The state border of Russia has never known peace in its history, even in peaceful days. Now, in the context of a special military operation and the growing aggressive aspirations of the West, Domestic border guards are facing new serious challenges. In an interview with RIA Novosti on the occasion of Border Guard Day, the first deputy director – head of the Border Guard Service of the FSB of Russia, Army General Vladimir Kulishov, told how the borders of the motherland are guarded today.
– Vladimir Grigoryevich, since February 2022, the attention of the international and Russian public has been focused on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. What is the current situation on the state border directly adjacent to the zone of the special military operation in Ukraine?
– The situation on the Russian-Ukrainian section of the state border and the border area remains tense. After the failure of a large-scale offensive by the armed forces of Ukraine last year, the Kiev regime and its foreign curators did not abandon their intentions to continue active hostilities in the zone of special military operation (SVO). The number of attacks on Russian territory from rocket and artillery weapons is not decreasing, and the intensity of the use of attack unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), whose objects are military, transport, energy and social infrastructure, is increasing. Unfortunately, the victims of such terrorist attacks are mostly civilians, including elderly people and children.
Attempts are being made to infiltrate the Russian territory of Ukrainian armed formations and sabotage and intelligence groups, which include foreign mercenaries, as well as members of international terrorist and extremist organizations.
In total, since the beginning of the SVO in the Bryansk, Kursk, Belgorod and Crimean directions, the border authorities, together with the North group of troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, have suppressed 29 such attempts. The greatest sabotage and terrorist activity was noted during the preparation and conduct of the presidential elections of the Russian Federation. During this period, together with the units of the Armed Forces of Russia and Rosgvardiya, repeated attempts of armed invasion by Ukrainian militants into the border areas of the Belgorod and Kursk regions were prevented. During the fighting on the state border, the enemy suffered significant losses in manpower and military equipment.
With the assistance of Western patrons, primarily the United States and Great Britain, the intelligence activity of the special services of Ukraine is increasing, accompanied by attempts to involve residents of border areas in intelligence and subversive activities. In order to destabilize the situation and provoke panic among the population, foreign non-governmental organizations and mass media conduct information and psychological operations, during which anti-Russian fake information is distributed.
Despite the subversive work on the part of the Ukrainian special services and their curators, the population of the Russian border area actively assists border guards in protecting and guarding the borders of our Homeland. Detachments of volunteer assistants have been created and are operating, which identify a significant number of violations of administrative legal regimes established at the state border.
The main efforts of the Border Guard Service focused on stopping the above-mentioned threats. In these interests, the forms and methods of border activities were improved, including the tactics of using border units on land and sea routes, the system of fortifications and engineering barriers, the combat and technical potential of border authorities, including equipping them with armored vehicles, artillery weapons, unmanned aerial vehicles and means of combating them, were increased. The number of units directly guarding the state border has been increased, additional measures have been taken to improve the combat training of border guards.
So, in connection with the use of unmanned aerial vehicles by the border authorities, we have organized training for employees in the tactics of their use, including FPV drones, and ways to combat similar enemy means.
– In the conditions of military operations conducted on the territories of new subjects that have become part of the Russian Federation, border guards continue to remain at the same borders. What tasks are assigned to them as part of a special military operation in Ukraine? Are there plans to form border authorities and create border infrastructure in new regions?
– Indeed, at present, the border authorities continue to carry out operational and official activities at the borders established before the admission of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions into the Russian Federation. The state border on new frontiers in its usual sense has not yet been formed. Currently, it mostly coincides with the line of contact, but plans have been developed to create a border infrastructure there.
In addition to the direct protection of the state border, carried out in the form of military operations, border guards solve other tasks, including those related to conducting their own on land.
Together with the units of the Black Sea Fleet and Rosgvardiya, the security of the transport crossing through the Kerch Strait, objects of marine economic activity, as well as fishing vessels in the waters of the Black and Azov Seas is ensured. As part of the fulfillment of this task, Coast Guard ships inspected more than four thousand vessels, over 40 of which were refused passage through the Kerch Strait.
