FSB generals: names, positions. Management of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation

Today marks the 95th anniversary of Russia's border activities in the Arctic. The head of the Border Directorate of the FSB of Russia for the Western Arctic region, Lieutenant General Igor Konstantinov, told Krasnaya Zvezda how to most effectively protect national interests in this most important region for the country.

Photo redstar.ru

– Igor Aleksandrovich, the security agency you head is relatively young, but it was not formed empty space. Border activities in the Arctic region have been carried out for 95 years. Tell us what preceded the creation of the Border Directorate of the FSB of Russia for the Western Arctic region?
– The border service in the Arctic dates back to the beginning of the 20s of the last century. After the expulsion of the invaders from the Kola Peninsula on December 12, 1921, a detachment of patrol ships of the Murmansk Provincial Department of the Cheka of the Republic was formed, and then a separate sea checkpoint.

In 1939, the Murmansk border district was formed, commanded by Major General Kuzma Sinilov. By the way, Kuzma Romanovich was the commandant of Moscow from 1941 to 1953, organized the maintenance of order in the capital during the most difficult months of its defense, and then supervised the preparations for the November 7, 1941 Parade and the Victory Parade in June 1945. We are proud that the name of the outstanding border guard of the North is forever inscribed in the heroic history of Russia.

During the Great Patriotic War, soldiers in green caps made an invaluable contribution to the defense of the Fatherland on the northern borders.
The crews of the patrol ships “Pearl” and “Brilliant”, who died heroically while escorting Soviet transports in the Kara and Barents Seas, covered themselves with immortal glory. Few people know that "Pearl" on June 22, 1941 at 3 hours 50 minutes was one of the first ships in the Great Patriotic War entered into battle with an enemy plane and shot it down! Two months later, while on combat patrol in the area of ​​Cape Kanin Nos in the Barents Sea, the patrolman died along with his crew after a torpedo attack by a Nazi submarine.
On September 23, 1944, the Brilliant pskr under the command of Senior Lieutenant Mikhail Makhonkov performed a heroic feat, shielding the Revolutionary transport with its side from an enemy torpedo, which carried the convoy headquarters and hundreds of tons of cargo for the front.

Let me also remind you that in certain sections of the Restikent border detachment throughout the war, the enemy was never able to cross the State Border of the USSR.

The further history of management is no less interesting and eventful. On August 23, 1994, in order to strengthen the protection of the state border in the Arctic sector of the Russian Federation, the Arctic Group of Border Troops (AGBT) was created by decree of the President of Russia.
The Border Department acquired its current appearance on April 1, 2015. The area of ​​responsibility of the department extends to the Republics of Karelia and Komi, Murmansk and Arkhangelsk regions, Nenets and Yamalo-Nenets autonomous okrugs, Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenets) municipal district of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The total length of the state border section is more than 10.5 thousand kilometers.
Despite repeated reorganizations and renamings, we consider ourselves the heirs of the first polar border guards, preserving and enhancing the military traditions laid down by our predecessors.

– Why is so much attention being paid to the Arctic region of Russia today and significant forces and resources are being concentrated to protect it?
– Let me remind you that the economic and strategic importance of the Arctic region for Russia is very great. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation, at the moment, oil reserves on the Arctic shelf amount to 585 million tons, gas reserves - 10 trillion 489 billion cubic meters, while the undiscovered potential is about 90 percent on the shelf and more than 50 percent on land. In addition, the Arctic is rich in deposits of diamonds, gold, platinum, tin, manganese, nickel, lead, copper, titanium, coal and other minerals. The lion's share of these treasures is under Russian jurisdiction, so they need to be protected from all kinds of attacks.

As the First Deputy Director - Head of the Border Service of the FSB of Russia, Army General Vladimir Kulishov, emphasized: “We note the annual increase in the intensity of research and other economic activity foreign companies in the Arctic region. In this regard, certain foreign states and some international non-governmental organizations are making attempts to impede Russia’s economic activities in the Arctic region.”

That is why we are here, to ensure, together with units of the Northern Fleet, that the national interests of the Russian Federation are respected.

– What tasks are assigned to the Border Management in connection with the above and how are they solved?
– Considering that there are vast maritime spaces in our area of ​​responsibility, the basis for the formation of a modern security system is the zonal-basin principle of carrying out border activities.

From the border with Norway to the Taimyr Peninsula, we carry out control in internal sea ​​waters, territorial sea, exclusive economic zone and on the continental shelf of the Russian Federation in the waters of the Barents, White and Kara seas.

The ship's control personnel are constantly located in the maritime spaces adjacent to the Spitsbergen archipelago, with the task of monitoring the fishing activities of Russian vessels in this region, as well as in the regulatory area of ​​the Northeast Atlantic Fishery Commission (NEAFC) outside the exclusive economic zone Russian Federation.

