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 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 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 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 conscripts 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 and the 3rd MMBO was armed with BTR-60PB. Each MMBO had 5 BMPs or BTRs. The MMG also had a motorised mortar battery, an anti-tank platoon and additional support units for a total of ca. 300 men. The fire and service support units were motorised with

GAZ-66 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 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. 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 * 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 * 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 * 59th ''Khasanskiy'' ''Red Banner'' and awarded the Order of Kutuzov (2nd grade) Border Detachment (''59-й ПОГО'') — Posyet : **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 * 12th Training Border Detachment (''12-й УПОГО'') — Perevoznaya * Vladivostok Border Entry Seaport (''Владивостокский МПП'') —

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

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

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

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

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

* 16th ''Sakhalinskaya'' ''Red Banner'' Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''16-я ОБрПСКР'') — Nakhodka * 10th Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''10-я ОБрПСКР'') —

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

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

'' Border Detachment (''55-й ПОГО'') — Skovorodino, Amur Oblast * ''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 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

= 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, 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 * 50th ''Zaysanskiy'' Краснознаменный Border Detachment (''50-й ПОГО'') — Zaysan, Kazakh SSR * 30th ''Makanchinskiy'' Краснознаменный Border Detachment (''30-й ПОГО'') — Makanchi, Kazakh SSR * 130th ''Uch-Aaralskiy'' Border Detachment (''130-й ПОГО'') — Usharal, Kazakh SSR * 49th ''Panfilovskiy'' Краснознаменный Border Detachment (''49-й ПОГО'') — Zharkent, Kazakh SSR * 132nd ''Chundzhinskiy'' Border Detachment (''132-й ПОГО'') — Chundzha, Kazakh SSR * 29th ''Przhevalskiy'' Border Detachment (''29-й ПОГО'') — Karakol, Kirghiz SSR * 96th ''Narynskiy'' Border Detachment (''96-й ПОГО'') — Naryn, Kirghiz SSR * 131st ''Oshskiy'' Border Detachment (''131-й ПОГО'') — Osh, Kirghiz SSR * 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 (

: ''Краснознамённый Среднеазиатский пограничный округ'') had its headquarters in Ashgabad. 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,

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,

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

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

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

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,

* 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 ...

Byelorussian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, Byelorussian SSR or Byelorussia; ; ), also known as Soviet Belarus or simply Belarus, was a republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 1922 as an independent state, and ...

* 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 SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

* 27th ''Mukachevskiy'' ''Red Banner'' Border Detachment (''27-й ПОГО'') — Mukachevo,

* 98th ''Chernovitskiy'' Border Detachment (''98-й ПОГО'') —

Chernivtsi Chernivtsi (, ; , ;, , see also #Names, other names) is a city in southwestern Ukraine on the upper course of the Prut River. Formerly the capital of the historic region of Bukovina, which is now divided between Romania and Ukraine, Chernivt ...

* 79th ''Nizhnednestrovskiy'' ''Red Banner'' Border Detachment (''79-й ПОГО'') —

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ; formerly known as Kishinev) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Moldova, largest city of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre, and is located in the middle of the coun ...

Moldavian SSR The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic or Moldavian SSR (, mo-Cyrl, Република Советикэ Сочиалистэ Молдовеняскэ), also known as the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic, Moldovan SSR, Soviet Moldavia, Sovie ...

* 26th ''Odesskiy'' ''Red Banner'' Border Detachment (''26-й ПОГО'') —

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

* 107th ''Simferopolskiy'' ''Red Banner'' Border Detachment (''107-й ПОГО'') —

Simferopol Simferopol ( ), also known as Aqmescit, is the second-largest city on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, but controlled by Russia. It is considered the cap ...

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

* ''Separate Border-crossing Checkpoint'' «''

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

Mariupol Mariupol is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius, Kalmius River. Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it was the tenth-largest city in the coun ...

