This holiday is celebrated by those who contribute to the defense of their country, those who bear the difficult responsibility for reconnaissance of territories, equipping them with engineering communications for combat operations and escorting troops during an offensive.
This day is necessary for the significance of those who achieved victories for their Fatherland and at the same time traveled a long and glorious path. The professional holiday is also dedicated to those who honorably continue their work and serve for the benefit of the Fatherland and their people.
Story
Several centuries are written in the history of these troops:
- 1701. Peter the Great, the transformer of Great Rus', issued many fundamental orders. One of them was the decision to create the “School of Pushkar Order”. It was ordered by the will of the head of state to train artillery officers and military engineers in Moscow according to new programs and strict requirements for service. At that time there were only a small number of them. But graduates were in demand in all units of the Russian army.
- 1712. By the next decree, two independent institutions are separated from this school, each with its own direction of study.
- 1719. The St. Petersburg Engineering School is created.
- 1723. The school of St. Petersburg is enlarged by transferring the Moscow school to its city and merging with it. The Emperor attached great importance to the role of non-commissioned officers and chief officers and listed them at a rank higher than similar ranks of the infantry and artillery.
- 1753. Pushkin’s great-grandfather A.S. was appointed director of this institution. Abram Petrovich Hannibal.
- The knowledge and skills of the engineering troops helped achieve success in all military operations. Awards (orders and medals) were received by those who heroically participated in the Patriotic War of 1812, the defense of Sevastopol (1854-1855), the Russian-Japanese (1904-1905), the first and second (1914-1918, 1941-1945) world wars. The most worthy were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
- 1998. On the basis of the Military Engineering Academy named after V.V. Kuibyshev, the Military Engineering University was founded.
The Corps of Engineers has provided significant results not only on military fields, but also in peaceful areas of life. They took part in eliminating the consequences of natural disasters and the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, and carried out restoration work. Their role is colossal in many peacekeeping operations (Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Transnistria). They fulfill all the goals and objectives assigned to them with honor.
Traditions
The Russian Orthodox Church recognized and appreciated the merits of the soldier-engineers and declared them the patron saint of the Holy Prince Daniel of Moscow. Church and temple employees perform prayer services for the dead.
Feature films and documentaries have been made about everyday life and exploits. They can be watched in cinemas and on television channels. Festive concerts are dedicated to military engineers and their families, where famous artists and folk art groups take part.
Meetings are held in departments where congratulations from the country's leaders are read out. The best receive awards, certificates and valuable gifts. Servicemen discharged to the reserve do not forget the memorable date and every year they meet with their fellow soldiers.
Engineering troops are those who are responsible for the construction of defensive structures, bridges, and pontoon crossings. It is these people who are engaged in demining areas and building structures for the hidden use of weapons. They do not remain unused in peacetime - their list of tasks includes combating the consequences of emergency situations. These troops also have a professional holiday, which is celebrated on January 21. Everyone involved joins the celebrations: sappers, divers, engineers and others.
history of the holiday
The holiday was established by the President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin in 1996. The date of the event was tied to another good idea of Tsar Peter the Great - he decided back in 1701 to establish the “School of the Pushkar Order” in the capital, where engineers and artillerymen were trained. It was from its graduates that the first units of miners in the country consisted. After 11 years, Peter decided to separate engineers from artillerymen and pay more attention to their training, and in 1719 he ordered the creation of the St. Petersburg Engineering School.
The emperor considered the new troops valuable and tried in every possible way to increase their prestige. This will bear fruit - it is from the school founded by Peter that Mikhail Kutuzov will emerge half a century later. Since then, these soldiers have taken part in all Russian military operations. Their actions were highly praised during the Second World War; the soldiers repeatedly showed themselves to be brave even after.
The engineering troops actively participated in the battles to defend the Motherland. Thanks to the knowledge, courage and bravery of combat engineers, we can confirm the fact of successful military operations in the framework of the Patriotic War of 1812, the defense of Sevastopol in 1854-1855, and the Russian-Japanese War of 1904-1905. and both world wars. In 2006, the head of state added the date to the list of memorable days.
