OMON
| Special Purpose Mobile Unit | |
|---|---|
| Отряд мобильный особого назначения | |
 Patch of OMON | |
| Active | 5 May 1919 |
| Country |
|
| Agency |  National Guard of Russia |
| Type | Gendarmerie |
| Common name | Omonovtsy, "Black Berets" |
| Abbreviation | OMOH/ОMON |
| Structure | |
| Officers | c. 20,000 (in Russia) |
| Notables | |
| Significant operation(s) |
|
| Anniversaries | 3 October (OMON Day/День ОМОН) |
OMON (Russian: ОМОН – отряд мобильный особого назначения, romanized: OMON - otryad mobilnyy osobogo naznacheniya, lit. 'Special Purposes Mobile Unit (SPMU)', pronounced [ɐˈtrʲæt məˈbʲilʲnɨj ɐˈsobɐvə nɐznəˈt͡ɕʲɛnɪjə], previously Russian: отряд милиции особого назначения, romanized: otryad militsii osobogo naznacheniya, lit. 'Special Purposes Unit of the Militia') is a system of special police units within the National Guard of Russia. It previously operated within the structures of the Soviet and Russian Ministries of Internal Affairs (MVD). Originating as the special forces unit of the Soviet Militsiya in 1988, it has played major roles in several armed conflicts during and following the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union.
OMON is much larger and better known than SOBR, another special-police branch of the National Guard of Russia. In modern contexts, OMON serves as a riot police group, or as a gendarmerie-like paramilitary force. OMON units also exist in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and other post-Soviet states. However, some post-Soviet units have changed names and acronyms. Russian-speakers commonly refer to OMON officers as omonovtsy (Russian: омоновцы; singular: omonovyets – Russian: омоновец).
On 5 April 2016 OMON became part of the newly-established National Guard of Russia, ending its years as part of the MVD.[1]: 20 The MVD continues to operate the Police of Russia.[2]
History
Special purpose militia units were formed on May 5, 1919 in the Russian state in the structure of the “white” (Siberian) militia.[3] Alexander Kolchak emphasized that
OMON is a combat unit for the protection and restoration of state order and public peace, serves as a reserve for the formation of militia in areas liberated from Soviet power to train experienced police officers
These militia units operated where open war gave way to partisan war. The detachment consisted of four foot and one horse platoons.[4] The staff included 285 people.[3] In those days, there was no such thing as a “omonovets” therefore these units were called "guards".[5]
Soviet OMON originated in 1979, when the first Soviet police tactical unit was founded in preparation for the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow to ensure that there were no terrorist incidents like the Munich massacre during the 1972 Summer Olympics. Subsequently, the unit was to be utilized in emergencies such as high-risk arrests, hostage crises and acts of terror.
The current OMON system is the successor of that group and was founded on 3 October 1988 in Moscow and was called the Militsiya Squad of Special Assignment.demonstrations and hooliganism, as well as to respond to emergency situations involving violent crime. The units later took on a wider range of police duties, including cordon and street patrol actions, and even paramilitary and military-style operations.
Following Russia's
MVD
(Центр специального назначения сил оперативного реагирования и авиации МВД России).
In January 2012, Russia's OMON was renamed from otryad militsii osobogo naznacheniya, (Special Purpose Militia Unit) to otryad mobilniy osobogo naznacheniya (Special Purpose Mobile Unit), keeping the acronym.
Soviet OMON activities
 | This section is in prose. is available. (February 2022) |
- On 20 January 1991, Soviet-loyalist January 1991 events which was not confirmed by an internal investigation, in a failed pro-Moscow coup attempt following the Latvian SSR's declaration of independence.[9] Seven OMON officers were subsequently found guilty by the Riga DistrictCourt and were sentenced in absentia. Part of the Riga OMON troops remained loyal to the USSR and their oath of allegiance. The unit was evacuated from Riga to Tyumen in Russia by air force together with all ammunition, vehicles and firearms, and incorporated with local Tyumen OMON.
