OMON
Encyclopedia
OMOH (ОМОН) is a generic name for the system of special units of militsiya
(police) within the Russia
n and earlier the Soviet
MVD (Ministry of Internal Affairs). As of 2008, there is an OMON unit in every oblast
of Russia
, as well as in many major cities; for example, there is an OMON unit within the Moscow
City police department, and two separate units within Moscow Oblast
police department. OMON also continues to exist in Belarus
and some other post-Soviet territories following the dissolution of the Soviet Union
.
In 2011, The Russian OMON units are to be renamed Distinctive Purpose Teams (KON), while OMSN will become Special Purpose Teams (KSN). It was announced that such Special Purpose Centers for Rapid Deployment forces will be also created in Russian regions, to include regional OMON and OMSN units. In essence, all police spetsnaz
units will be brought together under the joint command of the Interior Ministry - The Center for Operational Spetsnaz and Aviation Forces of MVD (Центр специального назначения сил оперативного реагирования и авиации МВД России).
in Moscow
, to ensure that there were no terrorist
attacks like the Munich massacre
during the 1972 Summer Olympics
. Subsequently, the unit was utilized in emergencies such as high-risk arrest
s, hostage
crises, as well as in response to acts of terrorism. The OMON detachments were often manned by former soldiers of the Soviet Army
and veterans of the Soviet war in Afghanistan
.
The OMON system itself is the successor of that group and was founded in 1987, with the commando duties largely taken over by the SOBR
(dangerous criminals) and Vityaz
(counter-terrorism
) units of the MVD. The OMON units were initially used as the riot police used to control and stop demonstration
s and hooliganism
, as well as other emergency situations, but later became accustomed to a wider range of police operations, including cordon
and street patrol
actions, and even paramilitary
and military
-style operations.
where the unit was used as light infantry
and in the notorious "mopping-up" operations (zachistka). In February 1996, a group of 37 officers of the Novosibirsk
OMON were captured by the Chechen militants during the Kizlyar-Pervomayskoye hostage crisis
; 17 of them were later swapped for the Chechen fighters captured in the same incident. In August 1996, group of 30 Chechen OMON members answering to Said-Magomed Kakiyev were reportedly captured and executed in Grozny
, the Chechen capital, during the battle for the city
.
OMON is active in the Second Chechen War
. Almost every Russian city sends, on a regular basis, small units of police (often composed of OMON members) for tours of duty in Chechnya
lasting several months, while the Chechen Republic also formed its own OMON detachment. The force sustained heavy losses in the second conflict as well, including from the March 2000 ambush which killed more than 30 OMON servicemen from Perm
(including nine captured and executed), the July 2000 suicide bombing
which inflicted more than 100 casualties at the Chelyabinsk
OMON base in Argun
, and the April 2002 attack which killed 21 Chechen OMON troops in central Grozny.
Control and discipline
is questionable in Chechnya, where the members of the group were noted to engage in or fall victim of several deadly friendly fire
and fratricide
incidents. In the bloodiest incident, at least 24 Russian OMON officers were killed and more than 30 wounded when two units (from Podolsk
and Sergiyev Posad
) fired on each other
in Grozny on March 2, 2000. Among other incidents, several Chechen OMON servicemen were abducted and executed in Grozny by the Russian military servicemen in November 2000, members of the Chechen OMON clashed with the Ingush police
on the Chechen-Ingush
border resulting in eight fatalities and about 20 injuries in September 2006, and the Ramzan Kadyrov
-controlled Chechen OMON clashed with a group of rival Chechens belonging to the Kakiyev's GRU
commando unit in Grozny, resulting in five dead and several wounded in 2007.
In the course of the Chechen conflict the OMON was accused of severe human rights abuses, including abducting
, torturing
and killing civilians. As of 2000, the bulk of war crime
s recorded by international organisations in Chechnya appeared to have been committed by the OMON. An OMON detachment from Moscow region took part in the April 1995 rampage
in the village of Samashki
, during which up to 300 civilians were reportedly killed in the result of a "cleansing operation" conducted there by the MVD forces. The OMON unit from Saint Petersburg
is also believed to be behind the Novye Aldi massacre
in which at least 60 civilians were robbed and then killed by the Russian forces entering Grozny in February 2000; one officer, Sergei Babin
, was reported to be prosecuted in relation to the case in 2005 and then to disappear. In 1999 a group of unidentified OMON members shot dead around 40 refugee
s fleeing Grozny.
In April 2006, the European Court of Human Rights
found Russia guilty of the forced disappearance
of Shakhid Baysayev
, a Chechen man who had gone missing after being detained in a March 2000 security sweep by the Russian OMON in Grozny. In 2007, the Khanty-Mansi
OMON officer Sergei Lapin
was sentenced for kidnapping and torture of a Chechen man in Grozny in 2001, with the Grozny court criticising the conduct of the OMON serving in Chechnya in broader terms. In an event related to the conflict in Chechnya, several OMON officers were accused of starting the May 2007 wave of the ethnic violence in Stavropol
by assisting in the racist
murder of a local Chechen man.
