й ПОГО'') —

Dalnerechensk Dalnerechensk () is a town in Primorsky Krai, Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends a ...

* 12th Training Border Detachment (''12-й УПОГО'') — Perevoznaya * Vladivostok Border Entry Seaport (''Владивостокский МПП'') —

* Separate Border-crossing Checkpoint ''«

»'' (''ОКПП «Находка»'') * Separate Border-crossing Checkpoint ''«

»'' (''ОКПП «Владивосток»'') Naval units: * 8th ''Awarded the

'' Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''8-я ОБрПСКР'') — Malokurilskoye,

Shikotan Shikotan, also known as Shpanberg or Spanberg, is an island in the Kurils administered by the Russian Federation as part of Yuzhno-Kurilsky District of Sakhalin Oblast. It is claimed by Japan as the titular , organized as part of Nemuro Subpre ...

* 9th Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''9-я ОБрПСКР'') — Korsakov,

* 19th Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (19''-я ОБрПСКР'') —

Nevelsk Nevelsk (; , ''Honto'') is a port town and the administrative center of Nevelsky District of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia, located on the southwest coast of the Sakhalin Island, from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the administrative center of the oblast. Pop ...

* 16th ''Sakhalinskaya'' ''Red Banner'' Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''16-я ОБрПСКР'') —

* 10th Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''10-я ОБрПСКР'') —

* 15th Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''15-я ОБрПСКР'') —

iver patrol Air units: *11th Separate Aviation Regiment (''11-й ОАП'') — Vladivostok – Knevichi Airport ** Detachment at

Sovetskaya Gavan Sovetskaya Gavan () is a town in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, and a port on the Strait of Tartary which connects the Sea of Okhotsk in the north with the Sea of Japan in the south. Population: It was previously known as Imperatorskaya Gavan (Им ...

Airfield ** Forward Operating Locations at

, Kamen-Rybolov, Spassk-Dalny Airfield and Pogranichny * 16th Separate Aviation Regiment (''16-й ОАП'') — Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk – Khomutovo Airport ** Detachment at Yuzhno-Kurilsk Mendeleyevo Airport

= Red Banner Far Eastern Border District

= The Red Banner Far Eastern Border District (

: ''Краснознамённый Дальневосточный пограничный округ'') had its headquarters in

Khabarovsk Khabarovsk ( ) is the largest city and the administrative centre of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia,Law #109 located from the China–Russia border, at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri Rivers, about north of Vladivostok. As of the 2021 Russian c ...

. It guarded the Chinese border in the

Amur Oblast Amur Oblast () is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located on the banks of the Amur and Zeya rivers in the Russian Far East. The oblast borders Heilongjiang province of the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the south. The administrati ...

from the Primorsky Krai to the

Zabaykalsky Krai Zabaykalsky Krai is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the Russian Far East. Its administrative center is Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai, Chita. As of the Russian Census (2010), 2010 Census, the population was ...

where it met the AOR of the Red Banner Trans-Baikal Border District. Land units: * 77th ''Bikinskiy'' '' Red Banner'' Border Detachment (''77-й ПОГО'') — Bikin,

* 70th ''Kazakevichevskiy'' '' Red Banner'' Border Detachment (''70-й ПОГО'') — Kazakevichevo,

* 63rd ''Birobidzhanskiy'' Border Detachment (''63-й ПОГО'') —

Birobidzhan Birobidzhan ( rus, Биробиджан, p=bʲɪrəbʲɪˈdʐan; , ), also spelt Birobijan ( ), is a town and the administrative centre of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Russia, located on the Trans-Siberian Railway, near the China–Russia bord ...

Jewish Autonomous Oblast The Jewish Autonomous Oblast (JAO) is a federal subject of Russia in the far east of the country, bordering Khabarovsk Krai and Amur Oblast in Russia and Heilongjiang province in China. Its administrative center is the town of Birobidzhan. ...

* 75th ''Raychikhinskiy'' '' Red Banner'' Border Detachment (''75-й ПОГО'') — Raychikhinsk,

* 56th ''Blagoveshchenskiy'' '' Red Banner'' Border Detachment (''56-й ПОГО'') —

Blagoveshchensk Blagoveshchensk ( rus, Благовещенск, p=bləɡɐˈvʲeɕːɪnsk, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Amur Oblast, Russia. It is located at the confluence of the Amur River, Amur and the ...

* 78-й ''Shimanovskiy'', ''Awarded the

'' Border Detachment (''78-й ПОГО'') —

Shimanovsk Shimanovsk () is a town in Amur Oblast, Russia, located on the Bolshaya Pyora River (a right-hand tributary of the Zeya), northwest of Blagoveshchensk. Population: History It was founded in conjunction with the construction of the Amur railwa ...

* 55-й ''Skovorodinskiy'', ''Awarded the

'' Border Detachment (''55-й ПОГО'') —

Skovorodino, Amur Oblast Skovorodino () is a town and the administrative center of Skovorodinsky District of Amur Oblast, Russia, located in the upper stream of the Bolshoy Never River northwest of Blagoveshchensk, the administrative center of the oblast. Skovorodin ...

* ''Separate Border-crossing Checkpoint « Nikolayevsk-on-Amur»'' (''ОКПП «Николаевск-на-Амуре»'') Naval units: * 14th Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''14-я ОБрПСКР'') — Kazakevichevo,

iver patrol* 13th Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''13-я ОБрПСКР'') —

Leninskoye, Jewish Autonomous Oblast Leninskoye is a rural locality (a ('' selo'') and the administrative center of Leninsky District of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the lis ...

iver patrol* 12th Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''12-я ОБрПСКР'') —

iver patrol* 11th Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''11-я ОБрПСКР'') — Dzhalinda iver patrol Air units: *16th Separate Aviation Squadron (''16-я ОАЭ'') — Khabarovsk Airport * 19th Separate Aviation Squadron (''19-я ОАЭ'') —

Airfield

= Red Banner Trans-Baikal Border District

= The Red Banner Trans-Baikal Border District (

: ''Краснознамённый Забайкальский пограничный округ'') had its headquarters in

Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai Chita (, ) is a city and the administrative center of Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia, located on the Trans-Siberian Railway route, roughly east of Irkutsk and roughly west of Khabarovsk. Population: History Pyotr Beketov's Cossacks founded Chi ...

. It guarded the eastern part of the Soviet-Chinese border from the Amur Oblast to Mongolia and the Mongol-Soviet border. At the Chinese-Mongol-Soviet border three-point in the Gorno-Altai Autonomous Oblast near Khüiten Peak its AOR met the AOR of the Red Banner Eastern Border District. Land units: * 74th ''Sretenskiy'' ''Red Banner'' Border Detachment (''74-й ПОГО'') — Kokuy, Chita Oblast * 54th ''Priargunskiy'' ''Red Banner'' Border Detachment (''54-й ПОГО'') — Priargunsk, Chita Oblast * 53rd ''Khinganskiy'' ''Red Banner'' Border Detachment (''53-й ПОГО'') — Dauriya, Chita Oblast * 51st ''Kyakhtinskiy'' Border Detachment (''51-й ПОГО'') —

Kyakhta Kyakhta (, ; , ; , ) is a town and the administrative center of Kyakhtinsky District in the Republic of Buryatia, Russia, located on the Kyakhta River near the Mongolia–Russia border. The town stands directly opposite the Mongolian border to ...

, Buryat Autonomous SSR * 29th ''Kyzylskiy'' Border Detachment (''29-й ПОГО'') —

Kyzyl Kyzyl ( ) is the capital city of the Republic of Tuva within the Russian Federation. Kyzyl's population is approximately History The city was founded in 1914 as Belotsarsk. It was renamed Hem-Beldir from 1918 to 1926. When the city was the ca ...

, Tuva Autonomous SSR * ''Separate Border-crossing Checkpoint « Zabaykalsk»'' (''ОКПП «Забайкальск»'') * ''Separate Border-crossing Checkpoint «

Irkutsk Irkutsk ( ; rus, Иркутск, p=ɪrˈkutsk; Buryat language, Buryat and , ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 587,891 Irkutsk is the List of cities and towns in Russ ...

»'' (''ОКПП «Иркутск»'') Naval units: * mostly land border, no naval units Air units: * 18th Separate Aviation Squadron (''18-я ОАЭ'') — Chita – Cheremushki Airfield ** Detachment at

Kyzyl Airport Kyzyl Airport (, ) serves Kyzyl, in Tuva, Russia. The airport is located 6 km southwest of the city center. The base is the home of the 32nd Independent Composite Transport Aviation Regiment, Composite Aviation Squadron which is part of t ...

