OMON (, , previously ) is a system of special police units within the National Guard of Russia. It previously operated within the structures of the Soviet and Russian Ministries of Internal Affairs (MVD). Originating as the special forces unit of the Soviet Militsiya in 1988, it has played major roles in several armed conflicts during and following the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union. OMON is much larger and better known than SOBR, another special-police branch of the National Guard of Russia. In modern contexts, OMON serves as a riot police group, or as a gendarmerie-like paramilitary force. OMON units also exist in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and other post-Soviet states. However, some post-Soviet units have changed names and acronyms. Russian-speakers commonly refer to OMON officers as omonovtsy (; singular: omonovyets – ). On 5 April 2016 OMON became part of the newly-established National Guard of Russia, ending its years as part of the MVD. The MVD continues to operate the Police of Russia. History Special purpose militia units were formed on May 5, 1919 in the Russian state in the structure of the “white” (Siberian) militia. Alexander Kolchak emphasized that These militia units operated where open war gave way to partisan war. The detachment consisted of four foot and one horse platoons. The staff included 285 people. In those days, there was no such thing as a “omonovets” therefore these units were called "guards". Soviet OMON originated in 1979, when the first Soviet police tactical unit was founded in preparation for the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow to ensure that there were no terrorist incidents like the Munich massacre during the 1972 Summer Olympics. Subsequently, the unit was to be utilized in emergencies such as high-risk arrests, hostage crises and acts of terror. The current OMON system is the successor of that group and was founded on 3 October 1988 in Moscow and was called the Militsiya Squad of Special Assignment. Special police detachments were often manned by former soldiers of the Soviet Army and veterans of the Soviet–Afghan War. OMON units were used as riot police to control and stop demonstrations and hooliganism, as well as to respond to emergency situations involving violent crime. The units later took on a wider range of police duties, including cordon and street patrol actions, and even paramilitary and military-style operations. Following Russia's 2011 police reform, Russian OMON units were to be