Engineering Troops Day 2020 is celebrated in Russia on January 21. Military personnel and workers of this branch of the armed forces participate in the festive events: engineers, sappers, miners, divers and others. Former employees and cadets of specialized specialties from universities of the Ministry of Defense will join the celebrations.
The date of the event has a symbolic meaning. On January 21, 1701, Peter the Great established the “School of the Pushkar Order” in Moscow for the training of military engineers. Its graduates began to staff the army's mining units. In 1712, the Tsar ordered the engineering school to be separated from it and enlarged. In 1719, a similar educational institution opened in St. Petersburg. In 1723, these two institutions merged into one - the St. Petersburg School of Engineering. In 1722, Peter I issued a Table of Ranks, in which officers of the engineering troops were placed above the rank of cavalry and infantry officers.
Holiday traditions
On this day, the President of the Russian Federation thanks soldiers, officers and veterans of the engineering troops for their courage, fidelity to duty and conscientious service. The best specialists receive extraordinary titles, awards, orders, and the title of Hero of Russia. Demonstration performances are held. Festive concerts are organized. Television and radio broadcast programs about the exploits of members of this branch of the military. Veterans share stories from their service.
About the profession of engineering corps employees
Military personnel of the engineering troops march simultaneously or ahead of motorized rifle and tank formations. They erect defensive structures, buildings for the sheltered use of guns, arrange pontoon crossings, build bridges, mine, clear mines and camouflage territories and objects, and carry out engineering reconnaissance of the enemy. In peacetime, they destroy the ammunition remaining from great warriors, participate in the elimination of emergencies, the consequences of accidents and disasters, and provide assistance to the population.
The military personnel of the engineering troops in the 18th-19th centuries were called Pioneers.
665 employees of these formations were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
M. Kutuzov began his service in the engineering troops.
The heavenly patron of the Russian engineering troops is the holy noble Prince Daniil of Moscow.
The history of the Russian engineering troops takes its origins from the Decree of Peter the Great of January 21, 1701 on the creation in Moscow of the “Pushkar Order School”, in which artillery officers and military engineers were trained. In 1702, graduates of the School began to staff the first mining units of the regular Russian army. The holiday is celebrated on January 21.
Invaluable contribution
Engineering troops took part in all battles to defend the Fatherland. The knowledge, courage and bravery of military engineers greatly contributed to the successful conduct of military operations in the Patriotic War of 1812, during the defense of Sevastopol (1854 - 1855), during the Russian-Japanese War (1904 - 1905) and the First World War (1914 - 1918).
The soldiers of the engineering troops especially distinguished themselves during the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945. For exploits for the glory of the Motherland, more than 100 thousand military personnel of the engineering troops were awarded orders and medals, about 700 were awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union and Hero of Russia, 294 became full holders of the Order of Glory.
The siege of Izmail, the Borodino redoubts, and the support of military operations of Soviet troops during the Great Patriotic War became bright pages in the book of Russian military glory.
The engineering troops played a significant role in supporting combat operations of troops in Afghanistan, in resolving conflicts in the Republic of Tajikistan, the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova, Abkhazia, and peacekeeping operations in Bosnia, Herzegovina and Kosovo.
For more than three hundred years, engineering troops have occupied a worthy place in the Russian Armed Forces. Military personnel of the engineering troops make an invaluable significant contribution to eliminating the consequences of accidents and disasters, providing assistance to the population during natural disasters, and clearing mines from explosive objects. The feat of soldiers and officers of the engineering troops during the liquidation of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is immortal.
And today, soldiers of the engineering units of the Russian Armed Forces worthily continue the traditions of their fathers and grandfathers - saving human lives and property during natural disasters, difficult service in “hot spots”, eliminating the consequences of accidents and man-made disasters.