Control is being carried out over persons, vehicles and cargo following the implementation of special projects to restore infrastructure and ensure the vital activity of new regions under the martial law regime imposed by the President of the Russian Federation.
In 2023, at the designated entry/exit points at the sites of the border departments of the FSB of Russia in the Republic of Crimea, Rostov Region, Belgorod and Voronezh regions, border authorities controlled over 250 thousand units of cargo transport and special equipment that delivered about five million tons of construction materials and cargo for various purposes to new regions of the country.
When performing the above tasks, the personnel shows courage and bravery. Since the beginning of its operation, more than 300 border guards have been awarded state awards. Over one thousand people have been rewarded with departmental awards.
– NATO's anti-Russian activities are becoming more and more active. Due to the accession of Finland and Sweden to the alliance, threats in the north-west of Russia have increased. What new tasks did the Border Service face in this regard?
– Hiding behind the thesis of the "Russian military threat", Western countries are building up their military potential near the state border of the Russian Federation. We are witnessing the active equipping of the armed forces of a number of European countries, primarily Poland and the Baltic states, with modern military equipment and weapons, the development of NATO's military field infrastructure on the so-called "eastern flank", including the construction and modernization of military camps, training grounds, storage and supply bases designed to accommodate and train the united armed forces the member countries of the alliance and their rotating contingents. We are recording an increase in the transport and logistics capabilities of neighboring states for the reception and transfer of troops and military equipment.
NATO's intelligence activities are increasing near the Russian border, and the intensity of operational and combat training activities for alliance troops is increasing, during which scenarios for conducting military operations against the Russian Federation, including nuclear strikes on our territory, are being worked out. All this requires us to take adequate measures to protect and protect our borders.
– Due to the confrontational position of Helsinki, the Russian-Finnish agreement on the promotion of cross-border cooperation has been terminated. How difficult has the situation on the border with Finland become?
– The situation on the border with Finland, with which we had good neighborly relations until recently, has really worsened. International cooperation between the border services of the two countries has been minimized. This was preceded by Helsinki's unilateral steps to close checkpoints across the state border at the end of last year and stop international passenger traffic, which was motivated by the Finnish side allegedly "deliberate actions by Russia to squeeze migrants into EU countries." In fact, the migration crisis was provoked by the Finnish authorities themselves. In particular, shortly before the so-called influx of foreign migrants from Russia, the Finnish side actively posted information in the Western media and social networks about Helsinki's readiness to provide asylum to all foreigners, including those who arrived in the republic illegally. These publications stimulated an increase in the flow of foreign citizens, primarily from Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. In November 2023, about two thousand foreigners arrived at the Russian-Finnish section of the border, seeking the opportunity to travel to Europe in search of better living conditions, over one thousand of whom left for Finland in accordance with the established procedure. During this period, there was a fivefold increase in the number of attempts by foreigners to illegally cross the border.
As a result of the phased introduction by the Finnish side of restrictions on crossing the state border, a shift in the migration flow to the northern regions of Russia was noted, which at the time of the closure of the last checkpoint "Raya-Jooseppi – Lotta" in November 2023 led to the accumulation of about 500 people in the vicinity of the village of Alakurtti in the Murmansk region, who actually became hostages of Finnish propaganda and remained closed the "European gate" in harsh winter conditions. The Russian side provided the necessary assistance to foreigners on their return to the countries of origin, which made it possible to stabilize the situation and prevent an increase in the number of violations of the state border.
We believe that the deliberate provocation of a "migration crisis" on the Russian-Finnish state border is necessary for the Finnish authorities to implement the plans of NATO and, above all, the United States to deploy military field infrastructure and deploy foreign troops on their territory, including in areas bordering Russia. This is evidenced by both the agreements reached in December 2023 between Washington and Helsinki in the military sphere, as well as the intensive engineering and technical equipment of the border carried out by the Finnish side since the end of last year.
