The sword and shield of the regime are coming back. Or so it seems.
The daily newspaper Kommersant reported this week that the Kremlin is about to hatch a plan to establish a powerful new Ministry of State Security that would absorb most of Russia's security services and effectively resurrect the Soviet-era KGB.
If the report is true -- and nobody has denied it yet -- it would mark a sharp departure for Vladimir Putin, who until now had preferred to play divide and rule with Russia's myriad security services and law-enforcement agencies.
On this week's Power Vertical Podcast, we discuss the causes and implications of such a major overhaul of Russia's security architecture.
Joining me are co-host Mark Galeotti, an expert on Russia's security services, a senior fellow at the Institute of International Relations in Prague, and author of the blog In Moscow's Shadows; and Andrei Soldatov, co-author of the book The New Nobility: The Resurrection Of Russia's Security State And The Enduring Legacy of the KGB.
Enjoy...
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The Power Vertical Podcast: Putin's Sword And Shield
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NOTE TO LISTENERS: The Power Vertical Podcast, and all other Power Vertical products, will not appear next week as I will be attending a conference in Tbilisi. All Power Vertical products will return to their regular schedule on October 3. The next Power Vertical Podcast will be on October 7.