Chinese Civil War
138-556: Soviet–Japanese border conflicts Second World War Hungarian Revolution of 1956 Sino-Soviet border conflict The Soviet Border Troops ( Russian : Пограничные войска СССР , romanized : Pogranichnyye voyska SSSR ) were the border guard of the Soviet Union , subordinated to the Soviet state security agency: first to the Cheka / OGPU , then to NKVD / MGB and, finally, to
276-728: A surprise attack on the Russian Pacific Fleet stationed at Port Arthur on the Liadong Peninsula . Following one and a half years of fighting between the Russian Army and the Japanese Army , the Russian Empire (led by Tsar Nicholas II ) sued for peace after the disastrous battle of Tsushima and thereby recognized Japan's claims to Korea and agreed to evacuate Manchuria. Following the 1918 Siberian intervention by Japan in
414-690: A (fictional) failed raid into the Mongolian People's Republic and the following battle of the Battles of Khalkhin Gol. The novel explains these events in detail, particularly the failed raid, and it plays an important role in the larger story. Dissolution of the Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration № 142-Н of
552-506: A Japanese column . This was rectified when the unit obtained artillery support, enabling it to destroy or drive off the armored cars. In March 1936, the Tauran incident ( タウラン事件 , Tauran jiken ) ( ja ) occurred. In this battle, both the Japanese Army and Mongolian Army used a small number of armored fighting vehicles and military aircraft. The Tauran incident of March 1936 occurred as
690-601: A Russian nationalist group, held an unsanctioned demonstration in Moscow. The authorities did not break up the demonstration and even kept traffic out of the demonstrators' way while they marched to an impromptu meeting with Boris Yeltsin. On 25 July 1987, 300 Crimean Tatars staged a noisy demonstration near the Kremlin Wall for several hours, calling for the right to return to their homeland, from which they were deported in 1944; police and soldiers looked on. On 23 August 1987,
828-531: A choice between multiple candidates, elected by secret ballot. However, the party delegates at the Plenum watered down Gorbachev's proposal, and democratic choice within the Communist Party was never significantly implemented. Gorbachev also radically expanded the scope of glasnost and stated that no subject was off limits for open discussion in the media. On 7 February, dozens of political prisoners were freed in
966-560: A common border between Japanese-occupied Manchuria and the Soviet Far East . This led to growing tensions with the Soviet Union, with both sides often engaging in border violations and accusing the other of doing so. The Soviets and Japanese, including their respective client states of Mongolia and Manchukuo , fought in a series of escalating small border skirmishes and punitive expeditions from 1935 until Soviet-Mongolian victory over
1104-595: A crossing had occurred. The Border Troops consisted of conscripts drafted by the same system as for the Soviet Army , and a small number of professional enlistees. Officers were trained in specialized academies. Both conscripts and officer candidates for Border Troops were carefully selected and checked by the KGB . This made service in the troops privileged. The Border Troops had Landing Assault Manoeuvre Groups (sing. десантно-штурмовая маневренная группа ( ДШМГ )). The LAMGs of
1242-830: A new central legislature, the Congress of People's Deputies (although the ban on other political parties was not lifted until 1990). On 1 July 1985, Gorbachev sidelined his main rival by removing Grigory Romanov from the Politburo and brought Boris Yeltsin into the Central Committee Secretariat . On 23 December 1985, Gorbachev appointed Yeltsin First Secretary of the Moscow Communist Party , replacing Viktor Grishin . Gorbachev continued to press for greater liberalization . On 23 December 1986 Andrei Sakharov ,
1380-705: A new organization called the Popular Front of Azerbaijan , loosely based on the Estonian Popular Front . On 17 September, when gun battles broke out between the Armenians and Azerbaijanis near Stepanakert , two soldiers were killed and more than two dozen injured. This led to almost tit-for-tat ethnic polarization in Nagorno-Karabakh's two main towns: the Azerbaijani minority was expelled from Stepanakert , and
1518-495: A new supreme legislative body called the Congress of People's Deputies . Frustrated by the old guard's resistance, Gorbachev embarked on a set of constitutional changes to attempt separation of party and state, thereby isolating his Party opponents. Detailed proposals for the new Congress of People's Deputies were published on 2 October 1988, and to enable the creation of the new legislature. The Supreme Soviet, during its 29 November – 1 December 1988, session, implemented amendments to
SECTION 10
#17328456088451656-504: A public meeting lacking official permission at Ivan Franko State University . On 13 November 1988, approximately 10,000 people attended an officially sanctioned meeting organized by the cultural heritage organization Spadschyna , the Kyiv University student club Hromada , and the environmental groups Zelenyi Svit ("Green World") and Noosfera , to focus on ecological issues. From 14 to 18 November, 15 Ukrainian activists were among
1794-478: A revised delegate list. Authorities attempted to disperse the rally in front of Druzhba Stadium. On 7 July, 10,000 to 20,000 people witnessed the launch of the Democratic Front to Promote Perestroika. On 17 July, a group of 10,000 gathered in the village Zarvanytsia for Millennium services celebrated by Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Bishop Pavlo Vasylyk. The militia tried to disperse attendees, but it turned out to be
1932-545: A seat on the Supreme Soviet, and in the summer he formed the first opposition, the Inter-Regional Deputies Group , composed of Russian nationalists and liberals . Composing the final legislative group in the Soviet Union, those elected in 1989 played a vital part in reforms and the eventual breakup of the Soviet Union during the next two years. On 30 May 1989, Gorbachev proposed that local elections across
2070-636: A small section of the Afghan-Soviet border along the Wakhan District , after which began the area of responsibility of the Central Asian Border District. Land units: Naval units: Air units: The Red Banner Central Asian Border District ( Russian : Краснознамённый Среднеазиатский пограничный округ ) had its headquarters in Ashgabad . It guarded the Afghan-Soviet (without the strip along
2208-469: A thousand police to stop the march, with the resulting clashes leaving two Azerbaijanis dead. These deaths, announced on state radio, led to the Sumgait Pogrom . Between 26 February and 1 March, the city of Sumgait (Azerbaijan) saw violent anti-Armenian rioting during which at least 32 people were killed. The authorities totally lost control and occupied the city with paratroopers and tanks; nearly all of
2346-409: A verbal protest with the Soviet consul at Suifenho. The Imperial Japanese Army's Kwantung Army also sent an intelligence officer to investigate the scene of the clash. On 19 December 1935, a Manchukuoan army unit engaging in a reconnoitering project southwest of Buir Lake clashed with a Mongolian party, reportedly capturing 10 soldiers. Five days later, 60 truck-borne Mongolian troops assaulted
2484-659: A violent protest action in the capital on 28 October, many of Songalia's remaining holdovers within the CPL either resigned or retired in protest of the police brutality of that day. On 20 February 1988, after a week of growing demonstrations in Stepanakert , capital of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (the ethnically Armenian-majority area within the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic ),
