Vladimir Putin is restructuringRussia's internal security apparatusin a move analysts believe is aimed at shielding his regime from dangers lurking within his own ranks.
The development centres on two powerful state bodies being placed beneath the authority of Army General Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff and a close Putin ally, an arrangement that has set off alarm bells among those watchingthe Kremlin's internal dynamics.
A presidential decree has handed the Russian military authority over Rosgvardia, the country's national guard. Whispers are also circulating that the MChS could be wound down entirely, with staff absorbed into Rosgvardia's ranks.
Washington-based think-tank the Institute for the Study of War said the net effect would be to place both organisations firmly in Gerasimov's hands.
The restructuring is widely seen as a defensive move by Putin, stemming in large part from Rosgvardia's poor showing during the Wagner Group's armed rebellion in June 2023, when the national guard "failed to engage Wagner forces during the Wagner mutiny."
Prigozhin, who helmed the rebellion before dying in a suspicious plane crash widely attributed to Kremlin involvement, had dispatched his fighters northward from southernRussiain what he branded a "march for justice."
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A report by the ISW said: "Putin created Rosgvardia in 2016 by subordinating some security forces from the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) under his direct control.
"He likely deliberately vaguely defined Rosgvardia's responsibilities to grant him direct authority to control protests and to coup-proof his regime.
Source: Daily Express :: World Feed
