Modern Russian Feldegers, who are they? Russian State' Courier Communication at the Present Stage

Lazarev Andrey Borisovich Senior Legal Adviser of the Regulatory and Legal Department of the Legal Department of the Affairs of the GFS of Russia 109240, Russia, Moscow, Solyanka str., 8 andrew-lazarev1991@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

^[1]

 Since the emergence of the courier housing – December 17, 1796, when Paul I was issued a special decree on approval of the state Courier housing ^[2], it's been 225 years, and in this regard, the activities of the courier did not remain ignorant of the national historical science.

 So, another 115 years ago, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Courier corps, Colonel of the General staff of the Nikolaev N.G. with the assistance of the adjutant of the corps of captain of Rodendorf L. A. and the senior courier andrezina the A. I. on the basis of official sources, records, and reports by former courier was released in 1896 historical essay "a Century Courier housing" ^[3]in which they described the milestones of formation and development Courier housing from 1796 to 1896 and was able to clearly and concisely show not only the legal peculiarities of development of the Russian courier service (hereinafter - RFS) in a specified period of time, but a way of life, social structure courier, furthermore, they described the heroic examples of courage, revealed by couriers during periods of military companies, given the personnel of the Courier housing during the period.

 A little later, in 1897, most likely from the initiatives mentioned Rodendorf L. A. and Nikolaev N.G., members Courier housing was made a separate work, "the centennial Celebration Courier housing 17 December 1896" ^[4], which describes the procedure of the anniversary celebration, the participants of this event, the word priest of the Church of the visitation in Courier housing Vysheslavtseva G. P. in honor of this anniversary, as well as a short extract from the story of Courier housing read by Rodendorf L. A. on December 17 1896, in addition, this paper first mentioned the existence of Marsha Courier housing "Courier", which unfortunately still has not been discovered by researchers of Russian history.

 The period of development of the RFU after 1896 can be traced in the work of M. A. Trifonova "Courier in Russia. Historical essays" ^[5] which was prepared by the specified author of the almost 200-year anniversary of the RFS by analogy with the work of Nikolaev N.G., and its time frame covers the period of development of the RFU until 1993. Besides, the author has prepared a historical essay on the participation of the courier in the great Patriotic war ^[6] and committed their deeds, and together with Karevskaya A. A. biographical sketches of the leaders of the RFU ^[7].

 In honor of the 205th anniversary of the formation of the RFU, the historical journal "homeland" has devoted an entire December issue "Courier corps Russia 205 years", which was published papers of different authors devoted to the couriers and RFS as a whole, including previously published in the journal ^[8].

 A little later, the dissertation work of G.A. Shevtsova "Courier communication in Russia: 1796-1917" ^[9] appeared in the national historical science, devoted to the history of the development and formation of the RFU in the Russian Empire, as well as the work of the staff of the State Courier Service of the Russian Federation (hereinafter - the SFS of Russia) "The History of Russian courier communication", which covers the time frame since the emergence of the RFU, traces its organizational and legal changes and development in Soviet times and affects its formation in the Russian Federation, up to 2006, that is, up to the 210th anniversary of the formation of the RFU ^[10]. From a historical point of view, this work can be compared with the work of the aforementioned N.G. Nikolaev, since it is based on archival historical documents and makes it possible to discover for Russian science many new historical facts about the RFU and biographical data of the paramedics in the period under review.

In honor of the 220th anniversary of the formation of the RFU, the magazine "GDP" published an article by the director of the SFS of Russia, V.V. Tikhonov, "220 years of the historical path", dedicated to understanding the significance of the RFU for 220 years of its existence, in which the main milestones of its development are briefly but succinctly noted, some military companies with the participation of paramedics are given, as well as the congratulation of the director of the SFS of Russia, addressed directly to the employees of the SFS of Russia ^[11].In addition, in the mass media ^[12], on the official website of the SFS of Russia ^[13], in periodicals (for example, in magazines: "Military Historical Journal", "Reitar", "Rodina", "Sergeant", "Mars" (journal-almanac of the ROO "Academy Russian symbols of Mars"), collections of scientific articles of SPbSUT) and non-periodical press (books published by different publishers) there are many publications by various authors (for example: Burakova A.V. ^[14], Karevsky A.A. ^[15], Marchenkov A.A. ^[16], Marchenkov V.K., Myasnikova A.L. ^[17], Moiseeva V.I., Tsverinashvili I.A., Yakovleva A.V. ^[18], Kuzminykh D.A. ^[19], Petrukhintseva N. ^[20], Rybakova A.L. ^[21], Khokhlova V.S. ^[22], as well as publications of collectives of RF bodies (for example, booklets of the Federal Office of Courier Communications under the Ministry of Communications Of the Russian Federation ^[23] and the SFS of Russia ^[24], dedicated to individual events related to the participation of paramedics in military companies or with the delivery of correspondence to famous personalities in a specific historical period of the development of the RFU.