= Red Banner Eastern Border District

= The Red Banner Eastern Border District had its headquarters in

Almaty Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains ...

. It guarded the western part of the Chinese-Soviet border and a small section of the Afghan-Soviet border along the

Wakhan District Wakhan District is one of the 28 districts of Badakhshan province in eastern Afghanistan. Located between Tajikistan in the north and Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral District in the south, the district separates Tajikistan and Pakistan wh ...

, after which began the area of responsibility of the Central Asian Border District. Land units: * 134th ''Kurchumskiy'' Border Detachment (''134-й ПОГО'') — Kurshim,

Kazakh SSR The Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Kazakhstan, the Kazakh SSR, KSSR, or simply Kazakhstan, was one of the transcontinental constituent republics of the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1936 to 1991. Located in northern Centr ...

* 50th ''Zaysanskiy'' Краснознаменный Border Detachment (''50-й ПОГО'') —

Zaysan Zaysan or Zaisan (Cyrillic Alphabet, Cyrillic: Зайсан) can refer to: *Lake Zaysan in eastern Kazakhstan *Zaysan (town) or Zaisan, Kazakhstan *Zaysan District in East Kazakhstan Province, Kazakhstan *Zaisan Memorial in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia {{ ...

* 30th ''Makanchinskiy'' Краснознаменный Border Detachment (''30-й ПОГО'') — Makanchi,

* 130th ''Uch-Aaralskiy'' Border Detachment (''130-й ПОГО'') — Usharal,

* 49th ''Panfilovskiy'' Краснознаменный Border Detachment (''49-й ПОГО'') — Zharkent,

* 132nd ''Chundzhinskiy'' Border Detachment (''132-й ПОГО'') — Chundzha,

* 29th ''Przhevalskiy'' Border Detachment (''29-й ПОГО'') —

Karakol Karakol (; , ), formerly Przhevalsk ( rus, Пржевальск, p=pr̩ʐɨˈvalʲsk), is the fourth-largest city in Kyrgyzstan, near the eastern tip of Lake Issyk-Kul, about from the Kyrgyzstan–China border and from the capital Bishkek. I ...

Kirghiz SSR The Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic (Kirghiz SSR), also known as the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic (Kyrgyz SSR), KySSR or Kirgiz Soviet Socialist Republic (Kirgiz SSR), was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1 ...

* 96th ''Narynskiy'' Border Detachment (''96-й ПОГО'') —

Naryn Naryn ( ; ) is the regional administrative center of Naryn Region in central Kyrgyzstan. Its area is , and its estimated population was 41,178 as of January 2021. The town was established as a fortress on the caravan route in 1868. It is situated ...

* 131st ''Oshskiy'' Border Detachment (''131-й ПОГО'') —

Osh Osh is a city in Kyrgyzstan. Osh or OSH may also refer to: * Osh (food), in Tajik and Uzbek cuisines * Osh (singer) (born 1995), English singer and rapper * OSH, the IATA code for Wittman Regional Airport near Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States ...

* 35th ''Murghabskiy'' Border Detachment (''35-й ПОГО'') — Murghab,

Tajik SSR The Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic, also commonly known as Soviet Tajikistan, the Tajik SSR, TaSSR, or simply Tajikistan, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union which existed from 1929 to 1991 in Central Asia. The Tajik Re ...

Naval units: * mostly land border, no naval units Air units: * 10th Separate Aviation Regiment (''10-й ОАП'') — Almaty – Burunday Airfield * 22nd Separate Aviation Squadron (''22-я ОАЭ'') — Usharal Airfield

= Red Banner Central Asian Border District

= The Red Banner

Central Asian Border District The Red Banner Central Asian Border District (Russian language, Russian: ''Краснознамённый Среднеазиатский пограничный округ'') was a district of the Soviet KGB Border Guards. It had its headquarters in ...

(

: ''Краснознамённый Среднеазиатский пограничный округ'') had its headquarters in

Ashgabad Ashgabat (Turkmen language, Turkmen: ''Aşgabat'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Turkmenistan. It lies between the Karakum Desert and the Kopet Dag, Kopetdag mountain range in Central Asia, approximately 50 km (30 ...

. It guarded the Afghan-Soviet (without the strip along the Wakhan District) and the Iranian-Soviet border. The sea border of the district extended halfway along the southern line of Soviet territorial waters in the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...

until it met the AOR of the Red Banner Trans-Caucasus Border District. Land units: * 118th ''Ishkashimskiy'' Border Detachment (''118-й ПОГО'') — Ishkoshim,

* 66th ''Khoroghskiy'' Border Detachment (''66-й ПОГО'') — Khorogh,

* 117th '' Moskovskiy'' Border Detachment (''117-й ПОГО'') - Moskovskiy,

* 48th ''Pyandzhskiy'' Border Detachment (''48-й ПОГО'') — Panj,

* 81st ''Termezskiy'' Border Detachment (''81-й ПОГО'') —

Termez Termez ( ) is the capital of Surxondaryo Region in southern Uzbekistan. Administratively, it is a district-level city. Its population is 182,800 (2021). It is notable as the site of Alexander the Great's city Alexandria on the Oxus, as a center ...

Uzbek SSR The Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (, ), also known as Soviet Uzbekistan, the Uzbek SSR, UzSSR, or simply Uzbekistan and rarely Uzbekia, was a union republic of the Soviet Union. It was governed by the Uzbek branch of the Soviet Communist P ...

* 47th ''Kerkinskiy'' Border Detachment (''47-й ПОГО'') —

Kerki Kerki is a city in and capital of Kerki District, Lebap Province, Turkmenistan. It was formerly known as Zamm and, between 1999 and 2017, as Atamyrat. Geography It is situated on a plain on the left bank of the Amu Darya river. Nearby towns a ...

Turkmen SSR The Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Turkmenistan, the Turkmen SSR, TuSSR, Turkmenistan, or Turkmenia, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union located in Soviet Central Asia, ...

* 68th ''Tahta-Bazarskiy'' Border Detachment (''68-й ПОГО'') — Tahta-Bazar,

* 45th ''Serakhskiy'' Border Detachment (''45-й ПОГО'') —

Serakhs Sarahs (, also written Saraghs, Serahs, Sarakhs, Saragt, or Serakhs, the last a backformation of ) is an oasis city in Ahal Province, Turkmenistan, and the administrative center of Sarahs district (). It is located at latitude 36°31' North; lon ...

* 46th ''Kaakhanskiy'' Border Detachment (''46-й ПОГО'') — Kaakha,

* 71st ''Baherdenskiy'' Border Detachment (''71-й ПОГО'') — Baherden,

* 67th ''Kara-Kalinskiy'' Border Detachment (''76-й ПОГО'') — Kara-Kala,

* 135th ''Nebit-Dagskiy'' Border Detachment (''135-й ПОГО'') — Nebit-Dag,

* 17th Training Border Detachment (''17-й УПОГО'') —

Dushanbe Dushanbe is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Tajikistan. , Dushanbe had a population of 1,564,700, with this population being largely Tajiks, Tajik. Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe, and from 1929 to 1961 as St ...

* ''Separate Border-crossing Checkpoint « Mary»'' (''ОКПП «Мары»'') * ''Separate Border-crossing Checkpoint «

»'' (''ОКПП «Термез»'') * ''Separate Border-crossing Checkpoint «

»'' (''ОКПП «Ташкент»'') Naval units: * 22nd Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''22-я ОБрПСКР'') —

iver patrol* 46th Separate Battalion of Border Guard Ships (''46-й ОДнПСКР'') — Krasnovodsk, Turkmen SSR Air units: *17th Separate Aviation Regiment (''17-й ОАП'') — Mary-3 Airfield ** Detachment at Nebit-Dag Airfield * 23rd Separate Aviation Regiment (''23-й ОАП'') — Dushanbe Airport

= Red Banner Trans-Caucasus Border District

= The Red Banner Trans-Caucasus Border District (

: ''Краснознамённый Закавказский пограничный округ'') had its headquarters in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

. It guarded the western half of the Caspian Sea section of the Iranian-Soviet border, the western Iranian-Soviet land border, the Turkish-Soviet border and the Black Sea coastline from the Turkish border to the

Kerch Strait The Kerch Strait is a strait in Eastern Europe. It connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, separating the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea in the west from the Taman Peninsula of Russia's Krasnodar Krai in the east. The strait is to wide and up ...

