Very soon it will be twenty-seven years from the date of the appearance of the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defense, Emergencies and Disaster Management. This significant date will be celebrated two days after Catholic Christmas, but the history of the Ministry of Emergencies is rooted in the fifteenth century. It is believed that during this period of time there was an urgent need to create a special state structure that would help the population cope with all kinds of disasters, including natural disasters. Of course, the created organization was far from being responsive to all emergency situations of the modern structure. But still, it laid the foundation for state protection of the population from all sorts of troubles. Since the history of the Ministry of Emergencies was very interesting, we devoted this article to it. From it you will learn the background of the formation of this structure, its goals and objectives, as well as some interesting facts about it.
History of the Ministry of Emergencies: the beginning
Every day, people face fires, floods and other natural disasters. They have to cope with the consequences of destruction, and also try to restore their usual lives. To do all of this alone is quite difficult, so EMERCOM employees are always ready to come to the aid of Russians. Today it is difficult to even imagine that this structure did not exist once, but historians believe that the history of the Ministry of Emergencies was started at the end of the fifteenth century.
Tsar Ivan III in the middle of his reign issued a decree on the formation of a fire service. Initially, it was a small team operating in an extremely limited space. But soon it grew, and with the light hand of the king even found fire-fighting rules governing its activities. The entire population of Russia was familiar with these rules and was obliged to adhere to them.
A little later, Peter I ordered the introduction of fire service. It was supposed to be carried by men, which significantly increased the number of fire brigades in Russia.
Over time, Russian industry began to reach a new level of development. Mining enterprises, oil-producing complexes began to appear everywhere, and the marine industry and the chemical industry developed. This industrial leap provoked a large number of accidents, accidents and injuries. In this regard, specialized rescue teams began to appear, having experience only in narrowly focused activities. Gradually, these groups were overgrown with various acts, rules and regulations, requiring merging and merging into one structure.
A few words about the civil defense in Soviet times
The history of the Ministry of Emergencies is closely intertwined with the process of the formation of the concept of “civil defense” in young Soviet Russia, a decree which was issued in October of the thirty-second year of the twentieth century. It was by this date that a list of recommendations on the behavior of the population in the conditions of bombing regions with a potential enemy was developed, adopted and published. It seems that with this decree the large-scale development of the state draft of measures to protect the population in emergencies began.
This process was finally completed in the early sixties, when the state developed a well-developed and supported by normative acts system of civil defense. It has become a kind of guide for citizens in critical situations.
On December 27, 1990, a decree was issued on the formation of a small independent rescue team, which marked the beginning of the modern history of the emergencies of Russia.
The final stage of the formation of the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defense, Emergencies and Disaster Management
If we talk about the history of the EMERCOM of Russia in brief, it can be noted that literally a few months later the new structure proved its effectiveness by taking charge of all the incidents that fall into the category of emergency. In the spring of the ninety-first, Sergey Shoigu became the head of the rescue corps (CSW).
After some time, he took the initiative to rename the existing structure due to the scale of the tasks assigned to it. As a result, the State Committee for Emergency Situations appeared. Over the following years, this unit has changed its name more than once. Gradually, it included various points of salvation and control, created back in Soviet times. Their effectiveness has been proven over the years, so they became part of the new structure.
Just four years after its creation, the organization grew to the size of an independent ministry, which was headed by the permanent Sergei Shoigu. You might think that this ended the story of the creation and development of the Ministry of Emergencies. However, in fact, in the ninety-fourth year of the last century, the next stage in the formation of this structure began, which became one of the most powerful and effective not only in Russia, but also among other countries.
Size of the structure
Fifteen years ago, the number of EMERCOM employees did not exceed seventy thousand people, but the three hundred thousand firefighters who became part of the ministry significantly expanded the capabilities of the unit and strengthened it. Today, Russian ministry employees have a very high level of training and often fly to disaster relief and extinguishing fires abroad.
The history of EMERCOM of Russia seems extremely simple, but in reality this structure is not static. It is constantly being modified and improved in order to fully meet the needs of modernity. We also want to tell readers about this.
What is the Ministry of Emergencies today?
We have already told you about the history of the Ministry of Emergencies in the Russian Federation, but many still have a rather poor idea of ​​what this structure does and how it functions.
From the very first moment of its formation, the unit reacts and travels to eliminate the consequences of natural disasters, epidemics, as well as man-made incidents. The latter group includes energy emissions, explosions, fires and serious accidents at factories, factories and other production facilities.
