Militsiya

Not to be confused withMilitia.

For the video game, seeMilitsioner (video game).

Militsiya(Russian:милиция,IPA:[mʲɪˈlʲitsɨjə],Serbian:милиција,romanized:milicija,lit. 'militia') were thepoliceforces in theSoviet Unionuntil 1991, in severalEastern Bloccountries (1945–1992), and in thenon-alignedSFR Yugoslavia(1945–1992). The termMilitsiyacontinues to be used in common and sometimes official usage in some of the individualformer Soviet republicssuch asBelarus,Tajikistan,UzbekistanandKyrgyzstan,as well as in the partially recognised or unrecognised republics ofAbkhazia,South OssetiaandTransnistria.InRussian law enforcement,the term remained in official usage until 2011.

Soviet and Russian badges, from left to right, top to bottom: SovietDruzhinnikbadge, Soviet Metro (Subway) Post Militia (PPS), SovietState Automobile Inspection (GAI),State Automobile Inspection (GAI) of theRussian Federation,RussianMoscow Municipal MilitiaCentral District,andRussian Police.

Name and status

Sovietmilitsiyaofficer's cap cockade (service/parade version).

The namemilitsiyaas applied to police forces originates from aRussian Provisional Governmentdecree dated April 17, 1917, and fromearly Soviet history:both the Provisional Government and theBolsheviksintended to associate their new law-enforcement authority with the self-organisation of the people and to distinguish it from theczarist police.The militsiya was reaffirmed in Russia on October 28 (November 10, according to thenew style dating), 1917 under the official name of the "Workers' and Peasants' Militsiya", in further contrast to what the Bolsheviks called the "bourgeoisclass protecting "police. Eventually, it was replaced by theMinistry of Internal Affairs(Russian: МВД,MVD;Ukrainian: МВС,MVS;Belarusian: МУС,MUS), which is now the official full name for the militsiya forces in the respective countries. Its regional branches are officially called Departments of Internal Affairs—city department of internal affairs,raiondepartment of internal affairs,oblastdepartment of internal affairs, etc. (The Russian term for araiondepartment is OVD (ОВД; Отдел/Отделение внутренних дел,Otdel/Otdeleniye vnutrennikh del), for region department is UVD (УВД; Управление внутренних дел,Upravleniye vnutrennikh del) or, sometimes, GUVD (ГУВД; Главное управление внутренних дел,Glavnoye upravleniye vnutrennikh del), same for national republics is MVD, (МВД; Министерство внутренних дел,Ministerstvo vnutrennikh del).)

RomanianMilițiacar in the typical livery it featured starting with the early 1970s. This particular example is aDacia 1310from 1982. This is one of the examples of Eastern European adaptations of this name.

Functionally, Ministries of Internal Affairs are mostly police agencies. Their functions and organisation differ significantly from similarly named departments in Western countries, which are usually civil executive bodies headed by politicians and responsible for many other tasks as well as the supervision of law enforcement. The Soviet and successor MVDs have usually been headed by a militsiyageneraland predominantly consist of service personnel, with civilian employees only filling auxiliary posts. Although such ministers are members of their respective countries' cabinets, they usually do not report to the prime minister or parliament, but only to the president. Local militsiya departments are subordinated to their regional departments, having little accountability to local authorities.

Internal-affairsunits within the militsiya itself are usually called "internal security" departments.

The official names of particular militsiya bodies and services in post-Soviet countries are usually very complicated, hence the use of the short termmilitsiya.Laws usually refer to police just asmilitsiya.

The short term for a police officer (regardless of gender) ismilitsioner(Russian:милиционер,Ukrainian:мiлiцiонер). Slang Russian terms formilitsionerincludement(plural: менты,menty) andmusor(plural:мусора,musora). Although the latter word is offensive (it literally means "trash" or "garbage" ), it originated from an acronym for the Moscow Criminal Investigations Department (Russian:МУС,romanized:MUS,short forRussian:Московский уголовный сыск,romanized:Moskovskiy ugolovnyy sysk) inImperial Russia.Mentis a close equivalent to the English slang term "cop" and derived from theLwów dialectof Polish or possibly from the Polish wordmenda.