2622-453: A year - with the relatively liberal Algirdas Mykolas Brazauskas . In October 1988, Brazauskas bowed to pressure from Sąjūdis members, and legalized the flying of the historic yellow-green-red flag of independent Lithuania, and in November 1988 he passed a law making Lithuanian the country's official language; also, the former national anthem, " Tautiška giesmė ", was later reinstated. Following
2760-402: The 1977 Soviet Constitution , enacted a law on electoral reform, and set the date of the election for 26 March 1989. On 29 November 1988, the Soviet Union ceased jamming all foreign radio stations, allowing Soviet citizens – for the first time since a brief period in the 1960s – to have unrestricted access to news sources beyond Communist Party control. In 1986 and 1987, Latvia had been in
2898-565: The Amur River at the Soviet–Manchukuo border. Three Soviet gunboats crossed the center line of the river, unloaded troops, and occupied Kanchazu (also spelled "Kanchatzu") island. Soldiers from the IJA 1st Division , using two horse-drawn 37mm artillery pieces, proceeded to hastily set up improvised firing sites, and load their guns with both high-explosive and armor-piercing shells. They shelled
SECTION 20
#17328456088453036-609: The Battle for Berlin in 1945. During and after the war, 150 border guards were awarded the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union and over 13,000 of them were decorated with different orders and medals. In wartime, the Border Troops would become a frontline combat service. The Border Troops also saw combat in 1969 in border clashes with Chinese soldiers on islands in the Ussuri River . After
3174-769: The Bolshevik Red Army and also helped the Czechoslovak Legion in Siberia to get back to Europe when an Armoured Train from Austria-Hungary in Europe got lost in Siberia in Russia in 1918 . And between 1918 and 1920 the Japanese helped the Czechoslovak Legion back to Europe in 1920 but when Czechoslovaks returned to Europe Austria-Hungary had already collapsed and Czechoslovakia
3312-720: The Bolsheviks in the Russian Far East during the Civil War the Japanese had to retreat and withdraw back to Japan because the Bolsheviks led by Lenin were too powerful and everyone is tired of war after The Great War ended in 1918 (in Europe , Africa , Asia ).From 1918 to 1920 the Imperial Japanese Army (commanded by Emperor Taishō after Meiji died in 1912) were helping the White Army and Alexander Kerensky against
3450-476: The Buddhist temple at Halhamiao, which was led by a Japanese military advisor . The Manchukuo Army incurred slight casualties, suffering 6 wounded and 2 dead, including the Japanese officer. The Mongols suffered no casualties, and withdrew when the Japanese sent a punitive expedition to reclaim the disputed area. Two motorized cavalry companies, a machine gun company, and a tankette platoon were sent and occupied
3588-511: The Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union lasted until 24 January 1989. For the next month, selection among the 7,531 district nominees took place at meetings organized by constituency-level electoral commissions. On 7 March, a final list of 5,074 candidates was published; about 85% were Party members. In the two weeks prior to the 1,500 district polls, elections to fill 750 reserved seats of public organizations, contested by 880 candidates, were held. Of these seats, 100 were allocated to
3726-656: The Freedom Monument , shouting, "Soviet Russia out! Free Latvia!" Security forces confronted the marchers, and several police vehicles were overturned. The Jeltoqsan ('December') of 1986 were riots in Alma-Ata , Kazakhstan , sparked by Gorbachev's dismissal of Dinmukhamed Kunaev , the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan and an ethnic Kazakh , who was replaced with Gennady Kolbin , an outsider from
3864-692: The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and the Prague Spring in 1968. Gorbachev abandoned the oppressive and expensive Brezhnev Doctrine , which mandated intervention in the Warsaw Pact states, in favor of non-intervention in the internal affairs of allies – jokingly termed the Sinatra Doctrine in a reference to the Frank Sinatra song " My Way ". Poland was the first republic to democratize following
4002-478: The KGB . Accordingly, they were known as NKVD Border Security and KGB Border Troops . Unlike the border guards of many other countries, Soviet Border Troops also included the maritime border guarding units, and aviation units (i.e., a coast guard ). The mission of the Border Troops included repulsing armed incursions into Soviet territory; preventing illegal crossings of the border or the transport of weapons, explosives, contraband or subversive literature across
4140-802: The Khabarovsk Krai and Primorsky Krai . From there the district's AOR followed the coastline, the border with North Korea and the border with China to the place where the territory of the Primorsky Krai met the territory of the Khabarovsk Krai and the AOR of the Red Banner Far Eastern Border District. Land units: Naval units: Air units: The Red Banner Far Eastern Border District ( Russian : Краснознамённый Дальневосточный пограничный округ ) had its headquarters in Khabarovsk . It guarded
4278-544: The NKVD performed secret killings in Kurapaty. Initially the Front had significant visibility because its numerous public actions almost always ended in clashes with the police and the KGB . Spring 1989 saw the people of the Soviet Union exercising a democratic choice, albeit limited, for the first time since 1917, when they elected the new Congress of People's Deputies. Just as important
Soviet Border Troops - Misplaced Pages Continue
4416-559: The Nomonhan Incident (after a nearby village on the border between Mongolia and Manchuria), was the decisive battle of the undeclared Soviet–Japanese Border War. After skirmishes in May and June 1939, engagements with corps -sized forces took place, though the Soviets were again far more numerous and more heavily armed than the Japanese. There were three principal engagements: In this engagement
4554-692: The Politburo on 11 March 1985, just over four hours after his predecessor Konstantin Chernenko died at the age of 73. Gorbachev, aged 54, was the youngest member of the Politburo. His initial goal as general secretary was to revive the stagnating Soviet economy , and he realized that doing so would require reforming underlying political and social structures. The reforms began with personnel changes of senior Brezhnev-era officials who would impede political and economic change. On 23 April 1985, Gorbachev brought two protégés, Yegor Ligachev and Nikolai Ryzhkov , into
4692-598: The Romanian language and return to the Latin alphabet. The transition from "movement" (an informal association) to "front" (a formal association) was seen as a natural "upgrade" once a movement gained momentum with the public, and the Soviet authorities no longer dared to crack down on it. On 26 April 1988, about 500 people participated in a march organized by the Ukrainian Cultural Club on Kyiv's Khreschatyk Street to mark
4830-833: The Russian Civil War (during/after : World War 1 ) in the Russian Far East (later; the Soviet-Russian Far East ) and fighting against Vladimir Lenin and the Soviet Bolshevik Communists from 1918 to 1922 after the Japanese took the German Qingdao Colony and the German Marshall Island Colonies from the German Empire (led by Kaiser Wilhelm II ) in 1914 during WW1 . In 1922 after they captured Vladivostok in 1918 to stop
4968-543: The Russian SFSR . Demonstrations started in the morning of 17 December 1986, with 200 to 300 students in front of the Central Committee building on Brezhnev Square . On the next day, 18 December, protests turned into civil unrest as clashes between troops, volunteers, militia units, and Kazakh students turned into a wide-scale confrontation. The clashes could only be controlled on the third day. On 6 May 1987, Pamyat ,
