We’ve all heard about the Russian government’s preemptive planning to augment the riot police and expand their powers to break up protests – which are expected to increase dramatically as a result of the global economic crisis – but the level of organization among these various security bodies was most fully expressed today by former economic adviser to Vladimir Putin, Andrei Illarionov, during his testimony before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.  There is nothing particularly new here, but assembled together, these facts point toward a trend of Russia turning into a police state (or is it already there?).

The Corporation of Secret Police

The personnel of Federal Security Service — both in active service as well as retired one — form a special type of unity (non-necessarily institutionalized) that can be called brotherhood, order, or corporation. The Corporation of the secret police operatives (CSP) includes first of all acting and former officers of the FSB (former KGB), and to a lesser extent FSO and Prosecutor General Office. Officers of GRU and SVR do also play some role. The members of the Corporation do share strong allegiance to their respective organizations, strict codes of conduct and of honor, basic principles of behavior, including among others the principle of mutual support to each other in any circumstances and the principle of omerta. Since the Corporation preserves traditions, hierarchies, codes and habits of secret police and intelligence services, its members show high degree of obedience to the current leadership, strong loyalty to each other, rather strict discipline. There are both formal and informal means of enforcing these norms. Violators of the code of conduct are subject to the harshest forms of punishment, including the highest form.