- A series of attacks on border outposts of the newly independent Republic of Lithuania took place during the period of January to July 1991. These resulted in several summary execution-style deaths of unarmed customs officers and other people (including former members of Vilnius OMON), which were attributed to Riga OMON.[10] Some sources say that Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev had lost control of the unit during that period. For years, Lithuania has continued to demand that the persons suspected in these incidents should be tried in Lithuania; one suspect was arrested in Latvia in November 2008.[11]
- The April–May 1991 Operation Ring by the Azerbaijan SSR OMON and the Soviet Army against the Armenian irregular units in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, resulted in forty deaths of mostly Armenian civilians, and the forced displacement of nearly 10,000 ethnic Armenians. In later attacks, several more Armenian civilians were killed; others suffered abuse which included instances of rape. In continuing fighting in this area, fourteen Azerbaijani OMON members and one Armenian paramilitary fighter were reported killed in September 1991.[12]
- Violent and often armed clashes occurred between the Georgian SSR's OMON and opponents of the first Georgian President Zviad Gamsakhurdia prior to the Georgian Civil War of 1991–1993. Eleven combatants on both sides, including Georgian OMON members and regular militsiya officers, were reported killed in skirmishes during September and October 1991. There were also allegations of OMON firing at unarmed protesters.[12]
Post-Soviet OMON activities
- Prior to the creation of the Khojaly by a group of Azeri OMON troops and armed volunteers against the Armenian and Russian Army forces prior to, and during, the Khojaly massacreon 25 February 1992; most of the group involved died along with several hundred other Azeris, mostly civilians.
- South Ossetia Warin April 1992.
- In Tajikistan, Pamiri people largely backed the United Tajik Opposition, and for that reason were targeted for massacres by pro-government forces during the bloody first phase of the war in 1992–1993. A significant portion of the Tajikistan MVD's command structure and its OMON consisted mainly of Pamiris who were then either killed or forced to flee to Gorno-Badakhshan.[14]
- East Prigorodny Conflict in Russia. They killed or 'disappeared' hundreds of local indigenous Ingush people. Ossetian OMON reportedly massacred residents of Ingush villages that had first been shelled by Russian federal army tanks that were officially in to the region for 'peacekeeping' purposes.[15]
- Following the War of Transnistria in 1992, several high-ranking former OMON and KGB officers assumed senior posts in Moldova's pro-Russian separatist region of Transnistria. Former Riga OMON Major Vladimir Antyufeyev, who had led the attacks against Latvian authorities in 1991 and was put on the Interpol wanted list, renamed himself "General Vadim Shevtsov" and became Transnistria's minister of state security and intelligence. He is also alleged to have overseen the self-declared republic's organized criminal smuggling rackets.[16][17][18]In 2012, the KGB of Transnistria announced it has "launched a criminal investigation into Vladimir Antyufeev who is suspected of misuse of state powers."
- Moscow OMON, and units brought from other cities, clashed with anti-Yeltsin demonstrators during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis and reportedly beat some members of the Supreme Soviet of Russia (Russian parliament at the time).[19]
- OMON have broken up several opposition rallies, including the gay rights activists (including the European Parliament members) from marching after the Mayor of Moscow Yury Luzhkov did not allow a planned parade to take place in 2007.[22]
- On 24 March 2006, Belarusian OMON stormed the opposition's tent camp at Alaksandr Kazulin, as a result of the attack.[23]
- In February 2008, Tajik OMON commander Interior Minister of Tajikistan, Mahmadnazar Salihov, allegedly committed suicide to avoid being arrested in connection with the case; Salihov's family claimed he was murdered in a political purge.[25]
- South Ossetian separatist OMON took part in the fighting against the 2008 South Ossetia war and were accused of "special cruelty" against civilians in the overrun ethnic Georgian villages.[26] Subsequently, South Ossetian OMON fighters were absorbed into Russian regular forces in the area as contract soldiers and continued to be deployed in the highly disputed Akhalgori zone.[27]
