The word tsar derives from “Caesar.” Ivan IV first adopted the title in 1547, when he elevated himself from “Duke of Moscow” to “Tsar of All Rus.” He adopted the Latinite name, but retained the Slavic state. Now, nearly 100 years after the death of the last tsar, President Vladimir Putin seems to be doing the reverse, adopting the trappings of imperialism without the title.
The most recent example of this has been the creation this spring of a new internal security force directly under the Russian president’s control. Some have already taken to calling the new force a praetorian guard.
Earlier this month, Vladimir Putin announced the creation of a new National Guard under the control of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. RT reported that in a statement released April 3, Putin said that the new guard “will be fighting terrorism, organized crime, all in close cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs. They will also continue to perform the functions which are currently carried out by riot police units, SWAT, etc.”
Created by presidential mandate, the National Guard force is based on the pre-existing troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a force which already numbers some 200,000 men. RT reports that “the National Guard will not perform field investigation activities, but they will be involved in fighting terrorism within the country…It is not yet clear, however, whether these troops will be taking part in counter-terrorism operations abroad.”
Putin tapped General Viktor Zolotov, a former bodyguard, ex-commander of the Internal Troops and a former judo sparring partner—by all means a member of Putin’s inner circle—to lead the new force. The announcement of the creation of the force came very quickly, after consultation with only a limited group of figures within the government.
The creation of the National Guard radically restructures security services and roles within the government. The new force will take over riot police and SWAT responsibilities currently controlled by other internal security branches. In Russia, security forces vie against each other for authority and resources as much as they do against outside threats. Within this political reality, the creation of the National Guard, in elevating Zolotov, comparatively reduces other commanders who find their roles minimized.
Broadly speaking, this force will be used to help “maintain public order,” a disconcertingly vague mandate. During a “Direct Line” program about a week after the announcement, Putin took questions on a wide variety of topics, including some about the new force. According to Mark Galeotti, a professor at NYU, he primarily reiterated the line that the force was intended to fight crime.
“Given that the natsgvardiya has no investigative capacities, this would really mean house-to-house searches, which is not impossible, but hardly encouraging…” Galeotti writes, “We have still heard no plausible explanation for the formation of the National Guard in law enforcement terms: let’s just accept this is a security force to keep the masses and elite in line.”
Bluntly put, this is a paramilitary security force with forces throughout the country, directly subordinate to Putin, rather than a government ministry.
“With Zolotov at its head, then it is even more clearly a personal, presidential Praetorian force, under a maximalist loyalist,” writes Galeotti. “This may not only be a force to keep the masses in check, but also the elite.”
Since the announcement of its creation, observers have pointed out that the force is too large and too heavily armed for a purely anti-terror or anti-crime role. In the past week, these fears have become more concrete as the State Duma Committee on Defense recommended that force be allowed to shoot into crowds.
Currently, the National Guard is not allowed to use its weapons in circumstances where there is “a large gathering of people, as a result of which random people may be affected,” according to a statement from the Duma committee. Deputies of the committee argue that the rule must allow for exceptions in the case of terrorist attacks, hostage situations, or large-scale unrest.
The Moscow Times quotes the Committee statement, saying: “We believe that in these cases the risk of harming random individuals will be justified.”
Given the secretive and centralized nature of the force’s creation, it seems unlikely that anyone will put up much resistance to the National Guard gaining this authority. This would leave Putin directly in control of a heavily armed internal military force with legal authority to break into private property and to put down perceived civil unrest with lethal force.
It’s a frightening situation for Russia, but also a sign that Putin is becoming increasingly nervous about the security of his own position and worries about threats from within.
As the Bard said, “uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.”
