Militsiya

{{Short description|Soviet and Eastern Bloc police force}} {{italic title}} {{Distinguish|Militia}} {{For|the video game|Militsioner (video game)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2015}} {{More footnotes|date=July 2015}} {{Infobox law enforcement agency | agencyname = | nativename = Militsiya | nativenamea = Милиция | nativenamer = | commonname = | abbreviation = | logo = MVD Badge (Gradient).svg | badge = | badgecaption = | motto = | mottotranslated = | formedyear = 1917 | dissolved = 1991 | superseding = Militsiya (Russia) Militsiya (Ukraine) Militsiya (Belarus) | formedmonthday = | employees = | budget = | country = Russian SFSR (1917–1922) Soviet Union (1922–1991) | countryabbr = | national = Yes | map = | mapcaption = | sizearea = | sizepopulation = | legaljuris = | governingbody = | governingbodyscnd = | police = Yes | headquarters = Moscow | hqlocmap = | hqlocmappoptitle = | sworntype = | sworn = | unsworntype = | unsworn = | electeetype = | minister1name = | minister1pfo = | chief1name = | chief1position = | chief2name = | chief2position = | parentagency = People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (1917–1946) Ministry of Internal Affairs (1946–1991) | child1agency = Main Directorate for Public Order Maintenance | child2agency = State Automobile Inspectorate | child3agency = Main Directorate for Transport | child4agency = Main Directorate of Criminal Investigation | child5agency = Department Against Misappropriation of Socialist Property | child6agency = Special Police Department | unittype = | unitname = | officetype = | officename = | provideragency = | uniformedas = | stationtype = | stations = | airbases = | lockuptype = | lockups = | vehicle1type = | vehicles1 = | boat1type = | boats1 = | aircraft1type = | aircraft1 = | animal1type = | animals1 = | person1name = | person1reason = | person1type = | programme1 = | activity1name = | activitytype = | anniversary1 = | award1 = | website = | footnotes = }} The '''''militsiya'''''{{#tag:ref|{{lang-rus|милиция|3=mʲɪˈlʲitsɨjə|5=}}, {{Langx|sh|милиција|milicija|militia}}.|group=nb}} was the police force of the Russian SFSR and Soviet Union from 1917 to 1991.{{sfn|Sullivan|2005|p=1274}} The term was likewise used for police forces in several Eastern Bloc countries and in the SFR Yugoslavia from 1945 to 1992.

The term ''militsiya'' continues to be used in common and sometimes official usage in some of the individual post-Soviet states, such as Belarus,{{sfn|Sullivan|2005|p=964}} Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as in the partially recognised or unrecognised republics of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transnistria. In Russian law enforcement, the term remained in official usage until the police reform of 2011.

==Name and status== thumb|Soviet ''militsiya'' officer's cap cockade (service/parade version). [[File:1982 Dacia 1310 (police car) in Bucharest.jpg|thumb|Romanian ''Miliția'' car in the typical livery it featured starting with the early 1970s. This particular example is a Dacia 1310 from 1982. This is one of the examples of Eastern European adaptations of this name.]] thumb|{{legend|blue|Countries in which the civilian police was once called ''militsiya''}} {{legend|darkblue|Countries in which the civilian police is now called ''militsiya''}}

The name ''militsiya'' as applied to police forces originates from a Russian Provisional Government decree dated April 17, 1917, and from the early Soviet period: both the Provisional Government and the Bolsheviks intended to associate their new law-enforcement authority with the self-organisation of the people and to distinguish it from the tsarist police. The ''militsiya'' was reaffirmed in Russia on {{OldStyleDate|November 10|1917|October 28}} under the official name of the ''Workers' and Peasants' Militsiya'', in further contrast to what the Bolsheviks called the "bourgeois class protecting" police.

