The State Border Guard () is the

border guard A border guard of a country is a national security agency that ensures border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard (as in Germany, Italy or Ukraine) and rescue service duties. Name and uniform In diff ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

. The State Border Guard is an institution subordinated to the Minister of the Interior. The State Border Guard is an armed institution and it serves to ensure the security of the state border and to prevent illegal migration. Every day more than 2,000 border guards and employees of the State Border Guard fulfil their duties of service. Currently the State Border Guard comprises the Central Board, territorial boards, including the Aviation Board. The State Border Guard College is an institution of higher education under the authority of the State Border Guard. The State Border Guard ensures surveillance of 276 km long border between the Republic of Latvia and

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, 172,9 km long border between the

Republic of Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

and the

Republic of Belarus A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a state in which political power rests with the public (people), typically through their representatives—in contrast to a monarchy. Although a ...

, and 498 km long sea border (external EU border), as well as monitoring of 343 km long border between the Republic of Latvia and the Republic of Estonia and 588 km long border between the Republic of Latvia and the

Republic of Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

(internal EU border).

History

1918–1940

On November 18, 1918 the People's Council of Latvia proclaimed the independence of the Republic of Latvia as well declared temporary borders of the newly established state. For the purposes of their protection, on 7 November 1919 Jānis Balodis, Latvian Army Commander-in-Chief, issued an order to form border guard units. The activities of border guards were based on the internal border guarding provisional regulations of the People's Council, issued on 5 December 1918. After the end of the

Latvian War of Independence The Latvian War of Independence (), sometimes called Latvia's freedom battles () or the Latvian War of Liberation (), was a series of military conflicts in Latvia between 5 December 1918, after the newly proclaimed Republic of Latvia was invade ...

, on 8 November 1920 the Border Guard () was renamed to the Border Guard Division () and it was tasked with border protection duties. On 2 February 1922, the Cabinet of Ministers of Latvia decided to dissolve the Border Guard Division and to assign border guarding functions to the Ministry of the Interior. On 10 March of the same year, the newly established Border Police () took over the border guarding functions from the Border Guard Division. In 1935 the Cabinet adopted the Law on State Border Guarding. On 6 April 1935, a separate military unit – the Border Guard Brigade () was created within the Ministry of the Interior, with General Ludvigs Bolšteins appointed as its Commander. Shortly before the Soviet occupation of Latvia in June 1940, members of the brigade were killed, wounded and taken prisoner by

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

NKVD Troops during the Masļenki border incident. In protest over the dissolution of the agency, General Bolšteins committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

at his office. On 3 October 1940 Alfons Noviks, People's Commissar of the Interior of the

Latvian SSR The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (Also known as the Latvian SSR, or Latvia) was a Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republic of the Soviet Union from 1940 to 1941, and then from 1944 until 1990. The Soviet occupation of the Bal ...

, signed an order on the disbandment of the Border Guard Battalions and discharge of border guards from their positions. On 10 October 1940 the Border Guard Brigade of the Republic of Latvia was dissolved by the Soviet occupation authorities.

1990–present

After the restoration of the independence of Latvia on 4 May 1990, on 20 December 1990 the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia adopted a Law “On State Border of the Republic of Latvia”, but due to the transitional period towards independence that lasted until August 1991 in effect, Latvian border guard units were not yet restored. On 7 November 1991 the Presidium of the Supreme Council approved the "Regulations on the Order of Taking the Oath for Soldiers of the Republic of Latvia". On 11 November 1991 the first border guards of the restored Republic of Latvia took their oath in the Brothers' Cemetery of

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

. 13 December 1991 is the date of de facto re-establishment of the Latvian Border Guard, as by the order of the

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

of 13 December 1991 No. 4-V “On the Formation, Determination of Responsibilities, Structure and Staff of the Border Guard Battalions“ the Border Guard Military Units Board of the Republic of Latvia under the MoD was established, which then assumed control over the Border Guard Battalions, the Separate Border Control Point and Border Guard Training Center Military Units. The protection of the border was entrusted to seven Border Guard Battalions located at

Valmiera Valmiera () is the second largest city of the historical Vidzeme region, Latvia, with a total area of . As of 2002, Valmiera had a population of 27,323, and in 2020, it was at 24,879. It is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city, and ...