5106-583: The Soviet Volunteer Group . 195 of these men, almost all officers, died in battle against Japanese forces. Large-scale aid ceased by the end of the Soviet–Japanese border conflicts. The Battle of Lake Khasan (July 29, 1938 – August 11, 1938), also known as the "Changkufeng Incident" ( Chinese : 张鼓峰事件 ; pinyin : Zhānggǔfēng Shìjiàn , Japanese pronunciation: Chōkohō Jiken ) in China and Japan,
5244-471: The Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union . It also brought an end to the Soviet Union's federal government and General Secretary (also President ) Mikhail Gorbachev 's effort to reform the Soviet political and economic system in an attempt to stop a period of political stalemate and economic backslide . The Soviet Union had experienced internal stagnation and ethnic separatism. Although highly centralized until its final years,
5382-432: The Soviet-Japanese Border War , the First Soviet-Japanese War , the Russo-Mongolian-Japanese Border Wars or the Soviet-Mongolian-Japanese Border Wars , were a series of minor and major conflicts fought between the Soviet Union (led by Joseph Stalin ), Mongolia (led by Khorloogiin Choibalsan ) and Japan (led by Hirohito ) in Northeast Asia from 1932 to 1939. The Japanese expansion in Northeast China created
5520-468: The Spitak earthquake struck, killing an estimated 25,000 to 50,000 people. When Gorbachev rushed back from a visit to the United States, he was so angered with being confronted by protesters calling for Nagorno-Karabakh to be made part of the Armenian Republic during a natural disaster that on 11 December 1988, he ordered that the entire Karabakh Committee be arrested. In Tbilisi , the capital of Soviet Georgia , many demonstrators camped out in front of
5658-442: The Theater Square , by 22 February, there were 100,000, the next day 300,000, and a transport strike was declared, by 25 February, there were close to a million demonstrators—more than a quarter of Armenia's population. This was the first of the large, peaceful public demonstrations that would become a feature of communism's overthrow in Prague, Berlin, and, ultimately, Moscow. Leading Armenian intellectuals and nationalists, including
Soviet Border Troops - Misplaced Pages Continue
5796-481: The nuclear launch codes —to Yeltsin, who was now the first president of the Russian Federation . That evening, the Soviet flag was lowered from the Kremlin for the last time and replaced with the Russian tricolor flag . The following day, the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union's upper chamber, the Soviet of the Republics, formally dissolved the Union. The events of the dissolution resulted in its 15 constituent republics gaining full independence which also marked
5934-423: The revolutions of 1989 in which Soviet-imposed socialist regimes of the Warsaw Pact were toppled peacefully ( with the notable exception of Romania ), which in turn increased pressure on Gorbachev to introduce greater democracy and autonomy for the Soviet Union's constituent republics. Under Gorbachev's leadership, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) in 1989 introduced limited competitive elections to
6072-448: The west and Japan in the east . During the first two years of the war, the Soviets heavily aided the Chinese, increasing tension with Japan. From October 1937 to September 1939, the Soviets supplied the Chinese with 82 tanks , over 1,300 pieces of artillery, over 14,000 machine guns, 50,000 rifles, 1,550 trucks and tractors, and also ammunition , equipment and supplies. They also provided 3,665 military advisors and volunteers as part of
6210-409: The 100 human-, national- and religious-rights advocates invited to discuss human rights with Soviet officials and a visiting delegation of the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (also known as the Helsinki Commission). On 10 December, hundreds gathered in Kyiv to observe International Human Rights Day at a rally organized by the Democratic Union. The unauthorized gathering resulted in
6348-450: The 14,000 Armenian residents of Sumgait fled. Gorbachev refused to make any changes to the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, which remained part of Azerbaijan. He instead sacked the Communist Party Leaders in both Republics in response – on 21 May 1988, Kamran Baghirov was replaced by Abdulrahman Vezirov as First Secretary of the Azerbaijan Communist Party . From 23 July to September 1988, a group of Azerbaijani intellectuals began working for
6486-406: The 1930s. In the aftermath of the First Sino-Japanese War and the Eight Power Intervention against the Boxer Rebellion in China, the Qing hold over Manchuria and Korea had weakened significantly, leading to both the Russian and Japanese Empires vying for control over the territories. The Russo-Japanese War of 1904 to 1905, began when the Empire of Japan (led by Emperor Meiji ) launched
6624-423: The 2,250 CPD seats were filled. In district races, run-off elections were held in 76 constituencies on 2 and 9 April and fresh elections were organized on 14 and 20 April to 23 May, in the 199 remaining constituencies where the required absolute majority was not attained. While most CPSU-endorsed candidates were elected, more than 300 lost to independent candidates such as Yeltsin, the physicist Andrei Sakharov and
6762-464: The 48th anniversary of the secret protocols of the 1939 Molotov Pact , thousands of demonstrators marked the occasion in the three Baltic capitals to sing independence songs and attend speeches commemorating Stalin's victims. The gatherings were sharply denounced in the official press and closely watched by the police but were not interrupted. On 14 June 1987, about 5,000 people gathered again at Freedom Monument in Riga , and laid flowers to commemorate
6900-611: The 542-member Supreme Soviet passed the measure 254–85 (with 36 abstentions). The decision required a constitutional amendment, ratified by the full congress, which met 12–25 December. It also passed measures that would allow direct elections for presidents of each of the 15 constituent republics. Gorbachev strongly opposed such a move during debate but was defeated. The vote expanded the power of republics in local elections, enabling them to decide for themselves how to organize voting. Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia had already proposed laws for direct presidential elections. Local elections in all
7038-407: The Amur Oblast to Mongolia and the Mongol-Soviet border. At the Chinese-Mongol-Soviet border three-point in the Gorno-Altai Autonomous Oblast near Khüiten Peak its AOR met the AOR of the Red Banner Eastern Border District. Land units: Naval units: Air units: The Red Banner Eastern Border District had its headquarters in Almaty . It guarded the western part of the Chinese-Soviet border and
SECTION 50
#17328456088457176-400: The Armenian minority was expelled from Shusha . On 17 November 1988, in response to the exodus of tens of thousands of Azerbaijanis from Armenia, a series of mass demonstrations began in Baku 's Lenin Square, lasting 18 days and attracting half a million demonstrators in support of their compatriots in that region. On 5 December 1988, the Soviet police and civilian militiamen moved in, cleared
7314-449: The Border Guard has it distinction since 1893). The color is also present on a maritime Border Troops ensign . After the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , the Border Troops assisted the pacification of the newly acquired Soviet territory adjoining the state border. The mass execution of Romanian civilians known as the Fântâna Albă massacre happened at this time. Border Troops units on the western USSR frontier saw particularly fierce combat in
