It seemed that, after three and a half presidential terms in power, Vladimir Putin had everything under his control in Russia. As it turns out, he does not. This can be seen in the creation of a new structure, the federal Rosgvardia service, subordinated directly to the president and led by Putin’s personal bodyguard, army general Viktor Zolotov.
The new organization will be created on the basis of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and will include the Ministry’s armed units, the interior troops, as well as SOBR and OMON (riot police forces). It will be tasked with combating terrorism and crime, and the protection of governmental institutions and the border. Moreover, this super-powerful structure will be licensed to operate abroad.
There is no official information yet on how strong the National Guard will be, but the media estimate all the abovementioned structures at approximately 400,000 men. The National Guards will be allowed to use physical force (including martial arts) and special means for dispersing protest rallies, and also to round-up territories.
Meanwhile, the Swiss Neue Zuercher Zeitung wrote that Putin’s ukase “immediately triggered massive talks about a radical reform within Russian power-wielding agencies, the creation of a ‘super-agency’ or a ‘powerful fist,’ which could be used against any domestic threat.”
Georgii Satarov of the Indem Foundation believes that the Russian leader’s actions reveal his regime’s logic of self-preservation. “We are the elite, and this is the reason why we should rule. We are the only subjects of independent activity, and so we have been from the very start.” This is how Satarov explained Putin’s motivation in a live interview with radio station Echo of Moscow. He also underlined that in a situation of the imminent crisis of such proportions, no national guard will help against popular unrest.
Novaya Gazeta’s military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer sees an analogy between the National Guard and the SS, which is also led by a professional bodyguard. “The SS grew out of a protection structure, spread and overtook everything, including police, investigation, army, and military aviation. The same is happening here: the spreading of protection structures,” said Felgenhauer on air at the Echo of Moscow.
Gennadii Gudkov, a retired FSB colonel, assumes that Rosgvardia is being created for the sake of a crucial paragraph on page 20. He cited one provision from that paragraph: “The national guard can be fully employed in measures to suppress mass riots and other actions hindering the operations of public transport, mass media, and organizations.” According to Gudkov, Rosgvardia will not need any formalities like court rulings or prosecutor’s sanctions.
COMMENTARIES
Semen NOVOPRUDSKY, independent journalist, Moscow:
“The creation of Rosgvardia is linked to Russia’s main fundamental problems. At a certain moment, when an individual has ruled the country for a very long time, he experiences a sharp decrease of trust in his inner circle. The lot of power in Russia is to a great extent decided outside public politics. Moreover, it is in the hands of a very narrow circle of people. In terms of authority, it would be logical to compare Rosgvardia to Ivan the Terrible’s henchmen, oprichniki. In fact, it is an attempt at creating the president’s personal army, led by a man who is believed to be one of his most trusted loyalists. In other words, a man who serves personally the president, not the country. This shows that the president is most probably distrustful of his inner circle and their support of his policies. He anticipates a possible treason on part of this inner circle, which suffers great financial losses because of the sanctions imposed due to Putin’s policies. That is why the creation of Rosgvardia has to do not so much with the oncoming election as with the president’s distrust of his inner circle.
“The fact that this structure has a license to apply force abroad suggests the creation of a full-fledged army, alongside with the existing one. Such powers prove that Putin is creating a special task force, subordinated personally to the president, which stands virtually aloof from the subordination and coordination with other power-wielding structures. The president alone will decide how it will be used. And this is also a clear sign that the president does not fully trust his men, not even the defense minister.”
Roland FREUDENSTEIN, deputy director, Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, Brussels:
“This is one of Putin’s typical surprise decisions which are to demonstrate to Russians and the world that he’s in control. But of course, it also has a serious side: it will increase the ‘power vertical’ in the Russian state, centralizing decision making, and military clout, even more in one person. The West should react as we have reacted in the last two years to Mr. Putin’s decisions: calmly but with determination. We need to improve deterrence against Russian military threats because Mr. Putin reads weakness as an invitation to do more harm. So, we should make it clear to him that aggression against his neighbors will meet with sanctions, and aggression against NATO allies will meet with a strong defense.”
Edward LUCAS, senior vice president of the Center for European Policy Analysis, London:
“This is another ominous sign of Mr. Putin’s intentions. The Kremlin can use force at will against any opponents, at home and abroad. We should not be surprised if he does so again. The lessons so painfully learned by Ukraine and Georgia have not been fully digested in the West.”
