Engineering Troops Day

Engineering Troops DayThe "Day of Engineering Troops" was established by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of September 18, 1996, taking into account their contribution to the development of the country's defense potential and historical traditions. By order of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation of September 23, 1996, it was ordered to annually celebrate the Day of Engineers on January 21.

The date was not chosen by chance - on January 21, 1701, Peter the Great issued a decree on the creation in Moscow of the "School of the Pushkar order", which trained artillery officers and military engineers. Since 1702, graduates of this school began to complete the first miner units of the regular Russian army.

Especially distinguished soldiers of engineering troops during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. For feats to the glory of the Motherland, more than 100,000 servicemen of the engineering troops were awarded orders and medals, about 700 were awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union and Hero of Russia, 294 became full holders of the Order of Glory.

A significant role was played by engineering troops in supporting military operations in Afghanistan, in resolving conflicts in the Republic of Tajikistan, the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova, Abkhazia, peacekeeping operations in Bosnia, Herzegovina and Kosovo.
Today, specialists for engineering troops in Russia are trained by the Military Engineering University, founded on September 1, 1998 on the basis of the Kuibyshev Military Engineering Academy.