About border guards

The Border Guard Troops of the NSS of RA are meant to protect the RA State border, to ensure the RA security and independence on the State border, to conduct border control at the border checkpoints, to ensure the State border regime and border regime. The Border Guard Troops of the Republic of Armenia were established in February 1992 within the RA MoD, and in 1993, by the Decree of President of RA, the MoD Directorate of Border Guard Troops went under the structure of the RA State Directorate of the National Security and later on, it was renamed into Border Guard Troops of the NSS of RA. On 26 April 1994 the supreme legislative body of RA, the Supreme Council, for the first time adopted the Law «On the RA State Border», and then on 20 November 2001, the RA Law «On the Border Guard Troops» was adopted. They define the basic principles of the Border Guard Troops, the organization of the protection of the RA State Border, the forms and methods of service and fighting activity of the Border Guard Troops. Taking into consideration the historic significance of this law, by the decision of the RA Government of 2006, in the Republic of Armenia April 26 is celebrated as the Day of the Border Guard. On this occasion, according to the tradition established since 2007, a triumphant military parade is annually organized. The protection of the RA State Border with the overall length of 1728 km is conducted by three different agencies: the Border Guard Troops of the NSS of RA, the Border Guard Directorate of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Armenia, and the Ministry of Defense of RA.
According to the intergovernmental treaty “On the Status and Conditions of the Activity of the Border Guard Troops of RF in the territory of RA” concluded with the Russian Federation оn September 30, 1992, the border guards of the Border Guard Directorate of FSS of RF in RA conduct the protection of the RA State border with the Republic of Turkey and the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Border Guard Troops of the NSS of RA conduct the protection of the RA State border also in the functioning eight checkpoints: four road checkpoints – “Bagratashen”, “Gogavan”, “Bavra”, “Privolnoye”, three air border checkpoints – “Zvatrnots” (together with Border Department of the Federal Security Service of Russia in the RA ), “Erebuni”, “Gyumri”, and one railroad border checkpoint – “Ayrum”. In railroad border checkpoint ''Agarak'' the protection of state border is done by Border Department of the Federal Security Service of Russia in the RA. The Border Guard Troops, in parallel with solving the daily hard and crucial tasks of the protection of the RA State border, are also involved in countering external and internal challenges threatening the statehood of RA, in the fight against terrorism, smuggling, illegal migration and other crimes. They cooperate with border agencies of foreign States in information exchange, military-technical and other fields. The analysis shows that the Border Guard Troops are embarking on the course of sustainable development; qualitative reforms of the protection system of the State border are implemented. For the efficient protection of the State border, the Border Guard Troops are equipped with state-of-the-art equipment: alarm systems, including also with the devices produced domestically, day vision, night vision and thermal vision devices, mobile video cameras and other devices, which immediately send information to the information and analysis center of the Border Guard Troops.