Berkut (special police force)

The "Berkut" (Бе́ркут) was the system of special police of the Ukrainian militsiya within the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Currently its Crimean unit is since late March 2014 in the Republic of Crimea incorporated into the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs preserving its old name. Following the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, when Berkut was held responsible by the new government for nearly 100 civilian deaths, acting Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov signed a decree that dissolved the agency. As a result of the 2014 Crimean crisis and the referendum in Crimea the Russian Federation granted accession to the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol as federal subjects of Russia on 21 March 2014. Three days later Russia announced that the Crimean Berkut unit would preserve its name as it incorporates into the Russian Interior Ministry.

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.

It was Ukraine's successor to the Soviet OMON. It operated semi-autonomously and was governed at the local or regional level (oblast, raion, city). Initially used to fight organized crime, it became used as the Police (Militsiya) for Public Security. Its full name was "Berkut" Separate Special Assignment Unit(s) of Militsiya. There was 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 (in Ukraine) of the national special force was crowd control; however, the Berkut have also been accused of taking part in racketeering, and of terrorizing and attacking Ukrainian voters who would elect non-Yanukovych candidates to local governments, and had a well-documented history of kidnapping, attack, and torture of protesters including during Euromaidan and to a lesser extent the Orange Revolution.

History
The Berkut was 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). In 2013 and 2014 they had been breaking up crowds during the 2013 Ukraine pro-European Union protests that came to be known as Euromaidan.

Origin and growth


The order to organize the OMON in the Ukrainian SSR was issued on 28 December 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.

Violence and intimidation
Former Ukraine president Viktor Yanukovych has been accused, including by Amnesty International, of using the Berkut to threaten, attack, and torture Ukrainian protesters. Upon coming to power Yanukovych had reversed oversight measures established during the Yushchenko administration to curb Berkut abuse of citizens whereupon the special force "upped its brutality."

Euromaidan
On 30 November 2013, Berkut units in Kiev violently dispersed protesters during the Euromaidan protest movement, and have since been involved in many other instances of brutality in suppressing the movement. On 27 January 2014, 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. Former head of Security for the Ukrainian president, General Viktor Ivanovich Palivoda, stated in early February 2014 that that those officers standing in the front lines of riot control received pay bonuses, and that they received bonuses for capturing protesters, included added years of service.

Specific incidents


Writing in Business Insider in February 2014, Harrison Jacobs noted: "The Berkut ... has had a long history of brutality, abuse, torture, and other measures in service of whatever political regime is in control of Ukraine." According to Ukraine political expert Taras Kuzio in November 2013, in recent years the force had been increasingly used to intimidate anti-government demonstrators and to influence the electoral process.


 * 23-25 June 1995 — Assaulted Crimean Tatars near Sudak (Crimea) and helped criminals to escape angry crowd
 * 18 July 1995, "Black Tuesday" — Prevented burial of Patriarch Volodymyr (Kiev)
 * 24 August 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 — Protected government from angry crowd
 * 19 August 2013 — Attacked people's deputies during the 2013 Kiev political protests near city hall
 * Ongoing since November 22, 2013, attack on protesters of Euromaidan
 * 23 January 2014 — Kidnapped Alexandra Haylak, a 22-year-old volunteer of Euromaidan medical service, stripped her of all identification, and left her in the woods near Vyshhorod.
 * 23 January 2014 — Opposition member of Ukraine's parliament Andriy Parubiy reported Berkut was altering standard issue stun grenades into killing devices, wrapping them with nails and other shrapnel and using them on Euromaidan protesters. Parubiy showed reporters samples of the altered weapons.
 * 27 January 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."

Defeating citizens' franchise in parliamentary elections
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe confirmed witness accounts of voters being blocked from access to polls and being attacked along with local election officials who tried to frustrate the Berkut's practice of falsifying voters' ballots in favor of Yanukovych's Party of Regions candidates. Individual cases have been reported of citizens grouping together and fighting back against the Berkut in order to preserve election integrity and results.

Anti-semitism
Bernard-Henri Levy noted that in its last days before the end of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution and the Berkut's disbandment, on its website the group denounced the "Jewish origins" of Euromaidan leaders, and posted a picture with a superimposed Star of David and Swastika.

Dissolution


On 25 February 2014 acting Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov signed a decree on the dissolution of the Berkut. By then the force had become synonymous with police brutality for many Euromaidan protesters. The force was dissolved four days after the opposition forces that had supported Euromaidan (they included Avakov) had taken control of the Ukrainian government. In response to the disbanding, Russia started to issue former members of the Berkut Russian passports in the Crimean capital Simferopol. On 21 March 2014 in Crimea, Berkut was still active.

Organization


The Berkut was 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. The main duty of the unit was 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.

Berkut members were paid 1.5-2 times more than the average Ukrainian police officer. Depending on the region, the Berkut's battalions ranged in manpower from 50 to 600. Also depending on its dislocation, the unit could have been commissioned as a company or regiment. As of January 2008, the force consisted of two regiments, six separate battalions, and 19 companies totaling 3,250 members. One of the regiments is located in Kiev, while another one is stationed in Crimea. During the Euromaidan protest movement Berkut members from more the pro-Euromaidan Western Ukraine complained to the media that they were "mistrusted" by top commanders.

The Berkut militia were distinguished by their maroon berets (also known as "krapovy beret"), an honorary headgear. Standard Berkut equipment includes AKM assault rifles, PK machine guns, Dragunov SVD sniper rifles, UAZ-469 jeeps and the BTR-70 armoured personnel carriers. Some units are issued with the SPG-9 recoilless rifle and RPG-7 on a need basis.

History
On 25 February 2014, following the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, acting Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov signed a decree that dissolved the agency. The Crimean Berkut unit took part in maintaining public order during the 2014 Ukrainian revolution and Euromaidan. Media and Euromaidan demonstrators had accused Berkut of being excessively violent during these events. In response to the disbanding, Russia started to issue former members of the Berkut Russian passports in the Crimean capital Simferopol. On 21 March 2014 in Crimea, Berkut was still active. As a result of the 2014 Crimean crisis and the referendum in Crimea the Russian Federation granted accession to the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol as federal subjects of Russia on 21 March 2014. Three days later Russia announced that the Crimean Berkut unit would preserve its name as it incorporates into Russian Interior Ministry.

Organization
The Crimean Berkut unit has 400 members with subsidiaries in Kerch and Yalta.