Eventually, it was replaced by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which is now the official full name for the ''militsiya'' in their respective countries. Its regional branches are officially called departments of internal affairs, city departments of internal affairs, ''raion'' departments of internal affairs, ''oblast'' department of internal affairs, and so on.{{#tag:ref|The Russian term for a ''raion'' department 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'').|group=nb}}

Functionally, the ministries of internal affairs are mostly police agencies. Their functions and organisation differ significantly from similarly named departments in countries of the Western Bloc, 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 ministries of internal affairs have usually been headed by a ''militsiya'' general and 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.

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

The short term for a police officer (regardless of gender) is ''militsioner'' ({{langx|ru|милиционер}}, {{plural form}} милиционеры, ''militsionery''). Slang Russian terms for ''militsioner'' include ''ment'' (plural: менты, ''menty'') and ''musor'' (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 ({{langx |ru| МУС | translit = MUS}}, short for {{langx |ru| Московский уголовный сыск | translit = Moskovskiy ugolovnyy sysk}}) in Imperial Russia.

The following countries have changed the name of the police force from ''militsiya'' (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, Russia and Ukraine.

In 2019, Uzbekistan officially removed references to the word ''militsiya'' from its laws without replacing them with "police".<ref>{{cite news | url=https://kun.uz/en/news/2019/05/24/uzbekistan-officially-replaces-the-word-militsiya-with-another-term | title=Uzbekistan officially replaces the word "militsiya" with another term | work=KUN.UZ | date=24 May 2019 | agency=KUN.UZ | access-date=17 May 2022}}</ref>

The police are still called ''militsiya'' in Belarus, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, as well as in the unrecognized republics of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transnistria.

==General overview== [[File:Soviet russian badges.jpg|thumb|Soviet and Russian badges, from left to right, top to bottom: Soviet Druzhinnik badge, Soviet Metro (Subway) Post Militia (PPS), Soviet State Automobile Inspection (GAI), State Automobile Inspection (GAI) of the Russian Federation, Russian Moscow Municipal Militia, Central District, and Russian Police.]] [[File:VAZ-2106 police car in Yerevan, Armenia.jpg|thumb|A Lada 2106 belonging to the Armenian State Automobile Inspection parked on a street in Yerevan, June 2007.]] [[File:Gai radar.jpg|thumb|A Russian GAI inspector with a radar gun on the side of MKAD]]

The organizational structure, methods and traditions of the ''militsiya'' differ significantly from those of western police. The ''militsiya'' as an organisation consists of many functional departments, such as the GIBDD, a traffic police. Organised crime detectives form highly independent squads inside a regional ''militsiya''. Some units may have the distinctive names (like OMON in Russia) which are more specific than ''militsiya'' or ''militsioner''.

Personnel ranks of the ''militsiya'' mostly follow those of the army – from private (Russian: ''ryadovoy''), which is the lowest rank, to colonel general – with only these exceptions: there are no ranks of ''yefreytor'', army general, or marshal. Detectives (Russian: оперативник, ''operativnik'', 'operative', short for "operative employee" – оперативный работник, ''operativniy rabotnik'') hold a rank of at least lieutenant, and could be promoted to major or colonel. The ''militsiya'' of an oblast (or other equivalent subnational entity) is usually headed by a general. The rank name is suffixed with "of the ''militsiya''" (e.g. "major of the ''militsiya''" for a major). Personnel of the ''militsiya'' carry firearms, but are not permitted to carry their weapons when they are off duty.<ref>[http://base.garant.ru/12159440/ Patrol police service regulations by the Order of the MVD of Russia No. 80 dated 29 January 2008, art. 158]</ref>