7452-446: The Border Troops equivalent of a company). The 1st MMBO was armed with BMP-1 or BMP-2 , the 2nd MMBO was armed with BTR-70 and the 3rd MMBO was armed with BTR-60PB . Each MMBO had 5 BMPs or BTRs. The MMG also had a motorised mortar battery, an anti-tank platoon and additional support units for a total of ca. 300 men. The fire and service support units were motorised with GAZ-66 light trucks. The Landing Assault Manoeuvre Group formed
7590-432: The CPSU, 100 to the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions , 75 to the Communist Youth Union ( Komsomol ), 75 to the Committee of Soviet Women, 75 to the War and Labour Veterans' Organization, and 325 to other organizations such as the Academy of Sciences . The selection process was done in April. In the 26 March general elections, voter participation was an impressive 89.8%, and 1,958 (including 1,225 district seats) of
7728-422: The Chinese border in the Amur Oblast from the Primorsky Krai to the Zabaykalsky Krai where it met the AOR of the Red Banner Trans-Baikal Border District. Land units: Naval units: Air units: The Red Banner Trans-Baikal Border District ( Russian : Краснознамённый Забайкальский пограничный округ ) had its headquarters in Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai . It guarded the eastern part of the Soviet-Chinese border from
7866-482: The Estonian Popular Front and legalized the flying of the old blue-black-white flag of Estonia, and agreed to a new state language law that made Estonian the official language of the Republic. On 2 October, the Popular Front formally launched its political platform at a two-day congress. Väljas attended, gambling that the Front could help Estonia become a model of economic and political revival, while moderating separatist and other radical tendencies. On 16 November 1988,
8004-443: The Japanese Attacked on Pearl Harbor . This was said to be largely due to the Battle of Khalkhin Gol. The defeat there caused Japan not to join forces with Germany against the Soviet Union, even though Japan and Germany were part of the Tripartite Pact . On April 5, 1945, the Soviet Union unilaterally denounced the neutrality pact, noting that it would not renew the treaty when it expired on April 13, 1946. Four months later, prior to
8142-443: The Japanese for 15 cases of border violation, 6 air intrusions, and 20 episodes of "spy smuggling" in 1933 alone. Hundreds of other violations were reported by both sides throughout the following years. To make matters worse, Soviet-Japanese diplomacy and trust had declined even further, with the Japanese being openly called " fascist enemies" at the Seventh Comintern Congress in July 1935. In early 1935 around January or February,
8280-592: The Japanese in the 1939 Battles of Khalkhin Gol , which resolved the dispute and returned the borders to status quo ante bellum . The Soviet–Japanese border conflicts heavily contributed to the signing of the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact in 1941. The name Soviet-Japanese Border Conflicts or Soviet-Japanese Border Wars possibly came from Soviet Newspapers Pravda ("Truth") ( Russian : Советско-Японские Погра́ничные Конфликты/поганичная война́ , romanized : Sovetsko-Yaponskiye Pogranichnyye Konflikty/poganichnaya voyna ) and possible Japanese Newspapers in
8418-464: The KGB Border Troops' own aviation assets. The legal status, duties, and rights of the Border Troops were set forth in the Law on the State Border, confirmed by the Supreme Soviet on November 24, 1982. Article 28 defined the basic duties of the Border Troops. Their duties included repulsing armed incursions into Soviet territory; preventing illegal crossings of the border or the transport of weapons, explosives, contraband, or subversive literature across
SECTION 60
#17328456088458556-497: The KGB's Border Troops were temporary task forces, organised for a period of time by a Border Guard Detachment ( пограничный отряд ( ПОГО )), the border guard equivalent of an army brigade. The BG detachments formed temporary task forces, equivalent to battalions, for manoeuvre warfare. The land component units were called Motorised Manoeuvre Group ( мото-маневренная группа ( ммг )) and consisted of 3 or 4 Motorised Manoeuvre Border Outposts (sing. мото-маневренная пограничная застава ),
8694-439: The Latvian Popular Front and legalized flying the former carmine red-and-white flag of independent Latvia, and on 6 October he passed a law making Latvian the country's official language. The Popular Front of Lithuania, called Sąjūdis ("Movement"), was founded in May 1988. On 19 October 1988, Gorbachev replaced Ringaudas Songaila , the "old guard" leader of the Communist Party of Lithuania - who had been in office for nearly
8832-399: The Manchukuoans and were repulsed, at the cost of 3 Manchukuoan dead. The same day, at Brunders, Mongolian soldiers attempted to drive out Manchukuoan forces three times in the day, and then again at a night, but all attempts failed. More small attempts to dislodge the Manchukuoans from their outposts occurred in January, with the Mongolians this time utilizing airplanes for recon duty. Due to
8970-411: The Ministry of Defense, and their induction and discharge were regulated by the 1967 Law on Universal Military Service, which covered all armed forces of the Soviet Union . On top of the Border Troops stood the Main Directorate of the Border Troops (MDBT, Russian : Главное управление пограничных войск ), which played a role similar to that of the General Staff for the armed forces. The Main Directorate
9108-481: The NKVD, Border Troops were immediately subordinated to the GUPVO (abbreviated "Chief Directorate of Border and Internal Guard"). In 1939 they were reorganized into the GUPV ("Chief Directorate of Border Troops"). NKVD Border Troops consisted of infantry, cavalry, reconnaissance, naval and aviation units. Since the 1920s, the distinctive part of Soviet Border Troops uniform was the medium-green colored parts of headwear and insignia (Russian Empire's Separate Corps of
9246-421: The Naval Service within the Border Troops held navy style ranks. The Chief of the Naval Directorate within the Main Directorate of the Border Troops was the highest-ranking officer in the service with the rank of Rear admiral / Vice admiral . The Maritime Border Troops of the Russian Border Troops (Ru:Морские части Пограничных Войск КГБ СССР) operated within the twelve-mile limit of Soviet territorial waters. It
9384-478: The Olankhuduk region". Sugimoto's detachment included cavalry guns, heavy machine guns , and tankettes. Arrayed against him were 140 Mongolians, equipped with heavy machine guns and light artillery . On February 12, Sugimoto's men successfully drove the Mongolians south, at the cost of 8 men killed, 4 men wounded, and 1 tankette destroyed. After this, they began to withdraw, but were attacked by 5-6 Mongolian armored cars and 2 bombers , which briefly wreaked havoc on
9522-445: The Politburo as full members. He kept the "power" ministries favorable by promoting KGB Chief Viktor Chebrikov from candidate to full member and appointing Minister of Defence Marshal Sergei Sokolov as a Politburo candidate. The freedom of speech brought by Gorbachev's reforms allowed nationalist movements and ethnic disputes within the Soviet Union to be expressed and grow into dominant political movements. It also led indirectly to
9660-712: The Regional Soviet voted to secede and join with the Soviet Socialist Republic of Armenia . This local vote in a small, remote part of the Soviet Union made headlines around the world; it was an unprecedented defiance of republican and national authorities. On 22 February 1988, in what became known as the " Askeran clash ", thousands of Azerbaijanis marched towards Nagorno-Karabakh, demanding information about rumors of an Azerbaijani having been killed in Stepanakert. They were informed that no such incident had occurred, but refused to believe it. Dissatisfied with what they were told, thousands began marching toward Nagorno-Karabakh, killing (or injuring?) 50. Karabakh authorities mobilised over