The growth of exploration, fishing, tourism and other activities in the seas of the Arctic Ocean, primarily in the waters of the Northern Sea Route, also poses challenges for us related to the organization of search and rescue activities at sea. I will give just two examples.

Franz Josef Land is the northernmost and most distant territory of Russia from the mainland, where the Nagurskoye border post is located - one of the islands of civilization hundreds of kilometers around. It was here that on July 10, 2016, a unique operation to save the life of a crew member of the Sea Spirit passenger ship was successfully completed. Upon arrival at Dezhnev Bay on the island of Alexandra Land, the captain of the ship turned to the border guards for help - there was a real threat to the life of one of the crew members, who required emergency surgery.

In this difficult situation, as it turned out later, the only correct decision was made - to take the patient ashore and perform the operation. A few hours later, the operation, carried out in the medical unit of the border department by regular medical workers, was successfully completed. According to doctors, delay could cost the sailor his life.

On October 3, 2016, the duty service of the Border Department received information that a boat with fishermen on board was in distress in the Kola Bay not far from Cape Letinsky and was asking for help. The boat sank, and the people in the rubber boat were left alone with the raging Barents Sea. The weather conditions were very difficult, but despite this, in cooperation with the ships and aircraft of the Northern Fleet, they were discovered and brought aboard the border boat. In total, since the beginning of 2016, border guards have come to the aid of those in distress at sea more than twenty times.

– As you have already said, on December 12, the Border Department celebrates the 95th anniversary of the beginning of border activities in the Arctic, that is, in fact, the date of its birth. And an anniversary is a good reason to look back and summarize what has been done...
– Despite repeated structural changes over such a period rich history management, we managed to do the most important thing - maintain human resources. Today we have a lot of young people. But we also take care of the experience of veterans. We work very closely with veteran organizations in Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, Vorkuta. Together with them, we carry out a set of events within the framework of social support for veterans and military-patriotic work with youth, taking into account the best traditions, as well as the accumulated experience of service in the Far North and the Arctic. I am especially grateful for this to the leaders of veteran organizations Georgy Nikolaevich Zheleznikov and Alexander Ivanovich Zhekov, who with their enthusiasm and enormous authority unite veterans of all generations.

I express my great gratitude to the command of the Northern Fleet, the leadership of the Arctic regions of the Russian Federation, the heads of enterprises and organizations for their support of border guards, as well as for the consistent implementation of a system of measures aimed at strengthening the border security of regions in the western region of the Arctic.

I sincerely congratulate the veterans and employees on this significant day in the history of the Border Department and the Arctic region as a whole. This holiday is not only ours. It’s not for nothing that they say: all the people guard the border of their country.

What role did high-ranking people from state security structures play in the largest Russian corporations?

“This is correct information, he has returned to service,” said Rosneft head Igor Sechin in response to a question about the fate of FSB General Oleg Feoktistov. What is interesting about this general?

It is believed that Feoktistov was behind the multi-step operation that ended with the arrest of former Minister of Economy Alexei Ulyukaev. Before joining Rosneft, Feoktistov worked in the Federal Security Service. After completing the “special operation” he returned there. The story received a wide response and became significant for understanding how the interaction system is evolving Russian business and security forces.

In the early 1990s, current employees left state security agencies and took cushy jobs in newly created private financial and industrial groups. Some of them rose to serious positions and became co-owners. YUKOS, Gusinsky's Most group, Lukoil, Alpha group - under almost every oligarch of the 1990s you can find a general.

The rise to power of Vladimir Putin radically changed the picture. If earlier people with shoulder straps performed the functions of lobbyists for large capital in the security forces and, more broadly, in government agencies, then over time their functions became different.

Massive landing of former and current intelligence officers into the authorities state power forced large business structures to think about finding people who could act as intermediaries in communication with the security forces. Some of these people turned out to be public and in some cases even became the face of the company.

Meanwhile, processes developed. As the general public gradually became aware, special units were formed within the structure of the FSB and other intelligence services to oversee the situation in the largest companies and industries Russian economy. At the same time, through the institution of “seconded” employees, Russian intelligence services established direct control over key processes in Russian corporations.

The episode with Rosneft and General Feoktistov is indicative in this sense, because it showed the relationship between large companies and intelligence services in the most public way possible (in current conditions).

Read about seven notable intelligence generals in the largest Russian corporations in the Forbes gallery.

Philip Bobkov

Army General. Graduated from the Leningrad school of military counterintelligence Smersh. In state security agencies since 1946. Since 1969, he headed the 5th Directorate of the KGB of the USSR, which was engaged in the protection of the constitutional order and fought against ideological sabotage and dissidents. Since 1983, he was deputy chairman, and since 1985, first deputy chairman of the KGB of the USSR. He left service in 1991.

In 1992, a graduate of the Smersh school headed the analytical department of the Most group of oligarch Vladimir Gusinsky. Bobkov worked at Most until the second half of 2001. By that time, Gusinsky himself had already lost control of the NTV channel and lived abroad for more than a year.