Countries in which the civilian police was once calledmilitsiya

Countries in which the civilian police is now calledmilitsiya

The following countries have changed the name of the police force fromMilitsiya(or equivalent) to a western-style name analogous to "police":Bulgaria,Poland,Romania,Estonia,Lithuania,Moldova,Latvia,Mongolia,North Macedonia,Azerbaijan,Georgia,Serbia,Montenegro,Bosnia and Herzegovina,Croatia,Slovenia,Kazakhstan,Armenia,Turkmenistan,RussiaandUkraine.

In 2019,Uzbekistanofficially removed references to the word "Militsiya" from its laws without replacing them with "police".

The police are still calledmilitsiyainBelarus,Tajikistan,Kyrgyzstan,as well as in the unrecognized republics ofAbkhazia,South OssetiaandTransnistria.In Kyrgyzstan active discussion continues about renaming the police force frommilitsiyatopolice.

General overview

ALada 2106belonging to the Armenian State Automobile Inspection parked on a street inYerevan,June 2007.

A RussianGAIinspector with aradar gunon the side ofMKAD

The organizational structure, methods and traditions of the militsiya differ significantly from those of western police. Militsiya as an organisation consists of many functional departments, such as theGIBDD,a traffic police.Organised crimedetectives form highly independent squads inside regional militsiya. Some units may have the distinctive names (likeOMONin Russia) which are more specific thanmilitsiyaormilitsioner.

Militsiya personnel ranks mostly follow those of the Army – fromprivate(Russian:ryadovoy), which is the lowest rank, tocolonel general– with only these exceptions: there are no ranks ofYefreytor,Army General,orMarshal.Detectives (Russian:operativnik(оперативник), "operative", short for "operative employee" –operativniy rabotnik(оперативный работник)) hold a rank of at least lieutenant, and could be promoted tomajororcolonel.The militsiya of anoblast(or other equivalentsubnational entity) is usually headed by a general. The rank name is suffixed with "of militsiya" (e.g. "major of militsiya" for a major). Militsiya personnel carryfirearms,but are not permitted to carry their weapons when they are off duty.

Unlike in some other countries' police agencies, militsioners are not assigned permanent partners, but work alone or within larger groups. Neither uniformed officers nor detectives are allowed to drive police vehicles themselves,so a specialist driver (either a serviceman or a civil employee) is assigned to each car and is also in charge of its maintenance. Under the Patrol Police Service Regulations a designated police officer-driver is required to have a driver licence and is not allowed to abandon the vehicle.However, this refers only to fully marked police vehicles with emergency lights; detectives are allowed to drive civilian cars with are registered to the MVD, having white number plates (marked police vehicles have blue plates) with specific series (for example,o...vo,o...rr,o...mm,o...om). The last two are usually assigned to the vehicles registered to regional level MVD units. The law does not provide any preferences on the road nor allows emergency lights and/or sirens on such vehicles,therefore technically police officers do not have the right to violate traffic laws even while on an assignment.GIBDD(the traffic militsiya) is the only exception: its members drive their own (or even own private) cars and are specially trained in risk-driving.

One unique feature of militsiya policing approach is the system of territorial patronage over citizens. The cities, as well as the rural settlements are divided intouchastoks(Russian:pl. участки,"quarters") with a specialuchastkovyimilitsioner ( "quarter policeman" ), assigned to each. The main duty ofuchastkovyiis to maintain close relations with the residents of his quarter and gather information among them. In particular,uchastkovyishould personally know each and every ex-convict, substance abuser, young hooligan etc. in givenuchastok,and visit them regularly for preemptive influence.Uchastkovyiis also responsible for tackling minor offences like family violence, loud noise, residential area parking etc.Uchastkovyiis also the main, and actually the real, militsiya force in remote areas and small settlements where permanent police departments are not created.Uchastkovyimilitsioners possess separate small offices within their quarters and maintain citizens admittance in definite weekdays.