9798-451: The Soviet Union by the Act of 11 March 1990 with its Baltic neighbors and the Southern Caucasus republic of Georgia joining it over the next two months. During the failed 1991 August coup , communist hardliners and military elites attempted to overthrow Gorbachev and stop the failing reforms. However, the turmoil led to the central government in Moscow losing influence, ultimately resulting in many republics proclaiming independence in
9936-665: The Soviet Union signed the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact on 13 April 1941, which was similar to the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between the Germans and the Soviet Union of August 1939. Later in 1941, Japan considered breaking the pact when Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa but they made the crucial decision to keep it and to continue to press into Southeast Asia instead after
10074-786: The Soviet Union, which were variously suppressed or tolerated. The CTAG ( Latvian : Cilvēktiesību aizstāvības grupa , lit. 'Human Rights Defense Group') Helsinki-86 was founded in July 1986 in the Latvian port town of Liepāja . Helsinki-86 was the first openly anti-Communist organization in the U.S.S.R., and the first openly organized opposition to the Soviet regime, setting an example for other ethnic minorities' pro-independence movements. On 26 December 1986, 300 Latvian youths gathered in Riga's Cathedral Square and marched down Lenin Avenue toward
10212-513: The Soviets and Mongolians defeated the Japanese, and expelled them from Mongolia. The Soviet Union and Japan agreed to a cease-fire on 15 September, which took effect the following day. Free from a threat in the Soviet Far East , Stalin proceeded with the Soviet invasion of Poland on 17 September 1939 after he made a deal with the German Reich . After the Japanese defeat at Khalkhin Gol, Japan and
10350-529: The Soviets and forced to fight for them. In the Japanese novel The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami the story frequently involves analepsis of the Japanese involvement in North China during the 1931-1948 period including the Soviet–Japanese border conflicts. Two side characters in the novel, Lieutenant Mamiya and Mr Honda who served in the Kwantung army, were severely mentally and physically affected by
10488-428: The Soviets, sinking the lead gunboat, crippling the second, and driving off the third. Japanese troops then fired on the swimming crewmen of the sunken ships with machine guns. 37 Soviet soldiers were killed in this incident; the Japanese forces suffered no casualties. The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs protested and demanded the Soviet soldiers withdraw from the island. The Soviet leadership, apparently shocked by
10626-480: The Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR adopted a declaration of national sovereignty under which Estonian laws would take precedence over those of the Soviet Union. Estonia's parliament also laid claim to the republic's natural resources including land, inland waters, forests, mineral deposits, and to the means of industrial production, agriculture, construction, state banks, transportation, and municipal services within
10764-545: The Ukrainian Cultural Club hosted its own observances in Kyiv at the monument to St. Volodymyr the Great , the grand prince of Kyivan Rus . On 16 June 1988, 6,000 to 8,000 people gathered in Lviv to hear speakers declare no confidence in the local list of delegates to the 19th Communist Party conference, to begin on 29 June. On 21 June, a rally in Lviv attracted 50,000 people who had heard about
10902-890: The Wakhan District) and the Iranian-Soviet border. The sea border of the district extended halfway along the southern line of Soviet territorial waters in the Caspian Sea until it met the AOR of the Red Banner Trans-Caucasus Border District. Soviet%E2%80%93Japanese border conflicts Soviet and Mongolian victory [REDACTED] Japan Total: 33,000 casualties (including 27,000 combat casualties) Total: 30,000 – 35,000 casualties (including 25,000 – 30,000 combat casualties and 5,000 non-combat casualties) Taishō period Shōwa period The Soviet–Japanese border conflicts , also known as
11040-473: The adjacent park harboring Aleea Clasicilor (The " Alley of Classics [of Literature]"). On 15 January 1988, in a tribute to Mihai Eminescu at his bust on the Aleea Clasicilor, Anatol Șalaru submitted a proposal to continue the meetings. In the public discourse, the movement called for national awakening, freedom of speech, the revival of Moldovan traditions, and for the attainment of official status for
11178-718: The airmobile component, which operated in concert with the MMGs. While both types of units were commanded by Border Troops Lieutenant-Colonels, with manpower of less than 50 an LAMG number far fewer men than both the Border Troops's MMGs and the Landing Assault Battalions of the Ground Forces. An LAMG consisted of a command element and two Landing Assault Manoeuvre Border Outposts and had the following structure: Landing Assault Manoeuvre Group The LAMG relied on Mil Mi-24 attack helicopters and Mi-8MTV-1 assault helicopters from
11316-610: The anniversary of Stalin 's mass deportation of Latvians in 1941. The authorities did not crack down on demonstrators, which encouraged more and larger demonstrations throughout the Baltic States. On 18 November 1987, hundreds of police and civilian militiamen cordoned off the central square to prevent any demonstration at Freedom Monument, but thousands lined the streets of Riga in silent protest regardless. On 17 October 1987, about 3,000 Armenians demonstrated in Yerevan complaining about
11454-485: The arrival of a small force of Japanese troops in three trucks, these attempts also failed with a few casualties on both sides. Aside from the 10 prisoners taken, Mongolian casualties during these clashes are unknown. In February 1936, Lieutenant-Colonel Sugimoto Yasuo was ordered to form a detachment from the 14th Cavalry Regiment and, in the words of Lieutenant-General Kasai Heijuro, "out the Outer Mongol intruders from
11592-463: The beginning of Yeltsin's rebranding as a rebel and rise in popularity as an anti-establishment figure. The following four years of political struggle between Yeltsin and Gorbachev played a large role in the dissolution of the Soviet Union. On 11 November, Yeltsin was fired from the post of First Secretary of the Moscow Communist Party . In the years leading up to the dissolution, various protests and resistance movements occurred or took hold throughout
11730-511: The bodies of two Japanese soldiers who died in the fighting, which was seen as encouraging by the Japanese government. In early April 1936, three Japanese soldiers were killed near Suifenho, in one of many minor and barely documented affrays. However, this incident was notable in that the Soviets again returned the bodies of the dead servicemen. In June 1937, the Kanchazu Island incident ( 乾岔子島事件 , Kanchazutou jiken ) ( ja ) occurred on
11868-410: The border; monitoring the observance of established procedures at border crossing points; monitoring the observance by Soviet and foreign ships of navigation procedures in Soviet territorial waters; and assisting state agencies in the preservation of natural resources and the protection of the environment from pollution. Border guards were authorized to examine documents and possessions of persons crossing
12006-410: The border; monitoring the observance of established procedures at border crossing points; monitoring the observance by Soviet and foreign ships of navigation procedures in Soviet territorial waters; and assisting state agencies in the preservation of natural resources and the protection of the environment from pollution. Border guards were authorized to examine documents and possessions of persons crossing
