Eight pairs of people with the same surname and even twin brothers serve in the Oktyabrsky District Department of Internal Affairs of Vitebsk
Ivanovs, Orlovs, Vashnevskiys, Kazakovs, Biryukovs... Eight pairs of people with the same last name serve in the departments of the Oktyabrsky District Department of Internal Affairs of Vitebsk, one of the best in the republic based on the results of work in 2023. Wait a minute – not relatives, but people with the same last name! Mostly young people. There are also 21-year-old twin brothers, who are often assigned to duty together.
We meet the twins Ivan and Ilya Goncharovs on their day off in the gym of the Department of Internal Affairs.
— We have been practicing Greco-Roman wrestling since we were eight years old, and later started working out in the gym. Our uncle, a retired police officer, noticed our passion for sports and advised us to join the police service — says Ivan, lifting heavy dumbbells.
After obtaining professions as international drivers and auto mechanics in college, both were assigned to the internal affairs bodies. Ilya joins the conversation:
— In our deparPatience is very important in this job. Even if you are provoked, you need to control your emotions — commanders instruct us on this before each duty shift, say the Goncharovs, recalling how they, as newcomers, were trained for three months at the Center for Training, Professional Development, and Retraining of Personnel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs near Minsk: — Imagine overcoming an obstacle course to the sounds of gunfire, explosions, and lasers blinding you in the dark. Or practicing a scenario: a criminal breaks down a door, enters someone else's house, and hides in one of the rooms. You need to apprehend him. Fortunately, in over a year of service, we haven't had any such cases, and they are rare for our colleagues too. Belarus is a peaceful country, you don't have to worry about your loved ones here.
— We must respond to every report. Here's a seemingly strange call from a woman: a cat has been meowing under the window for two days. We dispatch the patrol service there. It turned out the pet indicated that its owner was withfood...
Vladislav Orlov, an officer from the Patrol and Public Security Police Company and a namesake of Dmitry, enters the duty room. He undergoes a briefing before his eight-hour shift. The commander reminds him of certain articles of the Criminal Code and shows him the faces of individuals wanted by the police. In half an hour, Vladislav will head out on his patrol route through the city.
The officers share the same surname, but their duties differ. However, both Orlovs state that serving in the police is an honor, and they can't recall how many times they've managed to prevent misfortune. Vladislav recounts a recent dangerous call:
— The call came from a sosеда: в квартире напротив семейные разборки, слышен погром, плачет ребенок, а у отца есть огнестрельное оружие. С подмогой ОМОНа и МЧС мы попали в квартиру и задержали пьяного буяна, пока он не натворил дел. Ситуации бывают разные, и реагировать надо моментально. Как поступать в каждом конкретном случае, в книжке не напишут, все приходит с опытом.
Тут же в РОВД застаем между сменами Ивановых. Александр отрапортовал, что дежурство прошло без происшествий, Илья прошел инструктаж и готов следить за общественным порядком.
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Here at the police department, we find the Ivanovs between shifts. Alexander reported that the duty passed without incident, Ilya underwent an briefing and is ready to maintain public order.
— My grandfather was a military man, and I dreamed of epaulets since childhood, — says Ilya Ivanov. — I applied to the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but I didn't have enough points. To avoid wasting a year, I went to study at a college. That's where I found out that to serve in the police, you don't have to be a graduate of an educational institution of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. That's how I ended up in the department last year. I plan to reapply to the academy after gaining experience and improving my Russian language skills. The dream of officer epaulets warms me.
His namesake, Alexander, has a different story. The guy was undergoing a medical examination to go for compulsory military service, and he needed to have his fingerprints taken at the internal affairs department. There, he got into a conversation with an employee of the HR department. As a result, instead of the army, he went to serve in the police. Alexander Ivanov smiles:
Ruslan Vashnevsky came to serve in the police in 2013 after his compulsory service in the internal troops. They say that Police Warrant Officer Ruslan Vashnevsky can handle any task, for which he was awarded the badge "For dedicated service."
— Offenses happen constantly — drunken brawls, domestic disputes, thefts. In more than ten years of service, nothing has been routine, — notes Ruslan. — Service in the police is very engaging. I like helping people, protecting the weak, and making the city safer. I haven't even thought about leaving. I relax by fishing or with my family. I've made it a habit to leave everything that happens at work there. On my days off, I take my daughter by the hand, my wife by the arm, and gowalk — and everything immediately normalizes.
Ruslan Vashnevsky is a mentor for young fighters, including his namesake Artem Vashnevsky, says police lieutenant colonel Sergey Dudkevich:
Identical in Appearance
— Almost all people with the same last name work in the patrol and post service. We call the officers by their first and last names to avoid confusion, so there are no problems, — says the commander of the patrol and post service company, Sergey Dudkevich. — The only exception, perhaps, are the Goncharovs. It was difficult with them at first: two twin brothers looked identical. Now we can tell them apart. They have different hairstyles and different personalities.We meet the twins Ivan and Ilya Goncharovs on their day off in the gym of the Department of Internal Affairs.
— We have been practicing Greco-Roman wrestling since we were eight years old, and later started working out in the gym. Our uncle, a retired police officer, noticed our passion for sports and advised us to join the police service — says Ivan, lifting heavy dumbbells.