, Viļaka,

Ludza Ludza (; , , , , ''Ludza'') is a town in the Latgale region of eastern Latvia. Ludza is the oldest town in Latvia and this is commemorated by a key in its coat of arms. Ludza is the administrative centre of Ludza Municipality that is located near ...

Daugavpils Daugavpils (see also other names) is a state city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city derives its name. The parts of the city to the north of the river belong to the historical Latvian region ...

, Jelgava,

Liepāja Liepāja () (formerly: Libau) is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest city in the Courland region and the third-largest in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an ...

Ventspils Ventspils () is a state city in northwestern Latvia in the historical Courland region of Latvia, and is the sixth largest city in the country. At the beginning of 2020, Ventspils had a population of 33,906. It is situated on the Venta River and ...

and Riga Separate Border Control Points. The protection duties by the new service started by organising checkpoints on roads and taking over the functions of

Soviet Border Troops The Soviet Border Troops () were the border guard of the Soviet Union, subordinated to the Soviet state security agency: first to the ''Cheka''/State Political Directorate, OGPU, then to NKVD/Ministry for State Security (USSR), MGB and, final ...

in ports and airports, based on the Council of Ministers’ decision of 29 January 1992 “On Ensuring the Takeover and Guarding of the State Border of the Republic of Latvia”. By the establishment of the Border Guard Battalions, work was started on the development of border defence infrastructure – physical border marking, creation of border control infrastructure, improvement of living conditions for border guards, drafting of regulations and rules. By the order of the Minister of Defence of the Republic of Latvia from 1 February 1992, the Border Guard Brigade of Defence Forces of the Ministry of Defence () was established by merging the 7 existing border battalions, the Riga Separate Border Control Point and Vārve Training Centre. By the order of Minister of Defence of 23 November 1995, the Border Guard Brigade of the

National Armed Forces National Armed Forces (; NSZ) was a Polish right-wing underground military organization of the National Democracy (Poland), National Democracy operating from 1942. During World War II, NSZ troops fought against Nazi Germany and Gwardia Ludowa, c ...

was reorganized into the Border Guard Forces (). On 7 January 1997 the supervision of the Border Guard Forces was transferred to the Ministry of the Interior of Latvia. On 14 February 1997 the Border Guard Forces were renamed the Border Guard of the Ministry of the Interior, and on 1 May 1998 – the State Border Guard.

Leadership

The border guard is led by the Chief of the Border Guard, which is appointed for a five-year term by the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

after approval from the Cabinet of Ministers. General Normunds Garbars lead the State Border Guard from 7 April 2009 to 22 January 2019, when he retired after reaching the maximum age limit. He was succeeded by General Guntis Pujāts, who previously served as Deputy Chief since 2018.

Equipment

Weapons

Vehicles

* Nissan Pathfinder * Toyota Hilux *

Renault Kangoo The Renault Kangoo is a family of vans built by Renault since 1997 across three generations. It is sold as a passenger multi-purpose vehicle or as a light commercial vehicle. For the European market, the Kangoo is manufactured at the MCA plant i ...

Arctic Cat Arctic Cat is an American brand that makes snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles (ATV's) manufactured in Thief River Falls, Minnesota. The company was formed in 1960. Arctic Cat designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets all-terrain vehicle ...

ATVs *

Polaris Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris (Latinisation of names, Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an ...

snowmobiles

Aircraft

*2 x AgustaWestland A109 Power *2 x AgustaWestland AW119 Kx *2 x

Bell JetRanger The Bell 206 is a family of two-bladed, single- and twin-engined helicopters, manufactured by Bell Helicopter at its Mirabel, Quebec, plant. Originally developed as the Bell YOH-4 for the United States Army's Light Observation Helicopter progra ...

(being replaced)

References

External links

*
State Border Guard official website
{{European Border and Coast Guard, state=expanded

Borders of Latvia Law enforcement agencies of Latvia