12144-584: The borders and to confiscate articles; to conduct inquiries in cases of violations of the state border; and to take such actions as arrest, search and interrogation of individuals suspected of border violations. With the end of the Soviet Union, the Soviet Border troops remained under the command of the Commonwealth of Independent States but later were divided between the Union's constituent republics. In 1934, under
12282-468: The borders and to confiscate articles; to conduct inquiries in cases of violations of the state border; and to take such actions as arrest, search, and interrogation of individuals suspected of border violations. The Border Troops strength was estimated in 1989 to be in the range of 230,000 men. Although under the operational authority of the KGB, the Border Troops were conscripted as part of the biannual call-up of
12420-440: The borders between Manchukuo , the Mongolian People's Republic and the Soviet Union took place frequently. Many of them were misunderstandings due to insufficiently marked nature of the border, but some were intentional acts of espionage . Between 1932 and 1934, according to the Imperial Japanese Army , 152 border disputes occurred, largely because the Soviets infiltrated Manchuria for intelligence purposes. The Soviets blamed
12558-690: The condition of Lake Sevan , the Nairit chemicals plant, and the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant , and air pollution in Yerevan. Police tried to prevent the protest but took no action to stop it once the march was underway. The following day 1,000 Armenians participated in another demonstration calling for Armenian national rights in Karabakh and the proposed unification of both Nakhchivan and Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. The police tried to physically prevent
12696-578: The country was made up of 15 top-level republics that served as the homelands for different ethnicities. By late 1991, amid a catastrophic political crisis, with several republics already departing the Union and Gorbachev continuing the waning of centralized power, the leaders of three of its founding members , the Russian, Belorussian, and Ukrainian SSRs, declared that the Soviet Union no longer existed . Eight more republics joined their declaration shortly thereafter. Gorbachev resigned on 25 December 1991 and what
12834-576: The country, scheduled for November 1989, be postponed until early 1990 because there were still no laws governing the conduct of such elections. This was seen by some as a concession to local Party officials, who feared they would be swept from power in a wave of anti-establishment sentiment. On 25 October 1989, the Supreme Soviet voted to eliminate special seats for the Communist Party and other official organizations in union-level and republic-level elections, responding to sharp popular criticism that such reserved slots were undemocratic. After vigorous debate,
12972-399: The demarcation markers had been tampered with. The Japanese 19th Division expelled a Soviet garrison from the disputed area, and repulsed numerous counterattacks by an overwhelmingly more numerous and heavily armed Soviet force. Both sides took heavy losses. The conflict was resolved diplomatically on August 10, when the Japanese ambassador in Moscow asked for peace. The Japanese troops withdrew
13110-671: The detention of local activists. The Belarusian Popular Front was established in 1988 as a political party and cultural movement for democracy and independence, similar to the Baltic republics' popular fronts. The discovery of mass graves in Kurapaty outside Minsk by historian Zianon Pazniak , the Belarusian Popular Front's first leader, gave additional momentum to the pro-democracy and pro-independence movement in Belarus. It claimed that
13248-586: The display and not wanting things to escalate, agreed and evacuated their forces. In July 1937, the Japanese invaded China , starting the Second Sino-Japanese War . Soviet-Japanese relations were chilled by the invasion and Mikhail Kalinin , the Soviet head of state , told the American ambassador William C. Bullitt in Moscow that same month that his country was prepared for an attack by Nazi Germany in
13386-776: The easternmost territories of the Soviet Union from Wrangel Island and Mys Shmidta on the Arctic Ocean through the Bering Strait, the coastline of the Chukotka and Kamchatka Peninsulas to the island of Simushir , where it met the Pacific Border District's AOR. The security of the Sea of Okhotsk was also within the tasks of the NEBD and from Simushir its AOR ran in a strait line to the northern tip of Sakhalin and from there it continued to
13524-726: The enactment of the April Novelization , as agreed upon following the Polish Round Table Agreement talks from February to April between the government and the Solidarity trade union. The Polish Solidarity Union, as established through the 1980 August Accords, presented Lech Wałęsa as their candidate, who became the first democratically elected president of Poland. The elections in Poland inspired other Eastern European Soviet Nations to pursue peaceful democratic transitions, and soon
13662-595: The end of 1989, the year the Berlin Wall fell. This was also the year that CNN became the first non-Soviet broadcaster allowed to beam its TV news programs to Moscow. Officially, CNN was available only to foreign guests in the Savoy Hotel , but Muscovites quickly learned how to pick up signals on their home televisions. That had a major effect on how Soviets saw events in their country and made censorship almost impossible. The month-long nomination period for candidates for
13800-609: The expiration of the neutrality pact and between the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki , the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, completely surprising the Japanese. The Soviet invasion of Manchuria was launched in 1945 one hour after the declaration of war on Japan . The fighting early in World War II between Japan and the Soviet Union plays a key part in the South Korean film My Way , in which Japanese soldiers (including Koreans in Japanese service) fight and are captured by
13938-689: The first group release since the Khrushchev Thaw in the mid-1950s. On 10 September, Boris Yeltsin wrote a letter of resignation to Gorbachev. At the 27 October plenary meeting of the Central Committee, Yeltsin, frustrated that Gorbachev had not addressed any of the issues outlined in his resignation letter, criticized the slow pace of reform, and servility to the general secretary. In his reply, Gorbachev accused Yeltsin of "political immaturity" and "absolute irresponsibility". Nevertheless, news of Yeltsin's insubordination and "secret speech" spread, and soon samizdat versions began to circulate. That marked
14076-636: The first shooting affray took place. From then until April 1939, the Imperial Japanese Army recorded 108 such incidents. On 8 January 1935, the first armed clash, the Halhamiao incident ( 哈爾哈廟事件 , Haruhabyō jiken ) , occurred on the border between Mongolia and Manchukuo. Several dozen cavalrymen of the Mongolian People's Army trespassed in Manchuria near some disputed fishing grounds, and engaged an 11-man Manchukuo Imperial Army patrol unit near
14214-572: The first weeks of the German invasion of the USSR (June–July 1941). They bore the brunt of the initial German assault, and due to this, suffered high casualty rates. Border Troop servicemen were among the defenders of the Brest Fortress . Border troops were involved in all major campaigns of the war. Notably, the 105th, 157th, and 333rd Border Troops regiments (operating like regular army units) took part in
