 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Ministry of Internal Affairs" Belarus – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(March 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Міністэрства ўнутраных спраў Рэспублікі Беларусь | |
 Emblem of the Ministry of Internal Affairs | |
 | |
 Government building in Minsk | |
| Interior Ministry overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | February 22, 1991 |
| Preceding Interior Ministry |
|
| Jurisdiction | Government of Belarus |
| Headquarters | 15 Kirova St.,Minsk, 220030 53°53′57″N27°33′10″E / 53.8990727°N 27.5528741°E /53.8990727; 27.5528741 |
| Minister responsible |
|
| Child agencies | |
| Key document |
|
| Website | mvd |
TheMinistry of Internal Affairs of Belarus (Belarusian:Міністэрства ўнутраных спраў Рэспублікі Беларусь,romanized: Ministerstva ŭnutranych spraŭ Respubliki Bielaruś;Russian:Министерство внутренних дел Республики Беларусь,romanized: Ministerstvo vnutrennikh del Respubliki Belarus'), abbreviatedМUS (МУС) in Belarusian andMVD (МВД) in Russian, is a body of theBelarusian Government that is charged with the internal affairs ofBelarus. Day to day law enforcement is carried out by theMilitsiya. The Ministry is also tasked with providing security to state buildings and officials. Organizations such as thePresidential Guard are under the control of the Ministry. The clearing of landmines is among the tasks of the ministry.
The MVD/MUS has previously operated under the following names:
According to human rights groups, theUnited States, and theEuropean Union, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and its senior leadership play a key role inhuman rights violations and political repressions in Belarus.
A number of former Ministers and senior officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, including commanders and officers of the police (Militsiya) and of special police units operated by the Ministry (OMON,Almaz) have been included in thesanctions lists of theEuropean Union and theUnited States.[1]
Several former officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are being accused of involvement in unresolved disappearances and allegedly murder of opposition leadersYuri Zakharenko (also former Minister of Internal Affairs himself) andViktor Gonchar, opposition sponsor Anatoly Krasovski, and journalistDmitri Zavadski in 1999–2000.
| Name | Position | Accusations | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yury Sivakov | Former Minister of Internal Affairs and former Deputy Head of thePresidential Administration | Remained on the sanctions list of the EU after 2016. Is sanctioned by theUnited States.[2] | |
| Anatoly Kuleshov | Former Minister of Internal Affairs | Commanded the troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs that brutally dispersed the protests following the presidential elections of 2010 and "showed some pride for this responsibility"[3] | |
| Uladzimir Navumau | Former Minister of Interior and also former Head of thePresident's Security Service. | Failed to take action to investigate the case of the unresolved disappearances ofYuri Zakharenko,Viktor Gonchar, Anatoly Krasovski andDmitri Zavadski in Belarus in 1999-2000 | First included in EU sanctions list after thecontroversial presidential election of 2006.[4] Remains on the sanctions list of the EU after 2016. Is sanctioned by theUnited States.[5] |
| Yury Podobed | Former Head of the Unit for Special Purposes at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, later Head of the security service of the holding company Triple of businessmanYuri Chizh | Commanded internal anti-riot troops during the violent repression of peaceful protests, including those in 2004 and 2008[3] | First included in EU sanctions list after thecontroversial presidential election of 2006.[4] Is sanctioned by theUnited States.[6] |
| Dmitri Pavlichenko | Former Head of the Special Response Group at the Ministry of Interior (SOBR) | Key person in the unresolved disappearances of opposition leadersYuri Zakharenko,Viktor Gonchar, opposition sponsor Anatoly Krasovski, and journalistDmitri Zavadski in Belarus in 1999-2000[3] | First included in EU sanctions list after thecontroversial presidential election of 2006.[4] Remains on EU sanctions list after 2016. Is also sanctioned by theUnited States.[7] |
| Leonid Farmagey | Deputy Head of the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Before June 2011 – Police Commander of the City ofMinsk | Commanded theMinsk police forces that brutally repressed the protests of 19 December 2010. | |
| Valery Gaidukevich | Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs. Commander of internal troops, and Member ofParliament in the Lower Chamber | As a commander of internal troops, he was responsible for the violent repression of the demonstration on 19 December 2010 in Minsk, where his troops were the first to be actively involved. | |
