The appointment, after five months’ haggling and searching, of Major General Vladimir Kolokoltsev to be Moscow’s new police chief after the dismissal of General Pronin, provides the hook for another RFE/RL commentary: Three Reasons Why Russia’s Police Remain Unreformed. The three reasons? Politicization, corruption and a lack of resources. Of course, the fundamental meta-reason behind all three is that the Kremlin isn’t interested in meaningful police reform that would create an effective, independent law enforcement structure such that could underpin a genuine rule-of-law state. Alas.
All posts in category Police
Russia’s police, unreformed
Posted by Mark Galeotti on October 10, 2009
https://inmoscowsshadows.wordpress.com/2009/10/10/russias-police-unreformed/
New guns for Russia’s cops – so what?
A piece of news which might seem of interest only to the gun-nut and the real obsessive actually has rather greater significance: the Russian police are phasing out their old Makarov pistols and Kalashnikov rifles with new weapons.
So what? (more…)
Posted by Mark Galeotti on October 23, 2008
https://inmoscowsshadows.wordpress.com/2008/10/23/new-guns-for-russias-cops-so-what/
New appointment to MVD command structure
On 8 September, President Medvedev filled one of two gaps in the Ministry of Internal Affairs command structure, elevating Lt. Gen. Alexander Smirny from command of the MVD Organisation and Inspection Department (OID) to become a deputy interior minister. The current leadership structure (including the main operational departments) as of 14 September 2008 is thus: (more…)
Posted by Mark Galeotti on September 14, 2008
https://inmoscowsshadows.wordpress.com/2008/09/14/new-appointment-to-mvd-command-structure/
Medvedev’s first police reform: MVD loses specialised organised crime department
Under Yeltsin, under Putin, and now it seems under Medvedev, reorganising law-enforcement agencies and overlaying new bodies on top of the existing ones has been the usual response to dealing with serious and organised crime. Cynic though I may be, this was my first thought on looking at Medvedev’s latest decree of 6 September 2008. The Interior Ministry (MVD) is to lose its specialised department for fighting organised crime and terrorism (DBOPT, but still widely known by its old acronym, UBOP) and its local branches. Investigating organised crime will simply be rolled into the work of the existing Main Directorate for Criminal Investigation (GUUR) and local CIDs, while UBOP staff will be transferred to a new body with a rather incongruous combination of roles: fighting ‘extremism’ and protecting judicial officials and witnesses.
Posted by Mark Galeotti on September 11, 2008
https://inmoscowsshadows.wordpress.com/2008/09/11/medvedevs-first-police-reform-mvd-loses-specialised-organised-crime-department/
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