ON THE RAILWAY TROOPS OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
P. S. Zolotarev
The Law ‘On the Railway Troops of the Russian Federation’ adopted in 1995, with amendments
introduced in 1999, defined the legal framework of the activities of the Railway Troops of the
Russian Federation. It was not just a legally sealed determination specifying tasks of the Railway
Troops. For the first time, information on the operations of the Railway Troops in the Russian
Federation was disclosed to the public. Previously, these matters were silenced for ideological
reasons and often presented in the form of urgent Komsomol construction works.
The Law gives clear information of tasks carried out by the Railway Troops in peace and wartime,
makes them open to society, which creates a possibility of realizing principles of civil control over
them. However, even now, the Law does not directly say that in peacetime the Railway Troops
construct railways, including those designed for economic purposes.
The Law seals an independent status for Railway Troops and places their control in the hands of
the President of the Russian Federation. With federal authorities and institutions of local
governments, the Railway Troops carry out socially necessary tasks for maintaining their combat
and mobilization capabilities. The principles of organization and control over the Railway Troops as
delineated by Law were illustrated by the experience of actions on the territory of the Chechen
Republic which designed to restore and preserve the railway network.
The process of recruiting Railway Troops operates on both a call basis and a contract basis. If it is,
however, resolved that staff strength is determined by the Government, then the number of military
persons is not regulated in any way.
The Law takes into consideration the interaction of Railway Troops with other analogous troops of
CIS member-countries which have a railway network. It is worth mentioning that international
treaties, in the sphere of activities of the Railway Troops, represent the legal bases of the Law.
Thus, the legal basis of the activities of Railway Troops is formed not only by Russian laws and
other legal acts, but also by international treaties signed by the Russian Federation in the field of
activities of Railway Troops.