It should be noted that the Border Guard Service of the FSB of Russia has not imposed any restrictions on foreigners crossing the state border and is ready at any time to allow persons and vehicles to pass through all checkpoints.
– The current situation also carries risks for the Kaliningrad region. To what extent is the security of the state border in this region ensured?
– We are closely monitoring the development of the situation as a result of the unfriendly policy of Western countries in this region. Together with the concerned federal executive authorities, the necessary adjustments have been made to action plans in case of its aggravation, including hybrid ones. Currently, the composition and number of border units in the Kaliningrad region are optimal and allow us to solve the tasks of ensuring border security of the Russian Federation in the region, including in the Baltic Sea. In case of formation of new threats, the grouping of forces and means can be increased in a short time.
– The aggressive plans of the West threaten Belarus as well. Is the FSB Border Guard Service developing cooperation with Belarusian colleagues in order to jointly counter new challenges?
– The unprecedented pressure on the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus is evidence of the existence of relevant plans in some Western countries, which you mentioned. Cooperation with Belarusian partners has always been carried out at a high level. The central place in joint activities is occupied by the implementation of the coordinated border policy of the Union State, within which special attention is paid to improving the legal framework in the field of border security and technical equipment of the external border.
Mutual exchange of information on the situation and new approaches to the protection of the state border is carried out on a systematic basis. Joint special border operations are regularly conducted to ensure the protection of national interests and compliance by individuals and legal entities with national legislation on the state border.
These measures are aimed at consolidating efforts to counter joint challenges and threats, and increasing the level of border security of the Union State.
– Foreign countries that do not hide their anti-Russian aspirations have always had views on the Arctic. What is being done to protect security and ensure national interests in this strategically important region?
– Indeed, the Russian sector of the Arctic, rich in natural and biological resources, as well as having a huge transport and logistics potential, remains the object of the aggressive aspirations of the West. At the instigation of the United States and its satellites, attempts are being made to militarize the region, legal, economic and informational conditions are being created to establish a regime of free navigation in the waters of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) and impede the implementation of Russia's economic projects. Foreign countries and international environmental organizations, speculating on the issues of protecting the rights of indigenous peoples of the North and environmental protection, are trying to inspire the protest moods of the local population.
In order to monitor the situation on the coast and in the maritime space of the Arctic zone, an interdepartmental monitoring system has been created and is functioning, important elements of which are border offices, automated radio engineering posts and coast guard ships.
Since 2019, interdepartmental regional information and coordination centers in the cities of Murmansk and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, created on the initiative of the Border Service of the FSB of Russia, have been functioning, the main tasks of which are to collect in real time, summarize, analyze and store information about changes in the situation, as well as coordinate the actions of forces and means of interested territorial divisions of federal executive authorities (FOIV) in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation.
With the increasing intensity of navigation in the Arctic zone, the scale of the use of coast guard and aviation units of the FSB of Russia to monitor compliance with legal regimes by vessels engaged in fishing or other economic activities in the waters of the Arctic Ocean seas is increasing. Last year, border patrol ships served to protect maritime borders, including in remote waters in the area of the Svalbard archipelago and NEAFC regulation, as well as on the Novozemelsky and Bering borders of the NSR with a total duration of about five thousand days. At the same time, they have traveled over 150 thousand nautical miles. The number of flights of the Russian FSB aviation to control the surface situation in the Arctic has increased by 20%.
To further enhance our capabilities, the border infrastructure is being updated, modern technical means of border protection are being adopted, new border ships are being built designed to solve a wide range of tasks of border activities in the Arctic. In particular, two ice-class border patrol ships are under construction.
– Russia is developing the Northern Sea Route, a promising corridor for international cargo transportation. How is the interaction of the Border Guard Service of the FSB of Russia with Russian agencies and, perhaps, foreign partners from friendly countries in terms of protecting the Northern Sea Route from various external threats?
