Berkut (Ukraine)
Encyclopedia
The "Berkut" is the system of special units
of the Ukrainian
militsiya
(police) within the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Ukraine's successor of the Soviet
OMON
. Currently it is considered to be part of the Militsiya of Public Security. Its full name is "Berkut" Separate Special Assignment
Unit(s) of Militsiya. There is a "Berkut" unit in every oblast and every big city of the country. Among the several special police units in Ukraine "Berkut" became a catchall name for all the others.
The name means golden eagle
or Aquila chrysaetos in the Ukrainian language
, who is associated with a falconry
on big mammals, particularly wolves.
(Special Purpose Police Unit) in the Ukrainian SSR
was issued on December 28, 1988. The first units were formed in Kiev
, Dnipropetrovsk
, Odessa
, Lviv
and Donetsk
. After the fall of the Soviet Union it was decided to organize such units in every oblast
(province
) center. On January 16, 1992 the order was issued to create quick reaction force
units "Berkut", which was fully implemented by the start of 1993.
Depending on the region the Berkut's battalions vary in man-power between 50 to 600. Also depending on its dislocation the unit can be commissioned as company or regiment. As of January 2008, the force consists of 2 regiments, 6 separate battalions, and 19 companies totaling 3,250 members. One of the regiments is located in Kiev
, while another one in Crimea
.
The main distinction of the Berkut agents are their maroon berets
(also known as "krapovy beret"), an honorary headgear.
OMON
(Special Purpose Police Unit), responsible for high-risk police operations including hostage
crises and riots. Berkut teams participated in many actions of Leonid Kuchma
's regime against the opposition (see Orange Revolution
).
SWAT
A SWAT team is an elite tactical unit in various national law enforcement departments. They are trained to perform high-risk operations that fall outside of the abilities of regular officers...
of the Ukrainian
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
militsiya
Militsiya
Militsiya or militia is used as an official name of the civilian police in several former communist states, despite its original military connotation...
(police) within the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Ukraine's successor of the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
OMON
OMON
OMOH is a generic name for the system of special units of militsiya within the Russian and earlier the Soviet MVD...
. Currently it is considered to be part of the Militsiya of Public Security. Its full name is "Berkut" Separate Special Assignment
Spetsnaz
Spetsnaz, Specnaz tr: Voyska specialnogo naznacheniya; ) is an umbrella term for any special forces in Russian, literally "force of special purpose"...
Unit(s) of Militsiya. There is a "Berkut" unit in every oblast and every big city of the country. Among the several special police units in Ukraine "Berkut" became a catchall name for all the others.
Etymology
Golden Eagle
The Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...
or Aquila chrysaetos in the Ukrainian language
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
, who is associated with a falconry
Falconry
Falconry is "the taking of wild quarry in its natural state and habitat by means of a trained raptor". There are two traditional terms used to describe a person involved in falconry: a falconer flies a falcon; an austringer flies a hawk or an eagle...
on big mammals, particularly wolves.
History
The order to organize the OMONOMON
OMOH is a generic name for the system of special units of militsiya within the Russian and earlier the Soviet MVD...
(Special Purpose Police Unit) in the Ukrainian SSR
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or in short, the Ukrainian SSR was a sovereign Soviet Socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union lasting from its inception in 1922 to the breakup in 1991...
was issued on December 28, 1988. The first units were formed in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Dnipropetrovsk
Dnipropetrovsk
Dnipropetrovsk or Dnepropetrovsk formerly Yekaterinoslav is Ukraine's third largest city with one million inhabitants. It is located southeast of Ukraine's capital Kiev on the Dnieper River, in the south-central region of the country...
, Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
, Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
and Donetsk
Donetsk
Donetsk , is a large city in eastern Ukraine on the Kalmius river. Administratively, it is a center of Donetsk Oblast, while historically, it is the unofficial capital and largest city of the economic and cultural Donets Basin region...
. After the fall of the Soviet Union it was decided to organize such units in every oblast
Oblast
Oblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...
(province
Administrative divisions of Ukraine
Ukraine is subdivided into 24 oblasts , one autonomous republic, and two "cities with special status".- Overview :...
) center. On January 16, 1992 the order was issued to create quick reaction force
Quick reaction force
Quick Reaction Force or is a military unit, generally platoon-sized in the United States Marine Corps, that is capable of rapid response to developing situations. They are to have equipment ready, to respond to any type of emergency, typically within ten minutes or less, although this is based on...
units "Berkut", which was fully implemented by the start of 1993.
Duties
The main duty of the unit is the security of general order or enforcement of civil order such as during any mass public activities (demonstrations, parades, sport or concert events, etc.) or in places of increased criminal activity in fight against the organized crime. Later one of few additional assignments was protection custody of physical person such as witness.Organization
The Berkut is a reserve unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVS) and subordinates to the regional (oblast) departments of the MVS. Until 1997 it was under the direct supervision of GUBOZ (Chief Directorate in Fight of Organized Crime). Due to formation of another quick reaction force unit Sokil (Falcon) under GUBOZ, Berkut was later reassigned under the supervision of the Directorate of Public Security of the MVS.Depending on the region the Berkut's battalions vary in man-power between 50 to 600. Also depending on its dislocation the unit can be commissioned as company or regiment. As of January 2008, the force consists of 2 regiments, 6 separate battalions, and 19 companies totaling 3,250 members. One of the regiments is located in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, while another one in Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
.
The main distinction of the Berkut agents are their maroon berets
Maroon Berets
Special Forces Command also known as the Maroon Berets because of their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force of the Turkish Armed Forces....
(also known as "krapovy beret"), an honorary headgear.
Scope of activity
The Berkut is the Ukrainian successor of the SovietSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
OMON
OMON
OMOH is a generic name for the system of special units of militsiya within the Russian and earlier the Soviet MVD...
(Special Purpose Police Unit), responsible for high-risk police operations including hostage
Hostage
A hostage is a person or entity which is held by a captor. The original definition meant that this was handed over by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as security for the carrying out of an agreement, or as a preventive measure against certain acts of war...
crises and riots. Berkut teams participated in many actions of Leonid Kuchma
Leonid Kuchma
Leonid Danylovych Kuchma was the second President of independent Ukraine from 19 July 1994, to 23 January 2005. Kuchma took office after winning the 1994 presidential election against his rival, incumbent Leonid Kravchuk...
's regime against the opposition (see Orange Revolution
Orange Revolution
The Orange Revolution was a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005, in the immediate aftermath of the run-off vote of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election which was claimed to be marred by massive corruption, voter...
).
See also
- OMONOMONOMOH is a generic name for the system of special units of militsiya within the Russian and earlier the Soviet MVD...
(Special Purpose Police Unit) - Ukraine without KuchmaUkraine without KuchmaUkraine without Kuchma! or UbK was a mass protest campaign preceding the Orange Revolution that took place in Ukraine in 2000–2001. Unlike the Orange Revolution the UbK was effectively extinguished by the government enforcement units followed by numerous arrests of the opposition and the...
(UBK), a mass protest campaign that took place in Ukraine in 2000–2001. - Quick reaction forceQuick reaction forceQuick Reaction Force or is a military unit, generally platoon-sized in the United States Marine Corps, that is capable of rapid response to developing situations. They are to have equipment ready, to respond to any type of emergency, typically within ten minutes or less, although this is based on...
- compare to quick reaction forces in military units of the US Army. - Bars
- Omega
- Skorpion