Russia Without Putin

For those of you at home who might be wondering what the results might be from high-powered cronyism involving secretive intelligence services, look no farther than Russia. Apparently, the bureaucracy is already infighting. In this case, the FSB (Federal Security Service) is squaring off against Lt. Gen. Alexander Bulbov for allegedly sticking his finger in their pie. Now that the FSB is the pre-eminent institution in Russia, look for more solidification of power, growing only more intense as the presidential election draws near.

Of course, the modern reader is never satisfied without proof or at least someone else saying what the author is saying, so have some detailed background material; the reaction from Gen. Bulbov's Commanding Officer, Viktor Cherkesov, a longtime associate of Putin; and an article that name drops some of the political elite of Russia.

After doing a bit of research on the FSB, I found an interesting article on the managerial board. Its membership represents the group placed in power under Putin. Unfortunately, this source, Echo of Moscow, is in Russian. So, via Babelfish, I post the garbled and difficult to read translation:

This event, from my point of view, became the board of the federal security service, which conducted President v.Putin, and in which participated all most important officials of the country. But these are the Head of the President's Administration of Sergey sobyanin, the Deputy Head of Administration Igor sechin, the assistant to the President Victor Ivanov, the head for control administration Aleksandr beglov, the Attorney General Yuri chayk, the minister of internal affairs Of rashid Of nurgaliyev, the director of the Federal Service of protection Yevgeny Moores, the director OF SVR - these are reconnaissance, Sergey Lebedev, leader gosnarkokontrolya Victor cherkesov. Leader of the Federal Service for financial monitoring Victor zubkov, the leader of the main administration of the special-programs of the President Aleksandr tsarenko, the head of the State Auditing Chamber of Russia Sergey stepashin, the chairman Superior Court of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Lebedev. I please forgivenesses for so long an enumeration of surnames, it simply shows - do not confuse, this was not the session of government, this was the board of the federal security service. So here this list, of course, shows, how important key place in today's policy of Russia play successor THE KGB, federal security service. By the way, among those invited to the session of this shady, or someone speaks - the second, the first - whom as more greatly pleases itself - the government of Russia, was invited the chairman of commission for control of the activity of the primary structures of public chamber Anatoliy kucheren. True, only to the television part of the session. They then controller from the Kremlin community there. We know that on this board FSB Putin issued a call the organs of state security to take most active part in the control of the selective process. He said - I cite: "in this year they will pass the sequential selections into the regional legislative assemblies and the State Duma. This is the most important democratic mechanism of the formation of power of the state, authority of critical, and chosen as a result healthy political competition. It is important not only to ensure legality, said the President, and law, but also to secure society from attempts at vbrosa to the social and political field of the ideology of extremism, national and konfessional'noy intolerance ". O.KRYSHTANOVSKAYA: ... the lower the level of political class, the it is greater there the representatives of any other, lateral branches, including and MVD, and army, etcetera the - i.e., all forms of primary structures already be present. But on top itself, Politbureau - this literally 50 to 50 - reconnaissance and counter espionage. In half. But now interesting process still another - into the compositions of the councils of the directors of the most important companies with the presence of state sufficiently many now also representatives of silovikov - this process new, and thus far hidden before the public attention, but we in detail with this deal, and they revealed how are there installed these people. O.KRYSHTANOVSKAYA: ... always professional some group is separated on the basis of its function in the society - i.e., mental'nost', increasingly other - this for a second time. These are people - siloviki - from where the word of "siloviki"? Because these people with the weapon in the hands are called to protect something. I.e., this is the armed group of people - here this unites, first of all, them. If we look into the microscope, then it is certain - each type of weapon, each form of special service, or not special service, of course, it different. But if we look further, with the telescope, so to speak, then they have then it is much in common, that it is possible them to consider one group. Certainly, I understand all reservations, which here must be made. Why this is is one group? Even it was designed in the Soviet time, and the word of "siloviki" arose in the Soviet time - there is not in one country of peace for some reason this word, always with the transfer into the English, the French, the German, it is necessary to explain many words, which is located in the form. Why they all are connected, and there these are nevertheless different things? There are reasons. We have the hierarchy of these power ministries. And THE KGB, and now FSB, it was the brain, which governed other armed structures - well, army to a lesser degree. YE.AL'BATS: but, nevertheless, the third central board checked both general staff and Defense Ministry, and GRU. O.KRYSHTANOVSKAYA: Yes, certainly. And troikas were in all regions. Troika - this UKGB, chief militiaman and attorney there still entered. Here are the troikas of silovikov, which determined at the places very and very many important things. Mental'nost' is different in them. But since the leading positions occupies FSB, mental'nost' FSB - it key. And since this is organization of the type of this closed order, it is built entire on literally zombirovat' - there can be even in a good sense, "zombirovat'" this word with the negative nuance - to impregnate people, which penetrate this school, as the ideology specific completely. And this ideology it predominating, this is ideology, where the patriotism is assumed as the basis of bases.