History of the troops
The engineering troops have come a long and glorious way of serving the Fatherland. The first engineering school, which trained military engineers for the Russian army, was established by decree of Peter I on January 21, 1701.
Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated September 18, 1996 No. 1370 established Engineering Troops Day, which is celebrated annually in the Armed Forces on January 21, which is evidence of recognition of the military merits of all generations of military engineers from the “time of Peter the Great” to the present day.
There was not a single battle in which the engineering troops did not participate. They faithfully served Russia in the Battle of Poltava and during the capture of the impregnable fortress of Izmail, on the Borodino field and during the defense of Sevastopol in the Crimean War of 1853 - 1856, near Port Arthur and on the fields of the First World War.
The Motherland has always highly appreciated the contribution of the engineering troops to the glorious victories of Russian Arms. Thus, in the 19th - early 20th centuries, 125 soldiers of the engineering troops became Knights of St. George for heroism shown in combat.
Outstanding commanders of that time, Peter I, Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov, and Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov, played a prominent role in the development of engineering troops.
Peter I deserves credit for the creation of regular engineering troops in 1712, the use of transportation means, field fortifications to support military operations, and the further development of methods for strengthening state borders.
The crowning achievement of Russian military engineering in the 18th century was the capture by Russian troops under the leadership of A.V. Suvorov of the largest Turkish fortress Izmail. The following had a significant impact on achieving the goals:
camouflage of troop concentration areas, misleading the enemy by demonstrating preparation for a long siege, construction of false batteries, as well as advance preparation of engineering means to support the assault (ladders, fascines), organization of working (sapper) teams, their training in constructing ditches and assault fortress walls. Engineering structures installed on the Danube River prevented the passage of ships of the Turkish fleet and deprived those besieged in the fortress of the opportunity to receive help from their troops.
The increasing role of military engineering and engineering troops was even more clearly demonstrated in the Patriotic War of 1812. The great Russian commander Field Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov noted in a letter to Emperor Alexander I that he intended to strengthen the position he occupied at Borodino with art. This art found expression in the construction of the famous bastions of Russian glory on the Borodino field - Bagration's flashes, Raevsky's battery and other fortifications, on which the French army was subsequently drained of blood and was unable to continue the battle. Napoleon's attempts to crush Russia in one general battle failed.
During the Sevastopol defense of 1854 - 1855, a new system of fortifying military positions was born. Instead of a narrow line of bastions and curtains (fortress walls) connecting them, a fortified strip 1000 - 1500 m deep was used for the first time, protected positions for artillery were created, and the electric method of blasting was used for the first time. At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, the theory of engineering preparation of the country’s territory for war was being developed, which was the subject of the works of military engineer Konstantin Ivanovich Velichko, “Engineering defense of states and the construction of fortresses.”
At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries, engineering troops were considered as a technical branch of the army and, unlike combat troops (infantry, artillery and cavalry), were armed with technical means used to ensure armed combat. At various times, they included railway and electrical battalions, telegraph companies, aeronautical sections, automobile detachments and units of armored forces, which later became independent troops.
During the First World War and the Great Patriotic War, the engineering troops gained a wealth of experience and further development. The importance of engineering troops increased as their capabilities increased and the range of tasks assigned to them expanded. During the Great Patriotic War, military engineers assisted military formations, formations and units in the preparation and conduct of defensive battles, set up barriers and equipped numerous defensive lines along the enemy's path.
Together with the entire army, they held back the advance of the Nazi hordes and exhausted their forces. During the Red Army's offensive operations, engineering troops ensured the assault and breakthrough of the enemy's heavily fortified defensive lines.
For exploits and military labor for the glory of the Motherland during the Great Patriotic War, 100 thousand soldiers of the engineering troops were awarded orders and medals, 655 of them were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, 294 became full holders of the Order of Glory. During the war, 196 engineering formations, units and subunits were awarded the title of Guards. Many of them were given honorary titles, reflecting the glorious military path of the Soviet Armed Forces. The feat of the engineering troops during the Great Patriotic War will live for centuries.
