The police of the USSR: what it was

On November 10, 1917, during the revolutionary events, the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs issued a resolution on the establishment of the Workers' Militia.

Origins

The concept of the militia appeared as far back as 1903 in the program of the Bolshevik Party, and in March 1917, after the Provisional Government came to power, the militia officers took the place of the tsarist police. They were ordinary workers who stood at the bench in the daytime, and in the evening went out with rifles to the streets to guard order.

Lenin also spoke about the need to create a "people's militia," which implied the complete arming of the people.

The first militia of the USSR

In fact, the work on the protection of the order carried out the Red Guards of the revolutionary guard. The authorities understood that there should be a separate body to monitor the order within the country. In August 1918, it was decided to establish a police force. This new body existed throughout the entire period of Soviet power.

The militia became a workers 'and peasants' and people aged 23 and over could serve there.

The tsarist police had to be simply reorganized, because, according to FZ Dzerzhinsky, new people could not bring anything good to the former power bodies. But this ideology was ignored by the authorities, and the Soviet militia of that time consisted of non-professionals.

In the troubled post-revolutionary era, the history of the police was written in blood. In the spring of 1918, the first militiamen were killed in the fight against the bandits.

The first weapon that the new law enforcement officers were armed with was a Mauser and a revolver. The Mauser is a well-known powerful weapon that has been in use almost until the fifties of the last century.

MoD

October 5, 1918 authorities issued a provision on the establishment of departments to combat criminal crime. Moscow criminal investigation under the tsarist regime was transformed into the Moscow Criminal Investigation Department.

"Murovtsy" wore a special identification mark on the lapels of their jackets - the crescent moon and the "Murov eye" - the all-seeing eye. The departmental distinction was issued for a certain time.

The main task of the MUR staff was the destruction of armed gangs, which only in Moscow there were about 30.

Form and title

At first, they did not really think about the external signs of the distinction. The policemen walked in civilian clothes and wore only red armbands on their hands. In 1923, they reached the introduction of the form. The pedestrian Soviet militia of that time had the black color of uniforms, and the cavalry - navy blue. New insignia appeared almost every year. The colors of buttonholes, the signs themselves and their configuration changed.

In 1931, the uniform of a Soviet policeman became gray. Titles of the newly appeared law enforcement officers were not, only posts.

Along with the appearance of ranks in the army in 1936, ranks appeared among the militiamen. In addition to sergeants and lieutenants, there were still directors of the police - the most important ranks. In 1943, the epaulettes were introduced, and the main color of the insignia became blue.

In 1947, the uniform of uniform was changed and a red color appeared. In the famous children's poem by Sergei Mikhalkov about Uncle Steppe, a policeman who stands on his post is very vividly portrayed.

On January 13, 1962, the Soviet Union was shocked by the story of a policewoman, who, while standing, saved a woman and children from a drunken armed criminal. The precinct Vasily Petushkov was mortally wounded and was awarded posthumously the title of hero.

Police of the USSR and women

In the ranks of the Soviet militia, women appeared in 1919. A lot of representatives of the weaker sex worked in the Ministry of Internal Affairs during the Great Patriotic War. And in peacetime almost a quarter of employees successfully combined epaulettes with a skirt.

In fact, women during critical situations are no worse than men. In addition, the features of psychology make them valuable employees of internal organs.

The well-known writer Alexander Marinina served in the Soviet militia for 20 years, engaged in the analysis of criminal offenses. She became the most famous lieutenant colonel in retirement, writing a series of detective novels about everyday life of employees of internal affairs.

Personnel training

To solve the problems with the training of personnel, the authorities opened the School of Militia. The police of the USSR have become more professional, thanks to permanent schools and courses for improving the skills of precinct and guard officers. In order to get to the investigative bodies, it was necessary to graduate from the Higher Police School.

Positive image of a policeman

Since the mid-60's, the state has constantly raised the prestige of the police in the eyes of the population. The media and the creative intelligentsia worked to create a positive hero - a Soviet militiaman. The police of the USSR became very popular among the people, thanks to fascinating films.

Since 1962 the holiday - the Day of Militia in the USSR has been officially introduced. The date of November 10 was noted before, but more locally. At the state level, on this day, policemen were congratulated by the officials and the best artists of the country.

Soviet people piously believed and repeated the phrase, which became winged: "Our militia protects us!".