This system slightly resembles the US system ofsheriffsbut shows some notable differences.Uchastkovyiis neither a chief police officer in a given community nor a universal one (not combining detective, incarceration or special tactics tasks).

The system ofuchastkovyisdates back toimperial timeswhenuriadnikswere conducting lowest-level policing in rural areas. In Soviet Union,uchastkovyiswere also responsible for such tasks as maintainingpropiskalimitations and overseeing former political prisoners, which were subject to daily registration at the local MVD office.

Although women constitute a significant proportion of militsiya staff, they are usually not permitted to fill positions that carry risks (such as patrolman, guard,SWAT), but are allowed to carry firearms for self-defence. Instead, they are widely represented among investigators, juvenile crime inspectors, clerks, etc. However, limited attempts are being made to appoint women as traffic officers oroperativniks.

Conscripted police

Further information:Internal TroopsandInternal Troops (Russia)

Shoulder patch of Internal Troops, Moscow District

ODONshoulder patch

Another unique militsiya feature is the use ofconscriptedsoldiers from theInternal Troopsand special motorized militsiya units (СМЧМ,SMChM) for regular urban policing and for securing various mass events, which required more force employment than usual. The Internal Troops and SMChMs are thegendarmerie-like military force who can be assigned to carry out simple public security tasks like patrolling while being accompanied by professional militsioners, or cordoning large crowds at sport events, concerts, and protests. These soldiers possess nofirearmson their policing duties, however they are equipped with PR-73 rubberpolice batons,PR-90tonfasand related equipment; when called to performriot controlduties, they are typically equipped withballistic shieldsandtear gas.The SMChM soldiers typically wear grey militsiya uniforms, distinguished from commissioned officers by wearing standard-issuedsapogiinstead of individual boots or shoes, the Internal Troops wear greenmilitary uniform.During emergencies,raids,dragnetsand other police operations, they are equipped with bullet-proof vests and protective gear, firearms andarmoured vehicleswhile performing their policing duties.

While not on law enforcement duty, soldiers reside in barracks and maintain standard military training. Special motorised militsiya units stationed in the cities were allbattalionswith three exceptions.KyivandLeningradhadregimentsandMoscowhad adivision,known asODON,which is frequently used for policing Moscow; its soldiers can be spotted by a shoulder patch which features a whitepanther;other Internal troops units in the Moscow region use a shoulder patch with a white falcon.

Rank insignia

Until late 1936, the People's Militsiya andInternal Troopsof theNKVDhad no personal ranks, much akin to theRed Army,Red Navy,andOGPU,and used position ranks. When personal ranks were reintroduced in the military in 1935, the Militsiya created a curious rank system that was a blend of standard military ranks such as sergeant, lieutenant, captain and major, and old positional ranks like 'squad leader', 'inspector', and 'director', some with several grades like 'senior' or 'junior'. The collar rank insignia was completely original and not based on military insignia.

This system was largely reused by theGUGBin their special rank structure introduced in 1935, although with new rank insignia andCommissar-style ranks for top officers.

New insignia were issued to GUGB in 1937 and to Militsiya in 1939. It was now based on collar rank patches of the Red Army and Internal Troops. Confusingly, the special NKVD rank system was left intact, so for example 'Captain of Militsiya/State Securitywas assigned the three-box insignia of an army Colonel (in the Red Army, this patch was reassigned to lieutenant colonel in September 1939, but the NKVD did not alter their insignia) andMajor of Militsiya/State Securitywas mapped to one-romb insignia ofKombrig(a brigade commander) (which was abolished for commanding officers of the Red Army in May 1940). This created a great deal of inconsistency and tension between army and NKVD/NKGB officers.