After the end of the war, engineering troops were widely involved in clearing mines, neutralizing a huge number of unexploded shells and bombs, restoring bridges, roads, railways, clearing the beds of navigable rivers, providing populated areas and industrial enterprises with electricity and water. Many engineering units were transferred to the system of military construction detachments. This gave rise to the erroneous opinion that engineering troops and builders are one and the same.
A special page in the history of the engineering troops of the Soviet Army is the Afghan war. The enemy very quickly realized that, given the overwhelming superiority of the Russians in aviation, artillery, and armored vehicles, perhaps the only way to deprive Soviet troops of the opportunity to use their advantages was mine warfare. Permission for troops to use mines to protect checkpoints, block the paths of Dushman caravans, and install minefields remotely on the routes of movement of gangs quickly led to a significant decrease in their activity. During the war, the engineering troops, in addition to mine and counter-mine warfare, solved the problems of restoring roads and bridges, extracting and purifying water, and operational and tactical camouflage. However, the indecisiveness of the country's leadership at that time, the half-heartedness of the measures taken, and attempts to save money by overstraining the forces of the troops did not allow them to fully solve, including the tasks of engineering support for the battle (operation).
The last engineering support task that sappers in Afghanistan had to solve was to ensure the withdrawal of troops from their positions and ensure the march through the Salang pass to the territory of the USSR. Despite the dushmans’ promises to “arrange a bloodbath for the Russians,” they did not dare to approach the Soviet columns, all approaches to the main routes of movement of the Soviet troops were so tightly closed with mine-explosive barriers.
For the courage and heroism shown in providing international assistance in the Republic of Afghanistan, combat engineer sergeants N.P. Chepik, V.P. Sinitsky, N.I. Kremenish and A.I. Israfilov were awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and Colonel G.K. Loshkarev became the first full holder of the Order “For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR” in the Ground Forces.
Sapper soldiers took an active part in armed conflicts in Tajikistan, Transnistria, North Ossetia, Abkhazia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and supported the grouping of federal forces in the Chechen Republic, showing courage, professionalism and a high sense of military duty.
For successfully supporting the actions of federal forces in the Chechen Republic, more than 700 sapper soldiers were awarded state awards. A clear indication of devotion to the Motherland and the military oath was the awarding of the title of Hero of Russia to ten representatives of the engineering troops. Their names are inscribed in golden letters in the heroic chronicle of Russia. These are: Major General Krasnikov Alexander Alekseevich; Colonel Rostovshchikov Valery Alexandrovich; Lieutenant Colonel Oleg Vasilievich Kryukov; senior lieutenant Bersenev Roman Genrikhovich (posthumously); captain Zhuravlev Alexander Yurievich (posthumously); Lieutenant Colonel Zhuikov Sergei Vasilievich (posthumously); senior lieutenant Kolgatin Alexander Mikhailovich (posthumously); Major Kobin Alexander Ivanovich (posthumously); senior lieutenant Vitaly Leonidovich Marienko (posthumously); junior sergeant Borisov Evgeniy Germanovich.
On March 17, 2002, His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II declared the Holy Blessed Prince Daniel of Moscow as the Heavenly Patron of the Russian Engineering Troops - this is the understanding and recognition of the merits of the engineering troops by the Russian Orthodox Church.
Famous scientists, inventors and composers, outstanding commanders and military leaders served in the engineering troops. Among them are Field Marshal M.I. Kutuzov, Chief of the General Staff, Marshal of the Soviet Union N.V. Ogarkov, Deputy Minister of Defense for Construction and Quartering of Troops, Marshal of Engineering Troops N.F. Shestopalov, as well as marshals of the engineering troops M.P. Vorobyov, A.I. Proshlyakov, V.K. Kharchenko, S.Kh. Aganov, and many others. In terms of the number of Heroes of Russia per thousand people in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, engineering troops have one of the highest indicators, which confirms their commitment to the glorious traditions and heroism of military engineers.
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