Alexey Kondaurov

Major General. In 1971 he graduated from the Faculty of Economic Cybernetics of the Moscow Engineering and Economic Institute named after. Ordzhonikidze. Since 1973 in state security agencies. IN last years The service was headed by the FSB Public Relations Center.

In 1994, Kondaurov headed the information department of Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s Menatep group, and from 1998 to 2003 he headed the analytical department of the Yukos oil company. In addition to analytics, Kandaurov was involved in working with representatives of the country’s key political forces. After Khodorkovsky's arrest, he spoke out in defense of the disgraced oligarch. In 2003, he was elected to the State Duma. In 2014, he signed a statement demanding an end to support for the self-proclaimed republics in southeastern Ukraine.

Oleg Osobenkov

Colonel General. Graduated from the Faculty of International Economic Relations of MGIMO. In state security agencies since 1969. He headed the department of analysis, forecast and strategic planning, and since 1996 he has served as State Secretary of the FSB of Russia.

In 1999, Oleg Osobenkov was appointed deputy general director, head of the personnel department of Aeroflot. He was a member of the airline's board. It is believed that Osobenkov’s task was to rid the company of the influence of Boris Berezovsky. Osobenkov was removed from the board of Aeroflot in 2005.

Yuri Kobaladze

Major General. Graduated from the Faculty of International Journalism at MGIMO. Since 1972, he worked in the first main directorate of the KGB of the USSR (foreign intelligence). As a journalist, he traveled to the UK, Malta, the USA, and France. In 1991, he headed the press bureau of the SVR, and for six months he was deputy general director of ITAR-TASS.

In September 1999, Kobaladze became managing director of the investment company Renaissance Capital. From 2007 to 2012, he was Managing Director for Corporate Affairs and Advisor to the Chairman of the Board of X5 Retail Group. Since 2012 - consultant at UBS investment bank.

Alexander Zdanovich

Lieutenant General. Graduated High school KGB. In state security agencies since 1972. Served in military counterintelligence, at the FSB public relations center. In February 1996, he became acting head of the FSB TsOS. In November 1999, he was appointed head of the FSB assistance programs department.

From 2002 to 2012 - Deputy Chairman of the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company for security issues. From 2012 to 2014 - Advisor to the General Director of VGTRK.

Yuri Yakovlev

Army General. In 1975 he graduated from the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute with a degree in Experimental Nuclear Physics. In state security agencies since 1976. In 2008 he headed the service economic security FSB.

In July 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed him. Two months later, Yakovlev was appointed deputy general director of Rosatom for state policy in the field of security in the use of atomic energy for defense purposes.

Oleg Feoktistov

General of the FSB. Graduated from the FSB Academy. Since 2004, he headed the 6th service of the FSB Internal Security Directorate, responsible for operational support of criminal cases, and deputy head of the FSB Internal Security Directorate.

In September 2016, he was appointed head of the security service of Rosneft and joined the company’s board. On March 10, Rosneft President Igor Sechin confirmed that Feoktistov had left the company. “This is correct information, he returned to service,” Sechin noted.

Recently, a new border agency began operating in the north of Russia - the Border Directorate of the FSB of Russia for the Western Arctic Region. Its chief, Major General Igor Konstantinov, told an NV correspondent about the role and significance of the newly formed department, which includes the entire western sector of the Arctic.

– Igor Aleksandrovich, what are the main reasons for the emergence of the Arctic security body?

– Nothing in life is repeated, but often in modern realities the proven experience of past years is used. I can say with confidence that the decision to create a new border agency was based on a careful study of historical experience. I offer a short excursion into history.

The Arctic group of border troops was formed on November 1, 1994, it guarded the state border with a total length of more than 13 thousand kilometers: in the Murmansk region and along the Arctic coast to the village of Chersky in the extreme northeast of Yakutia, including the islands and archipelagos of Novaya Zemlya and Franz Land -Joseph, Severnaya Zemlya and New Siberian Islands.

The basis for the formation of such an operational association was the need to protect Russia’s national interests in the Arctic and cover strategically important areas that turned out to be insufficiently protected after the collapse of the USSR. The main tasks performed by the Arctic Border Troops Group are similar to the current ones. This is the protection and protection of the state border, economic and other legitimate interests of the Russian Federation in the exclusive economic zone and on the continental shelf of the Russian Federation, the fight against illegal migration, arms and drug smuggling, and ensuring the Russian presence in the Arctic.

More than 20 years have passed since the formation of the Arctic Group of Border Troops. During this time, the border agency was reformed more than once, changing not only its name, but also its organizational staffing structure.

What we see today: in the last decade, the interest of world powers in the Arctic has been rapidly growing, due to the significant geostrategic and economic importance of the region. These are valuable currency-intensive biological resources of the seas of the Arctic Ocean, rich reserves of hydrocarbons on the shelf, attractive transit opportunities of the Arctic sea ​​route.

