Internal troops
Internal troops, sometimes alternatively translated as interior troops or interior ministry forces, are military or paramilitary, gendarmerie-like law enforcement services, which are found mostly in the post-Soviet states, primarily Russia. Internal troops are subordinated to the interior minister (and interior ministries) of their respective countries.
Perhaps the most prominent example, since the Soviet era have been the Russian Внутренние войска Министерства внутренних дел (ВВ) Vnutrenniye Voiska (VV) Ministerstva Vnutrennikh Del, or "Internal Troops of the Ministry for Internal Affairs" (MVD) (until 2016). Other countries that have had such forces include: Ukraine (until 2014), Georgia (until 2004), Kazakhstan (until 2014), Kyrgyzstan,[1] Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria (until 1991), Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan. Mongolian internal troops are officially a reserve force in the Mongolian Armed Forces.
These forces were introduced during the Soviet era, initially to provide armed, tactical responses for the militsiya – literally "militia", but a close equivalent of the major police organizations found in other countries. Over time, internal troops also gained responsibility for waging civil war, safeguarding of highly-important facilities (like nuclear power plants), large-scale crowd control and prison security (except in Russia). As such, these forces have been involved in major wars as well as combating insurgencies and other civil unrest, including the Russian Civil War, World War II, mass repressions of Stalinist era, and the Chechen Wars. During wartime, internal troops fall under armed forces military command and fulfill the missions of local defence and rear area security.
Current deployments[edit]
After the fall of Soviet Union in 1990–91, local Internal Troops units were resubordinated to the respective new independent states, except for the three Baltic countries. Azerbaijan (Internal Troops of Azerbaijan), Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation (Internal Troops of Russia), Tajikistan (Tajik Internal Troops) and Ukraine (Internal Troops of Ukraine) retained the name, organization and tasks of their Internal Troops. Up until December 2002, Armenia maintained a Ministry of Internal Affairs, but along with the Ministry of National Security, it was reorganised as a non-ministerial institution (the two organisations became the Police of Armenia and the National Security Service).[24] Georgia detached a militarized branch from its Ministry of Internal Affairs and transferred its former Internal Troops under the command of the Ministry of Defence in November 2004.[25] The Internal Troops of Kazakhstan was dissolved in April 2014 and was replaced with the National Guard of Kazakhstan.
Modern internal troops can partly be compared with Riot police forces all over the world.
In 2014 the Ukrainian Internal Troops were disbanded due the negative reputation gained during the Euromaidan and as part of a general military and governmental reform. They were reorganized into the National Guard of Ukraine (NGU), which still serves in similar role to the Internal Troops.[26]
In 2016, the Russian Internal Troops, as well other units under the Russian Ministry of Interior—mainly SOBR and OMON—were transferred and merged under a new organization named the National Guard of Russia (Rosgvardiya).[27] Differently from the old Interior Troops, the Rosgvarsyia is not subordinated to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD), but under the Security Council of Russia, which in practice puts it under direct control of the President of Russia.[28]
Internal Troops in popular culture[edit]
The Guard is a Soviet 1990 drama film, based on the real story of VV soldier who killed his entire prisoner transport unit as a result of dedovschina (brutal hazing system).