Interior Ministry troops

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Interior ministry troops or internal security troops and units with similar names are usually set up by authoritarian states. These units have a large number of soldiers / officers and are organized and equipped in a paramilitary manner.

History in Europe

In Europe, during the Cold War, troops from the interior ministries were created by the communist-ruled countries in order to have quickly deployable troops available against possible popular uprisings. These units are functionally comparable to the riot police in Western Europe, except that in Eastern Europe the teams consisted almost exclusively of conscripts and the equipment and structure were similar to the respective military. Only ranks and rank badges showed minor differences; the uniforms were very similar.

These units were created for another reason: to have additional ground troop capacities in the event of war that did not show up at armaments negotiations. You were not officially part of the military and still had suitable and compatible equipment. Other units in which the actual troop strength was hidden were the border troops and the militias of the communist parties such as the fighting groups of the working class in the GDR and the workers' militias .

Countries that had set up Interior Ministry troops :

Worldwide and present

Even after the end of the Cold War there are Interior Ministry troops in