14352-519: The following days and months. The secession of the Baltic states was recognized in September 1991. The Belovezha Accords were signed on 8 December by President Boris Yeltsin of Russia , President Kravchuk of Ukraine , and Chairman Shushkevich of Belarus , recognizing each other's independence and creating the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to replace the Soviet Union. Kazakhstan
14490-581: The formation of the KGB , Soviet Border Troops became subordinated to this agency and remained so until the dissolution of the Soviet Union . As such, the Troops were concentrating on the tasks of preventing espionage infiltrations. The Border Guards were involved in the Soviet–Afghan War and a number of them were even awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union for their bravery during these conflicts. The Soviet border
14628-512: The future first president of independent Armenia Levon Ter-Petrossian , formed the eleven-member Karabakh Committee to lead and organize the new movement. On the same day, when Gorbachev replaced Baghirov with Vezirov as First Secretary of the Azerbaijan Communist Party, he also replaced Karen Demirchian with Suren Harutyunyan as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Armenia , however, Harutyunyan quickly decided to run before
14766-466: The issue, the Soviets rejected the request. In October 1935, 9 Japanese and 32 Manchukuoan border guards were engaged in setting up a post, about 20 kilometers north of Suifenho , when they were attacked by a force of 50 Soviet soldiers. The Soviets opened fire on them with rifles and 5 heavy machine guns. In the ensuing clash, 2 Japanese and 4 Manchukuoan soldiers were killed, and another 5 were wounded. The Manchukuoan foreign affairs representative lodged
14904-467: The largest gathering of Ukrainian Catholics since Stalin outlawed the Church in 1946. On 4 August, which came to be known as "Bloody Thursday", local authorities violently suppressed a demonstration organized by the Democratic Front to Promote Perestroika. Forty-one people were detained, fined, or sentenced to 15 days of administrative arrest. On 1 September, local authorities violently displaced 5,000 students at
15042-421: The lawyer Anatoly Sobchak . In the first session of the new Congress of People's Deputies (from 25 May to 9 June), hardliners retained control but reformers used the legislature as a platform for debate and criticism, which was broadcast live and uncensored. This transfixed the population since nothing like such a freewheeling debate had ever been witnessed in the Soviet Union. On 29 May, Yeltsin managed to secure
15180-450: The leading rebel republic. On 5 July 1988, when a contingent of troops was sent in to remove demonstrators by force from Yerevan's Zvartnots International Airport , shots were fired and one student protester was killed. In September, further large demonstrations in Yerevan led to the deployment of armored vehicles. In the autumn of 1988 almost all of the 200,000 Azerbaijani minority in Armenia
15318-517: The mainland and the village of Ayan, Russia . Land units: Naval units: Air units: The Red Banner Pacific Border District ( Russian : Краснознамённый Тихоокеанский пограничный округ ) had its headquarters in Vladivostok . It guarded the coastline of the larger southern Kuril Islands from Simushir to Kunashir , through the southern tip of Sakhalin it reached the Asian mainland at the border between
15456-811: The major conclusion of the Revolutions of 1989 and the end of the Cold War . In the aftermath of the Cold War , several of the former Soviet republics have retained close links with Russia and formed multilateral organizations such as the CIS, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), and the Union State , for economic and military cooperation. On
15594-484: The march and after a few incidents, dispersed the demonstrators. In 1988, Gorbachev started to lose control of two regions of the Soviet Union, as the Baltic republics were now leaning towards independence, and the Caucasus descended into violence and civil war. On 1 July 1988, the fourth and last day of a bruising 19th Party Conference, Gorbachev won the backing of the tired delegates for his last-minute proposal to create
15732-422: The most prominent Soviet dissident , returned to Moscow shortly after receiving a personal telephone call from Gorbachev telling him that after almost seven years his internal exile for defying the authorities was over. At the 28–30 January Central Committee plenum , Gorbachev suggested a new policy of demokratizatsiya throughout Soviet society. He proposed that future Communist Party elections should offer
15870-558: The nationalist wind and on 28 May, allowed Armenians to unfurl the red-blue-orange First Armenian Republic flag for the first time in almost 70 years to mark the 1918 declaration of the First Republic. On 15 June 1988, the Armenian Supreme Soviet adopted a resolution formally approving the idea of Nagorno-Karabakh's unification as part of the republic. Armenia, formerly one of the most loyal republics, had suddenly turned into
16008-532: The nearly 63,000 kilometers of the state border and additional smaller formations and independent units. Border district boundaries were distinct from civil or military district boundaries. At the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 the Border Troops included the following operational forces: Main Directorate of the Border Troops ( Главное управление пограничных войск ) Under the Main Directorate
16146-528: The next day, and the Soviets re-occupied the area. The conflict between the Soviet Union and Japan in 1939 is referred to by some historians as the "Forgotten Soviet-Japanese War." It had a lasting and significant impact on Japanese strategic decisions in World War II. The Battle of Khalkhin Gol, sometimes spelled Halhin Gol or Khalkin Gol after the Halha River passing through the battlefield and known in Japan as
16284-475: The other hand, the Baltic states and all of the other former Warsaw Pact states became part of the European Union (EU) and joined NATO , while some of the other former Soviet republics like Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova have been publicly expressing interest in following the same path since the 1990s, despite Russian attempts to persuade them otherwise. Mikhail Gorbachev was elected General Secretary by
16422-410: The point for three weeks without resistance. In June 1935, the Japanese and Soviets directly exchanged fire for the first time when an 11-man Japanese patrol west of Lake Khanka was attacked by 6 Soviet horsemen, supposedly inside Manchukuo territory. In the ensuing firefight, one Soviet soldier was killed, and two horses were captured. While the Japanese asked the Soviets for a joint investigation of
16560-705: The republic's legislature in November 1988 calling for Georgia's independence and in support of Estonia's declaration of sovereignty. Beginning in February 1988, the Democratic Movement of Moldova (formerly Moldavia) organized public meetings, demonstrations, and song festivals, which gradually grew in size and intensity. In the streets, the center of public manifestations was the Stephen the Great Monument in Chișinău, and
16698-580: The republics had already been scheduled to take place between December and March 1990. The six Warsaw Pact countries of Eastern Europe, while nominally independent, were widely recognized as the Soviet satellite states (along with Mongolia ). All had been occupied by the Soviet Red Army in 1945, had Soviet-style socialist states imposed upon them, and had very restricted freedom of action in either domestic or international affairs. Any moves towards real independence were suppressed by military force – in
16836-456: The result of 100 Mongolian and 6 Soviet troops attacking and occupying the disputed village of Tauran, Mongolia, driving off the small Manchurian garrison in the process. They were supported by a handful of light bombers and armored cars, though their bombing sorties failed to inflict any damage on the Japanese, and three of them were shot down by Japanese heavy machine guns. Local Japanese forces counter-attacked, running dozens of bombing sorties on
