For those who didn't understand the first time. Second reading. When will border troops appear in Russia?
A strange disease is affecting our officials. It seems to me that this disease is spreading from the fact that any more or less important official, in the event of his resignation, considers, and some even implement, a transition to politics. Election to deputies or governing bodies of any party. Which ultimately still leads to receiving a deputy mandate.
What I mean is that people called upon to make decisions, people in power, do not understand the problem “in the first reading.” Very convenient, you know. I heard you, but we need to think, consult, ask the opinion of our superior comrades... And this is the time! There are even more problems up there, and they need to be solved. And the question is “muryzhat” in the first reading, in the second, third... one hundred and fifth...
Today I am forced to return to a topic that has been discussed many times on the pages of our publication. Authors, readers, Russians and citizens of other countries wrote. I'm talking about the restoration of full-fledged border troops. The fact that in conditions when our country has once again been declared an “enemy of democracy”, an “aggressor”, a “threat to peace” and so on, many people have appeared who want to spoil our house. To make a mess inside our state.
Haven’t the events on the Russian-Ukrainian border convinced the country’s leadership that the protection of the borders of our Motherland cannot be ensured by militias, the same ones that we have now “modernly” called territorial defense units? Is it really not clear that the protection of the country’s borders should be provided by full-fledged combat units? Trained the same way they did it under the Soviet Union.
Where does this blind faith come from that all these meshes, and in fact, that very ancient rusty wire, together with video cameras, thermal imagers and other sensors, will be able to ensure the “impassability” of our borders. It is not amateur smugglers who are coming to us. Professionals are coming to us, for whom, may the designers forgive me, all these technical means are completely surmountable. If someone created something, there will always be someone who can break it.
Border guards are expensive
Readers of the older generation remember very well the times when Border Guard Day was celebrated in much the same way as paratroopers or sailors celebrate their holidays today. A green cap was the same dream of many boys as a blue beret or cap. And then they looked at the “uncles” in these caps with admiration.
But... in 2005, the border troops were abolished! Why do we need tens of thousands of border guards when there are friends around? Our borders are not threatened. Here's to saving money! By the way, it was then that the FSB became acquainted with the new name of the service - border agencies. Since 2005, conscripts no longer serve in border agencies. The latter left in 2007... For some, it may be a revelation that the “new border guards” do not have border posts!
Today our border service is actually a border police. Instead of outposts there are line departments, instead of soldiers there are contract soldiers whose task is to check documents and inspect cargo. Yes, I almost forgot, today border guards are guarding... the country's fishing wealth! Poachers are being caught! And this is no joke. They have nothing else to do. The Ministry of Transport will even do a checkpoint or inspection platform for them.
Tell me, is this some kind of nonsense? They should have boundaries protect! And again you will be wrong. Should not. They have no such task. The Soviets should have defended this. And they laid down their lives defending themselves with “riflemen” until the army units arrived. And it was clear who was responsible for what. According to the law “On the State Border of the Russian Federation”, border guards are prohibited from firing towards the border!
Captain Ivanov - for the site from now to now. Senior Lieutenant Petrov further to... There is a head of the outpost who is obliged to close the border. There is a head of the border detachment who coordinates the actions of the commanders of the outposts and, if necessary, sends mobile groups to help...
Who is responsible for the border today? Head of the border line department? With what and by whom? The “economic reform” of the border troops actually killed them.
Hurray, the border troops are being restored
This is the cry of my inner voice when, after numerous publications, I heard a speech by State Duma deputy, member of the defense committee, General Andrei Gurulev, that the border troops will be revived again. Let me remind you that General Gurulev announced this in June of this year. Finally, the 2-kilometer border with Ukraine will be covered!
But half of September has already passed... And the cart is still there... This same cart is stuck. Such an interesting picture. Everyone understands everything, everyone is in favor, but for some reason there was no official who would implement the decision. We can't protect the border with Ukraine because of... Ukraine. More precisely, because we are conducting SVO there.
Recruiting conscripts is not difficult. It is even possible to restore border posts. But where to get weapons and everything else? Do you need artillery? Of course, like air! Aviation needed? How can we ensure the transfer of mobile support groups without helicopters? Are UAVs necessary? Where would a modern war be without them? And so on, down the list...
What follows is even more interesting.