Before and early during the First
and Second Chechen War
s, there were also OMON formations belonging the Interior Ministry of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
, Chechnya's separatist government.
Information from different sources suggests that there were between 10,500 and 15,000 OMON members stationed at population centers and transportation hub
s around the country in the 1990s, yet by 2007 this number officially rose to about 20,000 nationwide (as referenced to as Inner Armed Forces). The biggest OMON unit in Russia Moscow OMON has over 2000 members. Members receive a comparatively small salary of about $7,000 per month in Moscow (regional units offer less). Most members retire
at the age of approximately 45 years. They are also sometimes not paid for their service (in 2001, for example, some 50 OMON members from Moscow filed the lawsuit
claiming they were not paid for one month of combat operations in Chechnya). Due to the use of OMON members in high risk situations, especially in Chechnya and elsewhere in North Caucasus, the group often loses members in combat.
Members of OMON are supposed to be extremely fit and experts in small arms
and hand-to-hand combat. Males between the ages of 22 and 30 who have completed their two-year military service
can apply to join OMON (the application includes medical and psychological
tests, and tests of speed and fitness
). The initial training lasts for four months. The applicants are extensively trained in the use of different weaponry and close combat
, and are also trained to follow orders at any cost. Special emphasis is put on urban combat and the entering and clearing of buildings. The training also includes legal training. The application procedure closes with a final test, where the applicant has to fight three to five trained members of OMON by hand wearing boxing gloves. Fewer than one in five applicants pass and are selected to join.
The OMON groups use a wide range of weapons, including but not limited to AK-74
assault rifle
, AKS-74U carbine
assault rifle, 9A-91
compact assault rifle, and PP-19 Bizon submachine gun
. OMON units during a combat operations may also use other weaponry typical for the Russian light infantry (the OMON troops in Chechnya were sometimes called "OMON soldiers" in the reports, especially in the so-called active phases of the conflict), such as the PK machine gun
, the GP-25 underbarrel grenade launcher
for AK-74 or the GM-94 pump-action
grenade launcher, and the Dragunov
and Vintorez sniper rifle
s.
OMON vehicles include specially-equipped van
s, bus
es and truck
s of various types, as well as limited number of armoured personnel carrier
s (BTR-60
, BTR-70
and BTR-80
). OMON's headgear
remains a black beret
(they are thus sometimes called "Black Berets") although otherwise there were significant changes in uniform
and insignia
. The group members often use the blue urban camouflage uniforms and black face masks while on duty, and various Russian Army
and Internal Troops
uniforms while in Chechnya. OMON of the Chechen Republic also frequently wear American
-made military uniforms similar to these often used by the separatist fighters.
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 Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n and earlier 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....
MVD (Ministry of Internal Affairs). As of 2008, there is an OMON unit 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"...
of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, as well as in many major cities; for example, there is an OMON unit within the Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
City police department, and two separate units within Moscow Oblast
Moscow Oblast
Moscow Oblast , or Podmoskovye , is a federal subject of Russia . Its area, at , is relatively small compared to other federal subjects, but it is one of the most densely populated regions in the country and, with the 2010 population of 7,092,941, is the second most populous federal subject...
police department. OMON also continues to exist in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
and some other post-Soviet territories following the dissolution of the Soviet Union
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the disintegration of the federal political structures and central government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , resulting in the independence of all fifteen republics of the Soviet Union between March 11, 1990 and December 25, 1991...
.
In 2011, The Russian OMON units are to be renamed Distinctive Purpose Teams (KON), while OMSN will become Special Purpose Teams (KSN). It was announced that such Special Purpose Centers for Rapid Deployment forces will be also created in Russian regions, to include regional OMON and OMSN units. In essence, all police spetsnaz
Spetsnaz
Spetsnaz, Specnaz tr: Voyska specialnogo naznacheniya; ) is an umbrella term for any special forces in Russian, literally "force of special purpose"...
units will be brought together under the joint command of the Interior Ministry - The Center for Operational Spetsnaz and Aviation Forces of MVD (Центр специального назначения сил оперативного реагирования и авиации МВД России).
History
OMON originated in 1979, when the first group was founded in preparation for the 1980 Summer Olympics1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...
in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, to ensure that there were no terrorist
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
attacks like the Munich massacre
Munich massacre
The Munich massacre is an informal name for events that occurred during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Bavaria in southern West Germany, when members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage and eventually killed by the Palestinian group Black September. Members of Black September...
during the 1972 Summer Olympics
1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....
