Military Police (Russia)
The Military Police of Russia (Russian: Военная полиция России, Voennaya politsiya or VP) is the uniformed law enforcement branch of the Russian Armed Forces, which is known by the official name of Main Directorate of the Military Police (Главное управление военной полиции Минобороны РФ), and it is operated by the Russian Ministry of Defence.
See also: Military police § Soviet Union
Main Directorate of the Military Police
Главное управление военной полиции Минобороны РФ
Voennaya politsiya
VP
1 December, 2011
6,500 active personnel
- Colonel General Sergey Kuralenko, Commander
The Chief of Military Police is ex officio the First Deputy Minister of Defence. The current Chief of Military Police is Colonel General Sergey Kuralenko who replaced Lieutenant General Vladimir Ivanovsky since February 2020.
Structure and Mission[edit]
Mission[edit]
The Army's Military Police provide an important function in the full spectrum of Army operations as a member of the Maneuver, Fires, and Effects division. The Military Police provides expertise in police, detainment and stability operations in order to enhance security and enable mobility. The Army's Military Police can be utilized in direct combat and during peacetime.
The Military Police have five main functions:
History[edit]
Russian Empire[edit]
Peter the Great's military statute of 1716 established the post of a general-gevaldiger. It was the highest military policeman in Imperial Russian Army. Regiment's rumormeisters were subordinate to him. In 1864, this post was abolished during the military reforms of Alexander II.
Until 1917, the Special Corps of Gendarmes exercised the functions of military police in the Russian Empire. On 19 March 1917, Special Corps of Gendarmes was disbanded by the Russian Provisional Government Decree.