No. 323: Siloviki

Author(s): Brian D. Taylor, Mark Galeotti, Pavel Luzin, Kurt Haven, Margarete Klein
Series Editor(s): Fabian Burkhardt, Robert Orttung, Jeronim Perović, Heiko Pleines, Hans-Henning Schröder
Series: Russian Analytical Digest (RAD)
Issue: 323
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zürich; Research Centre for East European Studies (FSO), University of Bremen; Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES), George Washington University; Center for Eastern European Studies (CEES), University of Zurich
Publication Year: 2025

This issue examines the role of the Russian siloviki since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Brian Taylor provides an overview of the literature on siloviki and some of the central concepts, findings, and debates. Mark Galeotti analyzes how the Kremlin has put Russia's three main security services—the FSB, SVR, and GRU—on a war footing. Pavel Luzin argues that the Kremlin’s goal is to prevent the military elite from becoming political actors. Kurt Haven focuses on the acute staffing shortages in the Russian police. Finally, Margarete Klein shows how the Kremlin brought the many volunteer formations under tighter control.

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