In general terms, military social work has existed since ancient times. But as a type of professional activity, it is just beginning to take shape. In the summer of 1995, the position of "social Work and Crime Prevention Officer"was added to the staffing table of military units. This can be considered the de jure starting point of the new institute of military social workers in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The corresponding training of such specialists was entrusted to the Military University. In 1996, the first set of listeners was made. Three years later, the release took place.

According to the Charter issued in 996 by Prince Vladimir the Saint, social welfare was placed under the protection of the church. With the formation of the unified Russian state, state welfare began to gain momentum.

Under Emperor Peter the Great, along with the formation of a state policy aimed at providing material assistance to those in need, a campaign was launched against begging, and the tradition of indiscriminate almsgiving was discouraged. Therefore, it is difficult to imagine the reaction of Peter, who would have seen Russian soldiers "shooting" cigarettes and asking for "bread" in the center of the capital, on Tverskaya Street or in the doorways of the "Great Headquarters" near the Kremlin. Perhaps the Emperor would have taken pity on the young soldiers and increased their salaries from the current 30 rubles to more than that. However, it is more likely that the Emperor would have condemned the beggars and been very strict with their commanders for allowing the humiliation of a soldier.

We know from our school days that Peter the Great loved his soldiers and took care of them like a father. He is also credited with the establishment of Russia's first Land and Naval Hospitals, as well as a home for military veterans. Based on the decree of November 16, 1719, it was established that non-commissioned officers and privates who were unfit for service in the "field army and garrisons" due to wounds and illness should be "assigned to the General Hospital." The decree guaranteed that non-commissioned officers and soldiers would receive compensation for their "long-term military service.""they will not be left without state support and" everyone will be provided with his Royal Majesty's mercy."

In the post-Petrine era, pensions were one of the main forms of social security for retired military personnel. However, it seems that for many people today, pensions have lost their significance. As Colonel V. Khoreshko wrote in the "Orientir" magazine, "Over the past three years, 60,000 (according to other sources, up to 80,000) officers under the age of 30 have voluntarily left the Russian Armed Forces." In the past, it was rare for someone to leave the military without a state pension. At that time, officers who committed crimes or serious misconduct in the military and were subjected to criminal and correctional penalties, as well as serious disciplinary actions, were no longer eligible for a state pension. However, for young lieutenants and captains, the prospect of retirement seemed distant, and the thought of it at such a young age did not bring much comfort. As a result, many young officers chose to leave the military without considering the possibility of receiving a pension in the near future.

Officers and warrant officers are leaving, full of strength and energy, mainly because they do not see the declared social security for themselves and their families. Many beautiful words have been said and written about the honor and prestige of military service, and many benefits have been provided for military personnel. However, these good intentions often remain on paper. The reality is much harsher. Military social workers could and should have softened this prose and made it a little more "poetic," or, more simply, more acceptable to a person in uniform.

When we talk about the social protection of military personnel in the Russian Armed Forces, we usually compare their situation with that of soldiers in other countries. This comparison is usually in favor of the latter. This is not a coincidence. In European countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and France, as well as in the United States, military social work as a profession emerged at the turn of the 20th century. In Russia, the need for such work was only recognized in the early 1990s.

The emergence of social workers in our country coincided with a difficult period in society. Let's remember the early 1990s: the political crisis, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the painful transition to a market economy. The socio-economic situation was challenging. There was political instability. The standard of living plummeted. There were armed conflicts between different ethnic groups. Production collapsed, and unemployment rose. These events exacerbated the social conditions for the majority of the Russian population, including the military.

With the formation of the Russian Armed Forces, the previously adopted laws and regulations of the USSR governing military construction and social protection of military personnel no longer corresponded to the new socio-economic realities. This put the military personnel and their families in a very difficult situation. Something had to be done. Along with the adoption of a package of "military" laws of the Russian Federation, "On Defense"In accordance with the laws "On Military Duty and Military Service", "On the Status of Military Personnel", and others that regulate the social protection of military personnel and their families, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have introduced the institution of military social workers...

According to the definition of the Main Directorate for Educational Work of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, "military-social work is a system of legal, political, educational, social, and other measures taken to ensure the material and living conditions and benefits of military personnel, citizens who have been discharged from military service, and their family members, as well as the civilian personnel of the Armed Forces." In other words, military-social work is a link between people who need help and the government, public, and other organizations that can provide that help.

