A Brief History of the Russian Customs Service

THE HISTORY OF CUSTOMS

Warm up

Exercise 1. Read and translate the following words and word combinations. Use the words in the sentences of your own.

Customs – customs duty – customs service – Customs Department – Customs Administration – customs officer/official – customs seal – customs station – customs application – customs inspection/examination – customs tariff – customs union.

Exercise 2. Match the English words on the left with their Russian equivalents on the right.

READING

Exercise 3. Read and translate the following text. Use the dictionary when necessary.

A Brief History of the Russian Customs Service

Customs Service is closely connected with the history of the state. In the 10^th and 12^th centuries the Customs began as a revenue collected by the so-called Mytnic Brigades, who were responsible for the trading and transit of Myto Duties. At the end of the 13^th century and at the beginning of the 14^th century the Mytnic Brigades were superseded by Tamgachey collectors of the Mongolian Khan Horde who collected the so-called Tamgha Duty. Since that time, this fee has come to be known as a customs duty and its place of collection – a customs office.

Revenue collection was entrusted to the Principalities and by the 14^th century the right to collect the duties and be customs officials could be inherited in some towns and villages and small administrative settlements. The Customs Service has always targeted smuggling. Among other things targeted by the Moscow Customs Department were the following: heretical books, other items of a religious nature and playing cards, all of which could be harmful to the people. In the 15^th and 17^th centuries visiting foreigners were often found to be smuggling secret maps of its territories and its fortresses. Even Russian Tsars and Emperors were subject to the rules of the Customs Administration.

From the 16^th to the 17^th century customs officers and their aids had to swear an oath to the Tsar and kiss an icon “The Crucifixion” on taking up office. The Customs Charter of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, the Law Code of Tsar Aleksey Michailovich, the Trading Charter and the Novotorgovy Trading Act seem to be the basic customs legislative documents in Russia. The Central State Department was in charge of the revenue collection at that time. Local authorities used to be responsible for the collection of customs duties and fees.

With the development of monetary system the customs took part in the campaign against the illegal importation of counterfeit money from Europe. Different annual and monthly customs seals became an integral part of the customs service. Peter the Great pioneered the modernization of the Russian Customs Service, especially, in the organization of its personnel. Since 1720 the major customs houses were called Senior Customs Observers or Inspectors. New appointments were made such as: comptrollers, collectors and a variety of customs dealers.

The Customs system was increasingly developing its infrastructure. The reforms adopted in the 18^th century contributed to the restructuring of the Customs Service. Inward and outward commodity transactions were levied with an additional 13% duty in currency. Since 1811, the Customs Division in the Foreign Trade Department of the Ministry of Finance has been responsible for the management of all customs stations. In 1864 the Customs Division was renamed the Customs Revenue Collection Department of the Ministry of Finance.

In April 1918 the basic organization of the customs was fixed by the Sovnarkom Decree. The main focus was on the Governmental control of foreign trade and smuggling. In December 1921 a Customs Department which was responsible for state control over the customs stations was established as part of the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Trade. From 1946 to 1986 it was under the control of the Ministry of Foreign Trade of the USSR.

Exercise 4. Decide whether the following statements are true or false.

1. Customs Service is intertwined with the history of state. 2. Customs began as an organization fighting with smuggling. 3. Foreigners were often smuggling furs and caviar out of Russia. 4. Customs officers had to swear an oath on taking up office. 5. An additional 13% duty was introduced in the 20^th century.

Exercise 5. Answer the following questions.

1. Whom can we name the first custom officers in Russia and when did they appear? 2. What is Tamgha Duty? 3. What was one of the main targets of the Customs Service? 4. What were the items targeted by the Customs Department in the early ages? 5. What does the flag symbolize? 6. What did the customs officers have to do on taking up office in the 16^th–17^th centuries? 7. How did the work of the customs change with the development of monetary system? 8. What innovation appeared in the work of the customs in the 18^th century? 9. Did the Soviet government fix the customs as a separate organization? 10. How is the organization under consideration called nowadays?

Exercise 6. Read and translate the following text. Use the dictionary when necessary.