All posts in category Security

New book: ‘The Politics of Security in Modern Russia’

Time for a necessary self-indulgent notice: my latest edited book, The Politics of Security in Modern Russia, has just been released by Ashgate. Ed Lucas of the Economist calls it “Incisive, well-informed and disturbing” and — having had to harry hard-working and long-suffering contributors for re-writes when the original manuscript was all but done because of the Georgian war and the economic crisis — I call it a blessed relief to see it out!

You can find the full details and extracts on the publisher’s website (more…)

by Mark Galeotti on February 2, 2010  •  Permalink
Posted in Security

Posted by Mark Galeotti on February 2, 2010

https://inmoscowsshadows.wordpress.com/2010/02/02/new-book-the-politics-of-security-in-modern-russia/

Senior military dismissals strengthen CoGS Makarov’s hand and may mean decline of Main Operations Directorate

Substantive reshuffles of the Russian military high command tend to mean something. In the present climate, they tend to mean a purge of opponents to military reform as the unexpectedly effective (and necessarily ruthless) team of Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and Chief of the General Staff Nikolai Makarov push forward the next stage of their long-overdue modernisation programme. On 13 January 2010, they claimed two more exalted scalps: Colonel General Vladimir Boldyrev, commander-in-chief of the Ground Forces, and Major General Sergei Surovikin, head of the General Staff’s Main Operations Directorate (GUO).

(more…)

by Mark Galeotti on January 16, 2010  •  Permalink
Posted in Military - Russia, Security

Posted by Mark Galeotti on January 16, 2010

https://inmoscowsshadows.wordpress.com/2010/01/16/senior-military-dismissals-strengthen-cogs-makarov%e2%80%99s-hand-and-may-mean-decline-of-main-operations-directorate/

Who is Yunus-Bek Yevkurov?

No one is likely to mourn the departure of Murat Zyazikov from the position of president of the volatile North Caucasus republic of Ingushetia. But the Kremlin’s choice of a successor has come as something of a surprise: Colonel Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, a gung-ho paratroop officer with no political experience or profile, no power base in the republic and – seemingly – no great enthusiasm for the job.

(more…)

by Mark Galeotti on November 1, 2008  •  Permalink
Posted in Military - Russia, North Caucasus, Security
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Posted by Mark Galeotti on November 1, 2008

https://inmoscowsshadows.wordpress.com/2008/11/01/who-is-yunus-bek-yevgurov/

‘Contract killing is a continuation of business by other means’

It goes against the grain, but sometimes – rarely – I feel Putin and the Russian security apparatus deserve to be given the benefit of the doubt. On 6 October, the interesting but often-sensationalist Russian newspaper Novaya gazeta ran an article ‘Registered Speciality – the Killer’ which claimed that the Russian spetsluzhby, the security agencies, now routinely murder enemies of the Kremlin. The author, Novaya gazeta’s military affairs editor Vyacheslav Izmailov, pulls together a varied collection of killings and kidnappings and asserts that the same sinister hand is behind them all.

(more…)

by Mark Galeotti on October 11, 2008  •  Permalink
Posted in Chechnya, Crime, Intelligence, Organized Crime - Russia, Security
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Posted by Mark Galeotti on October 11, 2008

https://inmoscowsshadows.wordpress.com/2008/10/11/contract-killing-is-a-continuation-of-business-by-other-means/

Russia Ready For Meaningful Military Reform. Again. Really.

On Friday 26 September, President Medvedev used a meeting in Orenburg with military district commanders during the Centre-2008 exercises to make his latest statements about defence modernisation. The headlines were made by his pledge to revamp Russia’s strategic arsenal: “A guaranteed nuclear deterrent system for various military and political circumstances must be provided by 2020.” However, he promised modernisation across the board: “We must ensure air superiority, precision strikes on land and sea targets, the timely deployment of troops. We are planning to launch large-scale production of warships, primarily, nuclear submarines with cruise missiles and multi-purpose attack submarines… We will also build an air and space defence network.”

On the face of it, this all sounds like news. (more…)

by Mark Galeotti on September 27, 2008  •  Permalink
Posted in Military - Russia, Security
Tagged , , , ,

Posted by Mark Galeotti on September 27, 2008

https://inmoscowsshadows.wordpress.com/2008/09/27/russia-ready-for-meaningful-military-reform-again-really/

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.

(more…)

by Mark Galeotti on September 11, 2008  •  Permalink
Posted in Crime, MVD, Organized Crime - Russia, Police, Police Reform, Security, Terrorism
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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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