NKVD border guards watching the frontier

Soviet Border Troops, (Russian: Пограничные войска СССР, Pogranichnyie Voiska SSSR) were the militarized border guard of the Soviet Union, subordinated to its subsequently reorganized state security agency: first to Cheka, than to NKVD and, finally, to to KGB. Accordingly, they were known as NKVD Border Troops and KGB Border Troops (with Russian abbreviations - НКВД СССР/- КГБ СССР added on the end of official names). Unlike border guards of many other countries, Soviet Border Troops were a centralized force including also the maritime borderguarding units (i.e., a coast guard). Image File history File links Nkvd_01_bw. ... Image File history File links Nkvd_01_bw. ... A military or military force (n. ... Border Guard (Polish Straż Graniczna, SG) is a Polish military unit tasked with patrol of the Polish border. ... Security agency is an organization which conducts intelligence activities for the internal security of a nation, state or organization. ... Cheka-KGB emblem: sword and shield The Cheka (ЧК - чрезвычайная комиссия) was the first of many Soviet secret police organizations, created by decree on December 20, 1917 by Vladimir Lenin and led by Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky. ... The NKVD (Narodnyi Komissariat Vnutrennikh Del )(Russian: НКВД, Народный комиссариат внутренних дел) or Peoples Commisariat for Internal Affairs was a government department which handled a number of the Soviet Unions affairs of state. ... The KGB emblem and motto: The sword and the shield KGB (transliteration of КГБ) is the Russian-language abbreviation for State Security Committee, (Russian: ; Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti). ... From the latin maritimus, maritime refers to things relating to the sea. ... Canadian Coast Guard ship and helicopter A coast guard enforces maritime law, maintains aids to navigation such as beacons and buoys, and provides other services for the benefit of mariners. ...

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 airforce units.

Since the 1930s, the distinctive part of Soviet Border Troops uniform is the intensively medium-green colored parts of headwear and insignia. The color is also present on a maritime Border Troops ensign. This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... Headgear, headwear or headdress is the name given to any element of clothing which is worn on ones head. ... ... It has been suggested that naval ensign be merged into this article or section. ...

World War II

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 assault, and due to this, suffered high casualty rates. Border Troop sevicemen were among the defenders of the legendary Brest Fortress. Border troops from other parts of the Soviet border were also involved in the fighting 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. Combatants Axis Powers Soviet Union Commanders Supreme commander: Adolf Hitler Supreme commander: Josef Stalin Strength ~ 3. ... Hero-Fortress (крепость-герой - krepost-geroy) is the honorary title awarded to the Soviet fortress now located in Brest, Belarus (then part of the Byelorussian SSR) in 1965 for the heroic defence of the frontier stronghold during the very first weeks of the Great Patriotic War of 1941 to 1945. ... This article is about the capital of Germany. ...

A distinct problem in the first days of the war were German Brandenburger Regiment commandos. They had obtained NKVD Border Troops uniforms and led many infiltration missions across the Red Army lines to inflict subversion.^{[citation needed]} The Brandenburger Regiment was a German commando unit during World War II. The unit was originally founded by Wilhelm Canaris of the Abwehr, and until 1944 was an OKW unit rather than a unit of the regular army (Heer, OKH). ... The French Navy commando Jaubert storm the Alcyon in a mock assault. ... See: espionage, urban exploration, entryism, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. ... The short forms Red Army and RKKA refer to the Workers and Peasants Red Army, (in Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия - Raboche-Krestyanskaya Krasnaya Armiya), the armed forces first organized by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in 1918. ... Subversion (also known as svn, for that is the name of its command-line tool) is a version control system designed specifically to replace CVS, which is considered to have many deficiencies. ...

Post-War history

After the formation of the KGB, Soviet Border Troops became subordinated to this agency and remained so until the end of Soviet rule. As such, the Troops were concentrating on the tasks of preventing Soviet citizens from escaping to the West and fighting espionage infiltrations. The former task created a number of anecdotes about Soviet-Jewish illegal emigrants that attempt to cross the border and trick the Border Troops patrol. The KGB emblem and motto: The sword and the shield KGB (transliteration of КГБ) is the Russian-language abbreviation for State Security Committee, (Russian: ; Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti). ... A compass rose with west highlighted This article refers to the cardinal direction; for other uses see West (disambiguation). ... Espionage is the practice of obtaining information about an organization or a society that is considered secret or confidential (spying) without the permission of the holder of the information. ... Russian jokes or anekdoty (Russian: анекдо́ты), the most popular form of Russian humour, are short fictional stories or dialogues with a punch line. ... The word Jew (Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ... Emigration is the action and the phenomenon of leaving ones native country to settle abroad. ... In military tactics, to patrol, or conduct a patrol, is to conduct reconnaissance of a designated area or route. ...

A dense and sophisticated system of field engineering devices was created to keep Soviet border intact (including its complicated terrain and harsh climate zones). The most notable in that system was the trace-control strip (Russian: контрольно-следовая полоса) - a primitive labour-demanding method making surface crossing virtually impossible. The mission also required significant manpower and intensive maritime presence.

The Border Troops consisted of conscripts drafted by the same system as for the Soviet Army, and small number of professional enlistees. Officers were trained in specialized academies (particularly, in the city of Khmelnystkyi, Ukrainian SSR). Both conscripts and officer candidates for Border Troops were carefully selected and checked by the KGB. This made service in the troops privileged. This article is about the armed forces of the Soviet Union. ... Khmelnytskyi (Ukrainian: , Khmelnytskyi; Russian: Khmelnitsky; Polish: Chmielnicki) is a city in Ukraine in the region of Podillya. ... State motto: Пролетарі всіх країн, єднайтеся! Official language None. ... The KGB emblem and motto: The sword and the shield KGB (transliteration of КГБ) is the Russian-language abbreviation for State Security Committee, (Russian: ; Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti). ...

Famous people linked to Soviet Border Troops

Alexander Lukashenko, the President of modern Belarus served as an officer, whilst Mikhail Saakashvili, the President of modern Georgia, and Viktor Yuschenko, the President of modern Ukraine, served their conscript service in the Soviet Border Troops. Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko or Alaksandar Ryhoravič Lukashenka (Belarusian: , Russian: ) (born August 30, 1954) has been the President of Belarus since 1994. ... Mikhail Saakashvili briefing the press at UN headquarters Mikhail Saakashvili (Georgian: მიხეილ სააკაშვილი) (born December 21, 1967, in Tbilisi) is a Georgian jurist and politician and the current President of Georgia. ... Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko (Ukrainian: Віктор Андрійович Ющенко) (born 23 February 1954) is the president of Ukraine. ...

Dissolution and legacy

With the fall of Soviet Union, Border Troops formation in inner-bordering Soviet republics became border guards of the respective independent states. These new guards mostly changed their name and subordination. However, they retained some Soviet traditions, most notably the green-colored uniform and "Border Guarder's Day" (an official holiday commemorated by celebrations of ex-servicemen). The rise of Gorbachev Although reform stalled between 1964–1982, the generational shift gave new momentum for reform. ...

The new states of Armenia and Tajikistan are unique exceptions. Tajikistan's border with Afghanistan has been guarded by the Russian Border Guard (suffering heavy fighting) until the late 1990s under a special treaty. Armenia's border is still guarded by Russians under similar conditions. See also 1990s, the band The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive, sometimes informally including popular culture from 2000 and 2001. ...

External links

• Oral History: A soldiers account of his service in the border guards and NKVD
• NKVD.org: information site about the NKVD