In the event of a man-made or natural emergency, the threat of hostilities or the outbreak of war, measures are taken to protect the population of Russia, its cultural and material values Civil defense, which is organized on a production or territorial basis, is the most important function of the state, thanks to which the safety of citizens is ensured RF Civil Defense units took part in more than 150 rescue operations, including liquidation of the consequences of earthquakes in Tashkent, Leninakan and Stepanakert, and the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant The first air defense system appeared on October 4, 1932, in accordance with Resolution No 1525/319 of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR Thanks to the participation of its units during the Great Patriotic War, 432 thousand aerial bombs, more than 500 thousand shells and mortar mines, almost 2 thousand engineering ammunition were neutralized, and 77,938 fires were eliminated Taking into account the likelihood of World War III, the population of the Land of Soviets in peacetime was trained in measures to protect themselves from weapons of mass destruction In the post-war years until the 1970s, 162 million explosive objects were neutralized through the efforts of civil defense In 1961, air defense was transformed into civilian defense, subordinate to the USSR Government The civil defense system, which had units throughout the country, developed measures to protect Soviet citizens from nuclear missile strikes, bacteriological and chemical weapons, and to carry out rescue operations and restoration work in case of accidents In 1991, civil defense was included in the Ministry of Emergency Situations Its personnel participated in the elimination of accidents and disasters not only in the Russian Federation, but also in Malaysia, India, Venezuela, Yugoslavia, Zaire, Rwanda, Afghanistan, Iran, Lebanon and other countries On October 4, the date of formation of the unit in 1932, comes the Day of Civil Defense Troops of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia The civil defense includes emergency rescue services and other units In peacetime, these formations are created on the basis of institutions, organizations and enterprises of any form of ownership But the main composition of the civil defense of the Russian Federation is military personnel of individual mobile mechanized regiments and brigades, radiation, biological and chemical reconnaissance detachments, pontoon-ferrying and special defense battalions The main tasks of civil defense are to alert and educate the population of all ages in ways to protect themselves from various types of dangers arising during military operations, and to evacuate people, material and other types of assets to a safe place Civil defense units carry out fire fighting and rescue operations in places of emergency situations, and provide sanitary assistance to victims The territorial bodies of the Ministry of Emergency Situations are engaged in training people in protective measures in educational and other institutions, organizations and enterprises located even in the most remote corners of the country The Civil Defense is responsible for ensuring the security of the state and its citizens All units and operational services involved in the activities, which work around the clock to respond to emergency situations, are congratulated on October 4 on the Day of Civil Defense Troops of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia