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Otryad Militsii Osobogo Naznacheniya (OMON, Black Berets, or Special Forces Police Detachment of Russia) is a special forces unit within the Russian Ministerstvo Vnutrennih Del (MVD, or Ministry of Internal Affairs). The unit is utilized in emergencies such as hostage situations and civil disturbances, as well as in response to acts of terrorism. They have a reputation for rash action, and it is said that an OMON member shoots first and then asks questions. A sub group of OMON is SOBRE , which specializes in anti-terrorist actions.1 History
The history of OMON starts in 1979, when an anti terrorist group was founded in preparation for the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, to ensure that there is no hostage crisis as in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. Initially dressed completely in black with black face masks, they are now recognizable on their black berets.
OMON itself is the successor of the group from 1979 and was founded in 1987.
The unit was initially used to control and stop demonstrations and to control and stop hooligans. They earned a bad reputation due to their extensive use of black rubber clubs. However, as a police force their aim is to protect civilians, and they cause a smaller death toll than other Russian special forces units.
OMON also has a reputation of corruption, and they are known to take bribes, including protection money, to improve their salary. Since August 1999For the album by Prince, see 1999 (album 1999 is a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar), and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the UN. Events Kosovo War Former child star Gary Coleman files for bankruptcy Y2K prep the group also started to check the identity of anybody who seemed to be non-russian in order extract bribes.
During the history of OMON the group appeared to be not always under full control of the government and often acted independently, especially during the dissolution of the Soviet UnionThe rise of Gorbachev Although reform stalled between 1964 1982, the generational shift gave new momentum for reform. Changing relations with the United States might also have been an impetus for reform. While it was Jimmy Carter who had officially ended, where the group tried to hinder the independence movement of other states. Government control is also questionable in ChechnyaThe Chechen Republic ( Russian: ; Chechen: /Noxciyn Respublika), also known as Chechnya (Russian: , Chechen: /Noxciyco), Chechnia or Chechenia is a constituent republic of the Russian Federation. Bordering Stavropol Krai to the northwest, the republic of, where one source even claims that Russian artilleryFor the thrash metal band, see Artillery (band Historically, artillery refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during war. The term also describes ground-based troops with the primary function of manning such weapons. The word as used i was shelling OMON members on purpose. Of course, exact information is difficult to obtain due to the limited freedom of the press in Russia.
2 Operations
- OMON is active in the Second Chechen WarThe Second Chechen War began in 1999, purportedly on account of attacks by Chechen forces on neighboring Dagestan, and a series of terrorist attacks on residential buildings in Russian cities that caused nearly 300 casualties, which were blamed on Chechen in ChechnyaThe Chechen Republic ( Russian: ; Chechen: /Noxciyn Respublika), also known as Chechnya (Russian: , Chechen: /Noxciyco), Chechnia or Chechenia is a constituent republic of the Russian Federation. Bordering Stavropol Krai to the northwest, the republic of. The group sustained heavy losses in this conflict. One group of 47 OMON members became known as the Perm OMON, named after the town PermFor the geologic period see Permian. For the hair treatment see Permanent wave. Perm (, pop. 1,000,100 as of 2003) is a city in Russia, on the banks of the Kama River, at the foot of the Ural Mountains the border between Europe and Asia. It is the capital. A OMON member Sergei Udachin, 37 years old, used a small camera to take snapshots of his group, and had used about half of the film before he and all but 7 members of his group were killed or captured and killed at a later time. A Chechnian fighter picked up the camera, and documented the Chechnyan side of the conflict, including killed and captured Russians. Eventually the images became public. The case was also brought to court. During the conflict the OMON were also accused of raping and murdering civilians.
- OMON members were used for counter-drug operations in central AsiaThe continent of Asia is defined by subtracting Europe and Africa from the great land mass of Africa-Eurasia. The boundaries are vague, especially between Asia and Europe: Asia and Africa meet somewhere near the Suez Canal. The boundary between Asia and E
- On January 20, 1991, OMON attacked Latvia's Interior Ministry during the Latvian independence movement, killing five and injuring 10. 7 OMON members were subsequently found guilty received suspended sentences by the Riga District Court.
- During the summer of 1991, a number of hit-and-run attacks on border outposts of Estonia were attributed to OMON. Some sources say that Mikhail Gorbachev had lost control of the unit.
- Beslan hostage crisis
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