The word “construction battalion” evokes a smile or slight irony in many people, since officially this type of troops no longer exists. The last units were disbanded in the 90s. But there are still many popular sayings or just anecdotes about the construction battalion.
History of creation
Stroybat is a construction battalion, although in official documents everything was different. VSO (military construction detachments) began since 1942, when by resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR it was decided to create a Military Reconstruction Directorate. Under his leadership, all infrastructure facilities destroyed by the occupying Germans during the Great Patriotic War were built. Patriotic War. The term “construction battalion” itself was coined by the people and went out of circulation in 1970. It is worth noting that the soldiers themselves called themselves very ironically - royal troops.
Facts - in 1980, the number of VSO personnel was about 300–400 thousand people, which overlaps total such units as: Airborne Forces, Marines and Border Troops.
The soldier is sleeping - the service is in progress. Terms of Service
To be honest, not all soldiers are conscript service wanted to get into the construction battalion. And there are a number of reasons for this:
- The soldiers had to military service formal attitude. They could spend more time not in a trench or shooting, but at a construction site or digging a pit.
- National component. The detachments were formed from multinational groups. Children from disadvantaged families or teenagers registered with the police were often taken to the construction battalion. This combination different types nationalities and people prone to crime frightened the young fighter. There were frequent cases of desertion from units.
- VSO could be sent to potentially dangerous places, even in peacetime. They were thrown into elimination man-made disasters or to eliminate the consequences natural Disasters. Such work was associated with the risk of receiving dangerous disease or injuries of varying complexity.
- The very attitude of society towards this type of troops was lenient. There were many jokes about the construction battalion among the people, so it was undignified to serve in this type of army.
Despite all the shortcomings, there were also distinctive advantages among other types of troops. For example, a soldier received a salary for his service, and its amount was about 120–180 rubles. From this amount you need to deduct 30 rubles for the service of the fighter and his food. But even in this case, a decent amount remains. This money was deposited into the soldier’s personal account, and only in case of urgent need could the soldier use it. The salary could reach up to 250 rubles per month. Everything depended on the specialty that the young fighter had. Specialists of a narrow profile related to machines and equipment, such as bulldozer operators, crane operators, excavator operators and others, were valued. Sometimes a demobilized soldier brought home from service a sum up to 5,000 rubles.
Official criticism
The construction battalion was often criticized by state officials. Thus, in 1956, the Chief of the General Staff and the Minister of Defense criticized in their report the places where soldiers served. The contents of the document referred to the constitution, according to which a private soldier must serve in the ranks of the armed forces of the USSR, and not in the construction organizations of the country.
There have been other cases. In 1955, one of the construction teams was sent to an unfinished building for construction and installation work. As the commission later found out, the sanitary and hygienic conditions here did not meet the standards and were grossly violated in some places. Many soldiers were sent to the hospital with serious illnesses such as tuberculosis. Some privates were found to have lice.
Despite all the unflattering statements regarding the WZO, one cannot deny their enormous role in the formation and construction of the country. Factories and large enterprises, infrastructure facilities and communication routes - everywhere one could see soldiers working for the good of their homeland. Construction battalions built schools, hospitals, and sometimes entire settlements. Thanks to military discipline and well-functioning logistics, the projects were completed on time, sometimes exceeding construction plans.
The word “construction battalion” evokes a smile or slight irony in many people, since officially this type of troops no longer exists. The last units were disbanded in the 90s. But there are still many popular sayings or just anecdotes about the construction battalion.
History of creation
Construction battalion is a construction battalion, although in official documents everything was different. VSO (military construction detachments) began since 1942, when by resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR it was decided to create a Military Reconstruction Directorate. Under his leadership, all infrastructure facilities destroyed by the occupying Germans during the Great Patriotic War were built. The term “construction battalion” itself was coined by the people and went out of circulation in 1970. It is worth noting that the soldiers themselves called themselves very ironically - royal troops.
Facts - in 1980, the number of VSO personnel was about 300–400 thousand people, which covers the total number of such units as: Airborne Forces, Marine Corps and Border Troops.
