"Order and security are our work and way of life." Mogilev OMON fighters talk about their daily routine

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The Special Purpose Police Unit celebrates its 35th anniversary. These are people of a special character who are ready at any moment to perform the most difficult and extraordinary task to maintain peace and law and order in society. They are focused, trained and in constant good shape - physical, psychological and moral. But the most important thing is that the OMON fighters are true patriots of their country, because duty, honor and courage are not just words for them. BELTA correspondents talked to representatives of the Special Purpose Police Unit of the Mogilev Regional Executive Committee Internal Affairs Directorate about their everyday work, daily routine, physical training and military brotherhood.

The commander of the second platoon of the OMON operational company, Anatoly Solodukhin, has served in the unit since 2011. "I dreamed of connecting my life with the security forces since childhood, especially since my older brother served in the internal affairs agencies and talked about it a lot," he shares. "In addition, many friends and acquaintances served in different units, including the OMON. I decided to try, and today I do not regret my choice at all. Moreover, there is a wonderful team here - there is support , a sense of shoulder. Moreover, the unit employs morally strong people who are confident in their choice and adhere to clear life principles. And this is the most important thing - to be prepared for any task in the service."

Anatoly Solodukhin recalls that when he first joined OMON, the hardest thing was to morally stand firm in a stressful situation and not let down a comrade. He carries these principles throughout his entire service, because over 12 years there have been many different cases, but the understanding of duty, honor and dignity have remained unchanged. And it doesn't matter - be it the detention of a hooligan, an armed criminal or maintaining law and order at a mass event. "I don't even remember a time when fear got the better of emotions on a mission. As a rule, you first act with a cool HEAD, and then begin to analyze the possible consequences. In our work, there is always a place for adrenaline, and it is a kind of driving force," says the squad commander.

For decisive and bold actions, a riot police officer needs good physical training, which plays an important role in performing certain tasks. "We train daily, even in our personal time," shares Anatoly Solodukhin. "We run, go to gyms, and develop endurance. For example, every day before duty we run up to three kilometers, but this, as they say, is only a warm-up. Self-defense techniques and hand-to-hand combat are also important. It was not difficult for me, because I always did physical training, I did not allow myself to relax."

Relatives and friends understand the full responsibility of the work, they worry - it is important that the husband, father and son return home healthy. The family has two girls and a son who, although still small, really wants to be like his dad, strong, courageous and fearless. In the meantime, Anatoly Solodukhin passes on his knowledge to the new additions. "When young people come, we always support and pull them up to the general level - both moral and physical," he notes. "We discuss tasks with them, suggest how to solve them in a team, direct them in the right direction. Mostly, young fighters come after the army and, due to the lack of certain experience, can get lost among others. We work with them so that they train more effectively and become psychologically toughened."

According to Anatoly Solodukhin, in the work of a law enforcement officer, you always need to have a head on your shoulders, act clearly and thoughtfully: do not rush to extremes, but talk to the person, find out all the circumstances, and if there are no other options - only then use physical force to calm the offender. However, everything is within the law. "The experience gained already allows you to communicate with people quite easily, as well as understand who is in front of you and how to talk to him," the department commander notes. - Of course, if the offender has already served time, and maybe more than once, has a certain criminal past, then you have to have a completely different conversation with him. As in the case of domestic troublemakers, who often, under the influence of ALCOHOL, stop realizing their actions. It is difficult to bring them to an adequate state with words and persuasion."

Anatoly Solodukhin admits that people behave differently even when they see the uniform of a riot police officer: they try not to raise their voices and bring their behavior back within the boundaries of decency established by society. In general, the skills, experience, and professionalism acquired in the service often help in everyday life: a person becomes more hardened to various difficulties, remains calm and balanced in stressful situations, instantly reacts to danger and does not succumb to provocations.

Aleksandr Savelyev, a platoon commander of the Special Purpose Unit, a fairly young unit that is always on the front line, fully agrees with his colleague. His soldiers fearlessly and swiftly storm dangerous addresses, neutralize armed criminals, and prevent human losses during their assigned tasks - both ordinary citizens and the participants in the special operation themselves. "We work on a 24-hour watch, go out to arrests and domestic reports, and we can maintain public order," he notes. "We deal with each case on the spot, but always with a cool head. Any fear, worry, or doubt is transmitted to the entire team, so you need to be steadfast. Each of us knows that no one will take a step back, leaving their comrade."