. Subsequently, the unit was utilized in emergencies such as high-risk arrest
Arrest
An arrest is the act of depriving a person of his or her liberty usually in relation to the purported investigation and prevention of crime and presenting into the criminal justice system or harm to oneself or others...
s, 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, as well as in response to acts of terrorism. The OMON detachments were often manned by former soldiers of the Soviet Army
Soviet Army
The Soviet Army is the name given to the main part of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union between 1946 and 1992. Previously, it had been known as the Red Army. Informally, Армия referred to all the MOD armed forces, except, in some cases, the Soviet Navy.This article covers the Soviet Ground...
and veterans of the Soviet war in Afghanistan
Soviet war in Afghanistan
The Soviet war in Afghanistan was a nine-year conflict involving the Soviet Union, supporting the Marxist-Leninist government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the Afghan Mujahideen and foreign "Arab–Afghan" volunteers...
.
The OMON system itself is the successor of that group and was founded in 1987, with the commando duties largely taken over by the SOBR
SOBR
The Special Rapid Response Unit or SOBR is an elite commando unit of the Russian Interior Ministry, involved in anti-criminal operations....
(dangerous criminals) and Vityaz
Vityaz (MVD)
Vityaz was a Russian Spetsnaz unit of the MVD, a unit in the Independent Operative Purpose Division of the Internal Troops.Vityaz was assigned specifically to counter-terrorism duties. Vityaz unit regularly conducts counter-terrorism patrols in Chechnya and along the Caucasus border...
(counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism is the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, police departments and corporations adopt to prevent or in response to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed.The tactic of terrorism is available to insurgents and governments...
) units of the MVD. The OMON units were initially used as the riot police used to control and stop demonstration
Demonstration (people)
A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...
s and hooliganism
Hooliganism
Hooliganism refers to unruly, destructive, aggressive and bullying behaviour. Such behaviour is commonly associated with sports fans. The term can also apply to general rowdy behaviour and vandalism, often under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs....
, as well as other emergency situations, but later became accustomed to a wider range of police operations, including cordon
Cordon
A cordon is also a line of people, military posts, or ships surrounding an area to close or guard it.Cordon may also refer to:* Cordon and search, a military operation...
and street patrol
Patrol
A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as police officers or soldiers, that are assigned to monitor a specific geographic area.- Military :...
actions, and even paramilitary
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
and military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
-style operations.
High-profile operations
- On January 20, 1991, the Soviet RigaRigaRiga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
OMON attacked LatviaLatviaLatvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
's Interior Ministry, killing six people during the January 1991 eventsJanuary 1991 events in LatviaThe Barricades were events that took place between 13 and 27 January 1991 in Latvia. Latvia, which had declared independence from the Soviet Union a year earlier, anticipated that Soviet Union might attempt to violently regain control over the country....
following the republic's declaration of independenceDeclaration of independenceA declaration of independence is an assertion of the independence of an aspiring state or states. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another nation or failed nation, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state...
. Seven OMON members were subsequently found guilty by the RigaRigaRiga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
District Court and received suspended sentenceSuspended sentenceA suspended sentence is a legal term for a judge's delaying of a defendant's serving of a sentence after they have been found guilty, in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation...
s.
- A series of attacks on border outpostsSoviet OMON assaults on Lithuanian border postsSeveral Soviet OMON assaults on Lithuanian border posts occurred in 1991, after Lithuania declared its independence from the Soviet Union on March 11, 1990. As a Soviet republic, the Lithuanian SSR did not have a state border with customs or checkpoints...
of the newly-independent Republic of LithuaniaLithuaniaLithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
during the January–July 1991, resulting in several summary executionSummary executionA summary execution is a variety of execution in which a person is killed on the spot without trial or after a show trial. Summary executions have been practiced by the police, military, and paramilitary organizations and are associated with guerrilla warfare, counter-insurgency, terrorism, and...
-style deaths of the unarmed customsCustomsCustoms is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country...
officers and other people (including former members of VilniusVilniusVilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
OMON), were attributed to Riga OMON; some sources say that the Soviet leader Mikhail GorbachevMikhail GorbachevMikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
had lost control of the unit. Lithuanian government continues to demand that the persons suspected in these incidents should be tried in Lithuania; one suspect was arrested in Latvia in November 2008.
- Violent and often armed clashes between the Georgian SSR's OMON and the opponents of the first GeorgianGeorgia (country)Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
President Zviad GamsakhurdiaZviad GamsakhurdiaZviad Gamsakhurdia was a dissident, scientist and writer, who became the first democratically elected President of the Republic of Georgia in the post-Soviet era...
prior to the Georgian Civil WarGeorgian Civil WarThe Georgian Civil War consisted of inter-ethnic and intranational conflicts in the regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia , as well as the violent military coup d'etat of December 21, 1991 - January 6, 1992 against the first democratically elected President of Georgia, Zviad Gamsakhurdia and his...
of 1991-1993.
- The April–May 1991 Operation RingOperation RingOperation Ring was the code name given to the May 1991 military operation conducted by Soviet Internal Security Forces and OMON units in the region of Shahumyan, north of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast of the Azerbaijan SSR...
by the Azerbaijan SSR OMON and the Soviet Army against the Armenian irregular unitsArmenian irregular unitsArmenian irregular units, also known as Fedayees were Armenian civilians who left their families to form armed brigades. Armenian fedayees were volunteers and, literally, "one who is ready to sacrifice his life" for his people)...
in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous OblastNagorno-Karabakh Autonomous OblastThe Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast was an autonomous oblast within the borders of the Azerbaijan SSR, mostly inhabited by ethnic Armenians and created on July 7, 1923. According to Karl R. DeRouen it was created as an enclave so that a narrow strip of land would separate it from Armenia proper....
