Barabash VRK
 | |
Romanized name | Barabash Vyysʹkovy Ryshennya ta Konsaltynh |
|---|---|
| Private | |
| Industry | Private military and security services |
| Predecessor | SAR-ZBR Protection |
| Founded | March 16, 1998 in Sarsky Myr, Zamorodna |
| Founder | Lukyan Maksymuk Barabash |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Services | Arms manufacturing, security consulting, labour force management, private military services |
| Revenue | unknown |
| unknown | |
Number of employees | 31,000+ |
| Subsidiaries | VV Manufacturing, Red Lake Foundation |
Barabash Military Solutions and Consulting (Zamorodnian: Barabash Vyysʹkovy Ryshennya ta Konsaltynh), or Barabash VRK, is a private limited liability company founded by Lukyan Maksymuk Barabash from the remnants of an insolvent security contracting firm. Barabash VRK offers a number of services worldwide, including private security, labour counter-organization, and military contracting.
The company's first major contract was made with the osavul of Sarsk'a Spyl'nota, Yvan Petruk Hmelnyts'skyy, in 2000. Since then, Barabash VRK has been responsible for the region's military operations. In 2008, Osavul Hmelnyts'skyy abdicated in favour of Barabash. Barabash VRK has continued to operate under Lukyan Maksymuk's leadership to the present day.
Barabash VRK and its proprietor are notoriously secretive regarding financials and personnel numbers. The total number of employees is estimated between 31,000 and 32,000. The number of personnel making up the security and military forces of the company is estimated at 8,000 to 9,000. The company has no obligation to file reports within Zamorodna and in the foreign jurisdictions that require reporting where Barabash VRK operates, it is frequently five to six years late in its filing, regularly accepting financial penalties in exchange for withholding up-to-date information.
History
Founding
Barabash VRK was founded in 1998 by Lukyan Maksymuk Barabash. Lukyan Maksymuk's father, Maksym Petruk Barabash, was a small business owner and minor shareholder in SAR-ZBR Protection, a local security and armoured car company in Sars'ka Spyl'nota. At some point in the mid-1990s, SAR-ZBR became insolvent and went into voluntary administration. Thereafter, its assets were put up for sale and purchased by Lukyan Maksymuk at auction. Lukyan Maksymuk was alleged uncontested at the auction. Many of the first employees of the new Barabash Security and Consulting were close friends and associates of Lukyan Maksymuk, who was reportedly involved in several political clubs and community organizations in Sarsky Myr.
The new company developed quickly after assuming its predecessor's customer base. Barabash quickly expanded the business nationwide with undisclosed sources of funding. He quickly gained a reputation as a firm and forceful bargainer. Within two years he had negotiated a deal for the security service to become the primary security and military organization in Sars'ka Spyl'nota, effectively transitioning the security company into a private military company.
Development
Barabash Security and Consulting rebranded to Barabash Military Solutions and Consulting (Barabash VRK) in 2001. The founder also branched out into labour counter-organization and special courier services the next year. In 2004, Barabash acquired the Duryv Arms Manufactory in Shumhorod and created an arms manufacturing division called VV Manufacturing.
Barabash ascended to the osavulship of Sars'ka Spyl'nota in 2008, taking the place of Yvan Petruk Hmelnyts'skyy after the latter's abdication. Following this, the company expanded to global reach and its employee count tripled over the next three years. In 2009, the ground was broken on a new office building to serve as the corporate headquarters of the organization. Barabash Tower was completed in 2013.
Services
Barabash VRK offers a number of services, many of which can be personalized for a client's specific needs. Company personnel can be contracted for both direct action in security, transportation, hardware installation, enforcement, or general presence services. Other consultative services include media campaigning and instructional seminars. The categories of services as Barabash VRK offers them are private security, labour force management, military services, and financial services.
Private security
Barabash VRK offers three categories of security services: location, transportation, and personal. Location security services are the most common that the company provides, primarily in theft prevention and detection for stores, banks, and corporate offices. Ancillary services include guard dog training and closed-circuit television camera installation and monitoring, both on-site and off-site.
The second major security service that Barabash VRK provides is secured transportation. This service includes armoured car service to transfer cash or other valuable objects, either in routine movements or for chartered routes. Armoured car service makes use of reinforced trucks that feature bulletproof plating and glass to resist robbery or hijacking attempts. In certain jurisdictions, military-grade armoured fighting vehicles may be used instead. Special courier services include chartered armoured car routes, but can also include secured and discreet flight routes. Special courier services are most frequently used for the transportation of valuables or artwork between private collectors.
Personal services include escort and bodyguard services. Escort services are employed to protect a client who is moving through a dangerous area. Barabash VRK advertizes both armoured and discreet forms of escort services. Bodyguards can be employed for either events or residential services, protecting clients from unwanted attention or physical threats.
Labour force management
Labour counter-organization is a specialist consultative service provided by Barabash VRK. Labour force management can occur in one of three situations: during the process of organization, during the process of work actions, and in the regular course of organized employment. Barabash VRK insists that it is attentive to the labour laws of whatever jurisdiction they are operating in. However, the company has been criticized for ignoring or circumventing labour laws in many instances.
The company has a variety of tactics to prevent labour organization in the first place. These mainly entail media campaigning and the development of disincentive programs. Media campaigns can reach employees through targeted ads or through employer-organized information sessions. Barabash VRK consultants have a variety of presentations and materials designed to dissuade employees from organizing. Consultants also offer seminars for employers and managers to identify signs of labour organization early in order to prevent labour movements before they gain too much momentum.