However, despite the above sources, the citizens of the Russian Federation, for the most part, have no idea who they are, what they do and where the modern paramedics of the SFS of Russia work, what is their difference from the paramedics - special communications employees working in the FSUE GCSS (confirmed by the research conducted by the author of this article in the period from 01.01.2022 to 10.01.2022 in Moscow, the essence of which consisted in a survey of a group of the population of Moscow from citizens of the Russian Federation in the number of more than 200 people of different ages and genders on the above questions).

 It should be noted that this fact is quite understandable, because, despite the many publications devoted to paramedics, most of them address issues related to the history of the emergence of the Courier Corps and the development of the RFU in the past, they do not answer questions such as: who are modern paramedics, what is their current status (departmental affiliation, rights and obligations), what is the procedure for secondment of paramedics to the SFS of Russia, what are the main tasks performed by the paramedics, who is included in the circle of subjects provided by the federal courier service (hereinafter referred to as the FSF), the main differences between modern paramedics from special communications employees working in the FSUE GCSS, the requirements for paramedics, social guarantees of paramedics, the role and place of the RFU in the national security system of the Russian Federation at the present time.the absence in Russian science of works related to the disclosure of the above-mentioned issues, it should be assumed, is due to the lack of historians, research specialists in the field of FS, the dynamic change in legislation regulating the issues under consideration, obstacles to free access to the information that make up the subject of this article, caused by the special status of the SFS of Russia (among the obstacles for the purposes of national security concerns, in particular, the limited ability of citizens to visit the buildings and archives of the SFS of Russia and freely study the documents of this Service, as well as the need to separate publicly available information from information that constitutes a state secret in publications).In this regard, in order to solve the problem of non-sanctification for citizens and national historical science of the issues that make up the subject of this article, as well as in order to popularize the service in the FSF bodies, taking into account the experience in the field of FSF and the possibility of access to the information that makes up the subject of this article, the author of this article considers it appropriate to focus in his research on the analysis of official documents regulating the activities of modern paramedics.

 Thus, according to Article 8 of Federal Law No. 67-FZ of 17.12.1994 (hereinafter referred to as the Law on Field Communications) ^[25], employees of the FSF bodies include persons of the commanding staff of the FSF bodies who are employees of the internal affairs bodies (hereinafter referred to as the ATS)

  Of the Russian Federation, who are in the personnel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, seconded to the federal executive authority (hereinafter – FOIV), performing special functions in the field of ensuring the FSF in the Russian Federation, who serve in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation on service in the Department of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation.Based on the above, it turns out that the paramedics are employees of the Department of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, serving as secondment to a special FOIV in the field of FS in accordance with Federal Law No. 342–FZ of 30.11.2011 ^[26] (hereinafter - the Law on Service in the Department of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation), and the service itself, which they undergo, refers to to other types of public service defined by Federal Law No. 58-FZ of 27.05.2003 ^[27] (hereinafter - the Law on the System of Public Service).

 Indeed, Article 32 of the Law on Service in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation declares that in order to perform tasks directly related to the activities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, with their consent, can be seconded to the FOIV with the retention in the personnel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, the procedure for this secondment and the specifics of the service of these employees are established by the President of the Russian Federation (next – the President).

 In order to solve the issue of secondment of paramedics, first of all, it is necessary to deal with the FOIV in the field of ensuring the FSF in the Russian Federation, to which the employees of the Department of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation are seconded.

 According to article 1 of the Law on Field Communications, this FOIV is an integral part of the forces and means of ensuring the security of the Russian Federation, its powers are determined by this Federal Law and regulations.

 In accordance with the structure of the FOIV approved by Presidential Decree No. 21 of 21.01.2020 ^[28], the SFS of Russia belongs to the number of FOIV whose activities are managed by the President.According to paragraph 7 of Presidential Decree No. 314 of 09.03.2004 ^[29], the regulations on the FOIV, whose activities are managed by the President, are approved by the President and in this regard, by Presidential Decree No. 213 of April 7, 2014 ^[30], the Regulations on the SFS of Russia were approved (hereinafter, respectively, the Decree on the SFS of Russia, the Regulations on the SFS Russia).