– Increasing the level of interaction and creating a unified information space with the FOI are the key tasks of ensuring joint control of the surface situation. To this end, we maintain continuous cooperation with the Northern Fleet, the Joint Command of Troops and Forces in the north-east of the Russian Federation, and have worked out an algorithm for joint actions to resolve crisis situations in the waters of the NSR. We regularly conduct joint anti-terrorist and search and rescue exercises with interested FOIV. We participate in the development of the NSR and ensuring the safety of navigation along this transport corridor, as well as the exploration of energy resources and their exploitation.
As for international cooperation, as you know, all the Arctic states, except Russia, are members of the North Atlantic Alliance. In this regard, interdepartmental contacts with the so-called neighbors are carried out exclusively on a pragmatic basis, taking into account national interests in the region. Information on changes in Russian legislation, rules of navigation of foreign warships and non-commercial state vessels in the territorial sea and internal sea waters of the Russian Federation is promptly communicated to foreign partners. We inform our partners in a timely manner about changes in the procedure for obtaining permission for foreign ships and vessels to enter the waters of the NSR, as well as the reasons for refusal to enter them.
In 2023, within the framework of the chairmanship of the Border Guard Service of the FSB of Russia, the Arctic Coast Guard Forum held a naval exercise "Arctic Patrol-2023" and worked out an algorithm that ensures the integrated use of forces and means of forum participants, interested FOIV and organizations to counter threats in the field of maritime security. Representatives of the Coast Guard of the People's Republic of China took part in the maneuvers as observers.
– The actions of the United States and its allies in the Pacific Ocean do not inspire calm. Tell us about the situation in the region and the interaction with colleagues from China, North Korea and Mongolia?
– The destructive actions of the United States and its allies contribute to the preservation of hotbeds of tension in the Pacific region. The Coastguards of Canada, the United States and Japan have completely curtailed contacts with the Border Service of the FSB of Russia within the framework of the Forum of Border Agencies/Coastguards of the North Pacific States, which jeopardizes the prospect of further use of this once useful platform for multilateral cooperation. In this regard, in the interests of jointly countering emerging threats from the United States and its satellites in the region, we are improving cooperation with partners from friendly states.
In 2023, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the FSB of Russia and the Coast Guard of China on the development of cooperation in law enforcement at sea, which laid the foundation for border cooperation. This year, it is planned to implement coordinated practical measures to improve the effectiveness of maritime border protection. After the end of the quarantine restrictions period, conditions appeared for the resumption of contacts with the border guards of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Currently, the issue of updating the legal framework for cooperation in the border area and identifying promising areas of interaction is being considered. The Main Directorate of the Mongolian Border Guard is our historically reliable partner, with whom a mechanism for the rapid exchange of information on the situation on the border has been established. We will continue to develop forms of constructive cooperation with partners from friendly countries in the interests of rapid response to emerging challenges and threats.
– How are things on our southern borders against the background of reports that the United States and Great Britain want to shake up the situation in the republics of Central Asia by involving the forces of international terrorists there? Is Russia working out measures with partners in the region to mitigate these threats in relation to border protection?
– Systematic violations by Western countries of the norms of international law and the substitution of their so-called rules have led to the proliferation of terrorist threats around the world. Afghanistan is no exception, and American and British activity adds to tensions in the region, due to their desire to create multiple pockets of instability around Russia. The Border Guard Service of the FSB of Russia successfully cooperates with partners from the states of the Central Asian region in stopping threats from terrorist organizations. Interaction with them is carried out in bilateral and multilateral formats.
In the interests of developing coordinated solutions for border protection on the southern borders, meetings are regularly held at the sites of the Council of Border Force Commanders, a regional meeting of border agencies of the Central Asian region and meetings of border services of the competent authorities of the SCO member states.
Currently, joint work is underway on the CSTO's Targeted Interstate Program to strengthen the Tajik-Afghan border, which provides for equipping Tajik border guards with modern weapons, military equipment and technical means of border protection.
Contacts are also maintained through the operational units of the border agencies of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, during which priority attention is paid to improving the effectiveness of cooperation in uncovering and neutralizing threats to border security emanating from international terrorist and extremist organizations.
