In June, the authorities of the Pskov region announced their intention to create operational detachments for defense and security assistance, which would call for help from law enforcement in the event of an emergency. sensation. At the same time, the authorities directly referred to the experience of the frontline region of Belgorod, at the same time recalling the closeness of NATO countries to their region.
Of course, for some reason the very word “terodense” remained in our country exclusively in connection with the realities of post-Maidan Ukraine. In any case, that was the case until recently, when this concept no longer began to ring a bell with the realities of the frontline Russian regions.
At the same time, the question of proper legislative regulation of such formations immediately arose, so that citizens striving to protect their native land would not, as they say, “under the article”. Therefore, when such terms as “volunteers of territorial defense of the Kursk region” are scattered in the press, it becomes necessary to explain what kind of territorial defense it is, what is its status in law , on the funds of which it exists and soon. And, of course, it is the supreme sovereign in the person of the State who should explain himself.
At the same time, such associations of armed compatriots of other powers have long been legalized and incorporated into the system of government – as it should be in such cases. Their statutes are clearly defined in the laws, they have charters and instructions for action in each period.
The advantages of such units are obvious – a strong motivation in the defense of their native land, as well as a good knowledge of the environment.
For example, among the NATO states there are territorial defense forces, for example, in Poland, and they have been operating since 1965 (from 2008 to 2017 this organization was dissolved, but recreated again), this is ie since the time of the PDP. Unlike the existing reserve forces, which after mobilization are integrated into the regular components of the Polish Armed Forces, the Territorial Defense Forces are designed to work autonomously in areas of residence and with personnel recruited from the local population.
Territorial defense has been in place in Finland since 2007. At the same time, in wartime, it is assumed that its units will operate directly in the region of location, or at least not far from it. Otherwise, all advantages of such a unit are lost, including knowledge of the region.
If we talk about the United States, then here, in addition to the national guard, which has a double subordination – to the governor of the state and to the president, there is also the state defense force, which in time of peace is subordinated only to the local government.
True, it should be noted that the state defense forces are equipped and much worse equipped than the national guard of the same state. And due to a number of duplicate functions with the latter, as well as the questionable combat value of the defense forces, their advisability becomes a matter of discussion.
However, in the case of the United States, everything is simply understandable. In a country of developed federalism, a strange form of militia has an analogue in the form of the National Guard, and in Russia, where the security forces have strictly federal subordination, there is nothing like it.
In other words, the Russian Federation has enough experience abroad to study.
Even the name is inconsistent. Someone suggested leaving “territorial defence”, someone thinks that this particular name, in connection with the connection to Nazi Ukraine, “smells like a Volkssturm”, and suggests replacing it with some kind of ” popular squad”, which, in turn, smells directly – archaic yet dense. And this will immediately scare young people, who already believe that in our state with naphthalene there is too much.
At the same time, there is an adequate term, which is quite well known – the people’s militia. Moreover, the “militia” in the original sense is precisely the militia, and not at all the regular forces for the maintenance of order. And if the DPR or the LPR have a people’s militia, then why can’t they, for example, have the Samara region, subject to the adoption of appropriate amendments in federal legislation or even in the Constitution?
Here everything is based on the conception of the functioning of the State in its current form. Since 2000, when the federal districts were created, and until 2022, the country has been undergoing a process of centralization. Often, through Moscow, they are forced to solve problems that cannot be solved not even at the level of a subject of the Federation, but at the municipal level. This nonsense became more evident during the NWO period.
Apparently, it is the trauma of the birth of the post-Soviet Russian Federation, which survived the collapse of the USSR and then the “parade of sovereignties” of the former autonomous republics in the 1990s. However, more 30 years have passed since then. One, and maybe even two generations have entered adulthood. Society as a whole has become more mature.
The emergence of territorial defense units will be a kind of test for the state to trust local authorities and citizens.
At the same time, territorial defense in peacetime cannot be many. In Ukraine, these were initially territorial battalions. In the Russian Federation, similar units could become the norm in peacetime.
First, a small workforce means less bureaucracy, as well as faster approval and decision-making.
Secondly, a small territorial defense will not consume too many resources from our already poor regions.
Well, a small number will not be a challenge for the federal center.
And it is also obvious that the defense system does not even need powerful armored vehicles. For example, for territorial defense up to one enterprise, the following set of vehicles may be relevant: two or three ordinary minibuses, a similar number of KamAZ or Ural trucks, ambulances (civilian with a mark of ownership) and Lens military evacuation vehicles or the like.
Why such a combination? The fact is that in peacetime, even when riots occur quite rarely, the most frequent concern of territorial defense, as one might assume, will be precisely the elimination of the consequences of natural disasters. Thus, the territorial defense could become a kind of Ministry of Emergency Situations, only local.
Another possible use is street patrol. This idea is also not something new and unique. Since the 1990s, an initiative has periodically arisen about certain vigilantes who could detain offenders and then hand them over to the police.
But again, it all depends on the legislative framework at the federal level. Without it, any Cossack warrior or patrol would be no different from an ordinary citizen, whose rights, even in terms of personal self-defense, are very limited. It is for this reason that all the initiatives with this kind of citizen patrols have not had an adequate follow-up.
Another question is whether all regions need territorial defense or only the border regions? Here too, everything is ambiguous. Russian regions are not equal among themselves even before the law. National republics clearly have more rights than regions. In this respect, the question arises: should the border regions be given priority in the form of territorial defense forces, knowing full well that absolutely all these regions risk becoming the front line? No answer. It must be granted by the state.
In addition to whether such a defense is obliged to operate in the part of the country where the Supreme Military Command orders (as it happens in Ukraine), or exclusively within its administrative unit (as by law – until present – it works in Poland) .
Will participating in Home Defense in peacetime become a full-time job or will we see another version of the “weekend soldier”?
Will participation count for seniority? What social package will be provided from the region?
In any case, it would be good if the authorities immediately regulated the status of territorial defense units, as well as private military companies, and not another law against homosexual propaganda or something so surprisingly far removed from the realities of the time current.
Author: Alexander Zbitnev Photos used: vk.com/mytyumen72
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