The soldier is sleeping - the service is in progress. Terms of Service
To be honest, not all conscripts wanted to get into a construction battalion. And there are a number of reasons for this:
- The soldiers had a formal relationship to military service. They could spend more time not in a trench or shooting, but at a construction site or digging a pit.
- National component. The detachments were formed from multinational groups. Children from disadvantaged families or teenagers registered with the police were often taken to the construction battalion. This combination of different types of nationalities and people prone to crime frightened the young fighter. There were frequent cases of desertion from units.
- VSO could be sent to potentially dangerous places, even in peacetime. They were thrown into eliminating man-made disasters or eliminating the consequences of natural disasters. Such work was associated with the risk of receiving a dangerous disease or injuries of varying complexity.
- The very attitude of society towards this type of troops was lenient. There were many jokes about the construction battalion among the people, so it was undignified to serve in this type of army.
Despite all the shortcomings, there were also distinctive advantages among other types of troops. For example, a soldier received a salary for his service, and its amount was about 120–180 rubles. From this amount you need to deduct 30 rubles for the service of the fighter and his food. But even in this case, a decent amount remains. This money was deposited into the soldier’s personal account, and only in case of urgent need could the soldier use it. The salary could reach up to 250 rubles per month. Everything depended on the specialty that the young fighter had. Specialists of a narrow profile related to machines and equipment, such as bulldozer operators, crane operators, excavator operators and others, were valued. Sometimes a demobilized soldier brought home from service a sum up to 5,000 rubles.
Official criticism
The construction battalion was often criticized by state officials. Thus, in 1956, the Chief of the General Staff and the Minister of Defense criticized in their report the places where soldiers served. The contents of the document referred to the constitution, according to which a private soldier must serve in the ranks of the armed forces of the USSR, and not in the construction organizations of the country.
There have been other cases. In 1955, one of the construction teams was sent to an unfinished building for construction and installation work. As the commission later found out, the sanitary and hygienic conditions here did not meet the standards and were grossly violated in some places. Many soldiers were sent to the hospital with serious illnesses such as tuberculosis. Some privates were found to have lice.
Despite all the unflattering statements regarding the WZO, one cannot deny their enormous role in the formation and construction of the country. Factories and large enterprises, infrastructure facilities and communication routes - everywhere one could see soldiers working for the good of their homeland. Construction battalions built schools, hospitals, and sometimes entire settlements. Thanks to military discipline and well-functioning logistics, the projects were completed on time, sometimes exceeding construction plans.
Which branch of the military was most treated with humor? To the construction battalion. People have many jokes related to construction troops. And all this happened due to the specifics of the formation of personnel - about 90% of the military personnel of these troops were conscripts from Central Asia and from the Caucasus. Therefore, the bulk of Russian young people tried to avoid serving in construction battalion units - even then, from time to time, the question arose regarding tense international relations, but it wasn’t on display.
However, despite this attitude, the construction battalions carried out quite serious tasks, erecting objects of both defensive significance and for National economy. One could even say that the construction battalions are indirectly connected with the engineering troops, whose responsibilities have always included the construction of various fortifications and logistics facilities. The construction battalion took over some of the tasks that had previously been performed by units of the engineering troops.
Historical moments
In 1942, on February 13, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR issued a decree on the formation of the Military Reconstruction Directorate, the main tasks of which included the construction or repair of various facilities in the territories liberated from German occupation. This day is the date of birth of military construction units, called VSO for short.
In the 70s, these troops acquired the name “construction battalion,” which remains in the lexicon to this day. For the period of the 80s, the number of construction units exceeded the total number of military personnel of other branches of the military. For example, the Airborne Forces had about 60 thousand people, the Marine Corps had 15 thousand people, the border troops had about 220 thousand people, and in construction troops at that time there were about 300-400 thousand people. Of course, as one famous joke says, a construction battalion is such a terrible army that they don’t even trust weapons. But often in these troops, service was directly connected with danger.
1986 was the year of the terrible disaster that occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. And one of the first to take part in eliminating the consequences of this accident were soldiers of military construction teams, many of whom paid with their lives for working in the contaminated zone. Two years later, an earthquake in Armenia - and again construction battalions were the first to participate in clearing the rubble.