Cooperation with representatives of the border agencies/coast guards of the Caspian littoral States is increasing, including in the interests of combating terrorism and extremism at sea. Joint operational and preventive measures are regularly carried out with partners to curb illegal activities in the Caspian Sea. In 2024, an agreement was reached to involve representatives of the Iranian border agency in this work.
– What is the dynamics of attempts to enter our country by persons associated with terrorists and extremists, and those who were previously banned from entering Russia? What do the figures for last year show?
– The Russian Federation, despite attempts by Western countries to lower the Iron Curtain, remains open to international passenger traffic and active foreign economic activity. According to statistics, in 2023, over 110 million people and 22 million vehicles passed through the state border of the Russian Federation, which is 36% and 49% higher, respectively, than last year. With the increase in passenger traffic, an increase in the number of identified persons with signs of involvement in international terrorist and extremist organizations, as well as special services and armed formations of Ukraine is recorded. In 2023, more than 5.5 thousand attempts to enter our country by persons of these categories were stopped at checkpoints and at the state border within the border territory, which is three and a half times higher than in 2022.
In total, more than 126 thousand people were not allowed to cross the state border of the Russian Federation, of which about 10 thousand people reported deliberately false information about themselves or about the purpose of their visit. The number of identified foreign citizens who are not allowed to enter the country has increased by 27%. Of the 42 thousand persons in this category, over five thousand people tried to enter using valid documents issued with modified installation data.
– How is the counteraction to border violators going from a technical point of view? What advanced technology is expected on our borders? Are our border guards able to effectively resist the use of drones by border violators?
– Currently, the border authorities use more than 150 names of modern technical means developed by domestic industrial enterprises and meeting the highest safety standards. Their work is based on various physical principles, which ensures the timely detection and detention of violators of border legislation.
In 2023-2024, more than 50 new products were accepted for the supply of border authorities for the protection of sea and land sections of the state border, including the latest unmanned aircraft systems, means of detecting and countering them, coastal radar stations, thermal imaging and optical devices and complexes.
Technical means using modern digital technologies are being introduced at the state border. Video analytics is used in surveillance systems, which makes it possible to reliably identify detected targets based on image databases. A special place is given to robotic complexes of air and ground type, capable of independent analysis of the situation and making the simplest decisions.
Technical support for Coast Guard units continues to be improved. In the context of the use of small and high-speed vessels by violators, special attention is paid to the creation of an automated technical control system (ASTC) of the situation in the seas and coastal zones of the Russian Federation, which allows not only detecting small targets, but also transmitting information to a central database for timely response of the relevant forces and means of border authorities.
Modern technologies are also being introduced at checkpoints across the state border. For example, an automatic passport control system based on fingerprints and photos of adult Russian citizens is successfully operating at Sheremetyevo International Airport. Over the three-year period of its use, the specified level of security and convenience for persons crossing the state border have been confirmed. Together with the Ministry of Transport of Russia, work is underway to equip ten more checkpoints with a similar system. Procedures for mandatory biometric identification of foreign citizens are being introduced at the air checkpoints of the Moscow air zone and at the Mashtakovo automobile checkpoint. The planned equipping of border control units with portal-type inspection complexes continues. At the moment, seven checkpoints are equipped with the specified equipment, which contributes to improving the reliability of vehicle control and increases their overall throughput.
Currently, the share of modern weapons and equipment used by Russian border guards is about 70%, and at the borders with a difficult operational situation it has been brought to 100%.
The means of combating unmanned aircraft systems have long been in service with the border authorities. In the border protection service, primarily in the Ukrainian direction, both portable devices (so-called anti-drone guns) and stationary complexes for detecting and suppressing UAV control channels are massively used, which have shown their effectiveness in the conditions of a special military operation. In 2023, border guards shot down over 1,300 drones that violated the state border from the territory of Ukraine, more than half of them using electronic warfare equipment.