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.<ref>[http://base.garant.ru/12159440/ Patrol police service regulations by the Order of the MVD of Russia No. 80 dated 29 January 2008, art. 158]</ref> 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,<ref>[http://base.garant.ru/70177358/ Unmarked vehicles may only be equipped with emergency lights and sirens in accordance with the specific procedure set forth by the Decree of the President of Russia.]</ref> therefore technically police officers do not have the right to violate traffic laws even while on an assignment. The GIBDD (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 into quarters, or ''uchastki'' ({{singular}} {{lang|ru|участок}}, ''uchastok''), with a special ''uchastkovy militsioner'' ('quarter policeman'), assigned to each. The main duty of a ''uchastkovy'' ({{lang|ru|участковый}}, {{plural form}} {{lang|ru|участковые}}, ''uchastkovye'') is to maintain close relations with the residents of his quarter and gather information among them. In particular, the ''uchastkovy'' should personally know each and every ex-convict, substance abuser, young hooligan, and so on, in a given ''uchastok'', and visit them regularly for preemptive influence. The ''uchastkovy'' is also responsible for tackling minor offences like family violence, loud noise, residential area parking, and so on. The ''uchastkovy'' is also the main, and actually the real, ''militsiya'' force in remote areas and small settlements where permanent police departments are not created. An ''uchastkovy militsioner'' has a separate small office within their quarter and maintain citizens' admittance in definite weekdays.

This system slightly resembles the US system of sheriffs but shows some notable differences. The ''uchastkovy'' is neither a chief police officer in a given community nor a universal one (not combining detective, incarceration or special tactics tasks).

The system of the ''uchastkovy'' dates back to the Russian Empire, when ''uriadniki'' were conducting lowest-level policing in rural areas. In the Soviet Union, the ''uchastkovye'' were also responsible for such tasks as maintaining ''propiska'' limitations 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, and so on. However, limited attempts are being made to appoint women as traffic officers, or ''operativniki''.

===Conscripted police=== {{Further|Internal Troops|Internal Troops (Russia)}} thumb|100px|Shoulder patch of Internal Troops, Moscow District [[File:Separate division operational use.jpg|thumb|100px|ODON shoulder patch]]

Another unique ''militsiya'' feature is the use of conscripted soldiers from the Internal Troops and 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 SMChM units are the gendarmerie-like military force who can be assigned to carry out simple public security tasks like patrolling while being accompanied by professional ''militsionery'', or cordoning large crowds at sport events, concerts, and protests. These soldiers possess no firearms on their policing duties, however they are equipped with PR-73 rubber police batons, PR-90 tonfas and related equipment; when called to perform riot control duties, they are typically equipped with ballistic shields and tear gas. The SMChM soldiers typically wear grey ''militsiya'' uniforms, distinguished from commissioned officers by wearing standard-issued ''sapogi'' instead of individual boots or shoes, the Internal Troops wear green military uniform. During emergencies, raids, dragnets and other police operations, they are equipped with bullet-proof vests and protective gear, firearms and armoured vehicles while 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 all battalions with three exceptions. Kiev and Leningrad had regiments and Moscow had a division, known as ODON, which is frequently used for policing Moscow; its soldiers can be spotted by a shoulder patch which features a white panther; other Internal troops units in the Moscow region use a shoulder patch with a white falcon.

===Rank insignia=== Until late 1936, the ''militsiya'' and Internal Troops of the NKVD had no personal ranks, much akin to the Red Army, Red Navy, and OGPU, 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 the GUGB in their special rank structure introduced in 1935, although with new rank insignia and commissar-style ranks for top officers.

New insignia were issued to GUGB in 1937 and to the ''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 Security'' was 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) and ''Major of Militsiya/State Security'' was mapped to one-romb insignia of ''kombrig'' (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 renamed commissars of the''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, 1st, 2nd and 3rd rank; they were replaced with major general, lieutenant general and colonel general in the 1970s.

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

====Soviet ''militsiya'' (1936–1939)==== {| style="width:100%; border:1px solid #8888aa; background:#fff; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin:0 12px 12px 0; text-align:center; " |- style="background:#ccc;" ! ! colspan="1" | Chief Director of Militsiya ! colspan="1" | Director of Militsiya ! colspan="1" | Inspector of Militsiya ! colspan="1" | Senior Major ! colspan="1" | Major ! colspan="1" | Captain ! colspan="1" | Senior Lieutenant |- style="text-align:center; | Source:<ref name="Kiev7">[http://army.armor.kiev.ua/forma-2/milicia-08.php ''Форма одежды и знаки различия милиции СССР. Часть 7. 1936-1939 гг.''] Retrieved 2017-08-28.</ref> | 60px|петлица ркм 1936 | 60px|петлица ркм 1936 | 60px|петлица ркм 1936 | 60px|петлица ркм 1936 | 60px|петлица ркм 1936 | 60px|петлица ркм 1936 | 60px|петлица ркм 1936 |} {| style="width:100%; border:1px solid #8888aa; background:#fff; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin:0 12px 12px 0; text-align:center; " |- style="background:#ccc;" ! ! colspan="1" | Lieutenant ! colspan="1" | Junior Lieutenant ! colspan="1" | Sergeant ! colspan="1" | Cadet ! colspan="1" | Starshina ! colspan="1" | Subunit Leader ! colspan="1" | Senior Militiaman ! colspan="1" | Militiaman