According to Alexander Savelyev, crimes often occur against the background of drinking alcoholic beverages, when under the influence of alcohol in a company they start arguing, quarreling and dividing something among themselves. As a result - knife wounds and broken lives. And such reports come in almost every shift, and the perpetrators have to be detained. "Literally the other day we had to sort out a situation that happened in the Chausy district. People were relaxing and drinkingalcohol , - says Alexander Savelyev. - Then - a quarrel, a fight, knife wounds and the death of a person. I also remember a resonant case that happened in April of this year. The sequence of events is familiar: friends were relaxing at a dacha, drank a lot and had a disagreement about something. However, the defendant not only stabbed the man, but also buried him on the adjacent plot. He barricaded himself in the house and did not respond to our demands . It is terrible when such crimes occur against the background of alcohol."

Alexander Savelyev emphasizes that sometimes the picture of what happened is horrifying. It is hard to believe that a reasonable person could do something like this with his own hands. "Yes, it can be difficult, but this is our job and we do it, completing each task and doing it perfectly," the flight commander notes. "The culprit must be detained without emotions and moral assessments on our part, and this is the main thing. In order to do our job well, we must regularly train and improve, so we constantly analyze the moments of detentions, discuss the order and coherence of actions. All roles in the flight are clearly distributed, and actions are brought to automatism. The trust between the fighters is colossal, we understand each other at a glance. I have two families in my life: one at home, the other at work. And I come to each of them with joy: they always listen, help and support. Although at home I try not to talk about the everyday life of the service, so that my family does not worry once again. There I am first and foremost a family man - a loving husband and a caring father."

The OMON officer was agile and resilient from childhood: from the age of 8 he was into martial arts, from 12 he was engaged in academic rowing. "I wanted to choose the path of the military, to wear shoulder straps, although no one in the family worked in the security forces before me," he shares. "I have been serving since 2010, with joy and honor three years ago I accepted the offer to take an officer's position in the special forces police unit. I remember the indescribable feelings during the exam for the black beret, which are difficult to even compare with victories in sports. At least, in 10 years of rowing, I have never experienced anything like this. I remember the endless surprise at the capabilities of my body: it turns out that I can run so fast, jump so high and do what seemed impossible. In films, everything is completely different. When you watch action films, even the most realistic ones make you smile."

There is a place in the special police unit for girls, and very beautiful and charming ones at that. In everyday life, smiling blue-eyed Alina Provalinskaya wears dresses, shoes and loves to dress up. The working days of a private in the special police unit are uniform, strictness and discipline. Her playful girlish character is only given away by her two light-brown braids - her signature hairstyle. "I've dreamed of working in the police since childhood. It's probably hereditary: my dad and mom have been in the internal affairs agencies all their lives," she says. "When the question arose of where to go and what direction to connect my future profession with, I had only one choice - the Mogilev Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. But my parents were very worried, and after long conversations they redirected me to medicine. They said: you are a girl, a future mother, and serving is difficult both mentally and physically."

Alina Provalinskaya. Photo by the Department of Internal Affairs of the Mogilev Region

Alina did complete her studies in the medical field and received a paramedic-obstetrician certificate, but during her three years at medical college she never stopped thinking about the police for a second, and she wanted to join the OMON. "I always admired the fighters of the special police unit, their fortitude, strength and courage," she admits. "I always wanted to stand in the same line with them. And after graduating, I decided to give it a try, although many did not believe in me, because it is difficult even for guys to get in here. But dreams should be unrealistic, because otherwise they are just plans for tomorrow. I took a risk, went through many interviews, a medical examination, all the tests - and I succeeded! After the Center for Training, Advanced Training and Retraining of Personnel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, I came here as a full-fledged OMON employee. I have been on duty for two weeks now."

The girl used to do special physical training only for herself - running , swimming, gym. However, in the unit, all these indicators need to be maintained doubly in order to be on par with the guys. "The daily routine is different, but a lot of attention is always paid to training: sports , shooting, practicing certain skills, medicine and tactical training," Alina shares. - Getting up is always early and, as a rule, begins with an hour-long run. There are often night shifts, but this does not scare me. I am not a frequent guest at home, but this is my job. I can say with confidence that my team is a second family that will not abandon you in difficult times."

The girl is currently in a period of active training: in a few months she will have to pass an exam to get the right to wear a black beret. Therefore, she needs to improve her running and endurance: now she can easily run 6.5 km, but to get the beret she needs to cover all 8 km. "By April, I need to bring shuttle running, strength training, forced marches, shooting and technique to automatism," Alina notes. "I am preparing hard for this, because the black beret is one of those milestones that every employee of the special forces unit must achieve, because OMON is not just an abbreviation, but the embodiment of fortitude, courage and strength of character. Often, you can get through a lot only due to your willpower. If you know the end goal and strive for it, fight with yourself, then you will overcome everything."

Alina notes that her parents, who raised their daughter to be independent and self-sufficient, contributed greatly to the formation of her character and inner core. "You could say that my dad raised me like a boy, but that's what toughened me up, and I'm especially grateful to him for that," she smiled. "I stayed home alone without any questions, I learned to cook and do household chores very early, and I did my homework on my own. By the way, I'm still into cooking and can treat my family with a delicious and unusual dish. Another hobby is reading, I've already read almost 1,000 books. I mostly read detective stories, which I simply adore. Books give me the skills to communicate with people and broaden my horizons."