– In connection with this, the appetites of these powers in relation to the Russian sector of the Arctic are also growing?

– Leading world powers, such as the USA, Canada, Norway, are seeking to increase their influence in the Arctic region, while simultaneously trying to oust Russia from the zone of its strategic interests. NATO continues to conduct maneuvers, exercises and shows constant interest in our northern region.

Thus, in March of this year, Norway, for the first time in many years, conducted large-scale exercises of diverse forces and equipment of its armed forces in the province of Finnmark, bordering the Russian Federation.

All this once again confirms: the Arctic must be reliably covered by a border shield. Therefore, the creation of the Border Directorate of the FSB of Russia for the Western Arctic region is a natural and necessary event. It was the formation of a modern system for protecting the maritime spaces of the Russian Federation in the Arctic zone that formed the basis for the transition of the coast guard to the zonal-basin principle of carrying out border activities. For this purpose, on April 1, 2015, a new security agency was created and began to carry out its intended tasks.

– And what is his area of ​​responsibility?

– The Border Department has taken under protection the maritime area from the border with Norway to the Taimyr Peninsula of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, uniting seven Arctic subjects of the Russian Federation. The length of the area of ​​responsibility was more than 10.5 thousand kilometers.

It also includes internal sea waters, the territorial sea, the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf of the Russian Federation in the waters of the Barents, White and Kara seas. The department also solves problems in the maritime spaces adjacent to the Spitsbergen archipelago and in the regulatory area of ​​NEAFC (North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission) - outside the exclusive economic zone of the Russian Federation.

– Let’s take a closer look at the new threats to Russia in the Arctic.

– In our opinion, this is an expansion of NATO’s military presence in the region, expressed in an increase in the number of military exercises in the Arctic zone with the participation of foreign member states of the alliance. Most threats in the Arctic region are transboundary in nature and are closely interconnected.

The following are relevant: the activities of organized criminal groups and individuals in the illegal extraction (catch) and sale of aquatic biological resources in the maritime space of Russia; attempts to create channels for illegal migration of foreign citizens and stateless persons through the territory of the Murmansk region to the countries of northern Europe. We also do not exclude the use of so-called illegal migrants at the fish processing facilities of the region, including at sea.

The negative consequences of using relatively cheap labor already exist in the Far East of the country. Also important is the problem of possible environmental damage to the marine area and coastal zone due to accidents and emergencies at maritime economic activity sites, including foreign countries.

– What is the main thing in protecting the Arctic in the current geopolitical situation?

– Today, units of the Border Directorate of the FSB of Russia in the Western Arctic region solve not only tasks directly related to the protection of the state border, as was previously the case, but carry out a whole range of tasks aimed at ensuring the protection and protection of the economic and other legitimate interests of the Russian Federation in border space in its area of ​​responsibility.

According to the Basics public policy of the Russian Federation in the Arctic for the period until 2020 and beyond, the main national interests of Russia in the Arctic are the use of the Arctic zone as a strategic resource base for the country, ensuring the solution of the problems of its socio-economic development; preserving the Arctic as a zone of peace and cooperation; conservation of the unique ecological systems of the Arctic; use of the Northern Sea Route as a national unified transport communication of the Russian Federation in the Arctic.

And border management contributes to ensuring national interests. Thus, in September 2013, together with other security agencies in the Northwestern Federal District, provocative actions of Greenpeace activists from the Arctic Sunrise vessel in relation to the Prirazlomnaya platform in the Barents Sea were suppressed. It is no secret that the true goals of this international environmental organization are to discredit oil and gas production and fishing activities Russian organizations in the Arctic region to the detriment of Russia's national interests.

As one of the components of preserving the ecological systems of the Arctic, the department solves the problem of ensuring state control in the field of protection of marine biological resources, including in the high seas (NEAFC regulation zone).

To ensure the border presence of the Russian Federation in the Arctic, the naval command periodically carries out border activities in the maritime spaces adjacent to the Spitsbergen archipelago. I would like to add that it is the presence of border guards in the waters of Spitsbergen that protects our fishermen from the arbitrariness of the Norwegian authorities, who exercise strict control over fishing in de facto international waters, but according to their national legislation. We want our fishermen to feel confident.

In the field of border protection and ensuring the protection of marine biological resources in the Arctic seas, the international cooperation with the Main Operations Command of the Norwegian Armed Forces, the Norwegian Coast Guard and the Norwegian Fisheries Directorate. It is constructive in nature and contributes to solving problems of ensuring border security in the area of ​​responsibility of the department.

In the interests of ensuring the use of the Northern Sea Route as a national unified transport communication of Russia in the Arctic, the border department solves the problems of monitoring the surface situation in the Arctic seas and monitors the movement of ships on the routes of the Northern Sea Route in the western sector of the Arctic.