''» (''ОКПП «Мариуполь»'') * ''Separate Border-crossing Checkpoint'' « ''Brest''» (''ОКПП «Брест»'') * ''Separate Border-crossing Checkpoint'' «'' Mostyska''» (''ОКПП «Мостиска»'') * ''Separate Border-crossing Checkpoint'' «''

''» (''ОКПП «Одесса»'') * ''Separate Border-crossing Checkpoint'' «Chop» (''ОКПП «Чоп»'') * ''Separate Border-crossing Checkpoint'' «''

Izmail Izmail (, ; ; , or ; ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality on the Danube river in Odesa Oblast in south-western Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Izmail Raion, one of seven distr ...

''» (''ОКПП «Измаил»'') Naval units: * 5th Separate ''Red Banner'' Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''5-я ОБрПСКР'') —

Balaklava Balaklava ( Ukrainian and , , ) is a settlement on the Crimean Peninsula and part of the city of Sevastopol. It is an administrative center of Balaklavsky District that used to be part of the Crimean Oblast before it was transferred to Sevast ...

* 18th Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''18-я ОБрПСКР'') —

Air units: * 24th Separate Aviation Squadron (''24-я ОАЭ'') — Odessa – Shkolniy Airfield

= Red Banner Baltic Border District

= The Red Banner Baltic Border District (

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

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

. 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

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

and of the

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

Kaliningrad Oblast Kaliningrad Oblast () is the westernmost federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of the Russian Federation. It is a Enclave and exclave, semi-exclave on the Baltic Sea within the Baltic region of Prussia (region), Prussia, surrounded by Pola ...

** 23rd ''Klaypyedskiy'' Border Detachment (''23-й ПОГО'') —

Klaipėda Klaipėda ( ; ) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. It is the List of cities in Lithuania, third-largest city in Lithuania, the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, fifth-largest city in the Baltic States, and the capi ...

Lithuanian SSR The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Lithuanian SSR; ; ), also known as Soviet Lithuania or simply Lithuania, was '' de facto'' one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union between 1940–1941 and 1944–1990. After 1946, its terr ...

** 8th ''Ventspilsskiy'' Border Detachment (''8-й ПОГО'') —

Ventspils Ventspils () is a state city in northwestern Latvia in the historical Courland region of Latvia, and is the sixth largest city in the country. At the beginning of 2020, Ventspils had a population of 33,906. It is situated on the Venta River and ...

Latvian SSR The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (Also known as the Latvian SSR, or Latvia) was a Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republic of the Soviet Union from 1940 to 1941, and then from 1944 until 1990. The Soviet occupation of the Bal ...

** 11th ''Kuresaarskiy'' Border Detachment (''11-й ПОГО'') —

Kuressaare Kuressaare () is a populated places in Estonia, town on the island of Saaremaa in Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Saaremaa Municipality and the seat of Saare County. Kuressaare is the westernmost town in Estonia. The recorded popul ...

Estonian SSR The Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, (abbreviated Estonian SSR, Soviet Estonia, or simply Estonia ) was an administrative subunit ( union republic) of the former Soviet Union (USSR), covering the occupied and annexed territory of Estonia ...

** 106th ''Tallinnskiy'' Border Detachment (''106-й ПОГО'') —

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

** 6th '' Gdynskiy, Awarded the Order of the

'' Border Detachment (6''-й ПОГО'') —

Rakvere Rakvere is the administrative center, or county seat, of Lääne-Viru County in northern Estonia, about 100 km southeast of Tallinn and 20 km south of the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea. Rakvere boasts a distinctive architectural feature: th ...

** ''Separate Border-crossing Checkpoint'' «''

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad,. known as Königsberg; ; . until 1946, is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland ( west of the bulk of Russia), located on the Prego ...

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

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

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

''» (''ОКПП «Вильнюс»'') * Naval units: ** 4th Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (4''-я ОБрПСКР'') —

Liepāja Liepāja () (formerly: Libau) is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest city in the Courland region and the third-largest in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an ...

