
The MVD (The Ministry of Internal Affairs), which encompassed the regular, or nonpolitical, police, had a long history in the Soviet Union. It was first established as the NKVD on November 18, 1917. It has undergone several organizational and name changes since then. When the MVD was established in 1954, the security police was separated from the regular police. Then, in 1962 the MVD was redesignated the Ministry for the Preservation of Public Order – MOOP. The changes were accompanied by increasing criticism of the regular police in the Soviet press for its shortcomings in combating crime.