Hosta

The "Berkut" (Ukrainian: Бе́ркут) is the system of special units of the Ukrainian militia (police) within the Ministry of Internal Affairs. .^[1][2]

It is Ukraine's successor to the Soviet OMON. It is semi-autonomous and is governed at the local or regional level (oblast, raion, city). Initially used to fight organized crime, it is currently used as the Police (Militsiya) for Public Security. Its full name is "Berkut" Separate Special Assignment Unit(s) of Militsiya. There is a "Berkut" unit in every region (oblast) and every big city of the country. Among the several special police units in Ukraine, "Berkut" became a catchall name for all the others. The main stated purpose of the unit is crowd control, however the Berkut have also been accused of taking part in racketeering, and of applying political pressure using physical intimidation in support of local governments.^[3]

Etymology

The name means golden eagle or Aquila chrysaetos in the Ukrainian language, referring to a raptor historically associated with falconry on larger mammals, particularly foxes.

History

The order to organize the OMON (Special Purpose Police Unit) in the Ukrainian SSR was issued on December 28, 1988, over a year after the establishment of the Soviet OMON back in 1987 and almost three months later after the issue of official order on October 3, 1988.^[4] The first units were formed in Kiev, Dnipropetrovsk, Odessa, Lviv and Donetsk and were based on selected units of Soviet Internal Troops of the Ministry of Interior Affairs. After the fall of the Soviet Union it was decided to organize such units in every oblast (province) center as part of the Ministry of Interior of Ukraine. On January 16, 1992 the order was issued to create quick reaction force (QRF) units "Berkut", which was fully implemented by the start of 1993.

According to Taras Kuzio (as stated in November 2012) in recent years the force has been increasingly used to intimidate anti-government demonstrators and to influence the electoral process^[5] On 30 November 2013, Berkut units in Kiev violently dispersed protestors during the Euromaidan protests.

On 27 January, the Ministry of Defense announced sharp pay raises for military personnel,^[6] and the Cabinet of Ministers adopted a secret resolution to increase the size of the Berkut force sixfold to 30,000; they would also be given more power and a reserve fund would be set aside for additional ammunition.^[7]

Political scandals

• June 23-25, 1995, assault on Crimean Tatars near Sudak (Crimea) and helped criminals to escape angry crowd^[8]
• July 18, 1995, "Black Tuesday", preventing burial of Patriarch Volodymyr (Kiev)^[9][10]
• On August 24, 1998 (Independence Day), violently dispersed peaceful protest of coal miners (not being paid for 2.5 years) in Luhansk^[11] (governor of Luhansk Oblast - Oleksandr Yefremov)
• November 2000 - March 2001, Ukraine without Kuchma, protection of government from angry crowd
• August 19, 2013, attack on people's deputies during the 2013 Kiev political protests near city hall
• Ongoing since November 22, 2013, attack on protesters of Euromaidan with elements of sadism (Kiev)
• On January 27, 2014, the New York Times reported "In recent days, video emerged of the elite Berkut riot police stripping a protester naked, then forcing him to pose for photographs holding an ice scraper, before hitting and kicking him and forcing him onto a police bus. Another protester froze to death after being kidnapped at a hospital in Kiev where he had sought treatment for an eye injury, but instead was taken to the woods outside the capital and severely beaten before being left in the cold."^[12]

Duties

The main duty of the unit is the security of the general public and enforcement of civil order, especially during mass public events (demonstrations, parades, sport or concert events, etc.), or in places of increased criminal activity as part of the fight against organized crime. The Berkut have also been assigned to provide protective custody of certain individuals, such as witnesses in criminal trials.

Organization

The Berkut is a reserve unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVS) and subordinates to the regional (oblast) departments of the MVS. Until 1997 it was under the direct supervision of HUBOZ (Chief Directorate in Fight of Organized Crime). Due to formation of another quick reaction force unit Sokil (Falcon) under HUBOZ, Berkut was later reassigned under the supervision of the Directorate of Public Security of the MVS.

Depending on the region, the Berkut's battalions range in manpower from 50 to 600. Also depending on its dislocation, the unit can be commissioned as a company or regiment. As of January 2008, the force consists of 2 regiments, 6 separate battalions, and 19 companies totaling 3,250 members.^[13] One of the regiments is located in Kiev, while another one is stationed in Crimea.

The Berkut militia are distinguished by their maroon berets (also known as "krapovy beret"), an honorary headgear.

Scope of activity

The Berkut is the Ukrainian successor of the Soviet OMON (Special Purpose Police Unit), responsible for high-risk police operations including hostage crises and riots. Berkut teams participated in many actions of Leonid Kuchma's regime against the opposition (see Orange Revolution). More recently, they have been breaking up crowds during the 2013 Ukraine pro-European Union protests.

See also

• Quick reaction force - compare to quick reaction forces in military units of the US Army.
• SWAT – American special police unit(s)

References

External links

• Kyiv’s riot police brutal, ‘begrudging’ by Kyiv Post, Dec. 5, 2013
• Template:Uk icon Truth about special unit "Berkut". TSN. 1+1.
• [1]. Berkut and hostage.