Spetsnaz (Russian: спецназ, abbreviation for Russian: Войска́ специа́льного назначе́ния, lit. ‘Special Operations Forces’ or ‘Special Purpose Military Units’) is a Russian language umbrella term for special forces which is used in numerous Russian-speaking post-Soviet states.
Historically, the term referred to special operations units controlled by the main military intelligence service GRU (Spetsnaz GRU). It also describes task forces of other ministries in post-Soviet countries.