, where the Red Banner Western Border District took over. Land units: * 44th ''Lenkoranskiy'' Border Detachment (''44-й ПОГО'') —

Lankaran Lankaran (, ) or Lánkon () is a city in Azerbaijan, on the coast of the Caspian Sea, near the southern border with Iran. As of 2021, the city had a population of 89,300. It is next to, but independent of, Lankaran District. The city forms a disti ...

, Azeri SSR * 43rd ''Prishibskiy'' ''Red Banner'' Border Detachment (''43-й ПОГО'') — Prishib, Azeri SSR * 42nd ''Gadrutskiy'' ''Red Banner'' Border Detachment (''42-й ПОГО'') -

Hadrut Hadrut (, ) is a town in the Khojavend District of Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The town had an ethnic Armenian-majority population prior to the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. Numerous Armenian civilians were killed in and around H ...

, Azeri SSR * 127th ''Meghrinskiy'' Border Detachment (127''-й ПОГО'') —

Meghri Meghri ( ; ) is a town and the centre of the Meghri Municipality of the Syunik Province in southern Armenia, near the border with Iran. As of the 2011 census, the population of the town was 4,580. According to the 2020 official estimate, Meghri's ...

Armenian SSR The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (ArSSR), also known as Soviet Armenia, or simply Armenia, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union, located in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Soviet Armenia bordered the Soviet republics ...

* 41st ''Nakhichevanskiy'' Border Detachment (''41-й ПОГО'') — Nakhchivan, Azeri SSR * 125th ''Artashatskiy'' Border Detachment (''125-й ПОГО'') — Artashat,

* 40th ''Oktemberyanskiy'' ''" A. I. Mikoyan"'' Border Detachment (''40-й ПОГО'') — Armavir,

* 39th ''Leninakanskiy'' ''Red Banner'' Border Detachment (''39-й ПОГО'') —

Gyumri Gyumri (, ) is an urban municipal community and the List of cities and towns in Armenia, second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th centur ...

* 38th ''Akhaltsikhskiy'' ''Red Banner'' Border Detachment (''38-й ПОГО'') —

Akhaltsikhe Akhaltsikhe ( ka, ახალციხე ), formerly known as Lomsia ( ka, ლომსია ), is a small city in Georgia's southwestern region () of Samtskhe–Javakheti. It is the administrative center of the Akhaltsikhe Municipality and ...

Georgian SSR The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Georgia, the Georgian SSR, or simply Georgia, was one of the republics of the Soviet Union from its second occupation (by the Red Army) in 1921 to its independence in 1991. Cotermin ...

* 10th ''Hichaurskiy'' Border Detachment (''10-й ПОГО'') — Shuakhevi,

* 37th ''Batumskiy'' ''Red Banner'' ''"Bulgarian-Soviet Combat Fellowship"'' Border Detachment (''37-й ПОГО'') —

Batumi Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ), historically Batum or Batoum, is the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), second-largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast ...

* 36th ''Sukhumskiy'' Border Detachment (''36-й ПОГО'') —

Sukhumi Sukhumi or Sokhumi is a city in a wide bay on the Black Sea's eastern coast. It is both the Capital city, capital and largest city of Abkhazia, a partially recognised state that most countries consider a part of Georgia (country), Georgia. The ...

* 32nd ''Novorossiyskiy'' ''Red Banner'' Border Detachment (''32-й ПОГО'') —

Novorossiysk Novorossiysk (, ; ) is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is one of the largest ports on the Black Sea. It is one of the few cities designated by the Soviet Union as a Hero City. The population was History In antiquity, the shores of the ...

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

* ''Separate Border-crossing Checkpoint «

»'' (''ОКПП «Новороссийск»'') * ''Separate Border-crossing Checkpoint'' «''

''») (''ОКПП «Батуми»'') * ''Separate Border-crossing Checkpoint'' « ''Tbilisi Airport'' » (''ОКПП «Тбилиси-аэропорт»'') * ''Separate Border-crossing Checkpoint'' « ''Astara''» (''ОКПП «Астара»'') * ''Separate Border-crossing Checkpoint'' « ''Julfa''» (''ОКПП «Джульфа»'') Naval units: * 6th Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''6-я ОБрПСКР'') —

Ochamchire Ochamchire or Ochamchira ( ka, ოჩამჩირე, ; , ''Ochamchyra''; , ''Ochamchira'') is a seaside city on the Black Sea coast of Abkhazia, Georgia, and a center of an eponymous district. According to the 1989 Soviet population census ...

* 17th Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''17-я ОБрПСКР'') —

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

, Azeri SSR * 21st Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''21-я ОБрПСКР'') —

Poti Poti ( ka, ფოთი ; Mingrelian language, Mingrelian: ფუთი; Laz language, Laz: ჶაში/Faşi or ფაში/Paşi) is a port city in Georgia (country), Georgia, located on the eastern Black Sea coast in the mkhare, region of ...

Air units: * 12th Separate Training Aviation Regiment (''12-й ОУАП'') — Tbilisi Airfield

= Red Banner Western Border District

= The Red Banner Western Border District (

: ''Краснознамённый Западный пограничный округ'') had its headquarters in

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

. It guarded the Black Sea coastline to the west of the Kerch Strait, the borders with Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and the Ukrainian and Belarusian sections of the Polish-Soviet border. To the north began the AOR of the Red Banner Baltic Border District. Land units: * 16th ''Grodnenskiy'' Border Detachment (''16-й ПОГО'') —

Grodno Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...

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* 86th ''Brestkiy'' ''Red Banner'' ''"F. E. Dzerzhinsky"'' Border Detachment (''86-й ПОГО'') — Brest,

* 7th ''Karpatskiy'', Awarded the orders of the

Red Star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. ...

, of Kutuzov and of

Alexander Nevsky Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky (; ; monastic name: ''Aleksiy''; 13 May 1221 – 14 November 1263) was Prince of Novgorod (1236–1240; 1241–1256; 1258–1259), Grand Prince of Kiev (1249–1263), and Grand Prince of Vladimir (1252–1263). ...

Border Detachment (''7-й ПОГО'') —

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR * 27th Mukachevo, ''Mukachevskiy'' ''Red Banner'' Border Detachment (''27-й ПОГО'') — Mukachevo, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR * 98th Chernivtsi, ''Chernovitskiy'' Border Detachment (''98-й ПОГО'') — Chernivtsi, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR * 79th Dniester, ''Nizhnednestrovskiy'' ''Red Banner'' Border Detachment (''79-й ПОГО'') — Chișinău, Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, Moldavian SSR * 26th Odessa, ''Odesskiy'' ''Red Banner'' Border Detachment (''26-й ПОГО'') — Odessa, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR * 107th Simferopol, ''Simferopolskiy'' ''Red Banner'' Border Detachment (''107-й ПОГО'') — Simferopol, Crimea, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR * ''Separate Border-crossing Checkpoint'' «''

''» (''ОКПП «Киев»'') * ''Separate Border-crossing Checkpoint'' «''Mariupol''» (''ОКПП «Мариуполь»'') * ''Separate Border-crossing Checkpoint'' «Brest, Belarus, ''Brest''» (''ОКПП «Брест»'') * ''Separate Border-crossing Checkpoint'' «''Mostyska''» (''ОКПП «Мостиска»'') * ''Separate Border-crossing Checkpoint'' «''Odessa''» (''ОКПП «Одесса»'') * ''Separate Border-crossing Checkpoint'' «Chop» (''ОКПП «Чоп»'') * ''Separate Border-crossing Checkpoint'' «''Izmail''» (''ОКПП «Измаил»'') Naval units: * 5th Separate ''Red Banner'' Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''5-я ОБрПСКР'') — Balaklava, Crimea, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR * 18th Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''18-я ОБрПСКР'') — Odessa, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR Air units: * 24th Separate Aviation Squadron (''24-я ОАЭ'') — Odessa, Odessa – Shkolniy Airfield

= Red Banner Baltic Border District

= The Red Banner Baltic Border District (

: ''Краснознамённый Прибалтийский пограничный округ'') had its headquarters in Riga. It guarded the Lithuanian and Kaliningrad sections of the Polish-Soviet border and the Kaliningrad, Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian sections of the Baltic Sea Soviet coastline. * Land units: ** 95th '' Koenigsbergskiy, Awarded the orders of Order of Lenin, Lenin and of the