Taking into account the accumulated experience, the development of unmanned aviation and marine systems, as well as means of countering them, will remain promising areas of technical equipment for border authorities. A special niche is occupied by mobile and stationary optoelectronic modules of medium and long range, which with a high degree of probability ensure the detection of enemy sabotage groups.
We are closely following the advanced developments of the domestic industry in the field of security and intend to introduce the most modern equipment and weapons in the interests of reliable protection of the state border of the Russian Federation.
– We have already talked about the partners of the Border Guard Service. And what other friendly countries want to learn from the experience of Russian border guards? Do you interact, for example, with colleagues from African countries?
– The rapid change in the geopolitical situation in the world and the tactics of actions of cross-border criminal communities dictate the need to strengthen and expand the geography of mutually beneficial cooperation between border guards from different countries and in different regions of the world. In February of this year, at a meeting of the heads of coastguards of the Caspian littoral states in St. Petersburg, partners from the Islamic Republic of Iran showed interest in the experience of training marine specialists at the Coast Guard Institute of the FSB of Russia in Anapa. We provide free of charge assistance in training personnel for the national special services of some African countries. Over the past two years, more than 50 military personnel from the countries of the specified continent have completed training in educational organizations of the FSB of Russia.
We plan to further develop cooperation in the field of personnel training for African partners, including the border profile. The Border Guard Service of the FSB of Russia is open to cooperation, ready to share experience and provide assistance in order to ensure peace and tranquility on our borders.
– What does the statistics on countering smugglers at the border indicate? What was the first thing they tried to transport through it in 2023?
– Suppression of illegal movement of goods and cargoes across the state border, including the free circulation of which is prohibited or restricted, remains one of the main tasks of border authorities and is relevant for all sections of the state border. In the north-western and western directions, mainly dual-use goods, weapons, ammunition, narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, as well as goods and cargoes subject to retaliatory restrictive measures of the Russian Federation were seized. In the North Caucasus, there are attempts to illegally move precious metals, as well as trafficking in weapons and ammunition. Smuggling of strategically important goods and resources, sub-sanctioned and quarantined products prevails in the Kazakh direction. The Far Eastern direction is characterized by attempts to illegally move aquatic biological resources (UBR), derivatives of especially valuable wild animals and plants, precious metals and stones, as well as products made from them.
In 2023, 141 firearms, over 30,000 ammunition, about 100 kilograms of explosives, about 900 kilograms of drugs and psychotropic substances were seized by border authorities at checkpoints across the state border and on the border territory. Attempts to smuggle strategically important goods and resources worth more than 500 million rubles, cultural values – about 100 million rubles - have been stopped.
Since 2020, there has been an increase in violations of environmental legislation in relation to valuable plants in the border area. During this period, we have suppressed more than 300 cases of illegal trafficking of ginseng and radiola rosea, including attempts to smuggle them. Based on the results of the law enforcement practice of the border authorities, an addition has been made to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation establishing criminal liability for illegal trafficking of plants listed in the Red Book of Russia.
– The Border Guard Service regularly reports on the suppression of the activities of poachers in different border regions. Has the scale of the suppression of illegal extraction of biological resources changed, and if so, to what extent in 2023?
– The problem of protection and rational use of VBR does not lose its importance and relevance. The continuing high demand in Russia and abroad for products from particularly valuable and valuable species of IBD (sturgeon and salmon species, crabs, Far Eastern trepang, scallop and others) remains the main factor stimulating poaching. On an almost daily basis, border guards are confronted with the facts of illegal extraction and sale of VBR, which are carried out by residents of coastal settlements and unscrupulous captains of fishing vessels.
The extraction of VBR with prohibited tools, during forbidden periods and in forbidden areas, the accumulation by unscrupulous captains of Russian fishing vessels on board of unaccounted catches of VBR and products from them ‒ this is far from a complete list of offenses that were detected by border officials in fishing areas and on the seashore.