|- style="text-align:center; | Source:<ref name="Kiev7"/> | 60px|петлица ркм 1936 | 60px|петлица ркм 1936 | 60px|петлица ркм 1936 | 60px|петлица ркм 1936 | 60px|петлица ркм 1936 | 60px|петлица ркм 1936 | 60px|петлица ркм 1936 | 60px|петлица ркм 1936 |}

====Soviet militsiya (1939–1943)==== {| style="width:100%; border:1px solid #8888aa; background:#fff; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin:0 12px 12px 0; text-align:center; " |- style="background:#ccc;" ! ! colspan="1" | Chief Director ! colspan="1" | Director ! colspan="1" | Inspector ! colspan="1" | Senior Major ! colspan="1" | Major ! colspan="1" | Captain ! colspan="1" | Senior Lieutenant ! colspan="1" | Lieutenant |- style="text-align:center; | Source:<ref name="Kiev8">[http://army.armor.kiev.ua/forma-2/milicia-09.php Форма одежды и знаки различия милиции СССР. Часть 8. 1939-1943 гг.] Retrieved 2017-08-28.</ref> | | | | | | | |

|- style="text-align:center; | | | | | | | | | |} {| style="width:100%; border:1px solid #8888aa; background:#fff; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin:0 12px 12px 0; text-align:center; " |- style="background:#ccc;" ! ! colspan="2" | Junior Lieutenant ! colspan="2" | Sergeant ! colspan="2" | Starshina ! colspan="2" | Subunit Leader ! colspan="2" | Senior Militiaman ! colspan="2" | Militiaman |- style="text-align:center; | Source:<ref name="Kiev8"/> | | | | | | | | | | | | |}

====Former Russian militsiya==== {| width="100%" style="border:1px solid #8888aa; background-color:white; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin: 0px 12px 12px 0px; text-align:center;" |- style="background:#cccccc;" ! ! colspan="4" | Supreme Supervising Staff ! colspan="3" | Senior Supervising Staff ! colspan="4" | Medium Supervising Staff |- style="background:#efefef;" | Shoulder insignia for every day uniform | 45px | 45px | 45px | 45px | 45px | 45px | 45px | 45px | 45px | 45px |- style="background:#efefef;" | 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 |}

{| width="100%" style="border:1px solid #8888aa; background-color:white; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin: 0px 12px 12px 0px; text-align:center;" |- style="background:#cccccc;" ! ! colspan="6" | Junior Supervising Staff ! Private Staff |- style="background:#efefef;" | Shoulder insignia for every day uniform | 45px | 45px | 45px | 45px | 45px | 45px | 45px |- style="background:#cccccc;" | 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==== {| style="width:100%; border:1px solid #8888aa; background:#fff; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin:0 12px 12px 0; text-align:center;" |- style="background:#ccc;" ! ! colspan="4" | General Officers ! colspan="3" | Senior Commissioned Officers ! colspan="4" | Junior Commissioned Officers |- style="background:#efefef;" | Shoulder insignia for every day uniform | 40px | 40px | 40px | 45px | 45px | 45px | 45px | 45px | 45px | 45px |- style="background:#efefef;" | 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 |}

