Voluntary People's Druzhina (, ''Dobrovolnaya narodnaya druzhina'', DND) variously translated as Voluntary People’s Guard, People’s Volunteer Squads, People's Volunteer Militia, etc. were voluntary detachments for maintaining public order in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

similar to

neighborhood watch A neighborhood watch or neighbourhood watch (see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), also called a crime watch or neighbourhood crime watch, is an organized group of civilians devoted to crime a ...

. The program has been restarted in Russia.

History

People's Druzhinas in support of law enforcement were introduced in

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

in 1913. After the

Russian Revolution of 1917 The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

there were various forms of non-governmental workers and peasants' organizations, which were disbanded by the early 1930s. Instead the Voluntary Society for Support of

Militsiya ''Militsiya'' ( rus, милиция, 3=mʲɪˈlʲitsɨjə, 5=, ) were the police forces in the Soviet Union until 1991, in several Eastern Bloc countries (1945–1992), and in the Non-Aligned Movement, non-aligned Socialist Federal Republic ...

(ОСОДМИЛ) was created. In 1932 it was subordinated to militsiya and renamed to "Militsiya Support Brigades". (БРИГАДМИЛ).History of People's Druzhinas
which counted over 400,000 personnel.

Soviet Union

The system of VPDs was introduced according to the joint resolution of the

CPSU Central Committee The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the highest organ of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) between Congresses. Elected by the Congress, the Central Committee emerged as the core nexus of executive ...

and

USSR Council of Ministers The Council of Ministers of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( rus, Совет министров СССР, r=Sovet Ministrov SSSR, p=sɐˈvʲet mʲɪˈnʲistrəf ˌɛsˌɛsˌɛsˈɛr), sometimes abbreviated as Sovmin or referred to as the ...

of March 2, 1959 ''On the Participation of the Workers in the Maintenance of Public Order'', which formalized and widely propagated the 1958

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

invention of the Voluntary People's Druzhina formally independent of

militsiya ''Militsiya'' ( rus, милиция, 3=mʲɪˈlʲitsɨjə, 5=, ) were the police forces in the Soviet Union until 1991, in several Eastern Bloc countries (1945–1992), and in the Non-Aligned Movement, non-aligned Socialist Federal Republic ...

. The ''druzhinas'' were not subordinated to militsiya and the management staff was established from various Soviet organizations:

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

trade unions A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

Komsomol The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League, usually known as Komsomol, was a political youth organization in the Soviet Union. It is sometimes described as the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), although it w ...

, etc. The patrolling ''druzhinas'' themselves were often accompanied by police officers (''militsioners''), for general guidance and official support. Although ''druzhinas'' were informal, they could perform

citizen arrest A citizen's arrest is an arrest made by a private citizen – a person who is not acting as a sworn law-enforcement official. In common law jurisdictions, the practice dates back to medieval England and the English common law, in which sheriffs en ...

s of various petty offenders:

drunkard Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World Hea ...

hooligan Hooliganism is disruptive or unlawful behavior such as rioting, bullying and vandalism, often in connection with crowds at sporting events. A hooligan is a person that engages in illicit reckless behaviors and is a public nuisance. Etymology ...

s, etc. They were also used to support ''militsiya'' in performing non-dangerous arrests and other law enforcement duties. The 1974 USSR Supreme Soviet Presidium

Ukase In Imperial Russia, a ukase () or ukaz ( ) was a proclamation of the tsar, government, or a religious leadership (e.g., Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' or the Most Holy Synod) that had the force of law. " Edict" and " decree" are adequate trans ...

"About the Main Duties and Rights of Voluntary People's Drushina in Guarding the Public Order" governed the ''druzhinas'' until the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

. ''Druzhinas'' mostly operated in urban neighborhoods. ''Druzhinniks'' were distinguished by red

armband An armband is a piece of material worn around the arm. They may be worn for pure ornamentation, or to mark the wearer as belonging to group, or as insignia having a certain rank, status, office or role, or being in a particular state or conditi ...

s with the text "ДНД" (DND) or "дружинник" (druzhynnyk) on them.

Russia

Attempts to reestablish public law enforcement organizations in Russia started as early as in 1992. From 2008 to 2011 in Russia, on the initiative of the youth movement of NASHI, there were detachments called voluntary youth Druzhina (), but the project was shut down in July 2011. As of the beginning of 2009, more than 34,000 public law enforcement formations were active in Russia, in which more than 363,000 people were members. At the same time, about 40,000 crimes were disclosed annually and over 400,000 administrative offenses were revealed.Михаил Фалалеев. Милиция призывает граждан к охране общественного порядка
«Российская газета» — Федеральный выпуск № 4864 от 11.03.2009 The modern day

Moscow City Police The Moscow Police (), officially the Main Directorate of Internal Affairs of the City of Moscow (), is the police force for Moscow, Russia. The Moscow Police is the largest regional police force in Russia with 50,500 officers as of 2010, with p ...

and Saint Petersburg City/Leningrad Oblast Police continue to maintain Druzhinnik forces of their own. Beginning in April 2014 Druzhina forces were reorganised in every Russian region under the regional and city police forces.

References

{{Authority control Law enforcement in the Soviet Union Law enforcement in Russia Neighborhood watch organizations Civil defense

History

Soviet Union

Russia

See also

References