, resulting in several dozen people killed and the forced displacement of thousands of ethnic ArmeniansArmeniansArmenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
.
- Prior to the creation of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the bulk of the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh on the AzeriAzerbaijanAzerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
side was conducted by the post-Soviet OMON units and irregular forces. This included the defence of the village of KhojalyKhojali (city)Khojali or Ivanyan , also, Ay-Khodzhaly, Khodgalou, Khodzhalv, Khodzhaly, Khojalu, and Khozhali, is a town in Nagorno Karabakh, located some 10 km northeast of its capital Stepanakert...
by the force of Azeri OMON and volunteers against the Armenian insurgents and the Russian ArmyRussian Ground ForcesThe Russian Ground Forces are the land forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed from parts of the collapsing Soviet Army in 1992. The formation of these forces posed economic challenges after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and required reforms to professionalize the force...
forces prior and during the Khojaly massacreKhojaly MassacreThe Khojaly Massacre was the killing of hundreds of ethnic Azerbaijani civilians from the town of Khojaly on 25–26 February 1992 by the Armenian and Russian armed forces during the Nagorno-Karabakh War...
on February 25, 1992; most of the group involved died during the ensuing slaughter in which several hundred of Azeri civilianCivilianA civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...
s died.
- The Moscow OMON and units brought from the other cities clashed with the anti-YeltsinBoris YeltsinBoris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of...
demonstrators order during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis, reportedly even beating up some members of the Supreme Soviet of RussiaSupreme Soviet of RussiaThe Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR , later Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation was the supreme government institution of the Russian SFSR in 1938–1990; in 1990–1993 it was a permanent parliament, elected by the Congress of People's Deputies of the Russian Federation.The Supreme Soviet of...
(the Russian parliament at the time).
- Cordon duties during the Russia's mass hostage crises, including the 1995 Budyonnovsk hospital hostage crisisBudyonnovsk hospital hostage crisisThe Budyonnovsk hospital hostage crisis took place from 14 June to 19 June 1995, when a group of 80 to 200 Chechen terrorists led by Shamil Basayev attacked the southern Russian city of Budyonnovsk , some north of the border with the Russian republic of Chechnya...
, the 2002 Moscow theater hostage crisisMoscow theater hostage crisisThe Moscow theater hostage crisis, also known as the 2002 Nord-Ost siege, was the seizure of the crowded Dubrovka Theater on 23 October 2002 by some 40 to 50 armed Chechens who claimed allegiance to the Islamist militant separatist movement in Chechnya. They took 850 hostages and demanded the...
and the 2004 Beslan school hostage crisisBeslan school hostage crisisThe Beslan school hostage crisis of early September 2004 was a three-day hostage-taking of over 1,100 people which ended in the deaths of over 380...
.
- Breaking up of several opposition rallies (including Dissenters' Marches since 2006), sparking reports of police brutalityPolice brutalityPolice brutality is the intentional use of excessive force, usually physical, but potentially also in the form of verbal attacks and psychological intimidation, by a police officer....
, including excessive use of force and arbitrary detentionDetention (imprisonment)Detention is the process when a state, government or citizen lawfully holds a person by removing their freedom of liberty at that time. This can be due to criminal charges being raised against the individual as part of a prosecution or to protect a person or property...
of participants. In November 2007, the brutal actions of OMON against peaceful demonstrators and arrests of opposition figures were harshly criticised by the European UnionEuropean UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
institutions and governments.
- On March 24, 2006, BelarusBelarusBelarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
ian OMON stormed the opposition's tent camp at the Minsk October Square without provocation, violently ending the peaceful Jeans RevolutionJeans RevolutionThe Jeans Revolution was a term used by the democratic opposition in Belarus and their supporters in the West to describe their effort and aspirations as regarding democratic changes in Belarus at the presidential elections of 2006...
against the regime of Alexander LukashenkoAlexander LukashenkoAlexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko has been serving as the President of Belarus since 20 July 1994. Before his career as a politician, Lukashenko worked as director of a state-owned agricultural farm. Under Lukashenko's rule, Belarus has come to be viewed as a state whose conduct is out of line...
. Thousands of people were beaten and hundreds detained as the result of the attack, including the opposition's presidential candidate Alaksandr Kazulin.
- In June 2007, the Moscow OMON prevented gay rights activistsLGBT social movementsLesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender social movements share inter-related goals of social acceptance of sexual and gender minorities. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their allies have a long history of campaigning for what is generally called LGBT rights, also called gay...
(including the European ParliamentEuropean ParliamentThe European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
members) from marching after Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov did not allow a planned parade to take place.
