page_title: Police of Russia
section_title: Main changes and aims of the reform
hierarchical_section_title: Police of Russia / History / 2011 Police reform / Main changes and aims of the reform
caption_attribution_description: Русский: Начальник Главного управления по вопросам миграции МВД России генерал-майор полиции.
context_page_description: Police is the federal law-enforcement agency in Russia, operating under the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It was established in 2011, replacing the Militsiya, the former police service.
  It is the federal police service of Russia that operates according to the law “On police”, as approved by the Federal Assembly, and subsequently signed into law on February 7, 2011 by then President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev.
context_section_description: Name change Under the reform, the name of Russian law enforcers was changed from the Soviet-era term "militsiya" (militia) to the more universal "politsiya" (police) on March 1, 2011.
  Personnel reduction and salary increase The number of police officers was reduced by 20%, dropping from 1.28 million to 1.1 million by 2012. The reduction was accomplished via a comprehensive evaluation of all officers. All evaluations occurred during or before June 2011, and those who failed the evaluation lost their jobs. All officers who had previously received administrative penalties or had links to the criminal underworld were fired. For those officers surviving the reduction, salaries were increased by 30%.
  Centralization As a result of the reform, the Russian police were made a federal-level institution, with funding fully sourced from the federal budget. Under the old system, police units responsible for public order and petty crimes were under the jurisdiction of regional and city authorities, financed from the regional budget, and were more responsible to the regional governors than to the central federal government.
  Changes to police and detainee rights According to the new law, detainees will receive the right to make a telephone call within 3 hours of the detention. They will also receive the right to have a lawyer and interpreter from the moment of their detention, and police must inform the detainee of their rights and duties. The police no longer have the right to carry out and demand checks of a company's financial and business activities. Police may also no longer detain a citizen for an hour just to verify his/her identity.
  Thus, on August 7, 2010, a new bill Law “On police” was proposed (the same bill with the changed names “militsiya” to “police”).
  The new bill is a continuation of the opposite policy of the reform of 2002, that is, even greater centralization. Institutions of the public security militsiya and criminal militsiya are being abolished. Unlike the militsiya, which are partially subordinate to the authority of the subject of the federation, the police are not connected with the subject of the federation (according to the bill).
  About 5 million people took part in the online discussion of the draft law “On police”, which is unique for Russia. As a result, the draft law, in comparison with the initial form, has undergone significant changes related to the powers of the new structure. In particular, the provisions that police officers can freely enter the premises of citizens, land plots belonging to them, on territories, land plots and premises occupied by public associations and organizations, as well as the “presumption of legality” of the police, which caused the most criticism (“The police officer’s demands addressed to citizens and officials and the actions taken by him are considered legal until otherwise established in the manner prescribed by law”), although, according to opposition politicians, this wording was only veiled, and not excluded.
  Despite criticism from certain segments of society and a number of opposition political parties, the draft law was adopted in the first reading on December 10, 2010. The State Duma on Friday, January 28, 2011 adopted the draft law “On police” in the final third reading. Only 315 deputies voted for the adoption of the law, 130 were against, there were no abstentions.
  It was originally planned that the new law would come into force in January 2011, but the police in Russia officially revived on March 1, 2011.
  On February 7, 2011, the President tweeted a message:
  On March 1, 2011, the Police Act entered into force, and as of January 1, 2012, all symbols of the police became invalid.
caption: Chief of the Main Migration Department, Major General of Police Olga Kirillova.
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