{| style="width:100%; border:1px solid #8888aa; background:#fff; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin:0 12px 12px 0; text-align:center; " |- style="background:#ccc;" ! ! Private Officers ! Cadet Officers ! colspan="6" | Non-commissioned Officers |- style="text-align:center; background:#efefef;" | Shoulder insignia for every day uniform | 45px | 45px | 45px | 45px | 45px | 45px | 45px | 45px |- style="background:#efefef;" | 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)}} {| style="width:100%; border:1px solid #8888aa; background:#fff; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin:0 12px 12px 0; text-align:center;" |- style="background:#ccc; " !Category ! colspan="3" | General Personnel ! colspan="3" | Senior Officers ! colspan="4" | Junior Officers |- style="background:#efefef;" |Shoulder Ranks |45px |45px |45px |45px |45px |45px |45px |45px |45px |45px |- style="background:#efefef;" | Ranks | Colonel General | Lieutenant General | Major General | Colonel | Lieutenant Colonel | Major | Captain | Senior Lieutenant | Lieutenant | Junior Lieutenant |}

{| style="width:100%; border:1px solid #8888aa; background:#fff; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin:0 12px 12px 0; text-align:center; " |- style="background:#ccc;" !Category ! colspan="2" | Ensigns ! colspan="4" | Sergeants ! colspan="2" | Private |- style="text-align:center; background:#efefef;" | Police Shoulder |45px |45px |45px |45px |45px |45px |45px |45px |- style="background:#efefef;" | Rank | Senior Ensign | Ensign | Starshina | Senior Sergeant | Sergeant | Junior Sergeant | Gefreiter | Private |}

==Non-police services== The Soviet and some post-Soviet Ministries of Internal Affairs have also included:

*Militarized forces (Internal Troops); *Department of prisons (i.e. Gulag and its successor bodies), if not merged with other ministries or agencies; *Passport and registration service, if not merged with the migration service.

These non-police services should be distinguished from the ''militsiya'' itself, except passport and registration service, which structures are often included into ''OVD'' and sometimes considered one of the important ''militsiya'' services. Their members have always used different generic names and specific ranks (e.g. major of the Internal Service, rather than major of the ''militsiya'').

==Soviet ''militsiya'' (GAI) cars== The most common types were:

<gallery> File:%D0%9C%D1%83%D0%B7%D1%8D%D0%B9_%D0%9C%D0%A3%D0%A1_009.jpg|Restored GAZ-21 Volga militsiya car in Minsk 2014 File:%D0%9C%D1%83%D0%B7%D1%8D%D0%B9_%D0%9C%D0%A3%D0%A1_001.jpg|Restored UAZ-452 militsiya van in Minsk 2014 File:Militians_VAZ-2101_after_reconstruction,_Tartu_2014.JPG|Restored VAZ-2101 Zhiguli militsiya car in Tartu 2014 File:%D0%9C%D1%83%D0%B7%D1%8D%D0%B9_%D0%9C%D0%A3%D0%A1_008.jpg|Restored VAZ-2106 in Minsk 2014 File:GAZ-24_%22Volga%22_(militsyja_edition).jpg|GAZ-24 Volga </gallery>

==Heads of the ''militsiya''== * Georgy Sidamon-Eristov (March 11, 1917 – June 15, 1917) * Andrey Dizhbit (August 1, 1918 – 1919) * Mikhail Vasilyev-Yuzhin (1919–1920) * Vasily Kornev (1920-1921) * Tikhon Khvesin (1921-1922) * Pyotr Sergievsky (1923-1927) * Ivan Kiselev (1928–1931) * Ivan Kashirin (1931) * Dmitry Usov (1932) * Georgy Prokofiev (December 27, 1932 – January 4, 1934) * Lev Belsky (January 4, 1934 – August 7, 1937) * Vasily Chernyshev (August 7, 1937 – February 18, 1939) * Ivan Serov (February 18, 1939 – July 29, 1939) * Pavel Zuev (July 29, 1939 – March 14, 1940) * Alexander Galkin (March 14, 1940 – March 10, 1947) * Alexander Leontiev (March 10, 1947 – March 11, 1953) * Nikolai Stakhanov (March 11, 1953 – February 22, 1955) * Taras Filippov (March 11, 1955 – April 4, 1956) * Mikhail Barsukov (April 4, 1956 – August 10, 1959) * Grigory Kalinin (August 10, 1959 – January 25, 1960) * Alexey Kudryavtsev (1962–1967)