- In August 2008, the South OssetiaSouth OssetiaSouth Ossetia or Tskhinvali Region is a disputed region and partly recognized state in the South Caucasus, located in the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the former Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic....
n separatist OMON took part in the fighting with the Georgian national forces during the 2008 South Ossetia war2008 South Ossetia warThe 2008 South Ossetia War or Russo-Georgian War was an armed conflict in August 2008 between Georgia on one side, and Russia and separatist governments of South Ossetia and Abkhazia on the other....
and were accused of "special cruelty" in the ethnic Georgian villages. Subsequently, South Ossetian OMON fighters were included into Russian regular forces in area as a contract soldiers and continued to be deployed in the highly-disputed AkhalgoriAkhalgoriAkhalgori or Leningor is a town in South Ossetia, partially recognized republic in the South Caucasus, formerly the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic...
zone.
In Chechnya
The force was active in the First Chechen WarFirst Chechen War
The First Chechen War, also known as the War in Chechnya, was a conflict between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, fought from December 1994 to August 1996...
where the unit was used as light infantry
Light infantry
Traditionally light infantry were soldiers whose job was to provide a skirmishing screen ahead of the main body of infantry, harassing and delaying the enemy advance. Light infantry was distinct from medium, heavy or line infantry. Heavy infantry were dedicated primarily to fighting in tight...
and in the notorious "mopping-up" operations (zachistka). In February 1996, a group of 37 officers of the Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk is the third-largest city in Russia, after Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and the largest city of Siberia, with a population of 1,473,737 . It is the administrative center of Novosibirsk Oblast as well as of the Siberian Federal District...
OMON were captured by the Chechen militants during the Kizlyar-Pervomayskoye hostage crisis
Kizlyar-Pervomayskoye hostage crisis
Rebel fighters led by Raduyev then entered the town itself, where they took 2,000 to 3,400hostages and held them at a local hospital, a nearby high-rise building and a bridge...
; 17 of them were later swapped for the Chechen fighters captured in the same incident. In August 1996, group of 30 Chechen OMON members answering to Said-Magomed Kakiyev were reportedly captured and executed in Grozny
Grozny
Grozny is the capital city of the Chechen Republic, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the preliminary results of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 271,596; up from 210,720 recorded in the 2002 Census. but still only about two-thirds of 399,688 recorded in the 1989...
, the Chechen capital, during the battle for the city
Battle of Grozny (August 1996)
In the August 1996 Battle of Grozny Chechen rebels conducted a rapid assault on the Chechnya capital Grozny. This led to the final ceasefire in the First Chechen War....
.
OMON is active in the Second Chechen War
Second Chechen War
The Second Chechen War, in a later phase better known as the War in the North Caucasus, was launched by the Russian Federation starting 26 August 1999, in response to the Invasion of Dagestan by the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade ....
. Almost every Russian city sends, on a regular basis, small units of police (often composed of OMON members) for tours of duty in Chechnya
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
lasting several months, while the Chechen Republic also formed its own OMON detachment. The force sustained heavy losses in the second conflict as well, including from the March 2000 ambush which killed more than 30 OMON servicemen from Perm
Perm
Perm is a city and the administrative center of Perm Krai, Russia, located on the banks of the Kama River, in the European part of Russia near the Ural Mountains. From 1940 to 1957 it was named Molotov ....
(including nine captured and executed), the July 2000 suicide bombing
July 2000 Chechnya suicide bombings
The July 2000 Chechnya suicide bombings happened on July 2-July 3, 2000, when Chechen insurgents launched five suicide bomb attacks on the Russian military and police headquarters and barracks within 24 hours...
which inflicted more than 100 casualties at the Chelyabinsk
Chelyabinsk
Chelyabinsk is a city and the administrative center of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located in the northwestern side of the oblast, south of Yekaterinburg, just to the east of the Ural Mountains, on the Miass River. Population: -History:...
OMON base in Argun
Argun, Chechen Republic
Argun is a town in the Chechen Republic, Russia, located on the Argun River. Population: 22,000 ....
, and the April 2002 attack which killed 21 Chechen OMON troops in central Grozny.
Control and discipline
Discipline
In its original sense, discipline is referred to systematic instruction given to disciples to train them as students in a craft or trade, or to follow a particular code of conduct or "order". Often, the phrase "to discipline" carries a negative connotation. This is because enforcement of order –...
is questionable in Chechnya, where the members of the group were noted to engage in or fall victim of several deadly friendly fire
Friendly fire
Friendly fire is inadvertent firing towards one's own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage enemy forces, particularly where this results in injury or death. A death resulting from a negligent discharge is not considered friendly fire...
and fratricide
Fratricide
Fratricide is the act of a person killing his or her brother....
incidents. In the bloodiest incident, at least 24 Russian OMON officers were killed and more than 30 wounded when two units (from Podolsk
Podolsk
Podolsk is an industrial city and the administrative center of Podolsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Pakhra River...
and Sergiyev Posad
Sergiyev Posad
Sergiyev Posad is a city and the administrative center of Sergiyevo-Posadsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia. It grew in the 15th century around one of the greatest of Russian monasteries, the Trinity Lavra established by St. Sergius of Radonezh. The town status was granted to it in 1742...