The problem of poaching continued to be most acute in the Pacific region, where the largest volumes of IBD, including their valuable species, are concentrated. Last year, border guards in this area revealed 50% of violations in the field of environmental management. Attempts to poach crab, sturgeon and other valuable fish species were suppressed in the Barents, Caspian, Azov and Black Seas.
Statistics show that the measures taken in 2023 made it possible to prevent an increase in the activity of illegal activities. In particular, the border authorities suppressed the illegal activities of 27 fishing vessels and 567 small vessels engaged in illegal fishing. More than 950 tons of VBR were seized, of which about 200 tons are valuable and especially valuable species. More than 83 thousand specimens of marine biological resources have been returned to their natural habitat, of which about 60 thousand valuable and especially valuable species.
410 criminal cases and about six thousand cases of administrative offenses were initiated on the facts of violation of the legislation on fishing. More than four thousand administrative fines in the amount of about 170 million rubles were collected in the state revenue.
– We talked about advanced equipment for the protection of the borders of Russia, but just the other day 130 years of border cynology turned out – and this is an occasion not only not to forget about four-legged assistants of border guards, but also to talk about what service dogs are still indispensable in. So in what ways do they still have no equal?
– Yes, indeed, this year the border cynology celebrated the 130th anniversary of its creation. On May twenty-fifth, 1894, the commander of the Separate Corps of the Border Guard, General of Artillery Alexander Dmitrievich Svinyin, signed Circular No. 4672 "On the establishment of dogs at posts for the border surveillance service." It was an official state document that ordered the dogs to be brought to the state border protection service.
During this period, our four-legged friends have become an integral part of the border guard service, and a significant amount of tasks are being solved with their help. So, in 2023 alone, more than 1.1 thousand violators of administrative and legal regimes established at the state border were detained using service dogs, more than 200 kilograms of drugs, 10 weapons and more than three thousand pieces of ammunition were detected. Such results were made possible solely due to the unique abilities of service dogs.
Despite the constant improvement of technical means of border protection, the service dog remains indispensable in the search for hidden narcotic drugs, weapons, ammunition and explosives, long-term pursuit of violators of the state border by scent trail and their detention.
In addition, the dog handlers of the border authorities continue to work on developing the unique abilities of dogs to solve new tasks. In particular, in the conditions of conducting their own, service dogs are successfully used to detect enemy unmanned aerial vehicles and search for various explosive objects. At the same time, border guards have the opportunity to timely apply anti-UAV measures and take measures to prevent losses among personnel. We believe that in the future, service dogs will remain reliable assistants to border guards in solving tasks related to the protection of the state border.
– What is the situation with the social security of our border guards, especially those involved in a special military operation, and their family members?
– The work on the implementation of social benefits and guarantees for border guards and their family members is one of the primary and responsible tasks. Today, its effectiveness is of the utmost importance in forming and maintaining the readiness of personnel to act in conditions involving a risk to life. Measures have been taken to increase cash payments to employees involved in providing their own services. Border guards serving on the Russian-Ukrainian section of the state border are provided with social guarantees in full in accordance with federal legislation. In addition, as a result of the established interaction of the heads of border authorities with officials of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, appropriate amendments to legislative acts on additional social support measures have been adopted.
– Recently it was reported that "conscripts" will be recruited again for service in the border authorities. What measures have been taken to ensure this work?
– Yes, indeed, in pursuance of the decision of the President of the Russian Federation dated April 11, 2023 "On urgent measures to strengthen the protection of the state border", the Border Service of the FSB of Russia is implementing a set of measures to resume military conscription in border authorities. In particular, at the end of last year, the necessary changes were made to federal legislation in this part. Since April 1 of this year, the military commissariats of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation have been selecting candidates for service in the border authorities as part of the recruitment campaign. At the same time, the requirements for conscripts, both for health reasons and for moral and business qualities, are the most serious. Comprehensive training of training centers, as well as border units, for the reception, training and subsequent placement of conscripted military personnel is carried out directly on the ground.
Work with this category of employees will be structured in such a way that in the future they themselves consciously express a desire to continue serving in the border authorities on a contractual basis or become cadets of border institutes.