** 20th Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (20''-я ОБрПСКР'') —

** 3rd Separate ''Red Banner'' Brigade of Border Guard Ships (3''-я ОБрПСКР'') —

Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic The Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, (abbreviated Estonian SSR, Soviet Estonia, or simply Estonia ) was an administrative subunit (Republics of the Soviet Union, union republic) of the former Soviet Union (USSR), covering the Occupation o ...

* Air units: ** 20th Separate Aviation Squadron (''20-я ОАЭ'') — Rakvere Airfield *** detachments at Riga – Skulte and

airfields

= Red Banner Northwestern Border District

= The Red Banner Northwestern Border District (''Краснознамённый Северо-Западный пограничный округ'') had its headquarters in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. It guarded the Russian section of the Baltic coastline, the Finnish-Soviet border, the

Barents Sea The Barents Sea ( , also ; , ; ) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territorial waters.World Wildlife Fund, 2008. It was known earlier among Russi ...

White Sea The White Sea (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; ) is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the nort ...

and the

Kanin Peninsula The Kanin Peninsula () is a large peninsula in Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia. Geography It is surrounded by the White Sea to the west and by the Barents Sea to the north and east. Shoyna (also spelled Shoina) is one of the few communities o ...

coastline. * Land units: ** 5-й ''Leningradskiy'' пограничный отряд имени Ю. В. Андропова Border Detachment (''5-й ПОГО'') — Sosnovy Bor, Leningrad Oblast ** 102-й ''Vyborgskiy'' ''Red Banner'' пограничный отряд имени С. М. Кирова Border Detachment (''102-й ПОГО'') —

Vyborg Vyborg (; , ; , ; , ) is a town and the administrative center of Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of Vyborg Bay, northwest of St. Petersburg, east of the Finnish capital H ...

Leningrad Oblast Leningrad Oblast (, ; ; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). The oblast has an area of and a population of 2,000,997 (2021 Russian census, 2021 Census); up from 1,716,868 recorded in the 2010 Russian census ...

** 1-й ''Sortavalskiy'' ''Red Banner'' Border Detachment (''1-й ПОГО'') —

Sortavala Sortavala (; Finnish language, Finnish and ; ), previously known as Serdobol () until 1918, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located at the northern tip of Lake Ladoga near the Finland, Finni ...

, Karelian ASSR,

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

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

** 72-й ''Kalevalskiy'', Awarded the

Border Detachment (''72-й ПОГО'') —

Kalevala The ''Kalevala'' () is a 19th-century compilation of epic poetry, compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology, telling a story about the Creation of the Earth, describing the controversies and retaliatory ...

, Karelian ASSR,

** 101-й ''Alakurttinskiy'' Border Detachment (''101-й ПОГО'') — Alakurtti,

Murmansk Oblast Murmansk Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an oblast) of Russia, located in the northwestern part of the country, with a total land area of . Its only internal border is the Republic of Karelia to the south, and it is bor ...

** 100-й ''Nikelskiy'', Awarded the

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

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

Murmansk Murmansk () is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far Far North (Russia), northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Ko ...

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

Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near its mouth into the White Sea. The city spreads for over along the ...

Arkhangelsk Oblast Arkhangelsk Oblast ( rus, Архангельская область, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲskəjə ˈobɫəsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It includes the Arctic Ocean, Arctic archipelagos of Franz ...

** ''Separate Border-crossing Checkpoint'' «''

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

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

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

Vysotsk Vysotsk (; ; ) is a coastal types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and a seaport in Vyborgsky District, Leningrad Oblast, Vyborgsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the Karelian Isthmus, on the eastern shore of the Vyborg Bay ...

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

Petrozavodsk Petrozavodsk (, ; Karelian language, Karelian, Veps language, Vepsian and ) is the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, which stretches along the western shore of Lake Onega for some . The population of the city is 280,890 as of 2022. ...