Conflict in Chechnya
The force was active in the
Kizlyar-Pervomayskoye hostage crisis.[34]
OMON took part in the
a shootout with the Ingush police on the border between Chechnya and Ingushetia resulting in eight fatalities in September 2006,[40] and Ramzan Kadyrov-controlled local OMON clashed with a group of rival Chechens belonging to the Kakiyev's Spetsnaz GRU military unit in Grozny, resulting in at least five being killed in 2007.[citation needed
]
OMON was often accused of severe
Khanty–Mansi Autonomous Okrug OMON officer Sergei Lapin was sentenced for the kidnapping and torture of a Chechen man in Grozny in 2001,[50] with the Grozny court criticising the conduct of OMON serving in Chechnya in broader terms.[51] In an event related to the conflict in Chechnya, several OMON officers were also accused of starting the May 2007 wave of ethnic violence in Stavropol by assisting in the racially motivated murder of a local Chechen man.[52]
Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses
In 2021 OMON officers tortured Jehovah's Witnesses in Irkutsk in an attempt to make them inform about other members.[53]
Russo-Ukrainian War
Some OMON units participated in the
Ukrainian Armed Forces.[54]
A group of OMON officers are suing for unlawful dismissal after being sacked for refusing to fight in Ukraine.[55] On 28 September 2022, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine and National Police of Ukraine published CCTV footage showing OMON and Rosgvardiya personnel shooting at civilians during the battle of Hostomel.[56][57][58]
Russia
In Russia, there is an OMON unit in every
transportation hubs around the country during the 1990s.[citation needed] The number officially rose to about 20,000 nationwide by 2007; the biggest OMON unit in Russia, Moscow OMON, numbers over 2,000 members. Most OMON officers retire at the age of approximately forty-five.[citation needed] They were also sometimes not paid for their service. In 2001, for example, some fifty OMON members from Moscow filed a lawsuit claiming they had not been paid for one month of combat operations in Chechnya.[59] The use of OMON members in high-risk situations, especially in Chechnya and elsewhere in the North Caucasus, often causes the group to lose members in combat.[citation needed
]
Equipment
List of equipment of the National Guard of Russia
OMON groups use a wide range of firearms, including
Vintorez designated marksman rifles. The kind of issued protective gear is shared with regular National Guard units. The Bagariy body armor is a common sight replacing the older Kora-Kulon while the ZSH 1–2 is the main issued helmet with the older Kolpak being used only on riot duty. They are sometimes called "OMON soldiers".[60]
As
Long Range Acoustic Devices.[citation needed
]
Transport
OMON vehicles include specially-equipped vans, buses and trucks of various types (often armored and sometimes equipped with mounted machine guns), as well as a limited number of armored personnel carriers such as
.-
![Moscow OMON with BTR-80M assault a building with suspects during Interpolitex [ru] 2017 exhibition.](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/67/DayTechnologies2017p1-71.jpg/120px-DayTechnologies2017p1-71.jpg)
Moscow OMON with BTR-80M assault a building with suspects during Interpolitex 2017 exhibition. -
Green Kamysh wearingtruck bus" on a ZIL-130. -
Saint Petersburg OMONtruckbus. -
![Mothers' rally. St. Petersburg, 2019-02-10.[61]](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a1/Mothers%27_rally._St._Petersburg%2C_2019-02-10_IMG_3540.jpg/120px-Mothers%27_rally._St._Petersburg%2C_2019-02-10_IMG_3540.jpg)
Mothers' rally. St. Petersburg, 2019-02-10.[61] -
Moscow OMONSPM-1vehicle during anti-riot training. -
Tambov OMON UAZ-469.
![Moscow OMON with BTR-80M assault a building with suspects during Interpolitex [ru] 2017 exhibition.](/File:DayTechnologies2017p1-71.jpg)
![Mothers' rally. St. Petersburg, 2019-02-10.[61]](/File:Mothers%27_rally._St._Petersburg,_2019-02-10_IMG_3540.jpg)
Uniforms
St. Petersburg
OMONOMON's headgear remains their signature black
Naval Infantry
.
OMON, as part of the RosGvard, is transitioning to the Russian version of the ATACS LE (blue/grey) but units are still seen wearing the traditional Noch-91 uniform in all-black, and blue or gray
Tigerstripe camouflage,[62] a not uncommon sight has been a variety of Russian Army and Russian Internal Troops uniforms,[62] often with (black) balaclava
masks and/or helmets.
