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Squad of Militsiya of Special Assignment "Berkut" Підрозділ Mіліції Cпеціального Призначення «Беркут»
Common name	Berkut
Motto	Безпека народу — найвищий Закон The security of the people is the highest law
Agency overview
Formed	1992
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction	UA
Primary governing body	Ministry of Internal Affairs (Ukraine)
Secondary governing body	Department of Public Security
Operational structure
Headquarters	Kiev

The "Berkut" (Template:Lang-uk) is the system of special units of the Ukrainian militia (police) within the Ministry of Internal Affairs. .

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.

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. 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 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, 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.

Political scandals

• June 23-25, 1995, assault on Crimean Tatars near Sudak (Crimea) and helped criminals to escape angry crowd
• July 18, 1995, "Black Tuesday", preventing burial of Patriarch Volodymyr (Kiev)
• On August 24, 1998 (Independence Day), violently dispersed peaceful protest of coal miners (not being paid for 2.5 years) in Luhansk (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."

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. 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

1. Berkut arrived to defend Yanukovych's Mezhihirya from journalists. ictv. June 6, 2013
2. Beaten up by Berkut neighbor of Yanukovych was recognized guilty and fined. 24tv. January 18, 2014
3. Berkut Riot Police Used to Falsify Ukrainian Parliamentary Elections, The Jamestown Foundation (14 November 2012)
4. MVD website, history
5. Berkut Riot Police Used to Falsify Ukrainian Parliamentary Elections, The Jamestown Foundation (14 November 2012)
6. https://twitter.com/OS1954/status/427795519545409536
7. "EuroMaidan rallies in Ukraine (Jan. 26-27 live updates)". Kyiv Post. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
8. Spark that almost burned down Crimea. Mirror Weekly. June 30, 1995
9. Burial of Patriarch Volodymyr. youtube
10. Patriarch Volodymyr was buried near wall of St Sophia. calendarium.com.
11. A coal miner burned himself in sign of protest for beating people. vse.rv. December 14, 2013
12. "Ukraine Leader Faces New Pressure to End Unrest". New York Times. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
13. Template:Uk icon МВС України

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.
• . Berkut and hostage.

v t e Euromaidan and the Revolution of Dignity
21 November 2013 – 23 February 2014
Main topics	Timeline of the Euromaidan Domestic responses to the Euromaidan International reactions to the Euromaidan Casualties Heavenly Hundred Order of the Heavenly Hundred Heroes Damaged communist monuments
Main events	1 December 2013 riots Fall of the monument to Lenin in Kyiv 11 December 2013 assault Ukrainian–Russian action plan Anti-Maidan Vasylkiv terrorists case Anti-protest laws in Ukraine 2014 Odesa clashes 2014 Hrushevskoho Street riots 2014 RSA occupations Agreement on settlement of political crisis in Ukraine Revolution of Dignity
Aftermath	2014 pro-Russian unrest Timeline Russian military intervention 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia Timeline War in Donbas timeline First Yatsenyuk government Lustration in Ukraine Decommunization in Ukraine
Elections	2014 Ukrainian presidential election 2014 Ukrainian local elections 2014 Kyiv local election 2014 Crimean status referendum 2014 Donbas status referendums 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election
Main places	Maidan Nezalezhnosti Mezhyhirya Khreshchatyk Lypky Bankova Street European Square Hrushevskoho Street Dynamo Stadium Kyiv City Council Trade Unions Building Ukrainian House Mariinskyi Park October Palace Kyiv Conservatory
European integration	Ukraine–European Union relations Eastern Partnership European Union Association Agreement European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement Constitution of Ukraine
Protest figures	Organizations Maidan People's Union Euromaidan Press Parliamentary opposition parties Batkivshchyna Svoboda UDAR Other parties Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists Democratic Alliance UNA–UNSO United Left and Peasants Civic organizations Automaidan Road Control Vidsich Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People Militant groups Right Sector Spilna Sprava Lead figures Vitali Klitschko Arseniy Yatsenyuk Oleh Tyahnybok Petro Poroshenko Yuriy Lutsenko Oleksandr Turchynov Yulia Tymoshenko Andriy Parubiy Andriy Sadovyi Arsen Avakov Ruslana Tetiana Chornovol Dmytro Bulatov Dmytro Yarosh Refat Chubarov
Anti-protest figures	Organizations Second Azarov government Ministry of Internal Affairs Internal Troops of Ukraine Security Service of Ukraine Berkut Militsiya (Ukraine) Party of Regions Titushky Night Wolves Don Cossacks Antimaidan Lead figures Viktor Yanukovych Mykola Azarov Serhiy Arbuzov Vitaliy Zakharchenko Oleksandr Yefremov Andriy Klyuyev Hennadiy Kernes Mykhailo Dobkin Viktor Pshonka Olena Lukash Yuriy Boyko Leonid Kozhara Dmytro Tabachnyk Oleksandr Klymenko

• Law enforcement in Ukraine
• Law enforcement agencies of Ukraine
• Euromaidan