==Post-Soviet ''militsiya'' forces==

===Russia=== [[File:A Car of Russian Police is in a rainy day.jpg|thumb|right| Moscow ''militsiya'' Ford Focus.]] {{Main|Militsiya (Russia)}} {{Further|Police of Russia}}

The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, originally established in 1802, was recreated as the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian SFSR in 1990, following the restoration of the republican Council of Ministers and Supreme Soviet, and it remained in place in post-Soviet Russia. There were multiple initiatives aimed the restructuring the ministry throughout the 1990s and 2000s, with responsibility for corrections, prisons and jails being transferred to the Ministry of Justice and firefighting to the Ministry of Emergency Situations.{{sfn|Sullivan|2005|p=1273}} The Ministry of Internal Affairs controlled the ''militsiya'', the State Road Inspection Service (GAI), and the Internal Troops.{{sfn|Sullivan|2005|p=1274}} Since the disbanding of the Tax Police, it also investigates economic crimes.

The Russian ''militsiya'' operated on the Law of the Militsiya adopted on 18 April 1991.{{sfn|Sullivan|2005|p=1275}} Its rights and responsibilities were changed significantly when the Criminal Procedure Code came into force in July 2002.{{sfn|Sullivan|2005|p=1276}}

{{Further|Russian police reform}} In August 2010, President Dmitry Medvedev introduced new legislation to reform and centralize the funding of the ''militsiya'', as well as to officially change its name to "police" (the term which was used in the Russian Empire).<ref>Bratersky, Alexander. "[http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/08/09/police_to_get_new_name_04867.html Police to get new name in reform]." ''Moscow Times''. August 9, 2010. Retrieved August 18, 2010.</ref> The change was performed on March 1, 2011.

===Ukraine=== [[File:Ukrainian Policemen in central Kiev.jpg|thumb|Officers from the Militsiya's public order department patrol Khreshchatyk Street in central Kyiv.]] {{Main|Militsiya (Ukraine)}} {{Further|National Police of Ukraine}}

The ''militsiya'' was the national police service of Ukraine from the 1950s until 2015. The ''militsiya'' was formed in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic within the Soviet Union, and continued to serve as a national police service in post-Soviet Ukraine until it was replaced by the National Police of Ukraine on 7 November 2015.<ref name="mrbnp7n15">[http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/302303.html Law on national police enacted in Ukraine], Interfax-Ukraine (7 November 2015) {{in lang|uk}}[http://korrespondent.net/ukraine/3585106-avakov-rasskazal-kak-mylytsyia-stanet-polytsyei Avakov told how the militsiya will become police], Korrespondent.net (4 November 2015)</ref>{{#tag:ref|On 3 July 2015 the National Police of Ukraine had started to replaced militsiya.<ref name="RE6JUL">{{cite news | url=https://news.yahoo.com/ukraine-launches-western-style-police-force-set-marker-133852935.html | title=Ukraine launches Western-style police force to set a marker for reform | work=Yahoo News | date=6 July 2015 | agency=Reuters | access-date=21 July 2015}}</ref>|group=nb}}

===Serbia=== [[File:Škoda Rapid Komunalna policija grada Beograda.jpg|thumb| Serbian Škoda Rapid of the Communal Police]] {{main|Municipal police (Serbia)}}

In Serbia, the Communal Police (or Municipal Police; {{langx|sr|Комунална полиција|Komunalna policija}}) was established in 2009.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Zakon o Komunalnoj Policiji |url=https://pravno-informacioni-sistem.rs/eli/rep/sgrs/skupstina/zakon/2009/51/7}}</ref>