) fired on each other
Grozny OMON fratricide incident
Grozny OMON fratricide incident took place on March 2, 2000, when a unit of OMON from Podolsk, supported by armored vehicles of paramilitary police from the Sverdlovsk Oblast, opened fire on an a motorized column of OMON from Sergiyev Posad , which had just arrived in Chechnya to replace them.More...
in Grozny on March 2, 2000. Among other incidents, several Chechen OMON servicemen were abducted and executed in Grozny by the Russian military servicemen in November 2000, members of the Chechen OMON clashed with the Ingush police
Ingush-Chechen fratricide incident
The Ingush–Chechen fratricide incident was a September 13, 2006 incident in which eight police officers were killed and about 20 were wounded when Chechen and Ingush policemen fired on each other on the border between the republics....
on the Chechen-Ingush
Ingushetia
The Republic of Ingushetia is a federal subject of Russia , located in the North Caucasus region with its capital at Magas. In terms of area, the republic is the smallest of Russia's federal subjects except for the two federal cities, Moscow and Saint Petersburg...
border resulting in eight fatalities and about 20 injuries in September 2006, and the Ramzan Kadyrov
Ramzan Kadyrov
Ramzan Akhmadovich Kadyrov is the President of Chechnya and a former Chechen rebel.Ramzan is a son of former Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov, assassinated in May 2004. In February 2007 Kadyrov replaced Alu Alkhanov as President, shortly after he had turned 30, which is the minimum age for the post...
-controlled Chechen OMON clashed with a group of rival Chechens belonging to the Kakiyev's GRU
GRU
GRU or Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye is the foreign military intelligence directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation...
commando unit in Grozny, resulting in five dead and several wounded in 2007.
In the course of the Chechen conflict the OMON was accused of severe human rights abuses, including abducting
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
, torturing
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
and killing civilians. As of 2000, the bulk of war crime
War crime
War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
s recorded by international organisations in Chechnya appeared to have been committed by the OMON. An OMON detachment from Moscow region took part in the April 1995 rampage
Samashki massacre
The Samashki massacre was an incident which occurred on April 7–8, 1995, in the village of Samashki, at the border between Chechnya and Ingushetia. Numerous villagers died at the hands of Russian paramilitary troops, many of them reportedly drunk or drugged, under the command of Gen. Anatoly Kulikov...
in the village of Samashki
Samashki
Samashki is a village on the western plains in Achkhoy-Martanovsky District of the Chechen Republic, Russia; since 1992 it is a border village with the Russian Republic of Ingushetia. The pre-war population of Samashki counted about 14,600 people .A railway line from Nazran to Grozny runs through...
, during which up to 300 civilians were reportedly killed in the result of a "cleansing operation" conducted there by the MVD forces. The OMON unit from Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
is also believed to be behind the Novye Aldi massacre
Novye Aldi massacre
The Novye Aldi massacre was a notorious crime in which Russian federal forces summarily executed dozens of people in the Novye Aldi suburb of Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, in the course of a "mopping-up" operation conducted there on February 5, 2000, soon after the end of the battle for the city...
in which at least 60 civilians were robbed and then killed by the Russian forces entering Grozny in February 2000; one officer, Sergei Babin
Sergei Babin
Sergei Babin is a former Russian police officer who had served in the OMON detachment sent from Saint Petersburg and an accused war criminal....
, was reported to be prosecuted in relation to the case in 2005 and then to disappear. In 1999 a group of unidentified OMON members shot dead around 40 refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
s fleeing Grozny.
In April 2006, the European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
found Russia guilty of the forced disappearance
Forced disappearance
In international human rights law, a forced disappearance occurs when a person is secretly abducted or imprisoned by a state or political organization or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organization, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the...
of Shakhid Baysayev
Shakhid Baysayev
Shakhid Baysayev was Chechen civilian who was forcibly disappeared after being detained by Russian special police forces on the outskirts of Grozny, Chechnya in March 2000. His body was never found....
, a Chechen man who had gone missing after being detained in a March 2000 security sweep by the Russian OMON in Grozny. In 2007, the Khanty-Mansi
Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug
Khanty–Mansi Autonomous Okrug , also known as Yugra, is a federal subject of Russia . Population: The people native to the region are the Khanty and the Mansi, known collectively as Ob Ugric people...
OMON officer Sergei Lapin
Sergei Lapin
Sergei Lapin, also known by his radio communications call sign Kadet , is a former Russian police officer who had served in Grozny, Chechnya as a Lieutenant in the OMON from the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug...
was sentenced for kidnapping and torture of a Chechen man in Grozny in 2001, with the Grozny court criticising the conduct of the OMON serving in Chechnya in broader terms. In an event related to the conflict in Chechnya, several OMON officers were accused of starting the May 2007 wave of the ethnic violence in Stavropol
Stavropol
-International relations:-Twin towns/sister cities:Stavropol is twinned with: Des Moines, United States Béziers, France Pazardzhik, Bulgaria-External links:* **...
by assisting in the racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
murder of a local Chechen man.