| Sergey Gureev | Former Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs and Head of Preliminary Investigation | Has been actively involved in the repression of civil society in Belarus. As a former Deputy Minister of Interior and Head of Preliminary Investigation, he was responsible for the violent suppression of protests and violations of human rights during investigation proceedings in relation to the December 2010 election. Joined the reserve forces in February 2012[3] | |
| Sergey Ivanov | Deputy Head of Supply Division of the Ideological and Personnel Directorate of theMinsk Municipal Department of Internal Affairs | Actively participated in the crackdown of the 19 December 2010 protests. For this, he received an award and an acknowledgement letter from PresidentAlexander Lukashenko in February 2011[3] | |
| Alexander Lukomski | Commander of the Special Regiment of the Ministry of Interior of the City ofMinsk | His troops repressed the protests on 19 December 2010 and in June 2011. For his actions in December 2010, he was awarded by President Lukashenko in February 2011. | |
| Oleg Pekarski | Former first Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs | Responsible for the repression of civil society after the December 2010 presidential elections | |
| Yevgeny Poluden | Former Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs and Head of theMilitsiya (police) | Under his command, police forces brutally repressed the peaceful demonstrations on 19 December 2010 | |
| Alexander Barsukov | Colonel, Chief of Minsk police. | Appointed as Chief of Minsk police on 21 October 2011 and was responsible in this role for the repression of approximately a dozen peaceful protesters in Minsk, who were later convicted for breaking the law on mass events. For several years he commanded police action against street protests of the opposition | |
| Khazalbek Atabekov | Colonel, commander of a special brigade of Interior Troops stationed in theUruchcha suburb ofMinsk | His unit participated in the crackdown of the mass protests on 19 December 2010. Atabekov's actions constituted a direct violation of Belarus' international obligations in the area of human rights[3] | |
| Igor Yevseyev | Head of theregional Vitebsk police; former Deputy Head ofMinsk Police and Head of the Minsk anti-riot (OMON) operation team | His unit participated in the crackdown of the mass protests on 19 December 2010, he personally took part in the brutality and received an award and an acknowledgement letter from President Lukashenko. In 2011, he also commanded the troops that repressed several other protests by political activists and citizens in Minsk |
Its law enforcement central agency, the Militsiya, is considered to be the main policing and law enforcement agency in Belarus, consisting of services such as:
TheInternal Troops (Унутраныя войскі) are a uniformedparamilitarygendarmerie force of Belarus. They were formed from the former Soviet Internal Troops following thecollapse of the Soviet Union and consist of three independent brigades and seven independent battalions, totaling round 12,000 personnel.[9] The Internal Troops are regulated by Law No. 2341-XII, signed on 3 June 1993.[10]
Among the Internal Troop formations is theMinsk-based 3rd Red Banner Separate Special-Purpose Brigade (Military 3214, nicknamed the "Uruchenskaya Brigade").[11] Formed in the 1990s on the basis of the 334th Regiment of the120th Guards Motor Rifle Division, this specific brigade performs crowd control and anti-terrorism tasks, as well as provides assistance to border guards. In addition, the brigade also trains for combined arms operations in the event an armed conflict arises.[12]
Following the example of the SovietMilitsiya, the Militsiya of the Republic of Belarus is the primarylaw enforcement agency in Belarus and is responsible for regular policing duties in the country.[13]
The Exemplary Band of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was founded on 20 July 1945 as a military band of the 21st Motorized Rifle Detachment of theMinistry of State Security. Known informally as theBelpolk Band, it was considered to be one of the more prestigious of its kind and often won contests of military bands. On 28 April 1995, the band was re-branded as its current name. Colonel Nikolai Zharko became the first artistic director and chief conductor of the band. Its first concert took place on the first Day of the Militia parade on 4 March 1995 atOctober Square. It often is notably present as part of a joint band of the Minsk Garrison during theMinsk Independence Day Parade. It is also part of the Military Band Service ofInternal Troops of Belarus. The band is currently led by Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Kalinin while the service is led by Lieutenant Colonel Sergei Solodukhin.[15][16][17]
Media related toMinistry of Internal Affairs (Belarus) at Wikimedia Commons