 According to paragraphs 4 and 5 of the Regulations on the SFS of Russia, the SFS of Russia is a federal service consisting of the central office, territorial bodies and subordinate organizations.

 According to paragraph 2 of the Regulations on the SFS of Russia, the President manages the activities of the SFS of Russia.

  Paragraph 9 of the Regulations on the SFS of Russia provides that the SFS of Russia is headed by a director who, according to paragraphs 2 and 2.1 of the Decree on the SFS of Russia, is equal in status to a federal minister and currently has two deputies.

 The immediate tasks of the SFS of Russia are defined in Article 2 of the Law on Field Communications and paragraph 2 of the Regulations on the SFS of Russia.Thus, according to the above–mentioned norms of law, the main tasks and powers of the SFS of Russia include work related to the organization of guaranteed delivery and safety of items of special importance, top secret, secret and other official items (hereinafter referred to as correspondence) of the President, state authorities and state bodies of the Russian Federation and subjects of the Russian Federation, according to the decision of The Government of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Government),

- local self-government bodies, heads of state and heads of government, state authorities of the States parties to the Agreement on Intergovernmental Courier Communication ^[31] (hereinafter referred to as the Agreement), CIS working bodies on the territory of the Russian Federation (to federal cities, capitals and administrative centers of the subjects of the Russian Federation and back, capitals of the States parties to the Agreement). In addition, on the territory of the Russian Federation, the SFS of Russia is engaged in ensuring the guaranteed delivery and safety of correspondence of other bodies according to the List approved by Presidential Decree No. 897 dated 10.12.2013 ^[32] (hereinafter – the Presidential Decree "On bodies serviced by paramedics"), which includes the Presidential Administration, the Government Apparatus, bodies of different levels of the Prosecutor's Office, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, the Judicial Department under the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, election commissions, as well as the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation and the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. Thus, according to the above–mentioned norms of law, the main tasks and powers of the SFS of Russia include work related to the organization of guaranteed delivery and safety of items of special importance, top secret, secret and other official items (hereinafter - correspondence) of the President, state authorities of the Russian Federation and subjects of the Russian Federation, by decision of the Government of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Government),

  - local self-government bodies, heads of state and heads of government, state authorities of the States parties to the Agreement on Intergovernmental Courier Communication ^[31] (hereinafter referred to as the Agreement), CIS working bodies on the territory of the Russian Federation (to federal cities, capitals and administrative centers of the subjects of the Russian Federation and back, capitals of the States parties to the Agreement). In addition, on the territory of the Russian Federation, the SFS of Russia is engaged in ensuring the guaranteed delivery and safety of correspondence of other bodies according to the List approved by Presidential Decree No. 897 dated 10.12.2013 ^[32] (hereinafter – the Presidential Decree "On bodies serviced by paramedics"), which include the Presidential Administration, the Government Apparatus, bodies of various levels of the Prosecutor's Office, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, the Judicial Department under the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, election commissions, as well as the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation and the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. Thus, other bodies provided by the FSF include state bodies.Also, according to the above legal norms, the main tasks of the SFS of Russia include ensuring the delivery of correspondence, as well as technical documentation and samples of industrial products according to the decisions of the President and the Government outside the territory of the Russian Federation.

 Having determined the circle of subjects to whom the couriers deliver correspondence, we can conclude that the couriers deliver a huge volume of correspondence of national importance, on which the fate of our Motherland may depend.

 As a confirmation of the above, we can refer to the results of the annual meetings of the boards of the SFS of Russia, at which questions are considered about the results of the work of the federal courier service over the past year and the tasks for the new calendar year.

 In particular, within the framework of the above meetings of the collegiums of the Service, work is being carried out to analyze the effectiveness of prompt and guaranteed delivery of correspondence of persons and bodies defined by article 2 of the Law on Field Communications and Presidential Decree No. 897 of 10.12.2013, one of the indicators of this effectiveness is statistical data on the quantity and timeliness of delivered correspondence, which indicate an ever-increasing load (the number of sent correspondence) to the courier, which is caused by the increasing burden on the state apparatus as a whole, due to the increase in public relations regulated by the state, the need for modern adoption of certain measures aimed at preventing adverse consequences in a particular area of activity of public authorities and state bodies, an increase in the number of appeals of citizens and organizations to the authorities the authorities and state bodies in order to protect their rights and freedoms.