This activity is based on the integrated use of forces and assets of coast guard units, operational control units, and aviation of the FSB of Russia. Monitoring is carried out using modern technical means accepted for operation by the FSB. Information arrives at the border control center in real time, including via satellite channels communications. In addition, the control center receives information from interacting law enforcement agencies and federal executive authorities.

This entire range of tasks performed by the department to protect Russian interests in the Arctic is far from exhaustive.

– What means, in addition to those indicated, are used to achieve such large-scale tasks?

– To perform their tasks efficiently, border guards need multifunctional, highly automated vessels. At the end of this year, the border control ship's fleet will be replenished with a new rank 1 ice-class border patrol ship "Polar Star" (project 22100 "Ocean"). This modern ship is directly designed to monitor the surface situation, patrol sea spaces, protect aquatic biological resources, and also solve environmental problems.

The growth of survey, fishing, tourism and other activities in the seas of the Arctic Ocean, primarily in the waters of the Northern Sea Route, poses tasks for management units related to the organization of search and rescue activities at sea. Border guard sailors provide assistance to fishermen in distress - there have already been four such cases this year alone.

At the end of 2014, trial operation of the automated system was completed technical control"Rubezh-North". It allows you to receive information from radio technical posts and border control ships in real time and is one of the information components of the Situational Control Center.

A set of measures is being implemented to organize work in the new organizational structure. The main thing is that we managed to maintain personnel potential. The primary task remains the selection of candidates for contract service in management units. Today, many residents of our region, including the border region, want to serve under contract in border agencies, but, unfortunately, not all candidates meet professional requirements.

– What problems do you see in connection with the emergence of a new large-scale security structure?

– Extended section sea ​​coast, a large number of government bodies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation stationed in the area of ​​​​responsibility of border control pose certain problematic issues for us, primarily regarding the organization of management, joint activities and interaction.

In this direction, we held on-site meetings with the heads of law enforcement agencies and special services stationed in the Arkhangelsk and Tyumen regions, the Komi Republic and the Krasnoyarsk Territory, and the heads of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

In parallel, work is underway to implement the resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation on the creation of an interdepartmental regional information coordination center on the basis of the department. It will combine the information resources of various departments in the interests of solving the entire range of tasks to ensure border security in the Arctic.

I would like to note that we previously initiated the creation of an interdepartmental coordination working group on organizing interaction in matters of ensuring border security in the western Arctic region with organizations involved in the control and regulation of various types of activities in the Russian sector of the Arctic. Agreements were signed on the exchange of information on the situation on the Northern Sea Route with business entities operating in the circumpolar regions, along the Northern Sea Route, in the exclusive economic zone and on the continental shelf of the Russian Federation.

– What else is being done to ensure full interaction with remote management units and local authorities? Is there support and understanding of the importance of protecting the Russian Arctic?

– During the formation of the new border department, work was done to organize joint activities with territorial security agencies located in our area of ​​​​responsibility, and interaction was also organized with regional authorities and federal executive authorities exercising their functions in the Arctic region.

Undoubtedly, this work is enough high level was organized earlier - by our colleagues in the North-Western, Ural and Siberian federal districts. However, in the changing environment, this interaction has undergone adjustment.

I would like to express my deep gratitude to all officials of the northern regions, heads of enterprises for their understanding, support of border guards and a great desire to work for the benefit of further development northern territories, strengthening and improving the scientific and economic potential of the North and the Arctic territory of our country, as well as for the consistent implementation of measures aimed at strengthening the border security of regions in the western region of the Arctic.

It must be added that at the moment our veterans' organizations in Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, Vorkuta are carrying out a set of measures to improve the mechanism of their further work, in which social support for veterans and military-patriotic work remain priorities - taking into account the best border and security service traditions, as well as the great experience accumulated during the period of protecting the state border in the Far North and the Arctic.

Today marks the 95th anniversary of Russia's border activities in the Arctic. The head of the Border Directorate of the FSB of Russia for the Western Arctic region, Lieutenant General Igor Konstantinov, told Krasnaya Zvezda how to most effectively protect national interests in this most important region for the country.

Photo redstar.ru

– Igor Aleksandrovich, the security agency you head is relatively young, but it was not formed out of nowhere. Border activities in the Arctic region have been carried out for 95 years. Tell us what preceded the creation of the Border Directorate of the FSB of Russia for the Western Arctic region?
– The border service in the Arctic dates back to the beginning of the 20s of the last century. After the expulsion of the invaders from the Kola Peninsula on December 12, 1921, a detachment of patrol ships of the Murmansk Provincial Department of the Cheka of the Republic was formed, and then a separate sea checkpoint.

In 1939, the Murmansk border district was formed, commanded by Major General Kuzma Sinilov. By the way, Kuzma Romanovich was the commandant of Moscow from 1941 to 1953, organized the maintenance of order in the capital during the most difficult months of its defense, and then supervised the preparations for the November 7, 1941 Parade and the Victory Parade in June 1945. We are proud that the name of the outstanding border guard of the North is forever inscribed in the heroic history of Russia.

