Rus' (russian: Русь) was one of the

special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

(''

spetsnaz Spetsnaz are special forces in numerous post-Soviet states. (The term is borrowed from rus, спецназ, p=spʲɪtsˈnas; abbreviation for or 'Special Purpose Military Units'; or .) Historically, the term ''spetsnaz'' referred to the So ...

'') units of the

Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation (MVD; russian: Министерство внутренних дел (МВД), ''Ministerstvo vnutrennikh del'') is the interior ministry of Russia. The MVD is responsible for law enfor ...

(MVD). Rus' belonged to the Independent Operative Purpose Division (ODON) rapid deployment division of the

Internal Troops of Russia The Internal Troops of the Ministry for Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation (VV; russian: Внутренние войска Министерства внутренних дел (ВВ), ''Vnutrenniye Voiska Ministerstva Vnutrennikh Del'' ...

, the

gendarmerie Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...

force of the MVD, and was assigned primarily to

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that Government, governments, law enforcement, business, and Intelligence agency, intellig ...

duties. Rus' was created on August 1, 1994, and traced its roots from the 4th Battalion of the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

OMSBON, the Independent Motorized Infantry Battalion of Special Purpose, later renamed ODON.http://bratishka.ru/article.php?type=oper&id=189 The dedicated role of the Rus' unit was

and direct action in times of crisis, but actively participated in military and paramilitary operations in Chechnya and the broader

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, ...

region along with other MVD units, such as Vityaz. Rus' participated in numerous notable incidents in Russia, including in the

Budyonnovsk hospital hostage crisis The Budyonnovsk hospital hostage crisis took place from 14 to 19 June 1995, when a group of 80 to 200 Chechen separatists led by Shamil Basayev attacked the southern Russian city of Budyonnovsk (pop. 60,000, often spelled Budennovsk), some ...

and the Kizlyar-Pervomayskoye hostage crisis. On July 1, 2005, an entire platoon of Rus' commandos in

Makhachkala Makhachkala ( rus, Махачкала, , məxətɕkɐˈla, links=yes),; av, Махӏачхъала, Maħaçqala; ce, ХӀинжа-ГӀала, Hinƶa-Ġala; az, Маһачгала, Mahaçqala; nog, Махачкала; lbe, Махачкъала; ...

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North ...

, was eliminated by a roadside bombing attack while participating in the Guerrilla phase of the Second Chechen War. On September 1, 2008, Rus' and Vityaz were formally deactivated and merged into a single unit, the

604th Special Purpose Center The 604th Red Banner Special Purpose Centre "''Vityaz''" is a special forces unit of the National Guard of Russia. History The history of the 604th Red Banner Special Purpose Centre "''Vityaz''" tracks back to the 1970s when, in preparation ...

, under the direct command of ODON (formerly OMSDON). On 5 April 2016, the

National Guard of Russia The National Guard of the Russian Federation (russian: Федеральная служба войск национальной гвардии Российской Федерации , translit = Federal'naya sluzhba voysk natsional'noy gvard ...

was established, resulting in the dissolution of the Interior Troops of Russia and the transfer of command of most armed forces under the MVD to the National Guard.

References

{{reflist 1994 establishments in Russia 2008 disestablishments in Russia Defunct organizations based in Russia Law enforcement in Russia Non-military counterterrorist organizations Non-military counterinsurgency organizations Organizations based in Moscow Special forces of Russia