Before and early during the First
First Chechen War
The First Chechen War, also known as the War in Chechnya, was a conflict between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, fought from December 1994 to August 1996...
and Second Chechen War
Second Chechen War
The Second Chechen War, in a later phase better known as the War in the North Caucasus, was launched by the Russian Federation starting 26 August 1999, in response to the Invasion of Dagestan by the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade ....
s, there were also OMON formations belonging the Interior Ministry of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria is the unrecognized secessionist government of Chechnya. The republic was proclaimed in late 1991 by Dzokhar Dudayev, and fought two devastating wars between separatists and the Russian Federation which denounced secession...
, Chechnya's separatist government.
OMON in Russia
Transportation hub
A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles or between transport modes. Public transport hubs include train stations, rapid transit stations, bus stops, tram stop, airports and ferry slips. Freight hubs include classification yards, seaports and truck...
s around the country in the 1990s, yet by 2007 this number officially rose to about 20,000 nationwide (as referenced to as Inner Armed Forces). The biggest OMON unit in Russia Moscow OMON has over 2000 members. Members receive a comparatively small salary of about $7,000 per month in Moscow (regional units offer less). Most members retire
Retirement
Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours.Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions don't allow the person to...
at the age of approximately 45 years. They are also sometimes not paid for their service (in 2001, for example, some 50 OMON members from Moscow filed the lawsuit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
claiming they were not paid for one month of combat operations in Chechnya). Due to the use of OMON members in high risk situations, especially in Chechnya and elsewhere in North Caucasus, the group often loses members in combat.
Members of OMON are supposed to be extremely fit and experts in small arms
Small arms
Small arms is a term of art used by armed forces to denote infantry weapons an individual soldier may carry. The description is usually limited to revolvers, pistols, submachine guns, carbines, assault rifles, battle rifles, multiple barrel firearms, sniper rifles, squad automatic weapons, light...
and hand-to-hand combat. Males between the ages of 22 and 30 who have completed their two-year military service
Military service
Military service, in its simplest sense, is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, whether as a chosen job or as a result of an involuntary draft . Some nations require a specific amount of military service from every citizen...
can apply to join OMON (the application includes medical and psychological
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
tests, and tests of speed and fitness
Physical fitness
Physical fitness comprises two related concepts: general fitness , and specific fitness...
). The initial training lasts for four months. The applicants are extensively trained in the use of different weaponry and close combat
Close combat
*Close combat is a generic term for both Close Quarters Battle and Hand to hand combat.*Mêlée generally refers to disorganized close combat.*CQB is an acronym for Close Quarters Battle, such as that which occurs in urban warfare....
, and are also trained to follow orders at any cost. Special emphasis is put on urban combat and the entering and clearing of buildings. The training also includes legal training. The application procedure closes with a final test, where the applicant has to fight three to five trained members of OMON by hand wearing boxing gloves. Fewer than one in five applicants pass and are selected to join.
The OMON groups use a wide range of weapons, including but not limited to AK-74
AK-74
The AK-74 is an assault rifle developed in the early 1970s in the Soviet Union as the replacement for the earlier AKM...
assault rifle
Assault rifle
An assault rifle is a selective fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine. Assault rifles are the standard infantry weapons in most modern armies...
, AKS-74U carbine
Carbine
A carbine , from French carabine, is a longarm similar to but shorter than a rifle or musket. Many carbines are shortened versions of full rifles, firing the same ammunition at a lower velocity due to a shorter barrel length....
assault rifle, 9A-91
9A-91
The 9A-91 is a carbine assault rifle currently in use with Russian police forces.The 9A91 is a gas operated, rotating bolt weapon, which utilizes a long stroke gas piston, located above the barrel, and a rotating bolt with 4 lugs. The receiver is made from steel stampings; the forend and pistol...
compact assault rifle, and PP-19 Bizon submachine gun
Submachine gun
A submachine gun is an automatic carbine, designed to fire pistol cartridges. It combines the automatic fire of a machine gun with the cartridge of a pistol. The submachine gun was invented during World War I , but the apex of its use was during World War II when millions of the weapon type were...
. OMON units during a combat operations may also use other weaponry typical for the Russian light infantry (the OMON troops in Chechnya were sometimes called "OMON soldiers" in the reports, especially in the so-called active phases of the conflict), such as the PK machine gun
PK machine gun
The PK is a 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun designed in the Soviet Union and currently in production in Russia. The PK machine gun was introduced in the 1960s and replaced the SGM and RPD machine guns in Soviet service...