Today there is no structure for managing the border troops. What exists is intended for post-reform “border agencies”, but not for border troops. That is, it is necessary to create, by analogy with the army, border districts. And from there, expand the structure downwards.
Just for example. Yes, our border with Ukraine is quite long. So why not give this entire border to one leader? By analogy with the USSR. Let there be a Southern Border District. Or for example the Arctic. After all, there was a separate Arctic border detachment.
Moreover, due to the difficult situation on the border, some army formations can be reassigned to the border guards, at least for the duration of the SVO. After all, there were examples of the 103rd Airborne Division, 74th MSD, which were subordinate to the FSB for a year and a half in 1990–1991.
Now let's get back to the personnel.
To protect the state border of the USSR, 150 to 200 thousand people were enough. I don’t think that conscripting 25–30 thousand people into the PV for the Southern Military District will greatly weaken the ranks of our army. And over time, when vacancies are filled by contract workers, even this will become a lot.
Well, weapons.
Based on the tasks of defending the border and completely covering it, I think the district commander should have a reserve that includes heavy weapons. The same infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, MLRS, mortars, etc. For some reason, the experience of Afghanistan has been forgotten. For some reason, we believe that border guards are an outpost, a section of the border.
We forget that the task of the border guards is not just to close the border, but also to ensure peace there. And they provided it! On one's own. Their mobile groups worked independently from army units at a fairly large distance. According to some reports, up to 80 km from the deployment sites! They worked to ensure the safety of their own outposts.
Veterans of the border troops also remember one more fact, completely forgotten today. Soviet border troops could independently conduct quite serious battles with enemy army units on their own! The border guards had almost everything that the army had. And they were trained not only according to the methods of motorized rifle units, but also according to the methods of airborne assault units of the Airborne Forces.
Instead of deducing
I understand that it is difficult to create a new power structure right away. Even very difficult. Literally every issue can be discussed. Starting with whether this structure will be part of the FSB, as before, or in some other department, and ending with material support and weapons. One can even allow the emergence of border troops as a completely new independent structure.
I also understand that this will cost serious money, which could be used for more pressing purposes. This too can be debated forever. The money issue has always been and remains very controversial and very complex. Remember the classics of opponents of any reforms, changes or transformations: it would be better to give this money to pensioners (pioneers, athletes, doctors, teachers) and others.
This can all be decided by a simple vote. They discussed it, voted, and the president signed it. And the issue is resolved. And then it’s up to the professionals. I think that even today there are people in the FSB who started serving in the border troops and then were forced to change their specialization. But they will be happy to “go back to the past.” They will make every effort to ensure that the green cap becomes a source of pride for the fighter for the rest of his life...
Well, we can’t drag our feet any longer. We do not dare resolve the issue “without haste and deeply thinking through the solution.” Simply because, in the absence of victories at the front, Ukrainians will in any case intensify sabotage activities within our country. Today, no one will be surprised by reports of caches found on our territory, where you can find almost everything: from pistols and cartridges to anti-tank mines and large-caliber shells.
And often these weapons are delivered from the territory of Ukraine. This means that all and sundry are walking across our border. They walk in both directions. It turns out that all this electronics and thorn do not work. Therefore, terrorist attacks in our cities and villages will continue. Civilians will die. Peaceful infrastructure facilities will be destroyed.
And we will again heroically expel, destroy, squeeze out, etc., the Ukrainian or some other DRGs that have already come and caused mischief. We will talk about the heroism of ordinary men who defended their village with hunting rifles. At the same time, without doing anything to ensure that this heroism did not happen. So that professionals fight with professionals.
Well, the last.
Remember how many times Ukrainian formations entered or tried to enter our territory to commit sabotage. If we count since March last year, there have been 7 (seven) such attempts. And they were not committed by some patriots or criminals. And the professionals. Let me remind you of one more fact about the last such foray into the Bryansk region.
Then two were killed and five saboteurs were captured. Remember the Russian television reports where the trophies were shown? Weapon American-made (M4 rifles), grenade launchers, mines, etc. But the composition of the prisoners is much more interesting. Employees of the SBU, GUR and SSO!
So do we need border troops or is there still time to do some arithmetic? Calculate how much it costs. Look, as long as we think, the problem will resolve on its own...
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