Military personnel of the construction battalion also served in Afghanistan, when in 1979 it was necessary to organize the quartering of personnel of a limited contingent of troops in this country. IN as soon as possible Through the efforts of the construction troops, all the necessary infrastructure was organized there.
And in 1982, an event occurred that proved the existence morale in the ranks of military builders. A construction battalion from the USSR was sent to the Falkland Islands to reconstruct the airstrip. At this point, British troops invaded these islands because... There was a confrontation with Argentina for control of the territory. The construction battalion soldiers were not at a loss: they mined the approaches and, using captured weapons, held back the advance of British combat units. Only thanks to the intervention of diplomats from Moscow was the development of the military conflict stopped.
The courage of military builders is also confirmed by the case when a barge without food or water carrying four servicemen of the engineering and construction troops - A. Ziganshin, F. Poplavsky, A. Kryuchkovsky and I. Fedotov - was carried away into the vastness of the ocean. They lasted 49 days without losing their human appearance.
These units were related to military affairs formally, which is why this branch of the military was not very popular among young people. But military builders had some advantages relative to military personnel from other branches of the military. In 1977, on May 30, Order No. 175 of the USSR Ministry of Defense was issued, according to which each military builder was paid a salary. Although the cost of food, the price of uniforms, payment utilities and other security. But the size monetary allowance significantly exceeded expenses, so soldiers could accumulate considerable funds. In addition, military personnel could earn extra money by working where they were paid extra. And warrant officers and officers had benefits that allowed, for example, to quickly solve housing problems.
The unpopularity of service in these troops, caused by the recruitment of conscripts from Central Asia or the Caucasus, bore fruit - disadvantaged youth or young people with a criminal record were sent there from the Slavs. And people from the Caucasus or Central Asia often ended up in the construction battalion from distant villages, where they had poor knowledge of the Russian language. Even sometimes the sergeants helped recruits take the oath, reading out the text of the oath one sentence at a time, which was then repeated by the rank and file. By the way, often military personnel who were not Slavs managed to deceive their commanders, citing a lack of understanding of the Russian language. There was even a joke in the USSR: in a construction battalion, soldiers up to a year old say “don’t understand,” and after a year, “you’re not supposed to.” Therefore, it was not easy for construction officers working with personnel.
Guest workers instead of construction battalions: what we have today
Since 1992, there has been a wave of disbandment of military construction units, which was given impetus by the order of the President of the Russian Federation on the disbandment of the VSO, which is under the jurisdiction of the Moscow department. By 2006, the liquidation of the last military construction units had ended.
Today there is no WSO, but the very idea of using the labor of citizens of neighboring countries remains. Organizations, including those constructing military facilities, often work migrant workers. Although, like Soviet military builders, today these hired workers do not cost free, but houses are built much cheaper than by any large SMU. So the proverb, popular in the Soviet Union, “Two soldiers from a construction battalion replace an excavator,” is still relevant today, albeit from a slightly different perspective.But the gain from the disbandment of the WZO is doubtful. The soldiers of the construction battalion went to the barracks after work - there was no unnecessary wandering around the streets, drug dealing, mass fights, robberies or rapes. And even after the end of his service, the former soldier left for his republic. So it's possible once again make sure that it is easy to destroy a properly functioning system. And in return, instead of a “beautiful distance,” we often get a bunch of problems.
“Royal troops” or construction battalion were a real legend in the USSR. True, rather in the bad sense of the word - many conscripts shunned this type of troops, and the military leadership generally opposed its existence.
"Royal Troops"
Military construction detachments (VSO), or in common parlance - “construction battalion”, date back to February 13, 1942, when, by decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, the Military Reconstruction Directorate was formed, which was engaged in the repair and construction of facilities in the territories liberated from German occupiers.The term “construction battalion” was officially withdrawn from circulation in the 1970s, but did not completely disappear from the lexicon, remaining as part of military and civilian jargon. Also, the phrase “construction battalion” continued to be used in relation to some groups of foreign troops. The “Stroybatovtsy” ironically called themselves “royal troops.”
