In the Russian political lexicon, a ''silovik'' ( rus, силовик, p=sʲɪlɐˈvʲik; plural: ''siloviki'', rus, силовики, p=sʲɪləvʲɪˈkʲi) is a person who works for any state organisation that is authorised to use force against citizens or others. Examples include the

Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military of Russia. They are organized into three service branches—the Russian Ground Forces, Ground Forces, Russian Navy, Navy, and Russi ...

, the Russian national police, Russian national drug control (GUKON), Russian immigration control (GUVM), the

Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

, the

Federal Security Service The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation �СБ, ФСБ России (FSB) is the principal security agency of Russia and the main successor agency to the Soviet Union's KGB; its immediate predecessor was the Federal Counterin ...

(FSB), former

KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...

personnel, Main Intelligence Directorate of the Russian General Staff (GRU), the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), and the Federal Protective Service (FSO). This word is also used for a politician who came into politics from these organisations. ''Siloviki'' is also used as a collective noun to designate all troops and officers of all law enforcement agencies of

post-Soviet countries The post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union or the former Soviet republics, are the independent sovereign states that emerged/re-emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to their independence, they ...

, not necessarily high-ranking ones.

Etymology

The term ''siloviki'' ('siloviks') is literally translated as "people of force" or "strongmen" (from Russian '' сила'', "force" or "strength"). It originated from the phrase "institutions of force" (), which appeared in the early

Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician and statesman who served as President of Russia from 1991 to 1999. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1961 to ...

era (early 1990s) to denote the military-style

uniformed services Uniformed services is an abstract term that are generally bodies of people in employment of a state who wear a distinct uniform that differentiates them from the public and private sector. Their purpose is to foster the equality, security, saf ...

, including the military proper, the police ( Ministry of Internal Affairs), national security ( FSB) organisations, and some other structures. A similar term is " securocrat" (law enforcement and intelligence officer). Daniel Treisman in turn proposed a term "silovarch" (silovik and oligarch).

Description

''Siloviki'' often wish to encourage a view that they might be seen in Russia as being generally non-ideological, with a pragmatic law-and-order focus and Russian national interests at heart. They are generally well educated and bring past commercial experience to their government posts. It is assumed that ''siloviki'' have a natural preference for the reemergence of a strong Russian state. The ''siloviki'' do not form a cohesive group. They do not have a single leader and there is no common, articulated "''silovik'' agenda". However, according to John P. Willerton, these security-intelligence officials brought the work ethic and skills—that Putin apparently favoured—to the administration. A former KGB general said that "a Chekist is a breed... A good KGB heritage—a father or grandfather, say, who worked for the service—is highly valued by today's ''siloviki''. Marriages between ''siloviki'' clans are also encouraged.",

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

, 23 August 2007.

Persons and positions

Senior ''siloviki'' under the presidency of

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

include Sergei Ivanov, Viktor Ivanov, Sergei Shoigu,

Igor Sechin Igor Ivanovich Sechin (; born 7 September 1960) is a Russian entrepreneur and a government official, considered a close ally and "de facto deputy" of Vladimir Putin. Sechin has been a confidant of Russian leader Vladimir Putin since the early ...

, Nikolai Patrushev,

Alexander Bortnikov Alexander Vasilyevich Bortnikov (; born 15 November 1951) is a Russian intelligence officer who has served as the Director of the Federal Security Service, director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) since 2008. He is one of the most powerfu ...

, and Sergey Naryshkin who have had close working relationships with Putin and held key positions in Putin's governments. Willerton points out, however, that it is difficult to assess if their common security-intelligence background translates into common political preferences. Following the 2011 Russian protests, Russian president

Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev (born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician and lawyer who has served as Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia since 2020. Medvedev was also President of Russia between 2008 and 2012 and Prime Mini ...

, having made promises of political reform, nevertheless appointed several siloviki to prominent positions in the government: Sergei Ivanov to

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

of the presidential administration; Dmitry Rogozin to

deputy prime minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

; and Vyacheslav Volodin to deputy chief of staff. Putin's chief national security adviser, Nikolai Patrushev, who believed that the West has been in an undeclared war with Russia for years, was a leading figure behind Russia's updated

national security National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and Defence (military), defence of a sovereign state, including its Citizenship, citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of ...

strategy, published in May 2021. It stated that Russia may use "forceful methods" to "thwart or avert unfriendly actions that threaten the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Russian Federation".

References

External links

William Safire on the ''Siloviki''

"The Siloviki in Putin's Russia: Who They Are and What They Want"
'' The Washington Quarterly'', Winter 2007
''The Exile'' on Russia's brewing "Silovik war"

"Russian ex-spies flex their muscles"

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

Politics of Russia Russian words and phrases

Etymology

Description

Persons and positions

See also

References

Further reading

External links