The NKVD rank system was streamlined in 1943 when imperial-style shoulder boards replaced the collar insignia patches. The ranks now copied those of the Soviet Army, with the exception of top officers starting with 'Senior Major' who were renamedCommissarof Militsiya 3rd, 2nd, and 1st rank, although they still wore army-style Major General, Lieutenant General and Colonel General shoulder boards.

The GUGB/NKGB maintained their commissar ranks until 1945, and switched to equivalent General ranks after that. The Militsiya retained the commissar ranks until 1973.

Some MVD officers had distinct ranks of General of the Internal Service of 1st, 2nd and 3rd rank; they were replaced with Major General, Lieutenant General and Colonel General in the 1970s.

Ranks of militsiya are considered special ranks, not to be confused with military (all-forces) ranks, which are used by the internal troops of theMVD.All militsiya ranks have had the words "of militsiya" at the end, which are part of the rank name and not a descriptive addition.

Soviet militsiya (1936–1939)

	Chief Director of Militsiya	Director of Militsiya	Inspector of Militsiya	Senior Major	Major	Captain	Senior Lieutenant
Source:

	Lieutenant	Junior Lieutenant	Sergeant	Cadet	Starshina	Subunit Leader	Senior Militiaman	Militiaman
Source:

Soviet militsiya (1939–1943)

	Chief Director	Director	Inspector	Senior Major	Major	Captain	Senior Lieutenant	Lieutenant
Source:

	Junior Lieutenant		Sergeant		Starshina		Subunit Leader		Senior Militiaman		Militiaman
Source:

Former Russian militsiya

	Supreme Supervising Staff				Senior Supervising Staff			Medium Supervising Staff
Shoulder insignia for every day uniform
Rank	Colonel General of militsiya	Lieutenant General of militsiya	Major General of militsiya	Colonel of militsiya	Lieutenant colonel of militsiya	Major of militsiya	Captain of militsiya	Senior lieutenant of militsiya	Lieutenant of militsiya	Junior lieutenant of militsiya

	Junior Supervising Staff						Private Staff
Shoulder insignia for every day uniform
Rank	Senior praporshchik of militsiya	Praporshchik of militsiya	Starshina of militsiya	Senior sergeant of militsiya	Sergeant of militsiya	Junior sergeant of militsiya	Private of militsiya

Former Ukrainian militsiya

	General Officers				Senior Commissioned Officers			Junior Commissioned Officers
Shoulder insignia for every day uniform
Rank	Colonel General of militsiya	Lieutenant General of militsiya	Major General of militsiya	Colonel of militsiya	Lieutenant colonel of militsiya	Major of militsiya	Captain of militsiya	Senior lieutenant of militsiya	Lieutenant of militsiya	Junior lieutenant of militsiya

	Private Officers	Cadet Officers	Non-commissioned Officers
Shoulder insignia for every day uniform
Rank	Senior praporshchik of militsiya	Praporshchik of militsiya	Starshina of militsiya	Senior sergeant of militsiya	Sergeant of militsiya	Junior sergeant of militsiya	Private of militsiya	Cadet of militsiya

Belarusian militsiya

See also:Militsiya (Belarus)

Category	General Personnel			Senior Officers			Junior Officers
Shoulder Ranks
Ranks	Colonel General	Lieutenant General	Major General	Colonel	Lieutenant Colonel	Major	Captain	Senior Lieutenant	Lieutenant	Junior Lieutenant

Category	Ensigns		Sergeants				Private
Police Shoulder
Rank	Senior Ensign	Ensign	Starshina	Senior Sergeant	Sergeant	Junior Sergeant	Gefreiter	Private

Non-police services

The Soviet and some post-SovietMinistries of Internal Affairshave also included:

• Militarizedforces (Internal Troops);
• Department of prisons (i.e.Gulagand its successor bodies), if not merged with other ministries or agencies;
• Passport and registration service, if not merged withMigration service.