16974-632: The second anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, carrying placards with slogans like "Openness and Democracy to the End". Between May and June 1988, Ukrainian Catholics in western Ukraine celebrated the Millennium of Christianity in Kyivan Rus in secret by holding services in the forests of Buniv, Kalush , Hoshi, and Zarvanytsia. On 5 June 1988, as the official celebrations of the Millennium were held in Moscow,
17112-430: The square by force, and imposed a curfew that lasted ten months. The rebellion of fellow Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh had an immediate effect in Armenia itself. Daily demonstrations, which began in the Armenian capital Yerevan on 18 February, initially attracted few people, but each day the Nagorno-Karabakh issue became increasingly prominent and the numbers swelled. On 20 February, a 30,000-strong crowd demonstrated in
17250-452: The territory of Estonia's borders. At the same time the Estonian Citizens' Committees started registration of citizens of the Republic of Estonia to carry out the elections of the Congress of Estonia . The Latvian Popular Front was founded in June 1988. On 4 October, Gorbachev replaced Boris Pugo , the "old guard" leader of the Communist Party of Latvia , with the more liberal Jānis Vagris. In October 1988 Vagris bowed to pressure from
17388-465: The vanguard of the Baltic states in pressing for reform. In 1988, Estonia took over the lead role with the foundation of the Soviet Union's first popular front and starting to influence state policy. The Estonian Popular Front was founded in April 1988. On 16 June 1988, Gorbachev replaced Karl Vaino , the "old guard" leader of the Communist Party of Estonia , with the comparatively liberal Vaino Väljas . In late June 1988, Väljas bowed to pressure from
17526-482: The village, and eventually assaulting it with 400 men and 10 tankettes. The result was a Mongolian rout, with 56 soldiers being killed, including 3 Soviet advisors, and an unknown number being wounded. Japanese losses amounted to 27 killed and 9 wounded. Later in March 1936, there was another border clash, this time between the Japanese and the Soviets. Reports of border violations led the Japanese Korean Army to send ten men by truck to investigate, but this party itself
17664-457: Was ambushed by 20 Soviet NKVD soldiers deployed at a point 300 meters inside the territory claimed by the Japanese. After incurring several casualties, the Japanese patrol withdrew, and brought up 100 men within hours as reinforcements, who then drove off the Soviets. However, fighting erupted later in the day when the NKVD also brought reinforcements. By nightfall, the fighting had stopped and both sides had pulled back. The Soviets agreed to return
17802-433: Was an attempted military incursion from Manchukuo (by the Japanese) into territory claimed by the Soviet Union. This incursion was founded in the belief of the Japanese side that the Soviet Union misinterpreted the demarcation of the boundary based on the Convention of Peking treaty between the former Imperial Russia and Qing dynasty of China (and subsequent supplementary agreements on demarcation), and furthermore, that
17940-449: Was created in 1918 two years before the Czechoslovak Legion returned while Japan withdraw from the Russian Revolution and the Civil War in 1922. However, following the Soviet intervention in Mongolia of 1921 the Republic of China have to withdraw from Outer Mongolia in 1921 following its previous occupation in 1919. Following Hirohito's Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931–1932, (after Taisho 's death in 1926) violations of
18078-497: Was equipped with frigates and corvettes, fast patrol boats, hydrofoils, helicopters, and light aircraft. In 1991 the Border Troops numbered ten Border Districts (singular: Пограничный округ, abbr. ПО ): Note: The border districts and their subordinated formations are listed clockwise, starting with the easternmost area of the Soviet Union. The Northeastern Border District (Russian: Северо-Восточный пограничный округ ) had its headquarters in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky . It guarded
18216-482: Was expelled by Armenian nationalists, with over 100 killed in the process. That, after the Sumgait pogrom earlier that year, which had been carried out by Azerbaijanis to ethnic Armenians and led to the expulsion of Armenians from Azerbaijan, was for many Armenians considered an act of revenge for the killings at Sumgait. On 25 November 1988, a military commandant took control of Yerevan as the Soviet government moved to prevent further ethnic violence. On 7 December 1988,
18354-454: Was left of the Soviet parliament voted to dissolve the union. The process began with growing unrest in the country's various constituent national republics developing into an incessant political and legislative conflict between them and the central government. Estonia was the first Soviet republic to declare state sovereignty inside the Union on 16 November 1988. Lithuania was the first republic to declare full independence restored from
18492-613: Was subordinated to the First Deputy Chairman of the KGB (the second highest-ranking official in the committee). The Commander of the Border Troops normally held the rank of lieutenant general when he took over the position and later was promoted to Colonel general . Out of the three officers who commanded the troops the second one (Vadim Alexandrovich Matrosov) has reached the rank of Army general at that position. The Commander had several Lieutenant generals and Major generals as his deputies. The Main Directorate administered approximately nine border districts (pogranichnye okruga), which covered
18630-659: Was the Border Troops Staff ( Штаб пограничных войск ) The Border Districts were combined arms formations of the KGB, which included border guards similar to motor-rifle infantry, border crossings and their organic aviation units (air regiments, squadrons and flights), signals (battalions and companies), combat engineers, construction engineers (battalions and companies), medical, repair and supply units. The districts bordering oceans and seas also included brigades of guard ships ( сторожевые корабли ( СКР ) - patrol frigates, corvettes and boats, which next to their patrol tasks also had substantial anti-submarine role). The personnel of
18768-428: Was the last republic to leave the Union, proclaiming independence on 16 December. All the ex-Soviet republics, with the exception of Georgia and the Baltic states, joined the CIS on 21 December, signing the Alma-Ata Protocol . Russia, as by far the largest and most populous republic, became the USSR's de facto successor state . On 25 December, Gorbachev resigned and turned over his presidential powers—including control of
18906-419: Was the longest in the world (From Norway to North Korea) and it comprised harsh terrain and climates; accordingly the Border Troops employed significant manpower, intensive maritime presence, and a dense and sophisticated system of field engineering devices. The most notable in that system was the trace-control strip ( Russian : контрольно-следовая полоса ) - a wide strip of plowed soil to make it apparent where
19044-433: Was the uncensored live TV coverage of the legislature's deliberations, where people witnessed the previously feared Communist leadership being questioned and held accountable. This example fueled a limited experiment with democracy in Poland , which quickly led to the toppling of the Communist government in Warsaw that summer and in turn sparked uprisings that overthrew governments in the other five Warsaw Pact countries before
#844155