After obtaining professions as international drivers and auto mechanics in college, both were assigned to the internal affairs bodies. Ilya joins the conversation:
— A practical profession will not hurt. And we consider service in the police a good option: the profession is interesting, we are constantly among people. The building of our Department of Internal Affairs is only three years old, there are excellent conditions here — a gym, a workout room, an ultra-modern shooting range where we hone our shooting skills, which is only available to the "Almaz" special unit.The brothers are usually not separated in the department – they are often assigned to duty together. The most interesting things happen during assignments with rapid response mobile groups, the twins note. Once, a call came in. A grandmother's money, which she had saved up, was stolen. When the story was unraveled, it turned out that the savings were stolen by her sons – she has three of them. The Goncharovs also remember their first raid on dens. The landlady came out with a huge knife raised in her hand – it looked like she intended to attack. It turned out she was just cooking in the kitchen.
— In our deparPatience is very important in this job. Even if you are provoked, you need to control your emotions — commanders instruct us on this before each duty shift, say the Goncharovs, recalling how they, as newcomers, were trained for three months at the Center for Training, Professional Development, and Retraining of Personnel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs near Minsk: — Imagine overcoming an obstacle course to the sounds of gunfire, explosions, and lasers blinding you in the dark. Or practicing a scenario: a criminal breaks down a door, enters someone else's house, and hides in one of the rooms. You need to apprehend him. Fortunately, in over a year of service, we haven't had any such cases, and they are rare for our colleagues too. Belarus is a peaceful country, you don't have to worry about your loved ones here.
Cadres are forged
15:30. Operational duty unit. Dmitry Orlov, Assistant Duty Officer of the Public Security Service, has just returned from patrolling the ROVD territory and is ready to take calls:— We must respond to every report. Here's a seemingly strange call from a woman: a cat has been meowing under the window for two days. We dispatch the patrol service there. It turned out the pet indicated that its owner was withfood...
Vladislav Orlov, an officer from the Patrol and Public Security Police Company and a namesake of Dmitry, enters the duty room. He undergoes a briefing before his eight-hour shift. The commander reminds him of certain articles of the Criminal Code and shows him the faces of individuals wanted by the police. In half an hour, Vladislav will head out on his patrol route through the city.
The officers share the same surname, but their duties differ. However, both Orlovs state that serving in the police is an honor, and they can't recall how many times they've managed to prevent misfortune. Vladislav recounts a recent dangerous call:
— The call came from a sosеда: в квартире напротив семейные разборки, слышен погром, плачет ребенок, а у отца есть огнестрельное оружие. С подмогой ОМОНа и МЧС мы попали в квартиру и задержали пьяного буяна, пока он не натворил дел. Ситуации бывают разные, и реагировать надо моментально. Как поступать в каждом конкретном случае, в книжке не напишут, все приходит с опытом.
Тут же в РОВД застаем между сменами Ивановых. Александр отрапортовал, что дежурство прошло без происшествий, Илья прошел инструктаж и готов следить за общественным порядком.
Here at the police department, we find the Ivanovs between shifts. Alexander reported that the duty passed without incident, Ilya underwent an briefing and is ready to maintain public order.
— My grandfather was a military man, and I dreamed of epaulets since childhood, — says Ilya Ivanov. — I applied to the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but I didn't have enough points. To avoid wasting a year, I went to study at a college. That's where I found out that to serve in the police, you don't have to be a graduate of an educational institution of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. That's how I ended up in the department last year. I plan to reapply to the academy after gaining experience and improving my Russian language skills. The dream of officer epaulets warms me.
His namesake, Alexander, has a different story. The guy was undergoing a medical examination to go for compulsory military service, and he needed to have his fingerprints taken at the internal affairs department. There, he got into a conversation with an employee of the HR department. As a result, instead of the army, he went to serve in the police. Alexander Ivanov smiles:
— All coincidences are not accidental. When I first came here, I was, you could say, still a child. Over the year of service, I've matured and become more confident. I realized that being a police officer is a real man's profession. Here, increased personal responsibility, discipline, established beliefs, and readiness to serve the Motherland are important.We also managed to talk to the Vashnevskys that day. The namesakes were on duty together in the rapid response group and hadn't yet driven away from the district police department.
Ruslan Vashnevsky came to serve in the police in 2013 after his compulsory service in the internal troops. They say that Police Warrant Officer Ruslan Vashnevsky can handle any task, for which he was awarded the badge "For dedicated service."
— Offenses happen constantly — drunken brawls, domestic disputes, thefts. In more than ten years of service, nothing has been routine, — notes Ruslan. — Service in the police is very engaging. I like helping people, protecting the weak, and making the city safer. I haven't even thought about leaving. I relax by fishing or with my family. I've made it a habit to leave everything that happens at work there. On my days off, I take my daughter by the hand, my wife by the arm, and gowalk — and everything immediately normalizes.
Ruslan Vashnevsky is a mentor for young fighters, including his namesake Artem Vashnevsky, says police lieutenant colonel Sergey Dudkevich:
— All our guys are prominent. Many enter the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, graduate from universities with a law degree. We can say that we are forging personnel for OMON and other special units. But we are not offended. On the contrary, we are glad that our guys are growing, developing, and striving to reach new heights.
"SB"