Internal troops

Internal troops, sometimes alternatively translated as interior troops or interior ministry forces, are a type of paramilitary and gendarmerie-like law enforcement services in the post-Soviet states and former Soviet-aligned states. Internal troops are subordinated to the interior ministry (or interior minister) rather than the ministry of defence (or defence minister) and are responsible for internal security.

Interior troops originated in the Soviet Union and similar services were adopted by countries within the Soviet sphere of influence. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, internal troops in some post-Soviet states have been abolished and replaced with a national guard service. Current states with internal troops include Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. Former states include Armenia (until 2002), Georgia (until 2004), Ukraine (until 2014), Kazakhstan (until 2014), and Russia (until 2016). Mongolia abolished its internal troops service in 2014 but refounded it as a reserve force of the Mongolian Armed Forces in 2017.

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