Creator of OMON and the last communist prime minister of Russia, defeated by Yeltsin
Inside the MVD they called him "Tishayshy" — the Quietest One. As organized crime grew, the minister said little and did less, until Gorbachev replaced him.
A mining engineer from Buryatia, Vlasov rose through the Komsomol and party apparatus to become first secretary in the Chechen-Ingush ASSR and Rostov Oblast, a classic Soviet party careerist. Appointed USSR interior minister in January 1986, he created the special-purpose police units (OMON) but was criticized for passivity against organized crime and replaced by Vadim Bakatin after less than three years. Shifted to RSFSR prime minister in October 1988, where he lost the Supreme Soviet chairmanship to Boris Yeltsin in May 1990 by a vote of 535–467. He embodied the old party apparatus trying to adapt to perestroika, and was overtaken by forces neither he nor the system could manage.
Career Timeline
- 1954–1955Mine foreman, Cheremkhovo Mine No. 5; Komsomol Cheremkhovo city committee dept. head then second secretary
- 1955–1961Second secretary then first secretary, Irkutsk Oblast Komsomol
- 1961–1965First secretary, Ziminsky District CPSU, Irkutsk; second secretary, Irkutsk Industrial Oblast CPSU; first deputy chair, Irkutsk Oblast Executive Committee
- 1965–1972Secretary then second secretary, Yakut Oblast CPSU
- 1972–1975Inspector, CPSU Central Committee
- 1975–1984First secretary, Chechen-Ingush ASSR CPSU
- 1984–1986First secretary, Rostov Oblast CPSU
- 1986–1988USSR Minister of Internal Affairs (Lt. General, promoted Colonel-General in office)
- 1988–1990Chairman, RSFSR Council of Ministers; Candidate Politburo member (Sep 1988–Jul 1990)
- 1990.5Lost RSFSR Supreme Soviet chairmanship election to Boris Yeltsin (467–535)
- 1990–1991Head, CPSU CC Socio-Economic Department
- 1994–2002Chairman, Irkutsk community association "Baikal"
Related historical events
Interior Minister and the Creation of OMON
On 24 January 1986, Vlasov was appointed USSR Minister of Internal Affairs, succeeding Vitaly Fedorchuk. He entered the post as a lieutenant general and was promoted to colonel general in October 1987. His tenure coincided with the glasnost-era unmasking of Soviet social fractures: ethnic conflicts erupted in the republics, organized crime surged, and unsanctioned street protests proliferated.
Vlasov's most enduring institutional legacy is the creation of OMON (Otryad Militsii Osobogo Naznacheniya, Special Purpose Police Units). Built on the backbone of special operational companies already embedded in the regular patrol-guard service (OBPPSM), these units were stationed in major cities and tasked with public-order policing at mass events, dispersal of unauthorized demonstrations, and countering armed criminal groups. Officially established on 3 October 1988, the force initially comprised 19 detachments totaling roughly 7,000 personnel. After Vlasov's departure, his successor Vadim Bakatin continued expanding OMON detachments across the regions.
Yet Vlasov's leadership of the MVD came under severe attack. Lieutenant General Aleksandr Gurov, then head of the ministry's organized-crime research institute, publicly excoriated him for effectively abandoning the fight against organized crime. According to Gurov, Vlasov's nickname inside the MVD was "Tishayshy": the Quietest One. As crime spiraled, the minister stayed silent, and in October 1988 Gorbachev removed him from the MVD, shifting him sideways to the RSFSR premiership.