MChS

Ministry of Emergency Situations

This article is about the Russian agency. For the Azerbaijani agency, see Ministry of Emergency Situations (Azerbaijan).

EMERCOM
Ministerstvo po delam grazhdanskoy oborony, chrezvychainym situatsiyam i likvidatsii posledstviy stihiynyh bedstviy
Министерство по делам гражданской обороны, чрезвычайным ситуациям и ликвидации последствий стихийных бедствий
Flag of EMERCOM
Agency overview
Formed	10 January 1994
Jurisdiction	Federal Government of the Russian Federation
Headquarters	Moscow
Minister responsible	Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu, Minister of the Russian Federation for the Affairs of Civil Defence, Emergency Situations and Disaster Relief
Website
http://www.mchs.gov.ru/?lang=eng

The Ministry of the Russian Federation for Affairs for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters (Russian: Министерство России по делам гражданской обороны, чрезвычайным ситуациям и ликвидации последствий стихийных бедствий), also known as The Ministry of Emergency Situations (Russian: Министерство по чрезвычайным ситуациям - МЧС России), or internationally as EMERCOM (derived from "Emergency Control Ministry"), was established on January 10, 1994 by President Boris Yeltsin. Some consider the real date of birth of the agency as December 27, 1990, when the was established and assigned the mission of rapid response in the case of emergencies.

Minister

The Minister in charge of EMERCOM is Sergei Shoigu. He was appointed by President Yeltsin in November 1991 as Chairman of the State Committee of the Russian Federation for Civil Defence Matters, Extraordinary Situations and the Liquidation of Natural Disasters. Shoigu was given the rank of Major General in October 1994, and his committee became a ministry in January 1994. President Yeltsin showed his faith in the importance of EMERCOM by designating Minister Shoigu a member of the Russian Security Council by Presidential Decree on February 1, 1994.

Departments

Commissions and Boards

Working through the office of the Prime Minister, the Ministry can ask for private, Ministry of Defence or Internal Troops of the MVD assistance. That is, the Ministry has international coordination power and the ability to tap local resources if required.

The Department of International Cooperation, to present an example of the activities of one of these departments and commissions, has already signed agreements on cooperation during disaster response and prevention with Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland, Poland, Belarus, Georgia, and Kazakhstan. Mutual assistance pacts are ready for signing with Mongolia, Latvia, Finland, Armenia, Moldova, Serbia and Estonia. An agreement also exists with the U.N. High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), and agreements are sought with the OSCE and NATO.

Internal organizations

To perform rapid response operations the following forces and equipment are available:

See also

References

• EMERCOM of Russia, publication of the Ministry of Emergency Situations
• EMERCOM: RUSSIA'S EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM (1995), Mr. Timothy L. Thomas, Foreign Military Studies Office, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Low Intensity Conflict and Law Enforcement, Vol 4, Autumn 1995, No 2

External links

• EMERCOM's official website
• EMERCOM's official website (Russian)
• EMERCOM PDA site (Russian)
• EMERCOM WAP site (Russian)

Retrieved from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Emergency_Situations