During the Great Patriotic War, soldiers in green caps made an invaluable contribution to the defense of the Fatherland on the northern borders.
The crews of the patrol ships “Pearl” and “Brilliant”, who died heroically while escorting Soviet transports in the Kara and Barents Seas, covered themselves with immortal glory. Few people know that on June 22, 1941, at 3:50 a.m., “Pearl” was one of the first ships in the Great Patriotic War to engage an enemy aircraft and shoot it down! Two months later, while on combat patrol in the area of ​​Cape Kanin Nos in the Barents Sea, the patrolman died along with his crew after a torpedo attack by a Nazi submarine.
On September 23, 1944, the Brilliant pskr under the command of Senior Lieutenant Mikhail Makhonkov performed a heroic feat, shielding the Revolutionary transport with its side from an enemy torpedo, which carried the convoy headquarters and hundreds of tons of cargo for the front.

Let me also remind you that in certain sections of the Restikent border detachment throughout the war, the enemy was never able to cross the State Border of the USSR.

The further history of management is no less interesting and eventful. On August 23, 1994, in order to strengthen the protection of the state border in the Arctic sector of the Russian Federation, the Arctic Group of Border Troops (AGBT) was created by decree of the President of Russia.
The Border Department acquired its current appearance on April 1, 2015. The management's area of ​​responsibility extends to the Republics of Karelia and Komi, the Murmansk and Arkhangelsk regions, the Nenets and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrugs, and the Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenets) municipal district of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The total length of the state border section is more than 10.5 thousand kilometers.
Despite repeated reorganizations and renamings, we consider ourselves the heirs of the first polar border guards, preserving and enhancing the military traditions laid down by our predecessors.

– Why is so much attention being paid to the Arctic region of Russia today and significant forces and resources are being concentrated to protect it?
– Let me remind you that the economic and strategic importance of the Arctic region for Russia is very great. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation, at the moment, oil reserves on the Arctic shelf amount to 585 million tons, gas reserves - 10 trillion 489 billion cubic meters, while the undiscovered potential is about 90 percent on the shelf and more than 50 percent on land. In addition, the Arctic is rich in deposits of diamonds, gold, platinum, tin, manganese, nickel, lead, copper, titanium, coal and other minerals. The lion's share of these treasures is under Russian jurisdiction, so they need to be protected from all kinds of attacks.

As Army General Vladimir Kulishov, First Deputy Director and Head of the Border Service of the FSB of Russia, emphasized: “We note the annual increase in the intensity of research and other economic activities of foreign companies in the Arctic region. In this regard, certain foreign states and some international non-governmental organizations are making attempts to impede Russia’s economic activities in the Arctic region.”

That is why we are here, to ensure, together with units of the Northern Fleet, that the national interests of the Russian Federation are respected.

– What tasks are assigned to the Border Management in connection with the above and how are they solved?
– Considering that there are vast maritime spaces in our area of ​​responsibility, the basis for the formation of a modern security system is the zonal-basin principle of carrying out border activities.

From the border with Norway to the Taimyr Peninsula, we exercise control in internal sea waters, the territorial sea, the exclusive economic zone and on the continental shelf of the Russian Federation in the waters of the Barents, White and Kara seas.

The ship's command staff is constantly located in the maritime spaces adjacent to the Spitsbergen archipelago, with the task of monitoring the fishing activities of Russian vessels in this region, as well as in the regulatory area of ​​the North-East Atlantic Fishery Commission (NEAFC) outside the exclusive economic zone of the Russian Federation.

The growth of exploration, fishing, tourism and other activities in the seas of the Arctic Ocean, primarily in the waters of the Northern Sea Route, also poses challenges for us related to the organization of search and rescue activities at sea. I will give just two examples.

Franz Josef Land is the northernmost and most distant territory of Russia from the mainland, where the Nagurskoye border post is located - one of the islands of civilization hundreds of kilometers around. It was here that on July 10, 2016, a unique operation to save the life of a crew member of the Sea Spirit passenger ship was successfully completed. Upon arrival at Dezhnev Bay on the island of Alexandra Land, the captain of the ship turned to the border guards for help - there was a real threat to the life of one of the crew members, who required emergency surgery.

In this difficult situation, as it turned out later, the only correct decision was made - to take the patient ashore and perform the operation. A few hours later, the operation, carried out in the medical unit of the border department by regular medical workers, was successfully completed. According to doctors, delay could cost the sailor his life.

On October 3, 2016, the duty service of the Border Department received information that a boat with fishermen on board was in distress in the Kola Bay not far from Cape Letinsky and was asking for help. The boat sank, and the people in the rubber boat were left alone with the raging Barents Sea. The weather conditions were very difficult, but despite this, in cooperation with the ships and aircraft of the Northern Fleet, they were discovered and brought aboard the border boat. In total, since the beginning of 2016, border guards have come to the aid of those in distress at sea more than twenty times.

