Russian Security Agency Changes

[otlichnik]

In a series of decrees on March 11th, 2003, President Putin reorganised the Russian security organs. FAPSI, the sigint organ, was abolished and its functions split between the Defence Ministry and the FSB (internal security). The Federal Border Guard Service was incorporated into the FSB. The Federal Tax Police Service was abolished and its functions transferred to the Interior Ministry. A State Committee on Drug Trafficking was created.

Despite the comments of some pundits this is not exactly the re-creation of the KGB which was broken into five separate pieces after the fall of the USSR. These changes still leave three agencies. However, this is an unfortunate strengthening of the FSB. The addition of sigint to the FSB is especially disturbing for the progress of democracy, rule of law and human rights in Russia.

Shawn

[DougD]

What laws were passed after the fall of the ussr to curb the power of the FSB in relation to the powers the KGB had?

Also, is the MVD still around (assuming it is) and were its powers in any way changed?

DD

[otlichnik]

The tax police were set of by the Ministry of Finance (I think). They performed tax evasion and tax fraud investigations. Western journalists got a kick out of the fact that the tax police had armed tactical teams but it was necessary for raiding unwilling crooks. Tax investigation was once part of the MD and has gone back there.

The Russian MVD still exists and has much of the same uniformed presence it used to. It still has the police although they now answer to a lower level of local authority. The generic MVD garison troops are largely gone and the prison and escort troops are now part of the Ministry of Justice. The MVD troops are now mostly opertaional, mobile and sepcial units for things like Chechnya.

The MVD has had a huge cut since Soviet times in its aministraive regulaory functions - it nce was responsible for husing permits, phone books, etc. and local governmets are taking more and more of this on.

The powers of the KGB were cut in two ways. One was the very division into several services. The second are many small legal controls. It is harder to arrest people and hold them without trial, etc. Howeer, NGOs like Human Rights Watch and many doestic Russia NGOs still document the human rights abuses inherent in the current system. Better than it was but not there yet is the verdict.

hawn