Buryat militia in the conditions of crisis in the early 90’s of the XX century

The article presents a brief description of the crime situation in the Republic of Buryatia in the early 1990’s, reviews the activities of the Buryat Ministry of Internal Affairs on suppression local criminality in terms of socioeconomic crisis. After decline of living standards, a number of criminal organizations highly increased in the society. It was caused by the active promotion of the romantic way of thieves’ life and the destruction of positive image of law enforcement divisions in the media. The criminality became a major social problem, it took new forms. A system of crimes prevention was nearly destroyed and the organized criminality became a real threat, the drug addiction actively spread in the society. These processes required the effective response by the militia which was in a very difficult situation. There was a lack of material support and the salaries were delayed. In addition, there was a mass dismissal of the experienced professionals and the professional level of militia officers decreased. This article highlights the key stages in the development of the Buryat militia in the period under review, the decisions which were made in that time and the most significant events. This article briefly describes the involvement of the MIA of Buryatia in the first Chechen campaign. The most striking examples are described on the disclosing the high-profile criminal cases and the different activities for ensuring public safety, which have allowed to keep the crime situation in the country under the supervision of law enforcement.