According to one version, due to the large number of personnel: in the 1980s it numbered approximately 300 to 400 thousand people, which exceeded the number of military personnel in the Airborne Forces (60,000), Marine Corps(15,000) and Border Troops (220,000) combined. According to another version, the self-name was associated with the name of the designer Sergei Korolev (all cosmodromes in the USSR were built by construction teams).
Terms of Service
Among Soviet youth, the construction battalion was not considered the most prestigious place for military service. His unpopularity was largely due to the fact that he had only a formal relationship directly with military affairs.However, the recruits who joined the construction detachments had certain advantages over those drafted into other branches of the military. According to order No. 175 of the USSR Minister of Defense dated May 30, 1977, a military builder was paid wage, from which, however, the cost of food, uniforms, bath and laundry services, cultural events and other types of support - those that were united under the concept of “clothing debt” - was deducted. As one of the employees of the construction battalion recalled, about 30 rubles were withheld from him every month for household services - “washing, bathing, uniforms.”
Salaries in the construction troops (for the period of the 1980s) ranged from 110 to 180 rubles, but in some cases reached 250 rubles. Everything depended on the specialty. As a rule, those who worked on tower cranes and excavators received more than others. The money was deposited into the employee's account and given out upon retirement. True, in case of urgent need, they were allowed to send money to relatives.
At the end of the service, the “construction battalions” sometimes took away up to 5 thousand rubles.
The “construction battalion workers” also had additional sources of income, in particular, in the so-called “hack jobs”, where they paid around 10-15 rubles for one working day. They were also entitled to benefits. They were received by warrant officers and officers who had the opportunity to quickly solve their housing problems.
Personnel
The VSO was staffed mainly by conscripts who had completed construction educational establishments. Construction teams were often replenished with people from rural areas who “knew how to hold a tool in their hands.” Troubled youth were also sent there, sometimes with a criminal record.Although it was not customary to talk about it, nationality was another criterion for selection into the construction battalion. Thus, the share of Caucasian and Central Asian peoples in some construction battalions reached 90% of the personnel. It is widely believed that the reason why immigrants from Central Asia and the Caucasus were mainly allowed to work in construction work was their poor knowledge of the Russian language. National composition construction brigades scared off many conscripts.
Another category of conscripts for whom the road to the construction battalion was “banned” are young men with disabilities. Their parents, by hook or by crook, looked for all sorts of workarounds to protect their children from labor service.
Criticism of the construction battalion
The very fact of the existence of military construction detachments has more than once been criticized by senior military leaders, who considered such formations ineffective and even “illegal.” In 1956, Defense Minister Georgy Zhukov and Chief of the General Staff Vasily Sokolovsky reported that “the use of military personnel in industry is a violation of the USSR Constitution, since according to Article 132 of the Constitution military service... should take place in the ranks of the Armed Forces of the USSR, and not in the construction organizations of civilian ministries of the USSR.”Experts noted that production activity military construction units were poorly organized, and their material and living support was at an extremely low level.
“Royal troops” or “construction battalion” were a real legend in the USSR. True, rather in the bad sense of the word - many conscripts shunned this type of troops, and the military leadership generally opposed its existence...
"Royal Troops"
Military construction detachments (VSO), or in common parlance - “construction battalion”, date back to February 13, 1942, when, by decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, the Military Reconstruction Directorate was formed, which was engaged in the repair and construction of facilities in the territories liberated from German occupiers.
The term “construction battalion” was officially withdrawn from circulation in the 1970s, but did not completely disappear from the lexicon, remaining as part of military and civilian jargon. Also, the phrase “construction battalion” continued to be used in relation to some groups of foreign troops. 
The “Stroybatovtsy” ironically called themselves “royal troops.”
According to one version, due to the large number of personnel: in the 1980s, it numbered approximately 300 to 400 thousand people, which exceeded the number of military personnel in the Airborne Forces (60,000), Marine Corps (15,000) and Border Troops (220,000) combined. According to another version, the self-name was associated with the name of the designer Sergei Korolev (all cosmodromes in the USSR were built by construction teams).