A distinctive feature of the ministry, which was formed even at the very first stages of development of the Ministry of Emergencies in Russia (the history of the creation and background of the emergence of this structure, we have already announced earlier), is joint and coordinated work with various organizations. In the event of an emergency, the governing bodies immediately switch to the Ministry of Emergencies and all other services available in the region follow its instructions. This allows you to solve the problem quickly and almost instantly respond to all difficulties arising in the process. However, this is what Russian rescuers around the world are famous for.
A little about the term "emergency"
Since the history of the creation of a modern system of the Ministry of Emergencies is associated with emergencies in Russia, we want to give this term the most clear definition.
Having a look in the dictionary, you can find out that emergencies are understood as the occurrence of conditions that in a certain territory violate the normal way of life, causing damage to public and private property, causing a threat to human life and health, as well as changing the ecosystem. The bulk of these processes are reversible, but in cases where an emergency arose as a result of a man-made disaster, it can be practically impossible to eliminate its consequences.
We think that now it has become more clear to our readers what the employees of the Ministry of Emergencies face daily and what difficult tasks they solve. However, we will return to the main tasks of this state structure a little later.
Characteristics of the work of the Ministry of Emergencies
Since the ministry is a state structure, it embodies the state’s vision of the need and appropriateness of certain reactions. All information about emergencies and measures for their liquidation is flocked to the information center of this structure. You can imagine the Ministry of Emergencies in the form of a huge think tank, which receives, analyzes and classifies information. In parallel, decisions are made about the need for intervention by ministry employees in resolving situations, because often the problem can be completely solved at the local level by the rescue units available in the region.
If necessary, when large-scale disasters occur, emergency workers arrive at the scene within four hours. This time is spent preparing equipment, instructing rescuers about the situation and the way to the place of fire, accident or disaster. In many cases, helicopters are used as vehicles.
It is considered quite normal if the Ministry of Emergencies is at the scene after the police, the region’s rescue services and medical personnel. This specificity is known to everyone who collaborated with this ministry.
Organizational structure
I immediately want to note that the Ministry of Emergencies has a rather ramified structure, which for many years has shown itself to be very effective. We present it as a list:
1. The central apparatus.
This includes the administrative apparatus, which manages the entire structure. This group includes the minister, his deputies, secretaries, as well as a military expert and chief fire inspector.
2. Departments within the ministry.
There are ten of them. Each performs its functions and assigned tasks. For example, the information management is responsible for the timely provision of data on disasters and their analysis.
3. Departments.
Throughout Russia, there are nine departments of the Ministry of Emergencies. Among them are, for example, departments of management and financial and economic.
A similar organizational structure has been formed over several years and is considered a complete option.
Research institutions
Such a powerful structure as the Ministry of Emergencies should have a significant scientific base, so the ministry includes several institutions conducting serious research work.
At present, there are five such institutions.
Training
In the modern world, the prestige of the Ministry of Emergencies has risen very high and many young people see their future in this particular structure. According to the results of opinion polls, not only young men, but also a considerable number of girls would like to connect life with the work of a lifeguard or firefighter.
To date, training for future employees of the Ministry of Emergencies is carried out in eight higher educational institutions. They are located in different cities of Russia. For example, there is its own institute in St. Petersburg, in Ivanovo and in the Far East.
It is interesting that in this structure there is also the Institute of Culture of the Ministry of Emergencies of Russia, consisting of six departments.
Commercial services
For more than two years there has been a special list of services provided on a commercial basis. Today it is quite wide and includes a lot of points. For example, employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations can assist in extinguishing a fire in a private territory or set up fire posts.
It is worth noting that these services are in great demand among the population, so their list is planned to be further expanded in the near future.
EMERCOM of the Russian Federation: main tasks
The history of creating the structure is already well known to us, but it is also important to familiarize yourself with the list of ongoing tasks of the Ministry of Emergencies, which has remained unchanged for several years. Periodically, minor adjustments are made to it, but in general, it is not subject to any significant changes:
- resolving fire safety issues;
- protection in case of emergencies;
- assistance to all citizens in the disaster area;
- response to situations outside the country;
- regulation of all organizational and regulatory issues of the structure;
- coordination of actions of various organizations in the process of resolving a problem;
- collection, classification and exchange of information about the situation in different regions of the country.
Conclusion
Today we tried to tell the readers as much as possible about the Russian Emergencies Ministry. The history, structure and function of this government department will no longer be a secret for you. And most importantly, now you know exactly why on December twenty-seventh the Russians celebrate rescuer day.