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To serve in the railway troops (ZhDV) is as honorable as, for example, in the Marine Corps. These special forces provide the rear of the army, are responsible for the defense capability and national security of our state.
When is Railway Troops Day celebrated?
Railway Troops Day 2022 is celebrated in Our Country 6 August. This date has been assigned to the holiday since 1996, when the corresponding order of the President of the Federation was signed.
history of the holiday
The intensive development of railway transport led to the emergence of special military formations. Emperor Nicholas I, by his decree, created the first railway troops not only in Our Country, but also in the world. This happened on August 6, 1851. 17 companies included 4340 people who were assigned to protect and operate the railway tracks.
At the beginning of the 12th century, the Empire had some of the largest and best railway troops in the world. They numbered XNUMX battalions, consolidated into four railway brigades: Baranovichi (from the name of the city, which is now in Belarus), Turkestan, Ussuri and Zaamur.
During the Great Patriotic War, the soldiers of the Railways, together with civilian workers, laid more than 120 thousand km of rails, built 15 thousand protective structures and three thousand bridges. They cleared railway tracks and provided support for almost all offensive and defensive operations. And when peacetime came, they restored the destroyed railway, laid and electrified new highways. By the way, civilian railway troops are also called transport troops.
Holiday traditions
Railway Troops Day 2022 is a professional holiday for military personnel, as well as civil servants and workers of the Railway Troops. It is celebrated, as a rule, by awarding the best, concerts and various solemn events. So, for example, in 2019, a bust of Emperor Nicholas I as the founder of the railway troops was erected on the territory of the railway formation of the Southern Military District in the Volgograd Region. As part of the opening of the monument, a rally was held with the removal of the State Flag of the Federation and the Battle Banner to the music of a military band.
Solemn events on the Day of the Railway Troops often take place in places where commemorative monuments are installed. For example, in the city of Kungur in the Urals, the military gather at the stadium, next to which stands a stele in honor of the fallen railroad soldiers. In Nizhny Tagil – on the square in front of the memorial with the names of the dead. In Moscow, there are such monuments and commemorative plates at the Kanatchikovo railway station and the Podmoskovnaya Steam Locomotive Depot historical site, in the museum of full-scale railway technology, near the Belorussky railway station and several locomotive depots.
What are the railroads doing now?
The main task of the railway troops is to ensure the smooth functioning of the railway tracks. They must immediately respond to emergencies and help the Ministry of Emergency Situations to quickly eliminate their consequences. In addition, the military is engaged in laying railway lines together with civilian workers. One of the most striking examples is the construction of a “steel line” bypassing Ukraine.
During this joint work with Railways, the railway troops completed a colossal amount of work well ahead of the original schedule. The object was commissioned a year earlier – right in time for the professional holiday on August 6, 2017. For this, the Minister of Defense of the Federation, General of the Army Sergei Shoigu, presented the shock workers of labor with a high state award – the Order of Zhukov.
Modern transport troops consist of the Main Directorate and numerous directorates of military districts. Railway brigades are in constant readiness for emergency actions. They are distinguished by a high level of professionalism of specialists and good technical equipment. Engineering tools allow you to minimize manual labor and constantly increase productivity. Therefore, many objects are rented ahead of schedule without loss of quality. The important work of the Railways is ongoing: in recent years, hundreds of kilometers of roads have been repaired and built.
How to get into the railway troops
You can enroll in the Military Transport University, a specialized school, or take three-month courses at the training center of the ZhDV. On the training ground here they drive not on tanks, but on track-laying vehicles. The specialties that are received here are also in demand in civilian life. This is, for example, a machinist, crane operator, etc.
Interesting facts about the railway troops
- Гордость железнодорожных войск России — бронепоезд «Байкал», похожий на маленькую крепость. Для самообороны у него есть зенитный комплекс, чтобы отбивать удары с воздуха, автоматический гранатомет, пулемет и даже танк. От вражеских пуль его защищает броня толщиной 200 мм, от подрыва на минах — передние платформы прикрытия. А еще «Байкал» оснащен «глушилкой» радиосигналов.
- A distant relative of the semaphore was a ball that was lifted up with a winch. The driver saw him – so you can go. The structure was controlled by signalmen. For the system to work, they were placed along the entire road every couple of kilometers.
- scientist Yakov Gordienko was the first to create a mechanical centralization of arrows. This was in the 1880s. He also invented the semaphore model, which is used to this day. Before that, they used the English version.