The Federal Service of Troops of the National Guard of the Russian Federation, officially known as the (),Official website is a federal executive body responsible for law enforcement, internal security, counterterrorism, and riot control.
The National Guard is an independent agency that reports directly to the president of Russia as Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces and Chairman of the Russian Security Council. It is legally and structurally separate from the Armed Forces. , the National Guard consisted of approximately 340,000 personnel in 84 units across Russia. It includes the forces of the former Internal Troops of Russia, SOBR, OMON, and other internal military forces outside the Russian Armed Forces.
The National Guard was established in 2016 by President Vladimir Putin through a law aimed at enhancing efficiency and avoiding duplication of responsibilities within the Russian security system, in response to strategic challenges faced by Russia. Its stated mission is to secure Russia's borders, take charge of gun control, combat terrorism and organized crime, protect public order and guard important state facilities. It is also used to suppress civil strife and attempts at another "color revolution", domestically and abroad.
In 2017, President Putin designated 27 March as National Guard Day.
History
The National Guard is a direct successor of the Internal Troops of the Soviet Union, the Internal Troops of Russia, the OMON, and the SOBR units formerly under the control of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The first iteration of a National Guard was proposed in 1991. It was supposed to consist of at least 11 brigades of 3,000 and 5,000 personnel each, with no more than 100,000 personnel in total. Its military units were to be deployed in 10 regions, including three brigades in Moscow, two in St. Petersburg, and several other important cities and regions in the country. It was meant to be a temporary measure; however, it was tabled by then-president Boris Yeltsin.
Plans to create a National Guard directly under the president's control, which would use personnel and resources from the Russian Airborne Troops, Air Force, Navy, and Military Police, as well as elements of Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations, were first reported in April 2012.
The establishment of the National Guard reportedly caused contention within the Kremlin, since the new force took over duties and functions normally carried out by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. A spokesman denied that establishing the National Guard signaled a crisis of confidence in the siloviki and said that the Federal Guard Service would retain its role. He did not, however, comment on whether the then-incumbent heads of the Federal Drug Service and the Federal Migration Service would retain their posts.
Establishment
President Putin created the current iteration of the National Guard of Russia by Presidential Decree on 5 April 2016. The next day, Putin submitted a draft framework law for this new executive body titled "On the Russian National Guard Troops" to the State Duma. This was read and then passed on 18 May and 22 June 2026, respectively.
On 9 May 2016, 400 members of the National Guard participated in the Moscow Victory Day Parade for the first time. The first National Guardsmen to be enlisted took their military oaths on 1 June 2016.
According to National Guard Director Viktor Zolotov, the formation of the Russian National Guard took place in three stages. The first phase was the transformation of Interior Troops, OMON, and SOBR units into National Guard units. The second step involved developing the troops' organizational and staff structure, harmonizing regulations and assigning specific tasks to each unit. The third phase envisaged completing all organizational activities of the National Guard.
2017–2021 In early 2017, in support of the efforts of Vyacheslav Volodin, the Russian National Guard formed a new cyber-intelligence division. This was under the command of Larisa Goryachko, who was previously employed with the operational-search bureau of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Ural Federal District. Its purpose was to "monitor the activity of citizens in social networks, revealing cases of extremism there" over the entire internet, according to Rosbalt news agency.
In 2019, the National Guard's budget increased by 5%, from 111.9 billion rubles to about 117.5 billion rubles. During the same year, National Guardsmen from Saint Petersburg were apprehended after planting drugs on a 16-year-old. In February 2021, the National Guard silenced pro-Navalny protests in an attempt "to fend off threats to [the Putin regime's] political monopoly at any cost."
In late July 2021, the National Guard staged their first-ever strategic exercise simultaneously in every Russian federal district except the North Caucasian. On 21 November, the National Guard budget requests were classified.
Russian invasion of Ukraine
In early January and February 2022, reports emerged of National Guard detachments moving to the Russia–Ukraine border and Belarus, joining the "training exercise" happening during the 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis.
When Russian forces invaded Ukraine on 24 February, National Guardsmen moved into Ukrainian territory, establishing themselves in occupied cities and towns reportedly for the purpose of suppressing the local population. The National Guard participated in combat operations against the Ukrainian military and the Ukrainian National Guard. Its units were deployed at the vanguard of the initial attack, suggesting that Russian forces did not expect much resistance from Ukrainian forces. As a result, the National Guard had to act as a regular combat force, and reports said it suffered heavy losses. Ukrainian forces destroyed and captured military columns carrying riot control equipment.