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

Border Detachment (''4-й Архангельский ПОГО'') * Separate

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

Border Detachment (''Отдельный Арктический ПОГО'') *The Separate

Border Detachment (

: ''Отдельный Арктический пограничный отряд'') had its headquarters in

Vorkuta Vorkuta (; ; Nenets languages, Nenets for "the abundance of bears", "bear corner") is a coal-mining types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in the Komi Republic, Russia, situated just north of the Arctic Circle in the Pechora coal basin a ...

. 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 Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

" (''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 Airport and one section each at Sheremetyevo-1 Airport cargo terminal, Vnukovo Airport,

Domodedovo Airport Moscow Domodedovo International Airport ( rus, links=no, аэропорт Домодедово, p=dəmɐˈdʲɛdəvə) (IATA: DME, ICAO: UUDD), formally Domodedovo Mikhail Lomonosov International Airport, is an international airport serving Mosc ...

and

Chkalovsky Airport Chkalovsky is a military air base near Shchyolkovo, Moscow Oblast, Russia. It is located 31 km northeast of Moscow. The airport name is also given as Chkalovskoye. The facility should not be confused with Kaliningrad Chkalovsk or Oms ...

. * 105th Separate Red Banner Detachment

Spetsnaz SpetsnazThe term is borrowed from rus, спецназ, p=spʲɪtsˈnas; abbreviation for or 'Special Purpose Military Units'; or () are special forces in many post-Soviet states. Historically, this term referred to the Soviet Union's Spet ...

(''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 East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

, 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 The Sino-Soviet border conflict, also known as the Sino-Soviet crisis, was a seven-month undeclared military conflict between the Soviet Union and China in 1969, following the Sino-Soviet split. The most serious border clash, which brought th ...

. 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' 75th Motor Rifle Division (''75-я Мотострелковая дивизия'') - from January 4, 1990, until September 23, 1991 * the 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 Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

as its commanding officer. The territorial waters were patrolled by brigades of guard ships (

: ''Бригада сторожевых кораблей'', abbr. ''БСКР'' (singular)) and were commanded by 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 Captain 2nd rank () is a rank used by the Russian Navy and a number of List of communist states#Former communist states, former communist states. The rank is the middle rank in the staff officer's career group. The rank is equivalent to lieutenant c ...

. 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

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 Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

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 Mazar-i-Sharīf ( ; Dari and ), also known as Mazar-e Sharīf or simply Mazar, is the fifth-largest city in Afghanistan by population, with the estimates varying from 500,000-680,000. It is the capital of Balkh province and is linked by highway ...

", later the "Marmoly" MMG) of the Termez Border Detachment, deployed to Afghanistan. It had: * command section with one

BTR-60 The BTR-60 is the first vehicle in a series of Soviet Union, 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 (vehi ...

and one UAZ-469 * 3 border outposts, each consisting of 50 men, including three officers, two Sergeant-Majors and seven Sergeants, further divided into ** 5 sections with one

each * mortar battery of 64 men, including five officers and a

Sergeant-Major Sergeant major is a senior non-commissioned rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. History In 16th century Spain, the ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's infantry, and ranked about third in th ...

. The battery had one

( 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

* 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

s ( 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 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

Mi-8 The Mil Mi-8 (, NATO reporting name: Hip) is a medium twin-turbine helicopter, originally designed by the Soviet Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI) in the 1960s and introduced into the Soviet Air Force in 1968. Russian production of t ...

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 * AGS-17 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 and for their ASW they carried

anti-submarine mortar Anti-submarine mortars are artillery pieces deployed on ships for the purpose of sinking submarines by a direct hit with a small explosive charge. They are often larger versions of the Mortar (weapon), mortar used by infantry and fire a projecti ...

s, torpedoes and even 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 An ''aviso'' was originally a kind of dispatch boat or "advice boat", carrying orders before the development of effective remote communication. The term, derived from the Portuguese and Spanish word for "advice", "notice" or "warning", an ...

