Russian BARS Special Forces Patch – OSN ‘BARS’ – Federal Tactical Unit Emblem, Velcro 10×7,5cm

This shield-shaped patch represents OSN “BARS” (Отряд специального назначения “Барс”), a special purpose tactical unit formed under the Russian Ministry of Justice in 1991, and operating within the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN). The unit’s name and structure were formalized in 1994.

BARS (Snow Leopard) units are tasked with:

• Neutralization of violent prisoners

• Hostage rescue in penitentiary systems

• Suppression of prison riots

• High-risk security for FSIN operations

• Support in national counter-terrorism efforts

Notable combat operations include:

• Kamishin hostage rescue, where armed inmates took medical staff hostage — resolved by OSN BARS in under 5 minutes.

• Chechnya, Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria, and North Ossetia deployments in the 2000s.

• October 2005, urban combat and hostage rescue in Nalchik, facing Islamist insurgents.

• August 2024, assault on IK-19 penitentiary in Surovikino, Volgograd region, following a hostage crisis involving ISIS inmates. FSIN snipers eliminated armed captors; BARS secured the facility.