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• Music: Brian Storm – Turn Down for What (Metal cover) • Social network: YouTube • OMON (Russian: ОМОН—Отряд мобильный особого назначения, Otryad Mobilny Osobogo Naznacheniya or Special Purpose Mobility Unit) was a system of special police units of Federal Police within the Russian, and previously Soviet, Ministry of Internal Affairs. It was created as the special forces of the Soviet Militsiya in 1988, and then played major roles in several armed conflicts during and following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. OMON was much larger and better known than SOBR, another special police branch of the Russian Interior Ministry. In modern context, the OMON were used more like riot police, or as a gendarmerie-like paramilitary force. OMON units continue to exist in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and other post-Soviet states. However, some post-Soviet units have changed names and acronyms. OMON officers are commonly known as the omonovtsy. On 5 April 2016, the functions of OMON were taken over by the newly established National Guard of Russia. • The Special Rapid Response Team or SRRT (Russian – специальные отряды быстрого реагирования = Spetsial'nye Otryady Bystrogo Reagirovaniya, literally “Special Quick-Reaction Units“), comprises a spetsnaz unit of the Russian Interior Ministry (MVD). SOBR also continues to exist in Belarus, headed there as of 2006 by Dmitri Pavlichenko. Russian SOBR units, staffed by senior-ranking police officers, receive better training than the members of OMON (which is a cross between riot police and paramilitary police). They carry out SWAT-type special operations under the jurisdiction of the MVD, including the apprehension of dangerous criminals, high-profile raids, etc. They also fought during the wars in Chechnya. In 2007 Russia had 87 OMSN units, counting over 5,000 officers stationed in major Russian cities, such as OMSN “Rys“ (English OMSN “Lynx“, Russian ОМСН “Рысь“). Russia's SOBR units first formed on February 10, 1992 within the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime under the MVD. On September 16, 2002, the SOBR was in the process of being dissolved and the SOBR units were reclassified as OMSN and subordinated to the regional criminal police offices. Due to the popularity of the name, and because of the similarities between SOBR and OMSN, both officers and civilians usually referred to the OMSN as “SOBR“. Since the 2011 establishment of the SKR, the Investigative Committee of Russia, the unit is cooperating with the Federal investigative authorities. The units got back their historic name, “SOBR“, as a part of the Ministry of the Interior reform late in 2011. On 5 April 2016, the functions of SOBR were taken over by the newly established National Guard of Russia.