, the GP-25 underbarrel grenade launcher
Grenade launcher
A grenade launcher or grenade discharger is a weapon that launches a grenade with more accuracy, higher velocity, and to greater distances than a soldier could throw it by hand....
for AK-74 or the GM-94 pump-action
Pump-action
A pump-action rifle or shotgun is one in which the handgrip can be pumped back and forth in order to eject a spent round of ammunition and to chamber a fresh one. It is much faster than a bolt-action and somewhat faster than a lever-action, as it does not require the trigger hand to be removed from...
grenade launcher, and the Dragunov
Dragunov
Dragunov may refer to:*Dragunov sniper rifle*Sergei Dragunov, a Tekken character*Yevgeny Dragunov, Soviet weapons designer who created the Dragunov Sniper Rifle...
and Vintorez sniper rifle
Sniper rifle
In military and law enforcement terminology, a sniper rifle is a precision-rifle used to ensure more accurate placement of bullets at longer ranges than other small arms. A typical sniper rifle is built for optimal levels of accuracy, fitted with a telescopic sight and chambered for a military...
s.
OMON vehicles include specially-equipped van
Van
A van is a kind of vehicle used for transporting goods or groups of people.In British English usage, it can be either specially designed or based on a saloon or sedan car, the latter type often including derivatives with open backs...
s, bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
es and truck
Truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...
s of various types, as well as limited number of armoured personnel carrier
Armoured personnel carrier
An armoured personnel carrier is an armoured fighting vehicle designed to transport infantry to the battlefield.APCs are usually armed with only a machine gun although variants carry recoilless rifles, anti-tank guided missiles , or mortars...
s (BTR-60
BTR-60
The BTR-60 is the first vehicle in a series of Soviet eight-wheeled armoured personnel carriers. It was developed in the late 1950s as a replacement for the BTR-152 and was seen first time in public in 1961...
, BTR-70
BTR-70
The BTR-70 is an eight-wheeled armored personnel carrier , originally developed during the late 1960s under the industrial designator GAZ-4905. On August 21, 1972, it was accepted into service and would later be exported to the Warsaw Pact and other allies...
and BTR-80
BTR-80
BTR-80 is an 8x8 wheeled armoured personnel carrier designed in the Soviet Union. Production started in 1986 and replaced the previous versions, BTR-60 and BTR-70 in the Soviet army. -Description:The Soviets based the BTR-80 on the BTR-70 APC...
). OMON's headgear
Headgear
Headgear, headwear or headdress is the name given to any element of clothing which is worn on one's head.Headgear serve a variety of purposes:...
remains a black beret
Beret
A beret is a soft, round, flat-crowned hat, designated a "cap", usually of woven, hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, or wool felt, or acrylic fiber....
(they are thus sometimes called "Black Berets") although otherwise there were significant changes in uniform
Uniform
A uniform is a set of standard clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, security guards, in some workplaces and schools and by inmates...
and insignia
Insignia
Insignia or insigne pl -nia or -nias : a symbol or token of personal power, status or office, or of an official body of government or jurisdiction...
. The group members often use the blue urban camouflage uniforms and black face masks while on duty, and various Russian Army
Russian Ground Forces
The Russian Ground Forces are the land forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed from parts of the collapsing Soviet Army in 1992. The formation of these forces posed economic challenges after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and required reforms to professionalize the force...
and Internal Troops
Internal Troops
The Internal Troops, full name Internal Troops of the Ministry for Internal Affairs ; alternatively translated as "Interior " is a paramilitary gendarmerie-like force in the now-defunct Soviet Union and its successor countries, particularly, in Russia, Ukraine, Georgia and Azerbaijan...
uniforms while in Chechnya. OMON of the Chechen Republic also frequently wear American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-made military uniforms similar to these often used by the separatist fighters.
See also
- RusRus (special forces)Rus was a special forces unit of the Interior Troops , of the interior ministry of the Russian Federation. It was a unit in the Independent Operative Purpose Division .Rus was created on August 1, 1994...
- A counter-terrorist and emergency situations unit of the Russian MVD - SOBRSOBRThe Special Rapid Response Unit or SOBR is an elite commando unit of the Russian Interior Ministry, involved in anti-criminal operations....
- A system of the Russian MVD special units specializing in combating dangerous criminals - SWATSWATA 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...
- The AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
model for the initial OMON squads - VityazVityaz (MVD)Vityaz was a Russian Spetsnaz unit of the MVD, a unit in the Independent Operative Purpose Division of the Internal Troops.Vityaz was assigned specifically to counter-terrorism duties. Vityaz unit regularly conducts counter-terrorism patrols in Chechnya and along the Caucasus border...
- Another counter-terrorist unit of the Russian MVD - BerkutBerkut (Ukraine)The "Berkut" is the system of special units of the Ukrainian militsiya 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 of...
- Ukrainian version of OMON
External links
- Unofficial OMON webpage
- The Kingdom of OMON, The eXileThe eXileThe eXile was a Moscow-based English-language biweekly free tabloid newspaper, aimed at the city's expatriate community, which combined outrageous, sometimes satirical, content with investigative reporting...
, May 18, 2007