Terms of Service
Among Soviet youth, the construction battalion was not considered the most prestigious place for military service. His unpopularity was largely due to the fact that he had only a formal relationship directly with military affairs.
However, the recruits who joined the construction detachments had certain advantages over those drafted into other branches of the military. According to Order No. 175 of the USSR Minister of Defense dated May 30, 1977, a military builder was paid a salary for his work, from which, however, the cost of food, uniforms, bath and laundry services, cultural events and other types of support was deducted - those that were united by the concept of “clothing debt." 
As one of the employees of the construction battalion recalled, he was deducted about 30 rubles monthly for household services - “washing, bathing, uniforms.”
Salaries in the construction troops (for the period of the 1980s) ranged from 110 to 180 rubles, but in some cases reached 250 rubles. Everything depended on the specialty. As a rule, those who worked on tower cranes and excavators received more than others. The money was deposited into the employee's account and given out upon retirement. True, in case of urgent need, they were allowed to send money to relatives.
At the end of the service, the “construction battalions” sometimes took away up to 5 thousand rubles. 
The “construction battalion workers” also had additional sources of income, in particular, in the so-called “hack jobs”, where they paid around 10-15 rubles for one working day. They were also entitled to benefits. They were received by warrant officers and officers who had the opportunity to quickly solve their housing problems.
Personnel
The VSO was staffed mainly by conscripts who graduated from construction schools. Construction teams were often replenished with people from rural areas who “knew how to hold a tool in their hands.” Troubled youth were also sent there, sometimes with a criminal record.
Although it was not customary to talk about it, nationality was another criterion for selection into the construction battalion. Thus, the share of Caucasian and Central Asian peoples in some construction battalions reached 90% of the personnel. 
It is widely believed that the reason why immigrants from Central Asia and the Caucasus were mainly allowed to work in construction work was their poor knowledge of the Russian language. The national composition of the construction brigades scared off many conscripts.
Another category of conscripts for whom the road to the construction battalion was “banned” are young men with disabilities. Their parents, by hook or by crook, looked for all sorts of workarounds to protect their children from labor service.
Criticism of the construction battalion
The very fact of the existence of military construction detachments has more than once been criticized by senior military leaders, who considered such formations ineffective and even “illegal.”
In 1956, Defense Minister Georgy Zhukov and Chief of the General Staff Vasily Sokolovsky reported that “the use of military personnel in industry is a violation of the USSR Constitution, since, according to Article 132 of the Constitution, military service ... should take place in the ranks of the Armed Forces of the USSR, and not in construction organizations of civilian ministries THE USSR". 
Experts drew attention to the fact that the production activities of military construction units were poorly organized, and their material and living support was at an extremely low level.
One of the negative examples is associated with military construction detachment No. 1052, which in November 1955 was located in an unfinished building. The commission revealed unacceptable living and sanitary conditions for employees. The workers had to sleep dressed, since the temperature in the rooms did not exceed +3 degrees. For a month they were deprived of the opportunity to wash in the bathhouse or change their linen, as a result of which many got lice.
Dangerous regions
Contrary to popular belief, service in construction brigades was by no means safe. In 1986, “construction battalion workers” were sent to eliminate the consequences Chernobyl disaster– according to some sources, they made up at least 70% of the contingent working in the contaminated zone. Two years later, construction teams went to Armenia to remove rubble and rebuild cities after a devastating earthquake.
They also served in Afghanistan. In 1979, immediately after entering Soviet troops In this country, the question arose about the quartering of personnel. In the shortest possible time, builders were required to create and improve military camps with all the infrastructure, residential and military-administrative buildings, build warehouses for ammunition and equipment, fortifications along the perimeter of military units, and airfields. 
In 1982, a Soviet construction battalion was sent to the Falkland Islands to Port Stanley to extend a concrete runway. It was at this time that the islands were invaded by British troops, who disputed control over these territories with Argentina.
According to a participant in those events, Soviet soldiers mined all approaches to the airfield, armed themselves with captured weapons and withstood a siege from the British military for three days. Only thanks to Moscow’s intervention was the local military conflict stopped - Soviet soldiers ordered to lay down their arms.
Taras Repin