– As you have already said, on December 12, the Border Department celebrates the 95th anniversary of the beginning of border activities in the Arctic, that is, in fact, the date of its birth. And an anniversary is a good reason to look back and summarize what has been done...
– Despite numerous structural changes over such a rich history of management, we managed to do the main thing - maintain personnel potential. Today we have a lot of young people. But we also take care of the experience of veterans. We work very closely with veteran organizations in Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, Vorkuta. Together with them, we carry out a set of events within the framework of social support for veterans and military-patriotic work with youth, taking into account the best traditions, as well as the accumulated experience of service in the Far North and the Arctic. I am especially grateful for this to the leaders of veteran organizations Georgy Nikolaevich Zheleznikov and Alexander Ivanovich Zhekov, who with their enthusiasm and enormous authority unite veterans of all generations.

I express my great gratitude to the command of the Northern Fleet, the leadership of the Arctic regions of the Russian Federation, the heads of enterprises and organizations for their support of border guards, as well as for the consistent implementation of a system of measures aimed at strengthening the border security of regions in the western region of the Arctic.

I sincerely congratulate the veterans and employees on this significant day in the history of the Border Department and the Arctic region as a whole. This holiday is not only ours. It’s not for nothing that they say: all the people guard the border of their country.

The FSB generals who currently lead this service form the basis of this key structure, which is designed to ensure national security states. in its current state, it was formed in 1995, since then its leaders have received the closest attention.

Only FSB generals currently hold key leadership positions in this department. There are no lower-ranking military personnel in the positions of either first deputies or deputy service directors.

The Russian FSB is currently headed by Alexander Vasilievich Bortnikov. He has held this post since May 2008, after his predecessor Nikolai Platonovich Patrushev resigned.

Bortnikov was born in 1951 in the city of Molotov, which was the name of Perm at that time. He is a graduate of the Institute of Railway Transport Engineers, from which he graduated in Leningrad. In 1975 he graduated from the KGB Higher School. It was then that he began serving in state security agencies. Oversaw counterintelligence operations units. He remained in this area of ​​service even after the liquidation of the KGB and the formation of the FSB of Russia.

In 2003, Alexander Vasilievich Bortnikov headed the regional department for Leningrad region and the city of St. Petersburg. Then he headed the economic security service working within the department. In 2006, he received the rank of Colonel General of the FSB. According to some reports, he received the next rank of army general a few months later - in December of the same year.

In 2008, he headed the department, simultaneously holding the post of chairman of the national. He is a member of various government and interdepartmental commissions on a wide range of issues.

In order to get the most complete picture of the leadership of the FSB department, let us dwell on the personalities of the first deputy directors of this department. There are currently two of them in total. All of them are generals of the Russian FSB.

Vladimir Kulishov has the rank of army general. He has served as first deputy director since March 2013. At the same time, he heads the Border Service of the Russian Federation, which is also part of the FSB structure.

Kulishov Vladimir Grigorievich was born in the Rostov region in 1957. He studied at the Institute of Civil Aviation Engineers, which was based in Kyiv. After receiving a diploma higher education worked at a civil aviation factory.

He joined the structure of state security agencies in 1982. By that time, Vladimir Grigorievich Kulishov had already graduated from the KGB Higher School. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, he continued to serve in state security agencies. In 2000, he joined the central office of the Russian FSB.

Then for a year he headed the department for the Saratov region. Since 2004, he began to supervise the department for combating terrorism, and headed the FSB department for the Chechen Republic. Since 2008, he served as deputy director of the federal department. In 2013, he received the post of first deputy and headed the Border Service.

He served in Chechnya, has the Order of Military Merit and the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, III degree.

The FSB general is another first deputy director of the department. He comes from Chita, where he was born in 1950. In his infancy, the family moved to Leningrad, where he spent his childhood and youth. At school he was a classmate of Boris Gryzlov (ex-Minister of Internal Affairs and ex-chairman State Duma) and Nikolai Patrushev (ex-director of the FSB of Russia).

He received his higher education at the Bonch-Bruevich Electrical Engineering Institute, which was opened in Leningrad. During my student years I was also closely acquainted with Gryzlov, they studied together again. Started working at the Central Research Institute of Communications.

He joined the structure of the KGB of the USSR in 1974. Since 1975 he has been working in the Leningrad administration. He first held operational and then management positions.

In 1998, he received a position in the central office of the FSB. Headed the department of internal security. In 2000, he became deputy director of the FSB, and since 2003, first deputy. He has the rank of Army General.

All along Russian history 7 people headed the federal department of the FSB. The very first in 1993 was Colonel General Nikolai Mikhailovich Golushko. At that time, the structure was just being formalized and was officially called the Federal Counterintelligence Service of the Russian Federation.