Alina plans to enter the Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, develop and improve her new skills. The girl is sure that in order to achieve her goals, she must boldly move forward and not be afraid of anything along the way.

Nikolai Gorelikov, commander of the special police detachment of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Mogilev Regional Executive Committee, says that he made the right choice when he decided to connect his life with service in the internal affairs agencies. This is a different level of responsibility and patriotism, the maximum manifestation of love for one's homeland: not everyone is given the opportunity to sacrifice personal interests for the well-being of the entire society and the peace of their country. The commander has served in the marine units of the USSR Navy, in the patrol and guard service battalion, and then in the special police detachment, the formation and development of which took place literally before his eyes. Nikolai Gorelikov grew professionally here from a policeman to a detachment commander, received a number of awards, including state awards - "For Distinction in the Protection of Public Order", "For Impeccable Service" of three degrees.

Nikolay Gorelikov. Photo by the Mogilev Region Department of Internal Affairs

"We, people born in the USSR, lived through the period of historical formation of our statehood, development and strengthening of the country in economic and political terms," emphasized Nikolai Gorelikov. "The events of those years not only formed a special approach to independence and sovereignty, but also contributed to the development of a correct understanding of life, moral development. Thus, I witnessed almost the entire period of reforming the system of building our state. Understanding the role of the father in society was a priority. The way of life that we were taught, the sense of duty, responsibility and patriotism are expensive. These are the basics that we carry throughout our entire lives. Therefore, the inner core formed in those years helps us solve daily problems, regardless of their complexity. Today we are the stronghold of the guard of law and order, we try to be an example in everything."

Nikolay Gorelikov is sure that in order to maintain peace and order in society, it is necessary to educate patriots from a very early age, and pay maximum attention to the youth. In order to form a clear position in life, it is important that the younger generation knows and respects the history of their country and state symbols. "At one time, we grew up on the example of our fathers and grandfathers, who remembered the events of the Great Patriotic War very well," he notes. "And this gave birth to patriotism in us, a feeling of love and loyalty to our country, an understanding of duty and honor. And even with the change in the political situation in the country, nothing changed: we were still devoted to our homeland and dedicated ourselves to serving the fatherland. I think that is why people in uniform have always been valuable, have earned honor and respect in society."

Today, OMON officers continue these long-standing traditions, demonstrating the right approach to life and proving their patriotism with real manly deeds. "A feat is also a person's ability to act competently and selflessly in an extreme situation, and also, regardless of personal ambitions, the ability to sacrifice oneself for the sake of others," reflects Nikolai Gorelikov. "Even in everyday life, there is always a place for a feat. Ensuring order and security is our daily work. And even more - it is a way of life, an active civic position. We were born and raised on Belarusian soil, we love and protect it, this is the meaning of patriotism. And from the point of view of law and order, the operational and criminal situation in our country, the situation is very calm and comfortable."

The squad commander is confident that the versatility of the OMON is that, no matter what, it can carry out assigned tasks at the highest professional level. "We are practically the first echelon of response to various unforeseen situations in society, and sometimes we have to make lightning-fast decisions to prevent danger or minimize consequences," Nikolai Gorelikov emphasized. "And here we must pay tribute to the people who make their choice in favor of serving in the unit and are ready to act even in a special period and in any developing conditions, which requires the fighter to have the appropriate mobilization, professionalism, loyalty, precision, understanding of the sense of shoulder and responsibility for the work performed."

According to the squad commander, OMON is not just a group of like-minded people or a certain corporate environment, but a real brotherhood, where rank, age and length of service are not taken into account. "The backbone of the unit is people who have served here for more than 10 years," notes Nikolai Gorelikov. "They are not only reliable comrades, but also real family men who love their relatives and children. And this also says a lot: real values are really laid down and supported in the team - life, family, civic. I believe that a person in uniform should set priorities correctly and behave accordingly. After all, service is an integral part of our lives. And moral values for an OMON officer should be dominant, so that he cannot waver in a difficult moment."

On this professional holiday, Nikolay Gorelikov first of all wishes his fighters, colleagues and veterans of the unit HEALTH, professional development, confidence in the future and a strong life position. "Legality, honor and courage are three components that best characterize our service," he emphasized. "I want our employees to always be cheerful, help and support each other, and also preserve and increase the best traditions of OMON, and serve with honor and dignity. Our country and our neighbors need us, we must preserve peace and prosperity. For the benefit of the Fatherland - legality, honor, courage!"

Yulia EVMENKOVA,

photo by Oleg FOYNITSKY,

BELTA.