History of Civil Defense. Civil defense of the USSR: history of creation

If we carefully study the comparatively short period of human history, for example, only the last five millennia, it turns out that of them the world on the planet reigned in aggregate for less than three centuries.

Threats to the life of mankind

Fifteen thousand wars survived humanity, and in each of them not only brave (or not) soldiers died, but also ordinary people who never held arms, children, women and the elderly. At the same time such deaths were most often accidental, except for cases of purposeful genocide. In addition to wars, there were earthquakes, floods, epidemics, mass hungry pestilence and other unhappiness. Then, with the development of science, technology and technology, it was the turn of technogenic catastrophes.

All together, disastrous factors in this period claimed 3.5 billion lives. After the emergence of weapons of mass destruction (at first only chemical weapons ), it became clear that civilization is slowly but surely moving along the path indicated by Thomas Malthus, successfully defending the planet from overpopulation by self-destruction.

Each country strives to protect its people from disastrous factors, and this is its main function. In 1932, the history of the development of the civil defense of our Motherland began. This structure was designed to minimize the consequences of an attack by hostile countries on the USSR.

Citizen, you are poisoned!

The exercises to protect against the effects of chemical weapons were held until 1932. One of them, which contributed to the flight of an underground millionaire, is described in the famous book "The Golden Calf" by the writers I. Ilf and E. Petrov. The probable enemy of the Land of Soviets at that time was all the capitalist states that possessed a certain stockpile of chemical weapons, so the gas masks were taught to wear quickly everyone, from children to old people, and even invented them in different versions, even for animals. In the thirties, the external threat was specified, it took on a specific outline in the face of the fascists. The history of the creation of civil defense dates back to October 4, 1932, when the Nazis in Germany had not yet come to power. It was clear that the main danger to the civilian population was represented by the air forces of the enemy army, which would undoubtedly bomb cities in case of war. The war in Spain, which began four years later, confirmed these fears.

Prewar teams of the MoHE

Civil defense activities in the early years were carried out by a body called the local air defense (MPVO). The function of the organization, subordinate to the People's Commissariat of Defense, included the development and conduct of activities designed to reduce the damage inflicted by the enemy air force in the event of military action. With the personnel and technical equipment assigned to it, this structure was to notify the population of the air alarm, give it a retreat, provide safe havens, eliminate the consequences of the attack of enemy aircraft and provide assistance to the victims. The authorities of the highest power (SNK) were clear that these forces alone can not accomplish these tasks, and if the aggression occurs, the Red Army will have another major goal - the defeat of the enemy. Maintaining the production and economic potential and preserving the lives of Soviet people should become a nationwide affair. Therefore, the civil defense plan included the use of both military units of the Moscow Military District, subordinated to the district command of the Red Army, and volunteer formations. At the enterprises teams for the protection of objects were created, each self-defense unit had its own group of self-defense.

In the submission of the NKVD

The more difficult the international situation became, the more carefully the civil defense organization was organized. The structure involved millions of Soviet people, for every major production unit or half a thousand residents of the district in urban or rural areas, there were 15 volunteers. They were trained in all the necessary skills to provide medical care, to monitor airspace, and to properly organize bomb shelters and protect public order.

About how important the issue was for the leadership of the USSR organization of civil defense, eloquently says the fact that the MGOVO since 1940, was subordinate to the all-powerful People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the USSR. The efforts of the party and government yielded results. By 1941, every enterprise or collective farm of the Soviet Union, all cities and districts had a specific civil defense plan, according to which in the event of war it was necessary to act. Numerous military exercises were conducted. Numerous services have been created, called together with the authorities to provide medical assistance to the wounded, the uninterrupted operation of transport, trade, food supply to the population, communications and much more.

Soon the skills were useful ...

War

Since June 1941, the front has passed not only along the leading edge. The rear labored, sparing no effort to give the Red Army everything necessary. The German command understood the importance of each factory, every plant for the defense of the USSR. And sent squadrons of bombships, trying to inflict the greatest damage to production.

The history of civil defense during the Great Patriotic War deserves a separate study as a unique case of mobilizing all the forces of society to protect their country. The incendiary bombs on the roofs were extinguished by people of all ages, every resident of the house followed the blackout, and the cases of panic were extremely rare even on the most difficult days. The MPVO fighters were able to prevent more than 30,000 accidents and disasters at enterprises of the national economy, neutralize hundreds of thousands of bombs, extinguish 90,000 fires, surviving thirty thousand air raids. These efforts, equivalent to a mass feat, have made an important contribution to the cause of the common Victory. Civil defense of the USSR has demonstrated high efficiency, worthy of admiration.

Postwar Civil Defense

Atomic weapons appeared in 1945. And immediately it was applied. The Soviet Union was not ready for a new threat and did not possess the necessary number of shelters capable of withstanding a nuclear explosion. The country's economy experienced serious difficulties connected with the restoration of industrial potential and agriculture after the damage caused by the fighting and occupation of a significant part of the territory. Nevertheless, the new problem caused retaliatory actions. The history of civil defense of the post-war years continued the traditions laid down in the 1930s.

