Internal Troops of Ukraine
The Internal Troops of Ukraine, abbreviated ВВ (VV), were a uniformed gendarmerie and Internal Troops in Ukraine which merged with the National Guard of Ukraine on March 13, 2014. They were subordinate to the Chief Directorate of Ministry of Internal Affairs, and cooperate with the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. The VV were used to assist militsiya in policing, deal with riots and internal armed conflicts, and safeguard important facilities such as nuclear power plants. In wartime, the Internal Troops were under the jurisdiction of the Ukrainian armed forces for local defense and rear area security.
Internal Troops of Ukraine
Internal Troops riot trooper during the Euromaidan
Line of Internal Troops holding protective position against protesters
Internal Troop soldier with a gas mask behind a line of riot shields during clashes at the Euromaidan
A gendarmerie is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term gendarme is derived from the medieval French expression gens d'armes, which translates to "men-at-arms". In France and some Francophone nations, the gendarmerie is a branch of the armed forces that is responsible for internal security in parts of the territory, with additional duties as military police for the armed forces. It was introduced to several other Western European countries during the Napoleonic conquests. In the mid-twentieth century, a number of former French mandates and colonial possessions adopted a gendarmerie after independence. A similar concept exists in Eastern Europe in the form of Internal Troops, which are present in many countries of the former Soviet Union and its former allied countries.
Members of Italy's Carabinieri on public order duties in Florence
A Turkish Gendarmerie General Command trooper on guard at Topkapı Palace in Istanbul