'' Border Detachment (''95-й ПОГО'') — Pravdinsk, Kaliningrad Oblast,

** 23rd Klaipėda, ''Klaypyedskiy'' Border Detachment (''23-й ПОГО'') — Klaipėda, Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, Lithuanian SSR ** 8th Ventspils, ''Ventspilsskiy'' Border Detachment (''8-й ПОГО'') — Ventspils, Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, Latvian SSR ** 11th Kuressaare, ''Kuresaarskiy'' Border Detachment (''11-й ПОГО'') — Kuressaare, Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, Estonian SSR ** 106th Tallinn, ''Tallinnskiy'' Border Detachment (''106-й ПОГО'') — Tallinn, Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, Estonian SSR ** 6th ''Gdynia, Gdynskiy, Awarded the Order of the

'' Border Detachment (6''-й ПОГО'') — Rakvere, Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, Estonian SSR ** ''Separate Border-crossing Checkpoint'' «''Kaliningrad''» (''ОКПП «Калининград»'') ** ''Separate Border-crossing Checkpoint'' «''Tallinn''» (''ОКПП «Таллин»'') ** ''Separate Border-crossing Checkpoint'' «''Riga''» (''ОКПП «Рига»'') ** ''Separate Border-crossing Checkpoint'' «''

''» (''ОКПП «Вильнюс»'') * Naval units: ** 4th Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (4''-я ОБрПСКР'') — Liepāja, Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, Latvian SSR ** 20th Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (20''-я ОБрПСКР'') — Ventspils, Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, Latvian SSR ** 3rd Separate ''Red Banner'' Brigade of Border Guard Ships (3''-я ОБрПСКР'') — Tallinn, Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic * Air units: ** 20th Separate Aviation Squadron (''20-я ОАЭ'') — Rakvere Airfield *** detachments at Riga – Skulte, Skulte Parish, Skulte and Ventspils International Airport, Ventspils airfields

= Red Banner Northwestern Border District

= The Red Banner Northwestern Border District (''Краснознамённый Северо-Западный пограничный округ'') had its headquarters in Leningrad. It guarded the Russian section of the Baltic coastline, the Finnish-Soviet border, the Barents Sea, White Sea and the Kanin Peninsula coastline. * Land units: ** 5-й Leningrad, ''Leningradskiy'' пограничный отряд имени Ю. В. Андропова Border Detachment (''5-й ПОГО'') — Sosnovy Bor, Leningrad Oblast ** 102-й Vyborg, ''Vyborgskiy'' ''Red Banner'' пограничный отряд имени С. М. Кирова Border Detachment (''102-й ПОГО'') — Vyborg, Leningrad Oblast, Sortavala, Russian SFSR ** 1-й Sortavala, ''Sortavalskiy'' ''Red Banner'' Border Detachment (''1-й ПОГО'') — Sortavala, Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, Karelian ASSR,

** 80-й Suoyarvi, ''Suoyarvskiy'' ''Red Banner'' Border Detachment (''80-й ПОГО'') — Suoyarvi, Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, Karelian ASSR,

** 73-й Repola, ''Rebolskiy'' ''Red Banner'' Border Detachment (''73-й ПОГО'') — Repola, Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, Karelian ASSR,

** 72-й Kalevala, Russia, ''Kalevalskiy'', Awarded the

Border Detachment (''72-й ПОГО'') — Kalevala, Russia, Kalevala, Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, Karelian ASSR,

** 101-й Alakurtti (rural locality), ''Alakurttinskiy'' Border Detachment (''101-й ПОГО'') — Alakurtti (rural locality), Alakurtti, Murmansk Oblast,

** 100-й Nikel, ''Nikelskiy'', Awarded the

Border Detachment (''100-й ПОГО'') — Nikel, Murmansk Oblast,

** 82-й Murmansk, ''Murmanskiy'' ''Red Banner'' Border Detachment (''82-й ПОГО'') — Murmansk, Murmansk Oblast,

** 4-й Arkhangelsk, ''Arkhangelskiy'' Border Detachment (''4-й ПОГО'') — Arkhangelsk, Arkhangelsk Oblast,

** ''Separate Border-crossing Checkpoint'' «''Leningrad''» (''ОКПП «Ленинград»'') ** ''Separate Border-crossing Checkpoint'' «''Vyborg''» (''ОКПП «Выборг»'') * Naval units: ** 1st Separate ''Red Banner'' Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''1-я ОБрПСКР'') — Kuvshinskaya Salma, Murmansk Oblast,

** 2nd Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (2''-я ОБрПСКР'') — Vysotsk, Leningrad Oblast,

* Air units: ** 14th Separate Aviation Regiment (''14-й ОАП'') — Petrozavodsk

Separate Border Detachments

The main forces of a border district were organised in formations called Border Detachments (singular: ''Пограничный отряд'', abbr. ''ПОГО''). These formations roughly corresponded to separate motor-rifle brigades in the Soviet Army Ground Forces. However, unlike army motor-rifle brigades, which were commanded by Major-generals, the Border Detachments were commanded by Colonels. Four of the border detachments were separate from the districts and reported directly to the Main Directorate: * 4th Arkhangelsk Border Detachment (''4-й Архангельский ПОГО'') * Separate Far North (Russia), Arctic Border Detachment (''Отдельный Арктический ПОГО'') *The Separate Far North (Russia), Arctic Border Detachment (

: ''Отдельный Арктический пограничный отряд'') had its headquarters in Vorkuta. The district did not have naval units. It had border outposts from Kolguyev Island to Mys Shmidta and a separate arctic aviation regiment. * Separate Detachment for Border Control "Moscow" (''Отдельный отряд пограничного контроля «Москва»'') - The detachment carried out border control duties at the major Moscow airports - 12 border control sections operated at Sheremetyevo-2, Sheremetyevo-2 Airport and one section each at Sheremetyevo International Airport, Sheremetyevo-1 Airport cargo terminal, Vnukovo International Airport, Vnukovo Airport, Moscow Domodedovo Airport, Domodedovo Airport and Chkalovsky Airport. * 105th Separate Red Banner Detachment Spetsnaz (''105-й отдельный Краснознаменный отряд СпН'') - The detachment was previously the sole ''Regiment'' of the Border Troops, legacy from the time when it belonged to the Soviet Ministry of the Interior. It consisted of one battalion, four separate companies and assorted support units and carried out security tasks at the Soviet embassy in East Germany, the main HQ of the KGB in East Germany and several field offices spread across the country. In 1989 the regiment was upgraded to a border detachment. With this its battalion was upgraded to a Motor-Maneuver Group (''мото-маневренная группа'') and the companies were upgraded to Border Outposts (singular: ''застава'') in line with KGB Border Troops nomenclature.

Combined Arms troops

In times when the border troops were facing increased external threat or actual local conflict, they were reinforced with conventional units from the Soviet Ground Forces, which were directly integrated in their structure. Such example were tank and artillery battalions during the period of increased hostility during and immediately after the Sino-Soviet border conflict. In the final years of the USSR due to the mounting instability in the Caucasus region the Border Troops took over from the Armed Forces: * the Soviet Ground Forces, Soviet Ground Forces' 75th Motor Rifle Division (''75-я Мотострелковая дивизия'') - from January 4, 1990, until September 23, 1991 * the Soviet airborne, Soviet Airborne Forces' 103rd Guards Airborne Division (''103-я Гвардейская воздушно-десантная дивизия'') - from January 4, 1990, until September 23, 1991

District forces

The main forces of the border districts were the Border Detachments (

: ''Пограничный отряд'', abbr. ''ПОГО'' (singular)). Each detachment covered a specific section of the border and had a Colonel as its commanding officer. The territorial waters were patrolled by brigades of guard ships (

: ''Бригада сторожевых кораблей'', abbr. ''БСКР'' (singular)) and were commanded by Captain 1st rank, Captains 1st rank. All the guard ship brigades were separate, except for the 1st and the 2nd, which formed the 1st Division of Guard Ships (

: 1-я ''Дивизия'' ''сторожевых кораблей'') in

, due to the vastness of the assigned area of operations in the Pacific Ocean. The border detachments consisted of Border Command Posts (or Commandatures) (

: ''Пограничная командатура'' (singular)), Separate Bordercrossing Control Points (