 By the way, it is the circle of subjects, and what the paramedics of the SFS of Russia deliver, in addition to departmental affiliation and legislative regulation, that distinguishes the paramedics of the SFS of Russia from the special communications workers working in the Federal State Unitary Enterprise GCSS, who by their position are also called paramedics.

 So, unlike the SFS of Russia, FGUP GCSS is not an independent federal service, but a federal unitary enterprise, and is engaged in the delivery of not only correspondence, but also shipments and cargo containing, for example, jewelry, artistic and cultural values, narcotic and psychotropic drugs and substances, other shipments and cargo provided for by the charter of FGUP GCSS, not only state organizations, but also commercial ones, since one of the goals of its activities is to make a profit, unlike the SFS of Russia. Employees of FGUP GCSS are not among the ATS of the Russian Federation and work in accordance with labor legislation, in addition, the activities of special and courier communications are different, they have different OKPD, the activities of FGUP GCSS are not regulated by the Law on Field Communications, but by a special Federal Law of 17.07.1999 No. 167-FZ ^[33], other regulatory and legal acts and the Charter ^[34].The procedure for secondment of paramedics referred to in Article 32 of the Law on Service in the Department of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation is partially disclosed in paragraph 3 of the Decree on the SFS of Russia, according to which paramedics are seconded to the SFS of Russia in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation (that is, primarily in accordance with the Law on Service, which regulates the issues of service of employees of the Department of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation Federation) on the recommendation of the Director of the SFS of Russia or the heads of its territorial bodies (their deputies).

 The same paragraph of the Decree on the SFS of Russia regulates some issues of awarding special titles, staffing, education, document management and the application of regulatory legal acts of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia regulating legal relations related to service in the Department of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation in relation to paramedics.

 In particular, subparagraph "d" of paragraph 3 of the Decree on the SFS of Russia establishes that the list of positions to be replaced by paramedics and their corresponding maximum special ranks (hereinafter referred to as the List) is determined by a joint order of the SFS of Russia and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.

 Indeed, there is a corresponding List, and it is defined by the joint order of the SFS of Russia and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia dated 12/18/2014 No. 411/1116 ^[35], according to which the paramedics serving in the territorial bodies of the SFS of Russia first occupy the position of a paramedic, then they are promoted to a field communications officer, subsequently a senior field communications officer and a senior field communications officer for special assignments, in addition, they have the opportunity to take higher positions in the department in which they serve (for example, the position of specialist, inspector, senior inspector, senior specialist, duty inspector, legal adviser, auditor, head of the route department, deputy head of department, head of department), and in the central office of the SFS of Russia, territorial bodies of the SFS of Russia, located in Moscow and Sochi, the Offices of the SFS of Russia for federal districts and Regional Offices of the SFS of Russia, - other positions in personnel, legal, financial divisions.

 Thus, it should be noted that it would be correct to call not all employees of the FSF bodies as paramedics, but only those employees who hold positions from a paramedic to a senior field communications officer for special assignments, whose job responsibilities include the delivery of correspondence to the addressees specified in article 2 of the Law on Field Communications.

 The staffing of the SFS of Russia is established by the relevant Presidential Decree No. 286 of 25.03.2013 ^[36] (hereinafter referred to as the Presidential Decree on the staffing of paramedics) according to which, the total staffing of the SFS of Russia is set at 4025 units (without personnel for the protection and maintenance of buildings), including employees of the FS bodies – in the amount of 2884 units, which, in the author's opinion, clearly does not correspond to modern realities, since currently there are only 85 subjects of the Russian Federation, and this means that modern couriers are engaged in the delivery of correspondence to at least 85 Governments of the subjects of the Russian Federation, and besides them there are also senders of correspondence at the federal level (for example: the President, the Government, Parliament and the courts Of the Russian Federation), as well as other bodies and persons defined by Article 2 of the Law on Field Communications. The uniform of the paramedics and the rules for wearing it are regulated by Government Decree No. 835 of 13.10.2011 ^[37] and departmental acts of the SFS of Russia and correspond to the uniform of the Internal Affairs officers of the Russian Federation related to the internal service.

 Examples of wearing weekend and summer uniforms of paramedics

(not related to the highest commanding staff) ^[38]

 At the same time, the main distinguishing element that makes it possible to distinguish a courier from an employee of the Internal Affairs Department of the Russian Federation belonging to the internal service is the emblem and flag of the FSF bodies. The emblem, as well as the flag of the FSF bodies, were approved by Presidential Decree No. 533 of May 14, 2001 ^[39] and preserve the main historical features of the Courier Corps that existed in the Russian Empire (for the emblem it is an eagle, which was previously used as a tangent coat of arms of the ranks of the Courier Corps, for the flag it is the postal horns that were used by the time ^[40].

