The

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

-based 3rd Separate Red Banner Special-Purpose Brigade (, ), also known as

Military Unit Military organization or military organisation is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. In some countries paramilitary forces are included in a nation' ...

3214 and nicknamed the Uruchenskaya Brigade is a formation of the Internal Troops of Belarus. It is part of the special police ( riot police) system in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It has the specific role of performing crowd control and anti-terrorism tasks. It is based in the neighborhood of Uruchye in

and is under the command of Vladimir Zhiznevsky, who is under sanctions by the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

and was recommended to be sanctioned by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

History

Unit 3214 originates from the 287th Rifle Regiment of the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

, which was created on 6 March 1942 in the city of

Voronezh Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the ...

on the basis of a battalion of the 73rd Regiment of the 3rd NKVD Division of Railroad Building Protection ( :ru:3-я дивизия войск НКВД по охране железнодорожных сооружений (1-го формирования)). Although originally created for the protection of railway structures, the regiment took part in battles against the invading German

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

in Voronezh, performing in combat missions in the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...

as well. In 1975, the brigade was awarded the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...

by decree of the

Presidium of the Supreme Soviet The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (russian: Президиум Верховного Совета, Prezidium Verkhovnogo Soveta) was a body of state power in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).Chernobyl accident The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the No. 4 reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in the north of the Ukrainian SSR in the Soviet Union. It is one of only two nu ...

, as well as settling interethnic conflicts in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The modern unit was formed in the 1990s on the basis of the 334th Motor Rifle Regiment of the

120th Guards Motor Rifle Division 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit (measurement), unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment ...

. A Special Rapid Response Unit was established on 29 June 1999 on the basis of the Unit 3214. On 13 October 2006, by a presidential decree, the 3rd Separate Red Banner Operational Brigade was renamed into the 3rd Separate Red Banner Special Purpose Brigade of the Internal Troops. In 2020, a dormitory was built on the territory of the unit, having 116 studios and 26 one-bedroom apartments. It is primarily meant for single servicemen as well as fourth-year cadets of the Internal Troops Faculty of the

Military Academy of Belarus Military Academy of the Republic of Belarus ( be, Ваенная акадэмія Рэспублікі Беларусь, ) is higher military educational institution in the national education system of the Republic of Belarus and the leading insti ...

Role within the Internal Troops

The number of personnel in the unit ranges from 1500 to 2000 people. The brigade includes special-purpose battalions, a special rapid reaction unit (

SOBR The Special Rapid Response Unit or SOBR (russian: СОБР - Специальный Отряд Быстрого Реагирования, Spetsial'niy Otryad Bystrovo Reagirovaniya, lit. ''Special Unit of Quick Response''), from 2002 to 2011 k ...

) and support units. SOBR is the youngest rapid response unit in Belarus. In peacetime, the brigade's personnel participate in maintaining public order and often go on missions outside of Minsk. During opposition rallies in the capital, the brigade is usually kept in reserve and used only in the most extreme cases. Members of the Honor Guard Company of the Minsk Military Commandant are also subordinated to the brigade.

2020 protests

The unit became more controversial during the 2020 Belarusian protests, being one of the enforcers of state policy after the Belarusian presidential election along with the OMON and

Almaz The Almaz (russian: Алмаз, lit=Diamond) program was a highly secret Soviet military space station program, begun in the early 1960s. Three crewed military reconnaissance stations were launched between 1973 and 1976: Salyut 2, Salyut 3 an ...

units. President Alexander Lukashenko visited the unit's headquarters days before the election, watching tactical exercises, during which he called on the unit to maintain its combat readiness. The Russian newspaper wrote that the beatings and arrests that occurred on 10 August 2020, were ordered by the retired commander of Military Unit 3214, Dmitry Pavlichenko, who had been previously arrested for serious crimes.

Characteristics

Today, it is the only unit in Belarus that has the right to wear a maroon beret. The symbol of the brigade is the

lynx A lynx is a type of wild cat. Lynx may also refer to: Astronomy * Lynx (constellation) * Lynx (Chinese astronomy) * Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory Places Canada * Lynx, Ontar ...

, a Belarusian predator. Its brigade holiday is on 4 September. A former officer of the brigade described the men in its ranks as "zombies", claiming that they have been brainwashed. According to him, their motto is "I serve the country and the President".

Unit Patches

File:Belarus Internal Troops--Honor Guard Company MU 3214 patch (parade).png, Honor Guard Patch File:Belarus Internal Troops--Special Operations Ensuring Company MU 3214 patch.png, Special Operations Ensuring Company File:Belarus Internal Troops--Technical Support Company MU 3214 patch.png, Technical Support Company patch File:Belarus Internal Troops--Reconnaissance Company MU 3214 patch.png, Reconnaissance Company File:Belarus Internal Troops--Special Forces Company N 5 MU 3214 patch.png, Special Forces Company patch

References