: ''Отдельный контрольно-пропускной пункт'', abbr. ''ОККП'' (singular)) and various combat support and combat service support units. A Border Command Post consisted of several Border Outposts and corresponded roughly to a battalion of the armed forces and was therefore commanded by a lieutenant colonel. The main forces of a BCP accounted several regular Border Outposts (

: ''Пограничная застава'', abbr. ''ПОГЗ'' (singular)), also informally called Line Border Outposts, as each had a section of the state border assigned to it. In the rear area of the BCP there was also a Reserve Border Outpost acting as the operational reserve of the commander. It had the same structure as the line Border Outposts, but was not permanently deployed at the border. In a situation of increased threat its function was to take over the threatened section of the border, thus becoming a line outpost itself. The equivalent of a BCP in the naval service of the Border Troops was a Battalion of Guard Ships (

: ''Дивизион'' ''сторожевых кораблей''), commanded by a Captain 2nd rank. The Border Outpost (

: ''Пограничная застава'', abbr. ''ПОГЗ'') was the smallest unit of the Border Troops, which was directly involved in the task of securing the state border. The TO&E called for 41 officers, NCOs, Sergeants and border guards, organised in a staff group, 2 rifle sections, a service canine section and a signals and remote sensing section. Around the time of the Sino-Soviet border conflict a reinforced TO&E with an additional rifle section (50 men in total) was introduced and later, during the

a new TO&E with a fourth rifle section was introduced, increasing the manpower to 64 men. The border outposts were equal in status to separate combat companies of the Ground Forces, with a Major (rank), major as the CO. A specific operational reserve unit was the Motor Maneuver Group (

: ''Мото-маневренная группа'' (''ММГ'')). As the name implied, this was a maneuver element, organized similarly to an army motor rifle battalion, with its own infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, mortars and anti-tank weapons. The MMG was a temporary task force fielded by the border detachment by combining personnel from its various units. On an operational deployment an MMG could act both as a classic BCP or as a mechanized warfare unit, the

being the perfect example for this versatility. A typical example for a motor maneuver group was the MMG-1 (AKA the "Transcaucasus", later "Mazar-i-Sharif", later the "Marmoly" MMG) of the Termez Border Detachment, deployed to Afghanistan. It had: * command section with one BTR-60 and one UAZ-469 * 3 border outposts, each consisting of 50 men, including three officers, two Praporshchik, Sergeant-Majors and seven Sergeants, further divided into ** 5 sections with one BTR-60 each * mortar battery of 64 men, including five officers and a Praporshchik, Sergeant-Major. The battery had one BTR-60 (R-145BM, R-145BM "Chayka" command variant) and fifteen

trucks. * 6 mortar sections, each armed with one PM-120 (120-mm) and one BM-82 (82-mm) mortar * reconnaissance platoon of 13 men, including one officer and two Sergeants. It had two sections - the first was armed with a BRM-1, the second - with a BTR-60 * anti-tank platoon of 18 men, including one officer and three Sergeants. The platoon had 4 SPG-9 and 4

in two sections of two AT teams each. * combat engineer platoon of 20 men, including one officer, one Sergeant-Major and five Sergeants. The platoon had BTR-60, ZIL-131, GAZ-66 and heavy engineering machinery divided among two sapper sections and one engineering section * signals platoon with two BTR-60s (R-145BM, R-145BM "Chayka" command variant) and an R-140 radio mounted on a ZIL-157 * medical aid post with a medical officer, a Sergeant-Major and an ambulance driver. Each of the three border outposts and the mortar battery had a paramedic, operationally subordinated to the medical officer * logistical platoon of 29 men, including two Sergeant-Majors and three Sergeants. The platoon was subdivided into ** a supply, a transport and a repair sections The MMG numbered a total personnel of ca. 300 men. In case the area of operation covered mountainous terrain the border detachments could form heliborne task forces called Air Assault Maneuver Groups (

: Десантно-штурмовая маневренная группа, abbr. ДШМГ (singular)). The personnel received parachute and helicopter assault training and adopted Soviet Airborne Forces, Soviet Airborne Forces and Ground Forces Air Assault Troops tactics, weapons and equipment to such an extent, that these units used the traditional VDV patch of two cargo airplanes, a parachute and a red star. These units utilized the organic Mil Mi-8, Mi-8 helicopters of the Border Troops aviation branch. Due to their airborne role and the restricted cargo capacity of their aviation assets (as compared to the mechanized MMGs), these units normally counted ca. 120 men. An example for such a unit is the AAMG formed by the same Termez Border Detachment for operations in Afghanistan. It had: * command section * 3 air assault border outposts * mortar platoon *

grenade launcher platoon * grenade launcher / flamethrower platoon * combat engineer platoon * signals platoon The border area was divided into a border zone, which included the territory of the district and settlements adjacent to the state border, and the border strip, which was approximately two kilometers in depth, running directly along the border. Only permanent residents or those who had obtained special permission from the MVD could enter the border zone. Entry into the border strip was forbidden without special permission from the Border Troops.

Border Troops Naval Service

The Border Troops had their own naval assets. They were subordinated administratively to the Sea Directorate of the Border Troops (''Морское управление пограничных войск''), headed by a

. Operationally the naval units were subordinated to the border districts. The patrol ships of the naval service were much heavier armed than similar-sized ships of coast guards around the world. They lacked the sophisticated anti-air and anti-ship missile systems, but were armed with artillery as heavy as the AK-100 (naval gun), AK-100 and for their Anti-submarine warfare, ASW they carried anti-submarine mortars, torpedoes and even Anti-submarine missile, anti-submarine missile systems. Soviet and Russian naval classification did not follow Western convention for smaller major surface combatants. While Western navies use classification based on the ship's size (aviso, corvette, frigate, destroyer), the Soviet Navy (and by extension the KGB's naval service) used classification based on the ship's function. Thus the corvette and frigate-sized warships of the Navy and the Naval Service were classified as guard ships (sing. ''сторожевой корабль'', abbreviated ''SKR'' (''СКР'')). To distinguish the ships of the border troops from those of the navy, the former are classified as border guard ships (sing. ''пограничный сторожевой корабль'', abbreviated ''PSKR'' (''ПСКР'')) and to distinguish between the larger and smaller units in their fleet the corvette and frigate-sized units were classified as ships (sing. ''корабль'', abbreviated ''KR'' (''КР'')), while the smaller patrol craft were classified as cutters (sing. ''катер'', abbreviated ''KA'' (''КА'')). The types of ships in the Border Troops fleet included: * border guard ship (''пограничный сторожевой корабль'' (''ПСКР'')) - patrol corvettes and frigates * border guard cutter (пограничный сторожевой катер (''ПСКА'')) - patrol craft * border support ship (''пограничный корабль обеспечения'' (''ПКО'')) - replenishment ships * patrol vessel (''патрульное судно'' (''ПС'')) - fishery patrol ships * border ship in special service (''пограничный корабль специальной службы'' (''ПКСС'')) - corvette / frigate-sized official government yachts * border cutter in special service (''пограничный катер специальной службы'' (''ПКАСС'')) - small guard craft, used for the security of coastal areas of official government sea residences and government yachts Note: The border districts and their subordinated formations are listed clockwise, starting with the easternmost area of the Soviet Union. Naval Service fleet: Northeastern Border District (''СВПО'') - HQ in

* 1st ''Red Banner'' Division of Border Guard Ships (''1-я КДПСКР'') —

** 1st Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''1-я БрПСКР'') *** single ship project 52K - PSKR-010 "Purga" (retired on 16.03.1990.) *** patrol icebreakers of Ivan Susanin-class patrol ship, project 97P "Iceberg" - PSKR-161 "Aysberg", PSKR-083 "Dunay" *** patrol tugboats of project 745P - PSKR-135 "Brest", PSKR-081 "Sakhalin", PSKR-070 "Kamchatka" ** 2nd Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''2-я БрПСКР'') *** patrol frigates of Krivak-class frigate, project 11351 - Soviet frigate Dzerzhinskiy, PSKR-097 "Dzerzhinskiy", Soviet frigate Vorovskiy, PSKR-059 "Vorovskiy", Soviet frigate Kedrov, PSKR-103 "Kedrov", Soviet frigate Imeni 70-letiya Pogranvoysk, PSKR-060 "Imeni 70-letiya Pogranvoisk", Soviet frigate Imeni 70-letiya VChK-KGB, PSKR-077 "Imeni 70-letiya VChK—KGB" *** patrol corvettes of Grisha-class corvette, project 1124M - PSKR-055 "Bditelniy", PSKR-014 "Bezuprechniy", PSKR-058 "Zorkiy", PSKR-067 "Reshitelniy", PSKR-052 "Smeliy" *** former navy minesweepers of project 264А - PSKR-035 "Vorovskiy", PSKR-066 "Dzerzhinskiy", PSKR-046 "Menzhinskiy", PSKR-032 "Kirov", PSKR-015 "Kedrov", PSKR-010 "Hokhryakov", PSKR-105 "Starshiy leytenant Lekarev", PSKR-083 "Fyodor Mitrofanov", PSKR-059 "Vasiliy Gromov", PSKR-080 "Malakhit", PSKR- 076 "Korund" ** Supply Ships Battalion (''ДнКО'') *** 3 sealift ships of project 1595 "Pevek" - PKO-063 "Nikolay Sipyagin", PKO-071 "Sergey Sudeyskiy", PKO-016 "Nikolay Starshinov" ''Red Banner'' Pacific Border District (''КТПО'') - HQ in