The emblem and flag of the Federal courier communications

 Runtime courier routes depends on mode of transport, urgency of correspondence sent, status of the sender and recipient, weather conditions and road infrastructure.

 However, despite the difference in status of the sender and recipient, as well as performed by the couriers route, the basic principles to deliver any correspondence to be delivered by the couriers, is known for its efficiency, warranty and safety.

 In this regard, the special provisions of the Law on fellsway (articles 6, 9), Arrangements (paragraph 4), paragraphs 66 and 95 of the Rules of predpremernogo and paleolitico screening ^[41], all delivered by couriers correspondence shall be inviolable and shall not be subject to arrest in respect of courier forbidden border and customs control, courier, carrying out tasks for the delivery of correspondence, have a right to unfettered and free access to places of correspondence, and in case of business trips, they enjoy the right to an extraordinary acquisition of travel documents for all types of transport and accommodation in the hotel, arms and ammunition courier for the period the flight is not withdrawn, except in order to implement these principles gave it to a courier service issued a certificate that confirms not only their identity and belonging to a Service, but also their right to carry and possession of military small arms and (or) special tools, other rights and powers granted by the legislation of the Russian Federation.

 Among the above-mentioned rights courier can be attributed under the Law of feldspathic the right to use physical force, special means, fighting manual of small arms and bladed weapons.

 According to article 11.1, courier have the right to use physical force, special means, fighting manual of small arms and edged weapons only in the manner and in the cases provided for by Law feldspathic that in the opinion of the author of this article is somewhat controversial, since, according to article 8 of the Law on fellsway, courier serve in accordance with the Law on service in internal Affairs bodies of the Russian Federation, paragraph 21 of part 1 of article 11, which States that police officers of the Russian Federation has the right to use physical force, special means and firearms in cases and order, provided by Federal law dated 07.02.2011 n 3-FZ ^[42], and part 3 of article 68 of the Law on service in internal Affairs bodies of the Russian Federation provides for a number of situations in which police officers are regarded as duties, among which there are situations in which employees have the right to use physical force, special means and firearms (e.g., paragraphs 1 and 4 of this part of the article under review), in addition, these cases affect the institutions of self-defense and necessity, regulated by criminal law of the Russian Federation (articles 37 and 39 of the Criminal code of the Russian Federation ^[43]that is also reflected in the text of article 11.1 of the Law on fellsway, in connection with which the wording of the article needs work.

 In General, based on the articles under review, the following General terms of use couriers physical force, special means and weapons available (as the specific conditions of use of physical force, special means and weapons organs FFS differ):

  – to repel an attack committed in order to seize the delivered correspondence, technical documentation and samples of industrial products;– to repel attempts to seize the weapons of the paramedics;

 – to repel an attack on paramedics if their life or health is in danger;

 – to repel a group or armed attack on vehicles belonging to the FSF bodies, on objects located in a protected area, including buildings, premises and structures occupied by these bodies, as well as for the release of these vehicles and objects;

 – to warn about the intention to use weapons, to give an alarm or call for help;

 – in cases of extreme necessity.

 It should be added that in the performance of official duties, paramedics use weapons that, according to paragraph 8 of the Rules for the Circulation of Combat hand-held small Arms and Other Weapons ... approved by Government Decree No. 1314 of 10/15/1997 ^[44], are included in the corresponding list of weapons determined by the SFS of Russia.

 Other rights and powers of paramedics are defined by Article 6 of the Law on Field Communications, as well as Government Resolutions No. 782 of August 4, 1995 ^[45] and No. 869 of November 21, 2000 ^[46].

 Thus, according to the above regulatory legal acts, the field messengers in order to perform their official duties are not involved in garrison duty and have the right to use special cars without applying any distinctive inscriptions and special color-coded coloring, equipped with flashing beacons of blue color, special sound signals and means of communication, the passage of these vehicles to the places of delivery correspondence, technical documentation and samples of industrial products, as well as to the parking places of air, sea, river vessels and trains is carried out as a matter of priority and free of charge.

