OMON soldier on S-400 guard
Here is a quite interesting photo of a typical OMON soldier standing in a security cordon at Novy Arbat Street to protect the military motorcade returning from the Victory Parade in the Red Square. I like the look of concentration on his face while he is holding a radio transmitter in one hand.
OMON (the first letters from the Police Squad of Special Purpose in Russia) is the generic name for the system of special, very well trained units of militia (police) that originated in 1979, before the summer Olympic Games of 1980 that were held in the U.S.S.R. (Moscow). Founded to ensure security and to avoid any opportunity for terrorist attacks as at the Munich 1972 Summer Olympics, this unit was utilized later in emergencies such as high-risk arrests, hostage crises, response to acts of terrorism, or special guard during any state events, rock concerts and football games. The units of OMON were often manned by former soldiers of the Soviet army and veterans of the Soviet army in Afghanistan. Nowadays the OMON are special units with Russian MVD (Ministry of Internal Affairs), and are mostly former soldiers of the Russian army, many of whom served in Chechnya. In Wikipedia I learned their motto which goes quite well with this photo: "We know no mercy and do not ask for any."
In the background of the photo behind the soldier you can see Russia's advanced S-400 Triumph Air Defense System that was displayed for the first time in the Victory parade this year. In this picture the huge military vehicle just started to turn right from New Arbat to Garden Ring (the ring around downtown, the old city).
The S-400 Triumph is an upgrade of the S-300 family (shown at the previous parade on May 9th, 2008) and a new generation of anti-aircraft/anti-missile weapons system complex designed for combat with modern air attack components at a range of up to 400 kilometers (or 240 miles). This anti-aircraft system is able to counter any aircraft made with the use of the Stealth technology (for example, the AVAX type), small cruise and tactical missiles, as well as warheads flying at a speed of up to 4.8 km/s. (or 2.9 miles per second).
With BEST Regards,
Arthur Lookyanov
HOT News from Moscow
Last Edited: May 11th, 2009
Photo taken on 2009-05-09 at 10:57:08
Dale and John WaltersFrom: Chicago, IL USA
Date: 2009-08-12 15:26:07
Arthur was a joy and made our brief trip to Moscow an amazing experience. He was on time, courteous, thoughtful and had our best interest and needs in mind at all times. We truly had a sense of Moscow and its history from the perspective of someone that obviously loves his city and wanted to let others know of it. Favorite times: Moscow at night, Moscow Kremlin, and the metra tour; these were definite don't miss events with Arthurs's guidance and picture taking!!!!