*8th ''Awarded the

'' Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''8-я ОБрПСКР'') — Malokurilskoye,

** patrol tugboats of project 745P - "Chukotka", "Neman", "Amur", "Bug" **patrol tugboat of project 733 - PSKR-467, PSKR-482 **Svetlyak-class patrol boat, patrol boats of project 10410 - PSKR-907, PSKR-908, PSKR-914 **fast patrol craft of project 205P - PSKR-675, 677, 678, 679, 682, 685, 686, 687, 688, 689, 691, **tugboats of project 1496 - 2 units **fast patrol boats of project 1408.1 - 3 units **liaison boats of project 371U - 1 unit *9th Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''9-я ОБрПСКР'') — Korsakov,

** fast patrol craft of project 205P - PSKR-673, 680, 681, 683, 687, 690 *19th Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (19''-я ОБрПСКР'') —

** patrol tugboats of project 745P - "Забайкалье" **Svetlyak-class patrol boat, patrol boats of project 10410 - PSKR-903 "Holmsk", PSKR-907, PSKR-915 "Nevelsk" **fast patrol craft of project 205P - PSKR-672, 674(?), 680, 681, 683, 684, 692, 693, 694 **tugboats of project 1496 - PSKA-277 *16th ''Sakhalinskaya'' ''Red Banner'' Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''16-я ОБрПСКР'') —

**patrol frigates of Krivak-class frigate, project 11351 - PSKR- Soviet frigate Menzhinskiy, "Menzhinskiy", Soviet frigate Imeni XXVII siezda KPSS, "Imeni XXVII Syezda KPSS" **patrol tugboats of project 745P - "Приморье" **fast patrol craft (corvettes) of project 12412 - PSKR-800 "Беркут", PSKR-801 "Ворон", PSKR-803 "Кондор", PSKR-805 "Коршун", PSKR-807 "Кобчик", PSKR-809 "Кречет", PSKR-812 "Сокол", PSKR-816 "Ястреб", PSKR-818 "Находка" (собственные имена получили в 1996 г.) **fast patrol craft of project 205P - PSKR-670, PSKR-674(?), PSKR-676, PSKR-678 **tugboats of project 1496 - PSKA-580, PSKA-582, PSKA-586, PSKA-587, PSKA-590, PSKA-591, PSKA-592(?), PSKA-594 **liaison boats of project 371 - 1 unit **liaison boats of project 343 - 1 unit * 10th Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''10-я ОБрПСКР'') —

**ПКО проект 1595 - "Ivan Lednyov", "Mikhail Konovalov", "Vyacheslav Denisov", "Ivan Evteev", "Neon Antonov", **ПКО project 1545- PKO- "Ivan Golubets", PKO- "Sovetskiy Pogranichnik" **fishery patrol vessels of project 850285 - "Командор", "Хеолуф Бидструп", "Манчжур", "Шкипер Гек" **fast patrol boats of Zhuk-class patrol boat, project 1400 - PSKA-110 * 15th Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''15-я ОБрПСКР'') —

iver patrol**riverine monitors of project 1249 - PSKR- (used as command ship) **riverine monitors of project 1204 - 325 **liaison boats of project 371 - no less than 9 units ''Red Banner'' Far Eastern Border District (''КДПО'') - HQ in

*14th Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''14-я ОБрПСКР'') — Kazakevichevo,

iver patrol**riverine monitors of project 1249 - PSKR-52, PSKR-58 (used as command ship) **riverine monitors of project 1248 ''-'' PSKR-313, PSKR-314 **riverine monitors of project 1208 - "им. 60-летия ВЧК", "им. 60-летя Октября", "им 60-летия погранвойск", "Вьюга" **riverine monitors of project 1204 - 313, 332, 336, 337, 350, 351, 354, 359, 360, 376, 378, 382, **riverine patrol boats of project 1408.1 **liaison boats of project 371 * 13th Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''13-я ОБрПСКР'') —

iver patrol**riverine monitors of project 1249 - 1 unit used as command ship **riverine monitors of project 1248 ''-'' PSKR-300, PSKR-301, PSKR-302, PSKR-303, PSKR-304, PSKR-305, PSKR-306, PSKR-308, PSKR-311 *12th Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''12-я ОБрПСКР'') —

iver patrol**riverine monitors of project 1249 - 1 unit used as command ship **riverine monitors of project 1248 **riverine monitors of project 1204 - 330, 333, 340, 341, 348, 349, 353, 355, 356, 357, 362, 365, 367, 369, 370, 372, 380, 386, **riverine patrol boats of project 1408.1 **liaison boats of project 371 * 11th Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''11-я ОБрПСКР'') — Dzhalinda iver patrol**riverine monitors of project 1204 - unknown quantity ''Red Banner'' Trans-Baikal Border District (''КЗабПО'') - HQ in Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai, Chita * mostly land border, no naval units ''Red Banner'' Eastern Border District (''СВПО'') - HQ in

* mostly land border, no naval units ''Red Banner'' Central Asian Border District (''КСАПО'') - HQ in Ashgabat *22nd Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''22-я ОБрПСКР'') —

iver patrol**riverine monitors of project 1204 - unknown quantity * 46th Separate Battalion of Border Guard Ships (''46-й ОДнПСКР'') — Krasnovodsk, Turkmen SSR **fast patrol boats of Zhuk-class patrol boat, project 1400/M - 5 ~ 6 ''Red Banner'' Trans-Caucasus Border District (''КЗакПО'') - HQ in

*6th Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''6-я ОБрПСКР'') —

** fast patrol craft of project 205P - PSKR-616, PSKR-631, PSKR-638, PSKR-641, PSKR-644, PSKR-649, PSKR-657, PSKR-659, PSKR-721, PSKR-723 **fast patrol craft of project 201 - PSKR-252, PSKR-261 **fast patrol craft of project 125А - PSKR-152, PSKR-162, PSKR-163, PSKR-165 **fast patrol craft of project 133 - PSKR-100, PSKR-101, PSKR-102 **fast patrol boats of project 1400 - PSKA-275, PSKA-510, PSKA-520, PSKA-525, PSKA-559, PSKA-576, PSKA-577 **Battalion ГУК (Group of Training Cutters) - fast patrol boats of project 1400 - PSKA-500, PSKA-501, PSKA-502, PSKA-503 *17th Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''17-я ОБрПСКР'') —

, Azeri SSR **fast patrol craft of project 10410 - PSKR-902, PSKR-905 **fast patrol craft of project 205P - PSKR-603, PSKR-605, PSKR-609, PSKR-610, PSKR-617, PSKR-618, PSKR-624, PSKR-625, PSKR-656, PSKR-658, PSKR-664, PSKR-666, PSKR-669 **fast patrol boats of project 1400 - 6 unknown units **former Navy minesweepers of 264 - 2 unknown units * 21st Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''21-я ОБрПСКР'') —

**fast patrol craft (corvettes) of project 12412 - PSKR-808 "Grif", PSKR-811 "Orlan", PSKR-814 "Sarych", PSKR-291 "Novorossiysk" (formerly Navy MPK-291 (small ASW ship)), PSKR-292 "Kuban" (formerly Navy MPK-292 (small ASW ship)) **fast patrol craft of project 205P - PSKA-651, PSKA-660, PSKA-665, PSKA-695, PSKA-700, PSKA-715 **fast patrol craft of project 133 - PSKR-109, PSKR-110 **fast patrol boats of project 1400 - PSKA-513, PSKA-516, PSKA-553, PSKA-554, PSKA-563 ''Red Banner'' Western Border District (''КЗапПО'') - HQ in