 The number of vehicles under consideration at the moment is given in Presidential Decree No. 635 of 19.05.2012 ^[47] (hereinafter – the Presidential Decree on the number of special vehicles of paramedics equipped with a special signal), however, this does not mean that these are all currently available vehicles of the SFS of Russia, this Presidential decree concerns only the special vehicles of the authorities under consideration Otherwise, it would be impossible to fulfill the main tasks assigned to the SFS of Russia.

 Considering the activities of modern paramedics, it is impossible to ignore the issues concerning their material and social security.

 The monetary allowance for paramedics is established in accordance with Article 2 of Federal Law No. 247-FZ of 19.07.2011 ^[48] and consists, in particular, of a monthly salary in accordance with the position being filled and a monthly salary in accordance with the assigned special title (established by Government Decree No. 878 of 03.11.2011 ^[49] and Order of the SFS of Russia of 29.11.2011 No. 388 ^[50], monthly allowances to the official salary for the qualification title, for special conditions of service, for working with information constituting a state secret, monthly allowance to the salary of monetary maintenance for the length of service (length of service), bonuses for conscientious performance of official duties, incentive payments for special achievements in the service, allowance to the official salary for performing tasks directly related to the risk (increased danger) to life and health in peacetime, in some cases, coefficients and percentage allowances to the monetary allowance for service in some areas and localities (established by relevant orders on the basis of various legal acts).

 In addition to monetary allowances, given the special status of the paramedics and their special tasks, the legislation of the Russian Federation, in addition to monetary allowances for the paramedics, provides some social guarantees that are aimed at protecting their health, improving the standard of living in office and off-duty time, attracting citizens of the Russian Federation to the Federal Tax Service:

 – compulsory state life and health insurance;

 – housing (hiring of office housing, the right to receive residential premises in ownership or a one-time social payment), medical and sanatorium-resort provision for paramedics (in departmental polyclinics and sanatoriums of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia) and their family members;

 – clothing and food supply;– payment of travel, daily allowance and lifting allowance in connection with moving to a new place of service, as well as material assistance of at least one salary per year and monetary compensation for the use of personal transport for official purposes, as well as to places of treatment, follow-up (rehabilitation) of other payments, in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation;

 – priority enrollment of children of paramedics in general education and preschool educational organizations at the place of residence and in summer health camps, regardless of the form of ownership;

 – the right to receive the title of labor veteran;

 – the right to receive departmental awards;

 – extended basic leave and such types of leave as additional leave for years of service and additional leave for an irregular working day, leave for personal reasons, other types of leave;

 – pension provision, providing for preferential length of service for retirement and a special procedure for calculating it ^[51].

 It should be added that the Law on Service in the OFD of the Russian Federation establishes special incentive measures for paramedics (for example, not only the announcement of gratitude and payment of a monetary award, but also the awarding of departmental awards, valuable gifts, a certificate of honor, firearms or cold weapons, early assignment of another special title) and disciplinary penalties (for example, not not only a remark and a reprimand, but also a strict reprimand, for which a bonus for conscientious performance of official duties, a warning about incomplete official compliance, transfer to a lower position, dismissal is excluded from the salary of employees of the FSF bodies ^[52], which directly affect the service of paramedics and their material and social security (respectively, aside their increase or decrease).

 In addition to the above-mentioned special measures of encouragement and disciplinary penalties, according to the Law on Service in the Department of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, special age, qualification, service and moral and ethical requirements and duties, as well as restrictions and prohibitions are imposed on paramedics.

 First of all, it should be said that according to the Law on Service in the Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, only citizens of the Russian Federation who are at least 18 years old, who have general secondary (for positions for which special ranks from ordinary to senior warrant officer are assigned), professional secondary (for positions for which special ranks are assigned ranks from junior lieutenant to captain), higher education (for positions for which special ranks from major to general are assigned) corresponding to the direction of their future activities.

 Also, in addition to the citizenship of the Russian Federation and the appropriate level of education, the qualification requirements for candidates for positions in the FSF bodies include the requirements for work experience in the specialty, professional knowledge and skills, personal and business qualities, health status, physical fitness necessary to fulfill the duties of the position being filled.

  In addition, since the official activities of future paramedics are associated with admission to state secrets, verification measures are carried out for them.At the same time, it should be borne in mind that according to the Law on Service in the Department of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, citizens of the Russian Federation over 35 years old (for whom a special rank from private to senior ensign is provided) and 40 years old (for positions for which special ranks from junior lieutenant are assigned) cannot apply for positions to the general).

 In addition, for candidates who plan to become paramedics, there are a number of reasons why they cannot be accepted for service in the FSF bodies (for example, if these candidates are accused of committing a criminal offense, committed intentional administrative offenses repeatedly during the year before they expressed their will to join the FSF bodies, etc.).