Golushko stayed in this post for only two months, after which he was appointed by President Boris Yeltsin as an adviser to the director of the FSB. During the years of Soviet power he headed the KGB of the Ukrainian SSR.

In March 1994, Lieutenant General Sergei Vadimovich Stepashin became head of the Federal Counterintelligence Service. Under him, the Federal Security Service was founded in April 1995. Formally, he became the first director of the FSB of Russia. True, he spent only two and a half months in this position.

After that, he did not get lost in high government positions. Stepashin was the Minister of Justice, headed and held the post of first deputy and until 2013 headed the Accounts Chamber. Currently, he heads the supervisory board of a state corporation that promotes reform of the Russian housing and communal services sector.

In 1995, Army General Mikhail Ivanovich Barsukov came to the post of director of the FSB. He has been in the KGB system of the Soviet Union since 1964. He was the commandant of the Moscow Kremlin, and acted as a witness during the detention of the Deputy Prime Minister of one of the inspirers of the State Emergency Committee.

In the 90s, Barsukov was often criticized by his colleagues. In particular, blaming low professional qualities. For example, according to the former Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, Anatoly Sergeevich Kulikov, Barsukov’s entire service was spent in the Kremlin, he was responsible for the security of the top officials of the state. Many believed that Barsukov ended up at the head of the security service only thanks to Yeltsin’s security chief, Alexander Korzhakov, who had a certain influence on the president.

In June 1996, he resigned after a scandal during Yeltsin's election campaign. His name is closely connected with the detention of activists from the presidential election headquarters, Lisovsky and Evstafiev, who tried to carry out half a million dollars in a paper box.

In 1996, the service was headed by FSB General Nikolai Dmitrievich Kovalev. Unlike his predecessors, he spent a little more than two years in this post. Nikolai Kovalev has served in state security agencies since 1974. He was appointed to the post of FSB director after a scandal related to alleged violations of the rules of currency transactions and the conduct of Boris Yeltsin's presidential campaign in 1996.

During his time leading the service, Nikolai Kovalev managed to establish productive work of the department. Its employees began to appear less frequently in the press due to various scandals.

After being released from office, he became the people's representative from the third to the seventh convocation inclusive. Is a member of the faction " United Russia", heads the expert council of the organization "Officers of Russia".

Kovalev was replaced in July 1998 by the future Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. He was the only head of the department who by that time did not have military rank. Putin was only a reserve colonel.

The future head of state found himself in the KGB system back in 1975, immediately after graduating from Leningrad. state university. He ended up in the KGB by assignment.

Having become the head of the FSB, he appointed well-known Patrushev, Ivanov and Cherkesov as his deputies. Conducted a reorganization of the entire service. In particular, he abolished the economic counterintelligence department, and also eliminated the counterintelligence department for providing strategic facilities. Instead, he created six new departments. Achieved a significant increase in employee salaries and uninterrupted financing. It is interesting that Putin himself wished to be the first civilian director of the FSB, refusing the rank of major general, which Yeltsin proposed to give him.

Putin left the post of FSB director on August 9, becoming chairman of the government. Two days earlier, Chechen fighters under the command of Khattab and Basayev entered Dagestan. The creation of the Islamic State of Dagestan was proclaimed.

Already prime minister, Putin led the operation against the militants. In mid-September they were finally driven out of Dagestan.

After Vladimir Putin moved to senior positions in the federal government, the FSB was headed by Nikolai Platonovich Patrushev. He held this post for 9 years.

Just during the period of his work there was a confrontation with militants and terrorists. The Federal Security Service began to occupy a key position in matters of ensuring the country's security.

Patrushev currently holds the post of secretary Federal Council security.

Over the years, a large number of officers held the post of deputy director of the FSB. Perhaps the most notable of them was Admiral German Alekseevich Ugryumov. This is the only naval officer to hold such a high position.

Ugryumov is from Astrakhan and joined the Navy in 1967. In 1975 he found himself in the Soviet KGB system. Supervised a special department of the Caspian military flotilla. In the 90s, he became one of the initiators of the case against journalist Grigory Pasko, who was prosecuted for espionage.

As deputy director of the FSB, he oversaw the work of the Special Purpose Center. The famous special groups "Vympel" and "Alpha" belonged to this unit. Notable for carrying out counter-terrorism operations in the Chechen Republic. In particular, the release of Gudermes in 1999, the capture of one of the militant leaders Salman Raduev, and the release of hostages in the village of Lazorevsky are associated with his figure.

In May 2001, he was awarded the rank of admiral. The next day he died of a heart attack.

It is quite simple to distinguish the generals to whom our article is devoted by their form.

It was last changed in 2006. Now the uniform is a khaki color, distinguished by buttonholes and chevrons, as well as the cornflower blue color of the gaps on the shoulder straps.