– Everyone knows that the border authorities have a long history and rich traditions, could you tell us a little about their preservation and multiplication in modern conditions?
– In the public consciousness today, such historically established values as Fatherland, patriotism, and loyalty to heroic traditions are perceived in many ways in a new way. For border guards serving to protect and protect the borders of Russia, these concepts are not abstract theoretical, but practical in nature.
The Border Guard Service of the FSB of Russia is carrying out significant work on the study of the historical experience of border protection, the promotion of border traditions that help to realize the social significance of military labor, the role in solving the tasks of ensuring the security of the borders of our Homeland. In particular, on the initiative and with the support of veterans' organizations, the books "From Pamir to Altai" and "Caucasian Shield" were published last year, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Red Banner Eastern and Transcaucasian border districts. The documentary "The Main frontier. Not a step back", covering the career of the Hero of the Soviet Union, Army General Vadim Alexandrovich Matrosov, who commanded the Border Troops of the KGB of the USSR from 1972 to 1989. In addition, we regularly organize military-patriotic and cultural propaganda events, perpetuate the memory of border guard heroes by assigning their names to border units, as well as streets and squares of settlements where they lived. Last year, honorary titles named after the Hero of the Soviet Union, Senior Lieutenant Alexander Roychenko and border guard Alexander Krayev, were assigned to two border offices in the Primorsky Territory.
It has become traditional to open "Hero Desks" in educational institutions for border guards who gave their lives in the defense of our Fatherland.
– What place does the work with veterans and youth organizations occupy in the activities of the Border Guard Service of the FSB of Russia?
– We consider working with veterans and youth as the most important tool for preserving and developing border traditions. Currently, the Russian Council of Veterans of the Border Guard Service includes 56 regional branches, which number more than 44 thousand veteran border guards, including 59 veterans of the Great Patriotic War and about eight thousand combat veterans. The members of the council are actively mentoring, sharing invaluable service experience, and participating in the military-patriotic education of the youth of the border region.
As part of the celebration of the 79th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, a series of cultural, memorial and information and propaganda events were held with the active participation of veterans' organizations. On the eve of Victory Day, we visited veterans who, due to health reasons, were unable to take part in the celebrations. Personal communication allows us to identify existing problems in a timely manner and respond to them. In the interests of military-patriotic education of young people, the potential of the Central Border Museum, the Central Border Ensemble and the Book and Magazine Publishing House "Border" of the FSB of Russia is actively used.
We form a feeling of love and devotion to the Motherland, pride in our country. It is possible to achieve results in this work by encouraging young people to learn about the history of their native Fatherland, its formation and development. In the subjects of the Russian Federation, with the participation of border authorities, over 1,200 military-patriotic associations of a border orientation have been established and operate. The total number of pupils is more than 27 thousand people. Patronage of 67 orphanages and boarding schools has been organized. In 2023-2024, the border authorities conducted more than 10 thousand events involving children from patriotic associations. The most widespread in terms of coverage were military-patriotic rallies and gatherings, lessons of courage, thematic contests of drawings, essays and photographs, competitions and tournaments in various sports, care for military graves and memorial structures in places of military glory. More than three thousand boys and girls were encouraged to actively participate in these events.
In 2023, more than 400 pupils of the Young Friends of Border Guards movement were considered as candidates for admission to departmental educational organizations, about 140 of them are already receiving higher and secondary vocational education in the border profile.
We believe that young people must be brought up in the spirit of patriotism, as worthy citizens and defenders of their Homeland. It is the youth who are the future of our country, and the further course of development of our state depends on how they will be brought up.
– Vladimir Grigoryevich, what would you wish to those who are currently serving on our border and their loved ones?
– I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all border guards on their professional holiday! To thank the current employees of the Border Guard Service and border authorities for the conscientious performance of military duty, including those associated with the risk to life. I wish the veterans of the border troops health, vigor, strength and energy, and the families of the border guards happiness and well–being.