 In addition to the above qualification requirements, the Law on Service in the Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation imposes many duties on paramedics, among which, for example, one can single out the duties of passing fingerprint registration, annual medical examinations, checks for professional fitness to act in conditions involving the use of physical force, special means and firearms; prevention of abuse of official powers, non-disclosure information constituting a state or other secret protected by law, maintaining the level of qualifications necessary for the proper performance of official duties, knowledge and compliance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, legislative and other regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation, knowledge and execution of official regulations and instructions, compliance with the legitimate rights and freedoms of citizens, public associations and organizations in the performance of official duties.Among the special requirements for official behavior, according to the Law on Service in the Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, one can single out concern for preserving one's honor and dignity, preventing public statements, judgments and assessments, including in the media, in relation to state bodies, officials, political parties, other public associations, religious and other organizations, professional or social groups, citizens, if it is not included in their official duties, passing certification within the established time limits, a ban on part-time work, with the exception of part-time teaching, scientific and other creative activities.

 A separate set of restrictions, prohibitions and duties is also established for paramedics by the Federal Law "On Combating Corruption" ^[53] and the Federal Law "On the State Civil Service of the Russian Federation" ^[54], the essence of which is related to preventing the occurrence of corruption, conflict of interests, abuse of official powers.

 The field officers also take an oath of allegiance to the fatherland and undertake to comply with the disciplinary regulations, which become their moral guidelines throughout their official activities ^[55].

 Currently, the field messengers serve in almost all subjects of the Russian Federation and they perform special courier routes not only by special vehicles, but also using aviation and rail transport ^[56].

 However, courier routes cover not only the territory of the Russian Federation, but also the territory of foreign states, and not so much because, as already mentioned, according to article 2 of the Law on Courier Communications, the President or the Government can make appropriate decisions, but because special interstate courier routes are carried out by the courier service. communication of persons and bodies defined by the Agreement.

  In particular, according to the Agreement, the couriers are obliged to ensure the delivery of correspondence of heads of state, heads of government, governing authorities of the parties to the Agreement, as well as CIS bodies. And in this regard, it should be noted that over the past 10 years, a significant increase in interstate courier routes can be noted, which is reflected in the relevant reports at the meetings of the Coordinating Council of Intergovernmental Courier Communications. The increase in the volume of correspondence delivered in this case is due in particular to the development of integration processes between the states parties to the Agreement (for example, in the field of economy, migration), the improvement of the process of interaction and cooperation between military alliances and organizations (CSTO, CIS, Union State, FSVTS of Russia, various international organizations with which Russia has relevant agreements in the field of exchange of technical documentation and samples of industrial products, state defense-technical and scientific-production and research enterprises and complexes), an increase in the number of forums (for example, economic and legal, held in St. Petersburg), the purpose of which is to solve problems and challenges in the relevant areas of the state and society.

 In 2022, the growth in the volume of correspondence delivered by couriers both in Russia and abroad is caused by a special military operation conducted by Russia against Ukraine (hereinafter referred to as the SVO) aimed at liberating the territory of the LPR, DPR, other republics and regions of Ukraine from nationalist groups and fascist formations, since the operation is impossible without the coordinated work of the state apparatus (first of all, the Government, the Ministry of Finance) and the armed forces, which are provided by the paramedics.

 With regard to these events, it seems logical that in the event of successful referendums by the liberated territories on joining Russia, the new subjects of the Russian Federation will have the right to count on providing courier communication to their officials and bodies defined by Article 2 of the Law on Telecommunication, in addition, this provision will be among the main tasks of the SFS of Russia and will be the responsibility of the SFS of Russia.

  In this regard, it will be necessary to conclude relevant agreements between the Governments of Russia and the Governments of the new subjects of Russia, to amend the Presidential Decrees "On the staffing of paramedics", "On bodies serviced by paramedics", "On the number of special vehicles of paramedics equipped with a special signal", the issuance of relevant orders on the opening of new Service departments in new territories, and also amendments to other acts affecting the activities of the SFS of Russia.

