History The Berkut was founded on 16 January 1992, three weeks after the
dissolution of the Soviet Union, as the "Berkut" Separate Special Assignment Unit(s) of Militsiya to serve the newly independent
Ukraine as the replacement of the
Ukrainian SSR's branch of the Soviet
OMON (Special Purpose Police Unit). The order to organize the OMON in the Ukrainian SSR had been 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 3 October 1988. The first OMON units in Ukraine were formed in
Kyiv,
Dnipropetrovsk,
Odesa,
Lviv, and
Donetsk and were based on selected units of
Soviet Internal Troops of the
Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs. After Ukrainian independence, it was decided to organize OMON units in every
oblast (
province) center as part of the
Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs. The new agency was fully implemented by the start of 1993, and inherited Ukrainian OMON's functions, including responsibility for high-risk police operations including
hostage crises and
riot policing, but primarily as a
quick reaction force with a focus on combating
organized crime.
Organization match. 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 against 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. One of the regiments was located in Kyiv, and the other one was stationed in
Crimea. During the
maidan protest movement Berkut members from
Western Ukraine (a region leaning towards pro-Euromaidan) complained to the media that they were "mistrusted" by top commanders. Some units are issued with the
SPG-9 recoilless rifle and
RPG-7 on a need basis.
Criticism Political violence The Berkut has increasingly developed a reputation for engaging in political-related violence, including acts of
police brutality and
extrajudicial punishment against anti-government protesters, activists, and voters. On 25 June 1995, during mass riots of
Crimean Tatars who started so called "
turf war" against the Crimean gang , Berkut policemen from
Poltava on the highway near
Sudak, (
Autonomous Republic of Crimea) opened fire with the intention to kill from automatic weapons which resulted in seven people being wounded and two killed. On 18 July 1995, Berkut was involved in a partially successful attempt to prevent the burial of Patriarch
Volodymyr (Romaniuk) on the territory of St.Sophia monastery (surrounds the
Saint Sophia's Cathedral). That day is known in Ukrainian history as
Black Tuesday. On 24 August (
Independence Day of Ukraine) 1998, Berkut participated in dispersing the picketing of miners in front of the Luhansk "House of Soviets" (administration building of Luhansk regional government and legislation). The picketing of miners from
Krasnodonvuhillia was caused by salary indebtedness for the last 2.5 years.
Euromaidan On 30 November 2013, Berkut units in
Kyiv violently dispersed protesters during the
Euromaidan protest movement, and were thereafter involved in numerous other instances of brutality attempting to suppress the movement. On 27 January 2014, the Ministry of Defense announced sharp pay raises for military personnel. The Cabinet of Ministers adopted a secret resolution to increase the size of the Berkut force sixfold to 30,000. They were given more power and a reserve fund was set aside for additional ammunition. Former head of Security for the Ukrainian president, General Viktor Ivanovich Palivoda, stated in early February 2014 that those officers standing in the front lines against the protestors received pay bonuses. Further bonuses were awarded for capturing protesters including the recognition of the equivalent of additional years of service.
Citizen disenfranchisement 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.
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." • 18 July 1995, "Black Tuesday" — Prevented burial of
Patriarch Volodymyr (
Kyiv) • 24 August 1998 (Independence Day) — Violently dispersed peaceful protest of coal miners (for a two-and-a-half-year lack of pay) in
Luhansk (governor of
Luhansk Oblast -
Oleksandr Yefremov) • November 2000 — March 2001,
Ukraine without Kuchma — Protected government from angry crowd • 19 August 2013 — Attacked
Parliamentarians during the 2013 Kyiv political protests near city hall • Beginning on 22 November 2013, attacked protesters of the Euromaidan • 23 January 2014 — Kidnapped Alexandra Haylak, a 22-year-old volunteer of the 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 that the Berkut was altering standard -issue stun grenades, making them killing devices by wrapping them with nails and other shrapnel and using them against Euromaidan protesters. Parubiy showed reporters samples of the altered weapons. • On 23 January 2014, Berkut officers arrested
Mykhailo Havryliuk, protester and
Zaporozhian Cossack. In temperatures approaching , Berkut officers beat Havryliuk with blows to his head and torso, then stripped him naked and forced him to the ground. Whilst he was on the ground, Berkut officers put their feet on his head, as association football players would place their feet on a ball, and photographed themselves. In a further attempt to humiliate him, Berkut offices forced Havryliuk to hold an ice-axe and attempted to make him proclaim, "I love Berkut". The video went viral and, apart from making Havryliuk a symbol of Euromaidan, drew an apology from Interior Minister
Vitaliy Zakharchenko. The Berkut was dissolved only four days after the opposition forces that had supported Euromaidan (including Avakov) had
taken control of the Ukrainian government, and replaced with the restored
National Guard of Ukraine on 13 March 2014. ==Crimean Berkut==