*5th Separate ''Red Banner'' Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''5-я ОБрПСКР'') — Balaklava, Crimea, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR **fast patrol craft (corvettes) of project 1124P - PSKR- "Dnepr", PSKR- "Izmail" **fast patrol craft (corvettes) of project 12412 - PSKR-813 "Гр. Куропятников", PSKR-815 "Гр. Гнатенко" **fast patrol craft of project 205P - PSKR-623, PSKR-629, PSKR-630, PSKR-635, PSKR-636, PSKR-637, PSKR-642, PSKR-645, PSKR-722 **fast patrol craft of project 133 - PSKR-103, PSKR-105, PSKR-108, PSKR-115 **fast patrol boats of project 1400 - PSKA-125, PSKA-141, PSKA-508, PSKA-510, PSKA-523, PSKA-524, PSKA-525, PSKA-534 * 18th Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''18-я ОБрПСКР'') — Odessa, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR **fast patrol craft of project 205P - PSKR-643(?), PSKR-648, PSKR-650, PSKR-652, PSKR-702, PSKR-705, PSKR-709, PSKR-720 **fast patrol craft of project 125A - PSKR-165 **fast patrol boats of project 1400 - PSKA-509, PSKA-511, PSKA-512, PSKA-513, PSKA-516, PSKA-517, PSKA-518, PSKA-519, PSKA-520, PSKA-526, PSKA-527, PSKA-528, PSKA-529, PSKA-531, PSKA-546, PSKA-547, PSKA-550, PSKA-555, PSKA-558, PSKA-562, PSKA-574, PSKA-579 ''Red Banner'' Baltic Border District (''КППО'') - HQ in Riga *4th Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''4-я ОБрПСКР'') — Liepāja, Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, Latvian SSR ** fast patrol craft (corvettes) of project 1124P - PSKR-626 "Nikolay Kaplunov" **fast patrol craft of project 205P - PSKR-600, PSKR-602, PSKR-606(?), PSKR-614, PSKR-615, PSKR-639, PSKR-646, PSKR-663, PSKR-710, PSKR-713, PSKR-717 **fast patrol craft of project 125A - PSKR-153, PSKR-154 **patrol tugboat of project 745P - "Yan Berzin" *20th Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''20-я ОБрПСКР'') — Ventspils, Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, Latvian SSR **fast patrol craft (corvettes) of project 12412 - PSKR-810 "N. Kaplunov", PSKR-815 "Sobol", PSKR-817 "Jaguar" **fast patrol craft of project 205P - PSKR-613, PSKR-619, PSKR-620, PSKR-621, PSKR-622, PSKR-634, PSKR-696, PSKR-697, PSKR-698, PSKR-703, PSKR-706, PSKR-714, PSKR-724 **patrol tugboat of project 745P - "Ural" * 3rd Separate ''Red Banner'' Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''3-я ОБрПСКР'') — Tallinn, Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, Estonian SSR **fast patrol craft (corvettes) of project 12412 - PSKR-802 "Kunitsa", PSKR-804 "Toliatti", PSKR-806 "Kaliningrad" **fast patrol craft of project 205P - PSKR-601, PSKR-608, PSKR-627, PSKR-628, PSKR-632, PSKR-633, PSKR-634, PSKR-640, PSKR-643(?), PSKR-647, PSKR-655, PSKR-708, PSKR-716, PSKR-718, PSKR-719, PSKR-725 **fast patrol craft of project 201 - PSKR-032, PSKR-071 **fast patrol craft of project 133 - PSKR-094, PSKR-080, PSKR-072 **fast patrol craft of project 125A - 2 unknown units **fast patrol craft of project 1400 - 2 unknown units **patrol tugboat of project 745P - "Viktor Kingisepp" ''Red Banner'' Northwestern Border District (''КСЗПО'') - HQ in Petrozavodsk *1st Separate ''Red Banner'' Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''1-я ОБрПСКР'') — Kuvshinskaya Salma, Murmansk Oblast,

**patrol corvettes of Grisha-class corvette, project 1124P - PSKR-015 "Brilliant", PSKR-048 "Zhemchug", PSKR-022 "Izumrud", PSKR-028 "Rubin", PSKR-055 "Ametyst", PSKR-036 "Sapphir", PSKR-097 "Provorniy", PSKR-079 "Predanniy", PSKR-047 "Nadezhdniy", PSKR-066 "Dozorniy" **patrol tugboats of project 745P - PSKR- "Karelia", PSKR- "Zapolyarye", PSKR- "Enisey" **patrol icebreakers of Ivan Susanin-class patrol ship, project 97P "Iceberg" - PSKR-036 "Imeni XXVI syezda KPSS" **patrol tugboat of project 733 - PSKR-460 * 2nd Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''2-я ОБрПСКР'') — Vysotsk, Leningrad Oblast,

**fast patrol craft of project 205P - PSKR-604, PSKR-611, PSKR-612, PSKR-633, PSKR-653, PSKR-654, PSKR-661, PSKR-662, PSKR-667, PSKR-699, PSKR-701, PSKR-704, PSKR-707, PSKR-711, PSKR-712 **patrol tugboats of project 745P - PSKR- "Ladoga"

Border Troops Aviation

The Border Troops had their own aviation assets. Administratively they fell under the Aviation Department of the Border Troops (''Авиационный отдел пограничных войск''), with a Major general /

as its chief. Operationally the aviation units were subordinated to the border districts. Unlike its predecessor - the Border Troops of the NKVD (which fielded their own bombers and ground attack aircraft prior to and during World War II), the air arm of the Border Troops of the KGB played a combat support role to the border guards and the patrol ships. The only purely combat aircraft type in service was the

attack helicopter. The mainstay of the BT air fleet - the Mil Mi-8, had limited ground attack capabilities. The Border Troops aviation's main role was to deliver supplies and troops to remote border outposts, to deliver foot patrols in remote areas and to mount heli-borne assaults in combat operations. Kamov Ka-27, Kamov Ka-27PS helicopters supported the operations of the Border Troops' naval arm. The service also had a small number of Ilyushin Il-76 heavy troop transport jets, which could deliver reinforcements between the various border districts. The Il-76s, Tu-154s and Yak-40s of the Moscow Special Purpose Aviation Unit were also tasked with rapid deployment of the KGB's special operations units (Alpha Group, Vympel, Vympel Group, Sigma Group etc.). A secondary role of the service was to provide executive air transport for the KGB as a whole, for which it also had Tupolev Tu-134 (later Tupolev Tu-154) and Yakovlev Yak-40 in its inventory. At the time of the Soviet Union's collapse the Border Troops aviation had the following structure: Note: The border districts and their subordinated formations are listed clockwise, starting with the easternmost area of the Soviet Union. Units directly reporting to the Main Directorate of the Border Troops: * Separate Special Purpose Aviation Unit (''ОАО СН''), based at Sheremetyevo International Airport, Moscow – Sheremetyevo-2 Airport: 2 Tupolev Tu-154, 2 Tupolev Tu-134, 4 Ilyushin Il-76, 4 Antonov An-72, 1 Yakovlev Yak-40, 4 Mil Mi-8 * Combat Training Center of the Border Troops Aviation (''ЦБП АПВ''), based at Stavropol Shpakovskoye Airport, Stavropol – Shpakovskoye Airport ** combat training was carried out at the 12th Separate Training Air Regiment of the Caucasus Border District in Tbilisi Separate Arctic Border Detachment (''ОАПО'') - HQ in Vorkuta * (1st ?) Separate Arctic Aviation Regiment (''1-й'' (?) ''ОААП''), based at Vorkuta Airport: 3 Antonov An-26, 1 Antonov An-24, 40 Mil Mi-8, 2 Mil Mi-26, 4 Kamov Ka-27, Kamov Ka-27PS ** detachments at Tiksi Airport and Chersky Airport ** Forward Operating Locations at Murmansk Airport, Naryan-Mar Airport, Khatanga Airport, Chokurdakh Airport and Sredny Ostrov Airfield Northeastern Border District (''СВПО'') - HQ in

