MVD

MVD stands for Ministerstvo Vnutrennih Del - Ministry of Interior Affairs, in the USSR and nowadays Russia.

In the Soviet era, the Minstry of Interior Affairs also functioned as a secret police. In March 1946 the NKVD was renamed to MVD. (All People's Commissariats (NK) were redesignated Ministries (M). Thus the NKVD became the MVD and the NKGB became the MGB.)

In March 1953 Lavrenty Beria united the MVD and MGB into one body, the MVD. Within a year Beria's execution caused the MVD to be split up. The reformed MVD retained its internal security functions while the new KGB took on state security functions.