On 9 March, Ukraine claimed that the National Guard units moved in, arrested, and brutally beat close to 400 residents in Kherson after they peacefully protested against Russian occupation. While in the Ukrainian city of Nova Kakhovka, National Guard forces attempted to disperse a rally by using sting ball grenades and firing into the crowd with rubber bullets, resulting in one death.
On 13 March, the Chechen National Guard withdrew from Kyiv after suffering "hundreds" of casualties. On the same day, Vox also reported that the National Guard helped repress the 2022 anti-war protests in Russia, dispersing rallies and arresting protestors. On 15 March, chief National Guardsman Viktor Zolotov, along with ten others in Russia's "Defense Enterprise," were sanctioned by the United States. All of them were added to the list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons. On 17 March, National Guard Deputy Chief General Roman Gavrilov was fired due to the operational failures of the National Guard during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
On 25 March, twelve guardsmen from Krasnodar deployed in Crimea were fired after they refused an order to cross the border on 25 February. The unit claimed that their duties were strictly limited to Russian territory and that they were not informed of possible "business trips" to Ukraine. Since they did not have their passports with them, they could not enter Ukrainian territory without violating Russian law. The guardsmen sued the National Guard for unfair dismissal and are appealing for reinstatement. According to their lawyer, Mikhail Benyash, after the case was publicized, almost a thousand National Guardsmen contacted him with similar cases.
On 27 May, 115 guardsmen from Nalchik, the capital of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, faced similar difficulties with foreign engagements because they were hired only to police domestic troubles and lacked military training. The lawsuit, drafted by a lawyer named Andrei Sabinin, surprised reporters and was discovered only because the soldiers appealed. The lawsuit was dismissed after the judge determined that the soldiers had been rightfully fired for "refusing to perform an official assignment" to fight in Ukraine and instead returned to a duty station.
On 2 June, National Guard Unit #6720 took part in the Bucha massacre, and at least ten of its members participated in looting "financial savings, jewelry, computers, household appliances, [and] linen." They later "sent these items by mail to their relatives in Russia." On 6 June, President Putin ordered a 5 million rubles life-insurance benefit payment to the families of members of the National Guard who died in Ukraine.
On 22 May 2023, it was reported that members of the National Guard would be deployed to defend Belgorod from the Freedom of Russia Legion.
2023–Present
Since August 2023, the National Guard has been recruiting ex-Wagner convicts who served in Ukraine and could provide proof of their pardon. Recruitment of those who have breached Article 228 of the Criminal Code of Russia, however, requires special approval. On 13 November, it was reported that four former inmates who fought for the Wagner Group in eastern Ukraine had been receiving calls and text messages offering them military contracts. Three of the veterans reported that the National Guard specifically was trying to recruit them. Other reports indicate that former Wagner fighters have joined Chechen Akhmat units whilst still wearing Wagner patches.
In September 2025, the force’s chief Viktor Zolotov announced that the National Guard would reintroduce tank units.
Mission and Powers
The missions of the National Guard of Russia include joint operations to secure borders, fight terrorism and organized crime, perform functions carried out by riot and prison police, protect public safety and order, and guard important state facilities. The National Guard has powers over weapons transfers and the control of private security activities. According to President Putin, another major responsibility of the National Guard is the overseeing of various kinds of security provisions, authorization systems for firearm possession, private security firms, and the management of the interior troops.
The National Guard has the right to request federal, state, and local documents from authorities, officials, and citizens; suspend or limit the use of any communications networks and communications means in emergencies; and exercise the right to priority use of these communications networks and communications means.
According to the news agency TASS, the National Guard has powers similar to those exercised by the Federal Security Service. Specifically, the National Guard is controversially allowed to fire into crowds in a select number of situations, such as terrorist incidents, hostage situations, or if a government building secured by the National Guard comes under attack. However, the soldiers are forbidden in all circumstances from shooting at pregnant women, children, or people with disabilities. Troops can use physical force against direct threats to members of the public or fellow soldiers as well as to special cargo and structures along communications lines protected by National Guard troops and the National Guard troops' facilities. They can also open and search vehicles, check for identification documents, and detain citizens.