Database: Workers' and Peasants' Militsiya

The Workers' and Peasants' Militsiya was a civilian police force created in April 1917, in the early days of the Soviet Union. It consisted of proletarians without much experience or training, but it provided a cheap and large force to ensure security in the territory, and was also designed to contrast with the previous state police that Bolsheviks perceived as 'protection for the rich.'