"Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev has signed an order to form specialized units of tourist police in a number of the Russian Interior Ministry’s territorial bodies," she said.
According to Volk, in cities like St. Petersburg, Kazan and Sochi tourist police units will be formed by May 5; the ministry official did not provide dates for when these units would be set up at other host cities. She noted that such units were already formed in Moscow — also a World Cup host city — in 2014.
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The specialized units will provide round-the-clock responses to incidents involving foreign nationals during the period between May 25 and July 25, Volk added. The spokeswoman stated that the officers would patrol areas with large concentrations of foreign fans during matches, help to address emergency issues and receive complaints about committed offenses.
The units will be made up of police officers who work in the ministry’s territorial bodies and can speak foreign languages. If needed, police officers will undergo additional training, she said.
Volk added that the tourist police officers would be identified by an armband with a special insignia.
Russia will host its first FIFA World Cup from June 14 to July 15. Apart from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan and Sochi, matches will take place in Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Saransk, Rostov-on-Don, and Yekaterinburg.