It should be noted here that military-social work is just beginning to take shape, and many of its provisions are still not well-defined. As a result, many people do not see the difference between military-social work and social protection, and they often confuse it with sociology. Although these concepts are closely related and overlap, there is a significant difference.

There is a significant difference between the two. Social protection is about receiving benefits by the recipient. On the other hand, providing protection to those in need is a form of social work. In our context, this can only be accomplished by highly trained professionals. Therefore, training specialists in military social work is a national priority.

This is what the faculty of military social work at the Military University told the first-year students in 1996. At that time, it was inspiring and full of hope, and it even offered such enticing prospects for future military social workers that it took their breath away. After all, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation were in the midst of a military reform that aimed to guarantee, rather than merely declare, full social protection for military personnel. However, as the practical transformations began, a web of social issues began to unfold like a snowball. In short, it became increasingly clear that the modernizing Armed Forces needed specialists who could provide social protection for military personnel and their families in the face of limited funding.

More than once, during our classes, we were reminded of the words of Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeev, who said about the beginning of the military reform: "... The most important aspect of the reform is to provide social and legal guarantees for military personnel, including those who will be discharged from military service, and their families. The situation is such that in order to preserve the core of the Armed Forces, the defense industry, and science, it is necessary to take tough and unpopular measures. The process of optimizing the structure, composition, and size will affect hundreds of thousands of people in one way or another. But every officer should be sure that the state and the military department will make every effort to ensure that he and his family are reliably protected in social terms." This once again confirmed the correctness of the decision taken to open the Faculty of Military Social Work at the Military University.

It would seem that the officers who studied for three years were not quite ordinary for a military school of science, such as "Family Studies" and "Feminology", "Social Gerontology" and "Social Innovations", "Computer technologies in social work" and "Employment and its regulation", " Criminology and crime prevention in the Armed Forces Armed Forces of the Russian Federation&As they say, they should be eagerly recruited by the military. Moreover, the first group of specialists in the Armed Forces was a drop in the ocean, with only forty people in all branches and types of troops, including the Federal Protective Service and the Federal Railway Troops. However, the ready-made specialists in military social work, who could control and manage social processes in military units without significant financial costs, were not in demand.

For example, all the positions of social work and crime prevention officers in the military transport aviation units have already been filled. According to Lieutenant Colonel Igor Strukov, an officer in social and psychological work at the educational department of the military transport aviation, "the positions have already been filled."

They are staffed with specialists of a broad rather than a narrow profile" (referring to former graduates of military-political schools). Moreover, Igor Ivanovich himself is a former political officer and has no formal training in social work.

A similar situation has developed in other branches and types of troops. This is evidenced by the order of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation on the appointment of officers who graduated from the Faculty of Military Social Work at the Military University in June 1999. For example, Majors Valery Seminenko and Alexey Smirnov have been appointed as officers for social and state training. Major Sergey Sazykin and Captain Valery Tsigvitsyev have become psychologists. Major Oleg Polishchuk has been appointed as an officer for leisure activities. Major Valery Borshchev and Major Alexander Mineichev were the most fortunate: they became officers in social work and crime prevention. If we talk about the appointments of military social workers in general, it would be enough to count on one hand all those appointed in accordance with the qualifications received.

Why have specialists such as military social workers been left out of work? Why have these invaluable personnel, who are essential to the military, been left unemployed? There are certainly more than one or two reasons for this. However, it is clear that the social protection of military personnel and their families has long been perceived as a mere declaration in society. It has become common practice to make decisions that go against existing legislation regarding military personnel and their families. For example, when going on vacation, the defenders of the Fatherland are ready in advance that they will not be able to use military transportation documents for air transport. Moreover, in a number of cities, such as Ulan-Ude, tickets for military personnel and their family members are not always sold on fast trains. In cities such as Tver, Bryansk, Pskov, Zavitinsk, Orenburg, Ulan-Ude, and others, local authorities have decided to cancel free travel for military personnel on urban and suburban transport. What can I say about providing military personnel with housing and paying them rent?

It turns out that there is no longer any faith that these and many other social problems of military personnel and their families can be solved professionally. Is this why the first graduates of military social work specialists were not expected in the military? Or is it because some high-ranking officials consider psychologists, sociologists, and social workers to be specialists in the field of "senior staff"? In this case, it is urgent to organize "training" for... outdated leaders. However, it is too late to talk about this in relation to the first graduates. The only hope remains for those who have been appointed as social work officers: they will have to prove to the military community through their work that trained specialists can provide real assistance to commanders, military personnel, and their families in solving social problems.

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