During the course of a work action in which employees are either striking or interfering with the regular course of business, Barabash VRK offers specialized security services to prevent workplace damage. Consultants have also organized counter-demonstrations in the past. The company also has a replacement worker program to coordinate the transportation and accommodations for replacement workers in order to mitigate the impacts of work interruptions. Barabash VRK can also tailor bargaining offers that are designed to create division within unions, often by exploiting different conditions between workers in the striking unit.
In workplaces that are actively unionized, Barabash VRK has had remarkable success in union-breaking. Many of the company's tactics in this service are confidential and the legality of their techniques has been questioned. Employees have reported that, following the contracting of Barabash VRK's services, key union members have been targeted with harassment, blackmail, and even threats of violence. Others have speculated that Barabash VRK contractors embedded themselves among the employees to spy on and identify problematic employees to management. Barabash VRK maintains that the company abides by local labour laws and that counter-union tactics typically only involve information sessions on union finances and media campaigning.
Military services
Barabash VRK branched into private military contracting in the year 2000 with the formation of a battalion-strength force of trained operators. The company's private forces have since expanded to three battalions and several special detachments. Barabash VRK military forces can be contracted for escort, transportation, and other security services in active warzones, bodyguarding for important officials or officers, and general military operations. Military contractors are equipped with a variety of privately purchased, licensed, and company-manufactured materiel including small arms, explosive ordnance, armoured and unarmoured combat vehicles, and helicopters.
Products
The Barabash'ske Vyrobnychyy Vyddyl (Barabash Manufacturing Division), internationally marketed as VV Manufacturing and formerly known as the Duryv Arms Manufactory, is an arms and military equipment manufacturer based in the city of Shumhorod in Verhny Potyk, Zamorodna. The main facility primarily manufactures small arms but has expanded to include satellite facilities that assemble or refit armoured vehicles and other ordnance.
Many of VV's products are unlicensed copies of existing weapons, though some are licensed. The division has a handful of original designs, most of which are small arms or vehicle upgrade kits. Most of VV's production supplies Barabash VRK's security and military contractors. Other Zamorodnian military and paramilitary forces are the next largest customer base, while private or foreign customers make up the final segment.
Small arms
| Model | Image | Type | Calibre |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sokyl DP25 | 
|
Assault rifle | 6.35×38mm |
| ShH1 DP30 | 
|
Assault rifle | 7.62×39mm |
| Avt. 55c | 
|
Assault rifle | 5.56×45mm |
| Avt. 50 | 
|
Battle rifle | 7.62×51mm |
| Drozd DP40 | 
|
Pistol | 10×21mm |
| Plt. 26 | 
|
Pistol | 11.4×23mm |
| PiKu. 81 | 
|
Submachine gun | 9×19mm |
| SnHr. 78 | 
|
Precision rifle | 7.62×54mm |
| Kul. 75 | File:PKmachinegun-removebg-preview.png | Machine gun | 7.62×54mm |
Vehicles
| Model | Image | Type | Armament |
|---|---|---|---|
| VBV R15 | .jpg)
|
Armoured personnel carrier |
|
| VBV R19 | .jpg)
|
Armoured car |
|
| TBV R99 | 
|
Armoured car | N/A |
| KNVZ3 R00 | 
|
Technical upgrade |
|
| KBVZ1 R00 | 
|
Armour upgrade | N/A |
Chemical agents
| Model | Image | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| KzMZ-CC1 | 
|
Riot control agent |
|
| KzMZ-PC2 |
|
Riot control agent |
|
| SPSP-TP1 | 
|
Truth serum |
|
Philanthropy
Both Barabash VRK as a company and Lukyan Maksymuk Barabash as an individual have made numerous contributions to national and international charities. The causes that Barabash supports include funds for war victims, hospice associations, veterans' associations, assistance for amputees, and the Alban Laura of Potyk.
In 2017, Lukyan Maksymuk Barabash founded the Red Lake Foundation. The Red Lake Foundation is an international charity that creates and fits prosthetic limbs for amputees. The primary beneficiaries of the charity are children, veterans, and war victims. However, in cases of economic duress, prosthetics can be provided for victims of other circumstances.
Controversies
Barabash VRK has been repeatedly accused of skirting or outright violating the law. Despite the company's claim that all of its labour and consultative practices are legal, several Barabash employees have been investigated and detained by foreign authorities for engaging in unlawful conduct, including intimidation and bribery. Barabash employees have also been arrested on over a dozen occasions for assault or for instigating violence in some form, including brawls at picket lines. Barabash VRK has maintained that it is not responsible for the rogue actions of certain employees and any employee found violating the law in the course of their duties is subjected to severe sanctions.
As a company, Barabash VRK has also come under scrutiny for its financial practices. The company and its local subsidiaries use a variety of tactics to evade reporting to local governments or disclosing information on their activities. In some cases, Barabash VRK has accepted penalties for failing to report as a matter of course. Several charitable contributions and the creation of charitable subsidiaries have also been flagged as illicit tax evasion schemes.
Barabash VRK military contractors have been accused of committing crimes in contested regions. During the 2005 Polnitsan War, 16 Barabash operators were accused of beating and robbing a group of Polnitsan civilians, killing one. The operators were positively identified by witnesses and local authorities. However, they evaded detention and escaped to Zamorodna where no one has been charged.