The most pressing problem of protecting the population was in the middle of the 20th century, after the expansion of the range of delivery vehicles. Nuclear weapons could now carry not only strategic bombers, but also rockets, both land-based and mobile-based. The history of the creation of civil defense in the USSR officially begins in 1961, at which time the service received this name in exchange for the MoE. Renaming was quite feasible due to the expansion of the list of functions of the structure. The subject of "GO" is taught in secondary and special educational institutions, in schools, students receive the necessary knowledge in classes on CWP (initial military training). In the 1970s, mobile units were formed to carry out duties to protect the population. In Balashikha near Moscow, a school is opened, training officers GO.

Civil Defense in the United States

In the fifties our science made a rapid breakthrough, ahead of other countries that considered themselves advanced in technology. This was expressed not only in the cosmic successes of the USSR, but also in the defense field. In the arsenal of the Soviet Air Force appeared jet and turboprop Tu-95 and Tu-16 bombers capable of reaching the most remote targets at high speed. But the most terrible weapons were intercontinental missiles, and Soviet leadership in the issue of their construction at that time was beyond question. America lost its transatlantic invulnerability, the specter of a nuclear "mushroom" loomed over skyscrapers and farms. The history of US civil defense began in the fifties, and immediately acquired a national character. The territory of the country was divided into ten districts, each with several states. The sirens of educational alarms howled over the towns, schoolchildren learned to hide quickly under the desks and flee to the shelter. There was a whole industry that produces bunkers equipped with life support systems for all comers. It should be noted the desire of the American "colleagues" to actively adopt the Soviet experience, both organizational and technical. During the Caribbean crisis, the number of shelters in the United States exceeded that in the USSR, in the event of conflict, there could be more people saved there, but the damage caused by the nuclear strike was still completely unacceptable.

Israel

There is no such second country, which would have had such a dramatic history of creating a civil defense. Briefly it can be described in two words: "save all". Unfortunately, this is not always the case, but continuous bombardment of the territory of the State of Israel by Scud missiles and conventional Grad missiles, as well as numerous terrorist acts, could cause a much larger number of civilian casualties, if not for effective measures aimed at their Protection. The effectiveness of the civil defense service allowed the Minister of Civil Defense in 2012 to even make a statement about the estimated number of casualties among the population in the event of a full-scale war with Iran and the Hamas organization at the same time. According to him, the death toll would not exceed half a thousand people. Some experts believe that the words of Matan Vilnai exaggerate the capabilities of the ministry headed by him, but the fact that the civil defense of the population in Israel is organized well is obvious. At the same time, no one in this Middle Eastern country denies the use of Soviet experience in setting up the whole GO infrastructure.

In democratic Russia

The history of civil defense of Russia began in 1991, simultaneously with the creation of all organizational, power and power structures of the new state. The GO Department was included in the formed State Committee for Emergency Situations and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters (State Committee for Emergency Situations), three years later it was transformed into the Ministry for Emergency Situations (MES). Civil defense became part of the tasks assigned to the structure. Their circle turned out to be wide.

It included, first of all, combating the spontaneous and technogenic consequences of environmental disasters and accidents and conducting NAVR (emergency recovery operations). The Ministry of Emergency Situations also prepares zones for flooding or contamination for the commissioning of specialized units, sanitation of the population, equipment, buildings and structures, pyrotechnic works, provision of evacuation measures from hazardous areas and territories, restoration of disturbed communications (roads, airfields, power lines and communications, ). Other civil defense measures are envisaged. If necessary, the Ministry of Emergency Situations shall perform its functions jointly with the units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

In September 2011, the President issued a decree, according to which the MO was entrusted with the creation of special military formations to assist the population in the disaster areas.

At present, the Ministry of Emergency Situations is a powerful organization of the federal level, which has at its disposal the most modern equipment. The technical support is diverse, the ministry has even its own aviation, numbering more than fifty aircraft, including small helicopters, huge aircraft equipped to extinguish large-scale forest fires, and flying hospitals.

On all continents and at home

The latest history of Russia's civil defense is constantly updated with glorious pages. Rescuers professionally operate not only within their own country, but also abroad. The planes of the Ministry of Emergency Situations delivered humanitarian aid to different regions of the planet. The rescue cargo was received by the victims of earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters. Invaluable assistance was rendered by rescuers and those who suffered from military operations. After the terrible hurricane Katrina, which caused many ills in 2005, the history of civil defense was supplemented with a unique fact. For the first time in history, Russian rescuers operated in the United States, assisting the population. Humanitarian goods were delivered to America when the Sandy (2012) raged, and during the tornado that struck Oklahoma (2013).

Of course, other countries can count on the help of Russian rescuers. But the main priority of our civil defense system is the protection of the lives and health of our fellow citizens. Among operations conducted over the past two decades, it is possible to list actions in Chechnya, and work to eliminate the plague epidemic in Tuva, and the fight against terrorism in Moscow and other cities. And there were air crashes, and a fire in Ostankino, and the Karmadon gorge, and explosions in the subway. And the floods in Krymsk and the Far East. Hundreds of specialists liquidated the consequences of the catastrophe at the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP in 2009. And today humanitarian convoys are going to Lugansk and Donetsk regions.

Everything is difficult to list. And everywhere in the forefront - rescuers of the Ministry for Emergency Situations, heirs to the glory of the Ministry of Defense and civil defense troops.