Rest of former Soviet Union
- OMON of Abkhazia
- OMON of Armenia
- XTPD/OPON– Azerbaijani paramilitary successor to OMON (forcibly disbanded by the government security forces after an OPON revolt in 1995)
- OMON (AMAP) – Belarusian paramilitary successor to OMON
- Arystan Commando Unit – Kazakh paramilitary successor to OMON, falling under the command of the National Security Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
- OMON of Kyrgyzstan
- ARAS (Lithuania)
- BPDS/OPON – Moldovan paramilitary successor to OMON, falling under the command of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It is officially known as the Special Purpose Police Brigade "Fulger".[63]
- OMON of South Ossetia
- OMON of Tajikistan
- OMON of Transnistria
- Special Tasks Patrol Police)
See also
- Internal Troops– paramilitary soldiers of the MVD in the Soviet Union and several post-Soviet states
- Zubr, a special police unit formed from the Moscow Region
- Russian Gendarmerie
References
- ^ Sliwa, Zdzislaw (2018). The Russian National Guard: A Warning or a Message? (PDF). Centre for Security and Strategic Research. p. 20. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
- ^ МВД России – "Сегодня от работы МВД зависят многие аспекты повседневной жизни граждан. Органы внутренних дел занимаются обеспечением порядка на улицах, предотвращением и раскрытием преступлений, защитой и охраной частной собственности, государственных и коммерческих объектов. Подразделения МВД борются за безопасность на дорогах страны, обеспечивают проведение массовых мероприятий, днем и ночью приходят на помощь гражданам в чрезвычайных ситуациях. От министра до участкового Министерство внутренних дел – на страже интересов гражданина, закона и общества."
- ^ a b Агалаков, Александр (8 February 2012). "Отряды ОМОНа создал адмирал Колчак". nsk.aif.ru. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
- ^ "Милиция адмирала Колчака | Back in the USSR". maxpark.com. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
- ^ "Милиция другого цвета | Библиотека сибирского краеведения". bsk.nios.ru. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
- ^ Министерство Внутренних ДелРоссийской Федерации. "MVD website, history". Mvd.ru. Archived from the original on 5 December 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
- ^ Moscow News, 22 August 2011: Retooling Russia's Riot Police
- ^ "Police spetsnaz reforms 2011". Agentura.ru. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
- ^ BBC News, 27 March 2007: Timeline: Latvia
- ^ Pasienio apsaugos tarnyba // Fight for Independence 1990–1991 (English)
- ^ Novaya Gazeta, 29.11.2008: The unmasked face Archived 16 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ .
- ^ From Promise to Practice. Lynne Rienner Publishers. 2003. p. 276. Retrieved 23 February 2014 – via Internet Archive.
- ISBN 9781564321190. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
- ISBN 9781416561248. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
- ^ Russia and the New States of Eurasia: The Politics of Upheaval – Karen Dawisha. Cambridge University Press. 28 January 1994. p. 183. Retrieved 3 March 2014 – via Internet Archive.
- S2CID 146405023. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
- ^ Wines, Michael (5 March 2002). "Trans-Dniester 'Nation' Resents Shady Reputation – New York Times". The New York Times. Moldova; Trans-Dnestr (Moldova). Retrieved 3 March 2014.
- ^ Memorial, April 1994: HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS UNDER THE STATE OF EMERGENCY IN MOSCOW DURING THE PERIOD FROM NOON, OCTOBER 4 TO OCTOBER 18, 1993 Archived 14 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Amnesty International, 16 April 2007: Russian Federation: Attack on public dissent Archived 15 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- Polska Agencja Prasowa, 26 November 2007: Milicja biła opozycję, Europa oburzona Archived 14 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine (Dziennik Polska-Europa-Świat)
- The Associated Press, 27 May 2007: Russian Police Detain Gay Activists (The Washington Post)
- ^ TIME, 25 March 2006: Belarus: 'They Knocked My Husband Down and Dragged Him Away'
- ^ IWPR Central Asia – Central Asia. "Murder Invokes Ghosts of Tajikistan's Past – Institute for War and Peace Reporting – P220". Iwpr.net. Archived from the original on 28 February 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
"Tajikistan: The opposition braces itself for clashes with the regular army – Ferghana Information agency, Moscow". Enews.fergananews.com. 4 February 2008. Archived from the original on 25 June 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2014. - ^ "Tajikistan: Former Interior Minister Commits Suicide to Preempt Arrest, Officials Insist". EurasiaNet.org. 17 June 2009. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