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

), 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 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 project 11351 - PSKR-097 "Dzerzhinskiy", PSKR-059 "Vorovskiy", PSKR-103 "Kedrov", PSKR-060 "Imeni 70-letiya Pogranvoisk", PSKR-077 "Imeni 70-letiya VChK—KGB" *** patrol corvettes of 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, Shikotan,

** patrol tugboats of project 745P - "Chukotka", "Neman", "Amur", "Bug" **patrol tugboat of project 733 - PSKR-467, PSKR-482 ** 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'') — Nevelsk,

** patrol tugboats of project 745P - "Забайкалье" ** 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'') — Nakhodka **patrol frigates of project 11351 - PSKR- "Menzhinskiy", "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 project 1400 - PSKA-110 * 15th Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''15-я ОБрПСКР'') — Dalnerechensk 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'') — Leninskoye, Jewish Autonomous Oblast 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 * 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 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 ...

*22nd Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''22-я ОБрПСКР'') — Termez,

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 project 1400/M - 5 ~ 6 ''Red Banner'' Trans-Caucasus Border District (''КЗакПО'') - HQ in

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

** 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'') —

**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'') —

**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

*4th Separate Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''4-я ОБрПСКР'') —

** 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'') —

**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'') —

**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

*1st Separate ''Red Banner'' Brigade of Border Guard Ships (''1-я ОБрПСКР'') — Kuvshinskaya Salma,

**patrol corvettes of 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 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'') —

**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 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

), 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 The Mil Mi-8 (, NATO reporting name: Hip) is a medium twin-turbine helicopter, originally designed by the Soviet Union, Soviet Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute, Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI) in the 1960s and introduced into the ...

, 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-27PS helicopters supported the operations of the Border Troops' naval arm. The service also had a small number of

Ilyushin Il-76 The Ilyushin Il-76 (; NATO reporting name: Candid) is a multi-purpose, fixed-wing, four-engine turbofan strategic airlifter designed by the Soviet Union's Ilyushin design bureau as a commercial freighter in 1967, to replace the Antonov An-1 ...

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 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 The Tupolev Tu-134 (NATO reporting name: Crusty) is a twin-engined, narrow-body jet airliner built in the Soviet Union for short and medium-haul routes from 1966 to 1989. The original version featured a glazed-nose design and, like certain oth ...

(later

Tupolev Tu-154 The Tupolev Tu-154 (; NATO reporting name: "Careless") is a three-engined, medium-range, narrow-body airliner designed in the mid-1960s and manufactured by Tupolev. A workhorse of Soviet and (subsequently) Russian airlines for several decades, ...

) and

Yakovlev Yak-40 The Yakovlev Yak-40 (; NATO reporting name: Codling) is a regional jet designed in Soviet Union by Yakovlev. The trijet's maiden flight was in 1966, and it was in production from 1967 to 1981. It was introduced to service in 1968, with export mo ...

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 Moscow – Sheremetyevo-2 Airport: 2

, 2

, 4

, 4 Antonov An-72, 1

, 4

* Combat Training Center of the Border Troops Aviation (''ЦБП АПВ''), based at 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

* (1st ?) Separate Arctic Aviation Regiment (''1-й'' (?) ''ОААП''), based at Vorkuta Airport: 3

Antonov An-26 The Antonov An-26 (NATO reporting name: Curl) is a twin-engined turboprop civilian and military transport aircraft, designed and produced in the Soviet Union from 1969 to 1986.Gordon, Yefim. Komissarov, Dmitry & Sergey. "Antonov's Turboprop Twins ...