In 2016, its name was changed to Communal Militsya ({{langx|sr|Комунална милиција|Komunalna milicija|label=none}}), under which it continues to operate to the current day.<ref>{{Cite web |title=PREDLOG ZAKONA O IZMENAMA I DOPUNAMA ZAKONA O KOMUNALNOJ POLICIJI: ZAšTITNIK GRAđANA SMATRA DA SE PREDLOGOM ZAKONA NEPOTREBNO JAčAJU OVLAšćENJA KOMUNALNIH POLICAJACA, A OGRANIčAVAJU SLOBODE I PRAVA GRAđANA. SNIżEN JE KRITERIJUM ZA ZASNIVANJE RADNOG ODNOSA U KOMUNALNOJ POLICIJI, A UKINUTO JE I OGRANIčENJE BROJA KOMUNALNIH POLICAJACA U ZAVISNOSTI OD BROJA STANOVNIKA OPšTINE, ODNOSNO GRADA |url=https://www.paragraf.rs/dnevne-vesti/030316/030316-vest14.html |access-date=2024-11-30 |website=www.paragraf.rs |language=sr}}</ref>

===Other jurisdictions=== [[File:European Solidarity Centre - Room D 07.jpeg|thumb|A Polish "Milicja" FSC Star vehicle from the early 1980s and a broken Gdańsk Shipyard gate fragment on display at the European Solidarity Centre in Gdańsk.]] [[File:1985-03-29 46m.JPG|thumb|A Yugoslav "Milicija" VW Golf I parked on a street in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1985.]]

The term ''militsiya'' remains in use in the following post-Soviet states:

* The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus operates a ''militsyya'' ({{langx|be|мiлíцыя}}), as well as other law-enforcement agencies such as the Presidential Security Service and the State Security Committee (KGB). * Tajikistan retains the name ''militsiya'', sometime translated as "police".<ref> {{cite web |url= http://mvd.tj/index.php/en/news-archive/14046-mulo-oti-ozodu-samim-bo-kormandoni-militsiya-4 |title= An open conversation between the Minister of Internal Affairs with staff of militia |year= 2017 |publisher= Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan |access-date= 2017-07-20 |quote= [...] the Minister of the Interior, referring to the constructive policy of the Head of State, noted that, at the initiative of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the General Army, the respected Emomali Rahmon, police officers are provided with all necessary conditions and modern technology. }} </ref> * The Transnistrian police force bears the official name ''PMR militsiya''.<ref> Compare Министерство внутренних дел Приднестровской Молдавской Республики </ref>

Cognate terms also came into use in several Soviet bloc countries during the Cold War. Examples included Bulgaria (Peoples' Militia), Poland (''Milicja Obywatelska'') and other Warsaw Pact nations, as well as the non-aligned SFR Yugoslavia (''Milicija''), which was phased out throughout the 1990s and replaced by ''policija'' (police) in early 1997. Bulgaria changed the name of its law-enforcement body to ''Policija'' ({{langx|bg|полиция}}) in 1991. Romania operated a ''Miliția'', but after the communist regime there fell (1989), the ''Poliția'' replaced it in 1990.

==See also== *ODON of the Internal Troops, USSR and Russia *OMON, USSR and Russia *Miliția (Romania) *Ukrainian People's Militsiya *Voluntary People's Druzhina

==Notes== {{Reflist|group=nb}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Sources== * {{cite book |last1=Sullivan |first1=Larry E. |title=Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement |date=2005 |publisher=SAGE |isbn=978-0-7619-2649-8 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Encyclopedia_of_Law_Enforcement/L145DQAAQBAJ?hl=en |language=en}}

==Further reading== *Shelley, Louise I. ''Policing Soviet Society: The Evolution of State Control''. London: Routledge, 1996.

==External links== {{Commons category}} *{{CIA World Factbook}} *[http://www.photius.com/countries/russia/government/russia_government_ministry_of_internal~1396.html Information from the July 1996 CIA World Factbook] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20080221164858/http://eng.mvdrf.ru/ Ministry of the Interior of Russia] (official website)

Category:Law enforcement agencies of the Soviet Union Category:Law enforcement in communist states Category:Militsiya *