March 27 - Day of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia
History The internal troops are rooted in the distant past, in the time of Ivan the Terrible, who created the so-called “residential shelves” in the capital and cities located on the southern borders of Russia.Under Peter I, the old name “residential shelves” was replaced by the more familiar to modern servicemen concept of “garrisons”. Under Peter I in Russia, the 43 infantry garrison regiment was formed, which were later reorganized into internal and border battalions.
However, the birthday of this kind of troops should be considered 27 in March 1811, when, in accordance with the Decree of Emperor Alexander I, internal guards were formed from state provincial companies and teams, which became one of the most important elements of state security. The tasks of the internal guards included the execution of court sentences, the fight against organized crime, the suppression of riots - “scattering of illegal huddles”, law enforcement during mass events, convoy convoy, security treasury, and the elimination of the consequences of natural emergencies.
An important milestone in the history of the internal guard was the military reform of Alexander III, during which in 1886 was created a convoy guard consisting of 567 teams, whose task was to escort prisoners to the courts and to the places of execution of punishments.
When the Bolsheviks came to power, in 1918 year, according to the order of the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs, the convoy guard was reorganized, and in 1919, the Soviet government decided to create internal security forces. Thus, the Soviet VOKhR-VNUS-VChK-OGPU-NKVD appeared.
In the years of the Great Patriotic War, the NKVD fighters selflessly fought against the Nazi invaders from the first minutes of the war, defending the Brest Fortress, proved themselves in the defense of Moscow and Leningrad, Kiev and Odessa, Voronezh and Stalingrad, fought with the Germans in the North Caucasus, participated in the Battle of Kursk arc. During the war years, 97700 military personnel of the NKVD troops died, and more than 100000 soldiers and officers were awarded orders and medals. 295 representatives of internal troops became Heroes of the Soviet Union.
After the end of the war, the soldiers of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs eliminated the consequences of natural and man-made disasters, including at the Mayak plant in the 1957 year, and, of course, at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the 1986 year. The soldiers of the Internal Troops were among the first to begin assisting the residents of the Armenian cities destroyed by the 1988 earthquake. Forces of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs took part in restoring order in Nagorno-Karabakh, Fergana, Ingushetia and North Ossetia, in the course of other armed conflicts, preventing new fighting clashes of the warring parties, disarming the gangsters, protecting the civilian population and refugees.
The soldiers of the internal troops honestly and professionally performed their duty, taking part in the Chechen campaign 1994-1996, as well as in counter-terrorist operations in the North Caucasus, continuing with the 1999 year. During the performance of combat missions over the years, more than 11000 military personnel were awarded state awards.
The Day of Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation was established by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 394 of 19 March 1996, but it is celebrated on March 27 - on the day of the signing of Alexander I's Decree on the creation of the internal guard, which pays tribute to historical tradition and underlines the continuity of more than two hundred years old fighting traditions of this kind of troops.
Internal Guard Special Report by A. Sladkova
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