CIAO DATE: 09/2011
September 2011
Finnish Institute for International Affairs
The Russian authorities are currently undertaking reforms of the two main “power structures” – the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of the Interior. Such reforms are always precarious, especially in Russia and particularly at a time when the political establishment is preparing for the election period. The Russian authorities have traditionally been very cautious in their attitude towards the so-called “power structures” (silovye struktury)1 during the pre-election period. There are several reasons for this.
Resource link: Protectors of Putin's vertical: Russian power ministries before the 2011-2012 elections [PDF] - 3.7M