All Topics  
Silovik

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Silovik
 
 
  Topics Silovik Topic Home

A Silovik (??????´?, plural: siloviks or siloviki, ????????´, from a Russian
Russian language

Russian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, and the largest native language in Europe....
 word for force
Political power

Political power is a type of power held by a political organization in a society which allows administration of some or all of public resources, including labour, and wealth....
) is a Russian politician from the old security
National security

The late political scientist Hans Morgenthau, author of Politics Among Nations, defines national security as the integrity of the national territory and its institutions....
 or military
Military

A military is an organization authorized by its nation to use force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or Threat of force ....
 services, often the officers
Officer (armed forces)

An officer is a member of an Armed forces who holds a position of authority.Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereignty power and, as such, hold a Letters patent charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position....
 of the KGB
KGB

KGB is the Russian language abbreviation of Committee for State Security , which was the official name of the umbrella organization serving as the Soviet Union's premier security agency, secret police, and intelligence agency, from 1954 to 1991....
, the FSB, the Federal Narcotics Control Service and military or other security services who came into power
Political groups during Vladimir Putin's presidency

At the very beginning of his presidency, Vladimir Putin announced that he was going to consolidate political powers in Russia into the so-called power vertical....
 under President Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin was the second President of Russia and is the current Prime Minister of Russia as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus....
, the successor of Boris Yeltsin
Boris Yeltsin

Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Yeltsin came to power with a wave of high expectations....
. It can also refer to security-service personnel from any country or nationality.

term, which can be exactly translated as "people of force", derives from the term "structures of force", which appeared in earlier Yeltsin's era (early 1990ies) to denote the military-style uniformed services, including military proper, police (Ministry of Interior), national security (KGB/FSB) and some other structures.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Silovik'
Start a new discussion about 'Silovik'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


A Silovik (??????´?, plural: siloviks or siloviki, ????????´, from a Russian
Russian language

Russian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, and the largest native language in Europe....
 word for force
Political power

Political power is a type of power held by a political organization in a society which allows administration of some or all of public resources, including labour, and wealth....
) is a Russian politician from the old security
National security

The late political scientist Hans Morgenthau, author of Politics Among Nations, defines national security as the integrity of the national territory and its institutions....
 or military
Military

A military is an organization authorized by its nation to use force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or Threat of force ....
 services, often the officers
Officer (armed forces)

An officer is a member of an Armed forces who holds a position of authority.Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereignty power and, as such, hold a Letters patent charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position....
 of the KGB
KGB

KGB is the Russian language abbreviation of Committee for State Security , which was the official name of the umbrella organization serving as the Soviet Union's premier security agency, secret police, and intelligence agency, from 1954 to 1991....
, the FSB, the Federal Narcotics Control Service and military or other security services who came into power
Political groups during Vladimir Putin's presidency

At the very beginning of his presidency, Vladimir Putin announced that he was going to consolidate political powers in Russia into the so-called power vertical....
 under President Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin was the second President of Russia and is the current Prime Minister of Russia as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus....
, the successor of Boris Yeltsin
Boris Yeltsin

Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Yeltsin came to power with a wave of high expectations....
. It can also refer to security-service personnel from any country or nationality.

Derivation

The term, which can be exactly translated as "people of force", derives from the term "structures of force", which appeared in earlier Yeltsin's era (early 1990ies) to denote the military-style uniformed services, including military proper, police (Ministry of Interior), national security (KGB/FSB) and some other structures. These "structures of force" formed a de facto higher level inner cabinet under Yeltsin and Putin. Sometimes the term is translated as "strongman", which is not so correct. The drawback of this translation is that it obscures the particular career background of these persons, as described above.

Political tendencies

The siloviki do not go to the ideological extremes of nationalist groups such as Pamyat
Pamyat

Pamyat is a Russian ultra-nationalist organization identifying itself as the "People's National-Patriotismic Eastern Orthodox Church movement." It has been accused of racism, xenophobia, and antisemitism....
, the Vladimir Zhirinovsky
Vladimir Zhirinovsky

File:Zhirinovsky Vladimir.jpgVladimir Volfovich Zhirinovsky is a Russian politician, founder and the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia , Vice-Chairman of the State Duma, and a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe of the Council of Europe....
's Liberal Democratic Party
Liberal Democratic Party of Russia

The Liberal Democratic Party of Russia is a political party in Russia. It has been led by Vladimir Zhirinovsky almost since its founding, in 1989, as the Liberal Democratic Party of the Soviet Union....
 or the Tsarist-era Black Hundred
Black Hundred

The Black Hundreds , also known as the black-hundredists was a conservative movement in Russia in the early 20th century, a supporter of the tsarist regime, which stood for inviolable autocracy in its struggle against the revolutionary movement....
.

One point of view in Russia is that the siloviki are an appropriate counterweight to the Russian oligarchs, who might otherwise loot Russia and subvert its government.

Further reading


External links

  • , Washington Quarterly, Winter 2007