* 15th Separate Aviation Regiment (''15-й ОАП''), based at Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky – Yelizovo Airport (the helicopters were based in a detachment at Yelizovo – Khalakhtyrka Airfield): 2 Antonov An-26, 6 Antonov An-72, 20 Mil Mi-8, 4 Kamov Ka-27, Kamov Ka-27PS, 4 Kamov Ka-25 ?, 2 Mil Mi-26 ? ** Detachment at Klyuchi-1 Air Base * 21st Separate Aviation Squadron (''21-я ОАЭ''), based at Magadan – Sokol Airport: 1 Antonov An-26, 1 Antonov An-24, 4 Mil Mi-8 ** Forward Operating Location at

* 7th Separate Aviation Squadron (7''-я ОАЭ''), based at Providence Bay Airfield : 1 Antonov An-26, 1 Antonov An-24, 2 Kamov Ka-27, Kamov Ka-27PS, 4 Mil Mi-8 ** Forward Operating Locations at Anadyr Airport, Mys Shmidta Airport,

, Vankarem, Kresta Bay, Saint Lawrence Bay and Egvekinot ''Red Banner'' Pacific Border District (''КТПО'') - HQ in

* 11th Separate Aviation Regiment (''11-й ОАП''), based at Vladivostok – Knevichi Airport: 3 Antonov An-26, 1 Yakovlev Yak-40, 22 Mil Mi-8, 4

, 3 Kamov Ka-27, Kamov Ka-27PS ** Detachment at

Airfield ** Forward Operating Locations at

, Kamen-Rybolov, Spassk-Dalny Airfield and Pogranichny * 16th Separate Aviation Regiment (''16-й ОАП''), based at Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk – Khomutovo Airport: 2 Antonov An-26, 4 Antonov An-72, 1 Yakovlev Yak-40, 20 Mil Mi-8, 4

, 4 Kamov Ka-27, Kamov Ka-27PS ** Detachment at Yuzhno-Kurilsk Mendeleyevo Airport ''Red Banner'' Far Eastern Border District (''КДПО'') - HQ in

* 16th Separate Aviation Squadron (''16-я ОАЭ''), based at Khabarovsk Airport: 1 Antonov An-26, 1 Antonov An-24, 1 Yakovlev Yak-40, 4 Mil Mi-8 * 19th Separate Aviation Squadron (''19-я ОАЭ''), based at

Airfield: 1 Antonov An-26, 1 Antonov An-24, 4 Mil Mi-8, 4

''Red Banner'' Trans-Baikal Border District (''КЗабПО'') - HQ in Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai, Chita * 18th Separate Aviation Squadron (''18-я ОАЭ''), based at Chita – Cheremushki Airfield: 1 Antonov An-26, 1 Antonov An-24, 4 Mil Mi-8 ** Detachment at

''Red Banner'' Eastern Border District (''СВПО'') - HQ in

* 10th Separate Aviation Regiment (''10-й ОАП''), based at Almaty – Burunday Airfield: 2 Antonov An-72, 2 Antonov An-26, 2 Yakovlev Yak-40, 18 Mil Mi-8, 8

, 2 Mil Mi-26 * 22nd Separate Aviation Squadron (''22-я ОАЭ''), based at Usharal Airfield: 15 Mil Mi-8, 4

''Red Banner'' Central Asian Border District (''КСАПО'') - HQ in Ashgabat * 17th Separate Aviation Regiment (''17-й ОАП''), based at Mary-3 Airfield: 2 Antonov An-26, 36 Mil Mi-8, 16

, 2 Mil Mi-26 (?) ** Detachment at Nebit-Dag Airfield * 23rd Separate Aviation Regiment (''23-й ОАП''), based at Dushanbe Airport: 2 Antonov An-26, 24 Mil Mi-8, 12

, 2 Mil Mi-26 ''Red Banner'' Trans-Caucasus Border District (''КЗакПО'') - HQ in

* 12th Separate Training Aviation Regiment (''12-й ОУАП''), based at Tbilisi Airfield: 2 Antonov An-26, 2 Antonov An-72, 1 Yakovlev Yak-40, 4 Mil Mi-8, 4

, 2 Kamov Ka-27, Kamov Ka-27PS ''Red Banner'' Western Border District (''КЗапПО'') - HQ in

* 24th Separate Aviation Squadron (''24-я ОАЭ''), based at Odessa, Odessa – Shkolniy Airfield: 15 Mil Mi-8, 4

''Red Banner'' Baltic Border District (''КППО'') - HQ in Riga * 20th Separate Aviation Squadron (''20-я ОАЭ''), based at Rakvere Airfield: 2 Antonov An-26, 1 Antonov An-24, 4 Mil Mi-8, 2 Kamov Ka-27, Kamov Ka-27PS ** detachments at Riga – Skulte, Skulte Parish, Skulte and Ventspils International Airport, Ventspils airfields ''Red Banner'' Northwestern Border District (''КСЗПО'') - HQ in Petrozavodsk * 14th Separate Aviation Regiment (''14-й ОАП''), based at Petrozavodsk: 3 Antonov An-26, 1 Antonov An-24, 24 Mil Mi-8

Training

Enlisted men were trained with their operational units, whereas officers were trained in special Border Troops schools, such as the Dzerzhinskii Higher Border Command School in Alma-Ata (Kazakh SSR) and the Mossovet Higher Border Command School in Moscow. Military-political officers received training at the Voroshilov Higher Border Military-Political School, founded in the 1930s and located outside Leningrad. In 1972 a higher border military-political school was created in Golytsin, near Moscow. More recently, higher border command faculties were set up at the Frunze Military Academy and the Lenin Military-Political Academy. The period of instruction at the Higher Border Command and Military-Political Schools was four years. Officer candidates, who were screened carefully by their local KGB offices before admittance, took general higher education courses along with specialized military and political studies.

Political considerations

Soviet sources repeatedly stressed that a border guard was not only a soldier but also a defender of Soviet ideology. His mission entailed sensitive political tasks, such as detecting subversive literature. To ensure a high level of discipline among personnel of the Border Troops, much attention was devoted to political training and indoctrination. For this purpose, a network of political organs, the Political Directorate of the Border Troops, was established within the Border Troops. It had political departments within all the border districts, detachments, and education institutions, and a network of full-time party political officers worked among all troop units. They conducted political study groups, gave propaganda lectures, and worked to increase the level of combat effectiveness among the troops.

Famous former members of Soviet Border Troops

* Alexander Lukashenko, the President of Belarus, served as an officer, * Mikhail Saakashvili, the President of Georgia, served as a conscript. * Vlad Filat, the Prime minister of Moldova, served as a conscript. * Viktor Yushchenko, the 3rd President of Ukraine, served as a conscript. * Konstantin Chernenko, the second last Soviet leader (Secretary General of the CPSU) also served as a border guard on the USSR-Chinese border, before becoming more involved in politics.

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. These new guards mostly changed their name and subordination. The new states of Armenia and Tajikistan are unique exceptions. Tajikistan's border with Afghanistan was guarded by the Border Guard Service of Russia, Russian Border Guard (engaging in heavy fighting) until the late 1990s under a special treaty. Armenia's border is still guarded by Russians under similar conditions. 2020 Moscow Victory Day Parade 012

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 * State Border Committee of the Republic of Belarus, Border Guard Service of Belarus * Border Police of Georgia * Border Service of the National Security Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan, 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 the State Security Service (Uzbekistan), Border Troops of Uzbekistan

References

External links

Oral History: A soldiers account
of his service in the border guards and NKVD
NKVD.org: information site about the NKVD
{{Coast guards Soviet Border Troops, Border guards Borders of the Soviet Union 1934 establishments in the Soviet Union

History

World War II

Post-War history

Landing Assault units

Commanders of the Soviet Border Guards

Legal authority

Structure

Main Directorate of the Border Troops

Main Directorate of the Border Troops

Border Troops Staff

Directly subordinated to the MDBT

Border Districts

= Northeastern Border District

= Red Banner Pacific Border District

= Red Banner Far Eastern Border District

= Red Banner Trans-Baikal Border District

= Red Banner Eastern Border District

= Red Banner Central Asian Border District

= Red Banner Trans-Caucasus Border District

= Red Banner Western Border District

= Red Banner Baltic Border District

= Red Banner Northwestern Border District

Separate Border Detachments

Combined Arms troops

District forces

Border Troops Naval Service

Border Troops Aviation

Training

Political considerations

Famous former members of Soviet Border Troops

Dissolution and legacy

Successors

See also

References

Further reading

External links