, 1 Antonov An-24, 40

, 2 Mil Mi-26, 4 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

, 6 Antonov An-72, 20

, 4 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

, 1 Antonov An-24, 4

** Forward Operating Location at Okhotsk * 7th Separate Aviation Squadron (7''-я ОАЭ''), based at Providence Bay Airfield : 1

, 1 Antonov An-24, 2 Kamov Ka-27PS, 4

** 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

, 1

, 22

, 4

, 3 Kamov Ka-27PS ** Detachment at

Airfield ** Forward Operating Locations at Dalnerechensk, Kamen-Rybolov, Spassk-Dalny Airfield and Pogranichny * 16th Separate Aviation Regiment (''16-й ОАП''), based at Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk – Khomutovo Airport: 2

, 4 Antonov An-72, 1

, 20

, 4

, 4 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

, 1 Antonov An-24, 1

, 4

* 19th Separate Aviation Squadron (''19-я ОАЭ''), based at

Airfield: 1

, 1 Antonov An-24, 4

, 4

''Red Banner'' Trans-Baikal Border District (''КЗабПО'') - HQ in Chita * 18th Separate Aviation Squadron (''18-я ОАЭ''), based at Chita – Cheremushki Airfield: 1

, 1 Antonov An-24, 4

** Detachment at Kyzyl Airport ''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

, 2

, 18

, 8

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

, 4

''Red Banner'' Central Asian Border District (''КСАПО'') - HQ in

* 17th Separate Aviation Regiment (''17-й ОАП''), based at Mary-3 Airfield: 2

, 36

, 16

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

, 24

, 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

, 2 Antonov An-72, 1

, 4

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

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

, 4

''Red Banner'' Baltic Border District (''КППО'') - HQ in

* 20th Separate Aviation Squadron (''20-я ОАЭ''), based at

Airfield: 2

, 1 Antonov An-24, 4

, 2 Kamov Ka-27PS ** detachments at Riga – Skulte and

airfields ''Red Banner'' Northwestern Border District (''КСЗПО'') - HQ in

* 14th Separate Aviation Regiment (''14-й ОАП''), based at

: 3

, 1 Antonov An-24, 24

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 Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the 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 in southern Kazakhstan, near the border wi ...

( 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 Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (also transliterated as Alyaksandr Ryhoravich Lukashenka; born 30 August 1954) is a Belarusian politician who has been the first and only president of Belarus since the office's establishment in 1994, making hi ...

, the

President of Belarus The president of the Republic of Belarus is the head of state of Belarus. The office was created in 1994 with the passing of the Constitution of Belarus by the Supreme Council of Belarus, Supreme Council. This replaced the office of Supreme_Counc ...

, served as an officer, * Mikhail Saakashvili, the

President of Georgia The president of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს პრეზიდენტი, tr) is the ceremonial head of state of Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U ...

, served as a conscript. * Vlad Filat, the

Prime minister of Moldova The prime minister of Moldova () is Moldova's head of government. The prime minister is formally appointed by the president of Moldova and exercises executive power along with the Cabinet of Moldova, cabinet, subject to Parliament of Moldova, p ...

, served as a conscript. *

Viktor Yushchenko Viktor Andriiovych Yushchenko (, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010. He aimed to orient Ukraine towards Western world, the West, European Union, and N ...

, the 3rd

President of Ukraine The president of Ukraine (, ) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, conducts negotiations and concludes international treaties. ...

, served as a conscript. *

Konstantin Chernenko Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko ( – 10 March 1985) was a Soviet politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1984 until his death a year later. Born to a poor family in Siberia, Chernenko jo ...

, 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 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 ...

, 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 Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

and

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

are unique exceptions. Tajikistan's border with

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

was guarded by the Russian Border Guard (engaging in heavy fighting) until the late 1990s under a special treaty.

'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 post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union or the former Soviet republics, are the independent sovereign states that emerged/re-emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to their independence, they ...

, the Border Troops retained some Soviet traditions, most notably the green shoulder boards on their uniforms and " Border Guards Day" (), an official holiday celebrated both by active service and former border guards.

Successors

* State Border Service of Azerbaijan * Armenian Border Guard * Border Guard Service of Belarus * Border Police of Georgia * Border Service of Kazakhstan * State Border Guard Service of Kyrgyzstan * Moldovan Border Police * Border Guard Service of Russia * Tajik Border Troops * State Border Service of Turkmenistan * State Border Guard Service of Ukraine * Border Troops of Uzbekistan

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 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