by the decree of the council of ministers of the republic of belarus on september 20, 1991, the soviet railway troops stationed in the territory of the newly established republic of belarus are put under government control. on december 18, 1992, the railway troops were officially created, forming the basis of the 30th separate railway brigade. in november 2001, the department of railway forces was reorganized to be put under the command of the defence ministry of belarus. on may 11, 2006, president alexander lukashenko, who is commander-in-chief of the armed forces, signed decree no. 312 “on some measures to improve the transport support of the armed forces, other troops and military formations of the republic of belarus”. at the time this decree was adopted, it created a unified transport support system for the entire armed forces that operated independently from the belarusian ground forces.