These non-police services should be distinguished from themilitsiyaitself, except passport and registration service, which structures are often included intoOVDand sometimes considered one of the importantmilitsiyaservices. Their members have always used different generic names and specific ranks (e.g.Major of the Internal Service,rather thanMajor of Militsiya).

Soviet militsiya (GAI) cars

The most common types were:

• 
  RestoredGAZ-21 Volgamilitsiya car in Minsk 2014
• 
  RestoredUAZ-452militsiya van in Minsk 2014
• 
  RestoredVAZ-2101Zhigulimilitsiya car inTartu2014
• 
  RestoredVAZ-2106in Minsk 2014
• 
  GAZ-24 Volga

Post-Soviet Militsiya forces

Russia

Moscow MilitsiyaFord Focus.

Main article:Militsiya (Russia)

Further information:Police of Russia

The RussianMVDwas recreated as the MVD of theRussian SFSRin 1990, following the restoration of the republicanCouncil of MinistersandSupreme Soviet,and remained when Russia gained independence from the Soviet Union. It controlled the Militsiya, theState Road Inspection Service(GAI), and theInternal Troops.Since the disbanding of theTax Police,it also investigates economic crimes.

In August 2010, PresidentDmitry Medvedevintroduced new legislation to reform and centralize the funding of the militsiya, as well as to officially change the militsiya's name to "Police" (the term which was used in theRussian Empire).The change was performed on March 1, 2011.

Ukraine

Officers from the Militsiya's public order department patrolKhreshchatyk Streetin centralKyiv.

Main article:Militsiya (Ukraine)

Further information:National Police of Ukraine

Militsiya was the nationalpolice serviceofUkrainefrom the 1950s until 2015. The militsiya was formed whilst Ukraine was governed by theUkrainian Soviet Socialist Republic,part of the Soviet Union, and continued to serve as a national police service in independent Ukraine until it was replaced by theNational Police of Ukraineon 7 November 2015.

Serbia

In Serbia the Communal Police force (or Municipal Police) was established in 2009.

In 2016 its name was changed to "Communal Militsya" (Serbian: "Komunalna Milicija" "Комунална Милиција" ) under which it continues to operate to the current day.

File:Škoda Rapid Komunalna policija grada Beograda.jpg

Other jurisdictions

APolish"Milicja"FSC Starvehicle from the early 1980s and a brokenGdańsk Shipyardgate fragment on display at theEuropean Solidarity CentreinGdańsk.

AYugoslav"Milicija"VW Golf Iparked on a street inMostar,Bosnia and Herzegovina,1985.

The termmilitsiyaremains in use in severalparts of the former Soviet Union:

• TheMinistry of Internal AffairsofBelarusoperates amilitsyya(Belarusian:мiлíцыя), as well as other law-enforcement agencies such as thePresidential Security Serviceand theState Security Committee (KGB).
• Tajikistan retains the namemilitsiya,sometime translated as "police".
• TheTransdnistrianpolice force bears the official namePMR militsiya.

Cognate terms also came into use in severalSoviet bloccountries during theCold War.Examples includedBulgaria(Peoples' Militia),Poland(Milicja Obywatelska) and otherWarsaw Pactnations, as well as thenon-alignedSFR Yugoslavia(Milicija), which was phased out throughout the 1990s and replaced bypolicija(police) in early 1997. Bulgaria changed the name of its law-enforcement body toPolicija(Bulgarian:полиция) in 1991.Romaniaoperated aMiliția,but after the communist regime there fell (1989), thePolițiareplaced it in 1990.

See also

• ODONof theInternal Troops,USSR and Russia
• OMON,USSR and Russia
• Miliția (Romania)
• Ukrainian People's Militsiya
• Voluntary People's Druzhina

Further reading

• Shelley, Louise I.Policing Soviet Society: The Evolution of State Control.London: Routledge, 1996.

External links

• This article incorporatespublic domain materialfromThe World Factbook.CIA.
• Information from the July 1996 CIA World Factbook
• Ministry of the Interior of Russia(official website)