The legal system described, based on Roman law, was established after the Bolshevik revolution and is closely interwoven with the political system. In this system, the U.S.S.R. police are identified with the continental model. They wield considerable power with little evidence of external accountability; are centralized, armed, and structured along military lines; and feature political and administrative duties in police work. U.S.S.R. policing can be described on three levels: the notorious secret police attains numerical and symbolic importance; the militia or regular force provides an organized, centralized, and more formally accountable arm to conventional law enforcement; and citizen groups, a key feature of communist legal thinking, that were significant during the Khrushchev era. A more professional and efficient force open to public scrutiny and open recruitment is envisioned for the future.