- ^ The Georgian Times, 15 September 2008: "Resistance does not make any sense: they will kill us on the spot" Archived 6 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Imedi TV, 16 October 2008: Ossetian militiamen join Russian regular army (trans. BBC Monitoring)
- ^ "U.S. Trained Tajik IS Recruit". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 31 May 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
- ^ "Mystery of Missing Tajik OMON Commander Deepens". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 20 May 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
- ^ "The U.S.-trained commander of Tajikistan's special forces has joined the Islamic State". The Washington Post. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
- ^ "Tajik Police Officer Wanted For Treason". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 3 June 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
- ^ Human Rights Watch, February 1995: Russia: Three Months of War in Chechnya
- ^ "Dalkhan Khozhaev" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 March 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
- ^ The Independent, 20 January 1996: Fog of battle clouds Pervomayskoye's ugly truth
- ^ The Sunday Times (UK), 9 April 2000: Chechens wipe out Russia's top troops (Center for Defense Information)
- ^ People's Daily, 3 July 2000: Chechen Truck Bomb Kills at Least 25 Russians
- ^ The St. Petersburg Times, 19 April 2002: Mine Leaves 21 OMON Troops Dead Archived 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ The Independent, 15 January 2002: Russia invented ambush by Chechens to hide friendly-fire massacre
- ^ European Court of Human Rights, 2007-11-15: CASE OF KUKAYEV v. RUSSIA
- ^ The Moscow Times, 14 September 2006: 7 Dead in Police-OMON Battle
- ^ The Washington Post, 2 June 2000: Civilian Massacre Fits Pattern Of Earlier Human Rights Abuse
- ^ Institute for War and Peace Reporting, 5 April 2000: Chechens Rub Salt in Old Wounds
- ^ Memorial, 1996: By All Available Means: The Russian Federation Ministry of Internal Affairs Operation in the village of Samashki: 7–8 April 1995 Archived 13 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ The Independent, 6 December 1999: Rebels inflict heavy losses as Russian forces close on Grozny
- ^ Institute for War and Peace Reporting, 9 August 2007: Chechen Massacre Survivors See Justice
- ^ Human Rights Watch, June 2000: FEBRUARY 5: A DAY OF SLAUGHTER IN NOVYE ALDI
- ^ Los Angeles Times, 3 July 2005: An Unlikely Antiwar Hero for Russians
- ^ "Prague Watchdog – Crisis in Chechnya – ECHR on Russian war crimes: responses from Moscow and Grozny". www.watchdog.cz. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
- ^ Prima, 11 April 2005: European Court of Human Rights finds Russia guilty in disappearance of man in Chechnya Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ The St. Petersburg Times, 1 April 2005: Chechen Court Sends OMON Officer to Jail Archived 14 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Amnesty International, 31 March 2005: Russian Federation: Russian police officer found guilty of crimes against the civilian population in the Chechen Republic Archived 5 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 7 June 2007: Russia: Ethnic Tensions Mounting In Restive Stavropol
- ^ Service, Forum 18 News. "RUSSIA: "Unjustified, unmotivated cruelty against peaceful, unresisting believers"". www.forum18.org. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Schreck, Carl (6 March 2022). "'Sent As Cannon Fodder': Locals Confront Russian Governor Over 'Deceived' Soldiers In Ukraine". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
- ^ "Russian riot police sue after being sacked for refusing to fight". 27 March 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
- TheGuardian.com. 28 September 2022.
- ^ "Five russian servicemen were notified of suspicion of shooting cars with civilians in Hostomel". YouTube.
- ^ "11 вбитих та 15 поранених на Київщині: оголошено підозру військовим рф, які розстрілювали людей". YouTube.
- Gazeta.ru, 27 June 2003: Moscow policemen want Chechen money
- ^ Google: "OMON soldiers" search results
- ^ This vehicle is colloquially known as "avtozak" (Russian автозак, short from (наряд) автомобильного заключения - "mobile detention (unit)")
- ^ a b "Suit "Night 91M"".
- ^ "BPDS "Fulger" – de 27 de ani la straja securității naționale | Ministerul Afacerilor Interne". mai.gov.md. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
- ^ "Ukraine's Feared Berkut Riot Force Disbanded". ABC News. Associated Press. 26 February 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to OMON.
- "The Kingdom of OMON", The eXile, 18 May 2007