 As for the possibility of providing courier communications to independent LNR, DNR, as well as other republics and regions that are still formally controlled by the current Ukraine, but have intentions to get closer to Russia, it should be noted that Russian legislation provides for such an opportunity. Thus, according to the above-mentioned norms of Article 2 of the Law on Field Communications, the delivery of correspondence by paramedics outside the territory of Russia is possible if the relevant decisions of the President and the Government are made, and by virtue of the norms of Article 35 of the Law on Service in the Department of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, paramedics for up to six months can be seconded to another locality or transferred to another unit for services in special conditions. These conditions, in particular, include service not only during the period of martial law, counter-terrorism operations, emergency response, but also during the armed conflict. The concept of this conflict is given in subparagraph "e" of paragraph 8 of the Military Doctrine of the Russian Federation, approved by the President on 25.12.2014 No. Pr-2976 ^[57], which in the opinion of the author of this article is fully applicable to its. The increase in the volume of correspondence delivered by the paramedics both in Russia and abroad, caused by the conduct of a special military operation, as well as the possibility of the participation of the paramedics in the SVO indicates that the activity of the paramedics is aimed at protecting the interests of the national security of the Russian Federation, in connection with which, according to the author of this article, the legislator in article 1 of the Law on The Field Communications Service quite reasonably attributed the SFS of Russia to an integral part of the forces and means of ensuring the security of the Russian Federation.

 In support of the above thesis, the following arguments can also be attributed:

 - firstly, the SFS of Russia, by virtue of subparagraph 6 of paragraph 8 of the Regulations on the SFS of Russia, has the right to establish the procedure for receiving, processing and delivery of correspondence along courier routes, its maximum norms and types, which is mandatory for all senders of correspondence listed in Article 2 of the Law on Courier Communications and the Presidential Decree "On Bodies served by the paramedics", regardless of their status, in connection with which it is the SFS of Russia that is responsible for the guaranteed safety and reliability of the protection of the correspondence delivered by the paramedics of these senders both in Russia and abroad;

 - secondly, by virtue of subparagraph 33 of paragraph 7 of the Regulations on the SFS of Russia, the SFS of Russia is entrusted with the organization and provision of mobilization training and mobilization, as well as conducting civil defense in the system of the SFS of Russia, in connection with which it should be noted the participation of paramedics in annual civil defense training conducted in the system of the SFS of Russia, and also, command and staff exercises conducted by the Ministry of Defense of Russia and the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia aimed at improving practical skills in the use of forces and means and their management in the implementation of measures for civil defense, prevention and elimination of the consequences of emergencies, ensuring fire safety and the safety of people on water bodies ^[58];

 - thirdly, the SFS of Russia, in accordance with sub-paragraphs 10-14 of paragraph 7 of the Regulations on the SFS of Russia, ensures, within its competence, the protection of information constituting a state and other legally protected secret and monitors the level of information security in the system of the SFS of Russia, in connection with which it is empowered to develop measures aimed at ensuring the safety and reliable protection of the delivered correspondence (among them, in particular, can be attributed the above-mentioned powers of the Service to determine the list of weapons of paramedics and cases of their use and use by paramedics), occupied facilities, as well as, in coordination with the FSB of Russia, is empowered to develop measures related to the admission of its own employees to information constituting a state secret.

 Having carefully studied the main tasks of the SFS of Russia, the circle of persons and bodies provided by the SFS, the types of correspondence delivered by couriers and the above-mentioned arguments, it can be concluded that within the framework of the activities of the SFS of Russia, Russia's national interests are ensured in protecting information constituting a state secret and confidential information, defined by Presidential Decrees No. 1203 dated 30.11.2011 ^[59], and dated 06.03.1997 No. 188 ^[60], in connection with which, in the opinion of the author of this article, the role of the SFS of Russia is primarily reduced to a specific area of protection of Russia's national security – information security, which, in accordance with subparagraph 4 of paragraph 26 of the National Security Strategy of the Russian Federation, approved by Presidential Decree No. 300 dated 02.07.2021 ^[61], referred to the national priorities of Russia.

 This conclusion is confirmed by the fact that despite all modern means of communication, the threat of interception of information sent by its rightholders has not lost its relevance, but on the contrary, has only intensified, which is reflected in the Information Security Doctrine approved by Presidential Decree No. 646 of 05.12.2016 ^[62], and in this regard, the available means of communication and information technology with the help of which information is exchanged, they cannot guarantee the same safety and confidentiality of information as can be guaranteed by highly qualified, well-trained and trained couriers in the case of their delivery of correspondence containing the necessary information, who are assigned the role of special guarantors - representatives of the authorities, on the effectiveness of whose activities the well-coordinated and effective activities of the entire state apparatus depend, which means that the 225 years that have passed since the formation of the Courier Corps is far from the limit for Russian courier communications.